Who was the True God of Demetrius and the Ephesian Tradesmen?

God totally disrupted and upended the pagan Greek world through the work of Paul and his disciples (Acts 19:1-20). He didn’t use thunderbolts and lightning. He didn’t use earthquakes or floods. And he didn’t use hordes of angelic hosts rushing the cities or the countryside with over-the-top spectacles of supernatural military might and show.  Instead, he used the faithful, consistent and humble preaching of his word validated by miracles of healing and the casting out of evil spirits. But he could have just as easily done it with only preaching (Isaiah 55:10-11).  This kind of power was so great that when a demon possessed man beat seven sons of a Jewish high priest into a humiliating and bloody nakedness as they were attempting to exorcise him, the people of Ephesus began to confess their sins and honor the Lord. In fact, many Ephesians voluntarily burned several million dollars worth of “magical” books of spells as a means of confirming their new faith (Acts 19:11-20). How did they know about Jesus so that they could proclaim his name and Lordship when they became frightened by the demonic man’s beating of priestly sons? Because Paul and his companions had told them about God (Acts 19:13)! 

Interestingly, God’s use of  Paul and preaching exposed the true gods of the Ephesians.  Obviously, they worshiped magic and spells for what they believed were their practical utility. However, the people of Ephesus officially worshiped the goddess Artemis. But Luke reports for us that many of those Ephesians only worshiped her as a proxy for their real worship of money. Acts 19:21-33 records how a  silversmith named Demetrius whipped the other tradesmen of the town into a frenzy by pointing out that Paul’s preaching threatened their wealth. He argued how all of their trades were centered on the worship of Artemis and the traffic her temple brought to the town. If Artemis loses her glory, he argued, then they will lose their livelihoods. This reasoning started a riot in which the tradesmen and people of Ephesus became enraged. Thankfully, a city clerk was able to quell the dangerous situation with reason and an appeal to the civil processes for settling disputes. 

Ironically, Demetrius and his angry tradesmen are very much like many so-called Christians today when they say they worship God. They aren’t worshiping God for his goodness, but they worship him for what practical use they think he will give them – either in the form of health and wealth or spectacular miracles they hope will tickle their senses and bring to them excitement.  Sadly, many of them worship him in words only, intending to maintain the monetary empires they’ve built by wrongly using his name.  

God wishes for us to worship him in spirit and in truth (John 4:24). Do that by preaching his word where you can and by living in such a way that the fruit you produce shows how much you love him for who he is. Then, when people have an opportunity to follow God like you, they'll have heard of him and more easily recognize that opportunity.