Paul in Greece – The Slave Girl

Read: Acts 16:16-24 (www.biblestudytools.com/nrs/acts/16.html)
 
Verse 16 of chapter 16 in Acts tells us all that we know about the “slave girl” at Philippi who followed Paul, Silas, Timothy, and Luke around town yelling, “These men are servants of the Most High God! They are telling you how to be saved.” We do not even know whether she was young, old, or middle-aged because referring to a slave as a “boy” or a “girl” did not indicate their age (something all-too-familiar still today).
 
She could have been taken captive anywhere along the borders of the Roman Empire. If she was a recent captive she would have most likely been from Britain. Or, she could have been born a slave or acquired when her parents sold her or left her abandoned as a baby. However she became a slave, she was a slave in a slave society. (The Roman Senate once debated a bill to distinguish slaves from free people by their dress. The bill was defeated when the senators realized that this would plainly demonstrate to the slaves their great numbers.)
 
After several days of her repeated announcements Paul had had enough. He turned and cast the unclean spirit of divination out of the woman. When her owners, who appear to have known how to work the system, discovered that she could no longer tell the future and earn them money, they went and complained to the city officials. They knew the “magic words” to use to get a rise out of the officials: “These Jews are upsetting our city! They are telling us to do things we Romans are not allowed to do.” Paul and Silas are beaten and put in jail (it seems that Timothy and Luke were not with them).
 
What happened to the slave girl? Had she listened as Paul and friends proclaimed the Good News? Some think she remained a slave but also became a believer in Jesus Christ.
 
Has the truth of God ever just come tumbling out of your mouth?