What a great WIN! I can't wait for next week! For the blog this week I am going to do something a little different again! The word we will be looking at is "vagabond". It's found once in the New Testament in Acts 19:13:
13 Then certain of the vagabond Jews, exorcists, took upon them to call over them which had evil spirits the name of the Lord Jesus, saying, We adjure you by Jesus whom Paul preacheth. KJV
This is the Greek word "perierchomai". Strong's Concordance says: to come all around, i.e. stroll, vacillate, veer. We can gather that there was something very different about these Jews, who had no authority over evil spirits, as JESUS had shown! Rick Renner has a very good explanation of who these 'Jews' really were in his Sparkling Gems From The Greek - Volume 2. I am going to share that here for you!
A Father’s Bad Influence
Then certain of the vagabond Jews, exorcists, took upon them
to call over them which had evil spirits the name of the Lord Jesus, saying, We
adjure thee by Jesus whom Paul preacheth. And there were seven sons of one
Sceva, a Jew, and chief of the priests, which did so. — Acts 19:13,14
Today I want to talk to you about the spiritual role of
fathers — and the immense impact they have upon the lives of their children. I
want to use an example from Acts 19 to make the point, and I ask you to
seriously consider the ramifications of what you are about to read. This is not
a passage that is normally used to teach about the influential role of fathers,
but it tells of a father who started out right but who went astray and, in
doing so, led his seven sons astray with him.
Acts 19:13-17 relates this account:
Then certain of the vagabond Jews, exorcists, took upon them
to call over them which had evil spirits the name of the Lord Jesus, saying, We
adjure thee by Jesus whom Paul preacheth. And there were seven sons of one
Sceva, a Jew, and chief of the priests, which did so. And the evil spirit
answered and said, Jesus I know, and Paul I know; but who are ye? And the man
in whom the evil spirit was leaped on them, and overcame them, and prevailed
against them, so that they fled out of that house naked and wounded. And this
was known to all the Jews and Greeks also dwelling at Ephesus; and fear fell on
them all, and the name of the Lord Jesus was magnified.
Acts 19:13 specifically uses the word “exorcists” to
describe the activity of Sceva and his seven sons. The word “exorcists” is
derived from the Greek word exorkidzo, which depicts those who adjured, implored,
and begged demon spirits to obey. With no real authority over the
spirits, these exorcists resorted to their spells, charms, incantations, and
magical names to try to coax evil spirits to cooperate with them.
Acts 19:14 goes on to tell us that the father of these seven
sons was a man named Sceva. It says, “And there were seven sons of one Sceva, a
Jew, and chief of the priests, which did so.”
“Who was Sceva?” This
man’s identity has been a subject of great debate among biblical scholars over
the years. There is no record that a “chief of the priests” of the
Jews ever lived in Ephesus. Hence, there are scholars who believe the Greek
word used for “chief priest” indicates that Sceva was a renegade Jew who had
backslidden from his Jewish roots and had become involved in the worship of
Artemis at Ephesus. Therefore he was, or had been at some time, a chief
priest in the worship of Artemis.
If these suggestions are true, the text would then convey
the following idea: “And there were seven sons of one Sceva, a Jew — a
wretched, reprobate scoundrel who advertised himself as being great and who
served as one of the high-ranking priests in the worship of Artemis — a man
known for practicing pagan exorcism with his seven sons.”
With all this in mind, it seems likely that this Jewish man
named Sceva converted to paganism and practiced occult rituals forbidden by the
Old Testament — and then led his seven sons into the same practice. It is the
perfect example of a man who has wandered away from the truth — and certainly a
poor spiritual example of a father. Because of his own abandonment of the Word
of God, this man led his sons right along with him into a backslidden spiritual
condition — to the point that they even became involved in the activities of
the occult.
When I meditate on this passage of Scripture, it always
makes me want to pray for fathers in this critical hour. I pray that fathers
will be spiritual leaders in their homes and will lead this next generation in
the direction of a deep commitment to Christ and an authentic, intimate
relationship with the Person and power of the Holy Spirit.
If you know a father who is leading his children astray by a
wrong example, pray for him to change. God can change even the hardest heart.
And if you are a father or mother of this next generation, make it a matter of
serious prayer and determine to wake up to the awesome responsibility God has
charged you with to lead and provide a godly influence for your children and
the younger generations in your life. You have the potential of changing young
lives as you lead others through your authentic and godly example.
Rick has prayed for you (above) and we continue to pray for you, and for Kristine, as you have the awesome responsibility of raising four of God's beautiful princesses in the way that they should go! You have done such a tremendous job so far, and I believe that as you both continue in fellowship with God and His Word, you will be able to nurture these four precious and very unique beauties to find their very own God-given calling and place in life! And your promise is THIS from Proverbs 22:6:
6 Train up a child in the way he should go [and in keeping with his individual gift or bent], and when he is old he will not depart from it.
Amen to that! Here is Hillsong Worship with another new song from their "Awake" album called "From Whom All Blessings Flow":
Love and Shalom from the Swoveys!
