Paul was upset with the fortune-telling slave girl because she was the wrong source of truth. Acts 16: 16 One day as we were going down to the place of prayer, we met a slave girl who had a spirit that enabled her to tell the future. She earned a lot of money for her masters by telling fortunes. 17 She followed Paul and the rest of us, shouting, “These men are servants of the Most High God, and they have come to tell you how to be saved.”
18 This went on day after day until Paul got so exasperated that he turned and said to the demon within her, “I command you in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her.” And instantly it left her. [1]
“Evil (unclean) spirits, or demons, are ruled by Satan. Satan did not create them, because only God can create. Evil spirits and demons are fallen angels who joined Satan in his rebellion and thus became perverted and evil. At times, these evil spirits enter people’s bodies, take up residence, and control them.”[2]
You Can’t Trust Satan
Fortune-telling was common in Roman and Greek cultures. Many sought omens from various sources. Here the source is evil. Paul and the mission team were having success as Lydia and others came to faith. Satan did not like losing people from his kingdom and began to push back by using the demon in the slave girl.
The slave girl was telling the truth, even if it was vague. Some Gentiles considered Zeus to be the most high God, while we know that the true God is the most high. These same Gentiles might interpret being saved as being prosperous or healthy. We know God saves us from our sins through the blood of Jesus, which makes us new creations with the promise of eternity with Him.
Since the girl was telling the truth, why was Paul so exasperated? Satan can’t be trusted. He is the father of lies. John 8:44b He (satan) has always hated the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, it is consistent with his character; for he is a liar and the father of lies.[3] If Paul allowed the girl to continue, he would appear to connect his message with satan. The evil spirit was telling the truth at this point but could later lie. The unsaved listeners would not know the difference.
God Given Discernment
As we grow closer to God, we can better hear Him and receive wisdom from Him. 1 John 4:1 Dear friends, do not believe everyone who claims to speak by the Spirit. You must test them to see if the spirit they have comes from God. For there are many false prophets in the world. 2 This is how we know if they have the Spirit of God: If a person claiming to be a prophet acknowledges that Jesus Christ came in a real body, that person has the Spirit of God.
3 But if someone claims to be a prophet and does not acknowledge the truth about Jesus, that person is not from God. Such a person has the spirit of the Antichrist, which you heard is coming into the world and indeed is already here. [4] As we follow Jesus, He will enable us to detect the right and wrong source of truth. To learn more, listen here:
https://podpoint.com/light-of-christ-church-podcast/singing-in-jail
[1,3,4] Tyndale House Publishers. (2015). Holy Bible: New Living Translation. Tyndale House Publishers.
[2] Barton, B. B., & Osborne, G. R. (1999). Acts (p. 80). Tyndale House.