The Smiths

I’ve entitled our message for this evening, “The Smiths.” Have you heard about the Smiths? Take for instance Zipporah Smith. “Who’s that?” you may say. Well, her husband, Moses, was used by God to deliver the Israelites from their bondage in Egypt. You see, Zipporah was a Kenite, and the word “Kenite” means “smith.”(1)

I’m sure you’ve heard about the Jones’ before, because people are always keeping up with them. But did you know that people were keeping up with the Smiths first? Mark Twain made an allusion to both the Smith and Jones families with regard to social custom in the essay “Corn Pone Opinions,” written in 1901. Twain pointed out how the outside influences are always pouring in on us, and we are always obeying their orders and accepting their verdicts. He alludes to how the Smiths like a new play; and therefore, in trying to keep up with the Smiths, the Jones’ go to see it, and then they copy the Smith’s verdict and give a raving review.(2)

So, what does the name Smith mean? The name Smith is defined simply by its own name. A smith is a worker of metals. This evening we are going to look at two smiths. Their last names are not really “Smith,” but they are workers of metal. One is a coppersmith and the other a silversmith. So let us see what this is all about, beginning with Mr. Alexander Smith!

Alexander “Smith” (2 Timothy 4:14-16)

14 Alexander the coppersmith did me much harm. May the Lord repay him according to his works. 15 You also must beware of him, for he has greatly resisted our words. 16 At my first defense no one stood with me, but all forsook me. May it not be charged against them.

As I was searching for a passage to preach, the name “Alexander” leapt out from the page and caught my eye. These verses puzzled me for a while, and I asked myself, “What did this Alexander do to Paul that was so bad?” Well, I got out a book on the writings of Paul, called Paul: Apostle of the Heart Set Free, written by commentator F. F. Bruce. I looked up the name Alexander in the index, found a short paragraph that gave a brief explanation, and was then led to Acts chapter 19. So who was this Alexander? Well, we will begin our investigation by looking at another “Smith,” whom I will call Demetrius Smith, and his account begins in Acts chapter 19, verses 23-27.

Demetrius “Smith” (Acts 19:23-27)

23 And about that time there arose a great commotion about the Way. 24 For a certain man named Demetrius, a silversmith, who made silver shrines of Diana, brought no small profit to the craftsmen. 25 He called them together with the workers of similar occupation, and said: “Men, you know that we have our prosperity by this trade. 26 Moreover you see and hear that not only at Ephesus, but throughout almost all Asia, this Paul has persuaded and turned away many people, saying that they are not gods which are made with hands. 27 So not only is this trade of ours in danger of falling into disrepute, but also the temple of the great goddess Diana may be despised and her magnificence destroyed, whom all Asia and the world worship.”

Earlier in chapter 19, we learn that many of the Ephesians had turned their lives over to Christ and gave up their witchcraft and spell casting. Since people were turning their lives over to Jesus, they no longer worshipped evil forces or idols. This lack of interest in idols and the goddess Diana hurt the businesses of the silver smiths and copper smiths. We see that a silversmith named Demetrius stood up and tried to dissuade people from following the “Way” – or from joining those who worshipped Christ – and he did so, in order to keep his business going.

This scene is similar to one found in Acts chapter 16, verses 16-22. The scene in Acts chapter sixteen supplements this passage quite well. Ephesus was a city of witchcraft and spell casting, and the scene that unfolds in Acts chapter sixteen involves a woman who was a fortuneteller.

Acts 16:16-17 says, “Now it happened, as we went to prayer, that a certain slave girl possessed with a spirit of divination met us, who brought her masters much profit by fortune-telling. This girl followed Paul and us, and cried out, saying, ‘These men are the servants of the Most High God, who proclaim to us the way of salvation’.”

After this woman followed Paul for several days, he became frustrated and cast out the spirit that was in the woman. The woman’s masters got mad when she could not tell fortunes anymore, because they lost their profits. They then drug Paul and Silas into the market place and beat and whipped them.