The island natives started building fires to warm the drenched survivors. Paul was helping them by gathering wood. As he placed the wood on the fire, a viper fleeing the heat bit Paul on the hand and hung there. Paul simply shook it off into the fire. The people of Malta knew that this type of snakebite meant immediate death. They watched Paul carefully, waiting for him to exhibit the usual symptoms. After a lengthy wait, and Paul no worse than before, they started assuming he was divine. When you walk in God’s truth people begin to notice.