Now an angel of the Lord said to Philip, “Rise and go toward the south to the road that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza.” This is a desert place. And he rose and went. And there was an Ethiopian, a eunuch, a court official of Candace, queen of the Ethiopians, who was in charge of all her treasure. He had come to Jerusalem to worship and was returning, seated in his chariot, and he was reading the prophet Isaiah. And the Spirit said to Philip, “Go over and join this chariot.” So Philip ran to him and heard him reading Isaiah the prophet and asked, “Do you understand what you are reading?” And he said, “How can I, unless someone guides me?” And he invited Philip to come up and sit with him. Now the passage of the Scripture that he was reading was this:
“Like a sheep he was led to the slaughter
and like a lamb before its shearer is silent,
so he opens not his mouth.
In his humiliation justice was denied him.
Who can describe his generation?
For his life is taken away from the earth.”
And the eunuch said to Philip, “About whom, I ask you, does the prophet say this, about himself or about someone else?” Then Philip opened his mouth, and beginning with this Scripture he told him the good news about Jesus. And as they were going along the road they came to some water, and the eunuch said, “See, here is water! What prevents me from being baptized?” And he commanded the chariot to stop, and they both went down into the water, Philip and the eunuch, and he baptized him. And when they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord carried Philip away, and the eunuch saw him no more, and went on his way rejoicing. Acts 8:26-40
The Open Heart of the Ethiopian Eunuch
I love this short story! Here we have Philip, who is instructed by God and obeys immediately. However, we also have one of the most fascinating characters in the Bible, the Ethiopian Eunuch. This Ethiopian man served in the court of Candace, a historically famous queen who was known for her military tactics. He was in charge of all her treasure. It seems unusual to me that this Ethiopian has already been to Jerusalem to worship. He obviously has adopted Judaism as his faith which had to be rare for his nationality and position, but he doesn’t know about Jesus yet.
The Revealed Word of God
The Ethiopian Eunuch is reading a prophecy from scripture in the chariot on his return home from Jerusalem. He doesn’t understand the Word of God. God can see his open heart and desire to know more and acts on his behalf. He sends Philip to teach the Ethiopian about what he is reading.
The Good News
Philip uses this prophecy to share the gospel with the Ethiopian Eunuch. Jesus is the fulfillment of the scripture he is reading without comprehension. The Messiah has come!
Joy is the Proper Response
The Ethiopian Eunuch responds with belief, obedience to the instruction to be baptized, and joy. He is an example to us in how to respond to the Word of God when God brings understanding. We cannot come to a knowledge of God without His divine help. We do not understand scripture without his teaching us. We have to have open hearts and a desire to know Him more. We respond with belief, obedience, and joy like the Ethiopian Eunuch.
ACTION STEP:
This week, let’s open our hearts to God and His Word, praying that He will help us understand and respond with belief, obedience, and joy. Our second action step is really simple:
Join the Facebook group @DevoInAction (https://www.facebook.com/devoinaction) and introduce yourself to us (I will have a post where we can all introduce ourselves in the comments)! Share your thoughts about this week’s devotional or post a pic of your journaling under Summer Series Week 1 or post on Instagram and tag me @devoinaction! The hashtag for this series is #diawitnesses. 🙂
THEN, comment on someone else’s post to encourage and build them up in the Lord! Let’s not just share our art but also the heart of what God is speaking to us with one another.
PRAYER:
Dear God, Thank you for your Word that brings us belief and joy! We are so grateful for a cloud of witnesses who have gone before us, setting an example for us and cheering us on. Open our hearts to believe and our minds to understand as we study your Word during this series. In Jesus’ name, amen.
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