Luke the physician wrote how, “the angel of the Lord spoke unto Philip, saying, Arise, and go toward the south unto the way that goes down from Jerusalem unto Gaza, which is desert”, and in chapter eight and verse twenty-seven of the book of Acts Luke shared about, “a man of Ethiopia”, where we read:
And he arose and went: and, behold, a man of Ethiopia, an eunuch of great authority under Candace queen of the Ethiopians, who had the charge of all her treasure, and had come to Jerusalem for to worship,
The verse begins, “And he arose and went:” Luke began with the words, “and he arose” which means “and Philip rose up or stood forth” “and went” or “and departed or left”. Luke shared how “Philip” obeyed the “angel of the Lord”, rose up and went toward “Gaza”.
The verse continues, “and, behold, a man of Ethiopia, an eunuch of great authority under Candace queen of the Ethiopians, who had the charge of all her treasure, and had come to Jerusalem for to worship,”. Luke added the words, “and, behold” which means “and look, lo and consider”, “a man of Ethiopia” or “a male human being from Ethiopia which means black and was from the country in Africa which adjoins Egypt”, “an eunuch of great authority” which means “an emasculated man and naturally incapacitated who had large and abundant power such as a prince, potentate, courtier, high officer or royal minister” “under Candace” or “beneath Candace whose name means prince of servants and was a proper name of a dynasty of Ethiopian queens” “queen of the Ethiopians” which means “who was the queen of Ethiopia”, “who had the charge” or “who oversaw and was in authority” “of all her treasure” which means “over each, every and the whole lot of Candace's royal riches”, “and had come to Jerusalem” or “and arose and appeared in Jerusalem whose name means set you double peace and is the capital of Palestine” “for to worship” which means “to make obeisance, supplicate and do homage”. Luke shared how the “eunuch from Ethiopia” was over “all the treasure” of the “queen” of Ethiopia named “Candace”, and he appeared in “Jerusalem” to pay homage and worship to God.
When we consider Luke's words in this verse, we learn how “Philip” was obedient to the “angel's” instruction for him to leave “Samaria” and go to “Gaza”. “Philip” only had that single word from the Lord, and he followed it. Little did he know at the time there would be a man who was a “eunuch with great authority” from Ethiopia traveling from Jerusalem where he had been to worship. God had a plan to reach this “one man” in his travels, and although there was an outpouring of God's Spirit upon “Samaria”, God called “Philip” to go toward this single individual. God desires to reach every person in the world with His “gospel”, and He uses people to spread His word. God sent His Son Jesus into the world to die for the sins of everyone, and anyone who yields their life to Him, regardless of their location and origin, He will forgive them and grant them everlasting life. Let all who read these words see the purpose and plan of God to reach “one man” and realize, He intends to reach every other person in the world as well.
Next time Luke shares how the man of Ethiopia, “was returning, and sitting in his chariot read Esaias”, so read ahead, and we shall join together then.
Until tomorrow…there is more…
Look for the daily devotional book “Equipped for Battle – From Generation to Generation”, the marriage book “So, You Want to Be Married”, “One Year in the Sermon on the Mount” and the new poetry book "Random Mushrooms Volumes I and II" and the new novel "Elizabeth County" in all major bookstore sites, http://www.amazon.com ; http://www.barnesandnobles.com ; download to e-books, and find it locally at www.mrzlc.com/bookstore. All references are from "Strongs Concordance".
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