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 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, Was returning, and sitting in his chariot read Esaias the prophet. Then the Spirit said unto Philip, Go near, and join yourself to this chariot. And Philip ran there to him, and heard him read the prophet Esaias, and said, do you understand what you read? And he said, How can I, except some man should guide me? And he desired Philip that he would come up and sit with him”, and in chapter eight and verse thirty-two of the book of Acts Luke shared how, “the place of the scripture which he read was this, He was led as a sheep to the slaughter” where we read:
The place of the scripture which he read was this, He was led as a sheep to the slaughter;
and like a lamb dumb before his shearer, so opened he not his mouth:
The verse begins, “The place of the scripture which he read was this, He was led as a sheep to the slaughter;” Luke began with the words, “the place of the scripture” which means “the certain contents or passage written within the Holy Scripture” “which he read was this” or “that the Ethiopian man distinguished between, recognized and acknowledged were the following words”, “He was led” which means “the man was guided, directed and brought” “as a sheep to the slaughter” or “like a four footed tame animal which was accustomed to graze going to be butchered”. Luke shared how the Ethiopian man was reading the passage of Holy Scripture where it says, “He was led like a sheep” that was going to be butchered. (See Isaiah 53:7)
The verse goes on to say, “and like a lamb dumb before his shearer, so opened he not his mouth:” Luke continued with the words, “and like a lamb” which means “and even as the small four footed tame animal which was accustomed to graze” “dumb before his shearer” or “voiceless and without the faculty of speech in the presence of the lamb being shorn or having it's hair cut”, “so opened he not his mouth” which means “in this manner and thus the certain man written about did not open the orifice in his face which was used for eating and speaking”. Luke shared how the Ethiopian man was reading where Isaiah said the man he was writing about did not say a word as he was led to be “shorn”. (See Isaiah 53:7)
When we think through Luke's words in this verse, we learn how the Ethiopian man was reading Isaiah's prophesy concerning Jesus. Jesus was silent as the authorities judged Him, and He fulfilled the words of Isaiah in doing so. God lead this Ethiopian man to the passage concerning His Son Jesus, and when a person opens their heart and mind to receive from God, He will lead them to understand His sacrifice for their sins so they may live with Him forever. Let all who read these words carefully examine the evidence in prophetic scripture concerning Jesus, and when they understand He is the “Savior and Lord” of the world, may they yield their lives to Him.
Next time Luke shares how the scripture continued, “in his humiliation his judgment was taken away”, 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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