“So, when they had solemnly testified and spoken the word of the Lord, they started back to Jerusalem, and were preaching the gospel to many villages of the Samaritans.
But an angel of the Lord spoke to Philip saying, “Get up and go south to the road that descends from Jerusalem to Gaza.” (This is a desert road.). so he got up and went; and there was an Ethiopian eunuch, a court official of (the) Candace, queen of the Ethiopians, who was in charge of all her treasure; and he had come to Jerusalem to worship, and he was returning and sitting in his chariot, and was reading the prophet Isaiah: Then the Spirit said to Philip, “Go up and join this chariot.” Philip ran up and heard him reading Isaiah the prophet, and said, ” Do you understand what you are reading?’ And he said, “Well, how could I, unless someone guides me?
Acts 8:25-31
Life was good for Indich as treasurer for the Candace, Queen of the Ethiopians. Tradition says he was named Indich— we are not sure. He enjoyed the trust of the entire realm and was well respected by all. He had a compliment of servants, his own chariot, a spacious house on the Nile where the fifth cataract ran its white water past what is now called Sudan.
His parents thought that they were insuring their son’s good fortune when they had him castrated at a tender age. In general, all eunuchs rose in rank and prominence, and filled the most importance posts of the court.
But as a grown man, these things didn’t quiet the longing down deep in his heart for his posterity—for sons and daughters. He was a proselyte to the God of Israel. And although he was prohibited from entering the temple proper due to his castration (Deut. 23:1), he had heard it read to him from the Prophet Isaiah, a word of hope: “Let not the foreigner who has joined himself to the Lord say,’The Lord will surely separate me from His people.’ Nor let the eunuch say, ‘Behold, I am a dry tree.’ For thus says the Lord, ‘ To the eunuchs who keep My sabbaths, and choose what pleases Me, and hold fast My covenant, To them I will give in My house and within My walls a memorial, And a name better than that of sons and daughters; I will give them an everlasting name which will not be cut off.” Isa. 56:3-5
The Holy Spirit had an angel interrupt Philip, who was in the middle of an exciting move of God back in Samaria, saying: “Get up and go south to the road that descends from Jerusalem to Gaza….So he got up and went.” No “if’s”, no “and’s”, or “but’s”. Philip remembered Jesus’ teaching about the shepherd leaving the ninety-nine in the open pasture and going after the one which is lost until he finds it. (Luke 15:4-5)
Miraculously, Philip caught up with the chariot, to hear the Ethiopian reading from Isaiah. Philip asked the Ethiopian in Greek (the lingua franca of that day), “Do you understand what you are reading?”
Then Philip told him the good news about Jesus. How God sent His Son to die in our place. “In his humiliation he was deprived of justice. Who can speak of his descendants? For his life was taken from the earth.” (Isa.53:33). The prophet spoke of a Suffering Servant who was taken from the earth without descendants. The eunuch resonated with this God who understood his heart’s deepest sorrow. Right then and there He believed and trusted in Jesus, the God of his salvation.
As it happened, along this arid road, there was a stream in the desert. “Look, here is water. What can stand in the way of my being baptized? And he gave orders to stop the chariot. Then both Philip and the eunuch went down into the water and Philip baptized him. When they came up out of the water, The Spirit of the Lord suddenly took Philip away, and the eunuch did not see him again, but went on his way rejoicing.” (8:36-39)
Whatever became of Indich? The church fathers date the evangelization of the Nubian area, south of Sudan, around this time, and could well have been planted by Indich. The mission in Africa began there, long before Paul ever took the Gospel to Europe.
And as he went rejoicing, planting seeds of the Gospel, he remembered the Word of the Lord: “Nor let the eunuch say, ‘I am a dry tree.’ I will give him a name better than that of sons and daughters…..an everlasting name …Jesus.
Questions To Think About:
But an angel of the Lord spoke to Philip saying, “Get up and go south to the road that descends from Jerusalem to Gaza.” (This is a desert road.). so he got up and went; and there was an Ethiopian eunuch, a court official of (the) Candace, queen of the Ethiopians, who was in charge of all her treasure; and he had come to Jerusalem to worship, and he was returning and sitting in his chariot, and was reading the prophet Isaiah: Then the Spirit said to Philip, “Go up and join this chariot.” Philip ran up and heard him reading Isaiah the prophet, and said, ” Do you understand what you are reading?’ And he said, “Well, how could I, unless someone guides me?
Acts 8:25-31
Life was good for Indich as treasurer for the Candace, Queen of the Ethiopians. Tradition says he was named Indich— we are not sure. He enjoyed the trust of the entire realm and was well respected by all. He had a compliment of servants, his own chariot, a spacious house on the Nile where the fifth cataract ran its white water past what is now called Sudan.
His parents thought that they were insuring their son’s good fortune when they had him castrated at a tender age. In general, all eunuchs rose in rank and prominence, and filled the most importance posts of the court.
But as a grown man, these things didn’t quiet the longing down deep in his heart for his posterity—for sons and daughters. He was a proselyte to the God of Israel. And although he was prohibited from entering the temple proper due to his castration (Deut. 23:1), he had heard it read to him from the Prophet Isaiah, a word of hope: “Let not the foreigner who has joined himself to the Lord say,’The Lord will surely separate me from His people.’ Nor let the eunuch say, ‘Behold, I am a dry tree.’ For thus says the Lord, ‘ To the eunuchs who keep My sabbaths, and choose what pleases Me, and hold fast My covenant, To them I will give in My house and within My walls a memorial, And a name better than that of sons and daughters; I will give them an everlasting name which will not be cut off.” Isa. 56:3-5
The Holy Spirit had an angel interrupt Philip, who was in the middle of an exciting move of God back in Samaria, saying: “Get up and go south to the road that descends from Jerusalem to Gaza….So he got up and went.” No “if’s”, no “and’s”, or “but’s”. Philip remembered Jesus’ teaching about the shepherd leaving the ninety-nine in the open pasture and going after the one which is lost until he finds it. (Luke 15:4-5)
Miraculously, Philip caught up with the chariot, to hear the Ethiopian reading from Isaiah. Philip asked the Ethiopian in Greek (the lingua franca of that day), “Do you understand what you are reading?”
Then Philip told him the good news about Jesus. How God sent His Son to die in our place. “In his humiliation he was deprived of justice. Who can speak of his descendants? For his life was taken from the earth.” (Isa.53:33). The prophet spoke of a Suffering Servant who was taken from the earth without descendants. The eunuch resonated with this God who understood his heart’s deepest sorrow. Right then and there He believed and trusted in Jesus, the God of his salvation.
As it happened, along this arid road, there was a stream in the desert. “Look, here is water. What can stand in the way of my being baptized? And he gave orders to stop the chariot. Then both Philip and the eunuch went down into the water and Philip baptized him. When they came up out of the water, The Spirit of the Lord suddenly took Philip away, and the eunuch did not see him again, but went on his way rejoicing.” (8:36-39)
Whatever became of Indich? The church fathers date the evangelization of the Nubian area, south of Sudan, around this time, and could well have been planted by Indich. The mission in Africa began there, long before Paul ever took the Gospel to Europe.
And as he went rejoicing, planting seeds of the Gospel, he remembered the Word of the Lord: “Nor let the eunuch say, ‘I am a dry tree.’ I will give him a name better than that of sons and daughters…..an everlasting name …Jesus.
Questions To Think About:
- Philip left a thriving ministry in Samaria to go to a “desert road” for a single person. When have you felt the Holy Spirit *interrupt” your current success or comfort to lead you toward something that seemed less significant or more isolated?
- Philip went with no “if’s, ands, or but’s”. Is there a specific nudge from God you have been over-analyzing or delaying? What would “getting up and going” look like for you today?
- The eunuch struggled with the feeling of being a “dry tree” without a legacy. In what areas of your life do you feel “fruitless “ or excluded from certain blessings? How does the promise in Isaiah 56:3-5 change your perspective on those areas?
- God promised the eunuch a name better than a traditional family lineage. How does this redefine your definition of a “successful” life? Are you more focused on building a temporary earthly legacy or an “everlasting name”?
- Indich went home rejoicing and likely planted the seeds of the Gospel in Africa long before the message reached Europe. How does it change your motivation to realize that your “one-on-one” interactions today could impact an entire community or generation later?
Posted in All My Children