Guidance through an angel

“And there was an Ethiopian eunuch, a court official of Candace, queen of the Ethiopians, who was in charge of all her treasure.” (1) Philip found the Ethiopian official traveling in the same direction. What Philip saw was a caravan, with the official riding in a chariot in the middle. (2) The Ethiopia referred to here is not the modern-day Ethiopia. In biblical times, Ethiopia referred to the region that included southern Egypt and Sudan (Nubia). In Ethiopia, the king was considered too sacred (the king was the son of the sun god), so all governance was entrusted to the queen. Candace was the title of the queen mother (similar to Pharaoh in Egypt). This eunuch was in charge of all the queen’s treasure. (3) This official was a eunuch. By the way, Deuteronomy 23:1 prohibits eunuchs from entering the assembly of the Lord, but Isaiah 56:3-5 prophesies blessings for eunuchs in the Millennial Kingdom. “And he had come to Jerusalem to worship, and he was returning and sitting in his chariot, and was reading Isaiah the prophet.” (1) At that time, there were three types of Gentiles inclined towards Judaism: (a) God-fearing Gentiles. These are Gentiles who worship the God of Judaism but do not follow Jewish laws. (b) Proselytes of the gate. These are Gentiles who follow some of the Jewish laws but do not undergo circumcision. (c) Converts. These are Gentiles who have fully converted to Judaism. Luke does not specify which level of Gentile this official was, but it was probably either (b) or (c). (2) The Ethiopian official was not the first Gentile to be saved. The first Gentile believer was Cornelius, the centurion. Additionally, this official was not the first convert to be saved either. In Acts 6:5, “Nicolas, a proselyte from Antioch,” is mentioned, and he was saved before this official. (3) This official had gone to Jerusalem to worship and was now on his way back. There are three pilgrimage festivals, but he likely went to Jerusalem for the Passover. (4) He was sitting in his chariot reading a scroll of the book of Isaiah. He probably bought this scroll as a souvenir of his trip to Jerusalem. He was reading aloud from the Greek translation of Isaiah. God sends a messenger in various ways to those who seek the truth. God’s plan is perfect. Let’s continue to walk according to His guidance today.