22.228 | Rise and Go | Acts 8:25-31 | God’s Word for Today with Pastor Nazario Sinon

God’s Word For Today

Acts 8:25-31 ESV

25 Now when they had testified and spoken the word of the Lord, they returned to Jerusalem, preaching the gospel to many villages of the Samaritans. 26 Now an angel of the Lord said to Philip, “Rise and go toward the south[d] to the road that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza.” This is a desert place. 27 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 28 and was returning, seated in his chariot, and he was reading the prophet Isaiah. 29 And the Spirit said to Philip, “Go over and join this chariot.” 30 So Philip ran to him and heard him reading Isaiah the prophet and asked, “Do you understand what you are reading?” 31 And he said, “How can I, unless someone guides me?” And he invited Philip to come up and sit with him.

RISE AND GO

The persecution has opened more opportunities to proclaim the gospel both in Jerusalem and Samaria. Peter should be elated upon seeing the whole city of Samaria having had a great revival and joy because of the gospel. In a sudden, an angel appeared to him and said, “Rise and go toward the south to the road that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza.” This is a desert place.

A commentary from gotquestion.org expressed, “This verse, v.26, features an idiomatic phrase which is easily lost when translated. "South," literally, is "about noon," from the Greek term mesēmbrian. Since Israel is north of the Tropic of Cancer, at noon, the sun is always due-south. "Desert" here can mean uninhabited grassland or wilderness. Where we would say the road "goes down" from Jerusalem to Gaza because it goes south, Jerusalem is higher than Gaza, so the road literally goes downhill. Gaza was a city in the same place it is now—the modern-day Gaza Strip on the coast of the Mediterranean Sea. From Gaza is a major road that goes to Egypt, then south to Ethiopia.”

Philip, without delay, obeyed. He rose and went even when the details were not clear. Lo and behold, out of nowhere in a remote or deserted place came the Ethiopian eunuch riding in a chariot, 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. And, he was reading the prophet Isaiah. Again, the Spirit said to Philip, “Go over and join this chariot.” He started a conversation by asking a question. This led him to be invited by the eunuch to join him to explain the scriptures.

We must be sensitive to the specific calling of God in our lives like Philip. The great ministry exploits in Samaria did not cloud his sensitivity to hear God’s command for him to go to the desert. The external aspect of ministry won’t make one better than the other but doing. Is doing the will of God should be our greatest concern? Or, doing great things for people to see?

Moreover, we must obey God’s will by faith. His will is not revealed to us wholesale. It’s on step by step basis. What could have happened should Philip was not at the roadside? He should miss what the Spirit has to tell him next. Our steps are ordered by the Lord. [Psa 37:23]

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