GOD’S PROVIDENCES COOPERATE.
-ACTS
8:29-39.-MARCH 16.-
“With the heart man believeth unto righteousness, and with the mouth
confession is made unto salvation.”-Rom. 10:10.
DIVINE PROVIDENCES in
our experiences as Christians should be sought for, if we would find them and
enjoy their blessings to the full. But this requires faith, in a larger
measure than we at first possess; and the increase of faith requires knowledge
and experience. Our lesson illustrates God’s providential care over his people
from two standpoints: (1) His care for those who are seeking the light of
truth; his intention that their earnest longings for it shall be rewarded, and
his provision that the truth shall reach them under favorable conditions. (2)
The Lord’s willingness to use in his service, as instruments of his providence,
those of his consecrated people who put themselves in the proper condition for
his service.
Deacon Philip, the instrument of divine providence in starting the
Ethiopian eunuch in the narrow way of discipleship-and through him possibly
introducing the good tidings into Africa-we have already seen was just such a
man as the Lord is pleased to use as his mouthpiece in the service of the
truth. Having proven himself faithful in the inferior work of serving tables,
he had been advanced, and been made an ambassador for God in the preaching of
the Gospel at Samaria; and the present lesson shows him still further guided
and used of the Lord in his blessed service. There is an encouraging lesson
here for all who have the same spirit-the same desire to serve the Lord and his
cause. Faithfulness in little things is sure to bring larger opportunities.
We are not informed by what means the Lord “spake to Philip,” sending him
to the road in which he would find the eunuch’s chariot. We may be sure
however, that the indication was sufficiently clear to Philip to be more than a
mere guess or impression. We are to remember, too, that it was at a time when
the Lord used miraculous means of communication, more than at present-doubtless
for R2964 : page 70 the very purpose of establishing the faith of his
servants as well as their work. Today we walk more by faith, less by sight and
miracle. Yet so bright is the light of truth now shining upon the divine plan
and Word that we may safely say that we have much advantage every way, even
over those of that time. We are to remember that up to the time of this lesson
there were no New Testament writings; nothing, therefore, aside from the Law
and the Prophets to assist and guide the apostles and early evangelists except
the more or less miraculous interpositions of God’s providence.
Even after we have learned of God’s particular care for all of his people,
we are inclined to surprise that a solitary individual should be so
particularly cared for as was this eunuch;-that a special messenger should be
sent to him for his instruction in righteousness. Very evidently divine
providence does not guard the going of all mankind to this same degree. Very
evidently there was something in the character of this eunuch, something in his
heart-attitude toward God, that was pleasing and acceptable to the Lord, and
caused the working of this miracle on his behalf-that he might have needed
instruction in the truth.
The eunuch belonged to the kingdom of Meroe, which lay on the right bank
of the Nile River, from its junction with the Atbara-as far south as Khartoum,
and thence to the east of the Blue Nile to the mountains of Abyssinia. He was
a court officer, evidently deeply religious, who had come in contact with, and
been impressed by, the Jewish religion; and in his religious fervor he had gone
up to Jerusalem to worship, and to gain additional knowledge of the true God.
His case, like that of the Samaritans and of Cornelius, indicates that this
occurrence was after the close of Israel’s “seventy weeks,” of special favor,
for this eunuch was not a Jew in the fullest sense,-eunuchs not being fully
accepted as proselytes, nor granted the privileges of the congregation. (Deut.
23:1.) Up to this time the eunuch, like Cornelius and the believing
Samaritans, had been a part of the Lazarus class, lying at the gate of Dives,
desiring to be fed with some of the crumbs from the bountiful table of blessing
and promises which God had spread for Israel. Now the change had come. The
house of Israel had been cast off; the end of Israel’s special favor as
respects the Gospel had R2965 : page 70 come; and the time for receiving the
Lazarus class to Abraham’s bosom had arrived. Philip, as an angel or messenger
of the Lord, was sent to carry this representative of the Lazarus class to the
arms of father Abraham, as a true child of Abraham, through faith.
The eunuch had been to the head center of the religion which he esteemed
to be the true one. He had come away from Jerusalem with a manuscript copy of
one of the holy prophets-Isaiah-a treasure in those times, costly. That his
manuscript was written in the Greek language, and not in the Hebrew, seems to
be indicated by the word Esaias, which is the Greek form of Isaiah. He was
hungering and thirsting for the truth, and making his best possible endeavor to
obtain it, as is evidenced by his purchase of the manuscript, and his long
journey, and his reading. That he was doing more than simply reading,-that he
was studying, is evidenced by his language to Philip. Can we wonder that God’s
special providences would be manifested toward such an one-toward a person in
such a condition of heart, hungering and thirsting for the truth? We cannot
wonder at it. It is in full accord with the Lord’s promise, that such shall be
filled; that such seekers shall find; that such knockers shall have the door of
truth opened to them. Let us remember that we are under the care of the same
God, and that he changes not; and let us learn the lesson that he is as well
able today as ever to assist the sincere truth-seeker.
Another lesson connected with this matter pertains to times and seasons.
God could have directed the eunuch to the meeting of the Church at Jerusalem,
and to the instructions of the apostles there. But this probably would not
have been so favorable for the eunuch. After receiving the apostolic
instruction he might have referred the matter to the scribes and Pharisees, and
have received in return explanations more or less confusing. In the Lord’s
providence he quite likely heard something of the Christians, and their claims
that Messiah had come and had been crucified, and he quite probably knew the other
side of the story, that the chief priests and teachers claimed that the whole
matter was a fraud, an imposition. Possibly these very thoughts had led him to
procure the manuscript he was reading, and had brought him into the attitude of
mind favorable for the reception of the truth when Philip expounded it.
Let us learn from this, not only in respect to our own affairs, but also
in respect to the general service of the truth, to trust implicitly in divine
wisdom and power-to remember that the Lord knoweth them that are his, and that
he knoweth how best to bring them in contact with the truth. Properly learned,
this lesson will not slack our hands in the divine service; for true servants
will still be anxious and ready to serve, as was Philip; but it will serve to
strengthen our hearts and to take from us that fearfulness that is a hindrance
to the peace of many of God’s children. Let us not fear for the Lord’s Word,
but remember his declaration, through the Prophet, “My word, that goeth forth
out of my mouth, shall not return unto me void; it shall accomplish that which
I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it.”-Isa. 55:11.
The chariot probably overtook and passed Philip in the road, the eunuch
driving leisurely, in order that he might read. He was reading aloud, after
the custom of that time and country, and according to the injunctions laid upon
the people by the Jewish teachers. Indeed, it was one of the Jewish rules that
the faithful, in traveling, should read if they had no companionship. We are
not informed how the spirit told Philip to hail the eunuch; possibly in the
same miraculous way in which he was sent to this road, or possibly having been
sent to this road he was on the look-out for the object of his mission, and
hearing the eunuch reading from the prophecy, Philip may have understood at
once that this was the favored person, R2965 : page 71 and a favorable time
for delivering the message to the service of which his life had been
consecrated. This gives us a suggestion-all of the
Lord’s people, in proportion as they desire to be the servants of the truth,
should be continually on the alert to note opportunities for service, and
should expect to be guided and used of the Lord. All of the Lord’s people are
ministers, servants, of the truth; and each should seek to use every
opportunity presenting itself, knowing not which may be specially prospered of
the Lord. Wherever we see evidences of devotion to the Lord and to his Word,
we should be on the alert to extend a helping hand. We should, as
Philip did, seek an opportunity for conversing with such, with a view to
giving them the help which they need, the very assistance which the Lord has
extended to us through some channel. We are to be on
the alert to pass along the blessing which we have received, and to esteem that
this is the chief business of life with those who have consecrated themselves
to the service of the King of kings.
Philip’s inquiry, “Understandest thou what thou readest?” may not
always be well received; but it was a very direct way of approaching his
errand. It is well to use tact, but we have the thought that many of the
Lord’s people are inclined to use rather too much tact, and are not
sufficiently direct in their endeavors to present the Gospel message. Had
Philip been too much under the control of this wrong sentiment respecting tact,
he might have talked to the eunuch quite a while about the weather and the
crops; about his home in Ethiopia; the peace and prosperity of that country;
its exports and imports; and the religious status of the people; and might thus
gradually have gotten his hearer’s mind quite off the most important of all
subjects. Considering that he heard him and knew the subject of his study, we
cannot think of a better introduction to his message than the method and
language which Philip adopted: “Understandest thou what thou readest?”
This was a test question, so to speak. If the eunuch did have an
understanding of what he was reading he would take no offence at this, but
would gladly have said, “Yes, friend, I thank God that I do, and the knowledge
is very precious to me. Do you also understand it?” But had he been of the
wrong condition of heart his answer might have been, with more or less
manifestation of offence, “What is that to you? Mind your own business.” Or
had he been of a hypocritical cast of mind, like the Pharisees to whom Jesus
spoke, he would have professed a knowledge of the subject, and then, to cover
his own ignorance of it, he would have made some general remarks and have
turned the subject into another channel. We are not to expect those who are in
the Pharisaical condition to receive the truth from us, any more than from the
Lord. We are to know, according to the Lord’s Word, that the truth is
purposely hidden from all not in the right attitude of heart to receive it-it
is indefinite, indistinct, unintelligible to them. This is one difficulty with
the teachers of churchianity today; like the Pharisees and scribes and chief
priests of old, they say, “Are we blind also?” They claim to know; but we know
that they know that they don’t know. Therefore, as our Lord said to their
prototypes, their blindness continues; for no one can expect to be taught of
God while in that self-sufficient and dishonest condition of mind which boasts
of knowledge and the faith which it lacks.-John 5:40,41.
All those to whom the Lord specially sends the message of his grace during
this Gospel age are in considerable degree like this eunuch of our lesson-
earnest, honest, truth-seekers, not afraid to acknowledge that they do not
know, and not afraid nor ashamed to receive whatever assistance the Lord may
provide. The eunuch did not stop to inquire of Philip, “Are you a priest? or a
Pharisee? or a Doctor of the Law?” It was sufficient to him that he held in
his hand what he believed to be a message from God, and that he knew it
contained various statements, promises, etc., which he did not understand. He
believed that the God who gave this prophecy was both able and willing to
furnish an interpretation of it, and he was seeking that interpretation; and
whoever could give such an interpretation as would shed light upon his
questions would by that means be proven a teacher of God, a servant of the
truth, a light-bearer.
The eunuch’s answer implied this, when he said, “How can I understand,
unless some man should guide me?” So earnest was he in his quest of the truth
that the bare suggestion of assistance implied in Philip’s question was
sufficient to arouse fully his interest; and he entreated Philip to have a seat
with him in his chariot, and thus grant him the benefit of whatever information
could be given. We are not surprised that a heart so noble, and yet so humble
and teachable, should be specially favored of the Lord, and have a messenger
sent specially to him for his instruction, while others by the million were
passed by-not esteemed worthy. It is the same today; and while the Lord does
not generally direct his people in the miraculous manner in which he directed
Philip to the eunuch, we nevertheless have general instructions along the same
line; viz., “Preach the Gospel to the meek.” “He that hath an ear,
let him hear.”-Isa. 61:1; Matt. 13:9; Rev. 2:7.
Our message, as the Prophet declares, is to bind up broken hearts, and not
to break hearts: we are to preach to the meek, and not to the froward, the
Gospel of Christ. The hard hearts, and the froward, God will deal with in
another way. He will break them upon the anvil of affliction and trouble and
discipline in his own due time and manner. Meantime, in this Gospel age, he is
seeking for the Bride amongst those who are already broken, and already to some
extent meek and teachable. We should not waste our time in futile efforts,
contrary to this Scriptural rule. Let those who have not the Gospel, but who
have merely a message of reformation, preach political reforms, social reforms,
moral reforms. The Lord’s Word to his consecrated servants, the Royal
Priesthood, is, “Preach the good tidings to the meek, bind up the broken
hearted!”
It was evidently not of chance, but of providence that the eunuch had
under consideration the particular part of Isaiah’s prophecy which refers to
our Lord as the Lamb before his shearers opening not his R2966 : page 72
mouth in protest; telling about his humiliation, and how his life would be
taken from the earth; and instituting a query respecting his posterity. No
wonder the poor eunuch was mystified; no wonder the Jews were all mystified.
Unquestionably this prophecy, like the majority of prophecies, could be but
imperfectly comprehended until fulfilled-could be understood only in the light
of its fulfillment, and then only by those in a proper attitude of heart and
under the instruction, the guidance, of the holy spirit.
We should notice in this connection, (1) that while the Scriptures are
“the sword of the spirit, the Word of God,” able to make wise, they cannot be
understood until the Lord’s due time. (2) They can only be understood under
the leading and instruction of the holy spirit, and yet (3) the holy spirit was
not exercised upon the truth-seeker either through the Scriptures nor through
any mental process, but through the living representative of the
spirit,-through the Gospel message, delivered by a fellow-servant. The true
child of God, the real truth-seeker, following the proper lines, and properly
trusting to the Lord, according to his Word, will neither ignore nor reject the
assistance which God has been pleased to render through teachers in the
Church. He will merely seek to find such teachers as God shall raise up, and
the distinction between these and sectarian teachers; and one of his best,
safest and surest methods of knowing the teachers whom the Lord will raise up,
will be by their ability to make simple, clear, plain, the Word of
God,-“written aforetime for our admonition.” This was the only credential
offered by Philip in his ministry of the truth. He had been taught of God
through the apostles, and was now able, in turn, to communicate to the hearing
ear of the eunuch the simple story of how Christ had come into the world to
redeem the world, had died for man’s sins, had arisen, and ascended up to
glory: that now, meantime, before blessing the world through Christ according
to promise, God was calling out an elect “little flock” to be joint-heirs with
Jesus in the Kingdom; and that as soon as this election should be completed the
Messiah (Jesus, the Head, and the Church, his body) would be manifested in
glory and in ruling and blessing power to the world of mankind,-the long
looked-for Messiah, whose work had been foretold by all the holy prophets since
the world began.
Philip undoubtedly further explained to the eunuch, that those who
accepted Christ as their Savior, and who desired to become his disciples,
taking up their cross to follow him, should give their assent to this matter by
baptism. Apparently it did not take the eunuch long to decide what his course
should be, and his readiness of heart to follow the Lamb, whithersoever he
would lead, is indicated by his promptness to be baptized.
Philip was ready to receive him as a fellow-member of the Church of
Christ, and ready to give him the symbol of introduction into the body of
Christ-baptism-as soon as he gave evidence of having accepted the Lord, and
having made consecration to him. He made no request that the eunuch learn the
catechism, nor that he confess something else such as well-meaning but mistaken
men in the dark ages promulgated as necessary, and as explanatory of the Bible.
Neither did he say, “Now I will write your name, and you will be considered a
member of the Church on that account, and I will procure for you some authority
to preach the Gospel in Ethiopia.” No; at that time the subject had not been
confused and befogged as now. Philip preached the Gospel in its simplicity,
and the eunuch received it in like manner; and with the Gospel itself went the
right and authority to declare it. “He that hath my word let him speak my
word.” (Jer. 23:28.) All who have received the anointing of the spirit, the
unction from the holy one, are thus recognized as members of the “royal
priesthood,” and fully commissioned to tell forth the good tidings.
This is in full accord with our Golden Text which does not say, “With the
mouth a creed is confessed,” which is neither understood by the head nor
believed in the heart, and thus a membership is gained in a nominal church of
human establishment, and without divine sanction or authority as to name or
methods. It does state, on the contrary, most simply and beautifully, that
whatever is believed that has any force or weight in the Lord’s estimation is
that which is believed by the individual himself, in his own heart, and he can
believe nothing in his heart that he does not to some extent comprehend. It is
not a belief of mysteries, but a belief of facts, and subsequently coming to a
comprehension of things which are still mysteries to “those that are
without,”-outside the true Church.
The second part of the text is evidently as important as the first part:
“With the mouth confession is made unto salvation.” This implies that a dumb
believer will never make his calling and his election sure. We do not refer to
those who are naturally dumb; but understand the word “mouth” in the same sense
that we speak of the “ears” of our heart, and the “eyes of our understanding.”
A heart that sees and hears the grace of God, and that truly accepts the same,
must in due time become so enthused with the things heard and seen, that it
cannot refrain from some outward manifestation of its joy and peace and hope
and trust and thankfulness. As the apostles declared, “We cannot but speak
the things which we have seen and heard.” All Christians who, having received
the light of truth, having seen the grace of God in the divine plan, having
tasted that the Lord is gracious, having heard the wonders of “so great
salvation, which began to be spoken by our Lord, and was confirmed unto us by
them that heard him”-these must not, cannot, keep silence nor put their light
under a bushel. If they do, it means the extinguishment of their light, the
stoppage of their growth; and persevered in this would ultimately mean to them
destruction in the Second Death;-for those who are ashamed of the Lord and of
his Word, after they have discerned clearly, not only are not fit for the
Kingdom, but of such the Lord would be ashamed under any and all
conditions.-Luke 9:26.