Acts 8:27

And he arose and went: and behold,. man of Ethiopia,. eunuch of great authority under Candace, queen of the Ethiopians, who was over all her treasure, who had come to Jerusalem to worship;

'HE AROSE AND WENT'-Note the prompt obedience.

'A MAN OF ETHIOPIA'-'The "Ethiopia" of those days corresponded to what we call "the Upper Nile", reaching approx. from Aswan to Khartoum.' (Stott p. 160) 'It lay south of Egypt, on the Nile River. It was bounded on the north by Egypt, on the east by the Red Sea and Indian Ocean, on the south by the (then) unknown regions of the interior of Africa, and on the west by Libya and the great Libyan deserts. This kingdom was north of the land that is today known as Ethiopia.' (Reese p. 332)

'A EUNUCH'-'as were most courtiers at that period' (Stott p. 160).. man who had been castrated, which arose from the preference of rulers for such men in offices involving contact with the women of their households. 'Commonly employed as court officials in eastern lands from antiquity until quite recent times.' (Bruce p. 187)

'OF GREAT AUTHORITY'-'a high official' (NEB). Various Eunuch's in the ancient world became very powerful men.

'UNDER CANDACE, QUEEN OF THE ETHIOPIANS'-"Candace" isn't. personal name, rather it was. common title for the queens of Ethiopia, like Pharaoh in Egypt, or Caesar at Rome. 'The king of Ethiopia was venerated as the child of the sun and regarded as too sacred. personage to discharge the secular functions of royalty; these were performed on his behalf by the queen-mother, who regularly bore the dynastic title Candace.' (Bruce p. 186)

'WHO WAS OVER ALL HER TREASURE'-'was probably the treasurer or minister of trade and so traveled widely and could well have known either Hebrew or Greek sufficiently to read the Isaiah scroll.' (Zond. Ency. p. 414)

'WHO HAD COME TO JERUSALEM TO WORSHIP'-Which infers that he was probably either. Jew or. convert to Judaism. 'There was. Jewish colony in Ethiopia.' (Reese p. 333) He may have been. black man or he may have actually been. man of Jewish ancestry (like Daniel or Joseph), who had become. high ranking official in the Ethiopian court.

Point to Note:

According to the Law of Moses (Deuteronomy 23:1),. man who had been castrated, was denied various religious privileges which were open for Jewish males. McGarvey takes this to mean, 'His being. eunuch debarred him from the privilege of mingling in the Jewish congregation, or entering the Jewish court of the temple; but it did not debar him from the court of the Gentiles..' (p. 152)

The attitude of the eunuch is impressive. He had come to Jerusalem to worship (possibly at one of the annual feasts). It had probably taken him weeks or months to arrive. But he knew that when he came to Jerusalem, he would be barred from entering the court reserved for Jewish males. In fact, Jewish women would have. closer access than he. But he still came!

Modern Applications:

Here is. man that still worshipped God, even though the God he worshipped had barred him from full access.

In. day and age when some women think that Christianity is restrictive, or they won't serve. God that doesn't allow female elders--the example of the eunuch puts them to shame. You see, the eunuch was interested in finding acceptance with God--and not some temporary feeling of self-fulfillment. And right here, all of us should ask ourselves, what is our spiritual goal? What are we wanting from God? Is our goal in serving God nothing more than personal self-worth? Or is our goal in serving God, pleasing Him?

Anyone who presently has. problem in assembling with Christians should feel ashamed. Here is. man that traveled hundreds of miles to worship God, and yet when he arrived he would have to stand "outside" to worship this God. But this didn't stop him.

And what does the example of the eunuch say to those who excuse themselves from serving God by saying, 'That church isn't friendly enough, nobody talked to me, someone said something that offended me, too many hypocrites exist in the church or too many cliques, etc..'

The removal of the ban on eunuchs is prophetically announced in Isaiah 2:3 ff and Jeremiah 2:7.