He was a man of great authority—having charge of all the treasure of Candace, queen of Ethiopia. Despite his power, his trip to Jerusalem to worship must have been unsatisfying. He had been limited to the outer court of the temple, because Deuteronomy 23:1 prohibited a eunuch from entering “the congregation of the LORD.”

            When Philip arrived to help him in his study of the prophet Isaiah, “The place of the scripture which he read was this, He was led as a sheep to the slaughter; and like a lamb dumb before his shearer, so opened he not his mouth: In his humiliation his judgment was taken away: and who shall declare his generation? for his life is taken from the earth.” Significantly, “Philip opened his mouth, and began at the same scripture, and preached unto him Jesus” (Acts 8:32-33, 35).

            Considering the length of the journey he had traveled, I wonder if he had not read the book of Isaiah several times. Perhaps he was especially drawn to the picture of the suffering Servant in Isaiah 53. Perhaps one reason that he was so interested in the meaning of Isaiah 53 was because of another passage in Isaiah: “For thus saith the LORD unto the eunuchs that keep my sabbaths, and choose the things that please me, and take hold of my covenant; Even unto them will I give in mine house and within my walls a place and a name better than of sons and of daughters: I will give them an everlasting name, that shall not be cut off” (Isaiah 56:4-5).

            Knowing the blessings that could be his, it is not surprising that he asked Philip, “See, here is water; what doth hinder me to be baptized?” There was urgency in his heart to obey God and receive the blessings denied to him as a eunuch. No wonder that after he confessed his faith in Christ and Philip immersed him into Christ that “he went on his way rejoicing” (Acts 8:36-39).

"A Place and a Name Better than Sons and Daughters"

by Bob Prichard

www.oxfordchurchofchrist.com