Acts 8:26-29 - Reading the Book of Isaiah

8:26

The “Acts of the Apostles” has often been called the “Acts of the Holy Spirit”, in truth it is the acts of the apostles and the Holy Spirit, for that is how God works. He works by men and women listening to Him and trusting Him. Here we find God making a dramatic intervention, and one that we would not have made, indeed we would have thought it a distraction from what should be done. Philip was leading a very effective mission to the Samaritans, but an “angel of the Lord” tells Philip to “go south to the road that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza”. There was no logic to this, nor rational, but God knew what was happening and the reason for sending Philip. We need to recognise that God knows a lot more than we do!

8:27-29

On the way Philip ment an Ethiopian eunuch. Now eunuchs were royal officials and not all of them had been emasculated. The “Kandake” was a female ruler in Ethiopia.  The man was a “God-fearer”, having gone to Jerusalem to worship. On the way back he was reading the Book of Isaiah. He was quite possibly reading aloud, as was common in those days. The Spirit told Peter to go to the chariot and stay near it. If the man was reading aloud, then Peter would know what he was doing. We should note that the Bible considers it quite normal for the Spirit to give specific directions to a man or woman.