Tag Archives: the Ethiopian eunuch

Searching For Treasure

Almost every time I’ve gone to the beach, I’ve seen people walking around with metal detectors. They walk up and down them scanning for treasures lost by others. You can hear it beep, and then they start digging. I’ve also watched videos of people who drag sifters through the sand trying to pick up things. I wonder if they found something, and then think I should buy a metal detector. I never do though. The difference between us is that because they are searching for it, and I’m not, they’re the ones who are likely to find hidden treasure. They’re willing to dig, to sift and to do what it takes in order to find treasure. Hoping to find it, without doing anything, will not result in me finding treasure.

I love the story of the Ethiopian eunuch in Acts 8. He believed in God and had come to Jerusalem to worship. He was on his way home and had purchased a scroll of Isaiah, which was very costly. While he was riding along in his chariot, the Lord spoke to Philip and told him to go south of Jerusalem to the desert road. Philip obeyed not knowing why. It was on that road that their paths crossed and he heard the Ethiopian reading Isaiah searching to know God more as he read chapter 53. Philip asked if he understood, but the Ethiopian said he couldn’t unless someone explained it. That day, the Ethiopian found the treasure he had been seeking and accepted Jesus as his savior. Philip baptized him and was carried away by the Spirit while the Ethiopian returned home spiritually rich.

Colossians 2:3 says, “For our spiritual wealth is in him, like hidden treasure waiting to be discovered—heaven’s wisdom and endless riches of revelation knowledge” (TPT). In Christ are all the spiritual treasures are available to us. Like any treasure, we must seek it, dig deep and do what it takes to find it. The more you dig into God’s Word, the more you will discover who He is. The more time you spend with Christ Jesus getting to know Him, the more treasure you will find. If your Bible is never opened or you never stop to pray, you can’t expect to find the hidden treasure He has for you. If you seek Him, you will find Him, but you must search for Him as you would a hidden treasure.

Photo by Fer Troulik on Unsplash

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Seeking To Know God More

Several years ago I was at work when a crazy thunderstorm popped up. My boss called me and said she needed help. When I went out the front door of the building, her car was in the street with water over the hood. I waded through the water into the street and told her to put it in neutral. I then pushed the car into the parking lot. As she was getting out of the car, I noticed my wedding ring was missing. I began searching through the high water for it while lightening was striking and it was pouring down rain. I searched for an hour and a half and couldn’t find it. I then waited for the storm to stop and started looking again as the water receded. After another hour of searching, I couldn’t find it. I prayed, “Lord, I give up. I don’t know what to do.” When I opened my eyes, the ring was between my feet.

In Acts 8 there’s the story of an Ethiopian eunuch who went to Jerusalem to worship and was on his way home. What you may not know is that the Old Testament forbid eunuch from entering the Temple. This man had traveled a long way searching for God only to have been turned away. Even in his rejection, he kept searching for God and bought a scroll of Isaiah to help him. As he was reading it, God sent the disciple Philip to go meet him. Philip heard him reading and asked if he understood. The eunuch said no one had guided him to know God or to understand it. So Philip explained the prophesy of Isaiah 53 in reference to Jesus and the Good News. The eunuch wanted to be baptized after that and asked what laws would stop that. I’m sure Philip smiled and said that Jesus was available to all who seek Him. Then he baptized the eunuch.

Jeremiah 29:13 says, “You will seek me, and you will find me because you will seek me with all your heart” (GNT). Even though you have found Jesus as the Ethiopian eunuch did, you must still continue to seek God. Just as you can’t know a person after one encounter, you can’t know God with one. That first encounter brought salvation, but there is so much more God wants us to know about Himself. Have you grown complacent with where you are in your relationship to Him? He says if we will seek Him and search Him out more, you will find there more to Him and that He wants to reveal Himself to you, but you must seek Him with your whole heart. Don’t stop trying to get to know Him, His Word or His ways. Search for Him like a lost treasure. Don’t give up in the middle of a storm. Don’t quit searching just because things are going well either. There is more to God than you can ever know or search out, and He’s willing to show Himself to you if you’re willing to seek Him out.

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