Called to the Desert: Philip’s Obedience, God’s Plan

Scripture

Our verse for today comes from Acts 8:26, “Now an angel of the Lord said to Philip, ‘Rise and go toward the south to the road that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza.’ This is a desert place.”

Background

Had you been accompanying Paul on his third missionary journey, you would have been able to experience the eastern coast of Greece after having travelled the arduous roads of Turkey on foot. Your early stops would have included the hometown of Paul, Tarsus, as well as Lystra, Derbe, and a lengthy stay in Ephesus. Upon arriving in Greece, you would have visited the towns and churches of Philippi, Thessalonica, and Corinth, before working your way back east, and eventually setting sail for Tyre, just north of Nazareth and Cana.

From Tyre, you would head south and spend a day in Ptolemais before departing for Caesarea, nearing the end of your 2,700-mile mission trip. Here, you would have the good fortune of staying in the home of a man named Philip, whom Luke calls an evangelist. And it is this very Philip who was the one that left Jerusalem after Stephen was stoned and carried the gospel to the Samaritans. While Paul was with Philip, a prophet named Agabus came down from Judea and foretold Paul that he would be bound and captured in Jerusalem by the Jews and turned over to the Gentiles. To be sure, you would have joined in with Paul’s companions in pleading with him not to go to Jerusalem and face certain danger and persecution. But Paul’s response was clear: he was ready to be bound, and even to die, for the name of the Lord Jesus.

Application

For it was this name of Jesus that Philip had obeyed sometime earlier when His messenger told him to continue his missionary work and leave Samaria and go down toward the south along the road which leads from Jerusalem to Gaza. There, unbeknownst to Philip, was an Ethiopian official reading the Scriptures of Isaiah, longing to understand the words which prophesied of the Messiah who sent Philip to him. And when Philip came to him, this eunuch, who would not have been granted full access to God by the Jews because of his physical state, was introduced to the forgiveness and welcoming grace of the Savior and baptized as a new believer. Had you been with Paul, you would have heard of this and seen so much more. Will you spend some time today with him in the pages of God’s Word, taking your own journey of faith?

Charge

As we seek Him today, let the wonder of God’s history impact the adventure of your present.

Editor Comment: This devotional reminds believers that God still calls His people to unexpected, even desert, places to bring the gospel to those who are earnestly seeking Him.