.....humbly

And he said, How can I, except some man should guide me? And he desired Philip that he would come up and sit with him. Acts 8:31

The Bereans searched the Scriptures daily to see whether what they heard was true. Today we meet a man who was searching them too, on a desert road, and who was humble enough to admit he could not make sense of what he read.

He was an Ethiopian official, treasurer to Candace, queen of the Ethiopians, a man of wealth and power. He had travelled all the way to Jerusalem to worship and was heading home, reading aloud from the scroll of Isaiah as his chariot rolled along. The passage spoke of one led as a sheep to the slaughter, silent before His shearers. Who was this? The prophet himself, or someone else? Just then Philip, sent by an angel and urged on by the Spirit, ran up beside the chariot and asked, “Understandest thou what thou readest?”

You might ask, “Isn’t the Bible meant to be clear to ordinary readers?” It is, and that is exactly why this man’s reply is so striking. He did not pretend. A powerful man admitted his need and invited a stranger to sit with him. His test was not whether he would read the Word; he was already reading it. It was whether pride would keep him from receiving help to understand it. Because he opened the door, Philip “began at the same scripture, and preached unto him Jesus.”

That is the key the eunuch was missing, and it is the key to every page. Ellen White puts it simply: “Yes, the whole Bible tells of Christ” Steps to Christ, p. 88. Isaiah’s suffering Lamb was not a puzzle to be solved but a Person to be met.

This is how the thread moves forward. The Bereans show us that we must test every voice by Scripture. The eunuch shows us that Scripture itself is meant to lead us to a Saviour, and that God will send whatever guidance a sincere heart needs to find Him. The story ends with water by the roadside, a baptism, and a man going on his way rejoicing.

The Bereans teach us to search the Word daily. The Ethiopian teaches us to search it humbly, asking God to show us Jesus on every page, and to welcome the guidance He sends.