The Unerring Power of Sowing: from Cisterns to Chariots

Jul 11, 2010

We sow to the East and reap from the West; we lay down something, and somewhere, blessing flows back...if not to us in our lifetime, then to others in our spiritual family tree (and to us in Eternity).

I was blown away by the fact that it was the kindness of an Ethiopian eunuch that saved the prophet Jeremiah’s life after he had been thrown down a cistern to die, around 587 BC...

“So they took Jeremiah and cast him into the cistern of Malchiah, the king’s son, which was in the court of the guard, letting Jeremiah down by ropes. And there was no water in the cistern, but only mud, and Jeremiah sank in the mud. When Ebed-melech the Ethiopian, a eunuch who was in the king’s house, heard that they had put Jeremiah into the cistern—the king was sitting in the Benjamin Gate - Ebed-melech went from the king’s house and said to the king, “My lord the king, these men have done evil in all that they did to Jeremiah the prophet by casting him into the cistern, and he will die there of hunger, for there is no bread left in the city.” Then the king commanded Ebed-melech the Ethiopian, “Take three men with you from here, and lift Jeremiah the prophet out of the cistern before he dies.”” (Jer 38:6-10 ESV)

And then, around 32 AD, Philip is sent by the Spirit of God to the desert in Gaza, to another Ethiopian eunuch...

“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. And he rose and went. And there was an Ethiopian, a eunuch, a court official of Candace, queen of the Ethiopians, who was in charge of all her treasure. He had come to Jerusalem to worship and was returning, seated in his chariot, and he was reading the prophet Isaiah. And the Spirit said to Philip, “Go over and join this chariot.” So Philip ran to him and heard him reading Isaiah the prophet and asked, “Do you understand what you are reading?” And he said, “How can I, unless someone guides me?” And he invited Philip to come up and sit with him. Now the passage of the Scripture that he was reading was this: “Like a sheep he was led to the slaughter and like a lamb before its shearer is silent, so he opens not his mouth. In his humiliation justice was denied him. Who can describe his generation? For his life is taken away from the earth.” And the eunuch said to Philip, “About whom, I ask you, does the prophet say this, about himself or about someone else?” Then Philip opened his mouth, and beginning with this Scripture he told him the good news about Jesus. And as they were going along the road they came to some water, and the eunuch said, “See, here is water! What prevents me from being baptized?”* And he commanded the chariot to stop, and they both went down into the water, Philip and the eunuch, and he baptized him.” (Acts 8:26-38 ESV)

A eunuch from Ethiopia had rescued one of God’s true servants in Jerusalem from slaughter under King Zedekiah. Now, 619 years later, one of God’s true servants from Jerusalem was sent to an Ethiopian eunuch to show him salvation in the slaughter of King Jesus. Wow!

Could one bold act of kindness in Jerusalem have led to the gospel coming to Africa 619 years later? God’s word shall NEVER return void. Though we do not see the harvest; though our great-grand children might well be the beneficiaries, God shall not be mocked...sowing always leads to reaping.

N