“Behold, a man of Ethiopia, a eunuch of great authority under Candace the queen of the Ethiopians, who had charge of all her treasury, and had come to Jerusalem to worship” (Acts 8:27).
He was George Washington’s right-hand man for twenty-two years and architect of the American economic system. But the illegitimate child born in the West Indies who arrived as a penniless im-
migrant in New York, sent by a sympathetic clergyman, eventually became the greatest U.S. Secretary of the Treasury. Alexander Hamilton was a lawyer, statesman, and visionary who embodied the American dream. After being elected as the first Secretary of the Treasury, he tackled the recession, hyperinflation, and a large national debt that had accumulated during the Revolutionary War.
Hamilton is known for being one of the most influential of the Founding Fathers of the United States, for being a member of the Continental Congress, for helping to found the Bank of New York, for authoring fifty- one of the Federalist Papers, and for being mortally wounded in a duel with Aaron Burr on July 11, 1804.
While riding along in his chariot on the road between Jerusalem and Gaza, the treasurer for the nation of Ethiopia, a eunuch who served Queen Candace, was trying to understand the reference in Isaiah 53 to a sheep being led to slaughter. God’s angel led Philip to run up alongside this official and witness to him. After the Ethiopian asked Philip to explain the mysterious passage, he accepted Jesus Christ as his Saviour.
The treasurer then said to Philip, “ ‘What hinders me from being baptized?’ Then Philip said, ‘If you believe with all your heart, you may.’ And he answered and said, ‘I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God’ ” (Acts 8:36, 37). So, they stopped the chariot and Philip baptized the eunuch.
Baptism represents death to self. It is asking Jesus to step into our duel with the devil. When we surrender to Christ, He wins every time on our behalf. Have you died to self in order to receive life?
O Jesus, I am no match for Satan. Please stand in my place. Thank You for the victory that you have given me!
For Further Study: Acts 8:26–40; Romans 6:4; James 4:7