Choose your words carefully

I think it is very important to choose your words carefully...even if you are God.

Throughout history, eunuchs have been employed by royalty to guard harems and to perform general duties around palaces. The essential quality of being a eunuch is quite a drastic one (contact me if you would like me to email you a diagram) It was not uncommon however, for young men to choose becoming a Eunuch because of the working conditions.

An interesting (but disturbing) aside…there is some conjecture as to whether Origen, the early church father and theologian, had castrated himself after reading Matthew 19:12. The actual truth of this story is now lost in history.

It was not uncommon either for eunuchs to become influential advisors to the government. Acts 8:27 identifies the Ethiopian eunuch that Phillip met as being in charge of the nations treasury. Interestingly, the eunuch asked Phillip to explain a passage from Isaiah 53….I wonder if he had reached chapter 56 yet?

Isaiah 56 is a quite remarkable passage – God promises salvation for people other than the Jews. God also speaks directly to Eunuchs. Obviously, apart from giving up the boy-bits, a eunuch gave up the ability to ever have a family and a heritage – God promises them a lasting memorial.

Let no foreigner who has bound himself to the LORD say, "The LORD will surely exclude me from his people." And let not any eunuch complain, "I am only a dry tree."

For this is what the LORD says: "To the eunuchs who keep my Sabbaths, who choose what pleases me and hold fast to my covenant-

to them I will give within my temple and its walls a memorial and
a name better than sons and daughters; I will give them an everlasting
name that will not be cut off.[1]

I am grateful for God’s promise to the Gentiles…I just think that He could have been a little more tactful to the eunuchs. Think of the worst phrase you could use when addressing a eunuch. ‘Cut off’ has got to be at the top of the list! God does have a sense of humour!



Ps. I even looked up the original Hebrew (just to prove that I know how to do the serious theologian-type-stuff too) It is the Hebrew word ‘karath’ which means ‘to cut, cut off, cut down, cut off a body part, cut out, eliminate, kill, cut a covenant’[2]


[1] Isaiah 56:2-5 – The New International Version
[2] Strongs Hebrew Dictionary – reference 3772