CAN THE ETHIOPIAN CHANGE HIS SKIN? (11 OF 18)
Scripture: JEREMIAH 13:23
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The Greatest Questions of the Bible and of Life
Can the Ethiopian Change His Skin? (11 of 18)
Clarence E. Macartney
Jeremiah 13:23
Can the Ethiopian change his skin? Here is the story
of one who did. High noon on the desert near Gaza, the
gateway to Egypt. To the east and to the south, the
undulating sand of the desert; to the west, sand dunes
heaped up by the wind; and beyond these hills of sand,
the Mediterranean, as blue as the sapphire stone which
gleamed upon the breastplate of the high priest. Where
the road from Samaria joins the great highway from
Mesopotamia to Egypt, there stands a solitary
traveler. Looking to the north he decries a cloud of
dust. The cloud of dust rolls nearer and nearer, until
out of it appear horses and a chariot. The short necks
and the narrow heads of the horses declare their
Arabian breed, and the decorations on the chariot show
it to be a chariot of state. In this chariot sits a
black man reading a book. Now the solitary traveler
knows why the angel of the Lord has sent him into this
desert place. The man and his opportunity are face-to-
face.
Long ago, in the time of the prophet Jeremiah, this
question was asked, "Can the Ethiopian change his
skin, or the leopard his spots?" The question was
asked as an emphatic way of expressing the
impossibility of a man changing his own ways and his
own heart. But here we have an Ethiopian who did
change his skin and changed his heart. The story of
his conversion naturally divides itself into four
parts: first, the preacher; second, the congregation;
third, the sermon; and fourth, the results of the
sermon.
The Preacher
The preacher was Philip, called "The Evangelist." Just
as Paul won the title "The Apostle," so Philip seems
to have won, by his extraordinary and successful
evangelistic efforts, the title "The Evangelist." He
was one of the seven men of good report, full of the
spirit and of wisdom, chosen by the c ...
Can the Ethiopian Change His Skin? (11 of 18)
Clarence E. Macartney
Jeremiah 13:23
Can the Ethiopian change his skin? Here is the story
of one who did. High noon on the desert near Gaza, the
gateway to Egypt. To the east and to the south, the
undulating sand of the desert; to the west, sand dunes
heaped up by the wind; and beyond these hills of sand,
the Mediterranean, as blue as the sapphire stone which
gleamed upon the breastplate of the high priest. Where
the road from Samaria joins the great highway from
Mesopotamia to Egypt, there stands a solitary
traveler. Looking to the north he decries a cloud of
dust. The cloud of dust rolls nearer and nearer, until
out of it appear horses and a chariot. The short necks
and the narrow heads of the horses declare their
Arabian breed, and the decorations on the chariot show
it to be a chariot of state. In this chariot sits a
black man reading a book. Now the solitary traveler
knows why the angel of the Lord has sent him into this
desert place. The man and his opportunity are face-to-
face.
Long ago, in the time of the prophet Jeremiah, this
question was asked, "Can the Ethiopian change his
skin, or the leopard his spots?" The question was
asked as an emphatic way of expressing the
impossibility of a man changing his own ways and his
own heart. But here we have an Ethiopian who did
change his skin and changed his heart. The story of
his conversion naturally divides itself into four
parts: first, the preacher; second, the congregation;
third, the sermon; and fourth, the results of the
sermon.
The Preacher
The preacher was Philip, called "The Evangelist." Just
as Paul won the title "The Apostle," so Philip seems
to have won, by his extraordinary and successful
evangelistic efforts, the title "The Evangelist." He
was one of the seven men of good report, full of the
spirit and of wisdom, chosen by the c ...
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