What Eunuchs Teach us About Singleness (Part 1)

Alright friends, its time to get Bible nerdy haha. This is a series that I hope will help you see some deeper theological threads of the singleness conversation in the Bible. The Bible doesn't have named categories for everything that happens in our world (eg: the word "racism" isn't used in the Bible but it is addressed countless times throughout the biblical narrative), but that doesn't mean the Bible is silent on those things. You could search the Bible to try and find in depth conversations about singleness and on the surface it can seem like only Paul's discussion in 1 Corinthians 7 talks about it, and even then Paul doesn't even use the term "single" or "singleness", but rather "the unmarried", "widows" or "virgins" to refer to those who are single. And don't get me wrong, this discussion in Paul's letter to the Corinthians is a wealth of knowledge and wisdom for both marriage and singleness (blogs on this to come don't worry haha). But it is not the only place where we can find encouragement and wisdom for singleness.

A category that I had never even considered to be connected to singleness is that of the eunuch. That might sound like a very ancient word and an unfamiliar term for our modern day. A eunuch, in ancient times, was a man who was a servant/guard to the royal family, usually a guard over the queen and her consort or the king's concubines. Additionally, a eunuch could rise to more prominent positions like the king's bodyguard or even an advisor. However, there was a catch to this kind of employment, the man would have to be castrated. This was supposed to ensure the loyalty of the eunuch to his service, his loyalties would not have to be split between his own family and the royal family. And also it was supposed to ensure that no illegitimate children were born by the queen and her consort or the concubines by the eunuch (I guess that's one way to put a stop to that :O haha).

Being a eunuch also had other ramifications socially, especially those that wanted to be part of God's people, Israel. Deuteronomy 23:1 clearly states that "No one who has been emasculated by crushing or cutting may enter the assembly of the Lord." And throughout this series I'll talk about this a bit more, but I want you to see these social consequences from the start. So think about that for a minute. As a eunuch, you are bound to the royal family, unable to have your own family. And on top of that, you are not allowed to enter the community or holy place of the temple where God's presence was concentrated. Talk about an extreme version of singleness ripe with the opportunity for so much loneliness. Especially in ancient times where marriage and bloodlines and position, etc. were so deeply ingrained into the cultural fabric and even survival itself.

I believe that this category of Eunuchs provides us with an interesting and beautiful way to look at how the God of the Bible and the Gospel speaks to singleness. Because as we'll see as we walk through the narrative of scripture, God is not indifferent or uncaring towards the status and situation of Eunuchs.

So as a first example of a eunuch in the Bible, let's look at Nehemiah. In Nehemiah 1:11, the very last sentence in that verse is "I was cupbearer to the king". Nehemiah is writing and he let's the reader know that he was in service to the king at that time. Now, there is some debate about whether Nehemiah was actually a eunuch since it is not stated explicitly, but considering the culture at the time, Nehemiah's position, the closeness Nehemiah had with the king to advise and even request things of him and

the lack of mention of any wife or children by Nehemiah, I think it is safe to say he was a eunuch. So, again, that means that Nehemiah, as an Israelite, was not allowed into the assembly of his people to worship God. He was on the outskirts of society, serving a king who, although sympathetic to the Israelite's issues, was not a worshipper of Yahweh. However, we learn that Nehemiah was a trusted and loyal servant to this king, and in Nehemiah 2 we see that the king both had concern for Nehemiah's well-being (Nehemiah 2:2) and allowed Nehemiah to go and oversee the rebuilding of the wall of Jerusalem (Nehemiah 2:6). The rest of the book recounts Nehemiah's journey in doing this, as well as helping to rebuild their cities and remind Israel of their covenant to God and His ways after exile. Nehemiah's life reveals one of singleness, purpose and value. When we look at the life of this eunuch, we learn some beautiful truths about singleness.

1. Singleness does not mean you are without purpose. - Nehemiah was not simply relegated to being a cupbearer to the king. Just because Nehemiah was in a position of "permanent singleness", if you will, does not mean his life was unusable by God. God had a plan for Nehemiah's life just like He has a plan for your life, single, married or dating.

2. Singleness does not mean that God cannot or will not use you. - I think sometimes it can feel like singleness is somehow a forgotten, unseen or second-class standing in the church. And this can happen for various reasons and I don't think its on purpose most of the time! But I think Nehemiah shows us that no one is unusable in the Kingdom of God. Nehemiah wasn't allowed into the assembly of God's people, but God still used him mightily to build up His people in tangible, long lasting ways.

3. Singleness does not disqualify you from being a leader in the church family. - Another underlying assumption that can be made is that being married is a requirement for any kind of leadership in the church family. And I'm not going to get into the debates about church structure and all that, there are good and godly people who have biblical arguments for certain offices in church leadership that do seem to require one to be married. But that's for certain offices. I am talking about more generally people who are leaders by gifting or empowerment. Don't count yourself out of being a leader in your community just because you are single, God didn't count out Nehemiah. (For more on this see Pete Scazzero's work on leading from your marriage and singleness)

4. God see's the loneliness and isolation that can come from singleness and is always working to draw people into loving community.- I think the last thing we learn from Nehemiah's story is that he was not forgotten by God. God knew the status of Nehemiah within the confines of the palace as well as within Nehemiah's people. God heard Nehemiah's prayers and cries for communion with God. Nehemiah even states in Nehemiah 1:6 "let your ear be attentive and your eyes open to hear the prayer your servant is praying before you day and night for your servants, the people of Israel..." Nehemiah knew he was praying to the God who listens, the God who sees and the God who answers. The rest of the book is proof of how God met Nehemiah's prayers and used him powerfully. And God can do the same for you.

Stay tuned for more about eunuchs and singleness in the coming weeks! I'm excited to get Bible nerdy with you all and to hopefully help you see that as a single, you are not forgotten or overlooked by the God of all creation :). As usual drop your comments below!