Some
Major Milestones / Highlights for Gentiles in the Bible
BACKGROUND:
The Bible shows us that throughout man’s history, even
with the Scriptural focus seemingly disproportionately focused on the small
Nation of Israel, God has always looked for salvation and other blessings for
the majority of mankind, the Gentiles / non-Jews / non-Hebrews . (Strong’s
Concordance Hebrew Dictionary # 1471) A critical key for Gentiles who read the Bible
is to understand the primary differences between what Scripture was written specifically
to the Nation of Israel, versus what was written for the benefit of all
mankind. To aid in our Bible study, three
general concepts were given to us through the Apostle Paul. [Remember from your earlier
study that the Ascended Lord Jesus gave charge that Saul of Tarsus / Paul
would become the Apostle to the Gentiles. (Acts 9: 1-15;
13: 42-49; 15: 1-19; Galatians 2: 1-9;
Ephesians 3: 1-12).] Those three
concepts are:
· “For whatsoever things were written
aforetime were written for our learning, that we through patience and comfort of the
scriptures might have hope.” (Romans 15: 4);
·
“All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is
profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in
righteousness:17 That the man of God may be perfect,
thoroughly furnished unto all good works. (2 Timothy 3: 16-17); and
· “Study
to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be
ashamed, rightly dividing the word
of truth” (2 Timothy 2: 15).
The concept of “rightly dividing the word of truth (the Scripture”)
has more than one application as we study. However, one such application is to recognize
the differences between what was written to and for the Nation of Israel,
contrasted to what was written to and for mankind in general, primarily Gentiles.
Further, as noted in prior posts to this blog , we must also
always remember the guidance given by Myles Coverdale to those who study
the Bible. He produced the first
complete printed English translation of the Bible, and said: “It shall greatly
help you understand the Scriptures if thou mark not only what is spoken or
written, but of whom and to whom, with what words, at what time, where, to what
intent, with what circumstances, considering what goeth before and what
followeth after.” (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Myles_Coverdale )
As we study we should always consider the primary message
of our Bible. It is the message from God
through the Holy Spirit to His beloved creation Man. It explains how man became
“lost” from Him, and the steps He has taken to “save / redeem” us, through our
Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Note the
words of the Apostle Peter: “9 The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count
slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should
perish, but that all should come to repentance. 15 And account that the
longsuffering of our Lord is salvation; even as our beloved brother Paul also
according to the wisdom given unto him hath written unto you;16 As
also in all his epistles, speaking in them of these things; in which are some
things hard to be understood, which they that are unlearned and unstable wrest,
as they do also the other scriptures, unto their own destruction. (2 Peter 3: 9, 15-16)
We all should acknowledge that the Nation of Israel has
played a critical role in man’s restoration to our Creator. (Exodus 19: 1-8;
Romans 3: 1-2) The Bible shows how Israel’s successes have been bolstered by the
LORD when they obeyed Him. However, their disobedience and failures have been the
result of their inherited human faults, as also seen in the Gentiles. (Romans
5: 12, 3: 23) [In addition there is the
role played by the Enemy, but that discussion is outside of the intent of this
post.]
But now, let’s look at some notable references
to Gentiles in our Bible and how they contributed to the Lord’s plan for
man’s salvation…either positively or negatively. The concept of “Gentile” did not exist before God
separated the Nation of Israel from the mainstream of the human population. As
we learned from the Scripture in Genesis Chapter 12, verses 1-3, the LORD had
said to Abram (later called Abraham) “…And I will make of thee a
great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt
be a blessing: And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth
thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed.” These
“Abrahamic Covenant” promises of the LORD led to the establishment of the
Nation of Israel, and through them the coming of man’s greatest blessing, the Lord
Jesus Christ.
THE TITLE SUBJECT:
We learned further that it was through Abraham’s son Isaac, and
Isaac’s son Jacob (renamed “Israel” by the LORD) that the Nation of Israel came
into existence. (Genesis 32: 28) It was Jacob / Israel’s 12 sons who became the
patriarchs of the 12 Tribes of Israel. The Book of Exodus, Chapter One
documents that “seventy souls” from that family came to Egypt under the protection
of Joseph, but over the ensuing centuries they grew in number tremendously, and
became a full Nation. The Gentiles who greatly contributed to that growth (in
a most negative manner) were the Egyptians, most especially the Pharaohs.
After Israel’s exodus from Egypt, they first encountered Gentile
opposition when they sought to enter the Promised Land. (Genesis 14: 18-20;
Exodus 13: 5)) Remember that the LORD
had promised them a “safe passage”, if they had only accepted His instructions.
(Exodus 23: 27-30; Deuteronomy 7: 16-23; Joshua 24: 12) Israel’s rejection of the LORD’s offer of
safety has provided a classic example of the man’s unbelief, and the dire
consequences. Remember the name “Kadesh Barnea”. (Numbers Chapters 13 and 14)
What could have been accomplished without loss of life resulted in wars costing
Jews and Gentiles hundreds of thousands of lives over many years. The
Gentile Nations that fought against Israel included among others, the Amorites,
Moabites, Canaanites, Hittites, Hivites, and Jebusites. (Exodus 13: 5) [Consider the Middle East conflicts that
continue even today involving Israel and its Gentile neighbors.]
On an individual basis, Bible students should remember the name “Rahab”,
sometimes called “Rahab the Harlot”, She became a Gentile heroine in the
eyes of Israel when she protected their spies from discovery as Israel was preparing
to attack Jericho. Her faith in the God of Israel led her to protect the spies,
and to save her own family. (Joshua Chapter Two) The Scripture later also notes
her presence in the genealogy of our Lord Jesus. (Matthew 1: 5) That same Scripture
verse acknowledges the presence of Ruth the Moabitess, another Gentile,
in the Lord’s genealogy. Note her faith in the God of Israel, discussed in the
Book of Ruth. Please note that both Rahab and Ruth demonstrated their faith after
they had heard about the God of Israel. As Paul (the Apostle of the
Gentiles) has reminded believers: “Faith cometh by hearing and hearing by the
word of God.” (Romans 10: 17)
As another example, the Gentile people of the City of Nineveh
(an enemy of Israel) gained Biblical prominence in the Book of Jonah.
Their “wickedness” had caused the LORD to send Jonah (the son of one of
Israel’s prophets) to warn them of their pending judgment / destruction. The
Scriptural account is probably best recognized for Jonah’s efforts to avoid the
mission given by the LORD, and he was swallowed by a “great fish” / whale. But most
key to this discussion is the reaction of the Gentiles after they ultimately
received the LORD’s warning. The Scripture reports: “the people of Nineveh believed God, and proclaimed a fast,
and put on sackcloth, from the greatest of them even to the least of them….And God saw their works,
that they turned from their evil way; and God repented of the evil, that he had
said that he would do unto them; and he did it not.” (Jonah 3: 5,10)
When we look in the New Testament we also see a number of Gentiles
and related events that marked milestones in Scripture impacting God’s Plan for
man’s Salvation. Consider for example the “wise men” / Magi (Gentiles) from
the East who followed the Star of Bethlehem to find the recently born, young
child Jesus. While worshipping Him, they brought valuable gifts of gold, frankincense
and myrrh. These gifts were subsequently available to help Joseph and Mary escape
to Egypt from the deadly threat posed by another Gentile, Herod the King.
(Matthew Chapter Two) [While doing research on this scripture, I found a
reference that noted other Gentile Kings named “Herod” who were encountered by
the Apostle Paul as noted in the Book of Acts.
I heartily recommend this source by Jayson Bradley for your
consideration: https://overviewbible.com/who-was-herod/ ]
During the Earthly Ministry of our Lord Jesus, we recall that He limited
His ministry to the people of the Nation of Israel. Note His command to His
Disciples that they “Go not into the way of the Gentiles…”. (Matthew 10:
5-6) Even so, the Scripture notes that
He Himself made a couple of exceptions. Remember the Canaanite woman (Matthew 15:
21-28), and the Roman Centurion (Matthew 8: 5-13), both of whom sought His healing
intervention on behalf of others? The Lord was so moved by their faith that He acknowledged
their pleas and healed the ones stricken without being in their physical
presence.
Other examples include the efforts by the Apostles Peter and Paul (and
his colleagues) to bring their respective Gospels of the Lord Jesus’ to the
Gentiles. (Acts 9: 1-15; 1 Corinthians 15: 1-4; Romans 10: 9-13) First, the
Ascended Lord guided the reluctant Peter to visit the house of the Gentile Italian
Centurion Cornelius. While there, Cornelius and his kinsmen and friends received
Peter’s rehearsal of the life of the Lord Jesus and the Gospel of the
Kingdom. Then they spontaneously began to speak in tongues indicating they
had all received the Holy Spirit. This intervention by the Apostle Peter was
the first such mention related to salvation and the Gentiles in the Scripture.
(Acts Chapter Ten)
Later, as the Apostle Paul sought to share the Gospel of the Lord
Jesus’ Grace, he and Barnabas arrived at the isle of Paphos. The Gentile
deputy of the country named Sergius Paulus asked them to share the “word of
God”. When Paul confronted and successfully
faced opposition from the sorcerer and false prophet Barjesus, Deputy Paulus saw
what was done. He was “astonished at the doctrine of the Lord” and became a
believer. (Acts 13: 1-12)
To this point, with the exception of the Gentile City of Nineveh, the
Scriptural account of the single largest number of Gentiles who were brought to
Salvation was shown in the example of the house of Cornelius above. In this next example, the Apostle Paul and
Barnabas had arrived in Antioch and Paul spoke in the Synagogue to the Jews
there. He rehearsed the history of the Nation of Israel, leading up to and
including the Lord Jesus’ death, burial and resurrection…and through Him “forgiveness
of sins” (the Gospel of Grace found in 1 Corinthians 15: 1-4; Romans 10:
9-13). When the Jews left the Synagogue, the Gentiles asked Paul to
share his words with them. The next Sabbath, nearly the entire city (vast
majority of Gentiles) came together to hear the word of God from Paul. The
Scripture records that when the Gentiles heard Paul’s message of Salvation, “they
were glad, and glorified the word of the Lord: and as many as were ordained to
eternal life believed.” (Acts 13: 13-17; 14: 26-28)
These are just some of the major milestones / highlights contributed by Gentiles in the
Bible.
In closing this post, I remind you of the highly significant meeting
of the “Jerusalem Council”, as described in Acts Chapter 15, and
Galatians Chapter Two. There had been highly contentious disagreements over
time between the Lord Jesus’ Disciples (and others who followed the Law of
Moses), against the Apostle Paul and his supporters who sought to take the
Gospel of Grace to the Gentiles. The
resolution was that Peter and the other Jews representing the Church at
Jerusalem would evangelize only other Jews under the Gospel of the Kingdom.
Further, Paul and his followers would be authorized to go to the Gentiles with
the Gospel of God’s Grace without interference.
From both positive and negative perspectives, over many centuries,
Gentiles have had (and continue to have) an impact on God’s Plan for man’s
Salvation.
Dr. W. A. (Bill) Robinson
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