Greetings all in Yeshua’s name!
As we recently learned together; if we look at the great Gentiles of the Bible who come after Abraham’s time, we see two key commonalities.
Reverence for the God of Israel, and, that they help the Jewish People or Jewish Brothers or support or learn from them in some way!
We could look at this from another angle: is there anywhere in the whole of the Bible where we see either the Nations or the individual Gentile who has no regard for the Jewish People or Jewish Brothers – and they are blessed or rewarded or accorded merit in some way?
If so, who, and where in Scripture would we find this?
So then, let us do a little learning together and God willing you’ll be encouraged by what you see about the great Gentiles of the Bible!
A quick but very key note;
In short, the Torah’s Hebrew speaks more highly of Noach than Chanoch “Dedication” (“Enoch”); cf. Gen. 5, why? The Torah shows us that while Chanoch had steadfast trustworthiness in God his walk with God was individualistic and with no regard for others.
This resembles what unfortunately is seen too much in the West today; “my walk”
The Torah on the other hand in Gen 6:9 speaks of the godly character traits that Noach exercised towards others, as part of Noach’s walk with God. That is the key difference!
Yitro (“Excellent” “Jethro”) Ex. 18
Yitro was Moshe’s father-in-law. After Moshe recounts what the LORD had done for Israel in redeeming them from the hand of Egypt, Yitro rejoices! He blesses the LORD for what the LORD in fact actively caused in delivering Israel from the hand of Egypt (“Constraint”) Cf. Ex. 18:8-10.
Yitro also was a tremendous help to Moshe. He pointed out to Moshe that Moshe could not handle judging all of Israel by himself. Yitro then tells Moshe to appoint men of high moral and personal standard to help Moshe, which Moshe does
The rabbis later went on to name this section of the weekly Torah reading after Yitro.
In Ex. 18:11 Yitro says “Now I know, for in an encompassing way great (is the) LORD than (the) totality of the gods”… Yitro goes on to speak of the insolent behavior that had taken place (in Egypt by the Egyptians).
Rachav (“wide, broad” “Rahab”) Joshua 2:1-13, 6:17
Rachav hid the 2 spies Joshua sent to spy out Yericho (“Jericho”). Jericho is about a mile or so northwest from the northwest corner of what’s called in Hebrew the Salt Sea i.e., “Dead Sea”. It’s less than 20 miles east of Jerusalem.
Yeshua passed through here on his way to Jerusalem and healed a fellow Jew who was blind and appealed to him as the son of David to help him cf. Lk. 18:35-43.
Rachav hid the two spies; why? Rachav tells them in Joshua 2:9-13 that she knows, and the way this is in Hebrew this is emphasized, that the LORD had given over the Land to Israel. That when they (Yericho) heard what God had done to Egypt (“Constraint”), the hearts of the people in Yericho melted, and there was no spirit left in them!
As we point out repeatedly in our teaching, “hear” in Hebrew in part means “to agree with what is heard and act upon it”.
Rachav acted on what she heard about what God had done. We noticed that Rachav doesn’t “pray” if she should help. She has the opportunity – and she acts! Rachav acts with a very key godly attribute towards the Israelite spies; Rachav extended, in part what means ” mercy translated into action”. It is a very godly attribute – one that is exercised through material help! Cf Josh 2:12.
This is exactly what the Good Samaritan did cf. esp. Lk. 10:37 …” go and do likewise”.
Rachav in short first helps the Israelites after clearly recognizing what God had done for them and that He was with them. She actually puts her life on the line in hiding the spies. The key thing though also is: she and her family cast their lot with the Jewish People!
Joshua makes a strong point in Josh 6:17 that Rachav was to be spared in the process of destroying Yericho.
Rachav’s ultimate reward?
Rachav – along with Ruth – is mentioned in the line of the offspring Yeshua is from Mt. 1:5!
Had Rachav been ” numb” to the Israelites spies and not acted as she did, Israel ultimately would have succeeded without her; but she would not be in the line that produced Yeshua!
Ruth
The Book of Ruth provides tremendous encouragement(!) – and great lessons – for Christians! Ruth was a Moabite cf. Gen. 19:30-38 v. 37.
In short, Ruth and her sister-in-law Orphah marry the sons of the Israelite Naomi (“Pleasant”). Naomi’s husband and her two sons die. Naomi entreats her daughters-in-law to go back to their people; she has nothing to give them, nothing for them to stay with her for.
In Ruth 1:14-15 we see that Orphah kisses Naomi – and departs into obscurity. Ruth? The Hebrew emphasizes …” but Ruth (deeply) clung to her (Naomi)”. What is translated “clung” or “cleaved” has the idea of “superglued”; Ruth “superglued” herself to Naomi. The Hebrew is not the usual “her”, but rather more deeply and difficult to put in English, Ruth “superglued” herself deeply within Naomi.
In one of Scripture’s more remarkable verses Ruth 1:16, Ruth says to Naomi “… your People my People” – before she says ” ….your God my God”. We also see that Ruth was humble – and completely willing to listen to the advice Naomi gave her concerning Boaz Ruth 3.
Boaz, hearing of her kindness towards her mother-in-law blessed her that she be fully rewarded by the LORD, and also that Ruth …. “(you have) come to/for the purpose (of taking) refuge under His wings” Ruth 2:12. “Refuge” has real emphasis to it. “His wings” refers to “wings” in a sheltering position i.e., in a position to shelter Ruth.
There is much more here, unfortunately space limits me for now.
Ruth acts with two great character traits every Gentile follower of God should seek can be very much encouraged to emulate; great reverence and humbleness towards God, and acting with great kindness towards the Jew. Ruth’s reward?
Ruth – who starts out as a Moabitess – has a Book of Scripture name for her. She is also the great grandmother of David, who is the father of Mashiach cf. Lk. 1:30-33 etc. etc. – who is very very closely connected with David.
Ruth is the great-grandmother of Israel’s greatest earthly king, and in the line through whom the King Mashiach Yeshua comes! Cf Mt. 1:5.
How many women over the years have been named after this great woman, who started out as a Gentile and cast her lot with her Jewish mother-in-law and the Jewish People – and was greatly rewarded for doing so and for exercising a very godly attribute!
The People and King of Nineveh -Yonah 3 (“Jonah” “Dove”)
Incidentally Yeshua refers to Peter by his Aramaic name Shimon (“Heard” “Simon” cf. Gen. 29:33) Bar Yonah “Simon son of Jonah” in Mt. 16:17. You’re probably thinking “why is he including the King of Nineveh, weren’t they enemies of Israel?”.
Yes, they were. In short this is why Jonah absolutely did not want to go to them!
There is a particularly great lesson in Yonah 3. The LORD sends Yonah to warn Nineveh that in 40 days the city is going to be overturned. When the king hears this, does he scoff at Yonah? Does he imprison Yonah? We should note; Yonah does no signs and wonders to prove the LORD sent him.
We see in the opening of Jonah 3 that Nineveh was a great city to the LORD. Nonetheless that would not prevent them from being overturned if they did not change their ways; but the LORD, in his graciousness and care, raised up a Jewish Prophet to proclaim to them what would happen. The LORD was giving them a chance to turn from their ways of violence.
Yonah “proclaimed ” that in 40 days the city would be overturned. What’s translated “proclaimed” is the word “call” which also means “to invite” and is at a deeper level organically related (by shared common root letters and sounding the same) to the Hebrew word “to tear away”. Nineveh was being “called” and “invited” “to tear themselves away” from their ways
Yonah 3:5 begins by telling us that the men of the city had steadfast trustworthiness in God and called out a fast, and they went into mourning over what they heard. V.6 tells us the word literally touched i.e., reached the king.
In short, he declared that everyone and everything – even the animals – another great example in the Hebrew Bible of the connectedness of everything – should fast and put on mourning clothes.
Those things, fasting and mourning clothes, were an outer physical demonstration of what was concretely going on inside of the Ninevites. The things that could be seen were a way of physically demonstrating what was going on spiritually inside
In Yonah 3:8-9 we see what is “key”; it isn’t merely “prayer and fasting”. That is easy to do. It requires little effort and no change. The Ninevites do call out to God. One key is that we see all of the Ninevites – not some – ” from the great to the small” cf. v.5, involved. In the Hebrew in Yonah 3:8, there’s a word which more deeply means not repent/repentance but “turn back to the place you need to be with God and begin again”. The form is an “exhortation”, there’s some real “oomph” to do so!
This “turn back to the place you need to be with God and begin again”, is exactly what Yeshua encourages his fellow Jews of the Galil (“Galilee”) with Mk 1:15. The message by our wonderful Master is very positive – but it requires action on our part not just passive listening.
Another “key” is that the Ninevites realize; each needs to turn from his way of evil, and from the violence in his, literally, “palms”. It’s an Hebraic way of saying hands. They go on to say “who knows if God will be comforted/relent and turn back from his burning wrath”.
Yonah 3:10 gives us the answer and another “key”. ” And in connectedness God saw the essence & substance of what they did (literally “doings”), for in an encompassing way they turned back from (the) evil; and God relented”.
The Kenites 1 Saml. 15
Though virtually unknown, but In fairness they’re only mentioned very briefly, nonetheless there is a tremendous lesson here! If you recall from our previous learning together Ex. 17 second half, the LORD wanted in Hebrew, the calling to mind of the Amalekites, to be blotted out from under the Heavens.
We learned this is because the attack on the rearward part of the Israelites after what the LORD had done in freeing them from Egypt was an affront to Him. In Ex. 4:22 the LORD called Israel “…son of Me specially chosen of Me” (the Hebrew is actually (“me” rather than “my”).
The Prophet Samuel is told by the LORD to tell King Saul to completely destroy everything of the Amalekites 1 Saml. 15:2-3. In Hebrew the Lord did not just remember what the Amalekites did; He very personally remembered. It’s deeper than that but it’s hard to render in English.
In 1 Saml. 15:6 King Saul tells the Kenites to come out from the midst of the Amalekites, lest the Kenites be destroyed also. Why does Saul want to make sure the Kenites are not harmed in any way?
They acted with the godly attribute of ” abounding overflowing, royal loving kindness acts of mercy; mercy translated into action”, when Israel came out of Egypt.
There we see a tremendous tremendous lesson! Two choices; one group of Gentiles attack Israel – and the LORD takes it as a Personal afront. The other acts with the godly attribute that the LORD exercises towards Man cf. Ex. 34:6-7. Royal loving kindness acts of mercy; mercy translated into action; and so, those people need to be safe – while the other is being destroyed!
Please be sure to see Ps. 136!
I can’t begin to tell you the number of times I’ve been invited to prayer meetings to try to spark “revival”. I am not worthy to even think about untying the sandal lace of my ancestor Yonah. Were I 1/1000th of his spiritual level I would die happy.
I was invited to various prayer meetings and “revival” meetings; at best I was allowed to offer a prayer. But I was told – in no uncertain terms – “we don’t want to hear from you”. Why? I was a “Jew”; an “inferior”. Unfortunately, it has been forgotten; “who – exactly – sends us? Did we send ourselves; not hardly!”
I assure you dear ones – no Jewish Brother woke up one morning turned to his wife and said “sweetheart I know how to make a nice living and be popular; I’ll go into Jewish ministry and minister to our Christian brethren”.
Leaders cried out “in the name of ‘JC’ “, – in reality a Jew – cf. Rev. 5:5, 22:16 et al., while sadly and tragically ignoring a Jewish Brother sent by Yeshua…. In Middle East culture one that is sent represents the sender. As infinitely infinitely infinitely inferior as we (the Jewish Brothers) are unfortunately the leaders at these meetings forgot – or didn’t want to know – Who sent us….
Imagine what the positive potential possibilities might have been had they been willing to listen….
Imagine the tremendous potential positive possibilities today for Christians to turn back from post Biblical influences and imitate and emulate the great Gentiles of the Bible! Imagine what the reward could be!
If this were an essay it would be a different story but email length prevents me from going through the great Gentiles of the RCS (Renewed Covenant Scriptures; a more accurate term than “NT”, as we explained in our glossary G in The Deeper Hebrew & Jewish Basis of the Bible From A-Z window).
Be encouraged – please dear ones – there are tremendous tremendous encouragement and possibilities. With the Word guiding us and empowered by the Ruach Hakodesh, together we can do it!
God willing encouragement from the RCS, next!
I need your help please! If our learning together encourages and informs you, please pass these emails and our website address on to as many people as you can! Thank you! God will bless you!
Be well!
Jacob