Gentiles and Jews in God's Plan
(Bible Study - April 1999)
"What is a Gentile?" asked an educated non-Christadelphian friend, giving evidence of limited understanding of things related to the scriptures. The ensuing discussion brought further questions: "What is so special about the Jews? Why were they chosen to be God’s people? Is He interested in other nations?" The appropriate answers were given, but the incident was the catalyst for the following private study.
Goi comes to mean a non-Jew
The Hebrew for Gentile is goi, initially a general term for nations, a body of
people (Gen. 10:1). Following the birth of the Jewish nation, the word gradually acquired
the restricted sense of a non-Jew (Psa. 96:3,10). Eventually Israel interpreted the
emphasis God laid upon separation from corrupt surrounding nations to mean that they were
the superior race with exclusive access to God. The Lord’s declaration to Moses: "
I am the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob" was distorted to support the idea that
the Lord was interested only in them.
By the time of Christ, this attitude had hardened to hatred and a strict segregation from all Gentiles. "You know how unlawful it is for a Jewish man to keep company with or go to one of another nation" (Acts 10:28 NKJV as most quotes); "…for Jews have no dealings with Samaritans" (John 4:9).
For the disciples of Jesus, this attitude was reinforced by his apparent selectivity. "Do not go into the way of the Gentiles and do not enter a city of the Samaritans. But go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel" (Matt. 10:5-6). To the Canaanite woman who begged mercy for her son, the Lord answered, "I was not sent except to the lost sheep of the house of Israel." The Good Shepherd was sent to gather the straying sheep of Israel, but when they refused to hear the call and enter the safety of the fold, other sheep were sought. "And other sheep I have which are not of this fold: them also I must bring, and they will hear My voice, and there will be one flock and one shepherd" (John 10:16).
Even James and the leaders of the early church had a hard time accepting that the gospel was to be extended to the Gentiles. Then they heard the lesson Peter relayed from the dramatic incidents surrounding the conversion of Cornelius. "Let not that which God has cleansed be called unclean" (Acts 10:28). After hearing that the Holy Spirit had fallen upon the Roman and his family, they were stunned to silence. The evidence was conclusive: "Then God has also granted to the Gentiles repentance to life" (Acts 11:18). They were slow to grasp what the aged Simeon had been quick to discern from the prophets, "For my eyes have seen your salvation which you have prepared before the face of all peoples, a light to bring revelation to the Gentiles" (Luke 2:30,31).
All nations to be blessed
God’s plan includes all nations. He declared to Moses: "But as truly as
I live, all the earth shall be filled with the glory of the LORD." To this end,
He had been working throughout the generations to call out a people for His name. After
the flood had cleansed the world of corruption and violence, most of mankind soon returned
to the previous degenerate state. The rebellion against God in the building of the tower
of Babel resulted in the populace being scattered and repositioned throughout the earth.
Providentially this may have served to protect a small nucleus of believers in the most
high God.
Perhaps it was from this preserved remnant that Abram heard the word and developed his faith. Because of his staunch belief and obedience, this man became the recipient of the promises, the fulcrum upon which the gospel rests.
Israel was chosen to be a special people beloved by God because they were descendents of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, not through their own merit or prowess:
"The LORD did not set His love on you nor choose you because you were more in number than any other people, for you were the least of all peoples; but because the LORD loves you and because He would keep the oath which He swore to your fathers...The LORD delighted only in your fathers, to love them; and He chose their descendants after them, you above all peoples, as it is this day" ( Deut. 7:7; 10:15).
So it was due to God’s promises to their fathers that the Jews became instruments in the outworking of God’s plan and purpose with the rest of mankind.
The nations positioned by God
The geographical positioning of Israel was of vital importance to this scheme of
things. "When the Most High divided their inheritance to the nations, when he
separated the sons of Adam, he set the boundaries of the peoples according to the number
of the children of Israel" (Deut. 32:8). This amazing statement is often
overlooked. The nations settled according to God’s master plan. Irrespective of their
personal inclinations, wandering and migratory patterns, their positioning was
foreordained. In accordance with the Lord’s providence, Israel was strategically
placed in the middle of civilization, to serve as a witness to His justice, mercy and
love. They were to act as a beacon of light in a morass of darkness. Paul, with the
Deuteronomy passage in mind, endorses this fact: "And he has made from one blood
every nation of men to dwell on all the face of the earth, and has determined their
preappointed times and the boundaries of their dwellings, so that they should seek the
Lord, in the hope that they might grope for him and find him" (Acts 17:27).
Israel to be a light of truth
Conditional upon obedience, the Jews were to be a special people, a kingdom of
priests, with the Lord as their king, ready and willing to teach the ways of the Lord to
the Gentiles who sought Him. From the Jews would come the prophets who received the
oracles of God, revealing the message of truth and hope, which would influence the world
throughout the centuries. Separation from those who indulged in depraved practices of
idolatry was necessary, yet in general the requirement of God was that His people show
kindness and consideration to non-Jews, in order to reflect His love for them.
"Therefore love the stranger, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt"
(Deut.10:19). Their experience in Egypt was an allegory, which should have taught them the
need for release from the toil and bondage of sin. They were meant to be a holy (separate)
people, through whom example and association would bring enlightenment to those laboring
without the knowledge of God in their lives.
Sadly, the Jews lost sight of their responsibility and roles became reversed. Evil influences from the surrounding nations caused the rot of corruption to permeate so deeply, that the only remedy was that predicted: "And I will scatter you among the heathen, and will draw out a sword after you: and your land shall be desolate, and your cities waste." (Lev. 26:33). The Jews failed to live up to their high calling, but God, whose will cannot be thwarted, used their failure to further His purpose.
Dispersed Jews used by God
The uprooted nation of Israel and even the land itself would stimulate others to question
and recognise the justice of God. "All nations would say, why has the LORD done
so to this land? What does the heat of this great anger mean? Then people would say:
because they have forsaken the covenant of the LORD God of their fathers, which he made
with them when he brought them out of the land of Egypt" (Deut. 29:24,25). The
mercy of the Lord can be seen even in His punitive measures.
Hosea, using a play on the word which sounds like Israel, Jezreel, which means "God will sow," depicts God as a sower scattering fruit-producing seed. "And I will sow her (Israel) unto me in the earth; and I will have mercy upon her (Gentiles) that had not obtained mercy; and I will say to them which were not my people, Thou art my people; and they shall say, Thou art my God" (Hosea 2:23). Peter, who probably had this passage in mind when writing to the displaced Jewish believers, uses the same idea. "Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, to the strangers scattered (Gk. diaspora) throughout Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia" (I Peter 1:1).
The witness of dispersed Jewish Christians spreading the seed of the word resulted in a great harvest among the Gentiles. Confirmation that Peter was thinking of Hosea is evidenced by his quotation from Hosea in the following chapter. "Which in time past were not a people, but are now the people of God: which had not obtained mercy, but now have obtained mercy" (I Peter 2:10). As Proverb 11:24 states: "There is one who scatters, yet increases more."
Gentiles to convert Jews
The wonderful paradox is that these Gentiles, so despised by the Jews, would be the
catalysts to bring them back to the Lord. Moses prophesied that God would respond to
Israel’s rejection of Him, by showing favour to others: "They have moved me
to jealousy with that which is not God; they have provoked me to anger with their
vanities: and I will move them to jealousy with those which are not a people; I will
provoke them to anger with a foolish nation" (Deut. 32:21). The phenomenon of a
"foolish nation" (a term used by the Jews for their Gentile neighbours)
usurping their privileges would incite jealousy and become a motivating factor in their
regeneration.
In Romans 11:28-32, Paul explains how the rejection of Christ had caused Israel to be at enmity with God and how the Gentiles who joyfully accepted the Gospel would become the means of provoking the Jews to jealousy.
And so the process continues. We as Abraham’s spiritual seed partake of the feast in remembrance of the antitypical passover lamb and wait for an inheritance among the tribes of Israel. While keeping separate from the world, it is our privilege to witness of the purpose and love of God to those who will listen. May we be true to our calling.
Pat Bartle