There are zillions of individual promises. Look at Deuteronomy 28:1-14 for a list of some. See also Leviticus 26:3-13 for more promises. All these promises can be summed up by looking at the Old Testament as a whole:
Israel was constantly tempted by the abominable practices of the nations around her. God warned Israel that if she sinned by following these pagan practices, God would punish Israel by raising up one of these Gentile nations to invade and conquer Israel. This happened repeatedly, and when Israel repented, God would send a savior-judge to deliver Israel from military conquest. Here's how Nehemiah sums up Israel's history of rebelling against God's Law and then being "saved" from the consequences of their disobedience:
- Nehemiah 9:23-31
- 23 Thou also multipliedst their children as the stars of heaven, and broughtest them into the land, concerning which thou hadst promised to their fathers, that they should go in to possess it.
- 24 So the children went in and possessed the land, and thou subduedst before them the inhabitants of the land, the Canaanites, and gavest them into their hands, with their kings, and the people of the land, that they might do with them as they would.
- 25 And they took strong cities, and a fat land, and possessed houses full of all goods, wells digged, vineyards, and oliveyards, and fruit trees in abundance: so they did eat, and were filled, and became fat, and delighted themselves in thy great goodness.
- 26 Nevertheless they were disobedient, and rebelled against thee, and cast thy law behind their backs, and slew thy prophets which testified against them to turn them to thee, and they wrought great provocations.
- 27 Therefore thou deliveredst them into the hand of their enemies, who vexed them: and in the time of their trouble, when they cried unto thee, thou heardest them from heaven; and according to thy manifold mercies thou gavest them saviours ["judges"], who saved them out of the hand of their enemies.
- 28 But after they had rest, they did evil again before thee: therefore leftest thou them in the land of their enemies, so that they had the dominion over them: yet when they returned, and cried unto thee, thou heardest them from heaven; and many times didst thou deliver them according to thy mercies;
- 29 And testifiedst against them, that thou mightest bring them again unto thy law: yet they dealt proudly, and hearkened not unto thy commandments, but sinned against thy judgments, (which if a man do, he shall live in them;) and withdrew the shoulder, and hardened their neck, and would not hear.
- 30 Yet many years didst thou forbear them, and testifiedst against them by thy spirit in thy prophets: yet would they not give ear: therefore gavest thou them into the hand of the people of the lands.
- 31 Nevertheless for thy great mercies' sake thou didst not utterly consume them, nor forsake them; for thou art a gracious and merciful God.
God sent Israel many "saviors" to deliver Israel from the Gentiles.
As we'll see below, the "paradigm" for "nations" in the Bible is non-Israelites, and the paradigm
for "salvation" is deliverance from non-Israelite tyrants and their armies.
The main promise of God, repeatedly stated, toward which all Old Testament history pointed, is that God would convert these pagan Gentile nations to the true religion (and Israel too) so that Israel could live in peace. And when any nation obeys God's Commandments, God promises peace and prosperity (see Deuteronomy 28 and Leviticus 26 for prominent examples). This is "good news" for Israel, but also good news for every nation on earth. These non-Israelite nations would be adopted into the family of Abraham and treated as native-born Israelites. The word "Gospel" means "good news," and the Gospel is the promise of God's blessings upon all the converted Gentile nations, who have repented of paganism, ceased their war against God and His people, and embraced the Law and civilization of Christ:
Galatians 3:8
And the Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the heathen through faith, preached before the Gospel unto Abraham, saying, "In thee shall all nations be blessed."
The promise to Israel that the non-Israelite gentile nations would worship YHWH and stop their military invasions of Israel was certainly "good news" for Israel, but it is also "good news" for those non-Israelite nations, when viewed through the lens of Biblical faith. Most of the Bible was written from Israel's perspective. We need to look at it now from the perspective of non-Israelite gentile nations. The promise to Abraham is global conversion and blessing of the gentile nations.
Let's look at this gospel promise in the pages of the Old Testament. Notice that the Bible's perspective, while addressed to Israel, is international in focus, not limited to "Israel Only" [IO]. The Canaanite woman yearned for crumbs from the table (Mark 7:28), but these "crumbs" are nothing less than global salvation for all (non-Israelite) nations.
A great place to sum up the international perspective of the Bible is Micah's “Vine & Fig Tree” prophecy
Micah 4
1 Now it shall come to pass in the latter days
That the mountain of the Lord’s house
Shall be established on the top of the mountains,
And shall be exalted above the hills;
And peoples shall flow to it.
2 Many nations shall come and say,
“Come, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord,
To the house of the God of Jacob;
He will teach us His ways,
And we shall walk in His paths.”
For out of Zion the law shall go forth,
And the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.
3 He shall judge between many peoples,
And rebuke strong nations afar off;
They shall beat their swords into plowshares,
And their spears into pruning hooks;
Nation shall not lift up sword against nation,
Neither shall they learn war anymore.
4 But everyone shall sit under his vine and under his fig tree,
And no one shall make them afraid;
For the mouth of the Lord of hosts has spoken.
This is a picture of non-Israelite nations converting to the God of Abraham, and desiring to obtain His blessings by obeying His Law, which was revealed to Israel most notably through Moses, but was known to all mankind from Adam and then Noah.
The word "Gentiles" (Hebrew, goyim) sometimes refers to the tribes of Israel, but the paradigm is non-Israelite nations.
Psalm 2:7-8, 10-11
I will declare the decree: the LORD hath said unto Me, Thou art My Son; this day have I begotten Thee. {8} Ask of Me, and I shall give Thee the heathen for Thine inheritance,
and the uttermost parts of the earth for Thy possession. {10} Be wise now therefore, O ye kings: be instructed, ye judges of the earth. {11} Serve the LORD with fear, and rejoice with trembling.
Psalm
22:27-31
All the ends of the world shall remember and turn unto the LORD: and all the kindreds of the nations shall worship before thee. {28} For the kingdom is the LORD's:
and he is the governor among the nations. {29} All they that be fat upon earth shall eat and worship: all they that go down to the dust shall bow before him: and none can keep alive his own soul. {30} A seed shall serve
him; it shall be accounted to the Lord for a generation. {31} They shall come, and shall declare his righteousness unto a people that shall be born, that he hath done this.
Psalm 46:10
Be still, and know that I am
God: I will be exalted among the heathen, I will be exalted in the earth.
Psalm 47:3-4, 7-8 He shall subdue the people under us, and the nations under our feet. {4} He shall choose our inheritance for us, the
excellency of Jacob whom he loved. Selah.
For God is the King of all the earth: sing ye praises with understanding. {8} God reigneth over the heathen: God sitteth upon the throne of his holiness.
Psalm 65:2
O
thou that hearest prayer, unto thee shall all flesh come.
Psalm 66:4
All the earth shall worship thee, and shall sing unto thee; they shall sing to thy name. Selah.
Psalm 67:2,7
2 That thy way may be
known upon earth, thy saving health among all nations.
7 God shall bless us; and all the ends of the earth shall fear him.
Psalm 68:31
Princes shall come out of Egypt; Ethiopia shall soon stretch out her hands
unto God.
Psalm 72:8-11,17
8 He shall have dominion also from sea to sea, and from the river unto the ends of the earth. {9} They that dwell in the wilderness shall bow before him; and his enemies shall lick the
dust. {10} The kings of Tarshish and of the isles shall bring presents: the kings of Sheba and Seba shall offer gifts. {11} Yea, all kings shall fall down before him: all nations shall serve him.
17 His name shall
endure for ever: his name shall be continued as long as the sun: and men shall be blessed in him: all nations shall call him blessed.
Psalm 86:9
All nations whom thou hast made shall come and worship before thee,
O Lord; and shall glorify thy name.
Psalm 87
2 The Lord loveth the gates of Zion more than all the dwellings of Jacob.
3 Glorious things are spoken of thee, O city of God! Selah
4 “I will make mention of
Rahab and Babylon to them that know Me; behold, Philistia and Tyre, with Ethiopia: ‘This man was born there.’”
5 And of Zion it shall be said, “This and that man were born in her; and the Highest Himself shall
establish her.”
6 The Lord shall count, when He writeth up the people, that this man was born there. Selah
Psalm 102:15-22 So the heathen shall fear the name of the LORD, and all the kings of the earth thy glory. {16} When the LORD shall build up Zion, he shall appear in his glory. {17} He will regard the prayer of the destitute, and not despise their prayer. {18} This shall be written for the generation to come: and the people which shall be created shall praise the LORD. {19} For he hath looked down from the height of his sanctuary; from heaven did the LORD behold the earth; {20} To hear the groaning of the prisoner; to loose those that are appointed to death; {21} To declare the name of the LORD in Zion, and his praise in Jerusalem; {22} When the people are gathered together, and the kingdoms, to serve the LORD.
Psalm 138:4-5 All the kings of the earth shall praise thee, O LORD, when they hear the words of thy mouth. {5} Yea, they shall sing in the ways of the LORD: for great is the glory of the LORD.
Isaiah 2:2-4
This is the same prophecy as Micah gave, although Micah gives a little more detail. See above.
Isaiah 9:1-2,6-7
Isaiah 9:1-2 Nevertheless the dimness shall not be such as
was in her vexation, when at the first he lightly afflicted the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, and afterward did more grievously afflict her by the way of the sea, beyond Jordan, in Galilee of the nations. {2}
The people that walked in darkness have seen a great light: they that dwell in the land of the shadow of death, upon them hath the light shined.
Isaiah 9:6-7 For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the
government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. {7} Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end,
upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even for ever. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will perform this.
Isaiah
11:1-2,4,9-12
Isaiah 11:1-2 And there shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse, and a Branch shall grow out of his roots: {2} And the spirit of the LORD shall rest upon him, the spirit of
wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the LORD;
Isaiah 11:4 But with righteousness shall he judge the poor, and reprove with
equity for the meek of the earth: and he shall smite the earth with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips shall he slay the wicked.
Isaiah 11:9-12 They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy
mountain: for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the LORD, as the waters cover the sea. {10} And in that day there shall be a root of Jesse, which shall stand for an ensign of the people; to
it shall the Gentiles seek: and his rest shall be glorious. {11} And it shall come to pass in that day, that the Lord shall set his hand again the second time to recover the remnant of his people, which shall be left, from
Assyria, and from Egypt, and from Pathros, and from Cush, and from Elam, and from Shinar, and from Hamath, and from the islands of the sea. {12} And he shall set up an ensign for the nations, and shall assemble the
outcasts of Israel, and gather together the dispersed of Judah from the four corners of the earth.
Isaiah 19:18-25
In that day shall five cities in the land of Egypt speak the language of Canaan, and swear to the
LORD of hosts; one shall be called, The city of destruction. {19} In that day shall there be an altar to the LORD in the midst of the land of Egypt, and a pillar at the border
thereof to the LORD. {20} And it shall be for a sign and for a witness unto the LORD of hosts in the land of Egypt: for they shall cry unto the LORD because
of the oppressors, and he shall send them a saviour, and a great one, and he shall deliver them. {21} And the LORD shall be known to Egypt, and the Egyptians shall know the LORD
in that day, and shall do sacrifice and oblation; yea, they shall vow a vow unto the LORD, and perform it. {22} And the LORD shall smite Egypt: he shall smite and heal it: and
they shall return even to the LORD, and he shall be entreated of them, and shall heal them. {23} In that day shall there be a highway out of Egypt to Assyria, and the Assyrian shall come into Egypt,
and the Egyptian into Assyria, and the Egyptians shall serve with the Assyrians. {24} In that day shall Israel be the third with Egypt and with Assyria, even a blessing in the midst of the land: {25} Whom the LORD
of hosts shall bless, saying, Blessed be Egypt my people, and Assyria the work of my hands, and Israel mine inheritance.
Isaiah 25:6-9
And in this mountain shall the LORD of hosts make unto
all people a feast of fat things, a feast of wines on the lees, of fat things full of marrow, of wines on the lees well refined. {7} And he will destroy in this mountain the face of the covering cast over all people, and
the veil that is spread over all nations. {8} He will swallow up death in victory; and the Lord GOD will wipe away tears from off all faces; and the rebuke of his people shall he take away from off all the earth: for the LORD
hath spoken it. {9} And it shall be said in that day, Lo, this is our God; we have waited for him, and he will save us: this is the LORD; we have waited for him, we will be glad and rejoice in his
salvation.
Isaiah 27:6,13
6 He shall cause them that come of Jacob to take root: Israel shall blossom and bud, and fill the face of the world with fruit.
13 And it shall come to pass in that day, that the great
trumpet shall be blown, and they shall come which were ready to perish in the land of Assyria, and the outcasts in the land of Egypt, and shall worship the LORD in the holy mount at Jerusalem.
Isaiah
40:3-5
3 The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the LORD, make straight in the desert a highway for our God. {4} Every valley shall be exalted, and every mountain and
hill shall be made low: and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough places plain: {5} And the glory of the LORD shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together: for the mouth of the LORD
hath spoken it.
Isaiah 42:1-13
Behold my servant, whom I uphold; mine elect, in whom my soul delighteth; I have put my spirit upon him: he shall bring forth judgment to the Gentiles. {2} He shall not cry, nor lift
up, nor cause his voice to be heard in the street. {3} A bruised reed shall he not break, and the smoking flax shall he not quench: he shall bring forth judgment unto truth. {4} He shall not fail nor be discouraged, till
he have set judgment in the earth: and the isles shall wait for his law. {5} Thus saith God the LORD, he that created the heavens, and stretched them out; he that spread forth the earth, and that
which cometh out of it; he that giveth breath unto the people upon it, and spirit to them that walk therein: {6} I the LORD have called thee in righteousness, and will hold thine hand, and will keep
thee, and give thee for a covenant of the people, for a light of the Gentiles; {7} To open the blind eyes, to bring out the prisoners from the prison, and them that sit in darkness out of the prison house. {8} I am the LORD:
that is my name: and my glory will I not give to another, neither my praise to graven images. {9} Behold, the former things are come to pass, and new things do I declare: before they spring forth I tell you of them. {10}
Sing unto the LORD a new song, and his praise from the end of the earth, ye that go down to the sea, and all that is therein; the isles, and the inhabitants thereof. {11} Let the wilderness and the
cities thereof lift up their voice, the villages that Kedar doth inhabit: let the inhabitants of the rock sing, let them shout from the top of the mountains. {12} Let them give glory unto the LORD,
and declare his praise in the islands. {13} The LORD shall go forth as a mighty man, he shall stir up jealousy like a man of war: he shall cry, yea, roar; he shall prevail against his enemies.
Isaiah
45:6,22-24
6 That they may know from the rising of the sun, and from the west, that there is none beside me. I am the LORD, and there is none else.
22 Look unto me, and be ye saved, all the ends
of the earth: for I am God, and there is none else. {23} I have sworn by myself, the word is gone out of my mouth in righteousness, and shall not return, That unto me every knee shall bow, every tongue shall swear. {24}
Surely, shall one say, in the LORD have I righteousness and strength: even to him shall men come; and all that are incensed against him shall be ashamed.
Isaiah 49:1-2,6-12,22-23
1 Listen, O
isles, unto me; and hearken, ye people, from far; The LORD hath called me from the womb; from the bowels of my mother hath he made mention of my name. {2} And he hath made my mouth like a sharp sword;
in the shadow of his hand hath he hid me, and made me a polished shaft; in his quiver hath he hid me;
6 And he said, It is a light thing that thou shouldest be my servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob, and to restore
the preserved of Israel: I will also give thee for a light to the Gentiles, that thou mayest be my salvation unto the end of the earth. {7} Thus saith the LORD, the Redeemer of Israel, and his Holy
One, to him whom man despiseth, to him whom the nation abhorreth, to a servant of rulers, Kings shall see and arise, princes also shall worship, because of the LORD that is faithful, and the Holy One
of Israel, and he shall choose thee. {8} Thus saith the LORD, In an acceptable time have I heard thee, and in a day of salvation have I helped thee: and I will preserve thee, and give thee for a
covenant of the people, to establish the earth, to cause to inherit the desolate heritages; {9} That thou mayest say to the prisoners, Go forth; to them that are in darkness, Show yourselves. They shall feed in the ways,
and their pastures shall be in all high places. {10} They shall not hunger nor thirst; neither shall the heat nor sun smite them: for he that hath mercy on them shall lead them, even by the springs of water shall he guide
them. {11} And I will make all my mountains a way, and my highways shall be exalted. {12} Behold, these shall come from far: and, lo, these from the north and from the west; and these from the land of Sinim.
22 Thus
saith the Lord GOD, Behold, I will lift up mine hand to the Gentiles, and set up my standard to the people: and they shall bring thy sons in their arms, and thy daughters shall be carried upon their shoulders. {23} And
kings shall be thy nursing fathers, and their queens thy nursing mothers: they shall bow down to thee with their face toward the earth, and lick up the dust of thy feet; and thou shalt know that I am the LORD:
for they shall not be ashamed that wait for me.
Isaiah 51:3-5
For the LORD shall comfort Zion: he will comfort all her waste places; and he will make her wilderness like Eden, and her desert
like the garden of the LORD; joy and gladness shall be found therein, thanksgiving, and the voice of melody. {4} Hearken unto me, my people; and give ear unto me, O my nation: for a law shall proceed
from me, and I will make my judgment to rest for a light of the people. {5} My righteousness is near; my salvation is gone forth, and mine arms shall judge the people; the isles shall wait upon me, and on mine arm shall
they trust.
Isaiah 52:7,10,15
7 How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him that bringeth good tidings, that publisheth peace; that bringeth good tidings of good, that publisheth salvation; that saith
unto Zion, Thy God reigneth!
10 The LORD hath made bare his holy arm in the eyes of all the nations; and all the ends of the earth shall see the salvation of our God.
15 So shall he sprinkle
many nations; the kings shall shut their mouths at him: for that which had not been told them shall they see; and that which they had not heard shall they consider.
Isaiah 54:1,5
1 Sing, O barren, thou that didst
not bear; break forth into singing, and cry aloud, thou that didst not travail with child: for more are the children of the desolate than the children of the married wife, saith the LORD.
5 For thy
Maker is thine husband; the LORD of hosts is his name; and thy Redeemer the Holy One of Israel; The God of the whole earth shall he be called.
Isaiah 55:4-5
Behold, I have given him for a
witness to the people, a leader and commander to the people. {5} Behold, thou shalt call a nation that thou knowest not, and nations that knew not thee shall run unto thee because of the LORD thy God,
and for the Holy One of Israel; for he hath glorified thee.
Isaiah 56:3-8
Neither let the son of the stranger, that hath joined himself to the LORD, speak, saying, The LORD
hath utterly separated me from his people: neither let the eunuch say, Behold, I am a dry tree. {4} For thus saith the LORD unto the eunuchs that keep my sabbaths, and choose the things that please
me, and take hold of my covenant; {5} Even unto them will I give in mine house and within my walls a place and a name better than of sons and of daughters: I will give them an everlasting name, that shall not be cut off.
{6} Also the sons of the stranger, that join themselves to the LORD, to serve him, and to love the name of the LORD, to be his servants, every one that keepeth the sabbath from
polluting it, and taketh hold of my covenant; {7} Even them will I bring to my holy mountain, and make them joyful in my house of prayer: their burnt offerings and their sacrifices shall be accepted upon mine altar; for
mine house shall be called an house of prayer for all people. {8} The Lord GOD which gathereth the outcasts of Israel saith, Yet will I gather others to him, beside those that are gathered unto him.
Isaiah 57:19
I
create the fruit of the lips; Peace, peace to him that is far off, and to him that is near, saith the LORD; and I will heal him.
Isaiah 60
Isaiah 61:1-2,6-11
1 The spirit of
the Lord GOD is upon me; because the LORD hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of
the prison to them that are bound; {2} To proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all that mourn;
6 But ye shall be named the Priests of the LORD:
men shall call you the Ministers of our God: ye shall eat the riches of the Gentiles, and in their glory shall ye boast yourselves. {7} For your shame ye shall have double; and for confusion they shall rejoice in their
portion: therefore in their land they shall possess the double: everlasting joy shall be unto them. {8} For I the LORD love judgment, I hate robbery for burnt offering; and I will direct their work in
truth, and I will make an everlasting covenant with them. {9} And their seed shall be known among the Gentiles, and their offspring among the people: all that see them shall acknowledge them, that they are the seed which
the LORD hath blessed. {10} I will greatly rejoice in the LORD, my soul shall be joyful in my God; for he hath clothed me with the garments of salvation, he hath covered me with
the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decketh himself with ornaments, and as a bride adorneth herself with her jewels. {11} For as the earth bringeth forth her bud, and as the garden causeth the things that are sown
in it to spring forth; so the Lord GOD will cause righteousness and praise to spring forth before all the nations.
Isaiah 62:2,10-11
2 And the Gentiles shall see thy righteousness, and all kings thy glory: and
thou shalt be called by a new name, which the mouth of the LORD shall name.
10-11 Go through, go through the gates; prepare ye the way of the people; cast up, cast up the highway; gather out the
stones; lift up a standard for the people. {11} Behold, the LORD hath proclaimed unto the end of the world, Say ye to the daughter of Zion, Behold, thy salvation cometh; behold, his reward is with
him, and his work before him.
Isaiah 65:1
I am sought of them that asked not for me; I am found of them that sought me not: I said, Behold me, behold me, unto a nation that was not called by my name.
Isaiah
66:12,18-23
12 For thus saith the LORD, Behold, I will extend peace to her like a river, and the glory of the Gentiles like a flowing stream: then shall ye suck, ye shall be borne upon her sides,
and be dandled upon her knees.
18 For I know their works and their thoughts: it shall come, that I will gather all nations and tongues; and they shall come, and see my glory. {19} And I will set a sign among them, and I
will send those that escape of them unto the nations, to Tarshish, Pul, and Lud, that draw the bow, to Tubal, and Javan, to the isles afar off, that have not heard my fame, neither have seen my glory; and they shall
declare my glory among the Gentiles. {20} And they shall bring all your brethren for an offering unto the LORD out of all nations upon horses, and in chariots, and in litters, and upon mules, and upon
swift beasts, to my holy mountain Jerusalem, saith the LORD, as the children of Israel bring an offering in a clean vessel into the house of the LORD. {21} And I will also take
of them for priests and for Levites, saith the LORD. {22} For as the new heavens and the new earth, which I will make, shall remain before me, saith the LORD, so shall your seed
and your name remain. {23} And it shall come to pass, that from one new moon to another, and from one sabbath to another, shall all flesh come to worship before me, saith the LORD.
Jeremiah 3:17
At that time they shall call Jerusalem the throne of the LORD; and all the nations shall be gathered unto it, to the name of the LORD, to Jerusalem: neither
shall they walk any more after the imagination of their evil heart.
Jeremiah 4:2
And thou shalt swear, The LORD liveth, in truth, in judgment, and in righteousness; and the nations shall
bless themselves in him, and in him shall they glory.
Jeremiah 16:19-21
19 O LORD, my strength, and my fortress, and my refuge in the day of affliction, the Gentiles shall come unto thee
from the ends of the earth, and shall say, Surely our fathers have inherited lies, vanity, and things wherein there is no profit. {20} Shall a man make gods unto himself, and they are no gods? {21} Therefore, behold, I
will this once cause them to know, I will cause them to know mine hand and my might; and they shall know that my name is The LORD.
Jeremiah 31:34
And they shall teach no more every man his
neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, Know the LORD: for they shall all know me, from the least of them unto the greatest of them, saith the LORD: for I will forgive
their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.
Daniel 2:35,44-45
35 Then was the iron, the clay, the brass, the silver, and the gold, broken to pieces together, and became like the chaff of the summer
threshingfloors; and the wind carried them away, that no place was found for them: and the stone that smote the image became a great mountain, and filled the whole earth.
44 And in the days of these kings shall the God
of heaven set up a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed: and the kingdom shall not be left to other people, but it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand for ever. {45} Forasmuch as
thou sawest that the stone was cut out of the mountain without hands, and that it brake in pieces the iron, the brass, the clay, the silver, and the gold; the great God hath made known to the king what shall come to pass
hereafter: and the dream is certain, and the interpretation thereof sure.
Daniel 7:13-14,18,22,27
13 I saw in the night visions, and, behold, one like the Son of man came with the clouds of heaven, and came to
the Ancient of days, and they brought him near before him. {14} And there was given him dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, that all people, nations, and languages, should serve him: his dominion is an everlasting
dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom that which shall not be destroyed.
18 But the saints of the most High shall take the kingdom, and possess the kingdom for ever, even for ever and ever.
22 Until
the Ancient of days came, and judgment was given to the saints of the most High; and the time came that the saints possessed the kingdom.
27 And the kingdom and dominion, and the greatness of the kingdom under the whole
heaven, shall be given to the people of the saints of the most High, whose kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and all dominions shall serve and obey him.
Habakkuk 2:14
For the earth shall be filled with the
knowledge of the glory of the LORD, as the waters cover the sea.
Zephaniah 2:11
The LORD will be terrible unto them: for he will famish all the gods of the earth; and
men shall worship him, every one from his place, even all the isles of the heathen.
Zephaniah 3:9-10
9 For then will I turn to the people a pure language, that they may all call upon the name of the LORD,
to serve him with one consent. {10} From beyond the rivers of Ethiopia my suppliants, even the daughter of my dispersed, shall bring mine offering.
Haggai 2:6-7,9
6 For thus saith the LORD
of hosts; Yet once, it is a little while, and I will shake the heavens, and the earth, and the sea, and the dry land; {7} And I will shake all nations, and the desire of all nations shall come: and I will fill this house
with glory, saith the LORD of hosts.
9 The glory of this latter house shall be greater than of the former, saith the LORD of hosts: and in this place will I give peace, saith
the LORD of hosts.
Zechariah 2:10-13
10 Sing and rejoice, O daughter of Zion: for, lo, I come, and I will dwell in the midst of thee, saith the LORD. {11} And many
nations shall be joined to the LORD in that day, and shall be my people: and I will dwell in the midst of thee, and thou shalt know that the LORD of hosts hath sent me unto thee.
{12} And the LORD shall inherit Judah his portion in the holy land, and shall choose Jerusalem again. {13} Be silent, O all flesh, before the LORD: for he is raised up out of his
holy habitation.
Zechariah 6:15
And they that are far off shall come and build in the temple of the LORD, and ye shall know that the LORD of hosts hath sent me unto
you. And this shall come to pass, if ye will diligently obey the voice of the LORD your God.
Zechariah 8:20-23
20 Thus saith the LORD of hosts; It shall yet come to
pass, that there shall come people, and the inhabitants of many cities: {21} And the inhabitants of one city shall go to another, saying, Let us go speedily to pray before the LORD, and to seek the LORD
of hosts: I will go also. {22} Yea, many people and strong nations shall come to seek the LORD of hosts in Jerusalem, and to pray before the LORD. {23} Thus saith the LORD
of hosts; In those days it shall come to pass, that ten men shall take hold out of all languages of the nations, even shall take hold of the skirt of him that is a Jew, saying, We will go with you: for we have heard that
God is with you.
Zechariah 9
Zechariah 14
Malachi 1:11
For from the rising of the sun even unto the going down of the same my name shall be great among the Gentiles; and in every place
incense shall be offered unto my name, and a pure offering: for my name shall be great among the heathen, saith the LORD of hosts.
|
In Genesis 10 we have the "Table of Nations" -- all the nations in the human race (70 in number) that descended from Noah. In Genesis 11 we have the scattering of nations at Babel and the genealogy of Terah, Abraham's father, who lived in the southern end of modern-day Iraq. To get to Canaan, Abraham had to navigate many nations, including the Sumerians and others mentioned in Genesis 10. So when we get to Genesis 12, and God promises that Abraham will be a great nation -- greater, I think, than all the nations he knew in Ur of the Chaldees and between there and Canaan -- and also promises that "all the families [Strong's #4940 - מִשְׁפָּחָה- mishpachah] of the earth will be blessed" in Abraham, Abe is not thinking of "the 10 lost tribes," nor is his thinking limited to "the Promised Land." He's thinking about the 70 nations of Genesis 10 wherever they may be found on earth.
I believe (as a not-yet IOer) that Genesis 10 is the paradigm or archetype of the "Gentiles." I haven't finished working through all the occurrences of
the words translated "gentiles" or "nations," but so far it seems to me that I should assume they refer to the nations in Genesis 10.
The IO advocate would say that these words refer to the ten
northern tribes in exile. I would like to know which verse drives that assumption and elevates it above Genesis 10. Why is that verse more of a paradigm than Genesis 10?
I think it is certain that "nations" in these verses are the Genesis 10 nations. In other verses, the "goyim" might be the tribes of Israel. I assume that "nations" in most of the verses refers to the Genesis 10 nations. Why should I assume that the words refer to the exiled northern tribes?
And when the promises in Genesis 12 are repeated in Genesis 15, 17, and thereafter, Abraham is probably thinking of "nations" in terms of the "nations" that kidnapped his nephew Lot (Genesis 14). Nothing in the first 20 chapters of the Bible would suggest that God's promises to Abraham regarding "nations" is limited to Israel's 12 "tribes."
And centuries later, after the 10 northern tribes rebelled against the House of David, the distinction between the two nations, Israel and Judah, and thereafter the 12 tribes, was all but lost. There was only one nation, Israel, of any consequence. Nobody in Israel thought of the descendants of Abraham constituting many "nations." Just one nation: Israel.
The Myth of "The Ten Lost Tribes"
Israel never really obeyed God's commands to avoid the abominable sins of the nations in the Promised Land and all around them. They put their faith not in a loving God, but in their own DNA
The natural seed of Abraham
So what of the natural descendants of Abraham? How can we be sure the promise is not to them? Consider these verses:
“Know ye therefore that they which are of faith, the same are the children of Abraham. And the scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the heathen (The non Jews) through faith, preached before the gospel unto Abraham, saying, In thee shall all nations be blessed. So then they which be of faith are blessed with faithful Abraham.” Galatians 3:7-9
“And think not to say within yourselves, We have Abraham to our father: for I say unto you, that God is able of these stones to raise up children unto Abraham.” Matthew 3:9
“Whose are the fathers, and of whom as concerning the flesh Christ came, who is over all, God blessed for ever. Amen. Not as though the word of God hath taken none effect. For they are not all Israel, which are of Israel: Neither, because they are the seed of Abraham, are they all children.. That is, They which are the children of the flesh, these are not the children of God: but the children of the promise are counted for the seed.” Romans 9:5-8
“Where is boasting then? It is excluded. By what law? of works? Nay: but by the law of faith. Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law. Is he the God of the Jews only? is he not also of the Gentiles? Yes, of the Gentiles also: Seeing it is one God, which shall justify the circumcision by faith, and uncircumcision through faith. Do we then make void the law through faith? God forbid: yea, we establish the law.” Romans 3:27-31
The above verses clearly show that to be a natural descendant of Abraham is not enough, a belief in the promises and that they have and will be fulfilled in Jesus Christ enables anybody to be associated with them. This is the gospel.
Israel served as a kind of "incubator" to bring about "the Seed," which Paul tells the Galatians is Christ.
As I read the Bible, I think the real plan of God was to offer forgiveness of sins to every clan of human beings, not just Abraham's. Faithless Israel constantly missed this long-range vision. . But the prophets continually articulated it.
I think Isaiah makes a promise that non-Israelites (Egypt, Assyria, as examples) will be counted as God's chosen "People," and "the work of His hands" -- which are titles Israelites were tempted to think applied only to Israelites (Isaiah 60:21; 29:23; Romans 9:25-26)Isaiah 19:18 In that day five cities in the land of Egypt will speak the language of Canaan and swear by the Lord of hosts; one will be called the City of Destruction.
19 In that day there will be an altar to the Lord in the midst of the land of Egypt, and a pillar to the Lord at its border. 20 And it will be for a sign and for a witness to the Lord of hosts in the land of Egypt; for they will cry to the Lord because of the oppressors, and He will send them a Savior and a Mighty One, and He will deliver them. 21 Then the Lord will be known to Egypt, and the Egyptians will know the Lord in that day, and will make sacrifice and offering; yes, they will make a vow to the Lord and perform it. 22 And the Lord will strike Egypt, He will strike and heal it; they will return to the Lord, and He will be entreated by them and heal them.
23 In that day there will be a highway from Egypt to Assyria, and the Assyrian will come into Egypt and the Egyptian into Assyria, and the Egyptians will serve with the Assyrians.
24 In that day Israel will be one of three with Egypt and Assyria—a blessing in the midst of the land, 25 whom the Lord of hosts shall bless, saying, “Blessed is Egypt My people, and Assyria the work of My hands, and Israel My inheritance.”
Isa 19:24 In that day Israel shall be the third [referring to (1) Egypt and (2) Assyria]
Calvin comments:
N.T. Wright and others have argued that Israel was supposed to see herself as a "Priest to the Nations.""In that day shall Israel."
Isaiah concludes the promise which he had briefly glanced at, that the Egyptians and Assyrians, as well as Israel, shall be blessed. Formerly the grace of God was in some measure confined to Israel, because with that nation only had the Lord entered into covenant. The Lord had stretched out “his cord” over Jacob, (Deuteronomy 32:9,) as Moses speaks; (56) and David says,
“He hath not done so to any nation, and hath not made known to them his judgments.” (Psalms 147:20.)
In a word, the blessing of God dwelt solely in Judea, but he says that it will be shared with the Egyptians and Assyrians, under whose name he includes also the rest of the nations. He does not mention them for the purpose of shewing respect, but because they were the constant enemies of God, and appeared to be more estranged from him and farther removed from the hope of favor than all others. Accordingly, though he had formerly adopted none but the children of Abraham, he now wished to be called, without distinction, “The father of all nations.” (Genesis 17:7; Exodus 19:5; Deuteronomy 7:6.)
25."Because the Lord of hosts will bless him."
He assigns a reason, and explains the former statement; for he shews that, through the undeserved goodness of God, the Assyrians and Egyptians shall be admitted to fellowship with the chosen people of God. As if he had said, “Though these titles belonged exclusively to Israel, they shall likewise be conferred on other nations, which the Lord hath adopted to be his own.” There is a mutual relation between God and his people, so that they who are called by his mouth “a holy people,” (Exodus 19:6,) may justly, in return, call him their God. Yet this designation is bestowed indiscriminately on Egyptians and Assyrians.
"Blessed be Egypt my people, and Assyria the work of my hands."
Though the Prophet intended to describe foreign nations as associated with the Jews who had belonged to God’s household, yet he employs most appropriate marks to describe the degrees. By calling the Egyptians “the people of God,” he means that they will share in the honor which God deigned to bestow in a peculiar manner on the Jews alone. When he calls Assyrians the work of his hands, he distinguishes them by the title peculiar to his Church. We have elsewhere remarked that the Church is called “the workmanship” ( ποίημα ) of God, (Ephesians 2:10,) because by the spirit of regeneration believers are created anew, so as to bear the image of God. Thus, he means that we are “the work of God’s hands,” not so far as we are created to be men, but so far as they who are separated from the world, and become new creatures, are created anew to a new life.
Psalm 87
2 The Lord loveth the gates of Zion more than all the dwellings of Jacob.
3 Glorious things are spoken of thee, O city of God! Selah
4 “I will make mention of Rahab
and Babylon to them that know Me; behold, Philistia and Tyre, with Ethiopia: ‘This man was born there.’”
5 And of Zion it shall be said, “This and that man were born in her; and the Highest Himself shall
establish her.”
6 The Lord shall count, when He writeth up the people, that this man was born there. Selah
1 Kings 8:43
43
hear in heaven Your dwelling place, and do according to all for which the foreigner calls to You, that all peoples of the earth may know Your name and fear You, as do Your people Israel, and that they may know that this
temple which I have built is called by Your name.
Matthew Poole comments:
Malachi 1:5That all people may know thy fame, to fear thee, as do thy people Israel;
whereby we see how sincerely and heartily the ancient and godly Jews desired the conversion of the Gentiles; whereas the latter and degenerate Jews, in the days of Christ and of the apostles, did envy, oppose it, and fret at it.
Yes, Malachi 1 is about the non-Israelite
nations to which Israel was scattered, but it promises their conversion to the true religion.
Matthew Poole:
In Paragraph four, mention is made of Prophecy, and of predicted "congregational worship" in "God's House of Prayer." Shall we, with the Dispensationalists, expect a rebuilt temple? Of course not. As Jesus might have told the woman at the well, "One of the burdens of Malachi's prophecy was that the corrupt worship among the Jews of his day would, in the future age of God's advent, be replaced with pure worship among the Gentiles in every place (Mal. 1:11; 3:3-4)." Worship would no longer be limited or tied to Jerusalem, or to the outward shadows of the Old Covenant, as Calvin comments:"This verse is a very full and plain prediction or promise made on behalf of the Gentiles, that they should be a people to the Lord, and should exalt his name, and worship him in a pure way, and well-pleasing to the Lord. That when he casteth off ceremonial services and carnal ordinances, he will set up spiritual and heavenly, and all nations, from east to west, shall submit to them, and sanctify the holy and reverend name of God in them.
"Incense; a law term for a gospel duty; and under this type is contained the prayers and praises, nay, the whole gospel worship is that incense which shall be offered unto God, which is in the verse called a pure offering.
"A pure offering; both sincere, in opposition to hypocrisy, and holy, in opposition to impurity, and purged from superstition and idolatry. The sum of this verse is contained in that John 4:21-24."
Whenever (the Prophets) intend to show that the whole world would come to the faith and true religion, "An altar," they say, "shall be built to God;" and by "altar" they no doubt meant Spiritual worship, and not that after Christ's coming sacrifices ought to be offered. For now there is no altar for us; and whosoever builds an altar for himself subverts the cross of Christ, on which he offered the only true and perpetual sacrifice.
It then follows that this mode of speaking ought to be so taken, that we may understand the analogy between the legal rites, and the Spiritual manner of worshiping God now prescribed in the Gospel. Though then the words of the Prophet are metaphorical, yet their meaning is plain enough -- that God will be worshipped and adored everywhere. But what are the sacrifices of the New Testament? They are prayers and thanksgivings, according to what the Apostle says in the last chapter of the epistle to the Hebrews. There was also under the law the Spiritual worship of God, as it is especially stated in the fiftieth psalm; but there were then shadows connected with it, as it is intimated in these words of Christ: "Now is come the hour when the Father shall be worshipped in Spirit and Truth" (John iv.13). He does not indeed deny that God was worshipped in Spirit by the Fathers; but as that worship was concealed under outward rites, he says that now under the Gospel the simple, and, so to speak, the naked truth is taught. What then the Prophet says of offering and incense availed under the law; but we must now see what God commands in His Gospel, and how he would have us to worship Him. We do not find there any incense or sacrifices.
This passage contains nothing else than that the time would come when the pure and Spiritual worship of God would prevail in all places.
How do we worship God in the New Covenant? Do we need an institutional priesthood? Must we journey to a certain centralized location? Must we "attend church"?
Micah 4:2 And many nations shall come and say, Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob, that He may teach us His ways, and we may walk in His paths.Micah 4:10? But verse 11 is clearly about non-Israelite "nations"
11 Now many nations
are assembled against you,
saying, “Let her be defiled,
and let our eyes gaze upon Zion.”
12 But they do not know
the thoughts of the Lord;
they do not understand his plan,
that he has gathered them as sheaves to the threshing floor.
These are non-Israelite nations, who are Israel's enemy in the immediate future, but in "the latter days" (Micah 4:1, cf. Acts 2:17) these same non-Israelite nations will come to true faith.
Psalm 22:27-31 27 All the ends of the world shall remember and turn unto the Lord: and all the kindreds of the nations shall worship before thee. 28 For the kingdom is the Lord's: and he is the governor among the nations.
Psalm 67:2 2 That thy way may be known upon earth, thy saving health among all nations.
“If a stranger shall sojourn with you and would keep the Passover to the Lord, let all his males be circumcised. Then he may come near and keep it; he shall be as a native of the land. But
no uncircumcised person shall eat of it.”
Exodus 12:48 ESV
““When a stranger sojourns with you in your land, you shall not do him wrong. You shall treat the stranger who sojourns with you as the native among
you, and you shall love him as yourself, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt: I am the Lord your God.”
Leviticus 19:33-34
“And if a stranger is sojourning with you, or anyone is living permanently
among you, and he wishes to offer a food offering, with a pleasing aroma to the Lord, he shall do as you do. For the assembly, there shall be one statute for you and for the stranger who sojourns with you, a statute
forever throughout your generations. You and the sojourner shall be alike before the Lord.”
Numbers 15:14-15
“And Moses commanded them, “At the end of every seven years, at the set time in the year of
release, at the Feast of Booths, when all Israel comes to appear before the Lord your God at the place that he will choose, you shall read this law before all Israel in their hearing. Assemble the people, men, women, and
little ones, and the sojourner within your towns, that they may hear and learn to fear the Lord your God, and be careful to do all the words of this law, and that their children, who have not known it, may hear and learn
to fear the Lord your God, as long as you live in the land that you are going over the Jordan to possess.””
Deuteronomy 31:10-13
“Thus says the Lord concerning all my evil neighbors who touch the heritage
that I have given my people Israel to inherit: “Behold, I will pluck them up from their land, and I will pluck up the house of Judah from among them. And after I have plucked them up, I will again have compassion on
them, and I will bring them again each to his heritage and each to his land. And it shall come to pass, if they will diligently learn the ways of my people, to swear by my name, ‘As the Lord lives,’ even as they taught
my people to swear by Baal, then they shall be built up in the midst of my people. But if any nation will not listen, then I will utterly pluck it up and destroy it, declares the Lord.”
Jeremiah 12:14-17
“Let
not the foreigner who has joined himself to the Lord say, “The Lord will surely separate me from his people”; and let not the eunuch say, “Behold, I am a dry
tree.” For thus says the Lord: “To the eunuchs who keep my Sabbaths, who choose the things that please me and hold fast my covenant, I will give in my house and within my walls a monument and a name better than sons
and daughters; I will give them an everlasting name that shall not be cut off. “And the foreigners who join themselves to the Lord, to minister to him, to love
the name of the Lord, and to be his servants, everyone who keeps the Sabbath and does not profane it, and holds fast my covenant— these I will bring to my holy mountain, and make them joyful in my house of prayer; their
burnt offerings and their sacrifices will be accepted on my altar; for my house shall be called a house of prayer for all peoples.” The Lord God, who gathers the outcasts of Israel, declares, “I will gather yet others
to him besides those already gathered.”
Isaiah 56:3-8
Zechariah 2:10-13
10 Sing and rejoice, O daughter of Zion: for, lo, I come, and I will dwell in the midst of thee, saith the LORD.
{11} And many nations shall be joined to the LORD in that day, and shall be my people: and I will dwell in the midst of thee, and thou shalt know
that the LORD of hosts hath sent me unto thee. {12} And the LORD shall inherit Judah his portion in the holy land, and shall choose Jerusalem again. {13} Be silent, O all flesh,
before the LORD: for he is raised up out of his holy habitation.
Isaiah 14
1 For the Lord will have mercy on Jacob, and will still choose Israel, and settle them in their own land. The
strangers will be joined with them, and they will cling to the house of Jacob.
|
A non-Israelite could convert to the "tribal religion" by getting circumcised. But that's just the beginning. Circumcised biological descendants of Abraham had to have faith. This is why Jesus told the
Jewish leader Nicodemus that his first birth (with Israelite DNA) was worthless, and he needed to be "born again" in order to be adopted into the Household of Faith.
Not "Israel Only," but
"Israel NEVER" -- unless they become a new race of spiritual descendants of Abraham.
That is, those who are the children of the flesh, these are not the children of God; but the children of the promise are counted as the seed.
Romans 9:8Therefore know that only those who are of faith are sons of Abraham.
Galatians 3:7So then those who are of faith are blessed with believing Abraham.
Galatians 3:9. . . that the blessing of Abraham might come upon the Gentiles in Christ Jesus, that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.
Galatians 3:14There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus. {29} And if you are Christ's, then you are Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise.
Galatians 3:28-29
Archeologists have discovered evidence of traders from Solomon's era in North America.
Ancient Jews Around the World
"World Trade Before
Jerusalem Fell"
https://www.garynorth.com/freebooks/docs/html/gnbd/introduction.htm
Evangelism Through Law (Deuteronomy 4:5-8), chapter 8 of Inheritance and Dominion: An Economic Commentary on Deuteronomy by Gary North
"earth" means the whole planet in most texts, not just the "land" (erets) of Israel:
Psalm 2:1 Why do the nations rage?
2. The kings of the earth set themselves,
And the rulers take counsel together,
Against the Lord and against His Anointed
4 He who sits in the heavens shall laugh;
The Lord shall hold them in derision.
7. The Lord has said to Me,
‘You are My Son,
Today I have begotten You.
8 Ask of Me, and I will give You
The nations for Your inheritance,
And the ends of the earth for Your possession.
Psalm 59:8 But You, O Lord, shall laugh at them; You shall have all the nations in derision.
Psalm 68:31 Envoys will come out of Egypt;
Ethiopia will quickly stretch out her hands to God.
32 Sing to God, you kingdoms of the earth;
Oh, sing praises to the Lord, Selah
Psalm 72:8 He shall have dominion also from sea to sea,
And from the River to the ends of the earth.
10 The kings of Tarshish and of the isles
Will bring presents;
The kings of Sheba and Seba
Will offer gifts.
11 Yes, all kings shall fall down before Him;
All nations shall serve Him.
15 And the gold of Sheba will be given to Him;
17 And men shall be blessed in Him;
All nations shall call Him blessed.
18 Blessed be the Lord God, the God of Israel,
Who only does wondrous things!
19 And blessed be His glorious name forever!
And let the whole earth be filled with His glory.
Throughout the earth, the meek inherit and the wicked are disinherited.
Job 38:13 That it might take hold of the ends of the earth,
And the wicked be shaken out of it?
Psalm 98
1. Oh, sing to the Lord a new song!
For He has done marvelous things;
His right hand and His holy arm have gained Him the victory.
2 The Lord has made known His salvation;
His righteousness He has revealed in the sight of the nations.
3 He has remembered His mercy and His faithfulness to the house of Israel;
All the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God.
4 Shout joyfully to the Lord, all the earth;
Break forth in song, rejoice, and sing praises.
5 Sing to the Lord with the harp,
With the harp and the sound of a psalm,
6 With trumpets and the sound of a horn;
Shout joyfully before the Lord, the King.
7 Let the sea roar, and all its fullness,
The world and those who dwell in it;
8 Let the rivers clap their hands;
Let the hills be joyful together before the Lord,
9 For He is coming to judge the earth.
With righteousness He shall judge the world,
And the peoples with equity.
Psalm 67
1 God be merciful to us and bless us,
And cause His face to shine upon us, Selah
2 That Your way may be known on earth,
Your salvation among all nations.
3 Let the peoples praise You, O God;
Let all the peoples praise You.
4 Oh, let the nations be glad and sing for joy!
For You shall judge the people righteously,
And govern the nations on earth. Selah
5 Let the peoples praise You, O God;
Let all the peoples praise You.
6 Then the earth shall yield her increase;
God, our own God, shall bless us.
7 God shall bless us,
And all the ends of the earth shall fear Him.
Psalm 65:8 They also who dwell in the farthest parts are afraid of Your signs;
The nations outside of Israel not only knew of God's Law from the testimony of their conscience, but they had direct contact with God's Revelation to Israel. The true history of mankind was known to all mankind. God's supernatural activity in Israel was known to the nations outside of Israel. For example, when the Israeli spies entered the Promised Land, a Canaanite prostitute said to them:
Joshua 2:9
I know that YHWH has given you this land and that a great fear of you has fallen on us, so that all who live in this country are melting in fear because of you. 10 We have heard how YHWH dried up the water of the Red Sea for you when you came out of Egypt, and what you did to Sihon and Og, the two kings of the Amorites east of the Jordan, whom you completely destroyed. 11 When we heard of it, our hearts melted in fear and everyone’s courage failed because of you, for YHWH your God is God in heaven above and on the earth below.
Rahab used the name "YHWH" or "Jehovah," the specific name of the God of Abraham and Israel, not just a generic god. There is abundant evidence in the pages of the Bible that the nations outside of
Israel had heard (or read) the specifics of the Law God revealed to Israel. "Special Revelation," not just "General Revelation."
http://KevinCraig.us/theonomy-gentiles.htm
Every human being on earth today is a descendant of Noah, according to Genesis 10. All "nations" derive from Noah, who was in covenant with God, and knew God's Law just as Abraham did:
And I will make thy seed to multiply as the stars of heaven, and will give unto thy seed all these countries; and in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed;
Because that Abraham obeyed My Voice, and kept My Charge, My Commandments, My Statutes, and My Torah.
Genesis 26:4-5Genesis 18:17-19
And the LORD said, “Shall I hide from Abraham what I am doing, since Abraham shall surely become a great and mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth shall be blessed in him? For I have known him, in order that he may command his children and his household after him, that they keep the way of the LORD , to do righteousness and justice, so that the LORD may bring to Abraham what He has spoken to him.”
This means every human being on earth has a covenantal and moral responsibility to obey God's "torah" and command his children to follow. Failure to do so requires us to be "reconciled" with God.
|
"Earth" sometimes means "the land [of Israel]," but not always.
Psalm 22:27-31
27 All the ends of the world shall remember and turn unto the Lord: and all the kindreds of the nations shall
worship before thee.
28 For the kingdom is the Lord's: and he is the governor among the nations.
Psalm 67:2
2 That thy way may be known upon earth, thy saving health among all nations.
It is the New
Covenant (according to the book of Hebrews) that cast off the "ceremonial services" Poole mentions.
Isaiah 49:6
6 And he said, It is a light thing that thou shouldest be my servant to raise up the
tribes of Jacob, and to restore the preserved of Israel: I will also give thee for a light to the Gentiles, that thou mayest be my salvation unto the end of the earth.
Here we see the total Israel (Jacob + Israel)
distinguished from non-Israelites, and salvation going to the non-Israelites through Christ and the New Covenant:
Luke 2:32
32 A light to bring revelation to the Gentiles,
And the glory of Your people Israel.”
Acts
13:47
47 For so the Lord has commanded us:
‘I have set you as a light to the Gentiles,
That you should be for salvation to the ends of the earth.’”
Revelation 7 = 144k from the nation of Israel,
and a vastly greater number from all other nations.
Isaiah 49:23
23 And kings shall be thy nursing fathers, and their queens thy nursing mothers: they shall bow down to thee with their face toward the earth, and
lick up the dust of thy feet; and thou shalt know that I am the Lord: for they shall not be ashamed that wait for me.
Non-Israelite kings shall be thy (Israel's) ...
"their" (non-Israelite) queens shall
be thy (Israel's) ...
Job 28:24 For He looks to the ends of the earth, And sees under the whole heavens,
All those verses I posted above seem like promises that God would elect some to faith out of
non-Israelites
And not just a few individual non-Israelites, but a global conversion.
Does an adherent of "Israel Only" believe he is morally/ethically obligated to worship God and obey His Commandments, even though he is not a genetic Israelite?
Revelation 22:9
Worship God.”
Revelation
19:10
Worship God!
Philippians 3:3
For we are the circumcision, who worship God in the Spirit, rejoice in Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in the flesh,
Acts 24:14
But this I confess to you, that
according to the Way which they call a sect, so I worship the God of my fathers, believing all things which are written in the Law and in the Prophets.
John 4:21
Jesus said to her, “Woman, believe Me, the hour
is coming when you will neither on this mountain, nor in Jerusalem, worship the Father. 23 But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking
such to worship Him. 24 God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.”
Romans 1:25
who exchanged the truth of God for the lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the
Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen.
Luke 4:8
And Jesus answered and said to him, “Get behind Me, Satan! For it is written, ‘You shall worship the Lord your God, and Him only you shall serve.’ ”
Matthew
28:17
When they saw Him, they worshiped Him; but some doubted.
2 John 1:6 This is love, that we walk according to His commandments.
1 John 2:3
Now by this we know that we know Him, if we keep His
commandments. 4 He who says, “I know Him,” and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him.
1 Thessalonians 4:1-12
Finally then, brethren, we urge and exhort in the Lord Jesus that
you should abound more and more, just as you received from us how you ought to walk and to please God; for you know what commandments we gave you through the Lord Jesus.
For this is the will of God, your
sanctification: that you should abstain from sexual immorality; that each of you should know how to possess his own vessel in sanctification and honor, not in passion of lust, like the Gentiles who do not know God; that no
one should take advantage of and defraud his brother in this matter, because the Lord is the avenger of all such, as we also forewarned you and testified. For God did not call us to uncleanness, but in holiness. Therefore
he who rejects this does not reject man, but God, who has also given us His Holy Spirit.
But concerning brotherly love you have no need that I should write to you, for you yourselves are taught by God to love one
another; and indeed you do so toward all the brethren who are in all Macedonia. But we urge you, brethren, that you increase more and more; that you also aspire to lead a quiet life, to mind your own business, and to work
with your own hands, as we commanded you, that you may walk properly toward those who are outside, and that you may lack nothing.
Ephesians 6:1-3
6 Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. 2 “Honor
your father and mother,” which is the first commandment with promise: 3 “that it may be well with you and you may live long on the earth.” [quoting Deuteronomy 5:16]
1 Corinthians 7:19
Circumcision is
nothing and uncircumcision is nothing, but keeping the commandments of God is what matters.
Romans 7:12
Therefore the law is holy, and the commandment holy and just and good.
Romans 13:9-10
9 For the
commandments, “You shall not commit adultery,” “You shall not murder,” “You shall not steal,” “You shall not bear false witness,” “You shall not covet,” and if there is any other commandment, are all
summed up in this saying, namely, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” 10 Love does no harm to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfillment of the law.
John 14:15
“If you love Me, keep My
commandments.
John 14:21
He who has My commandments and keeps them, it is he who loves Me. And he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and manifest Myself to him.”
John 15:10
If
you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love, just as I have kept My Father’s commandments and abide in His love.
Luke 18:20
You know the commandments: ‘Do not commit adultery,’ ‘Do not murder,’
‘Do not steal,’ ‘Do not bear false witness,’ ‘Honor your father and your mother.’ ”
Mark 7:8
For laying aside the commandment of God, you hold the tradition of men....” 9 He said to them, “All
too well you reject the commandment of God, that you may keep your tradition.
Matthew 5:19
Whoever therefore breaks one of the least of these commandments, and teaches men so, shall be called least in the kingdom
of heaven; but whoever does and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.
Matthew 22:37
Jesus said to him, “‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and
with all your mind.’ 38 This is the first and great commandment. 39 And the second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ 40 On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets.”
Mark
7:7
And in vain they worship Me, Teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.’
Isaiah 27; 23:5; 30:3; 33:14-16; Amos 9:13; 32:40; Ezekiel 37:26; Matthew 26:28; Mark 14:24; Luke 22:20; 1 Corinthians 11:25; 2 Corinthians 3:6; Hebrews 8:6-13; 9:15; 10:16,17; 12:24; 13:20; Isaiah 50:4,5; Galatians
6:16; Philippians 3:3
Psalms 50:1; 113:3; Isaiah 45:6; 59:19; Zechariah 8:7
my name
14; Psalms 22:27-31; 67:2; 72:11-17; 98:1-3; Isaiah 11:9,10; 45:22,23; Isaiah 49:6,7,22,23; 54:1-3,5; 60:1-11,16-22;
66:19,20; Amos 9:12; Micah 5:4; Zephaniah 3:9; Zechariah 8:20-23; Matthew 6:9,10; 28:19; Acts 15:17,18; Revelation 11:15; 15:4
and in
Isaiah 24:14-16; 42:10-12; Zephaniah 2:11; John 4:21-23; Acts 10:30-35; Romans
15:9-11,16; 1 Timothy 2:8; Revelation 8:3
incense
Psalms 141:2; Isaiah 60:6; Luke 1:10; Romans 12:1; Philippians 4:18; Hebrews 13:15,16; Revelation 5:8; 8:3,4
for
Isaiah 66:19,20