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Be Careful Among
the Nations As we come upon this pagan and heathenistic ‘holiday’, I am reminded of the many warnings we have received from Almighty YHWH about following the ways of the idolatrous people around us. Amazingly, we receive warnings about pagans, heathens, people of the nations etc from those who practice such. We have only to look around us at this time of year to see that we are beset by idolatry in all its most blatant forms. We hear of humans being lifted up in the face of YHWH as those to whom we should pray. We see the ‘story’ of ‘God’ being born as a human being, born to a ‘virgin’ and we see this one extolled as the savior of mankind because he died on a ‘cross’. This one whom they call ‘God’ although supposedly innocent was found guilty to the point of a shameful death in an accursed manner. Let us look together at definitions of some words that could lead to clarity of understanding. PAGAN
A pagan is a follower of a false god or a heathen religion; one
who delights in sensual pleasures and material goods. After the return
from the Captivity, Ezra and Nehemiah carried on a vigorous campaign
against the practice of marriage between Israelites and the pagan women
of the land <Ezra 10:2,10-18,44; Neh. 13:26-27,30>. Ezra 10:2 2
Then ShekanYahu son of Yechiy’el, one of the descendants of Ezra 10:10-18 10 Then Ezra the priest stood up and said to them, "You have been unfaithful; you have married foreign women, adding to Yisrael's guilt. 11 Now make confession to YHWH, the Elohiym of your fathers, and do His will. Separate yourselves from the peoples around you and from your foreign wives." 12 The whole assembly responded with a loud voice: "You are right! We must do as you say. 13 But there are many people here and it is the rainy season; so we cannot stand outside. Besides, this matter cannot be taken care of in a day or two, because we have sinned greatly in this thing. 14 Let our officials act for the whole assembly. Then let everyone in our towns who has married a foreign woman come at a set time, along with the elders and judges of each town, until the fierce anger of our Elohiym in this matter is turned away from us." 15 Only Yownathan son of Asah’el and Yachzeyah son of Tikvah, supported by Meshullam and Shabbethai the Levite, opposed this. 16 So the exiles did as was proposed. Ezra the priest selected men who were family heads, one from each family division, and all of them designated by name. On the first day of the tenth month they sat down to investigate the cases, 17 and by the first day of the first month they finished dealing with all the men who had married foreign women. 18 Among the descendants of the priests, the following had married foreign women: From the descendants of Yeshuwa son of Yehozadak, and his brothers: Maaseyah, Eliezer, Yarib and Gedalyah. Ezra 10:44 44 All these had married foreign women, and some of them had children by these wives. Neh 13:26-27 26 Was it not because of marriages like these that Shlomoh king of Yisrael sinned? Among the many nations there was no king like him. He was loved by his Elohiym, and Elohiym made him king over all Yisrael, but even he was led into sin by foreign women. 27 Must we hear now that you also are doing all this terrible wickedness and are being unfaithful to our Elohiym by marrying foreign women?" Neh 13:30 30 So I purified the priests and the Levi’iym of everything foreign, and assigned them duties, each to his own task. HEATHEN
One of several words used for the non-Jewish peoples of the
world. The distinction between the Israelites and the other nations was
important because Elohiym's relationship with Yisrael was unique. He
chose Yisrael, rescued the people from Mitzrayim ( Bereshith (Gen) 12:3 3 I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you." YesheYahu (Isa) 2:1-3 1 This is what YesheYahu son of Amoz saw concerning Yahudah and Yerushalayim: 2
In the last days the 3
Many peoples will come and say, "Come, let us go up to the Vayikra (Lev) 18:24 24 "'Do not defile yourselves in any of these ways, because this is how the nations that I am going to drive out before you became defiled.
Following Yisrael's captivity in HEATHEN (Heb. goyim,
"troop"). At first the word goyim denoted generally all the
nations of the world <Gen. 18:18; >, but afterward the Yahudiym
became a people distinguished from the other nations. Bereshith (Gen) 18:18 18 Abraham will surely become a great and powerful nation, and all nations on earth will be blessed through him. They were a separate
people <Lev. 20:23; 26:14-38>, and the other nations were heathen. Vayikra (Lev) 20:23 23 You must not live according to the customs of the nations I am going to drive out before you. Because they did all these things, I abhorred them. With these nations the
Yisraelites were forbidden to associate <Josh. 23:7; 1 Kin. 11:2>,
Yehowshua (Josh) 23:7 7 Do not associate with these nations that remain among you; do not invoke the names of their gods or swear by them. You must not serve them or bow down to them. Not to intermarry
<Josh. 23:12>, or to worship their gods. Yehowshua (Josh) 23:12-13 12 "But if you turn away and ally yourselves with the survivors of these nations that remain among you and if you intermarry with them and associate with them, 13 then you may be sure that YHWH Eloheykha will no longer drive out these nations before you. Instead, they will become snares and traps for you, whips on your backs and thorns in your eyes, until you perish from this good land, which YHWH Eloheykha has given you. Melekhiym Alef (IKing) 11:2 2 They were from nations about which YHWH had told the Yisraelites, "You must not intermarry with them, because they will surely turn your hearts after their gods." Nevertheless, Shlomoh held fast to them in love. Owing to its position
these nations penetrated into For
the sake of avoiding even an only apparent approximation of idolatry,
the Mosaic prohibition of images <Exo. 20:4; Deut. 4:16-18; 27:15>
was applied with the most relentless consistency. Shemot (Exod) 20:4 4 "You shall not make for yourself an idol in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. Devariym (Deut) 4:16-18 16 so that you do not become corrupt and make for your selves an idol, an image of any shape, whether formed like a man or a woman, 17 or like any animal on earth or any bird that flies in the air, 18 or like any creature that moves along the ground or any fish in the waters below. Devariym (Deut) 27:15 15 "Cursed is the man who carves an image or casts an idol-- a thing detestable to YHWH, the work of the craftsman's hands-- and sets it up in secret." Then all the people shall say, "Amen!" " Not only did they
declare themselves ready to die rather than to allow a statue of
Caligula in the GENTILES
A term used by Jewish people to refer to foreigners, or any other
people who were not a part of the Jewish race.
The Jews were the Chosen People of God who had entered a covenant
with God. God initiated the covenant with Abraham <Gen. 12:1-7>
and affirmed it repeatedly through Bereshith (Gen) 12:1-7 1 YHWH had said to Abram, "Leave your country, your people and your father's household and go to the land I will show you. 2 "I will make you into a great nation and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. 3 I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you." 4
So Abram left, as YHWH had told him; and 5
He took his wife Sarai, his nephew Lot, all the possessions they
had accumulated and the people they had acquired in 6 Abram traveled through the land as far as the site of the great tree of Moreh at Shechem. At that time the Cana’aniy were in the land. 7 YHWH appeared to Abram and said, "To your offspring I will give this land." So he built an altar there to YHWH, who had appeared to him.
Because of this covenant
relationship, a feeling of exclusivism gradually developed among the
Jews over a period of several centuries. In early Hebrew history,
Gentiles or non-Jews were treated cordially by the Israelites <Deut.
10:19; Num 35:15; >. Devariym (Deut) 10:19 19
And you are to love those who are aliens, for you yourselves were
aliens in Mitzrayim ( B’Midbar (Num) 35:15 15 These six towns will be a place of refuge for Yisraelites, aliens and any other people living among them, so that anyone who has killed another accidentally can flee there. Men of Yisrael often
married Gentile women, including Rahav, Rut, and Batsheva. However,
after the Hebrews returned from their period of captivity in Ezra 9:12 12 Therefore, do not give your daughters in marriage to their sons or take their daughters for your sons. Do not seek a treaty of friendship with them at any time, so that you may be strong and eat the good things of the land and leave it to your children as an everlasting inheritance.' Ezra 10:2-17 2
Then ShekanYahu son of Yechiy’el, one of the descendants of 3 Now let us make a covenant before our Elohiym to send away all these women and their children, in accordance with the counsel of my lord and of those who fear the commands of our Elohiym. Let it be done according to the Law. 4 Rise up; this matter is in your hands. We will support you, so take courage and do it." 5 So Ezra rose up and put the leading priests and Levi’iym and all Yisrael under oath to do what had been suggested. And they took the oath. 6 Then Ezra withdrew from before the house of Elohiym and went to the room of Yehohanan son of Eliashib. While he was there, he ate no food and drank no water, because he continued to mourn over the unfaithfulness of the exiles. 7 A proclamation was then issued throughout Yahudah and Yerushalayim for all the exiles to assemble in Yerushalayim. 8 Anyone who failed to appear within three days would forfeit all his property, in accordance with the decision of the officials and elders, and would himself be expelled from the assembly of the exiles. 9 Within the three days, all the men of Yahudah and Benyamin had gathered in Yerushalayim. And on the twentieth day of the ninth month, all the people were sitting in the square before the house of Elohiym, greatly distressed by the occasion and because of the rain. 10 Then Ezra the priest stood up and said to them, "You have been unfaithful; you have married foreign women, adding to Yisrael's guilt. 11 Now make confession to YHWH, the Elohiym of your fathers, and do His will. Separate yourselves from the peoples around you and from your foreign wives." 12 The whole assembly responded with a loud voice: "You are right! We must do as you say. (Refer to text for the
complete passage) 13
But there are many people here and it is the rainy season; so we
cannot stand outside. Besides, this matter cannot be taken care of in a
day or two, because we have sinned greatly in this thing. 14
Let our officials act for the whole assembly. Then let everyone
in our towns who has married a foreign woman come at a set time, along
with the elders and judges of each town, until the fierce anger of our
Elohiym in this matter is turned away from us." 15
Only Yonathan son of Asahel and YahzeYah son of Tikvah, supported
by Meshullam and Shabbethai the Levite, opposed this. 16
So the exiles did as was proposed. Ezra the priest selected men
who were family heads, one from each family division, and all of them
designated by name. On the first day of the tenth month they sat down to
investigate the cases, 17
and by the first day of the first month they finished dealing
with all the men who had married foreign women. Also in verses 18-43
we find a list of the men who had married foreign women (you may read
the list) And then verse 44 says… All these had married foreign women, and some of them had children by these wives Neh 10:30 30 "We promise not to give our daughters in marriage to the peoples around us or take their daughters for our sons. The
persecution of the Jews by the Greeks and Romans from about 400 B. C.
caused the Jews to retaliate with hatred for all Gentiles and to avoid
all contact with foreigners. NATION
goy ^1471^, "nation; people; heathen." Outside the
‘Bible’, this noun appears only in the Mari texts (Akkadian) and
perhaps in Phoenician-Punic. This word occurs about 56 times and in all
periods of biblical Hebrew.
Goy refers to a "people or nation," usually with
overtones of territorial or governmental unity, identity. This emphasis
is in the promise formulas where God promised to make someone a great,
powerful, numerous "nation" <Gen. 12:2>. Bereshith (Gen) 12:2 2 "I will make you into a great nation and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. Certainly these adjectives
(a great, powerful, numerous "nation") described
the future characteristics of the individual's descendants as compared
to other peoples (cf. <Num. 14:12>). B’Midbar (Num) 14:12 12 I will strike them down with a plague and destroy them, but I will make you into a nation greater and stronger than they." So goy represents a group
of individuals who are considered as a unit with respect to origin,
language, land, jurisprudence, and government. This emphasis is in
<Gen. 10:5> (the first occurrence): "By these were the isles
of the Gentiles divided in their lands; every one after his tongue,
after their families, in their nations." <Deut. 4:6> deals
not with political and national identity but with religious unity, its
wisdom, insight, righteous jurisprudence, and especially its nearness to
God: "Keep therefore and do them; for this is your wisdom and your
understanding in the sight of the nations, which shall hear all these
statutes, and say, Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding
people." Certainly all this is
viewed as the result of divine election <Deut. 4:32ff.>. Devariym (Deut) 4:32 32 Ask now about the former days, long before your time, from the day Elohiym created man on the earth; ask from one end of the heavens to the other. Has anything so great as this ever happened, or has anything like it ever been heard of? The word 'am, "people, nation," suggests subjective personal interrelationships based on common familial ancestry and or a covenantal union, while goy suggests a political entity with a land of its own: Shemot (Exod) 33:13 13 If you are pleased with me, teach me your ways so I may know you and continue to find favor with you. Remember that this nation (Am Yisrael) is your people." Goy may be used of a people, however, apart from its territorial identity: Shemot (Exod) 19:6 6 you will be for me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation (w’gowy qodesh ).' These are the words you are to speak to the Yisraelites."
Goy is sometimes almost a derogatory
name for non-Israelite groups, or the ("heathen" B’Goyim):
"And I will scatter you among the heathen (B’Goyim), and will
draw out a sword..." <Lev. 26:33>. This
negative connotation is not always present, however, when the word is
used of the heathen: "For from the top of the rocks I see him, and
from the hills I behold him: lo, the people shall dwell alone, and shall
not be reckoned among the nations" <Num. 23:9>. Certainly
in contexts dealing with worship the goyim are the non Israelites:
"They feared YHWH, and served their own gods, after the manner of
the nations whom they carried away from thence" <2 Kings
17:33>. In
passages such as <Deut. 4:38> goyim specifically describes the
early inhabitants of Devariym (Deut) 4:38-40 38 …to drive out before you nations (goyim) greater and stronger than you and to bring you into their land to give it to you for your inheritance, as it is today. 39 Acknowledge and take to heart this day that YHWH is Elohiym in the heavens above and on the earth below. There is no other. 40 Keep his decrees and commands, which I am giving you today, so that it may go well with you and your children after you and that you may live long in the land YHWH Eloheykha gives you for all time. Yisrael was to keep
herself apart from and distinct from the "heathen" <Deut.
7:1> and was an example of true godliness before them <Deut.
4:6>. Devariym (Deut) 7:1-6 1 When YHWH Eloheykha brings you into the land you are entering to possess and drives out before you many nations-- the Hittites, Girgashites, Amorites, Canaanites, Perizzites, Hivites and Yebusites, seven nations larger and stronger than you-- 2 and when YHWH Eloheykha has delivered them over to you and you have defeated them, then you must destroy them totally. Make no treaty with them, and show them no mercy. 3 Do not intermarry with them. Do not give your daughters to their sons or take their daughters for your sons, 4 for they will turn your sons away from following me to serve other (elohiym) gods, and YHWH's anger will burn against you and will quickly destroy you. 5 This is what you are to do to them: Break down their altars, smash their sacred stones, cut down their Asherah poles and burn their idols in the fire. 6 For you are a people holy to YHWH Eloheykha. YHWH Eloheykha has chosen you out of all the peoples on the face of the earth to be his people, his treasured possession. Devariym (Deut) 4:6 Observe them (YHWH’s Commands) carefully, for this will show your wisdom and understanding to the nations, who will hear about all these decrees and say, "Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people." On the other hand, as a blessing to all the nations <Gen. 12:2> and as a holy "nation" and kingdom of priests <Exod. 19:6>, Yisrael was to be the means by which salvation was declared to the nations (the heathen) and they therefore came to recognize the sovereignty of Elohiym YesheYahu (Isa) 49:3-9 3 He said to me, "You are My servant, Yisrael, in whom I will display My splendor." 4 But I said, "I have labored to no purpose; I have spent my strength in vain and for nothing. Yet what is due me is in YHWH's hand, and my reward is with my Elohiym." 5 And now YHWH says-- He who formed me in the womb to be His servant to bring Ya’acov back to Him and gather Yisrael to Himself, for I am honored in the eyes of YHWH and my Elohiym has been my strength-- 6 He says: "It is too small a thing for you to be My servant to restore the tribes of Ya’acov and bring back those of Yisrael I have kept. I will also make you a light for the Gentiles, that you may bring My salvation to the ends of the earth." 7 This is what YHWH says-- the Redeemer and Qodesh One of Yisrael-- to him who was despised and abhorred by the nation, to the servant of rulers: "Kings will see you and rise up, princes will see and bow down, because of YHWH, who is faithful, the Qodesh One of Yisrael, who has chosen you." 8 This is what YHWH says: "In the time of My favor I will answer you, and in the day of salvation I will help you; I will keep you and will make you to be a covenant for the people, to restore the land and to reassign its desolate inheritances, 9 to say to the captives, 'Come out,' and to those in darkness, 'Be free!' "They will feed beside the roads and find pasture on every barren hill. You may question YHWH’s reasons for making such a big thing out of marrying foreign women and why I have dwelt heavily on this topic, in this study. Over and over, YHWH pointed out that men have a tendency to follow their wives, even into pagan worship. YHWH compares idolatry to playing the harlot. When we join in marriage, we become one. When we join in idolatry, we become one. YHWH says: Hoshea 2:16-17 16 And it shall be at that day, says YHWH, that you shall call Me Ishi (my husband); and shall no more call Me Ba’ali (Lord). 17 For I will take away the names of Ba’alim out of her mouth, and they shall no more be remembered by their name. Here we have explored our set-apartness, its reasons and its pitfalls. As we find ourselves surrounded by all the implements of paganism, we must struggle to understand the why and the wherefore of all this and how it will end. This is offered to you in good conscience. What you do with it is entirely up to you. May YHWH lead us into all truth and may we have the courage and determination to follow where ever He leads. Refer to text to learn the origin of all quotes. Some quotes taken from: (** from Vine's Expository
Dictionary of Biblical Words) (**from
Nelson's Illustrated Bible Dictionary) (** from New Unger's Bible
Dictionary) (Josephus Ant 18.3.1) From TaNaKH: Ezra 10:2, 10-18, 44,
9:12, 10:2-17 Nehemiah: 13:26-27, 30,
10:30 Bereshith (Genesis) 12:3,
18:18, 12:1-7, 12:1-2 YesheYahu (Isaiah) 2:1-3,
49:3-9 Vayikra (Leviticus) 18:24,
20:23 Yehowshua (Joshua) 23:7,
12-13 Melekhiym Alef (1Kings)
11:2 Shemot (Exodus) 20:4.
33:13, 19:6 Devariym (Deuteronomy)
4:16-18, 27:15, 10:19, 4:32, 4:38-40, 7:1-6, 4:6 B’Midbar (Numbers)
35:15, 14:12 Hoshea (Hosea) 2:16-17 Questions For Discussion:
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