Gentile

Gentile is a word we'll become very familiar with when we reach the New Testament, but used only seven times in the Old Testament, four of which are in Isaiah. In Sunday's reading, Isaiah 42:6-7 stated:

⁶ “I, the LORD, have called you in righteousness;
   I will take hold of your hand.
I will keep you and will make you
   to be a covenant for the people
   and a light for the Gentiles,
⁷ to open eyes that are blind,
   to free captives from prison
   and to release from the dungeon those who sit in darkness. 

 In today's reading, Isaiah 49:6 states:

he says:
“It is too small a thing for you to be my servant
   to restore the tribes of Jacob
   and bring back those of Israel 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.” 

So what is a gentile? Depends on the source (this was at dictionary.reference.com):

1. of or pertaining to any people not Jewish 

2. Christian, as distinguished from Jewish

3. (Mormon Church) not Mormon

4. A heathen or pagan

Talk about letting a point of view dictate the definition of a word--Jews say it's non-Jews, Christians say it's not Christians, etc. One thing all the definitions have in common is that a Gentile is "not ME"--it's always THOSE GUYS. And we in the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod have a long and colorful history of saying that we're not THOSE GUYS (those guys being an often-changing group). In fact, that's what defines our individual religions--WE'RE on the right path, it's those (insert denomination[s],sect or relative's name here) that are all wrong.

Compared to God, we're ALL Gentiles, Jews and non-Jews alike, because we're not God. However, what God is setting up is a very important explanation of the covenant he had initially made with Abram WAAAAY back in Genesis 12:3 when he said that ALL the nations would be blessed through Abram. Abram's descendants may have taken a narrower view, but God was reminding the people that while the people of Israel might be his chosen people, they wouldn't be his ONLY people. As the New Testament will point out clearly, this message drove the Pharisees mad and in many ways was the primary reason why Christ had to be silenced. The message that salvation was available to ALL was not part of the lexicon of the church of the New Testament, and even Peter and Paul would have disagreements on this issue. 

God knew that his Chosen People would resist this notion.I wish I could say we live in a more enlightened world, but we're just as parochial in our own ways. Lucky for us, humans don't have the final say in the matter.

Scott