Gentile Salvation in the Old Testament

These studies are designed for believers in Jesus Christ only. If you have exercised faith in Christ, then you are in the right place. If you have not, then you need to heed the words of our Lord, Who said, "For God so loved the world that He gave His only-begotten [or, uniquely-born] Son, so that every [one] believing [or, trusting] in Him shall not perish, but shall be have eternal life! For God did not send His Son into the world so that He should judge the world, but so that the world shall be saved through Him. The one believing [or, trusting] in Him is not judged, but the one not believing has already been judged, because he has not believed in the Name of the only-begotten [or, uniquely-born] Son of God." (John 3:16–18). "I am the Way and the Truth and the Life! No one comes to the Father except through [or, by means of] Me!" (John 14:6).

Every study of the Word of God ought to be preceded by a naming of your sins to God. This restores you to fellowship with God (1John 1:8–10). If we acknowledge our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness (1John 1:9). If there are people around, you would name these sins silently. If there is no one around, then it does not matter if you name them silently or whether you speak aloud.

Topics
Specific Examples of Gentile Salvation in the Bible	Israel was Responsible to Bring the Gospel of the Revealed God to the Gentiles	What about nations that are geographically far from Israel?
Vocabulary
Gentiles	Those who do not have the genes of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob; and have not changed their national allegiance to Israel (as did Rahab and Ruth).
The Gospel [= the gospel of the Revealed God]	The good news that we are made righteous through faith in the Revealed God.
Jews	Those who have the genes of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. A true Jew is one who has believed in the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.
The Revealed God [= the Revealed Lord]	The God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. This God reveals Himself to us; we do not go out and find Him.

Preface:	It is clear that, between Gen. 12 and the beginning of the gospels, and God worked through the nation Israel. That leaves us with several natural questions: What about the Gentiles? How were they saved? Were any gentiles saved in the Old Testament?

People are confused about a great many things in the Old Testament. Some think that all Jews are saved and all gentiles are not. This is a false concept, just as the idea of being saved by the Mosaic Law is a false concept as well.
This may be slightly premature to introduce this doctrine, as there is no nation Israel yet; there are only 3 Jews (Abraham, Sarah and Isaac); so, quite obviously, everyone else who is saved is a gentile.
Gentile Salvation in the Old Testament
1)	Throughout the Old Testament, we find that the gentiles were never kept from the gospel of the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. All men could believe in Him, and thereby be saved (as per Gen. 15:6).

2)	The Revealed Lord told Abraham: "I will bless those who bless you and curse those who treat you with contempt. All the families on earth will be blessed through you." (Gen. 12:3; NLT). In the life of Abraham, there are essentially 3 Jews: Abraham, Sarah and Isaac. Therefore, those blessed by a relationship with Abraham during his time would be gentiles. We have many instances of this: Abraham's relationship here to Abimelech; Abraham delivering the people of Sodom; Abraham's compound, which included at least 318 men able to go to war, and their families.

3)	There are many specific examples in the Bible of Gentiles who adhere to the God of Abraham.

(1)	Hagar, the Egyptian slave girl. We may assume that she is saved because God spoke to her twice. Gen. 16:7–13 21:17–20

(2)	Abimelech in Gen. 21.

(3)	Rahab the prostitute, who chooses to ally herself with the Israelites rather than with her people in Jericho (Joshua 2).

(4)	Ruth, a Moabite, who remains with her Jewish mother-in-law, despite the passing of her husband. The book of Ruth.

(5)	The Queen of Sheba, who comes to Solomon because of his great wisdom. 1Kings 10

(6)	Jonah going to the Assyrians in Nineveh to evangelize them, even though he hated the Assyrians. The book of Jonah.

(7)	There is no reason to assume that this list includes all of the gentiles who had faith in the God of Abraham. These are examples from a variety of situations and circumstances.

4)	The nations all around Israel, if they believed that Israel had a real relationship with the true God, went through Israel (or through individuals in Israel) to have a relationship with their God. Israel or people in Israel became intermediaries between God and them.

5)	Israel, as a nation, had the responsibility to bring the gospel to the gentiles: He says [to Israel], "It is not enough for you to be My Servant raising up the tribes of Jacob and restoring the protected ones of Israel. I will also make you a light for the nations [= gentiles], to be My salvation to the ends of the earth." (Isa. 49:6; HCSB). Arise, Jerusalem! Let your light shine for all to see. For the glory of the Lord rises to shine on you. Darkness as black as night covers all the nations of the earth, but the glory of the Lord rises and appears over you. All nations will come to your light; mighty kings will come to see your radiance (Isa. 60:1–3; NLT). Many nations will join themselves to the Lord on that day, and they, too, will be My people. I will live among you, and you will know that the Lord of Heaven's Armies sent me to you (Zech. 2:11). See also the book of Jonah; Isa. 56:6 Jer. 16:19 Mal. 1:11.

6)	The God of Israel is the God of all mankind. Praise Yehowah, all nations; praise Him, all peoples (Psalm 117:1). See also Deut. 32:43 Psalm 18:49

7)	God Himself would go to the gentiles. Listen, You shall call a nation You do not know; yea, a nation not knowing You [= a gentile nation] shall run to You, because of Yehowah Your God, and for the Holy One of Israel; for He has glorified You [the Son glorifies the Father—John 13:31 14:13]. [Therefore], seek Yehowah while He may be found; call on Him while He is near (Isa. 55:5–6). This is actually a warning to the Jews.

8)	What about nations which are so far from Israel as to not have any interaction with them?

(1)	First of all, mankind essentially began in the fertile crescent (the land around the Euphrates and Tigris Rivers) and spread out from there (Gen. 10). We have observed and will observe interaction between Israel and those in the far east. So, for a time, there was a lot of interaction between Israel and nations on its periphery.

(2)	However, let us assume, just for the sake of argument, that there is a nation or city so far out there that there was no interaction with Israel, what about that?

(3)	We apply God's justice and righteousness to this situation. If there is someone who has a desire to have a relationship with the Revealed God, then God will see to it that the gospel of the Revealed Lord comes to that person, no matter where that person is.

(4)	There is no reason to assume that the book of Jonah is entirely unique. How often did God send out men from Israel and from Judah to speak of the Revealed God? We have no idea. However, when we combine what we know about God's righteousness and justice with the book of Jonah, it is reasonable to assume that evangelism of some sort took place wherever there was positive volition.

(5)	Furthermore, we know from the book of Job that Job's friends, despite their misunderstandings about God, worshiped the same God that Job worshiped. Therefore, it is reasonable that the Revealed God was known apart from the nation Israel. However, it is the nation Israel which, after a time, became charged with the responsibility of teaching about the Revealed God.

(6)	God is not responsible to bring the gospel to someone who would reject it. Therefore, knowing that God is not willing that any should perish (2Peter 3:9), we can rest assured that the message of the Revealed God went wherever it needed to go. Wherever there was positive volition, then God is always responsible to get that message to those people with positive volition. If God is able to create the universe and all mankind, we may assume that He can work out the logistics to get the gospel of the Revealed Lord to any place in the world.

9)	Paul confirms God coming to the gentiles as well in the Old Testament in Rom. 15:9–12, 15–16. In this way, Paul was the apostle to the gentiles. Eph. 3:1–2, 8

10)	In the far future, all men would bow to the God of the Jews. All the ends of the earth will remember and turn to the Lord. All the families of the nations will bow down before You (Psalm 22:27; HCSB). He will not fail nor be discouraged till He has set justice in the earth. And in His name Gentiles will hope (Isa. 42:4; ACV; LXX, with references to God capitalized).

11)	Although Jesus at first offered the Kingdom of God to the Jews, He was rejected by a majority of them, including by the priests and pharisees who should have known better. After this, He began to speak to Samaritans and to gentiles (which was almost unheard of among the Jews).
Many of these passages came from Christianity Stack Exchange.

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Bibliography
Many of these passages came from Christianity Stack Exchange.

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