In the Old Testament, the Israelites were honored as God’s chosen people, while those not among them were known as Gentiles. Yet, from the beginning, Gentiles were included in God’s plan of salvation. When God established the covenant with Abraham and promised to give him descendants, He was referring to both the Israelites who would come from Abraham and, ultimately, to Jesus, through whom all nations would be blessed. Through Jesus, salvation overcomes all divisions and unites us in God’s kingdom. And then there will come a day when all people and all nations will come together to worship and serve Him. Throughout the Bible, there were many Gentiles who were used as a part of God’s work. They left a big impact, and they were important characters in God’s big story. The following are some examples:
JETHRO, a priest from Midian and Moses’ father-in-law. When witnessing all of the things God did for Moses and the Israelites, he praised God’s power. He was also the one who advised Moses to establish leaders under him and give them authority so that together they could lead the people effectively without Moses becoming exhausted.
RAHAB was a harlot living in the city of Jericho. She and her family were spared when Joshua took over Jericho thanks to the fact that she hid the spies sent by Joshua. Rahab later married Salmon, who is traditionally believed to have been one of the spies she protected. What’s even more amazing is that their son was none other than Boaz, the one who would later marry Ruth.
RUTH was a Moabite who married a man from Judah. When her husband passed away, she was determined to follow her mother-in-law Naomi to Bethlehem, and she declared the God of Naomi as her God. Later, Boaz stepped forward to redeem her inheritance and marry her. They gave birth to Obed, David’s paternal grandfather. Because of this, Ruth’s name was recorded in the genealogy of Jesus.
CORNELIUS, a Roman centurion, became a Christian. Right before converting, Cornelius was commended as devout, and then an angel appeared to him and instructed him to go to Peter. At the same time, God gave Peter a vision about the Gospel being open to Gentiles. This was a huge turning point in the spread of the Gospel to the Gentiles.
PHILEMON was a rich Gentile who converted to Christianity. Philemon was also the master of a slave named Onesimus who did him wrong before running away. Paul wrote a letter calling Philemon to forgive Onesimus and accept him as a brother, no longer as a slave. Philemon is noted as one of the first people to be advised to treat a slave as a brother in Christ, paving the way for greater equality among believers.
