“The Salvation Of The Gentiles” - 2/12/25

 

This article differs from past articles because I am not focusing on one verse, passage, or chapter. Instead, I want to discuss a truth revealed in this book: God’s love for Gentiles. I have often been asked, “What about the Gentiles in the Old Testament? Did God not love them also? Did they have to wait for salvation until the Lord came and died on the cross?”

 

Indeed, we can’t imagine a God who would say to an entire race of people, “Sorry, but you will be lost, and none of you will have a chance at salvation for at least 4000 years once my Son arrives to die on the cross.” I am concerned some might think this because of the focus the Bible has on the Jews. God indeed chose a nation of people to bring the Lord to the earth. God chose for all nations to be blessed through Abraham and his descendants (Gen. 12, 15, 17, etc.). As we read the Bible, it maintains a sharp focus on these people and their genealogy so that we can know with certainty that Jesus has come through the tribe of Judah to save us as promised (Gen. 49:10; Matt. 1:1-17; Lk. 3:23-38).

 

Please do not misinterpret God’s focus on the genealogy of Christ as ignoring the Gentiles. Unfortunately, the Jews had this attitude, and since God chose through them all nations would be blessed, they discounted all other people and thought them “unworthy” of love or kindness, etc. This was never God’s intention. Abraham was the “father of faith” to Jews and Gentiles since God called Abraham before he was circumcised (Gen. 12, 17; Rom. 4:8-25).

 

Looking forward to Abraham’s promise, we see that the Jews and their descendants served the purpose of bringing Christ into the world. Yet, this savior would be a savior for all people, not just the Jews (Heb. 2:9b; Matt. 20:28). What does this have to do with the Ninevites in Jonah? Notice that God has sent Jonah to call these Gentile people to repentance (Jonah 1:2, 3:1-5). “Why call the people to repentance if they had no way of being saved until Christ died on the cross?” To ask that question is to answer it! Men, including Jonah, Nahum, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Obadiah, Daniel, and others, called and cried out to the Gentile (heathen) to repent and return to God. Why do this if God “didn’t care” for them? Why do this if they had no hope? By asking these questions, I think our dear readers know the answer.

 

The apostle Paul said that where there is no law, there is no sin (Rom. 4:15, 5:13). Since God is calling the people to repent and come back to God, they must have had some law in place. What “law” might this have been? I submit they were under the patriarchal law/dispensation that had been set up back in Genesis. Paul hints at this idea when he asks, “Wherefore then serveth the law?” (Gal. 3:19). Or, what purpose did the Law (or Moses) serve? He answers the question in the same verse. “It was added because of transgressions, till the seed should come to whom the promise was made; and it was ordained by angels in the hand of a mediator.” In this study, we note that Paul said the Law of Moses “was added” to something until the seed should come. To what was the Law “added”? It was added to the patriarchal law! That patriarchal law had not gone away or been abolished at Sinai (Ex. 20-22). Instead, the Law of Moses was added to it. The Gentiles were to follow that patriarchal law while the Jews (who had crossed the Red Sea, Deut. 5:3) were subject to this law given at Sinai. Thus, when Jonah was sent to call those people to repentance, it was because they were subject (amenable) to a law that God had for them for millennia. God expected them to follow it, and they would suffer the consequences when they didn't.

 

Of course, since Christ has died, we are under His testament (Heb. 9:14-15) and His law (Gal. 6:2) and must follow it while we are on earth (Rev. 22:14). God has not forgotten us and has provided a way for us to be saved (Mk. 16:16). In the Old Testament, God did not ignore or forget His Gentile people! They had souls and needed to be right with God as well. They could do so by following the patriarchal law. This is not to say some Gentiles did not become proselytes to the Jewish way. Still, those who did not were amenable to the patriarchal law and would answer to God for their transgressions (Rom. 4:15, 5:13). This is why God sent Jonah to Nineveh - to offer them one more opportunity to repent and save their souls before it was too late.

 

Reflecting on God’s love, patience, longsuffering, and mercy, we can’t help but feel a sense of gratitude. These divine attributes have been demonstrated to us time and again, including in the book of Jonah. Aren't you thankful for such a loving and merciful God?

 

– Jarrod M. Jacobs