ALIENS
By Hillel ben David (Greg
Killian)
ALIENS
By Hillel ben David (Greg
Killian)
I
am trying to understand how Gentile believers
"fit" with HaShem's plan for
1616 ger, gare; or (fully) geyr,
gare; from 1481; prop. a guest; by impl. a foreigner:-alien, sojourner,
stranger. ^ gur. See 1482.
Let’s
begin this study by examining the verses which speak of the "alien living
among you (
Shemot
(Exodus) 12:48-49 "An alien living among
you who wants to celebrate HaShem’s Passover
must have all the males in his household circumcised; then he may take part like one born in
the land. No uncircumcised male may eat of it. The
same law applies to the native-born and to the alien
living among you."
Bamidbar
(Numbers) 9:14 "'An alien living among
you who wants to celebrate HaShem’s Passover must do so in accordance with
its rules and regulations. You must have the same
regulations for the alien and the native-born.'"
The
Gentile who was turning to HaShem was allowed to
celebrate the Passover if all males in his household were circumcised. This was
one of the final steps of the conversion process. As a convert, he had all the
same rules that the Israelites had.
Shemot
(Exodus) 12:14-20 "This is a day you are to
commemorate; for the generations to come you shall celebrate it as a festival to HaShem--a lasting ordinance. For seven days you are to eat bread made without yeast. On
the first day remove the yeast from your houses, for whoever eats anything with
yeast in it from the first day through the seventh must be cut off from
In
the above passage we can see that the community
of Israel was composed of native born and the aliens (gerim). Eating yeast during Hag HaMatza was not optional for the
community of Israel.
Vayikra
(Leviticus) 16:29-31 "This is to be a lasting
ordinance for you: On the tenth day of the seventh month
you must deny yourselves and not do any work--whether native-born or an alien
living among you-- Because on this day atonement
will be made for you, to cleanse you. Then, before HaShem, you will be clean
from all your sins. It is a Sabbath
of rest, and you must deny yourselves; it is a lasting ordinance.
The
alien was required to observe the Day of Atonement.
Lets see what the Torah says are some of the other requirements for these
aliens who have turned to HaShem.
Shemot
(Exodus) 20:8-11 "Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. Six
days you shall labor and do all your work, But the seventh day is a Sabbath to HaShem your God. On it you shall not do any work,
neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your manservant or maidservant, nor
your animals, nor the alien within your gates. For in six days HaShem
made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that
is in them, but he rested on the seventh day. Therefore HaShem blessed the
Sabbath day and made it holy.
Shemot
(Exodus) 23:12 "Six days do your work, but
on the seventh day do not work, so that your ox and your donkey
may rest and the slave born in your household, and
the alien as well, may be refreshed.
Devarim
(Deuteronomy) 5:12-15 "Observe the Sabbath day by
keeping it holy, as HaShem your God has commanded you. Six days you shall labor
and do all your work, But the seventh day is a Sabbath to HaShem your God. On
it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your
manservant or maidservant, nor your ox, your donkey or any of your animals, nor
the alien within your gates, so that your manservant and maidservant may
rest, as you do. Remember that you were slaves in
The
alien was required to rest on Shabbat. Since the Shabbat wa given as a sign of the covenant between
the Jew and HaShem, we know that the alien is a convert, he is now a part of
the covenant!
Vayikra
(Leviticus) 17:8-9 "Say to them: 'Any
Israelite or any alien living among them who offers a burnt offering or sacrifice And does not bring it to
the entrance to the Tent of Meeting to sacrifice it
to HaShem--that man must be cut off from his people.
The
alien was required to bring his
sacrifice to the same place an Israelite did. Since only members of the
covenant were allowed in the courtyard of Israel, to make this offering, we can
see that the alien is a Gentile who has accepted the
Torah and entered the covenat and become a part of Israel. He is no longer a
Gentile, he is now a Jew!
Vayikra
(Leviticus) 17:10-14 "'Any Israelite or any alien
living among them who eats any blood--I will set
my face against that person who eats blood and will cut him off from his
people. For the life of a creature is in the blood, and I have given it to you
to make atonement for yourselves on the altar; it
is the blood that makes atonement for one's life. Therefore I say to the Israelites,
"None of you may eat blood, nor may an alien living among you eat
blood." "'Any Israelite or any alien living among you who
hunts any animal or bird that may be eaten must drain out the blood and cover
it with earth, Because the life of every creature is its blood. That is why I
have said to the Israelites, "You must not eat the blood of any creature,
because the life of every creature is its blood; anyone who eats it must be cut
off."
The
aliens, as a part of the covenant and having the same law
as the rest of Israel, was forbidden to eat blood.
Vayikra
(Leviticus) 17:15-16 "'Anyone, whether
native-born or alien, who eats anything found dead or torn by wild
animals must wash his clothes and bathe with water,
and he will be ceremonially unclean till evening; then he will be clean. But if
he does not wash his clothes and bathe himself, he will be held
responsible.'"
The
alien was not allowed to eat already dead animals without becoming unclean, the
same law that applied to the native born Jew.
Devarim
(Deuteronomy) 14:21 Do not eat
anything you find already dead. You may give it to an alien living in any of
your towns, and he may eat it, or you may sell it to a foreigner (ger). But you
are a people holy to HaShem your God. Do not cook a young goat in its mother's milk.
This
is baffling...How do we have the same law and allow
this?
Vayikra
(Leviticus) 20:1-8 HaShem said to Moses, "Say
to the Israelites: 'Any Israelite or any alien living in
The
alien was not allowed to offer his children to Molech.
Vayikra
(Leviticus) 22:17-20 HaShem said to Moses, "Speak
to Aaron and his sons and to all the Israelites and say to them: 'If any of
you--either an Israelite or an alien living in Israel--presents a gift
for a burnt offering to HaShem, either to fulfill a
vow or as a freewill offering, You must present a
male without defect from the cattle, sheep or goats in order that it may be
accepted on your behalf. Do not bring anything with a defect, because it will
not be accepted on your behalf.
His
burnt offering was the same as an Israelites'.
Vayikra
(Leviticus) 24:10-23 Now the son of an Israelite
mother and an Egyptian father went out among the Israelites, and a fight broke
out in the camp between him and an Israelite. The son of the Israelite woman
blasphemed the Name with a curse; so they brought him
to Moses. (His mother's name was Shelomith, the daughter of Dibri the Danite.) They
put him in custody until the will of HaShem should be made clear to them. Then
HaShem said to Moses: "Take the blasphemer outside the camp. All those who
heard him are to lay their hands on his head, and the entire assembly is to
stone him. Say to the Israelites: 'If anyone curses his God, he will be held
responsible; Anyone who blasphemes the name of HaShem must be put to death. The
entire assembly must stone him. Whether an alien or native-born, when he
blasphemes the Name, he must be put to death. "'If anyone takes the
life of a human being, he must be put to death. Anyone who takes the life of
someone's animal must make restitution--life for life. If anyone injures his
neighbor, whatever he has done must be done to him: Fracture for fracture, eye
for eye, tooth for tooth. As he has injured the other, so he is to be injured. Whoever
kills an animal must make restitution, but whoever kills a man must be put to
death. You are to have the same law for the alien and
the native-born. I am HaShem your God.'" Then Moses spoke to the
Israelites, and they took the blasphemer outside the camp and stoned him. The
Israelites did as HaShem commanded Moses.
Blasphemer
were to be stoned by the native born and the alien. The same law applied to
Israelites and aliens.
Bamidbar
(Numbers) 15:14-16 For the generations
to come, whenever an alien or anyone else living among you presents an
offering made by fire as an aroma pleasing to HaShem, he must do exactly as you do. The community is
to have the same rules for you and for the alien living among you; this
is a lasting ordinance for the generations to come. You and the alien shall be
the same before HaShem: The same laws and regulations
will apply both to you and to the alien living among you.'"
The
sacrificial law applied to both the Israelite and the alien.
Bamidbar
(Numbers) 15:22-31 "'Now if you
unintentionally fail to keep any of these commands HaShem gave Moses-- Any of
HaShem’s commands to you through him, from the day
HaShem gave them and continuing through the generations
to come-- And if this is done unintentionally without the community being aware
of it, then the whole community is to offer a young bull for a burnt offering as an aroma pleasing to HaShem, along
with its prescribed grain offering and drink offering, and a male goat for a sin offering. The priest is to
make atonement for the whole Israelite community,
and they will be forgiven, for it was not intentional and they have brought to
HaShem for their wrong an offering made by fire and a
sin offering. The whole Israelite community and the aliens living among them
will be forgiven, because all the people were involved in the unintentional
wrong. "'But if just one person sins unintentionally, he must bring a
year-old female goat for a sin offering. The priest
is to make atonement before HaShem for the one who erred by sinning
unintentionally, and when atonement has been made for him, he will be forgiven.
One and the same law applies to everyone who sins unintentionally, whether he
is a native-born Israelite or an alien. "'But anyone who sins
defiantly, whether native-born or alien, blasphemes HaShem, and that
person must be cut off from his people. Because he has despised HaShem’s word
and broken his commands, that person must surely be cut off; his guilt remains
on him.'"
Unintentional
or intentional sin...the alien is treated like an Israelite.
Devarim
(Deuteronomy) 10:14-22 To HaShem your God belong the heavens, even the highest heavens, the earth and
everything in it. Yet HaShem set his affection on your forefathers
and loved them, and he chose you, their descendants, above all the nations, as
it is today. Circumcise your hearts, therefore, and
do not be stiff-necked any longer. For HaShem your God is God of gods and Lord
of lords, the great God, mighty and awesome, who shows no partiality and
accepts no bribes. He defends the cause of the fatherless and the widow, and
loves the alien, giving him food and clothing. And you
are to love those who are aliens, for you yourselves were aliens in Egypt. Fear HaShem your God and serve
him. Hold fast to him and take your oaths in his name. He
is your praise; he is your God, who performed for you those great and awesome wonders you saw with your own eyes. Your
forefathers who went down into
Tehillim
(Psalms) 146:1-10 Praise HaShem. Praise HaShem, O
my soul. I will praise HaShem all my life; I will sing praise to my God as long
as I live. Do not put your trust in princes, in mortal men, who cannot save. When
their spirit departs, they return to the ground; on that very day their plans
come to nothing. Blessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob,
whose hope is in HaShem his God, The Maker of heaven and earth, the sea, and
everything in them--HaShem, who remains faithful forever. He upholds the cause
of the oppressed and gives food to the hungry. HaShem
sets prisoners free, HaShem gives sight to the blind, HaShem lifts up those who
are bowed down, HaShem loves the righteous. HaShem watches over the alien
and sustains the fatherless and the widow, but he frustrates the ways of the wicked. HaShem reigns
forever, your God, O
HaShem
loves the alien (The implication is that he is chosen).
I
Melakim (Kings) 8:37-43 "When famine
or plague comes to the land, or blight or mildew,
locusts or grasshoppers, or when an enemy besieges them in any of their cities,
whatever disaster or disease may come, And when a prayer
or plea is made by any of your people Israel--each
one aware of the afflictions of his own heart, and
spreading out his hands toward this temple-- Then
hear from heaven, your dwelling place. Forgive and
act; deal with each man according to all he does, since you know his heart (for
you alone know the hearts of all men), So that they will fear you all the time
they live in the land you gave our fathers. "As
for the foreigner who does not belong to your people Israel but has come from a
distant land because of your name-- For men will hear of your great name and
your mighty hand and your outstretched arm--when he comes and prays toward this
temple, Then hear from heaven, your dwelling place,
and do whatever the foreigner asks of you, so that all the peoples of
the earth may know your name and fear you, as do your own people Israel, and
may know that this house I have built bears your
Name.
The
alien was to be allotted a share of the land in which he settled:
Yechezkel
(Ezekiel) 47:21-23 "You are to distribute this
land among yourselves according to the tribes of
Consider
also that Caleb received an inheritance and that his father was NOT a
descendent of Jacob:
Bereshit
(Genesis) 15:12-21 As the sun was setting, Abram
fell into a deep sleep, and a thick and dreadful
darkness came over him. Then HaShem said to him, "Know for certain that
your descendants will be strangers in a country not their own, and they will be
enslaved and mistreated four hundred years. But I will punish the nation they
serve as slaves, and afterward they will come out with great possessions. You,
however, will go to your fathers in peace and be buried at a good old age. In
the fourth generation your descendants will come back here, for the sin of the Amorites has not yet reached its full
measure." When the sun had set and darkness had fallen, a smoking firepot
with a blazing torch appeared and passed between the pieces. On that day HaShem
made a covenant with Abram and said, "To your
descendants I give this land, from the river of Egypt to the great river, the
Euphrates-- The land of the Kenites, Kenizzites, Kadmonites, Hittites,
Perizzites, Rephaites, Amorites, Canaanites, Girgashites and Jebusites."
Bamidbar
(Numbers) 32:12 Not one except Caleb son of
Jephunneh the Kenizzite and Yahoshua (Joshua) son of Nun, for they followed
HaShem wholeheartedly.'
Devarim
(Deuteronomy) 1:36 Except Caleb son of Jephunneh.
He will see it, and I will give him and his descendants the land he set his
feet on, because he followed HaShem wholeheartedly."
5237
nokriy, nok-ree'; from 5235 (second form); strange, in a variety of degrees and
applications (foreign, non-relative, adulterous, different, wonderful):-alien,
foreigner, outlandish, strange (-r, woman).
Devarim
(Deuteronomy) 17:14-15 When you enter the land HaShem your God is giving you and have taken possession
of it and settled in it, and you say, "Let us set a king over us like all
the nations around us," Be sure to appoint over you the king HaShem your
God chooses. He must be from among your own brothers. Do not place a
foreigner (ish) over you, one who is not a brother Israelite.
This
stranger is different too (this is our nokree).
Devarim
(Deuteronomy) 15:1-5 At the end of every seven years you must cancel debts. This is how it is to
be done: Every creditor shall cancel the loan he has made to his fellow Israelite. He shall not require payment from his fellow
Israelite or brother, because HaShem’s time for
canceling debts has been proclaimed. You may require payment from a
foreigner, but you must cancel any debt your brother owes you. However,
there should be no poor among you, for in the land HaShem your God is giving
you to possess as your inheritance, he will richly
bless you, If only you fully obey HaShem your God and are careful to follow all
these commands I am giving you today.
Devarim
(Deuteronomy) 23:19-20 Do not charge your brother
interest, whether on money or food or anything else
that may earn interest. You may charge a foreigner interest, but not a
brother Israelite, so that HaShem your God may bless you in everything you put
your hand to in the land you are entering to possess.
God Fearer
II
Luqas (Acts) 10:1-8 At
Cornelius
gets baptized with the Holy Spirit.
Kohelet
(Ecclesiastes) 8:12 Although a wicked
man commits a hundred crimes and still lives a long time, I know that it will
go better with God-fearing men, who are reverent before God.
II
Luqas (Acts) 2:1-13 When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. Suddenly
a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven
and filled the whole house where they were sitting. They saw what seemed to be
tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each
of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in
other tongues as the Spirit enabled them. Now there
were staying in Jerusalem God-fearing Jews from every nation under heaven. When they
heard this sound, a crowd came together in bewilderment, because each one heard
them speaking in his own language. Utterly amazed, they asked: "Are not
all these men who are speaking Galileans? Then how is it that each of us hears
them in his own native language? Parthians, Medes and Elamites; residents of
Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia,
Egypt and the parts of
Libya near Cyrene; visitors from Rome (Both
Jews and converts to Judaism); Cretans and Arabs--we
hear them declaring the wonders of God in our own tongues!" Amazed and
perplexed, they asked one another, "What does this mean?" Some,
however, made fun of them and said, "They have had too much wine."
II
Luqas (Acts) 13:26-31 "Brothers, children of
Abraham, and you God-fearing Gentiles, it is to us that this message of salvation has been sent. The people of Jerusalem and their rulers did not recognize Yeshua, yet in condemning him they fulfilled the words
of the prophets that are read every Sabbath. Though
they found no proper ground for a death sentence, they asked Pilate to have him
executed. When they had carried out all that was written about him, they took
him down from the tree and laid him in a tomb. But God raised him from the
dead, And for many days he was seen by those who had traveled with him from
Galilee to
II
Luqas (Acts) 13:46-51 Then Paul and Barnabas answered
them boldly: "We had to speak the word of God to you first. Since you
reject it and do not consider yourselves worthy of eternal
life, we now turn to the Gentiles. For this is
what the Lord has commanded us: "'I have made you a light for the
Gentiles, that you may bring salvation to the ends of the earth.'" When
the Gentiles heard this, they were glad and honored the word of the Lord; and
all who were appointed for eternal life believed. The word of the Lord spread
through the whole region. But the Jews incited the God-fearing women of
high standing and the leading men of the city. They stirred up persecution
against Paul and Barnabas, and expelled them from their region. So they shook
the dust from their feet in protest against them and went to Iconium.
II
Luqas (Acts) 17:1-4 When they had passed through
Amphipolis and Apollonia, they came to Thessalonica, where there was a Jewish synagogue. As his custom was, Paul went into the
synagogue, and on three Sabbath days he reasoned with
them from the Scriptures, Explaining and proving that the Mashiach had to suffer and rise from the dead.
"This Yeshua I am proclaiming to you is the Mashiach," he said. Some
of the Jews were persuaded and joined Paul and Silas, as did a large number of God-fearing
Greeks and not a few prominent women.
4576
sebomai, seb'-om-ahee; mid. of an appar. prim. verb; to revere, i.e.
adore:-devout, religious, worship.
II
Luqas (Acts) 17:16-17 While Paul was waiting for them
in
Conclusion:
Yeshayah
(Isaiah) 56:2-8 Blessed is the man who does
this, the man who holds it fast, who keeps the Sabbath without desecrating it,
and keeps his hand from doing any evil." Let no foreigner who has bound
himself to HaShem say, "HaShem will surely exclude me from his
people." And let not any eunuch complain, "I am only a dry
tree." For this is what HaShem says: "To the eunuchs who keep my
Sabbaths, who choose what pleases me and hold fast to my covenant-- To them I
will give within my temple and its walls a memorial
and a name better than sons and daughters; I will give them an everlasting name
that will not be cut off. And foreigners who bind themselves to HaShem to serve
him, to love the name of HaShem, and to worship him, all who keep the Sabbath
without desecrating it and who hold fast to my covenant--
These I will bring to my holy mountain and give them joy in my house of prayer. Their burnt offerings and sacrifices will be
accepted on my altar; for my house will be called a
house of prayer for all nations." The Sovereign HaShem
declares--he who gathers the exiles of Israel: "I will gather
still others to them besides those already gathered."
* * *
This study was written by Hillel ben David
(Greg Killian).
Comments may be submitted to:
Greg Killian
7104 Inlay St SE
Lacey, WA 98513
Internet address:
gkilli@aol.com
Web page: http://www.betemunah.org/
(360) 584-9352
Return to The
WATCHMAN home page
Send comments to Greg Killian at his email address: gkilli@aol.com