1K8-26: Sorry, Christianity, But You Don’t Get to Delete Israel

“Also the foreigner who does not belong to your people Israel — when he comes from a distant country because of your reputation  (for they will hear of your great reputation, your mighty hand and your outstretched arm), when he comes and prays toward this house; then hear in heaven where you live, and act in accordance with everything about which the foreigner is calling to you; so that all the peoples of the earth will know your name and fear you, as does your people Isra’el, and so that they will know that this house which I have built bears your name.”– 1 Kings 8:41-43

Solomon’s 5th petition in his dedication prayer takes an interesting turn.

Instead of Hebrews, he now turns his attention to the Gentiles.

There are actually two Hebrew words used to describe Gentiles connected to Israel.

They are NOKRI and GER.

What’s the difference?

A GER is basically a resident alien who has settled among the Israelites.

The key idea here is residence and social participation.

Because they have made a positive decision to attach themselves to Israel, they are also given certain legal protections.

They receive protection from oppression, access to communal celebrations, and justice under Torah.

They are also welcome to participate in Israel’s sabbath rest.

Here’s the Torah reference:

“You shall not wrong a ger or oppress him,
for you were gerimin in the land of Egypt.”
-Exodus 22:1

Notice how the verse above also refers to the Israelites as GERIMIN while they lived in Egypt.

For example, my status here in Japan is that of a GER.

Although I’m not a citizen, I am a permanent resident.

This means I work and pay taxes here and have full access to most of the benefits a full-fledged citizen would receive.

Now a NOKRI is a different animal altogether.

NOKRI literally means a “foreigner,” a “foreign national,” or an “outsider.”

It comes from the idea of someone who is foreign or strange relative to the community.

A NOKRI may be residing in Israel for a period of time…

But has no desire to be part of Israel.

Another interesting example is Deuteronomy 14:21:

“You may give it to the GER
who is within your towns,
that he may eat it,
or you may sell it to a NOKHRI...”

The distinction is quite revealing.

So, in a nutshell, a GER is the gentile living among you, whereas the NOKHRI is the gentile outside the community.

So the NOKRI Solomon is praying about in his dedication prayer are NOT believers in the God of Israel, nor are they residents living in the holy land.

However, because they have heard of the greatness of Israel’s deity, they have traveled a far distance to visit the Temple in Jerusalem to pay homage to the glory of Adonai.

In response to their respect for YAHWEH, Solomon is asking that the Lord would hear their prayers even though they’re not His people.

Why would the King of Israel ask his God to hear the prayers of these foreign visitors to his Temple?

Because when the Lord answers the prayer of a NOKRI, he or she will come to know who Adonai is and fear Him.

This reminds me of myself when I visited and then said a prayer in front of the Wailing Wall a couple of years ago.

Take a look at this verse from Isaiah:

“I will bring them to my holy mountain
and make them joyful 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 peoples.”
– Isaiah 56:7

Let’s take a look at the Hebrew word for “peoples” here.

It’s not GERIM nor NOKHRIM.

It’s AMMIM or עַמִּים.

There’s some important context here.

Isaiah begins by talking about foreigners who join themselves to the God of Israel, and then says that God will bring them to His Holy mountain.

The word for foreigners is BENE HANEKHAR or וּבְנֵי הַנֵּכָר.

This literally means the sons or children of a NOKHRI.

It’s the same root word.

Here’s the breakdown:

נָכְרִי — nokhrî = foreigner, foreign person

נֵכָר — nēkhar = foreignness / foreigner / what is foreign

בֶּן־נֵכָר — ben-nēkhar = literally “son of foreignness.”

We’re witnessing a pretty powerful linguistic progression here.

First, we start with foreigners who could care less about the God of Israel.

But after hearing of the greatness of the Lord, they come to the Temple to find out what all the fuss is about.

Then they end up worshipping Him.

That’s when the Lord calls them HA AMMIM or הָעַמִּים.

The word GOYIM is not used in that verse.

Alrighty, let’s land this plane.

Who is considered the ultimate NOKRI who was eventually fully grafted into the commonwealth of Israel?

Wouldn’t you consider Ruth to be a strong contender?

When Boaz approached her, she said to him:

“Why are you showing me such favor?
Why are you paying attention to me?
After all, I’m only a foreigner.”
-Ruth 2:10

The word for foreigner there is NOKHRIYYAH, or the feminine form of NOKRI.

Here’s the original Hebrew: וְאָנֹכִי נָכְרִיָּה.

The transliteration is ve-anokhi nokhriyyah.

So what do we know about Ruth?

She went from being NOKRI to becoming a full-fledged citizen of Israel to the point where she became grafted into the line of the Messiah.

Let’s look at the theology of Ruth that enabled her to do that.

“Don’t press me to leave you
and stop following you;
for wherever you go, I will go;
and wherever you stay, I will stay.
Your people will be my people
and your God will be my God.
Where you die, I will die;
and there I will be buried.
May Adonai bring terrible curses on me,
and worse ones as well,
if anything but death
separates you and me.”
– Ruth 1:17

Notice Ruth says to Naomi that your people will be my people, wherever you stay, I will stay, and that your God will be my God.

Contrast this with Christianity that says…

“Your God will be our God,
but we will NOT stay where you stay,
and your people are NOT our people.”

That’s a paraphrase, but I think you get the point.

And that’s your takeaway for today.

If the theology of both Solomon and Ruth is correct…

Then you cannot separate worship of the God of Israel…

From the people and land of Israel.

You just can’t do it.

That’s like trying to make a hamburger without the kosher beef in it.

Ya feel me here homie?

So lemme close by asking you this question.

Do you consider yourself a NOKRI, a GER, or full-fledged citizen of Israel?

CONNECTING THIS TEACHING TO THE NEW TESTAMENT

“Therefore, remember your former state:
you Gentiles by birth
— called the Uncircumcised by those who,
merely because of an operation on their flesh,
are called the Circumcised —
at that time had no Messiah.
You were estranged from the national life of Isra’el.
You were foreigners to the covenants
embodying God’s promise.
You were in this world
without hope and without God.”
– Ephesians 2:11-12