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by Kevin Pauley
But Ruth replied: Do not persuade me to leave you or go back and not follow you. For wherever you go, I will go, and wherever you live, I will live; 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 the LORD do this to me, and even more, if anything but death separates you and me. – Ruth 1:16-17 HCSB
Goy is a biblical term that can be literally translated “nation.” Its use as an identifier for the Gentiles stems from its first appearance in Genesis 10:5. It is used in a different manner occasionally, as in Genesis 12:2 where God promised Abraham to make him into a goy gadol (a great nation).
Generally, to be called a Goy is not a good thing. Since Israel was chosen to be God’s interface with humanity, the Gentiles began to be considered lesser beings. The word is not intrinsically insulting, but over time it accrued a negative meaning.
This was never God’s intent. Didn’t He promise our father Abraham that his Seed would be a blessing to ALL the nations?[1] Didn’t He say “all the peoples on earth will be blessed through you”?[2]
Case in point: Ruth the Moabitess. The Moabites were descendents of Lot through his son Moab[3], the one born of an incestuous relationship. They refused passage of Jephthah’s army through their territory.[4]Israel.[6]Israel and Moab actually boiled over into outright war![8] They were considered to be a snare to Israelites.[7] There were times when the cauldron of international rivalry between One of their kings, Balak[5], asked the prophet Balaam to curse
If ever there was a woman who would be on the outs with God’s people, it should have been Ruth! Yet because of her loyalty to one of God’s people and her decision to make Elohim her God, she not only became one of the Israelites, she actually became an ancestress to Moshiach![9]
This was not the first time such grace was extended to a Goy. Ruth’s second husband’s mother was Rahab the harlot! It was to a Goy woman that Jesus first announced Himself. He healed the Roman centurion’s slave as easily and graciously as any Jewish beggar. He even alluded to the fact that though there were many needy widows in Israel, Elijah cared for a Goy widow![10]
God wanted to make known to those among the Gentiles the glorious wealth of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.[11]
Christ is the hope of the Goyim. His graciousness overflowed the boundaries of Israel and over the entire Earth. In Him, we have the possibility of being grafted onto the Vine, of being adopted into God’s family and becoming co-heirs, not just with Israel but with Christ Himself.
[6] Numbers 22-24; Joshua 24:9; Micah 6:4
[7] Numbers 25:1-3; 1 Kings 11:1
Kevin Pauley is a pastor and writer. He lives in Illinois with his wife, Lynn, their five children and two dogs. His internet address is Berea.
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