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Before we examine the New Testament for examples of how the non-Jew and God-fearer related to the "Pattern of Worship" we need familiarize ourselves with the terms for them used in the Hebrew Scriptures and the Old Testament. The following is taken from the Encyclopedia Judaica.
Ancient Israel was acquainted with two classes of "Gentiles" or "strangers" and we find references to them in the Old Testament:
The "foreigner" were referred to as zarim (Myrz) or nokhrim, "nokhri,"(Myrkn), terms generally applied to anyone outside the circle the writer had in view (e.g., Ex. 21:8; 29:33). They retained their ties to their original home and sought to maintain their former political or social status. On occasion they came as invaders (II Sam. 22:4546; Obad. 11). More often they entered the land in the pursuit of trade and other commercial ventures.
Answer for yourself: What is of importance in our study concerning the "Pattern of Worship" that might be noticed concerning the "resident alien" and the "foreigner"? Concerning "the foreigner" the usual laws were not applicable to them, and they were protected by folk traditions concerning the proper treatment of strangers (cf. Job 31:32) and by special conventions resulting from contractual arrangements between the Israelites and their neighbors (cf. I Kings 20:34). In the legislation of Deuteronomy, an Israelite may charge a foreigner usury though he may not do so to a fellow Israelite (Deut. 23:21), and the septennial remission of debts does not apply to the debts of foreigners (Deut. 15:3).
Of importance for our study concerning the "Pattern of Worship" it is important to note that the "stranger" or "foreigner" was barred from the cult (Ex. 12:43):
Exod 12:43-45 43 And the LORD said unto Moses and Aaron, This is the ordinance of the passover: There shall no stranger eat thereof: 44 But every man's servant that is bought for money, when thou hast circumcised him, then shall he eat thereof. 45 A foreigner and an hired servant shall not eat thereof. (KJV)
Also of importance for our study concerning the "Pattern of Worship" it is important to note that the "stranger" or "foreigner" was not bound by the ritual laws, and it was permissible to sell him animals that had died a natural death (Deut. 14:21):
Deut 14:21 21 Ye shall not eat of any thing that dieth of itself: thou shalt give it unto the stranger that is in thy gates, that he may eat it; or thou mayest sell it unto an alien: for thou art an holy people unto the LORD thy God. Thou shalt not seethe a kid in his mother's milk. (KJV)
The fact that Deuteronomy includes a special prohibition against foreigners' ascending the throne (Deut. 17:15) and that Solomon specifically requested that God listen to their prayers (1 Kings 8:41) may indicate the important position some foreigners occupied during the age of the monarchy.
I King 8:41-43 41 Moreover concerning a stranger, that is not of thy people Israel, but cometh out of a far country for thy name's sake; 42 (For they shall hear of thy great name, and of thy strong hand, and of thy stretched out arm;) when he shall come and pray toward this house; 43 Hear thou in heaven thy dwelling place, and do according to all that the stranger calleth to thee for: that all people of the earth may know thy name, to fear thee, as do thy people Israel; and that they may know that this house, which I have builded, is called by thy name. (KJV)
In contrast with the foreigner, the "ger", the "resident alien", lived more or less permanently in his adopted community. Like the Arabic "jar", he was "the protected stranger," who was totally dependent on his patrons for his well-being. As W.R. Smith noted, his status was an extension of that of the guest, whose person was inviolable, though he could not enjoy all the privileges of the native. He, in turn, was expected to be loyal to his protectors (Gen. 21:23):
Gen 21:23-24 23 Now therefore swear unto me here by God that thou wilt not deal falsely with me, nor with my son, nor with my son's son: but according to the kindness that I have done unto thee, thou shalt do unto me, and to the land wherein thou hast sojourned. 24 And Abraham said, I will swear. (KJV)
Of major importance for our study in identifying and recovering "the Pattern of Worship" given the "non-Jew" in the Bible we must notice that this "resident alien" in Israel was bound by the Laws of the Jews (Num. 15:15-16).
Num 15:15-16 15 One ordinance shall be both for you of the congregation, and also for the stranger that sojourneth with you(the resident gentile), an ordinance for ever in your generations: as ye are, so shall the stranger be before the LORD. 16 One law and one manner shall be for you, and for the stranger that sojourneth with you. (KJV)
Answer for yourself: Did you notice that this commandment of obedience to these "ordinances" was to be FOREVER for both the Jew and the "non-Jew" who is akin with Israel? How long is "forever"?
Answer for yourself: What is an "ordinance"?
Strong's Concordance: # 2708 chuqqah (khook-kaw'); feminine of 2706, and meaning substantially the same: KJV-- appointed, custom, manner, ordinance, site, statute. 2706 choq (khoke); from 2710 (root word); an enactment; hence, an appointment (TIME, space, quantity, labor or usage): KJV-- appointed, bound, commandment, convenient, custom, decree (-d), due, law, measure, X necessary, ordinance (-nary), portion, set time, statute, task.
In order to make sure you see this let me reiterate. God commanded of the "non-Jew" who gathers with, assemble with, or dwell with Israel to observe the same "appointed times", the same "appointed customs", the same "necessary set times", the same "commandments", the same "appointments in time" which were commanded of the Jews.
Answer for yourself: What should this teach us? God gave the "non-Jew" who identified with the Israel of God the obligation to keep and observe these same Biblical "appointed times", which are the Biblical Festivals and Sabbaths of the Lord.
Brown-Driver Briggs Hebrew Lexicon teaches the above as does the Strong's Concordance but they go one step further: The word also carries the idea of "standing in awe" together with the Jews when they stand before YHWH.
Now for a real shocker. On the contrary, the Israelites themselves were "gerim" (Ex. 22:20) as were their ancestors (Gen. 15:13; cf. 23:4; Ex. 2:22).
Ex. 22:20 And a stranger shalt thou not wrong, neither shalt thou oppress him; for ye were strangers in the land of Egypt.
Gen. 15:13 13 And He said unto Abram: 'Know of a surety that thy seed shall be a stranger in a land that is not theirs, and shall serve them; and they shall afflict them four hundred years;
Gen. 23:4 4 'I am a stranger and a sojourner with you: give me a possession of a burying-place with you, that I may bury my dead out of my sight.'
Ex. 2:22 22 And she bore a son, and he called his name Gershom; for he said: 'I have been a stranger in a strange land.'
Aliens were apparently attracted to the ranks of Israel when they left Egypt (Ex. 12:38, 48), and their numbers were further augmented during the time of the conquest of Canaan (Josh. 9:3ff.). By far the greatest number of gerim consisted of the earlier inhabitants of Canaan, many of whom were neither slain as Deuteronomy commands (cf. e.g., 7:2) nor reduced to total slavery (cf. I Kings 5:29; II Chron. 2:1617). Immigrants also were numbered among themforeigners who sought refuge in times of drought and famine (cf. Ruth 1:1) and refugees who fled before invading armies.
Since all of the landed property belonged to Israelites (cf. Lev. 25:2324), the gerim were largely day laborers and artisans (Deut. 24: 1415; cf. 29:10). Both the Book of the Covenant which classed them among those who were dependent (Ex. 23:12) and the Decalogue which referred to them as "your stranger" (gerkha; Ex. 20:10; cf. Deut. 5:14) attest their inferior position in Israelite society. While a few acquired wealth (cf. Lev. 25:47), most of them were poor and were treated as the impoverished natives. Thus, they were permitted to share in the fallen fruit in the vineyard (Lev. 19:10), the edges of the field, and the gleanings of the harvest (Lev. 23:22). Like the other poor folk they were also granted a share in the tithe of the third year (Deut. 14:29) and the produce of the Sabbatical Year (Lev. 25:6).
Since the foreigners' defenselessness made them vulnerable, the Israelites were frequently reminded of God's special concern for the weak (Ex. 22:2122; cf. Deut. 10:1719) and were enjoined not to molest them (Ex. 22:20; cf. Jer. 7:6). They were not to be abused (Deut. 24:14) and were to receive equal treatment before the law (Deut. 1:16; cf. 24:17; 27:19). In case of accidental homicide, the cities of refuge were open to them as well (Num. 35:15), or there was to be "one standard for stranger and citizen alike" (Lev. 24:22).
Lev 24:22 22 Ye shall have one manner of law, as well for the stranger, as for one of your own country: for I am the LORD your God. (KJV)
Moreover, the Israelites were enjoined to be especially solicitous of the welfare of the "ger" and to befriend him as one of their own, since they could recall the sufferings of their own people in the land of Egypt (Lev. 19:34; cf. Deut. 10:19).
With the passage of time, the "gerim" were assimilated culturally and religiously. Doeg the Edomite, for instance, was a worshiper of YHWH by the time of Saul (I Sam. 21:8), as was Uriah the Hittite in the reign of David (II Sam. 11:11).
Answer for yourself: In light of the very important verse above, Leviticus 24:22, which proscribes "one Law", the same Law, for both the "Jew" and the "Ger", who identified with Israel, what should that teach us?
Clearly, that the "ger", in contrast to the "nokhri", was required in many cases to conform to the "ritual" practices of the native Israelite.
That means they shared the same "Pattern of Worship" with the Jewish people!
Thus, "gerim", the "non-Jews" who identified with the Israel of God, were subject to the same laws as were the Jews in the following areas. I highly recommend that you follow the links and read these Hebrew Scriptures for yourself if you are wanting to see how God's "Pattern of Worship" given the Jews also included the "non-Jew" as well.
Answer for yourself: What did we see here and what should that teach us? Simply, that without a doubt in the Hebrew Scriptures, we find God providing for the "non-Jew" to keep and observer these same "appointed times" with God like the Biblical Festivals of Passover, Unleavened Bread, Shavuot (Pentecost), Yom Kippur, Tabernacles, and the Sabbath of God (the 4th Commandment). Also we saw that the opportunity to worship God in burnt offerings as well as his acceptance of various Laws of the Torah applied to him as well since he was in relationship with the Israel of God. This is a picture that should become very clear to us for certainly, by what we just read, these Biblical Festivals, Sabbaths, and Torah were not given to the "Jews" only.
Above we just looked at many ways the non-Jew was instructed concerning various commandments concerning worship that applied to him as one who "stood besides Israel" in the worship of the God of Israel. We saw without a doubt that these "non-Jews" who worshipped the God of Israel were required to keep the Sabbath, the Biblical Festivals like Passover (Pesach), Unleavened Bread (Hag Ha Matzah), Pentecost (Shavuot), the Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur), the Festival of Tabernacles, the Sabbath, be immersed or mikvahed prior to observance of these "appointed times" with God, to be circumcised if they were to observe the Passover and partake of the lamb, to fast on prescribed holy days, to refrain from blood and other food laws (Laws of Noah), as well as various morality laws.
Indeed, they, no less than the Israelites, were expected to be loyal to YHWH (Lev. 20:2; cf. Ezek. 14:58). This loyalty did not require of these "non-Jews" that they keep all of the 613 mitzvoth given to the Jews but many of them were given to them as "necessary" as we have seen. Beyond the minimum of the 66 Laws of Noah we see the concept of Isa. 56 being factored in here where the "non-Jew" was required to "chose things that please YHWH" which were over the minimum Laws of Noah.
However, social differences did remain, and some "gerim" were better received than others. While third generation offspring of Edomites and Egyptians might "be admitted into the congregation of the Lord" (Deut. 23:89), Ammonites and Moabites were not to be admitted "even in the tenth generation" (23:4). Furthermore, even while the Holiness Code admonished Israelites not to subject their fellows to slavery (Lev. 25:39), they were specifically permitted to do so to the children of resident aliens (25:4546). A Hebrew slave belonging to a "ger" could be redeemed immediately, and if not redeemed served until the Jubilee Year (25:47ff.), but one belonging to an Israelite served until the Jubilee (25:39ff.). Correspondingly, a Hebrew could serve as a hired or bound laborer (25:40) of an Israelite, but only as a hired laborer of an alien (25:50). Indeed, the humble position of the 'ger' generally was emphasized by the usage of the term in the Holiness Code: e.g., "The land is Mine; you are but strangers resident with Me" (25:23; cf. 25:35,).
In practice, of course, there were Israelites who became propertyless and destitute and had to support themselves as day laborers (Deut. 24:14; cf. Lev. 19:13), and no doubt there were also 'gerim' who became prosperous and acquired land. This narrowed the gap between the two classes and resulted in frequent intermingling. Marriages between the two groups did take place, only marriages between Israelites and the aboriginal inhabitants of Palestine being prohibited in Deuteronomy 7:34. On close examination it appears that even in the theory (and it was hardly more) of the author of Ezra-Nehemiah only marital alliances with the non-Israelites of Palestine were illegitimate, because the laws of Deuteronomy 7:34 and 23:39 applied to them. The absorption of converts from other nations is reported with composureEzra 2:5960 (= Neh. 7:6162); Ezra 6:21; Nehemiah 10:29 ("and everyone who withdrew from the uncleanness of the peoples of the lands [note the plural] to the teaching of God"). The phenomenon of such conversions is alluded to in Isaiah 56:3 and Zechariah 2:15; 8:20ff., and the predictions of the conversion of the gentiles in Isaiah and Jeremiah are well known. In late Second Temple times, the term "ger had become virtually synonymous with "proselyte" (full converts to Judaism) and "strangers" were admitted to the religious fellowship of Israel (Jos., Apion, 2:28).
Whereas, as stated, the word "ger" in the Bible was taken to refer to the proselyte, the "ger toshav", the "resident stranger," was regarded as belonging to a different and special character. He was a "non-Jew" who accepted some, but not all of the commandments of the Torah, as a result of which he was permitted to reside in the land of Israel and enjoy many of the privileges of citizenship. Various views are expressed by the rabbis as to the qualifications which entitle the resident gentile to be accepted as a "ger toshav", ranging from the renunciation of idolatry to one who accepts the whole of the discipline of the Torah with the exception of the dietary laws (Av. Zar. 64b).
Answer for yourself: How did Judaism settle this difference of opinion?
The halakhah and ruling of Israel in this regard was decided that it applies to the person accepting the seven "Noachide Laws" (Maim. Yad, Issurei Bi'ah 14:7; Sh. Ar., YD 124:1). The laws, privileges, and restrictions of the "ger toshav" are exhaustively dealt with in the Talmud. As, however, it was laid down that the acceptance of a "ger toshav" was permitted only during the period that the Jubilee was in force, and that law was no longer in power in Talmudic times, the discussion was purely academic.
We at Bet Emet have a website dealing exclusively with and in-depth concerning the Laws and Covenant of Noah for your further study.