Anonymous Asks (426)

“Are black people mentioned in the Bible?”

Today, we often hear words like “Canadian” or “American” applied to people who manifestly were not born in those nations and have no ancestral history there. The media deliberately conflates legal citizenship or mere residence with ethnic identity, so that it’s not uncommon to see headlines like “Canadian man arrested in France” written about people whose “Canadian identity” is summed up entirely in their possession of a passport and access to our health care system, and who actually spend most of their time abroad. It is a matter of convenience rather than allegiance or shared history.

One hopes a few of these folks also pay taxes, but even that is not always the case.

Ethiopia, Cush, Sheba and Cyrene

Scripture is not as generous with such appellations as our mealy-mouthed media. In the Bible, words like “Ethiopian” or “Cushite” generally designate ethnicity, not citizenship or mere residence in a specific geographic location. Israel sojourned in Egypt almost 400 years, but nobody ever mistook Jacob’s family for Egyptians, especially not the Egyptians. Thus, we can be confident that anybody the writers of the Bible mention as being from Cyrene, Sheba, Cush or Ethiopia was definitely on the darker side of things. There are probably other place names in scripture that designate ancient African kingdoms too, but careful research has pretty much locked down these four. Thus, the answer to today’s question is a firm “yes”.

It also makes for a short post. What may be more interesting to readers looking for the answer to such a question is to note a few black characters scripture singles out in one way or another as commendable in character and action.

1/ The Queen of Sheba

Bible scholars identify Sheba as an African kingdom located in the region of today’s Yemen. If so, then Sheba’s unnamed queen traveled some 1,300 miles to test King Solomon with hard questions, a significant trip in those days. She was impressed by the stories she had heard concerning his wisdom and fame, and she wanted to know more. Upon having all her queries answered and her senses boggled by the splendor of Solomon’s kingdom, she said to him, “Blessed be the Lord your God, who has delighted in you and set you on the throne of Israel! Because the Lord loved Israel forever, he has made you king, that you may execute justice and righteousness.” That surely indicates a commendable spirit, perhaps even saving faith. Jesus praised her, noting that her hunger for truth far exceeded that of the generation of Israelites to which the Father sent him. He said of her, “She came from the ends of the earth.” That’s character.

2/ Ebed-melech

What was a black man doing in besieged Jerusalem in the days just prior to Nebuchadnezzar’s conquest of Judah? Scripture calls him an Ethiopian eunuch “in the king’s house”. Perhaps he was a slave sold to Zedekiah’s family or perhaps, like the queen of Sheba, he had come to Judah in search of its God. Either way, Ebed-melech displayed great integrity and courage in identifying with the persecuted prophet Jeremiah at risk of his own life. He dared to go to the king of Judah and beg him to help Jeremiah, sunk in the mud at the bottom of a cistern where his enemies had thrown him in anger. Once again, we find God commending him. He received this promise from Jeremiah:

“I will deliver you on that day, declares the Lord, and you shall not be given into the hand of the men of whom you are afraid. For I will surely save you, and you shall not fall by the sword, but you shall have your life as a prize of war, because you have put your trust in me, declares the Lord.”

Did Ebed-melech display saving faith in standing up for God’s servant? Sure sounds like that to me.

3/ The Ethiopian Eunuch

What is it with being a eunuch in Ethiopia? Anyway, if we have our locations and distances right, this anonymous court official traveled an even greater distance than the queen of Solomon’s day searching for truth, some 1,600 miles. Luke tells us he had come to Jerusalem to worship the God of Israel. He was on his way home in his chariot, reading the prophet Isaiah and wondering about whom Isaiah prophesied. That great personage was our Lord Jesus, and he sent his angel to tell Philip to preach the gospel to the Ethiopian eunuch. The man believed, urged Philip to baptize him, and went on his way rejoicing, undoubtedly carrying the message of salvation back home to Ethiopia in days even prior to Paul’s first missionary journey.

Commendable? You bet. A brother in every sense of the word.

Best of the Bunch

Other folks of African origin are mentioned in the Bible, some whose ethnicity is certain and some questionable. Those three are my personal favorites.