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Missionary Enterprises in the
Old Testament Literature
CHIBUZO IKECHI NWANGUMA
CHIBUZO IKECHI NWANGUMA
1
holds a PhD in New
Testament Studies from Lagos State University, Ojo, Lagos,
Nigeria. He lectures at McPherson University, Seriki-Sotayo,
Ogun State, Nigeria. He is also Head of the Department of
Religious Studies of the University.
ABSTRACT
The missionary mandate of God to humankind did not start
with the apostles/disciples of Jesus Christ. The Old
Testament reveals a myriad of passages from the Genesis
account of creation, when God commanded humankind to
multiply and refill the earth and have dominion over all
creatures, to its final page in Malachi. Through descriptive
analysis, selected Old Testament passages where God gave
mandates to men who were required to extend and express
God’s grace and mercy at various times in the history of
humankind to all nations, were examined. With the exception
of Jonah who was studied in isolation, other characters were
examined under groups, namely, the Patriarchs, the Psalmists
and Prophets. It was established that while a few complied with
God, several others, like Jonah were reluctant signifying the
obvious selfishness inherent among the privileged few across
ages.
Introduction
The question one may be tempted to ask is: “Were there people who were
specifically called missionaries in the Old Testament (OT)?” In
1
Chibuzonwanguma@gmail.com
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answering this question, it will be necessary to note that even in the New
Testament (NT), the term “Missionary” or “Mission” was either not used or
was unpopular.
In the OT missionaries could include the Patriarchs, the Psalmists,
and the Prophets. While missionary tendencies of the prophets should
always be obvious by the very nature of their career, that of the patriarchs,
and especially, the Psalmists might be equivocal, because, mission has a
very wide spectrum of meanings. Their careers were not missionary in
essence, particularly, within the context of Christian Missionary as recorded
in the Gospels and the Acts of the Apostles (cf. Matt 10: 1-16; 28:18-20;
Mark3:13-19; 16:14-16; Luke 10: 1-7; 24:46- 49; Acts 1:1-8; 13 :2ff.).
Besides, considering the word of Jesus before He gave His disciples His last
instruction on missions in Luke 24:44; “that all the things must be fulfilled,
which were written in the law of Moses, and the prophets, and in the
Psalms,” it is imperative that one examines the missionary implications
among these categories in the course of this study.
Yahweh and Call to Missions
John R W Stott, a major contributor in Perspectives On World Christian
Movements, in his article “The Living God is a Missionary God,”1 asserts
that God’s missionary agenda is communicated or revealed to humankind
in diverse manners. In the OT, God gave His missionary mandate to various
people at different times.
Adam
The missionary mandate of God to humanity started with Adam. The
implication of this mandate was biological evangelism2. Adam, having been
created in God’s image, divine attribute and character traits, was mandated
by God to reproduce people like him “in the likeness of God Himself’ (cf.
Gen 1:28). Commenting on Genesis 1:28 in respect of God’s mandate to
Adam, Stamps affirms:
Man and woman were charged with being fruitful and
ruling over the earth and animal kingdom. (1) They
were created to form family relationships. This stated
purpose of God in creation indicates that He considers a
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godly family and raising of children of utmost priority in
the world. (2) God expected them to consecrate all things
in the earth to Him and to manage it in a God g1orif’ing
way, fulfilling the divine purpose (cf. Psa 8:6-8; Heb. 2:
79)3
This affirmation is in agreement with our explanation above that there is a
missionary mandate in Genesis 1:26 - 28 as God spoke with Adam and his
wife. They were empowered to “be fertile”, “multiply”, “fill the earth” and
“subdue it”. As they increased in population, God intended them to educate
their immediate generations on His ideals and values. This was implied in
the subsequent instructions and communions to and with Adam and later
generations.
Genesis 2:16-17, states that “The Lord God gave this order: You are
free to eat from any of the trees of the garden except the tree of knowledge
of good and bad. From the tree you shall not eat; the moment you eat from
it, you are surely doomed to die”. Adam, in this passage, was not only
instructed not to eat of the fruit of the knowledge of good and evil, but to
teach his children the same in order to maintain godly character in all
generations. For this purpose, Abraham, for instance, was brought to the
knowledge of what God wanted to do:
And the Lord said, shall I hide from Abraham that thing
which I do, seeing that Abraham shall surely become a
great and mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth
shall be blessed in him? For I know him, that he will
command his children and they shall keep the way of the
LORD to do justice and judgment, that the LORD may
bring upon Abraham that which he had spoken of him
(Gen 18:17- 19).
Moses, in the wilderness, had to instruct the generation that was to enter the
promised land that they should commit the law he had taught them to heart
and teach the same to their children that they might live according
to the will of God in the promised land (Deut 6:6-7). Thus, God, in His
covenant statement with Abraham, declared that He would make him a
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blessing and that through him shall all the nations of the earth be blessed, a
tradition passed on from the creation mandate to Adam.
Noah
Just after the flood, God made a covenant with Noah. With that covenant,
God started a new dispensation of His people on earth. He repeated similar
statement He made to Adam in the first chapter of the book of Genesis. Part
of the covenant’s statement reads thus:
God blessed Noah and his sons and said to them: “Be
fertile and multiply and fill the earth.... If anyone sheds the
blood of man, by man shall his blood be shed, for in the
image of God has man been made ... God told Noah:
“This is the sign of the covenant I have established
between me and all mortal creatures that are on earth”
(Gen 9: 1-17).
According to Bergant, et. al., God’s “stress” in the first and nineth chapters
of Genesis with respect to His relationship with humanity “is behaving as
God would act”4 In the sixth verse of chapter nine, for instance, God
emphasizes that anyone who killed a fellow human being would equally be
killed by someone else, because man was made in the image of God. This
instruction was not just given to Noah but also to his sons. In other words,
it was meant for all ages and anywhere human beings are found. This
instruction would have been necessary, especially, because of the previous
events of the killings of men by men in chapter four (i.e. when Cain killed
Abel his younger brother), and the violence which occasioned the flood.
Stamps and his colleagues are of the view that:
In Noah’s day the character of human sin was blatantly
manifested in two primary ways: Sexual lust (v2) and
violence (vii). Human depravity has not changed; it is still
through lust and violence that evil finds
unrestrained expression. Today immorality, ungodliness,
pornography, and violence dominate our societies (Matt
24:37-39; Rom 1:32).5
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But God has always intended that man made in His image to behave like
Him and that life on earth has to be as it is in heaven as taught by Jesus in
the paternoster (Matt. 6:9-15). Like Philo would say, “whatever was true in
the philosophy of the Greeks had been said earlier by the Jewish
scriptures.”6 It is unequivocal that Socrates (450BC) would have based his
philosophy on such passage as Genesis 9:6 when he was faced with the
violence that characterized the politics of his day and declared: “We can
know only one thing with certainty: man himself. We can know what we
ought to be and what the purpose of life is. To know this is to have true
knowledge. This knowledge can be gained by proper education; man has
the power to make himself morally good.”7
With this, Socrates tried to teach humanity the principles of
violence-free life and peaceful co-existence in the society. Socrates’
teaching formed the basis for development of academic teaching and
learning materials in the field of humanities in institutions of higher
learning. So, the missionary call of God to His people in the Pentateuch
could not only just provide homiletics materials for later generations of
God’s people but for the academia and humanitarian workers and such
fields of life’s endeavour.
The Patriarchs
Attention, here, is drawn to the four people that have been traditionally
called the Patriarchs. Included in the list are Abraham, Isaac, Jacob (later
renamed Israel), and Joseph. One may, also be constrained by virtue of his
contribution to the early development of Jewish literature, religion, and
government, include Moses in this deliberation.
Abraham, the man with whom God started a new chapter in His
dealings with humanity becomes obvious in the scheme of events in Genesis
12 as being called and commissioned by God that through him “shall all the
families of the earth be blessed.”
Now the Lord said to Abram, “Go from your country
and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I
will show you. And I will make of you a great nation, and
I will bless you, and make your name great so that you will
be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you and him who
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curses you I will curse, and by you all the families of the
earth bless themselves (Gen 12:1-3).
According to Stamps and his colleagues, “the call of Abram as recorded in
Genesis 12 (later Abraham see Gen 17:5) begins a new chapter in the Old
Testament revelation of God’s purpose to redeem and save humanity”.8 In
his Israel’s Missionary Call, Kaiser Jr. notes that “The significance of this
grandest of all missionary texts cannot be fully appreciated until we begin
to realize that there are actually three promises of blessing in Genesis 12:2-
3 in which God promised:”
“I will make you a great nation”.
“I will bless you”, and
“I will make your name great”.
Yet, in the narrative, Kaiser discloses that the promises were
immediately followed by a purpose clause, “that you may be a blessing.”9
About this blessing, Josephus writes:
Now, after this, when a famine had invaded the land of
Canaan, and Abraham had discovered that the Egyptians
were in a flourishing condition, he was disposed to go
down to them, both to partake of the plenty they enjoyed,
and to become an auditor of their priests, and to know what
they said concerning the gods, deciding either to follow
them if they had better notions than he, or to convert them
into a better way, if his own notions proved truest.10
Apart from his disposition to spread the good news of his newly found faith
(cf. Gen 18:18-19), he was also endowed and skilled in military intervention
missions. Put in the words of Hauer and Young, “Abraham
is also portrayed as a military hero, successfully, leading a small guerilla
force against an alliance of raiding kings (Gen 14). Thus, he was not a
crazed wanderer who follows divine voices through desert.”11
Abraham was also involved in training missions. It was through him
that the Egyptians learnt arithmetic and science of astronomy which was
later passed on to the Greeks.12 Although there was no such understanding
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as to which field one belonged with respect to specialization in terms of
professionalism as we have it today, Abraham was such a versatile
charismatic leader who did whatever he did in the fear of God with the sole
intention to continually bringing men to terms with God as spoken of him
by God in Genesis 18:18-19.
It is the view of some scholars that, in the patriarchal narrative, the
stories of Isaac and that of his son Jacob are woven together. This
implies that Isaac is a transitional figure. The stories in which he is the
central character repeat, and therefore connect him with similar incidents in
the life of Abraham (Gen 26). Yet, in Hauer and Young’s narratives, the
story of Jacob serves to balance the Abraham narrative and to prepare the
way for Joseph’s story.13 Interestingly, God’s promise to Abraham of a
numerous, indeed of an innumerable, posterity was confirmed to his son
Isaac (26:4, “as stars of heaven”) and his grand-son Jacob (32:12, “as the
sand of the sea”)”.14
This promise of countless number of children, which God made to
Abraham, which He repeated to Isaac and Jacob and the promise of being
the channel of blessings made to Abraham and repeated to Isaac and Jacob
were not mentioned in Joseph’s story. Joseph’s story started in Genesis as
of a young inexperienced lad-dreamer in Genesis 37. Hauer and Young
write that:
In the Joseph’s story the dominant promise theme moved
into the background. The deity, who plays such a crucial
role in Abraham and Jacob stories, speaking from time to
time, moves off stage. There are no indications of God
playing a direct role in the Joseph story. Nevertheless, a
principal conclusion in the story is that the divine intention
underlines the web of events in this drama of conflict
among brothers.15
Further in their narrative, Hauer and Young write that Joseph was
introduced to us “as a spoiled, arrogant and foolish seventeen - year - old”
who was favoured by his father” and naturally “despised by his older
brothers”, and that in his foolishness had to tell his brothers of his dream
that they would “serve him”, who as a result hated him the more. And, “not
surprisingly, when they had the chance, they plotted to get rid of him, first
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deciding to kill him, then (at Judah’s urging) making promise from their
crime by selling him into slavery. “16But considering Joseph’s words to his
brothers on the day he revealed his identity to them in Egypt (cf. Gen 45:5)
and the day his brothers faked their father’s (Jacob’s) request to him soon
after their father’s death (Gen 50:20), one would, however, be constrained
to affirm that the so called “foolishness” of Joseph and the corresponding
hatred of his brothers was God’s orchestration in order to take Joseph to
Egypt that humanity could be saved from the impending evil in the then
world.
It is glaring that Joseph’s role in the patriarchal era was that of an
ambassador - a representation of God’s covenant people in a foreign land
through whom God delivered humanity from destructions and ravages of
famine. He demonstrated integrity and faithfulness through his rejection of
Potiphar’s wife’s offer of herself to him (Gen 39:7-12). He also
demonstrated an excellent leadership quality by means of his gift of
interpretation of dreams (Gen 41:39-44). Thus Joseph became Prime
Minister in Egypt, governing the affairs of men in Egypt and the world over
with the fear of God (Gen45:7-8; 47: 13-26; 50: 19-20).
As noted in the introductory part of this article on the patriarchs,
considering the contribution of Moses to the early development of the
Jewish sacred literature which formed bases for subsequent religious
inspirations, there is a constraint to conclude the narrative on the patriarchs
with the story of Moses.
When He was about starting His public life, as the Lord of the new
era of God’s covenant people here on earth, Jesus made people understand
the place of Moses and his work in God’s programme with humanity (cf.
Matt 5:17-19). In James’ narrative with respect to the outcome of St. Paul’s
missionary style, he disclosed that “Moses of old time hath in every city that
preached him, being read in the synagogues every Sabbath day” (Acts
15:21). In Paul’s missionary letters, and preaching’s, he often quoted
Moses and his works. Of what significance are Moses and his work to
missions? To start with, it is a known truth that Moses wrote the first five
books of the Bible. In Exodus, for instance, tells of his birth and early life
(Ex 2:1-22), his call and career as Jews’ great deliverer (3:1-40:38). In his
Going To The Nations, Fuller summarizes the missionary implication of
Exodus and other Pentateuch literatures thus:
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At Mount Sinai God affirmed that the whole earth was His
(Exodus 19:4-6) and the people of Israel were to be his
priests. They were mediators between God and other
nations. The law made provision for converts. to Israel’s
faith from other nations Exodus 12:48; Numbers 9:14;
15:14-16; Deuteronomy29:lO-13; 31:12. Israel was not
chosen because of any goodness of their own, but to fulfill
God’s purpose.17
Writing on Exodus, in particular, Hawthorne believes that “God did more
for his name than Abraham’s early worship”. To him, “God went global in
a big way at the Exodus. Since then He has never ceased to deal with people
on earth according to the truths He revealed at that time.18 The “key
passage”, he says. “is Exodus 9:13-16 in which Moses gives an ultimatum
to Pharaoh, with a bold word about his purpose.”19 The purpose was to show
Moses His power that he might proclaim His name through all the earth (vi
6). Thus, Moses, like the patriarchs, was anointed by God that he should
be His messenger to the nations of the earth. In Hawthorne’s words, “God’s
purpose to be worshiped by the nations had to begin in a pure simplicity
with one people”.20 By means of Moses God singled Himself out. He made
an “everlasting name” for Himself at the Exodus (Isa 63:11-14 and
Nehemiah 9:9-10). He wanted everyone in Egypt and beyond to know that
there was no god like the living God. By this act, God wanted the world to
watch a mob of slaves marching in procession to worship Him. The Exodus
was to be a reference point to all subsequent revelation to the “world of His
character, His holiness, and His power.”
It is the view of Davis that everyone of the plagues of Egypt was either
aimed against the false gods of Egypt or the oppressive power structure that
were revered with fanatical zeal.21 Stamps and his colleagues for instance,
explain that the plagues “demonstrated God’s power over the gods of Egypt
and all forces of evil on behalf of His people,” and that “they were judgment
of God upon Egypt and her gods.”22
God was executing judgment against all the gods of Egypt (Ex
12:12). He did not aim at destroying people, but devastating one of the most
highly regarded bunch of false gods in all the earth. Through the medium of
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Moses, God revealed His purpose to mankind. He gave the law by which
people shall know Him. He declared through Moses that all human beings
are His regardless of the race or culture. But, in His wisdom, He decided to
start with the Jews which became much clearer through Moses.
The Mosaic Law and Its Implication on Missions
In his farewell address before the leadership baton was passed on to Joshua,
Moses commended the law he taught the Jews as incomparable to the laws
of other nations in the following words:
“And what nation is there so great, that hath statutes and
judgments so righteous as all this law which I set before
you this day” (Deut 4:8).
The Law of Moses started with the “Decalogue which appears first in
Exodus 20:1-17. Its fundamental significance is underlined by its being
placed first and by its subsequent repetition in Deuteronomy 5:1-21. In these
apodictic laws are found the essence of what it meant for ancient Israel to
keep the covenant.” Further in this narrative by Hauer and Young, it is
stated:
The first appearance of the Decalogue is followed
immediately by a collection of casuistic laws, known as the
Covenant Code or Book of Covenant (Ex 20:23- 23:33).
These laws seem to make more specific some of Ten
Commandments. Exodus 20: 23 - 26, for example,
specifies in what ways the LORD is to be worshiped if
there are to be no grave images, and 21:15 and 17 indicate
what should happen to those who do not respect their
parents. They established the rights of slaves (21:1-11);
specified how violence shall be controlled (21(12-32);
states how property shall be respected (21:33-22:17)23
Although all parts of the Covenant Code are, particularly, important to this
study, the aspect of the Covenant Code found most relevant to this work is
what one may call Moses’ foreign policy and also mission to the weak as
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contained in Exodus 22:21-24; 23:9; and in Deuteronomy 10:17-19 and
24:14-22. By this, it is certain that Moses discussed things that have to do
with those that are less privileged and foreigners in their land. In. these
passages, God’s position towards peoples of other nations of the world is
clear to the Jews. Peaceful co-existence with both citizens and aliens was
emphasized. This is, perhaps, why Archer believes that the “Decalogue (Ex
19:3-8)” was a renewal of the covenant between God’s descendants and
“Abraham with his seed (Gen 12, 15, 17)” which Abraham’s descendants
should then carry on with “now that they had become a great nation”.24
Inherent in this covenant and the “Mosaic Book of Covenant” is mission or
service -to humanity.
It is the view of Hauer and Young that the Deuteronomy Code (Deut
12-26) is “usually considered a humanitarian law code”. To them, the code
“established a limited welfare state that benefitted aliens as well as citizens,
limited royal prerogatives, and extended greater protection to women”.25
The moral code, social laws, and the foreign policies of Moses have
missionary impetus. The Pharisees that are often met in the Gospels and the
Acts of the Apostles developed their proselytisation policies from them. The
same formed bases for Paul’s missionary approach.
The Psalmists
The book of Psalms is an anthology of various Jewish song writers. Gunkel,
the Patriarch of form criticism and the one whose “name stands out above
others as that of the pioneer of a new approach to the Psalms” noted four or
five types of psalms. These according to him were communal songs of
thanksgiving, the community laments, the individual laments, the individual
songs of thanksgiving, and the royal psalms. Further to these were those he
classed as smaller categories of psalms which “celebrated the enthronement
of Yahweh as universal king.”26Among such psalms is Psalm 67. This
psalm according to a school of thought is derived from Numbers 6:24-26
which is an Aaronic benediction. Thus Aaronic blessing contained in the
seven verses of this psalm goes beyond the blessing in Numbers 6. In this
psalm we find the purpose of God’s blessing. The purpose is that all peoples
of the earth might know salvation.
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This psalm reveals, further, the plan of God for His people when He
chose His servant Abraham (cf. Gen 12:1-13; 18:18-19). God chose
Abraham so that through his descendants, He might become known to the
nations of the world. He intended that Israel’s reception and enjoyment of
His grace and blessings would cause the heathen nations to take notice so
that they might praise Him and accept His way of truth and righteousness.
Among other Psalms that have missionary theme are Psalm 86:9 and
Psalm 66:1-14. Psalm 86:9 says, “All nations whom thou hast made shall
come and worship before thee, O Lord; and shall glorify thy name.”
Similarly Psalm 66:1-4 states:
Shout joyfully to God, all you on earth; sing of his glorious
name; give him glorious praise. Say to God: How
awesome your deeds! Before your great strength your
enemy cringe. All on earth fall in worship before you; they
sing of you, sing of your name.
These are but a sampling of the scores of prophetic words that tethered
Israel’s identity to the culmination of God’s purposes: the glory of God on
earth drawing the worship of all peoples. The Psalms of David and others
are full of truth that Yahweh is God over all men and nations, not just Israel.
Like Fuller will write, “Although other nations may say they worship their
own gods, that means nothing because God still has full right to be over
them.”27 So, the Psalmists, by means of their music talents, like our modem
musicians, called non-Jews to acknowledge the truth that Yahweh was not
just for the Jews but for as many as could believe in Him (cf. Acts 10:34 -
35).
The Prophets
In the Hebrew Bible, the Prophetical books include Joshua, Judges, Samuel
and the Kings. These are, in the Hebrew version, called the former
Prophets.28Although these books deal with the history of Israel, they were
composed from a prophetic viewpoint, and the authors may have been
career prophets themselves. But, the books considered as prophetical,
especially within the context of this work are the writing prophets’ books.
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These include Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel, Daniel, and the
other twelve, traditionally, called the Minor Prophets.
As noted in the introduction, the prophets, Hebrew nabi, had among
other things in their responsibilities, to forth-tell the mind of God to people
and fore-tell the future. In their messages to the people of Israel, they, at one
time or the other, made the people know that Yahweh was not just for the
Jews but King to the whole earth. In the 1 Kings, for instance, Jeremiah
recorded the prayer of Solomon. During the dedication of the temple, he
particularly included the paragraph in which the wise King envisioned non-
Jews coming to the temple to pray and entreat the LORD to answer them,
“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 built for thy name” (vv 41 - 3). The theme here is the universality of
Yahweh, .that is, Yahweh is God to all in all generations and that even
Solomon, the wise king of Israel in the Spirit of God, knew and understood
this.
While “some oracles forecast an age when the divine promises to
Israel will be realized”, some others “foretell blessings for all nations” (for
example, Isa. 2:1-54 and Mic. 4:1-4 foretold the universality of the dealing
of God with humanity).29 As a maverick minority, the prophets understood
themselves not merely as having access to the spirit world, but as
ambassadors of divine court to the earthly seat of power.”30 So, in their
prophetic mission, they not only declared an age when the divine promises
to Israel would come through or for all nations of the world, they also
declared God’s judgments to both the Jews and other nations of the world.
But God has always tempered justice with mercy, not only for the
sake of Israel, or any, but His. According to Hawthorne “God had not
restrained his wrath at several times from destroying Israel, but God’s
restraint had been for the sake of his name” (Eze 20:5-22).31 This implies
that the dealings of God with Israel were not at all an act of favouritism, but
solely for His glory among the nations. Prophet Ezekiel says:
Thus says the Lord, it is not for your sake, O house of
Israel, that I am about to act but for my holy name, which
you have profaned among the nations where you went.
And I will vindicate the holiness of my great name which
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has been profaned in their midst. Then the nations will
know that lam the Lord, “declares the Lord,” when I prove
myself holy among you in their sight” (Eze 36:22-23).
God, like man made in His image, can scold, chasten and even punish where
necessary, in order to refine the person or people (I Pet 1:6-7, 4:12- 19).
But, when He does this, He intends for the person or people that His purpose
concerning such might not be aborted. In the case of the Israelites, He had
always intended to make them a people by whom He would be known to
other peoples of the world. This was revealed to their ancestor Abraham
from the outset (Gen 12:1 -3). In about 606 B.C., before the Babylonian
Captivity, Habakkuk, in his message against violence and crime envisioned
that the earth shall be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord, as
the waters cover the sea” (Hab 2:14). A similar revelation had earlier been
given by Zephaniah, “a great-great-grandson of King Hezekiah”32in which
God Himself promised and said, “For then will I turn to the people a pure
language that they may all call upon the name of the LORD, to serve him
with one consent. From beyond the rivers of Ethiopia my suppliants,
even the daughter of my dispersed, shall bring mine offering (Zeph 3:9-
10).
The missionary theme of the Bible is found in virtually every book
of Old Testament especially in the prophets. Daniel of the royal “seed” (Dan
1:3), whom McCain calls “a missionary kid”33 lived and died in Babylonia
and Medo-Persian nations, being in several capacities, involved in the
governmental endeavours, teaching and showing people the ways of God
(Dan 1:1-12). Like Joseph in Egypt, he demonstrated God’s kind of wisdom
(Dan 2:17-45, cf. Dan 1:17-21) in those places that through him and his
team, the different kings (3:28 - 29; 6:25 - 26) announced the worship of
Yahweh to the nations of the world. Jeremiah sent what one may call a
missionary letter to the exiles in Babylon advising them to seek the peace
of the land in which they were (Jer 29:1-23).
In his Biblical Foundation for the World Mission Mandate,
Johannes Verkyl, points out that the prophets developed the theme of
Yahweh’s redemption of the world centripetally, that is after their rescue,
the nations made their pilgrimage back to Zion, the mountain of the Lord.
According to him, “the prophets picture the people of other nations as
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returning to Jerusalem, where the God of Israel shall appear as the God of
all peoples (Isa 2: 1-4; Mic 4:1-4; Jer 3: 17; Isa 25:6-9; 60)34.
Based on the above, it is important to note that God had, from the
very beginning of His dealings with mankind, made humanity know that He
is a universal God. Just like it is in any organized or standard system of
activity, God had to start somewhere, hence the instruction to replenish the
earth and subdue it to Adam (Gen 1:28); and the assertion, “all the
communities of the earth shall find blessing in you” to Abraham (Gen 12:3).
Jonah’s Missionary Call and Career
There is nowhere in the OT the missionary agenda of God towards nations
is so clear and obvious as in the ministry and book of Jonah, “the Son of
Amittai.” In the first two verses of the book, the author writes: “Now the
word of the LORD came unto Jonah the Son of Amittai, saying, arise, go to
Nineveh, that great city, and cry against it, for their wickedness is come up
before me”. But, for the fear that the Ninevites might repent and be spared
of God’s impending judgment against them (4:1-3) Jonah refused to deliver
God’s message to them and chose to flee to Tarshish “from the presence of
the Lord” (1:3).
What could lead to such behaviour by a prophet of God? To start
with, Nineveh is believed to be among the Gentile nations that made life
unbearable for Israel.35 But McCain sees Jonah as rather being tribal and
views such as causing him to have a limited vision, compassion, ministry
and success.36 According to Verkuyl, the author of the book of Jonah sees
Israel as having been so preoccupied with herself that she no longer directs
her eyes towards the world of nations.37 Israel, the recipient of God’s
revelation, refuses to set foot in alien territory to tell the other peoples God’s
message of judgment and liberation.
The Jews of Jonah’s day did not only see other nations like Assyria
as their enemies but God’s own enemies (cf. 1 Sam 17:45). Although non-
Jews had always fought against them, but God intended to extend His
gracious acts to them through the Jews, Jeremiah, for instance, was
commissioned to judge not only the Jews but the non-Jews also (Jer 1:10).
Jonah, like St. Paul of Luke’s Acts (Acts 9:15; 13:2; 22:21) had the mandate
from God to reach other nations of the world in the OT that they might be
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delivered from God’s wrath through his warnings and messages (Jon 3:1-
10; 4:9-11 of Eze 3:17-21). But like Peter in the NT, Jonah recorded a
limited success in this regard due to his racial tendencies.
Conclusion
The universality of Yahweh as regards His dealings with humanity
especially in relation to His saving grace and mercy towards mankind has
been erroneously conceived by some people as only true in and from the
New Testament era. But as seen in this paper, even as far back as when
God was seen as essentially biased in favour of Israel as a nation, His scope
has always been universal, having the nation of Israel, the chose
descendants of Abraham, as those through whom He would accomplish His
Missionary theme, purpose and objective. Whichever category or capacity
one (the leaders of Israel) found himself, either as among the patriarchs, the
Psalmists, or the prophets as summarily expressed in Jesus’ statement to
two of His disciples on the Emmaus road in Luke 24:44-49, the primary
assignment of the Jews in the Old Testament days was that of cross-cultural
mission which few reluctantly did while most did not do it at all. Their
missionary tasks cut across all spheres of human endeavours. The call and
suggestion here is that wherever one finds himself, he should be a true
ambassador of Christ.
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Endnotes
1. John R. W. Stott, 1992, “The Living God is a Missionary God” in
Ralph D. Winter and Stephen C. Hawthorne Perspective on World
Christian Movement (rev. ed.), P. A-10.
2. Paul J. Fritz, 1989, How to Plant and Grow Church in Nigeria, Jos:
Bible Translation Trust, p. 34.
3. Donald C. Stamps et al (eds), 1998, The Full Life Study Bible
GrandRapids: Zondervan, p. 25.
4. Anne Bergantet al (eds), The Catholic Study Bible, P. RG.60.
5. Stamps et al, p. 17.
6. Harry R. Boer, 1983, A Short History of the Early Church,Ibadan:
DayStar Press, p. 11.
7. Boer,pp.8-9.
8. Stamps etal p.25.
9. Walter C. Kaiser, 1992, “Israel’s Missionary Call” in Ralph D.
Winter and Stephen C. Hawthorne Perspective on the World
Christian Movement (rev. ed.), Pasadena: William Corey Library,
P.A-27.
10. The Complete Works of Josephus, Book I, Antiquities of the Jews,
Chapter 8:1.
11. Christian E. Hauer& William A. Young, 1994, An Introduction to
the Bible: A Journey into the Worlds (3 ed.), New Jersey: Prentice
Hall, p. 65.
12. Haurer and Young,P. 65.
13. Haurer and Young, p.66.
14. Stott, p.A-13.
15. Haurer and Young, P. 68.
16. L. K. Fuller, 2001, Going to the Nations, Kaduna: Bavaka Press, P.
11.
17. Steve Hawthorne, 1992, “The Story of His Glory” in Ralph D.
Winter and Stephen C. Hawthorne Perspectives on the World
Christian Movement, Pasadena: William Corey, P. A-37.
18. Hawthorne, P.A-37.
19. Hawthorne, P.A-37
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20. Hawthorne
21. John Davis, 1971, Moses and Gods of Egypt, Grand Rapids:
Baka Books House, P. 10.
22. Stamps et al, P. 102.
23. Hauer and Young, p. 83.
24. HauerandYoung, p. 83.
25. Gleason L. Archer, 1994, A Survey of Old Testament Introduction,
Chicago: Moody Press, P. 252.
26. Haurer and Young, p. 89.
27. R. E. Clements, 1976, A Century of Old Testament
Study, London: Lutherworth Press, pp. 79,85.
28. Fuller,p.11.
29. Hauer and Young,p. 121.
30. Hauer and Young,p. 120.
31. Hawthorne, p. A-43.
32. Stamps, P. 1352.
33. Danny McCain, 2004, Serving God Away from Home. Biblical
Mode is for Cross-Cultural Ministry, Jos: More Books, P. 154.
34. J. Verkuyl, 1992, “Biblical Foundation the World Mandate” in
Ralph D. Winter and Stephen C. Hawthorne Perspective on World
Christian Movement, P. A-5 1.
35. Stamps, P. 1328.
36. McCain,P. 145.
37. Verkuyl, P. A-54.
