347. A FOREIGNER FINDS FAVOUR

(The Abundant Life Series – Batch 5)

In the Bible, the account is given of ESTHER, previously called Hadassah. She was an orphan, a Jew and one of the people who had been taken captive by Babylon from Jerusalem. She was living in Sushan and her not having originated from that place, she was therefore an outsider, an alien, a foreigner, estranged from the commonwealth of that city and those people. Yet, in God’s sovereignty, she was noticed, singled out and chosen from among other women by the king of the land, in whose eyes she found grace and favour. As a lowly stranger, once considered to not be significant therefore, Esther was elevated to become the Queen of that land, the king placing a royal crown on her head.

The Bible states:

“…And Esther obtained favour in the sight of all them that looked upon her. So Esther was taken unto king Ahaseurus into his royal house in the tenth month…And the king loved Esther above all the women, and she obtained grace and favour in his sight more than all the virgins; so that he set the royal crown upon her head, and made her queen instead of Vashti.” (Esther 2:15-17)

The account of RUTH is also given in the Bible. She was a poor widow and a Moabite, a people brought into existence through Lot’s shame and who were to be ostracized by God’s people. In Deuteronomy 23:3 and 6, the Israelites were instructed by God, through Moses that “An Ammonite or Moabite shall not enter into the congregation of the Lord; even to their tenth generation shall they not enter into the congregation of the Lord for ever…Thou shall not seek their peace nor their prosperity all thy days for ever.”

When Ruth went to Bethlehemjudah with her mother-in-law Naomi therefore, although she had told her due to her love for her that “thy people shall be my people, and thy God my God” (Ruth 1:16), the reality was that she was an outsider. She was not from the tribes of Israel and was therefore an alien and a foreigner, that was estranged from the commonwealth of Judah and the people there. Yet, in God’s sovereignty, she was noticed from among other maidens who, like her, had been gathering corn in a field and by the owner of that field! His name was Boaz, a wealthy, influential and well-respected bachelor of that land. Once, unknown to her, she had caught his attention, he enquired of her. Despite her shameful background and lowly circumstance, he then showed her such grace, kindness and mercy, that the Bible states in Ruth 2:10 and 13:

“Then she fell on her face, and bowed herself to the ground, and said unto him, Why have I found grace in thine eyes, that thou shouldest take knowledge of me, seeing I am a stranger?…Let me find favour in thy sight, my lord; for that thou hast comforted me, and for that thou hast spoken friendly unto thine handmaid, though I be not like unto one of thine handmaidens.”

Ruth knew she was an outsider and that her being a Moabite and a poor widow, that she was considered inferior to the other women of Judah. She could not understand therefore, the extent of Boaz’s grace, kindness and favour being poured out on her. Yet, she was eventually afforded even further grace beyond what she could have ever dreamed or imagined, as she was elevated to become the wife of the very Boaz and the mother of his son Obed, the grandfather of king David.

GENTILES in the Bible is the name given to all persons like you and me, that are not descendants of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and therefore, that did not come from one of the twelve (12) tribes of Israel. In the Bible, Gentiles were aliens, the heathen, they had no access to God and were estranged from the commonwealth of Israel. While alive therefore, they were hopelessly condemned to a life of futility and when dead, to eternal damnation in hell.

Yet, in God’s sovereignty, after the Israelites took the relationship they had with God for granted and rejected him like Queen Vashti did king Ahaseurus, Gentiles were shown mercy by being granted access to God through Jesus Christ his Son, by faith in Him. God took notice of them and to those he elected according to his foreknowledge from among them, they believed on Jesus Christ and their lives were then completely transformed, as they were passed from condemnation to life. They now had a living hope and a future, solely by God’s grace. They were elevated and grafted into God’s divine family, them being made partakers of an eternal inheritance. In Ephesians 2:1-8, 11-13 and 19-20, in reminding some such Gentiles of the great riches that they had come into, the Bible states:

“And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins; Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience: Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others. But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us, Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;) And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus: That in the ages to come he might shew the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus. For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God…

Wherefore remember, that ye being in time past Gentiles in the flesh, who are called Uncircumcision by that which is called the Circumcision in the flesh made by hands; That at that time ye were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope. and without God in the world; But now in Christ Jesus ye who sometimes were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ…Now therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellowcitizens with the saint and of the household of God; And are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone.”

Colossians 1:12,13 and 21 also reads:

“Giving thanks unto the Father, which hath made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light: Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son…And you, that were sometime alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now hath he reconciled in the body of his flesh through death, to present you holy and unblameable and unreproveable in his sight”.

Gentiles who believed on Jesus Christ therefore went from being hopeless, dead sinners, controlled by the evil one and labelled by God as the children of wrath, to being quickened, raised up, made to sit in heavenly places and to partake and therefore benefit from the inheritance that God’s saints obtain.

This process of being elevated from darkness to light and being brought into God’s divine royal family is still ongoing today. As Gentiles, there is hope for us once we believe on Jesus Christ and confess that he is Lord with our mouth. We don’t need to remain estranged from God’s commonwealth and to live lives of hopelessness as second-rate human beings. Although as non-Israelites we were born not as citizens but as strangers, aliens and foreigners, God’s arms of mercy are wide open to receive us as fellow citizens. As Esther’s life was transformed from captive orphan and foreigner to Queen and as Ruth went from being a poor Moabite widow and foreigner, to being the wife of Boaz, God wants to change our lives for the better, to accept us in the beloved, to elevate us, so that we too can sit in heavenly places with Christ Jesus.

Romans 10:9-13 states:

“That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. For the scripture saith, Whosever believeth on him shall not be ashamed. For there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek: for the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon him. For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.”

Of those that God elevates, his Word states of them:

“But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light; Which in time past were not a people, but are now the people of God: which had not obtained mercy, but now have obtained mercy.”

Indeed, in Hosea 2:23, God declared in advance through his prophet, what he planned to do for the Gentiles, stating, “I will have mercy upon her that had not obtained mercy; and I will say to them which were not my people, Thou art my people; and they shall say, Thou art my God.”

In asking a question, Paul stated in Romans 9:23-26 of God and the access to royal citizenship that he has made available to everyone, including Gentiles, through faith in Jesus Christ:

“And that he might make known the riches of his glory on the vessels of mercy, which he had afore prepared unto glory, Even us, whom he hath called, not of the Jews only, but also of the Gentiles? As he saith also in Osee, I will call them my people, which were not my people; and her beloved, which was not beloved. And it shall come to pass, that in the place where it was said unto them, Ye are not my people; there shall they be called the children of the living God.”

What about you? As a Gentile, will you accept God’s invitation to no longer remain estranged from the commonwealth of God’s people and to no longer continue on as an alien, a foreigner and a stranger? Will you surrender your life to the Lordship of Jesus Christ whom you have never seen but by faith, that the testimony given by God of his resurrection from the dead is true and in so doing, be grafted as a lowly Gentile into his royal family? You can have a hope and a future in this life and even after you leave this world’s scene, dependent on the decision you make in this moment. Like Esther and Ruth whose lives were completely changed by the grace and favour shown to them and like many Gentiles the world over who God adopted into his divine royal family when they believed on his Son, you can be elevated and your life transformed for better, by faith in Jesus Christ.

(Written on 26^th September, 2025)