Biblical Racism

I don’t know about you, but I get annoyed when someone tries to use the Bible to support their own racial bigotries. I’m also tired of the so-called “tolerant” crowd claiming that the Bible is primitive and prejudiced. The simple fact is this - the Bible was way ahead of its time concerning ethnic issues!

Have you ever heard someone claim that the mark of Cain (Genesis 4:15) was dark skin? Believe it or not, that is still being taught! Or, how about the “curse of Ham?” Did you know that people are teaching that Ham’s curse was black skin? That is truly unbelievable to me!

First of all, read Genesis 4:15! “And the Lord set a mark on Cain, lest anyone finding him should kill him.” Tell me, where in this verse is skin color? It was simply a mark, that’s all! Besides, this passage is irrelevant for modern racists, since Cain’s family line was wiped out in the flood!

But what about the curse of Ham? It is true, after all, that Ham is the ancestor of the African people groups. Could there be something to this argument? Not at all! Read what Noah actually said! Genesis 9:25 says, “Cursed be Canaan; A servant of servants He shall be to his brethren.” Canaan was Ham’s son - Ham was never cursed! In fact, part of Canaan’s curse was to serve his brothers, the rest of Ham’s kids - including the Africans’ ancestors! Ham’s sin in Genesis 9 brought a curse on his son Canaan, who was probably already following in the footsteps of his father. But notice that it was the Canaanites that bore this curse. Besides, there is no reference to skin color!

Another argument racists use is that God forbid the Israelites to intermarry with other races. Well, yes and no. God forbid them to marry the Canaanites - but not because of race or skin color! it was an issue of loyalty, the Canaanites were pagans! But you often see Canaanites who did give their loyalties to God. Rahab was one of them. So was Uriah the Hittite, one of David’s mighty men. God wasn’t concerned about racial purity, he was concerned about spiritual loyalty!

For more information about God’s view on intermarriage, check out this post.

You see, God does not care about ethnicity, color, or culture. We all came from Adam through Noah! Acts 17:26 says, “And He has made from one blood every nation of men to dwell on all the face of the earth, and has determined their pre-appointed times and the boundaries of their dwellings.” God breaks down man-made barriers again in Galatians 3:28: “There is neither Jew nor Greek (racial discrimination), there is neither slave nor free (social and economic discrimination), there is neither male nor female (gender discrimination); for you are all one in Christ Jesus.”

In God’s eyes there are only two races. You can already see that at the end of Galatians 3:28 - “you are all one in Christ Jesus.” Spiritually speaking, all those in Christ Jesus are one race. That means those who are not in Him are the other spiritual race.

Let’s go to 1 Corinthians 15:45-49 to examine this further. “And so it is written,“The first man Adam became a living being.” The last Adam (Jesus) became a life-giving spirit. However, the spiritual is not first, but the natural, and afterward the spiritual. The first man was of the earth, made of dust; the second Man is the Lord from heaven.  As was the man of dust, so also are those who are made of dust; and as is the heavenly Man, so also are those who are heavenly. And as we have borne the image of the man of dust, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly Man.”

Do you see the two spiritual races here? We were all born into the race of Adam - that is natural humanity. Everyone who belongs to this race shares the same fate, to die and be judged for their sin. But those of us who were born again, who believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, have been born into a new race - the “last Adam’s” race! We are no longer merely natural humans, we have a recreated spirit! When our body dies, our spirit goes to be with Jesus! Our fate is to spend eternity with our Savior.

These are the only two races of people God sees. Aren’t you glad that this kind of race can change? You don’t have to live your life in Adam’s race anymore! 1 Corinthians 15:22 says, “For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ all shall be made alive.” There you have it, the fate of both races. Which one do you want a part of?

God Doesn't Like Mixed Marriages

Genesis 28:6-9 Esau saw that Isaac had blessed Jacob and sent him away to Padan Aram to take himself a wife from there, and that as he blessed him he gave him a charge, saying, “You shall not take a wife from the daughters of Canaan,” 7 and that Jacob had obeyed his father and his mother and had gone to Padan Aram. 8 Also Esau saw that the daughters of Canaan did not please his father Isaac. 9 So Esau went to Ishmael and took Mahalath the daughter of Ishmael, Abraham’s son, the sister of Nebajoth, to be his wife in addition to the wives he had.

Now that I got your attention, let me reassure you. I'm not talking about white, black, jewish, hispanic, oriental, or any other so-called “race” of people. We're all one physical race; all descended from Adam through Noah. God isn't opposed to people of different ethnic groups marrying each other. After all, “There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus.” Galatians 3:28

God doesn't see in terms of race. He is Savior to the Chinese as well as the African Pygmies. Jesus laid down His life for the Russians as well as the Polynesians. Every person on this earth was made in God's image. So what was the problem with Esau's foreign wives? And why did God command the Israelites not to intermarry with the Canaanites? Simply put, was an issue of their hearts – not their bodies.

The Canaanites were a desperately wicked culture. Sexual immorality was everywhere. So was idolatry. The pagan Canaanites would regularly offer their own children on the altars of their demonic gods. When God warned His people not to intermarry with them, He wasn't vague about His reasons. “Surely they will turn away your hearts after their gods.”

And if the issue was racial (instead of an issue of the heart), why was Rahab, a Canaanite woman, listed in Jesus' geneaology? This Canaanite had a change of heart, and that was all it took in God's eyes. One generation later, a Moabite named Ruth had the same change of heart, allowing Boaz to marry her.

But that's just a side issue. There are too many racist people out there trying to use God's Word to justify their prejudice. But now, let's get back to Esau.

Esau saw that his dad didn't want his kids to marry these pagan women. He knew his dad sent Jacob back to where they came from (back to where they still served Yahweh) to find a godly wife. And Esau also knew that the two pagan wives that he had were a source of grief to his dad. So, to try to make his father happy, Esau married a third woman – this time, Abraham's granddaughter. Instead of repentance, Esau tried to add obedience to his disobedience.

That's the kind of mixed marriages God hates – when we marry obedience to God with our disobedient lifestyle. When we think that obeying most of what God says balances out disobedience in a few areas, something's wrong.

God forgives sin, but only after it's repented and turned away from. Continuing in sin while trying to cover it up with obedience doesn't work. You can't add Jesus to your own lifestyle and hope everything turns out ok! This is all or nothing, either you give God control over all of your life, or you've given Him nothing.

This is an enormous problem inside churches right now. We're adding God to our schedule, giving Him a few hours on Sunday, and then going back to our own life Sunday afternoon. We've been duped into thinking that as long as we obey the more important commandments, that will balance out the rest of our life. But, you can't mix your lifestyle with His Lordship.

It's a cliché we've heard over and over – but either Jesus is Lord of all, or He isn't Lord at all.