Black History In The Bible - Ethiopians In Scripture

The history of the Ethiopians begins in the times following the flood, out of which only eight people survived, Noah and his family. These eight people were the only humans in the entire planet, and all the peoples, nations and ethnic groups on Earth descend from the three sons of Noah and his wife, Shem, Japheth and Ham. All humanity is related, because we have common ancestors in Noah’s family.

    The Ethiopians are descendants of Ham, Noah’s youngest son. Genesis 10:6 lists the four sons of Ham, and Cush¹ was his first. Cush, Noah’s grandson, had six sons (vv. 7-8), and the last was Nimrod. The name Cush in Hebrew ( vWK ) means black. 1 Chronicles 1:8-10 repeats the family tree and mentions Cush.

     This etymological detail is important, because the word “Ethiopian” in the Old Testament is literally “cushite” in Hebrew. Thus we read in Jeremiah 13:23, “Can the Ethiopian (literally “cushite”) change his skin, or the leopard his spots?” The ancient Greeks gave the name “Aithiopia” to the area of Africa where Ethiopians lived, from “aithiops” (aiqioy), a compound word which means “the land of the burnt faces.” This area was much larger than what is today known as Ethiopia. It referred to an extensive area, not well defined, south of Egypt, that included Nubia, Sudan, the actual Ethiopia and what is called the horn of Africa. The Ethiopians appear in various parts of Scripture in situations related to Israel.

Ethiopia in the Old Testament

     The first mention is in Genesis 2:13, which speaks of the river Gihon that came out of Eden and reached Ethiopia.

     Many Bible texts mention Ethiopia. Job, one of the oldest books of Scripture, indicates that the topaz of Ethiopia was highly valued (Job 28:19).

     Some believe that the queen of Sheba (1 Ki. 10; 2 Chron. 9) was Ethiopian, but this is mainly the repetition of a comment made by the Jewish historian Josephus. However, Alfred Edersheim indicates in his book Old Testament History that Sheba (Seba) was an area in southern Arabia, not Africa, and that the queen would have been from there. It is true that there were tribes of Ethiopians (“Cushites”) in southern Arabia (Sheba and Dedan, Gen. 10:7), but we have no proof that the queen was one of them. It is at best a conjecture.

     Ethiopians appear in two Psalms. Psalm 68 anticipates the time of the Millennial reign of Christ over all the world, and mentions various nations that will worship the true God, among them, “Ethiopia shall soon stretch out her hands unto God” (v. 31). Later we read in Psalm 87:4, “I will make mention of Rahab and Babylon to them that know me: behold Philistia, and Tyre, with Ethiopia; this man was born there.”  These are nations that will recognize Jerusalem as capital and go up to worship and bring tributes (Isa. 60:5-7).

   Five texts in the book of Isaiah mention Ethiopia. Isaiah 11:11 prophesies that God will bring the remnant of Israel that is left in Ethiopia. Isaiah 18 gives a prophecy about a land and a people “which is beyond the rivers of Ethiopia” (v. 1). The language concerning this people is difficult to translate. The King James version describes them in verses 2 and 7, “to a nation scattered and peeled, to a people terrible from their beginning hitherto; a nation meted out and trodden down, whose land the rivers have spoiled!”. According to this translation they are an oppressed people. But the English Standard Version and other versions read, “to a nation, tall and smooth, to a people feared near and far, a nation mighty and conquering, whose land the rivers divide.”  The Spanish translation  is similar to the ESV. These people will bring offerings to Zion during the Millennium (v. 7).  Isaiah 20:3-5 foretells the conquest of Egypt and Ethiopia by Esarhaddon king of Assyria (681-669 B.C.). In Isaiah 43:3 the LORD declares that He gave Egypt, Ethiopia and Seba as a ransom for Israel. God gave these lands to Cyrus as payment for Israel's liberty. Isaiah 45:14 says that the merchandise of Ethiopia will go to Israel in a future day, and both they and the Sabeans will reverently bow and supplicate Israel during the Millennium, and recognize that God is with them.

   The prophet Ezekiel also mentions “the border of Ethiopia” (Ezek. 29:10), when speaking of the destruction of Egypt. Ezekiel 30:4-5 and 9 foretell how divine judgments will affect Ethiopia. En Ezequiel 38:5 God names Cush as one of the allies of God in the land of Magog, in the future invasion of Israel. Chapters  38 and 39 prophesy the calamitous end of the great northern alliance in its fatal invasion. For example:

“Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I am against thee, O Gog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal: And I will turn thee back, and put hooks into thy jaws, and I will bring thee forth, and all thine army, horses and horsemen, all of them clothed with all sorts of armour, even a great company with bucklers and shields, all of them handling swords: Persia, Ethiopia, and Libya with them; all of them with shield and helmet” (Ezek. 38:3-5). The LORD will defend Israel and miraculously and suddenly destroy the great invading army. “And I will call for a sword against him throughout all my mountains, saith the Lord GOD: every man's sword shall be against his brother. And I will plead against him with pestilence and with blood; and I will rain upon him, and upon his bands, and upon the many people that are with him, an overflowing rain, and great hailstones, fire, and brimstone. Thus will I magnify myself, and sanctify myself; and I will be known in the eyes of many nations, and they shall know that I am the LORD” (38:21-23).

   In chapters 10-12 of the book of Daniel, a glorious heavenly messenger explains future events to the prophet. Speaking of the future conflict that will arise because of Antichrist, he says: “and the Libyans and the Ethiopians shall be at his steps”, meaning that they will follow him (Dan. 11:43).

 The prophet Nahum announced the fall of Nineveh, the great capital of Assyria, and declared that it was no better than other nations that had fallen. Among those nations is Ethiopia. “Art thou better than populous No, that was situate among the rivers, that had the waters round about it, whose rampart was the sea, and her wall was from the sea? Ethiopia and Egypt were her strength, and it was infinite; Put and Lubim were thy helpers. Yet was she carried away, she went into captivity: her young children also were dashed in pieces at the top of all the streets: and they cast lots for her honourable men, and all her great men were bound in chains” (Nah. 3:8-10).

    The prophet Zephaniah also foretold the judgment of Ethiopia (Zeph. 2:12). But later he adds, regarding the Millennium, “From beyond the rivers of Ethiopia my suppliants, even the daughter of my dispersed, shall bring mine offering” (Zeph. 3:10).

    Additionally, there are seven other special mentions of Ethiopians that deserve our consideration, because of the lessons they offer us.

Moses’ Wife

    Numbers 12:1-2 reports the sad incident when Miriam and Aaron spoke against their brother Moses.

“And Miriam and Aaron spake against Moses because of the Ethiopian [lit. “Cushite”] woman whom he had married: for he had married an Ethiopian woman. And they said, Hath the LORD indeed spoken only by Moses? hath he not spoken also by us? And the LORD heard it.”

   It is possible, but not certain, that Zipporah was a Cushite, since there were some Cushite tribes in parts of Arabia. However, in his Old Testament History Alfred Edersheim comments that Moses’ wife Zipporah (Ex. 2:21; 18:2)had probably died, and afterwards Moses took an Ethiopian wife. Keil & Delitsch agree in their commentary. The law (Ex. 34:15-16) later prohibited marriage with Canaanites – “the inhabitants of the land”, but not with Ethiopians. Miriam’s and Aaron’s envy of the God-given place that Moses occupied was born of a lack of humility. They thought more highly of themselves than they should have, and this manifested itself in a critical spirit. They observed Moses with evil eyes, seeking faults to justify their saying that they deserved the same place of authority. But they found nothing, and so criticized his second wife because she was a Cushite. It is possible that she had been part of the mixed multitude that left Egypt and accompanied the Israelites. Their criticism, based on race or ethnicity, manifested an exclusive nationalistic spirit that met with divine disapproval. The LORD never mentioned that marriage probably for the simple reason that it wasn’t a problem.

   At any rate, their criticism of his Ethiopian wife was simply a launching ground for their real contention over the unique place that Moses occupied between the nation and God (v. 2). It is interesting to note that the verb “spake” in verse 1 is feminine in Hebrew, and indicates that Miriam was the instigator. This is also evident in that God, who is never mistaken nor unjust, punished her with leprosy (v. 10). Moses was very meek, and did not respond (v. 3), but the righteous LORD responded in his defense and manifested His judgment (vv. 4-9).

 The Fleet-footed Messenger

  In modern times Ethiopians as well as persons from other African nations have garnered fame as runners, and various ones have won medals in Olympic competition: Kenenisa Bekela, Tirunesh Dibaba, Derartu Tuly and Fatuma Roba are among them, and it is interesting that they are all from Bekoji, a city of 17,000. Sentayehu Eshetu trained them all.

     Even in Bible times we find an Ethiopian courier, a runner who carried urgent royal or military messages.² Thus, we see in 2 Samuel 18:21-32 that when Absalom died in battle, Joab sent an Ethiopian runner to David with the news (v. 19). A Hebrew named Ahimaas was afterward allowed to run, and he outran the Ethiopian and arrived first with the message for the king. He gave general news but did not answer the king’s question about Absalom. Right away the Ethiopian arrived and plainly gave the news of Absalom’s defeat and death (vv. 31-32). He was faithful to his duty, and although the message was disagreeable, he passed it on.

     In a similar manner, we ought to be faithful messengers of the Lord with the gospel that He has entrusted to us. This includes speaking clearly about sin and judgment even though people don’t want to hear it. We should not try to soften the message nor reduce it by saying only things like, “God loves you, friend.” Truly the gospel is good news, but Romans 1:18-3:20 teaches us how to proceed, and how to make clear what the problem is and why man needs the gospel.       

Shishak of Egypt, and King Zera’s Great Army

Zerah the Ethiopian, was according

 to some historians (Amenhotep II),

 a descendent of Shishak

    2 Chronicles 12 records that in the days of king Rehoboam, who forsook the law of God (v. 1), and transgressed against the LORD, Shishak king of Egypt was used as divine punishment. He came against Jerusalem “with twelve hundred chariots, and threescore thousand horsemen: and the people were without number that came with him out of Egypt; the Lubims, the Sukkiims, and the Ethiopians. And he took the fenced cities which pertained to Judah, and came to Jerusalem” (1 Chron. 12:2-4). Ethiopian soldiers were among those who entered Jerusalem and carried away treasures. Surely the stories of their exploits and the treasures of Jerusalem reached Ethiopia.

      Years later, 2 Chronicles 14:9-13 reports a crisis during the reign of Rehoboam’s grandson king Asa (913-873 B.C.). After years of spiritual revival and peace in the land, suddenly Zerah the Ethiopian invaded southern Judea “with an host of a thousand thousand, and three hundred chariots” (v. 9). His identity is uncertain. Some historians link him to the Egyptian king Usarken II, of the 22nd Egyptian dynasty. Zerah (Zeraj in Hebrew) means daybreak. He could have been the commanding general. As previously noted, there were cushites living in western Arabia (Gen. 10:7), as well as in the area south of Egypt, and it was a time when Ethiopians were dominant.  The surprise attack overran Judean cities and threatened Jerusalem. But the godly king Asa did two important things which emphasize both human responsibility and divine sovereignty. Though he faced an overwhelmingly superior force, he bravely took his army out against them, near Mareshah, in the valley of Zephathah (2 Chron. 14:10). At the same time he called upon the Lord in prayer (v. 11). “LORD, it is nothing with thee to help, whether with many, or with them that have no power: help us, O LORD our God; for we rest on thee, and in thy name we go against this multitude. O LORD, thou art our God; let not man prevail against thee”. God responded (v. 12) and struck down the Ethiopian army before Asa and his army. The Ethiopians fled in disarray, and Asa’s army pursued and wrought havoc among them. They also attacked and retook the cities around Gerar, and returned to Jerusalem with great spoil (vv. 13-15). This illustrates clearly the meshing of sovereignty and responsibility. Asa did more than stay in Jerusalem and wait on the Lord. He fielded his inferior army and prayed, expecting divine intervention, and God gave the victory. Surely this great victory is included in the words of Hebrews 11:34 concerning those who “out of weakness were made strong, waxed valiant in fight, turned to flight the armies of the aliens.”

    Today also, believers, even though their lives are godly, are subject to sudden and even overwhelming attacks from enemies – the devil, the world and the flesh – in many forms. Great trials may come upon us, but we have the same Resource and Refuge as believers of ages past, and nothing can surprise Him. “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble” (Psa. 46:1). Although we may feel overwhelmed, let us trust in Him and stand firm. Remember David’s words in Psalm 56:3 “What time I am afraid, I will trust in thee.”  “When I cry unto thee, then shall mine enemies turn back: this I know; for God is for me. In God will I praise his word: in the LORD will I praise his word. In God have I put my trust: I will not be afraid what man can do unto me” (Psa. 56:9-11). It is not necessary to have overwhelming numbers or strength in order to be valiant, but only to believe God and trust in Him.

Tirhakah King of Ethiopia

Taharqa, British Museum

   We find him briefly mentioned in 2 Kings 19:9 and Isaiah 37:9. This king of Ethiopia (Nubia) is also called Tarqu in Assyrian inscriptions, according to the Jewish Encyclopedia. Nefertumjura Taharqa was a usurper who ascended during the 25th Egyptian Dynasty, which was the first from Nubia to also govern Egypt. He was from Natapa, capital of Nubia (Kush). The historians Manetho and Eusibius mention him, and he is memorialized in various statues and inscriptions. Militarily he opposed king Sennacherib of Asyria, as 2 Kings 19:9 records. However, he was unsuccessful. God used him in a small way, as a threat to interfere with the Assyrian king’s intentions to beseige Jerusalem. It is an example of God’s sovereignty over kings and nations, whom He can direct to unknowingly perform His will. How different human history will be one day when we see it all from God’s perspective. He can and does providentially intervene in human affairs in favor of those who fear Him. Neither Hezekiah nor Isaiah sought help from Tirhaca. They prayed, and God chose how to answer. “The king's heart is in the hand of the LORD, as the rivers of water: he turneth it whithersoever he will” (Prov. 21:1).

 The Ethiopians According to Amos

     The prophet Amos declared to his people, “Are ye not as children of the Ethiopians unto me, O children of Israel? saith the LORD” (Am. 9:7). This is not a racist comment, because it has to do with the spiritual, not the physical condition of the people of Israel. The Ethiopians were a gentile nation from one of the most distant places known to Israel. They were on the edge of the map of that day. Esther 1:1 and 8:9 mention Ethiopia as the farthest limit of the empire of the Medes and Persians. In times of the prophet Amos, the Ethiopians were a classic example of uncircumcised gentiles, far from Israel, aliens who lived in spiritual darkness, excluded from the commonwealth, strangers from the covenants of promise (cf. Eph. 2:12). Therefore when Israel rebelled spiritually and turned away from following the LORD, He considered them as foreigners because of their conduct. As He said through the prophet Hosea, “Call his name Loammi: for ye are not my people” (Hos. 1:9). Happily, that will not always be the case, for Romans 9:26 tells us 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.” This refers to the future conversion of Israel, as Romans 11:26-27 clearly states.

     There is perhaps a secondary application to be taken from God’s words to Israel in Amos 9:7. We live in times when there are superficial professions of faith. People say they are “Christians” but live like the world around them. Are these not guilty of the same sin and error as Israel when God called them Ethiopians?  Our Lord said, “And why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say?” (Lk. 6:46). In Matthew 18:17 the Lord taught how the church should proceed with one who sins against his brother and refuses to recognize his sin or be reconciled. “Let him be unto thee as an heathen man and a publican”. Those who do not behave as believers are not to enjoy the privileges of believers until they repent (see 1 Cor. 5:11-12).

Ebedmelech the Ethiopian 

 

        We come now to the moving story of a man who served in the royal palace in the last days of Jerusalem, when the doomed city was about to fall to the Babylonians. The evil princes of king Zedekiah had thrown the prophet Jeremiah into “the dungeon of Malchiah the son of Hammelech...and in the dungeon there was no water, but mire: so Jeremiah sunk in the mire” (Jer. 38:6). Their intention was that he die there, but God used the Ethiopian Ebedmelech (lit. “servant of the king”)to rescue him. “Now when Ebedmelech the Ethiopian, one of the eunuchs which was in the king's house, heard that they had put Jeremiah in the dungeon; the king then sitting in the gate of Benjamin; Ebedmelech went forth out of the king's house, and spake to the king, saying, My lord the king, these men have done evil in all that they have done to Jeremiah the prophet, whom they have cast into the dungeon; and he is like to die for hunger in the place where he is: for there is no more bread in the city” (Jer. 38:7-9). This Ethiopian was a compassionate, merciful man. He showed himself to be God-fearing and probably believed what Jeremiah was preaching. He was not fearful of men, because in spite of the unpopularity of the prophet he interceded on his behalf before the king. Proverbs 29:25 teaches that “the fear of man bringeth a snare: but whoso putteth his trust in the LORD shall be safe”. What a contrast! King Zedekiah feared man, and suffered great loss, but his servant Ebedmelech did not, and was divinely recompensed. He could have reasoned that it was not his problem, none of his business, and dangerous to interfere with the wicked princes, but his noble character, godly fear and merciful heart would not allow this. He was divinely guided, his heart and conscience were sensitive, and God used him to deliver His prophet and then blessed him.

            “Then the king commanded Ebedmelech the Ethiopian, saying, Take from hence thirty men with thee, and take up Jeremiah the prophet out of the dungeon, before he die. So Ebedmelech took the men with him, and went into the house of the king under the treasury, and took thence old cast clouts and old rotten rags, and let them down by cords into the dungeon to Jeremiah. And Ebedmelech the Ethiopian said unto Jeremiah, Put now these old cast clouts and rotten rags under thine armholes under the cords. And Jeremiah did so. So they drew up Jeremiah with cords, and took him up out of the dungeon: and Jeremiah remained in the court of the prison” (Jer. 38:10-13). Jeremiah could well have made use of David’s words in Psalm 40:1-2, “I waited patiently for the LORD; and he inclined unto me, and heard my cry. He brought me up also out of an horrible pit, out of the miry clay, and set my feet upon a rock, and established my goings.” God brought him out of the pit, and a compassionate Ethiopian was His instrument of rescue.

            Hebrews 6:10 promises that “God is not unrighteous to forget” when we help His people, and He remembered and blessed Ebedmelech. Before Jerusalem fell he received a message and promise of blessing. Jeremiah 39:15-18 records, “Now the word of the LORD came unto Jeremiah, while he was shut up in the court of the prison, saying, Go and speak to Ebedmelech the Ethiopian, saying, Thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; Behold, I will bring my words upon this city for evil, and not for good; and they shall be accomplished in that day before thee. But I will deliver thee in that day, saith the LORD: and thou shalt not be given into the hand of the men of whom thou art afraid. For I will surely deliver thee, and thou shalt not fall by the sword, but thy life shall be for a prey unto thee: because thou hast put thy trust in me, saith the LORD.” 

            This is an example of how God responds to the merciful who trust in Him. Psalm 18:25 declares the principle. “With the merciful thou wilt shew thyself merciful; with an upright man thou wilt shew thyself upright.” Ebedmelech teaches us that faith in God should be practical, not theoretical. Christianity today needs more of the practical faith of this Ethiopian. He reminds us of the parable of Christ in Luke 10, when the religious Jews passed by the wounded man without helping him, but a certain Samaritan saw him, had compassion on him and helped him (Lk. 10:33-37). The Lord finished and applied the parable, saying, “Go, and do thou likewise.” It also illustrates the practical faith of James 2:14-26, real, living faith that produces works.

 The Ethiopian Eunuch

    Acts 8:27-39 tells the story of the conversion of this noble Ethiopian, who was perhaps one of the greatest of the descendants of Ham, and by whom the gospel message first came to Ethiopia. He was no man’s slave, but an educated, cultured, high-ranking official in the court of Candace the queen. Scripture describes him as “a man of Ethiopia, an eunuch of great authority under Candace queen of the Ethiopians, who had the charge of all her treasure” (Acts 8:27). Candace was possibly a royal title rather than a name.

         We know that he was God-fearing, because he “had come to Jerusalem for to worship” (Acts. 8:28), and what a great distance he traveled! He came from another continent, diligently seeking the true God. He is a rebuke to many who profess to have believed in God and have interest in spiritual things, but will not come to a gospel meeting in their own city. How different the story of this Ethiopian. After a long journey he entered Jerusalem, and found many religious Jews, but did not hear the gospel from them – only religion. So, having obtained a copy of the scroll of the book of Isaiah, he began his long return to Ethiopia, and read the Scriptures as he traveled. Obviously he would not have traveled alone, but was accompanied by servants.

   Then God sent Philip to meet him on the road. “He is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him” (Heb. 11:6). This highlights the fact that it is not enough to be sincere and to believe in God. He has revealed Himself in His Word, and specifically the gospel message is necessary for our salvation.  The Holy Spirit had prepared everything, but it was still necessary for Philip to run and speak to him (v. 30). Providentially, when Philip met him on the road to Gaza he was reading the passage of Isaiah which we know as chapter 53. “The place of the scripture which he read was this, He was led as a sheep to the slaughter; and like a lamb dumb before his shearer, so opened he not his mouth: In his humiliation his judgment was taken away: and who shall declare his generation? for his life is taken from the earth” (Acts 8:32-33). So Philip asked, “Understandest thou what thou readest?”, because reading isn’t enough – we must understand. The Ethiopian replied that he needed an explanation, and invited Philip up into his chariot (v. 31). He asked a question (v. 34), and listened to Philip’s answer as he “preached unto him Jesus” (v. 35). The religious Jews in Jerusalem had not spoken to him of Christ – no wonder he was not yet saved, like them! Philip neither wasted time nor beat around the bush. He didn’t speak about theology, philosophy, culture or the problems of social injustice or racial inequality. He simply announced the gospel, because as the apostle Paul later wrote, “it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek” (Rom. 1:16). And the Ethiopian believed in his heart the gospel and confessed with his mouth (Acts 8:37). Immediately he desired to be baptized, and unlike many today who profess to believe, he asked Philip, “what doth hinder me to be baptized?” (v. 36). The answer was not to wait until they had some lessons for new Christians, or until his life had been observed for a time, or until we have others to baptize with you, but simply, “If thou believest with all thine heart, thou mayest” (v. 37). And so, he commanded the chariot to stand still – which by the way indicates that at least one servant was with him – and Philip went down into the nearby water and he was baptized (v. 38). The Spirit of the Lord took Philip away immediately, and the Ethiopian never saw him again. But “he went on his way rejoicing” (v. 39) because he had heard and believed the gospel; he now knew and trusted the Savior of the world, had confessed Him and obeyed Him in baptism. The Lord went with him to Ethiopia, in his heart, and he carried the Scriptures in his hand.

            His conversion illustrates the fulfillment of the commission that the Lord gave His disciples in Acts 1:8, and the power and progress of the gospel “unto the uttermost part of the earth.” The careful reader of Acts will see that there the gospel reached the descendants of Noah’s three sons, Shem, Japheth and Ham.

Conclusion

    Years ago when I was speaking of Christ in another land, a man interrupted and said, “Christianity is the white man’s religion.” He could not have been more mistaken, but alas, he was not disposed to believe, and so he used race as his excuse.

    God promised Abraham, “in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed” (Gen. 12:3). The Jews are Semites, they descend from Shem, Noah’s oldest son. The Romans, Greeks and other European nations descend from Japheth, and the Ethiopians, Egyptians and others descend from Ham, Noah’s youngest son. Ham was cursed for his sin against his father, but by the grace of God, His love, His Son and the gospel are for all mankind. God’s love and salvation cross all ethnic and racial boundaries, and reach out to all people everywhere. “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life” (Jn. 3:16). “For the scripture saith, Whosoever 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” (Rom. 10:11-12). Those words, “there is no difference,” mean that God does not reserve salvation for a certain race, nation or ethnic group. The so-called "critical race theory" is anti-biblical and an insult to God. He is “the Saviour of all men, specially of those that believe” (1 Tim. 4:10). If you are not saved, dear reader, it isn’t God’s fault. The problem and perhaps the prejudice are on your side, not His.

    Scripture does not say, “white lives matter,” nor “black lives matter,” because that would be racial language, rooted in worldly wisdom. God looks on the heart, not at the color of the skin. The problem is in the heart (Mr. 7:20-23), not the skin. Remember the words of the apostle Paul as he preached in Athens, that God “hath made of one blood all nations of men” (Acts 17:26). His love goes out to all, and He is “not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance” (2 Pet. 3:9).

     We know by Scripture that there will be Ethiopians and people of many other races in heaven – all saved by the blood of the Lamb of God, and by faith in the only Name under heaven, given among men, whereby we must be saved (Acts 4:12). “And they sung a new song, saying, Thou art worthy to take the book, and to open the seals thereof: for thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation” (Rev. 5:9).

 Carl Knott, April 2021

---

¹ According to Genesis 2:13 the river Gihon was the second of four branches of the river that came from Eden, and compassed “the whole land of Ethiopia” (Heb. “Cush”).

² Runners are known in other countries as well. For example, the Chasqui in Peru were the messengers of the Inca, who by means of relay runners carried every day fresh fish from the coast to his mountain residence.