We get the impression from the Bible, particularly the New Testament, that Gentiles are the lowest form of life. By the way, if you are not a Jew, you are a Gentile. An example of this view is found in Luke 7:27 where Jesus noted that He had come to the Jews first and that it was “not right to give the bread of the children (of Israel) to the (Gentile) dogs.”

However, the Lord’s Plan has always been for all mankind. That includes us, Gentiles. In Genesis 12:2-3 the Lord promised Abraham that he would become a great nation and “all the peoples on earth will be blessed through you.” The promise was to Abraham, but it was for all the peoples on earth. So we see that God’s Plan was for the Gentiles through Abraham and his descendants. This may explain why there are so many Gentile brides in the Old Testament.

Isaac, Abraham’s son, and Jacob, his grandson, both went back to the family in Mesopotamia for their wives. Another name for this area is Babylon. Babylon is typical of the world. Isaac and Jacob obtained their wives from “the world.”

Leah, Jacob’s first wife, may be a type of Jewish bride. Leah is described as having “weak eyes.” Paul tells us that the Jews have been temporarily blinded to Jesus as Messiah.(Romans 11:8) Rachel, his second wife, may be a type of Gentile bride. This was the girl that Jacob loved, just as God loves us, even though the Jews came first.

Jerusalem, and the nation of Israel is described by the Lord as His wife in Ezekiel 16. As I have stated before, Israel was to be the first wife, the Spring Bride at Mt. Sinai, but the bride was committing spiritual adultery with the Golden Calf while Moses was on the mountain. So the Lord skipped the first “wife” and found a second “wife”; the Gentile Church - the Bride of Christ. I believe this explains the statement of Jesus, “The first will be last and the last, first.”

Abraham and Sarah, Isaac and Rebekah, Jacob and Leah were all buried in the Cave of Macpelah, purchased by Abraham and located in Hebron. Rachel, the beloved wife of Jacob, was not buried there. She was buried at Bethlehem about twenty miles away. The only reason that I can determine for this is that Rachel, the second wife, is representative of the Gentile Church. Therefore, she was not buried with the typically “Jewish” families at Macpelah.

There are many other Gentile brides in the Old Testament. Joseph’s wife, Asenath, was an Egyptian. Moses took a wife, Zipporah, from the Midianite people. Samson, the judge, took a Philistine woman as his wife, to the consternation of his parents. One of the more “famous” Gentile brides is Rahab who hid the spies in Jericho before its destruction. Rahab married a member of the tribe of Judah, Salmon. Salmon and Rahab were the parents of Boaz, who married the Moabite woman of noble character, Ruth. Ruth was a Gentile and became the great-grandmother of King David.

The last and best Gentile Bride in the Bible is the Church, the Bride of Christ. The Church became the Spring Bride on the Day of Pentecost, fifty days after the Resurrection. So we Gentiles are certainly important to the Lord. We were in His Plan from the beginning; even before He made the promise to Abraham. Praise His Name always!