Made in God's image
By Rev. Dr. Paul Blackham
Three and a half thousand years ago (3500 years ago) prejudice against a black saint happened in the ancient Church.
Numbers 12:1 - "Miriam and Aaron spoke against Moses because of the Ethiopian woman whom he had married; for he had married an Ethiopian woman".
Moses married an Ethiopian. He understood that Church is all nations gathered together into one family. He understood the ancient promise that through Jesus all the nations of the world will be blessed.
Moses put that into practice right away - and married the most wonderful Ethiopian woman, Zipporah. He got to enjoy the fruit of that blessing because he took the promises of Jesus seriously.
Moses didn't speak in the abstract; he showed what Church really looks like. He let people see how wonderful and glorious real Church is supposed to be.
The LORD Himself appeared personally, to praise Moses as being faithful in all My house - Numbers 12:7. Moses saw the LORD face to face - clear and plain - whereas all the other prophets saw in visions and dreams.
Moses saw the form of the LORD - Numbers 12:8 - and so his judgement about Church and humanity is so wonderfully right.
Maybe Moses had a prophetic vision of the fact that most of the greatest theologians in Church history would be African - as he himself was African - Augustine, Athanasius, Origen, Tertullian, etc etc.
(NOTE: The Ethiopic Church has remained devoted to the LORD Jesus Christ and the Blessed Trinity even when confronted by powerful religious armies opposed to them for more than 1000 years).
The Ethiopic Church - one of the greatest and deepest churches in global Church history - traces its origin back to Zipporah, the Ethiopian wife of Moses. What an incredible woman of God she must have been! Remember how she saved Moses life in Exodus 4:24-26, when Moses got sloppy about the ancient sacraments.
When the LORD saw that Miriam and Aaron were speaking in a racist way - attacking Moses for marrying an Ethiopian saint - the LORD was angry (Numbers 12:9) and He summoned them to stand before Him (Numbers 12:4).
Miriam didn't like BLACK skin so the LORD cursed her with leprous WHITE skin - Numbers 12:10. That verse proves that this incident is about skin colour - because the curse of the LORD is precisely on the colour of her skin.
Moses wants her to be forgiven immediately - verse 13. BUT, the LORD cannot treat such a serious offence in a light way. She has to spend at least a whole week outside the church family - treated as a leper - before she can be restored.
Church is God's answer to all the world's problems.
Church has to be the place where we celebrate skin colour - and welcome everybody as equally part of the divine royal priesthood.
Church is the place where every tribe, language, nation and culture is brought into the Kingdom of God through Jesus, in the power of the Spirit.
Church is where people from every nation, of every colour, are able to use their gifts, welcomed into leadership, able to preach, lead, teach and serve.
If any Church betrays that, then it cannot be brushed under the carpet as if we can quickly "forgive and forget". It needs time to sit outside the church community in serious repentance and shame.
Some of the American Reformed theologians of the 19th century were deeply racist. Please be very careful about clicking this link because the views of R. L. Dabney (one of the leading American Calvinistic theologians of the 19th century) are deeply disturbing - https://racistchurches.wordpress.com/2007/06/13/rl-dabney/
The 18th century was the Deist century of British church life - and that heresy produced serious consequences for British churches. Buying into Enlightenment patterns of thought legitimised racist ideas that were owned by the Church of England - https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2006/feb/09/religion.world…
As the LORD says in Numbers 12, this cannot be just ignored or brushed under the carpet or quickly washed away.
Some British and American Churches have gone along with this thinking - not just in the 18th century, but right on to the present day.
Instead of showing the answer to the problem, they have been part of the problem.
If we genuinely believe that Church is God's answer to the world's problems then these deep rooted and long standing heresies need to be addressed, condemned and repented of - and there needs to be a time of shame.
I honestly believe that the only hope for the deep, radical change that is necessary is Church centred on Jesus.
