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seven year famine and Jacob and his family coming to Egypt to be fed and protected from
that famine. Thus the seed of Israel was preserved thanks to the dreams of Gentiles.
Similar features can be seen in the case of the Babylonian king, Nebuchadnezzar, and
Daniel who interpreted his dreams. There again Jews were promoted to high positions
among the Gentile rulers, and thus, even in exile, the chosen people were protected.
I Kings 17: 10-24 records how Elijah went to a Gentile, the widow of Sarepta.
There he made her supply of meal and oil inexhaustible and raised her son to life.
II.Kings.v.1-19 records how Elisha cured the captain of the Syrian army, Naaman, of
leprosy. It is significant that the Lord Jesus Christ refers to these two miracles on His
first day of ministry. Luke 4: 16-19 records how the Lord Jesus went into the
synagogue at Nazareth and read from Isa. 61: 1, 2. When he finished He closed the
book and said:
"This day is this Scripture fulfilled in your ears" (Luke 4: 21).
But although they wondered at what He said and asked "Is not this Joseph's son? He
knew exactly what they were thinking. Luke 4: 23, 24 implies that they will not accept
Him and the Lord then says:
"But I tell you of a truth, many widows were in Israel in the days of Elias, when the
heaven was shut up three years and six months, when great famine was throughout all the
land; but unto none of them was Elias sent, save unto Sarepta, a city of Sidon, unto a
woman that was a widow. And many lepers were in Israel in the time of Eliseus the
prophet; and none of them was cleaned, saving Naaman the Syrian" (Luke 4: 25-27).
How did the people react to being reminded of these miracles which had been
bestowed upon the Gentiles by the two Jewish prophets?
"And all they in the synagogue, when they heard these things were filled with wrath"
(Luke 4: 28).
The Jewish people came to expect, even to demand and require signs from those who
claimed to speak on behalf of God. They guarded such miracles jealously for they
considered them to belong exclusively to their nation. Thus we can understand why the
Lord allowed the gifts and blessings of the Acts period to fall upon some Gentiles--"for
to provoke them (the Jews) to jealously (i.e. fruitfulness or emulation)" (Rom. 11: 11).
Sadly this did not happen during the Acts period, as we saw in the previous article,
and neither did it work in Luke 4: where verse 29 records that the people wanted to
throw the Lord Jesus from the brow of the hill. Thankfully they did not succeed but
regretfully it was a shame that they, unlike a previous generation, did not take notice of
the speaker's credentials.
"And Moses told Aaron all the words of the Lord Who had sent him, and all the signs
which He had commanded him. And Moses and Aaron went and gathered together all
the elders of the children of Israel. And Aaron spake all the words which the Lord had
spoken unto Moses, and did the signs in the sight of the people. And the people believed"
(Exod. 4: 28-31).