BLACKS IN THE BIBLE
Volume I: The Original Roots of Men and Women of Color in Scripture
by
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It’s interesting how Christians view the color of sin. In churches you may hear phrases such as our hearts were “blackened by sin.” European-based Christianity has assigned a color to sin and that color is black, whereas Bible-based Christianity does not associate sin with the color black. Racism has crept into even the color of sin. In answer to the question, “What color does the Bible assign to sin?” many people would answer, “Black is the color assigned to sin.” The Scriptures clearly assign sin a color, but not the color black. Isaiah
Nevertheless, a form of a Westernized theological racism has insidiously claimed that black skin is the result of a curse. Actually, when God cursed someone’s skin, He turned it white. The first occurrence happened when Moses’ sister Miriam mocked Moses for marrying a woman with black skin, an Ethiopian. (Num. 12:1, Jer. 13:23) God responded by turning Miriam’s skin white, with a skin disease known as leprosy. This cured her racist views. (Num. 12:10) Also, recall when Elisha cursed his servant, Gehazi saying: “The leprosy therefore of Naaman shall cleave unto thee, and unto thy seed for ever. And he went out from his presence a leper as white as snow.” (2 Kings 5:27) The curse this man of God put on the greedy Gehazi’s skin, for his abomination, did not turn his skin black but “as white as snow,” which made Gehazi the first abominable snow man. Also, in Exodus 3:2-4:6, when God spoke to Moses from a burning bush to display his power over sin, God turned the skin on Moses’ hand white with leprosy, then restored his skin to its original dark color that had earlier allowed him to pass as the grandson of Pharaoh, an African king. Each time God placed a curse on skin, he did not turn it brown, black, or dark but white, even as “white as snow.” Somehow this theological point has failed to find its way into European pulpits. However, the fable of God turning skin black when he was displeased with a person easily found its way into many of their pulpits. Not one account of God showing displeasure by turning someone’s skin black is found in Holy Scripture. The irony lies in the fact that original sin was the same color as the original man: red. Adam means Red Man.
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About the Book
The first question the New Testament asks a Black man found reading Old Testament Scripture is “Do you understand what you are reading?” (Acts 8:30) The Ethiopian replied, “How can I, except some man should guide me?” Whether Black or White, the problem is that we have all been misguided, and it is my honor to guide you to the heritage of sacred Black history written in “the Scripture of truth”. Theologians and Bible teachers that exclude, explain away, diminish, or ignore the contributions of the Black people that God placed in Scripture might as well exclude the cross from Jesus Christ because in the Old Testament, Black people are the backdrops that God used to highlight His greatest acts. Scripture itself testifies of this in regards to the most powerful African king in the Old Testament stating “for this cause I [God] raised thee [Pharaoh] up to make my name known throughout all the earth” (Rom 9:17). Blacks are the canvas on which much Old Testament Scripture is painted. Apart from the Blacks that are in the Bible, there is no Ethiopia that means “land of burnt faces” in Genesis’ Garden of Eden and no “Ethiopian eunuch” for Philip to preach Jesus “unto” in the New Testament (Gen 2:13; Acts 8:27). Apart from the Blacks that are in the Bible, there would not have been any Hebrew slavery in Africa and no Promised Land of Canaan to take from Black people by Hebrews. Apart from the Black kings in Scripture, there would be no Tower in Ham’s grandson’s kingdom of Babel and an African princess would not have rescued Moses from the Nile. Apart from Blacks in the Bible, there would be no Passover for Jews to celebrate and no Ethiopian wife for their liberator Moses to marry (Ps 106:22; Num 12:1). Apart from Blacks in the Bible, Egypt would not be called “the land of Ham” where Hebrews sojourned (Ps 105:23, 106:22). Apart from Blacks in the Bible, there would be no book of Exodus for the chosen people to exit “out of Africa”. Apart from Blacks in the Bible, there would be no Arabs or Philistines so the books of 1st and 2nd Samuel would not exist and neither would the Philistine giant for David to defeat (Gen 10:14). Apart from Blacks in the Bible, David would not have killed his proselyte Hittite-Canaanite soldier that had converted to Judaism to take his Canaanite-Gilonite wife that gave birth to King Solomon (2 Sam 11:3). Apart from the Blacks that are in the Bible, the prophet Jeremiah would have died in a dungeon (Jer 38:7). Apart from the Blacks that are in the Bible, the tribe of Benjamin with its dark skin Hebrews would have went extinct, so Paul would not exist (Judges 21:3-7; Acts 21:38; Phil 3:5). Apart from Blacks in Scripture, there would be no Israelite tribes of Ephraim or Manasseh or any Hittites, Jebusites, Hivites, or other Canaanite tribes for Israel to defeat. Apart from the Blacks in the Bible, Job would have had no robbers of his wealth and there would not be a Canaanite apostle of Jesus named “Simon the Canaanite” whose heritage Caucasian theologians aggressively attempt to explain away, since no apostles were from Japheth’s Caucasian lineage (Matt 10:4). If Blacks were acknowledged in Scripture it would be as revolutionary as when one Black man, Jackie Robinson, was allowed in baseball and took rookie of the year that year and two years later was the Most Valuable Player. Watch your thought process change as God’s Word reveals the history of Blacks in the Bible and whatever your nationality or education level, your Bible will never read the same.
About the Author
James Warden is a graduate of Mid-American Nazarene University and attend Dallas Theological Seminary. He worked six years as a Christian radio announcer in Kansas City, where he founded Have You Heard the Good News Radio Ministry. He was ordained as a minister in 1992 by pastors Don and Velma Aston of Overland Park, Kansas. He is married and has authored several books outside of the Blacks in the Bible series. He offers seminars regarding Eternal Security, Bible Prophecy, and Types and Shadows in Scripture, and Biblical Black History. He resides in Texas. Contact him at james.wardenjr@att.net with the subject title as "Blacks in the Bible" or it will be discarded as spam. For more information WWW. BLACKS IN THE BIBLE. NET or WWW.BlacksInTheBible.Org.