Accepted into the Family

Num 36:8  And every daughter, that possesseth an inheritance in any tribe of the children of Israel, shall be wife unto one of the family of the tribe of her father, that the children of Israel may enjoy every man the inheritance of his fathers.
Num 36:9  Neither shall the inheritance remove from one tribe to another tribe; but every one of the tribes of the children of Israel shall keep himself to his own inheritance.

Each tribe of Israel was given a portion of land by lot, in the promise land. They were not to marry outside of their tribe, so that their land would remain in ownership according to the tribe to which they belonged. People of Judah were to marry those of Judah, etc. Intermarriage of tribes was forbidden. Those who were strangers could marry if they were circumcised and accepted the God of Israel as their God and kept the laws and customs. The book of Ruth is an example of a woman who married a Jew from Judah. When he died Ruth followed Naomi her mother in law back to Judah.

 

Rth 1:16  And Ruth said, Intreat me not to leave thee, or to return from following after thee: for whither thou goest, I will go; and where thou lodgest, I will lodge: thy people shall be my people, and thy God my God:

She was married to Boaz, the kinsman redeemer of the tribe of Judah. Their children would  keep the name of the dead husband in the tribe, with his inheritance in the land.

 

Rth 4:10  Moreover Ruth the Moabitess, the wife of Mahlon, have I purchased to be my wife, to raise up the name of the dead upon his inheritance, that the name of the dead be not cut off from among his brethren, and from the gate of his place: ye are witnesses this day.

 

It is interesting to note that Boaz had a Gentile grandmother, Rahab the harlot, who helped the spies who went into Jericho. Ruth and Boaz had a son named Obed, who was the great grandfather of King David, who was of the lineage of Joseph,  the legal father of Jesus who was born of the virgin Mary. Jesus' father is God.

 

A Gentile could be converted and be accepted by the Jews, but when marriage came with Gentile women who had other gods, this brought confusion and the judgement of God; they were to be converted first. God does not want diverse gods, among his people; He alone is to be worshipped and loved. Every race color and size of people are accepted if they come to the God of Israel. Jesus his Son has made the way to be accepted in the family of God, with your sins forgiven. We are an eternal family with everlasting life with Christ Jesus our kinsman redeemer.

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