The Ger who dwells within Israel’s, the Ezrach’s, gate is an immigrant from any nation on the earth and naturalized citizen of Yehovah’s [the LORD’s] spiritual kingdom, which is called Israel.
The immigrant has been coming to America from all over the world for centuries. Each one has been drawn here by the hope of freedom, a new way of life and a new start. The process by which an immigrant become a citizen of a new country is called naturalization.
The naturalization process of leaving one nation and joining oneself to another requires the immigrant to do three things.
- Renounce his the old country and ruler
- Swear allegiance to the new country and ruler
- Adhere to the laws of the new country
The creator said,
“I am Yehovah, thy [each man’s] Elohim [lawmaker and judge], who brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. Thou shall have no other elohim but Me.” (Exo 20:2-3)
Yeshua (Jesus) said the same thing!
No man can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. Mat 6:24
Unlike Yehovah’s kingdom, many kingdoms of the world, including the US Government, allow dual citizenship.
The U.S. Government recognizes that dual citizenship exists, but does not endorse it as a matter of policy because of the problems that it may cause. Dual citizens owe allegiance to both the United States and the foreign country. They are required to obey the laws of both countries. (http://www.uscitizenship.info/uscitizenship-dual-citizen.htm)
How Does An Immigrant Become A Naturalized Citizen
During the first century, and long before, there were men who wanted to leave the country of their birth and join themselves to Israel. In this series of writings we are going to talk about what the naturalization process was like for each immigrant.
Many people today believe that Yeshua began something new when he supposedly instituted baptism. But Yeshua, like all men, was prohibited from adding to or subtracting from any of Yehovah’s instructions given to us, and him, through Moses.
You shall not add to the word which I command you, nor take from it, that you may keep the commandments of Yehovah your God which I command you. Deu 4:2
So, if Yeshua did not add baptism, what are its roots and what are its implications?
Today we are going to see what baptism meant to each Israelite who was left in the land, primarily Jews (short for Judah), during the 1st century.
The Immigrant Joins Himself To Israel As, A Ger Who Dwells With Them
A foreign man, an Immigrant, coming into Israel (with his family) was referred to by the Jews of Yeshua’s time as a “Proselyte” or Ger.
[Note: I must interrupt the flow for a moment to say this. When ever I use a translation, a lexicon, a dictionary, a commentary, a concordance or even listen to a teacher I always compare what they say in light of the scriptures (that Yeshua, Paul, Peter, James, John and Jude all taught from) which is Moses and the Prophets! We must all be good Bereans who listen to what someone says and then search the scriptures to see if what was said, is so.
To the Torah and to the testimony! If they do not speak according to this word, it is because there is no light in them. (Isa 8:20)
Many men, sadly – most men, who write our study tools and teach Yehovah’s word have never repented and turned to Yehovah’s ways and it is for this reason that Jeremiah says,
O Yehovah, my strength and my fortress, my refuge in the day of affliction, the Gentiles shall come to You from the ends of the earth and say, “Surely our fathers have inherited lies, worthlessness and unprofitable things.” (Jer 16:19)]
That said, here is a definition from a Jewish website on the “proselyte” which says,
The proselytes were converts from heathenism to Judaism. The Greek original of the term, proselytos, is not found in classical authors, and was evidently borrowed from colloquial speech by the Septuagint as an equivalent for the Hebrew word Ger.
If we know Torah we know that the Creator did NOT intend people to turn from heathenism to Judaism. But what is interesting here is to understand that the Proselyte in the Greek is the Ger in Hebrew.
The stranger [Ger] who dwells among you shall be to you as one born among you [Ezrach], and thou shall love him as thyself; for you were strangers [Gerim – plural of Ger] in the land of Egypt: I am Yehovah, your Elohim. (Lev 19:34)
The Scribes and Pharisees were criticized by Yeshua who said they brought the Proselyte in and did not teach them correct ways to live. Instead of teaching the Ger to live according to Torah, they taught them to live according to the doctrines and commandments of men, found in Judaism.
“Woe to you, Scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you travel land and sea to win one Proselyte, and when he is won, you make him twice as much a son of hell as yourselves. Mat 23:15
This wickedness is still going on to this day in Judaism and Christianity. We are not allowed to add to or subtract from Yehovah’s ways. Our only safety is in following Moses and the Prophets; nothing more and nothing less!
In part 2 of this teaching on how “The Gentile becomes a Ger” we will look at how an immigrant, a man, from a foreign nation is naturalized or joined exclusively to Yehovah and His set-apart people. Please do not stop here, there is much to be discovered, and we have learned sooo many lies.
Continue to Baptism, Torah Truth Or Tradition Of Men