Dr. Tony Evans is the founder and senior pastor of Oak Cliff Bible Fellowship in Dallas, founder and president of The Urban Alternative and author of over 100 books, booklets and Bible studies. The first African American to earn a doctorate of theology from Dallas Theological Seminary, he has been named one of the 12 Most Effective Preachers in the English-Speaking World by Baylor University. Dr. Evans holds the honor of writing and publishing the first full-Bible commentary and study Bible by an African American. His radio broadcast, The Alternative with Dr. Tony Evans, can be heard on over 1,400 radio outlets daily and in more than 130 countries. Dr. Evans’ sermons are also streamed and downloaded over 20,000,000 times annually.
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one of the reasons to learn about
the black presence in the bible is to
give
black people a divinely
oriented sense of pride and
to inform white people
about how blacks have contributed
to god’s kingdom program in history
let me read from my book one is embraced
on influential blacks in the bible
the sons of ham noah’s
son ham had four sons cush
misream put and kanan
kush was the progenitor of the ethiopian
people this is validated by the fact
the names cush and ethiopia are used
interchangeably in scripture
genesis 2 13 10
6. misram was the progenitor of the
egyptian people who are understood in
scripture to have been a hermitic
people and thus african psalm 78 51
psalm 103 23 26 and 27.
also psalm 106 verses 21 and 22
put with the progenitor of libya
and canaan was the progenitor of the
canaanites one of the most problematic
foes of god’s
chosen people the israelites nimrod
of particular importance is the powerful
old testament figure nimrod
the descendant of cush who ruled in the
land of shinar
genesis 10 8 to 10 and 11
2. nimrod eventually became the father
of two of the greatest empires in the
bible
and in world history assyria and
babylonia
he was the first great leader of a world
civilization genesis 10 11-12
he led all the people on earth and
served as
earth’s protector nimrod’s presence and
accomplishments confirmed the unique and
early leadership role
black people played in world history
the tribe of ephraim hemetic people
were crucial to the program of god
throughout old testament biblical
history
joseph’s wife an egyptian woman genesis
41
verse 45 and verses 50 to 52
was the mother of manasseh and ephraim
who later became
leaders of jewish tribes in fact the
tribe of ephraim produced one of the
greatest
leaders israel ever had moses’s
successor joshua
numbers 13 8 and first chronicles 7
22-27
this jewish african link is very strong
in scripture
the prophet amos said are you not as the
sons of
ethiopia to me o sons of israel declares
the lord
amos 9 7 caleb
caleb was the son of jeff nye
the canninzite the canninzites
were a part of the canaanite tribes
genesis 15
19 and descendants of ham
caleb also came from the tribe of judah
joshua 14
6 and 14. judah the progenitor of the
tribe father twin
sons by tamar a hermitic woman
genesis 38 caleb joined with joshua as
one of the two spies who went to explore
canaan
and brought back a positive report to
enter the land and take possession of it
as god had declared numbers 13 to 14.
jethro jethro moses father-in-law from
whom moses received the greatest single
piece
of advice regarding national leadership
ministry
organization political strategy and
personal planning
exodus 18 13-27
that was ever recorded was a kinite
judges 116 part of the canaanite tribes
genesis 15 19 who descended from ham
at that time the kinites had settled in
the land of midian
another interesting observation
regarding jethro
is that he is identified as the priest
of midian exodus
3 1. since he was a priest yet he was
not a levite
and the aaronic priesthood had not yet
been established
the question is what kind of priesthood
could this have been the only other
priesthood within the framework of
scripture
to which jethro could have belonged was
the priesthood of melchizedek
genesis 14 18. this is significant
because christ was a priest
after the order of melchizedek hebrews 7
17. this means that the priest jethro
who was of african descent may have been
indicative
of pre-aaronic priesthood such as that
of melchizedek
which foreshadowed the priestly role of
both christ
and the church this then is another
basis for recognizing the strategic
role africans played in the biblical
saga
that continues today because all
christians are related to jethro and his
priesthood
as part of the royal priesthood
david king david is known not only as a
man after god’s own heart
first samuel 13 14 but as one of the
greatest kings in israel’s history
david’s great-grandmother was a
canaanite rahab
who is also listed in the hall of faith
hebrews 11 31.
david’s grandmother was ruth a moabite
from a people who were canaanites as
well
david one of the heroes of the faith
hailed
from mixed jewish and hemetic ancestry
and stands as a leader of whom blacks
can be proud to call their own
solomon solomon was david’s son with
bathsheba
a hemetic woman bathsheba literally
means
the daughter of sheba the table of
nations
identifies sheba in the line of ham
making sheba
a descendant of an african nation
genesis 10 7 the song of solomon
describes solomon’s features
as tanned and handsome better than 10
000
others his head is purist gold
and he has wavy raven hair
song of solomon chapter 5 verses 10 to
11.
solomon was not only the wisest man to
rule a nation
but he also brought about the greatest
extension
of israel’s reach as a kingdom first
kings 3
3-14 solomon’s great-great-grandmother
great-grandmother and mother gave him
roots
within the black race and placed him as
an example
of black achievement zephaniah
underscoring the fact that black people
are an integral part of god’s revelatory
process
in both the proclamation and recording
of divine revelation
is the prophet zephaniah the old
testament states that zephaniah was of
hemetic
origin he was from the lineage of cush
zephaniah 1
1. and he prophesied god’s judgment
on judah and her enemies for their
rebellion against god
and their gross idolatry yet he
proclaimed the grace of god would save a
remnant and restore blessing
to the people people of african descent
can take pride in god’s prophet
zephaniah
one of the biblical authors as their
forefather
blacks in the lineage of christ
deserving of our greatest attention
is the lineage of christ who is the
heart and soul of the christian
faith over and over again the prophets
prophesied that messiah would come
from the seed of david as we’ve already
seen
the davidic line finds a number of black
people within it
of the five women mentioned in matthew’s
genealogy
matthew 1 1-16 four are of hemetic
descent
tamar rahab bathsheba and ruth
the point here is not that jesus was
black to assert
such as some black theologians and
religious leaders do
is to fall into the exclusionist
perspective of many whites
who would make jesus an anglo-european
blue-eyed blonde
who had very little relevance to people
of color
it would also fail to respect the
distinct heritage of christ
rather jesus was matizo
a person of mixed ancestry it blesses me
to know that jesus had black in his
blood
because that destroys any perception of
black inferiority once and for all
in christ we find perfect man and
sinless savior
this knowledge frees blacks from an
inferiority complex
and at the same time it frees whites
from a superiority
myth in christ we all have our heritage
black people as all other people can
find a
place of historical cultural and racial
identity in him
as savior of all mankind he can relate
to all people in every situation
in him any person from any background
can find comfort
understanding direction and affinity as
long as he is revealed
as the son of god a designation that
transcends
every culture black people as all other
people can find a place of historical
cultural
and racial identity in him the savior of
all mankind he can relate to all people
in every situation in him any person
from any background can find comfort
understanding direction and affinity
as long as he is revered as the son of
god a designation that transcends every
culture and race
and one to which all nations of people
must pay homage
even when we leave the pages of the new
testament era
we run into african people of faith who
had a profound
influence upon the expansion of
christianity
i hope this excites you about learning
more
about your biblical history if you are
of black
or african descent but i also hope it
inspires whites to a broader view and
appreciation
of all that has been contributed by
black people
in the glory of god the writing of
scripture
and the person of our savior you can
find more in our book
oneness embraced
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you