One possible evidence of missionary activity of Israelites reaching out to Ethiopians is found in the story of Ebed-Melech and Jeremiah. Ebed-Melech was an Ethiopian who worked in the court of King Zedekiah of Judea. His actions show that he God had reached his heart, be it through a human witness or by the Holy Spirit alone. He was probably a prisoner of war, but he did not let that hold him back from taking action to rescue a prophet of God. When there was not anyone else present who was willing to help Jeremiah after his own people threw him into a pit of mire — and apparently left him for dead! Upon hearing of the situation, Ebed-Melech went to King Zedekiah and reported the matter — that “[1] men have acted wickedly in all that they have done to Jeremiah the prophet whom they cast into the cistern (Jer 38:9, NASB).” Later, because of his kindness God sends a message from Jeremiah to Ebed-Melech that in the day when Jerusalem is taken, he would be delivered and kept safe!
Another instance is Solomon and the Queen of Sheba. God drew the Queen to meet Solomon because of all that she had heard of him and his God. This story, as mentioned in several earlier blogs is one that Ethiopians based their ruling dynasty’s bloodline upon. This story is found in 1 Kings 10:1-13 and 2nd Chronicles 9:1-12.
In Acts 8:26-40, a well known instance of missionary activity with an Ethiopian is found in the story of Phillip the Evangelist with the Ethiopian Eunuch who works for Queen Candace. Phillip is told by the Spirit to look for the Eunuch and upon seeing him, he climbs in his chariot and they read Isaiah chapter 53 and Phillip expounds upon the passage, showing it is the Messiah. The Eunuch then requests baptism and gets baptized in a nearby stream.
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| St. George in Lalibela. taken from: http://www.travel-tour- guide.com/ethiopia_danakil_lalibela_pictures/ |
Compared with the rest of the world, “[2] Ethiopia is one of the oldest Christian states in the world.” Aside from Phillip the Evangelist, it appears to be the center for early 1st century missionary activity by Matthew as reported in Foxe’s Book of Martyrs — Foxe reports that Matthew “[3]went to Ethiopia, ordained preachers, settled churches, and made many converts. He afterwards proceeded to Parthia, where he had the same success; but returning to Ethiopia, he was slain by a halberd in the city of Nadabar, about the year of Christ 60.
[5] In the 4th Century A.D., a Greek Christian named Frumentius was shipwrecked in Ethiopia and the Queen requested him to stay and from there he began to secretly spread Christianity throughout the lands. He was later appointed as the bishop of Ethiopia. [6] In the 15th Century, Jesuit missionaries were sent to Ethiopia in the hopes of bringing the Ethiopian Church into fellowship with the Catholic Church.
The Bible speaks of in futuristic language that, “Ethiopia shall soon stretch out her hands unto God” (Psalm 68:31, KJV). While this may refer to the Christianization of Ethiopia, it probably has a fuller fulfillment in the future.
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| Deacon in the Tigray, Ethiopia taken from: http://mitchellk.photoshelter.com/image/I0000u6IUIewjFhM |
References
New American Standard Bible: 1995 update. (1995). (Je 38:9). LaHabra, CA:
The Lockman Foundation.
“Religion in Ethiopia." Wikipedia. Last modified May 10, 2016. Accessed
August 9, 2016. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Religion_in_Ethiopia.
Foxe, J. (2000). Foxe’s Book of Martyrs. Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson. Logos
Bible Software 6.13. Faithlife Corporation: ©2000-2016.
Adejumobi, Saheed A. The History of Ethiopia. The Greenwood Histories of the
Modern Nations. Westport, Conn.: Greenwood Press, 2007.
“History of Ethiopia,” www.historyworld.net, accessed August 14, 2016, http://www.historyworld.net/wrldhis/PlainTextHistories.aspgroupid=2112&HistoryID=ab92>rack=pth
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