Before a report card on the tribal mopping-up operations, the Lord adds a note about some Gentiles!
“Now the children of the Kenite, Moses’ father-in-law, went up from the City of Palms with the children of Judah into the Wilderness of Judah, which lies in the South near Arad; and they went and dwelt among the people” (Jdg 1:16). In Genesis 15, when the Lord made His covenant with Abram, He said his descendants would be given the land occupied by ten nations, the first of which were the Kenites! And these people keep showing up! Balaam prophesied the destruction of the future enemies of Israel, yet included this about the Kenites: “Firm is your dwelling place, and your nest is set in the rock” (Num 24:21). One Kenite who moved north from Arad features prominently in a story a few chapters from now. The Kenites show up during the reigns of Saul and David. And in Jeremiah’s day, one branch of the family, the Rechabites, are used as a living parable of fidelity. So we can see the evidence mounting, can’t we, of the grace of God: Rahab the Canaanite and her family; Caleb, Achsah, and Othniel, Kenizzites; the city of Gibeon and her nearby towns, all Amorites; and now the Kenites. We’ll also soon meet people like Ruth the Moabite and Uriah the Hittite. The Lord Jesus drives this point home when He tells His townsfolk He knows how the story will go by highlighting one event from Elijah’s ministry and another from Elisha’s. When God looked for a widow to care for His servant, He had to use a Lebanese; when healing from leprosy was available in Israel, only a Syrian sought help. Gentiles by the million have bowed at the feet of Israel’s Messiah, while most Jews won’t even speak the only name “by which we must be saved” (Acts 4:12). Let’s pray for the salvation of God’s ancient people today.