Acts 8 describes how Phillip introduced the Ethiopian eunuch to Jesus. He was treasurer in the government of Candace, queen of the Ethiopians. In the Greek, the word Ethiopia means burnt face. In the Old Testament Hebrew, the word is translated Cush, meaning black. Biblical Ethiopia, therefore, has more to do with melanin than a land with borders. Jeremiah 13:23 would testify to this: “Can the leopard change its spots or the Ethiopian his skin?” Perhaps the most significant Scripture pertaining to the Ethiopian is found in Amos 9.
“‘Are you not like the people of Ethiopia to Me, O children of Israel?’ says the Lord” (Amos 9:7a).
We all understand the central role Israel plays in the Scripture. But Ethiopia? How does that fit? What does it mean? The word “like” used in the text is the Hebrew word kibnê, and it is the only occurrence of the word in the entirety of Scripture. It is literally translated, “as the sons.”
In his book, Beyond the Rivers of Ethiopia,[1] Dr. Mensa Otabil refutes from the Scriptures the claim that the black man is cursed. He also beautifully addresses the subject of Zipporah, the Ethiopian wife of Moses, and his insights were helpful in formulating the following ideas.
After Moses accepted his call, Scripture records the events that took place on his journey back to Egypt.
"At a lodging place on the way, the Lord met Moses and was about to kill him. But Zipporah took a flint knife, cut off her son’s foreskin and touched Moses’ feet with it. ‘Surely you are a bridegroom of blood to me,’ she said. So the Lord let him alone. (At that time, she said ’bridegroom of blood,’ referring to circumcision)" (Acts 4:25-26).
It is understood that circumcision was given to Abraham as a sign of the covenant for him and all his descendants after him. The question then is, how could Zipporah, a black woman, have known its importance and used it to intervene in this situation?
Abraham was the father of faith, and the father of the children of Israel. In Genesis 18:19, Abraham was instructed by God to, “command his children after him to keep the way of the Lord: to do righteousness and justice.” Abraham became the father of Isaac, who became the father of Jacob and Esau; Jacob would become the father of twelve sons, who would go down to Egypt and multiply. After Abraham’s wife Sarah died, Scripture tells us that Abraham took a second wife. Genesis 25:1-3 explains:
"Abraham had taken another wife, whose name was Keturah. She bore him Zimran, Jokshan, Medan, Midian, Ishbak and Shuah. Jokshan was the father of Sheba and Dedan; the descendants of Dedan were the Ashurites, the Letushites and the Leummites. The sons of Midian were Ephah, Epher, Hanok, Abida and Eldaah. All these were descendants of Keturah."
The fourth son of Abraham and Keturah was Midian. Midian was the father of the Midianites, of whom Jethro was a descendant. It was this Jethro that was the father of Zipporah, who would become the wife of Moses (Ex 3:1). The question then is, if Zipporah’s line can be traced back to Abraham, just like Moses, where did Zipporah get her Ethiopian-ness from if not from her father? And where did he get his Ethiopian-ness, if not from his father and so on. There is, of course, various possibilities of inter-marriage throughout the generations, but it is highly plausible that Abraham’s second wife, Keturah, was black.
Abraham was to instruct his children (not child) after him to keep the way of the Lord. It is likely then, that these instructions could have included their covenant with God, and the mark of that covenant, which was circumcision. It is not unreasonable to think that though the covenant was established through Isaac, this sign of circumcision could have been passed down through the Keturah line, through Midian, Jethro and now Zipporah. It is also possible that Moses’ Egyptian upbringing would have left him disconnected from this rite of passage, explaining why his sons were not circumcised.
Zipporah, the Ethiopian woman, descendant of Abraham, remembered the Abrahamic covenant. Her actions spared not only her husband, but spared the entire nation of Israel, whose deliverance hung in the balance.
In the country that is known as Ethiopia today, it is interesting to note the degree to which this concept of covenant influences the culture and tradition. Dr. Mohammed Girma, in his work, “Understanding Religion and Social Change in Ethiopia,” says, “Covenant thinking created an Ethiopian story that transcends time, ideology, and ethnic background... it is this sense of covenant that shapes a unique kind of Ethiopian consciousness that has domestic and international outcomes.”[2]
This consciousness is important for a people who for centuries have endured discrimination because of the color of their skin. This people need to know that there is a place for them in the heart of God.
Samaritan Africa
The account of the black man from Scripture is powerfully liberating. It is a conversation that needs to be had, and one that is long overdue. But as powerful as this is, it must be understood that it does not constitute a fully redeemed identity. If we are not careful, we can embrace an identity that is powerful, but slightly fragmented. And if we add spirituality to it, things can get complicated. This is exactly what happened to the Samaritan woman of John 4.
The woman Jesus encountered in this story knew the Scriptures. She knew about the places of worship, about prophetic ministry, and she also knew about the coming Messiah. But the Samaritan woman also had a problem with men. She had had five husbands, and the man she was now living with was not her husband. If Jesus is really all you need, how could this woman’s knowledge of Him do so little to help her?
The problem with the Samaritan woman is that she drew her identity and spiritual understanding from her ethnic history. As a result, her knowledge of Jesus was the result of what others had said about Him, not what Jesus said about Himself. When Jesus said to her, “I who speak to you am He” (Jn 4:26), it changed everything.
Where other people’s version of Jesus left her continually coming to the well for water, Jesus’ version of Jesus caused her to leave her jar at the well and walk away. Where other people’s version of Jesus taught her to avoid her enemies at all costs, Jesus’ version of Jesus caused her to run to those very enemies. Other people’s version of Jesus had trapped her in an identity that failed to satisfy. In Jesus’ version of Jesus, she found her true self.
Like the Samaritan woman, much of Africa has had to embrace an identity that is not her true self. It has caused her to learn about Jesus from everyone but Jesus. It’s not that the Gospel is wrong. It’s just that when the gospel becomes a servant of the culture, instead of the other way around, it loses its power. God’s intention is that we learn about Jesus from Jesus Himself. Therein lies true transformation, and true identity. It changes how we see everything.
For the people with a long history of victimization, the pain is deep and legitimate. Healing on a human level is simply not possible. This is why we need to see Him. After seeing Him, the Samaritan woman ran to the town to tell everyone about the man that she had seen. In doing so, she was running to her abusive relationships, to her haters, to the backbiters and the gossipers. And when the townspeople came and saw for themselves, they also testified: “We no longer believe just because of what you said; now we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this man really is the Savior of the world.” Seeing Him replicated a throne room experience on the earth. Now is the time to redeem identity. Now we need to see Him.
An Experiment
Let’s try a small experiment: If you find yourself in a place where you are passionate about Jesus, but also passionately struggling with prodigal living, it could be an identity issue. Honestly answer the following:
What’s the first thing that comes your mind when you hear the word Tigray, Oromo, Amhara, Afar, Kikuyu, Luo, Baganda, Dinka, Neur, Hutu, Tutsi, Bemba, Ndebele, Shona, Zulu, Xhosa, Yoruba, Igbo, Ashanti...? Let’s take it a step further: since the word Ethiopia means “black,” what is the first thing that comes to your mind when you hear the term, “white?” How about Chinese? Let’s take it even further: If you are a Christian, what is the first thing that comes to your mind when you hear the word, “Muslim?” If any of these create cynicism, discomfort, nausea, or a desire for revenge, it could be because the identity you have embraced is not your true self. The real you is a product of your future, not your past.
[1] Otabil, Dr. Mensa. Beyond the Rivers of Ethiopia. Pneuma Life Publishing, 1994.
[2] Girma, Dr. Mohammed. Understanding Religion and Social Change in Ethiopia: Toward a Hermeneuitic of Covenant. New York: Palgrave Macmilan, 2012.
Zerubbabel Betta Mengistu is the senior pastor of Beza International Church in Addis Ababa, and the co-founder of the Africa Arise network, a fellowship committed to the cause of a greater Africa. The Africa Arise network has an ethical charter which members are encouraged to promote as a grass roots initiative to combat corruption.
Pastor Zerubbabel is married to Yamerote, a successful designer and entrepreneur, with whom he has two daughters.