But if a stranger sojourns with you, and celebrates the Passover to the LORD, let all his males be circumcised, and then let him come near to celebrate it; and he shall be like a native of the land. But no uncircumcised person may eat of it.
–Exodus 12:48
Gentiles are welcome at the Passover table. The rituals of the Passover seder and the Feast of Unleavened Bread are designed to inspire curiosity. The children at the table, observing the unusual rites and foods, are supposed to be inspired to ask, “Why is this night different from all other nights?” The purpose of Passover is to transmit faith to the next generation, to the Jew first, but equally also to the Gentile.
from “No Uncircumcised Person”
Commentary on Torah Portion Bo
First Fruits of Zion (FFOZ)
I read this commentary the morning of New Year’s Eve 2013 and it makes sense as far as it goes, but it doesn’t go far enough.
Wait. Let me explain.
There may be some believing non-Jewish people who want to or who have attended a Passover seder. I attended my first seder decades ago, long before I became a believer. I worked with a young Jewish woman and we became friends. She invited me to the seder at her home one year, saying it was a mitzvah to invite Gentiles.
It’s a mitzvah for a Jew to invite a Gentile to eat at a Passover seder? Not according to Adath Shalom:
There is a well-established halachic ruling which forbids inviting a non-Jewish person to festival meals prescribed by the Torah, as opposed to those of Shabbat, where this is permitted. [Shulchan Aruch, Orach Chaim, 512.] The reason for the prohibition is that the law authorizing cooking in these days (in contrast to Shabbat) applies only for those who observe the laws of the festival, which is, of course, is not the case with non-Jews. This is not the place to detail the relevant sources. But we maintain that as long as certain precautions are taken, such as cooking for all of the guests together (and not in separated utensils) – one would not transgress the basic law.
That looks authoritative, but I’d never heard of Adath Shalom before, so I kept looking. Chabad.org seemed to have a somewhat different opinion.
What addressing the myth that “One may not have a Gentile at their Pesach Seder,” Rabbi Aryeh Citron writes:
Fact:
One may not invite a non-Jew to a Yom Tov meal unless Shabbat coincides with that Yom Tov. The reason for this is that one may inadvertently cook for the non-Jew on Yom Tov, which is forbidden. On Shabbat when one may not cook in any case, it is permitted to invite a non-Jew. (Orach Chaim 612:1, Shulchan Aruch HaRav ibid, 2.) If the non-Jew comes without being invited, one may feed him on a regular Yom Tov as well but may not cook or heat up food for him. There is no distinction between the Pesach Seder and other Yom Tov days in this regard.
Possible source of myth:
A gentile may not participate in eating the Paschal lamb in the era of the Holy Temple. (Exodus 12:43)
In addition, to commemorate the Paschal lamb, it is not considered proper to share the matzah from the Seder plate with a non-Jew. (Kaf HaChaim, 558:19 citing the Shelah)
That’s a little better, but the net result is that it would be better or at least easier for Jewish people to not invite Gentiles to their Passover seder.
I still wasn’t satisfied. My friend from long ago must have had a reason for saying that inviting me, a Goy, to her seder was a mitzvah. I know she was deeply rooted in her Jewish identity but she wasn’t always observant, so I don’t believe an Orthodox opinion is where she was coming from.
At Jewish Values Online I found the following question answered by an Orthodox Rabbi, a Conservative Rabbi, and a Reform Rabbi:
I invited a dear non-Jewish friend to my Pesach dinner for the second night. She wrote back stating that her other Jewish friends told her it would be inappropriate for her to attend. As a new Jew I find this off-putting. Were we not strangers in Egypt?
If you click the link I provided above, you can see the answers each Rabbi provided. In short, only the Orthodox Rabbi said “I would generally not encourage inviting non-Jewish friends to the seder.”
Both the Conservative and Reform Rabbis considered it permissible and even desirable to invite a non-Jew to a seder as a way to show kindness to strangers, “for you were strangers in the land of Egypt” (Ex. 22:21, Lev. 19:34, Deut. 10:19) and as an educational experience for the non-Jewish attendees.
But what about the FFOZ commentary? Every authority I’ve cited thus far is traditionally Jewish in the sense that they do not consider Yeshua (Jesus) as the Messiah, and therefore, would have no especially close association with Christians (in some cases, quite the reverse) or any other non-Jew. FFOZ is a Messianic Jewish educational ministry and on the matter of non-Jewish believers and the festivals, their viewpoint should be a lot different:
When we speak of Passover, we generally mean the entire Feast of Unleavened Bread. In the Torah, the term Passover (pesach, פםח) applies only to the sacrifice of the Passover lamb and its consumption. Exodus 12:48 prohibits an uncircumcised person from making a Passover sacrifice and eating a Passover lamb. The New American Standard version makes it sound like an uncircumcised person is prohibited from celebrating Passover in general, but the Hebrew makes it clear that such a person is only prohibited from sacrificing the lamb. This law applies to both Jews and Gentiles:
The same law shall apply to the native as to the stranger who sojourns among you. (Exodus 12:49)
An uncircumcised Jew and an uncircumcised Gentile are both forbidden from sacrificing or eating a Passover lamb. The Torah does not forbid them from keeping the Feast of Unleavened Bread, though. The law leaves them free to participate in the seder meal and keep the seven days of Unleavened Bread.
The matter, as was alluded to earlier in this blog post, isn’t the status of Gentile or Jew as such, but whether or not a non-circumcised person can make the paschal offering at the Temple. In most cases, it’s a foregone conclusion that Jewish males with any attachment to the Temple rituals in ancient times would be circumcised, so by definition, a Jew would be permitted to make the offering and then eat of it.
Gentiles, on the other hand, even those who were disciples of the Master in the late Second Temple period, would have been forbidden to make the Passover offering or eat of it. It even seems unlikely that they would be permitted to attend a seder in Jerusalem because the offering would be present at the table of the Jewish host and the Gentile would be forbidden to partake of it. Also, in most cases, Jewish tradition at that time made it extremely unlikely for any Jewish family to invite a Gentile to a seder fearing the non-Jew’s presence would make the entire meal unclean (see my review of the FFOZ TV episode All Foods Clean for details).
But in the diaspora, there was no access to the Temple because of the distance and Jewish families, particularly those who had come to faith in Messiah Yeshua, could invite believing Gentile friends to their Passover table, as there would be no sacrificed lamb.
According to the FFOZ commentary, that is all the more true today because the Temple currently does not exist. Passover can be a time of interfaith and cross-cultural fellowship between Jews and non-Jews. In the community of Messianic believers, in addition to what I just wrote, the Passover seder has greater meaning in the body of Yeshua, our Passover lamb, and this celebration offers a bond between Jew and Gentile in His Name, a reminder not only of Jewish redemption from Egypt, but of humanity’s redemption from sin.
But I mentioned that the FFOZ commentary didn’t go far enough. According to My Jewish Learning:
That Gentiles as well as Jews brought sacrifices to the Temple is implied in the prayer of Solomon when he dedicated the Temple (I Kings 8:41-3) and in the declaration by the prophet that the Temple will be a house of prayer for all peoples (Isaiah 56:7).
The Rabbis say (Hullin 13b): ‘Sacrifices are to be accepted from Gentiles as they are from Jews,’ although this saying dates from after the destruction of the Temple.
Even Orthodox Jews believe that Gentiles will have a role in offering sacrifices at the future Third Temple, according to AskNoah.org:
Gentiles were welcomed to the First and Second Temples in Jerusalem, and they will participate even more at the Third Temple – especially during the festival of Sukkot (Zech. 14:16). In his commentary on the Torah section beginning with Gen. 12:1, Ramban (Nachmanides) wrote:
“Even in the time of Joshua, … the Gentiles knew that this place was the most august of all, that it was at the center of the inhabited world; and Tradition had taught them that it corresponds in this world to the celestial Temple where Divine Majesty, called (righteousness), resides.”
When the First Temple was inaugurated by King Solomon, he beseeched G-d with an eloquent prayer that included the following words (Kings I, 8:41-43) (which show that in the past, Gentiles were welcomed to the First and Second Temples, and that they will participate even more in the Third Temple)…
So to bring this around full circle, we have an ancient prohibition against an uncircumcised person (Jew or Gentile) making and eating the Passover lamb offering, but it is permissible for an uncircumcised person (which in all likelihood, is a Gentile) to eat the seder meal when the Paschal lamb is not present, either because the seder is being held in the diaspora and/or because the Temple is not currently in existence.
We see that in ancient days, when the Temple did exist, the sacrifices of Gentiles were accepted and it is believed in Judaism that in the future Third Temple, the Gentiles may also make sacrifices and even have a greater role than in the past.
But what about making or even just eating the Passover lamb? In my opinion, even if a Gentile was circumcised (typically as a newborn for hygienic reasons), that is not sufficient for him to even eat of the sacrificed lamb much less make the offering. In Judaism, circumcision is the sign of the covenant and in the eyes of God, uniquely identifies Jewish males eight days of age and older. The requirement of only a circumcised man being allowed to make the sacrifice means that an ethnic Jew or one who has converted is permitted to make the sacrifice, and only born or converted Jews are allowed to eat of it.
I know there will be Christians who say the Third Temple will never be built because Christ is our Temple. And even if the Temple is built, I know there will be Christians who say that there will be no sacrifices because Christ is our sacrifice, the final sacrifice, the Passover Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world.
I believe, based on the article “Did Jesus Offer Sin Offerings – Part 1” written by David Matthews at AncientBible.net, that there is scholarly evidence to support Jesus having made sacrifices, perhaps even sin offerings (read the article for the details) in the Second Temple.
Also, Ezekiel 45:13-17 speaks of “the prince,” who very well may be the Messiah (although this is contested), making a number of offerings, so even in the age to come, we have some idea that there will be a Third Temple and possibly the Messiah will offer sacrifices on the altar in Jerusalem.
I know I’m stringing together a lot of “maybes” but I think these are “maybes” that can be supported by Biblical evidence, so don’t disregard out of hand what I’m suggesting.
I personally think there will be a Third Temple in the Messianic Era and in traditional Judaism, it is believed that one of the signs of the Messiah is that he will rebuild that Temple.
If the Temple is restored and sacrifices are made there as in days of old, then there’s no reason to believe that the Pesach offering will be overlooked or absent. That means, unless God decides to change His laws and to modify His decrees, that although Gentiles and Jews will be allowed to sit and eat at the same seder table in the diaspora on Pesach (but will there be any Jews living outside of Israel in those days?), this will not be so in the Land of Israel and in Jerusalem, City of David, as each Jewish family reclines at their table, opens the haggadah, and enters the mystery of why this night is different from all other nights.
It’s something that God has preserved for His Holy people, the Jewish people.
At the end of the Passover seder each year, we say, “Next year in Jerusalem.” I’ve never been to Jerusalem at Pesach or any other time. It is my heartfelt desire to visit the Holy City one day, either in this life or the one to come, Hashem be willing. But if next year Messiah returns and builds the Temple, and next year my Jewish family goes up to make the Pesach sacrifice in obedience to the Law of Moses, then I can’t possibly eat of it with them or even recline at the table with them (apart from the Mechilta commentary on Exodus 12:44 regarding non-Jewish slaves), unless one of you theologians out there has another understanding of all this.
Passover this year begins the evening of Monday, April 14th and concludes the evening of Tuesday, April 22. Chag Sameach Pesach.
Learn more about circumcision and the Passover Seder by reading Why is Elijah the Prophet Invited to the Seder?
Addendum: Since writing this, I wrote another Passover related blog post which received this knowledgeable response from reader ProclaimLiberty:
In that future Pesa’h scenario you pictured, you should certainly refrain from eating the lamb from the sacrifice, but if you have passed through a mikveh of cleansing you should not have to worry about rendering anything tamei by your presence at the table where there should be lots more to eat. This would be the sort of scenario that worried Kefa in Antioch when some visitors from Yakov’s orthodox MJ congregation in Jerusalem showed up. He wasn’t confident that he could convince them that these non-Jews had become purified per HaShem’s instructions and that it was OK to eat kosher meals with them. The notion of purifying non-Jews was still new and unfamiliar at that time. However, by the time of this future event in the messianic era, there should exist some familiarity already with non-Jews coming up to the Temple for festivals like Sukkot, so it shouldn’t be misunderstood if at least some who are properly prepared attend seders.
Perhaps my original assessment of the commandments around Pesach were a little too severe. If I’m going to make a mistake, I tend to err on the conservative side as far as Biblical requirements are concerned. If indeed, PL’s assessment is correct, then we intermarried Gentile believers will indeed be able to become purified and sit at the table with our families, partaking of the meal but not the Paschal offering in accordance with the commandments. That will require the proper frame of mind on the part of people like me, to celebrate the relationship between God and Israel as a member of the nations who is called by His name, honoring the specialness of the Jewish people by appreciating the imagery of them partaking of the Lamb as we support and defend the miracle of death passing over the Jews, as we, like the mixed ethnicities who originally joined with the Israelites in leaving Egypt, saw God through the lens of who He is to Israel.
Morning Meditations 
At many business dinners, weddings, and other banquets, the invitations that are sent out some time in advance may present optional meal selections to be indicated in the RSVP response. And at the meal itself, there may be name-placards at the tables indicating assigned seating and there is often also a slip indicating the meal selection. These slips are collected by the table servers in order to ensure that each diner receives their selected entrée. So for the seder the options might be lamb or chicken (maybe even a beef or veggie option), and non-Jews who are prepared for the experience would, of course, be counseled that the lamb selection is inappropriate. A seder is supposed to be an orderly meal, so a bit of additional organization to distinguish between various kinds of distinguished guests and the meal that they will consume is hardly out of place or unexpected. For those who wish to be a bit more careful to prevent any inadvertent sharing of a forbidden morsel, the arrangements could include separate tables for lamb-eaters as distinct from non-lamb-eaters, and, of course, we presume a well-instructed professional serving staff will maintain order.
However, before we start planning this sort of seder banquet, I think we still have some work ahead of us to rebuild the Temple and get the Levitical systems operating, including preparations of red-heifer ash for purification.
True, PL. There’s a long road ahead of us.
The Shemot/Exodus 12:48 example is an excellent one. Obviously, the specifics, the precise text is doing this “in the Land”, in Israel, but an excellent one none the less.
English JPS Torah continues Shemot/Exodus with 12:49, “There shall be one law for the citizen and for the stranger who dwells among you”, again it’s specifically talking about being in Israel, on the physical real estate.
The same with other parts of the text, you see over and over again, (ie), Numbers 15:16, “the same ritual and the same rule shall apply to you and the stranger who resides among you.”
This is a consistent theme, not only in Torah, but Haftarah/Prophets, about non Israelite, “goy”, (ie),”learn the ways of My People”, many examples all through the text.
Excellent observation !
‘Learn the ways of My people’, in order for what? Presumably ‘to participate?’ If not that then what? Sit and watch from afar?
@Jack: This is only an issue when in Jerusalem and the Temple is once against standing with an active priesthood and sacrificial system.
@Steve: I believe that the upshot of this blog post was participation and, as a Gentile head of household with Jewish family members, I can sit at the same seder table in Jerusalem in Messianic Days. But my reading of scripture still tells me that the actual Pascal offering is for the Jewish people alone. Some things God has reserved for them and I don’t have a problem with that. Remember, the Master said that “many will come from east and west, and recline at the table with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 8:11). That means people like us.
BTW, Jack — In the first passage you cited for the same rule being applied to the sojourner that dwells with Jews (Ex.12:49), that sojourner who wishes to keep the Passover has converted to Judaism by becoming circumcised (in the preceding verse 18), and is therefore to be treated exactly the same as a native-born Jew. The Num.15:16 passage doesn’t mention circumcision, but it does refer to sojourners in the context of the “kahal”, the “congregation”; and thus there is also a strong hint that these are not merely nomadic visitors or tourists but rather have joined the “congregation” via circumcision and conversion. Your citation of the “same ritual and the same rule” is not exactly an accurate translation of “torah a’hat u’mishpat e’had, but even if we accept the sense of it we cannot apply it to non-Jews in general. It may not be applicable to non-Jews at all if we accept conversion as rendering a former non-Jew as having become Jewish as the justification for demanding the same treatment.
James. This is really grate investigation. I think that for start we need huge education campain about this issue, particular for Gentile messianic believers who join us for this or another selebrations I can imagine some of my Gentile messianic friends revolting literally against such explanation. (I’m agree with you absolutely) And sure it all apply to sojourning Gentiles in the Land of Israel.
We have very long way to go with it.
Greetings, elietzhayim. Thanks for the complements. Yes, we do have a long way to go.
It is my understanding that the Seder is part of Pesach not the Feast of Unleavened, which comes after. You did mention that they were two separate events in the 1st century. This is accurate and, as such, it seem obvious to me the Seder was a part of Pesach.
In modern times, they are considered two different events as well, but because they are so closely associated, we act as if it is a single festival.
Romans 2:14-29 anyone?
And your point, Alfredo, is what?
I have to echo what PL asked, Alfredo. I don’t see how it applies.
Well, Paul says “For he is not a Jew who is one outwardly, nor is circumcision that which is outward in the flesh; but he is a Jew who is one inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart, in the Spirit, not in the letter; whose praise is not from men but from God.” Romans 2:28-29
And in Jeremiah 31:31-33 we find “Behold, the days are coming, says the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah – not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt, My covenant which they broke, though I was a husband to them, says the Lord. But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the Lord: I will put My law in their minds, and write it on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people.”
And in Ephesians 2:19-22 we read “Now, therefore, you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief cornerstone, in whom the whole building, being fitted together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord, in whom you also are being built together for a dwelling place of God in the Spirit.”
And we read in Luke 22:20 “Likewise He also took the cup after supper, saying, This cup is the new covenant in My blood, which is shed for you.”
So, in that future Pesa’h scenario, will gentiles be considered “fellow citizen” in the Millenium? Won’t gentiles hearts will be circumcised and Torah placed in them? Is Yeshua’s new covenant for gentiles too?
As far as Romans 2:28-29 is concerned, the wider context of this chapter isn’t about Jewish people losing Jewish identity and non-Jewish people gaining Jewish identity, it’s about what justifies a person before God. My reading of Paul in Romans tells me that a Jew who does not approach God with faith and intention to obey, but only uses the mitzvot as rote performance and expects simply being a “son of Abraham” to save them is a terrible mistake. This doesn’t make Jewish people “unJewish,” but it does mean if a Jewish person expects mechanical obedience of the mitzvot apart from faith to save them, they will be condemned by the law.
This also has implications for some folks in today’s Hebrew Roots movement who make a big deal of their Torah performance or compliance, as if that will save them apart from faith in Messiah. Wearing tzitzit won’t save you if you habitually sin and are not repenting.
I’ve just finished D. Thomas Lancaster’s What About the New Covenant audio lectures and have the New Covenant very fresh on my mind. Notice in the quote from Jeremiah 31:31-33 you posted that the covenant is made with the house of Israel and the house of Judah, not the nations. Long story short, the conditions of the Old Covenant (the Torah) directly translate to the New Covenant. The only difference is that the New Covenant is written directly on human hearts and in human spirits, not on external objects such as tablets and scrolls. It will become natural for Jewish people and anyone attached to Israel through Abraham-like faith in Messiah, to obey God. By the way, this doesn’t turn Gentiles into Jews, but I’ll get to that in a minute.
As far as Ephesians 2:19-22 and the idea that Gentiles will become fellow citizens of Israel (and thus “Israelites” or “Jews without a circumcision”), that’s not quite true. I got this from one of Lancaster’s Hebrews sermons. Messiah Yeshua returns and ascends the throne as King of Israel, their national King. There’s a big war and Israel wins. Israel annexes all of the other nations of the world and becomes their King. Notice that he doesn’t turn all of those nations into one, big Israel, they remain the nations. They are annexed by national Israel and become vassal nations under Israel’s great King. This does not make us citizens of national Israel. We become vassels under Israel’s overarching commonwealth.
One use of the term commonwealth can be applied to a group of nations, all possessing local rulers and laws but answerable to a supreme ruler. That’s the best way I can describe how the numerous Gentile nations will relate to Israel and King Messiah. We will be granted many blessings under Messiah’s reign of world-wide peace and prosperity, but that doesn’t make us Israelites, Jewish, or apply the full body of the mitzvot to us in a manner identical to the Jewish citizens of national Israel.
@James.
First, I’m not talking about Jewish people, but about gentiles. So, as you say, I’m not talking about Jewish people losing Jewish identity and non-Jewish people gaining Jewish identity; instead, I’m talking about what justifies a person before God.
Second, I know that Jeremiah 31:31-33 is about Israel and Judah.
Third, I guess that you didn’t read the whole context on Ephesians 2:19-22…
In Ephesians 2:11-13 Paul says “Therefore remember that you, once Gentiles in the flesh—who are called Uncircumcision by what is called the Circumcision made in the flesh by hands— that at that time you were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ.”
So Paul is addressing us gentiles, telling us that we WERE strangers from the covenants of promise. But now we are NOT strangers anymore… “Now, therefore, you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God”
Fourth, you didn’t mention in your response about Yeshua’s words : “This cup is the new covenant in My blood, which is shed for you.”
Is that new covenant in His blood for gentiles? Isn’t that new covenant, the same new covenant mentioned in Jeremiah 31:31-33?
Yes, of course it’s the same New Covenant. Without the New Covenant, Gentiles have no hope, but the set of steps between Jeremiah 31, New Covenant in my blood (Matt. 26:28, Luke 22:20), and the actual realization of the New Covenant upon Messiah’s return is a long and difficult road to navigate in scripture. It took months for me to figure out and a lot of research and I learned even more by listening to Lancaster’s lecture series on the topic recently. I believe what you’re proposing is that if Jews and Gentiles will all be under the same covenant, that makes us identically obligated to the same Torah mitzvot, correct?
If so, there are some caveats. First, we are still living in Old Covenant times. The death and resurrection of Yeshua inaugurated the New Covenant era getting the ball rolling so to speak, but there’s a rather lengthy process until the New Covenant reaches fruition. There are a number of indications in the Prophets that in the Messianic Era, the whole world will be more “Torah compliant,” although to me it’s not entirely clear that each and every one of the 613 commandments will apply in exactly, precisely the same manner to Jews as Gentiles. Otherwise, why not just have everyone convert to Judaism now and be done with it?
Also, as I said before, in a commonwealth of nations, you have multiple and separate countries all under the authority of a single ruling entity, in this case, King Messiah and the nation of Israel. But even as the Commonwealth of the United Kingdom is composed of many countries united under the English government and yet having their own local laws and local rulers, so too will the Commonwealth of Israel be made up of multiple nations (the whole world) with local rulers and local laws. We don’t all get grandfathered into citizenship in national Israel and converted to Judaism.
Yes, we were far off and are now brought near, but “near” doesn’t mean “on top of” or “inside of”. We are near to the covenants of promise but how the conditions of the covenants are applied to different populations vary, especially in the current age.
Oh, and when the Gospel texts say “new covenant,” the oldest existing texts only say “covenant,” so we have to take that into consideration.
As it says in Ephesians, we Gentiles, even though we’ve been brought near, are still considered the “uncircumcision” and the Jews are considered the “circumcision” so that certainly indicates that we aren’t expected to be circumcised (which is a covenant sign of being born or converting to Judaism). We are indeed members of the household of God and citizens of the Commonwealth of Israel, but it’s reading too much into the text to say that infers we then become “Jews without a circumcision.”
As I was saying to Steve on blog post, this doesn’t mean we can’t adopt a significant portion of Jewish religious practice and ritual as long as said-practice doesn’t usurp the unique identity or space occupied by the Jewish people in the plan, covenants, and heart of God. Salvation comes from the Jews and we Gentiles are grafted into the commonwealth only by God’s grace. Israel still have primacy in the covenants, Old and New.
@James. I agree with all you have just written, which I understand is mostly aimed to the situation in this world, era, Olam HaZeh.
In my first comment, I quoted PL “in that future Pesa’h scenario”.
My point is, in that future scenario, something REALLY BIG will happen to all of us, jewish and gentile people.
Can we be sure to rule out any outcome of such event? Will the Torah written in our hearts (both jewish and gentile) will make us walk in G-d’s ways? All ways? Some ways? Which ways?
Why would G-d place the Torah in our gentile hearts at that time? Don’t we have already the Noahide Laws for us gentiles? If that is enough covenant for us gentiles in this world and in the next, why Paul had to bother talking and writing to gentiles about anything else? Why Paul’s letters addressed to gentiles did not focus at Noahide Laws and explain them clearly to us?
I think that there’s more than the Noahide Laws for us gentiles. Paul truly ended being beaten almost to death every time when he chose to speak to jewish audiences on the subject.
The Noahide laws are incumbent upon the entire human race but they don’t really define a relationship between man and God so much as define a set of social behaviors between man and man, and man and his environment. If they were sufficient, then Paul would not have been made an emissary to the Gentiles and Peter wouldn’t have witnessed that Gentiles can too receive the Holy Spirit and thus be saved. I believe that the Torah (“instructions”) of God are being written on all hearts who have repented and accepted servanthood to God through Messiah Yeshua, but exactly how that will be enacted in the coming Messianic Age, I don’t know for sure in all the details.