Who Are the People of the Bible?
Here are some different terms that are used to describe Yehovah's people throughout the scriptures:
- Hebrew
- Israel
- Ephraim
- Judah
- Jew
- Church
Let's begin with Abraham. Believe it or not, Abraham was not a Jew. He grew up in Ur of the Chaldeans (Gen 11:31). That means Abraham was from the area we know today as Iraq. The word Hebrew in the language of Hebrew means "crosses over." Abraham crossed over the desert to Canaan physically, and he crossed over from pagan worship to the worship of the One True God as well. Abraham was a Hebrew.
Jacob, Abraham's grandson, struggled with God and with men...and overcame (Gen 32:29). Yehovah gave Jacob a new name: Israel. Israel is defined in this scripture as meaning "one who struggles with God." Jacob/Israel had 12 sons who became the 12 tribes of Israel. These 12 tribes were built into a nation during their years of slavery in Egypt. Israel went down into Egypt as a family and emerged as a nation.
Before Jacob died, he blessed his sons. If you begin counting the blessings (Gen 48:1-49:33), you will find that he blessed 14 sons. That is because Jacob adopted Joseph's two sons Manasseh and Ephraim and blessed them as his own. From the moment of their adoption, both Manasseh and Ephraim were give full rights and responsibilities as sons of Jacob/Israel. So Ephraim, through adoption, becomes the son of Jacob/Israel and one of the tribes that makes the nation of Israel at the time of the exodus. When the kingdom divides into the northern and southern kingdoms, Ephraim becomes the the dominant tribe of the northern kingdom. While the northern kingdom is made of many tribes (all but Judah and Benjamin), it is called Israel or Ephraim and even sometimes Joseph (interchangeably) in the scriptures.
Judah is one of the 12 sons of Israel. He is particularly special throughout history because his becomes the royal line. He boasts David and Yeshua in his bloodline (Gen 49:10). When the kingdom divides into the northern and southern kingdoms, Judah is the dominant tribe in the southern kingdom. The people in the southern kingdom, while made up of Judah, Benjamin, Levi, and a remnant from the other tribes, become known simply as Judah.
The northern kingdom of Ephraim/Israel was marched off by the Assyrians...and to this day they have never returned. They lost their identity in the nations of the gentiles, and many refer to them as the lost tribes of Israel. While they do not know who they are, Yehovah surely does. The southern kingdom of Judah/Israel was marched off by the Babylonians, returned to the land, and then conquered by Rome. Through their trials, Judah has maintained their identity while living in different countries throughout the world as a people without a land. In 1948, that changed, as the State of Isreal was resurrected. (At the time of this writing, Israel's 70th birthday is upon us!) For the last 70 years, descendants of Judah (Judah, Levi, Benjamin, and the remnant of the other tribes that moved into the southern kingdom) from around the world have been returning to their homeland to live. They are the people who are known today as Jews.
Yeshua is Israel's Messiah (all the tribes). Without getting too complicated, I will say that the keeping of the Torah was supposed to point all of Israel to recognize Yeshua. Due to their sin, they were unable to recognize Him. (Don't be too hard on them. Are we without sin?) Their eyes were blinded and their ears had grown dull. However, a remnant did recognize and accept Yeshua's free gift of salvation. That remnant of Judah (remember the other tribes were already dispersed by then) shared that good news with other Jews (Judah), and eventually Paul took the good news of salvation to the gentiles. All (Jew, Israel/Ephraim, and gentile) who have accepted Yeshua's free gift of salvation by faith and follow Him in obedience are grafted into the Commonwealth of Israel. Israel used in this way means those from Judah (Judah, Benjamin and Levi), Ephraim (all the other tribes), and the nations (gentiles) that are in covenant with YHVH through accepting the Messiah in faith...just like Abraham did.
Is this complicated?
Yes, somewhat.
Does it matter?
Absolutely!
The. Church. Has. Not. Replaced. Israel. It. Has. Been. Grafted. In.
The church is not some "spiritual Israel replacement" as many have been taught. Israel's promises have not been revoked and instead given to the church. We are told throughout scripture that Israel will be restored (Hosea 14).
I challenge you to read God's Word from cover to cover. You will find that Yehovah has reserved a remnant from Judah and Ephraim and that Israel (all tribes) and the gentiles who have faith in Yeshua will be joined together through the process of grafting (Romans 11). It has been Yehovah's plan all along to offer salvation through faith in Yeshua to all nations. This is good news!!
Reading. God's. Word. Will. Change. You.
Don't just rely on a sermon to give you everything you need. Pastors have a very limited amount of time each week to teach. Additionally, you need to read The Word for yourself and pray to ask the Holy Spirit to teach you. You will emerge from such a discipline a wiser and more knowledgeable person...and your faith will GROW. That's a promise!
If you decide to take a journey through the bible, please let me know. I will be so honored to pray for you. Thank you for reading!
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