Not
all of Israel is Judean
By Eric William King
Jacob (God’s servant) had twelve sons and
only one of those sons produced the Jewish people - when we get technical. Jews are literally from the tribe of Judea. Apostle
Paul was a Benjamite from the tribe of Benjamin who converted to Judaism which back then was the
religious sect of Pharisees (Galatians
1:13).
Jacob had
twelve sons and a daughter by his wives and their maids (Genesis ch.29-39).
His father was Isaac and
his mother, Rebecca. Jacob was a twin brother; his brother’s
name was Esau. Jacob becomes the patronymic of Israelites.
Since May 14th
1948 Israel again became a legitimate nation and many Jews have returned to
their own land. This was a great and
glorious fulfillment of Biblical prophecy. God promised the restoration of
the nation of Israel. Today when we think of Jewish people we lump all the 12
original tribes together and call them all “Jew”. It is true that all twelve
tribes have now been categorized generically as Jews.
When we go
strictly by Sola Scriptura (the Word of God alone) we see
a very different picture developing. Really only those from the tribe of Judah
make up the literal Jewish people. So what happened to the other eleven tribes?
When we read our Bible’s we find that when the Kingdom of Israel split Judah
and Benjamin along with some Levites formed the Southern kingdom called Judea (Yehudim) and the rest of the tribes formed Israel
(the northern kingdom).
So
technically speaking, after the split Israelites
are NOT Jews. The Jews remained in Jerusalem.
When we say
Israel sometimes we include all twelve tribes because Israel (Jacob) is the
father of all twelve tribes. In this sense of course all twelve tribes make up
literal Israel. If you look in the back of your Bible you might find a map that
shows the Judea (Jews) and Israel were once completely different nations.
Some from the
other tribes went back to Jerusalem but the main portion of the other ten
tribes eventually migrated over the Caucus Mountains and
spread throughout Europe. So much of literal Israel lost its identity through
captivity. The ancient ten tribes have become lost to the secular historians
but not to God. God says through Amos the prophet;
“Behold, the eyes of the Lord God are
on the sinful kingdom, and I will destroy it from the face of the earth; yet I
will not utterly destroy the house of Jacob,’ says the Lord. ‘For surely I
will command, and will sift the house of Israel among all nations, as grain is
sifted in a sieve; yet not the smallest grain shall fall to the ground.” (Amos
9:8-9)
Not all
twelve tribes come from the same mother so DNA
would be different amongst the tribes. All of this is fascinating to think
about. Most Christians don’t contemplate such things. To me and most Christians
we realize that ALL Scripture is important so understanding what happened to
ancient Israel contains moral lessons for us as well as historical facts about
who we are today as Christians.
Ten Tribes of Israel
Migrated
There was a
400 year gap in between the Old and New Testament so the language and much of
the culture had changed by the time of Jesus Christ. During this 400 year gap “The
Apocryphal” writings were written and compiled. We find some
important history regarding the migration of the ten tribes found in the “Book of 2nd Esdras” which was
written a century before the time of Jesus (Yeshua). We
read;
“Those ten tribes, which were carried
away prisoners out of their own land…and he [Shalmaneser], carried them over
waters, and so came they into another land. But they took this counsel
among themselves, that they would leave the multitude of the heathen, and go
forth into a further country, where never mankind dwelt…And they entered
into Euphrates by the narrow passages of the river.” (2nd Esdras
13:40-43)
This is
interesting and for some it is very controversial history. Some heretical
teachers developed these facts into a doctrine known as “Anglo-Israelism”. I do
not teach what has popularly become known as “Anglo-Israelism”. Here at “The
Shepherds Way” ministry we teach only the facts. We have been blessed with a
great historical library that we use in our research. It is important for today’s
Christians to be more aware of what they believe in. In this information age so
much error is prevalent on the internet that you really have to do your own
research to get the straight truth of anything. I encourage you to do research
on what we teach here. Always test everything by the
Living Word of God.
I have much
more to say about this topic but this was to whet your appetite. I truly
believe that Christians want the facts. Some of the facts get very
controversial regarding Bible topics but as long as we are honest with God and ourselves
we will always be doing and accepting that which pleases God. God’s
Word…the Holy Bible is our ultimate “fact book”.
Stay with us
here at “The Shepherds Way” and “Nugget of Truth”
and get facts.
Resting in
the finished work of my savior, Jesus Christ.
Eric William
King (June 4th 2020)
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