HEBREWS / ISRAELITES / JEWS — Why Did God Choose Them?
The LORD chose Abraham because he was an extraordinary man of faith (Romans 4:11). Abraham originally hailed from Ur of the Chaldeans, a city of moon worshippers in the lower Mesopotamian region near the mouth of the Euphrates River (Genesis 11:28), not far from modern-day Baghdad. This is today southeastern Iraq, which is the center of what is we know as the Middle East.
God called Abram and his wife Sarai — later renamed Abraham & Sarah — to leave the moon worshipping culture of Ur and travel some 900 miles West to Canaan (650 miles due West), which was eventually the Promised Land of the Hebrews, aka Israel (Genesis 12:1). The LORD would not give this land over to them until the sin of the Canaanites had reached its full measure thus incurring God’s judgment; the land, in essence, spewing them out (Genesis 15:16 & Leviticus 18:28).
Semites, Hebrews, Israelites, Jews
Noah’s son Shem produced the Semitic peoples (Genesis 10:21-31), which includes Moabites, Assyrians/Chaldeans, Arabs and Hebrews, amongst others.
Abram (Abraham) is plainly referred to as a Hebrew in the Bible (Genesis 14:13), which is Ibri (ib-REE) in the Hebrew language and stems from Shem’s great grandson Eber (Genesis 10:21 & 11:14-17). Abraham sprang from Eber’s line six generations later.
Abraham’s grandson, Jacob, was renamed Israel by the LORD (Genesis 32:28) and Jacob’s twelve sons were the progenitors of the twelve tribes of Israel who were naturally called Israelites. These were God’s “chosen ones” (1 Chronicles 16:13).
By the time of the Babylonian exile, the Hebrews or Israelites were referred to as Jews, which is simply a shortening of Judah, the main southern tribe of Israel (2 Kings 25:25). Judah became the name of the southern kingdom when Israel split into two nations (1 Kings 12:16-17).
After the northern kingdom was taken into exile by the Assyrians in two phases in 740 BC and 711 BC (1 Chronicles 5:26 & 2 Kings 17:5-6), Judah — the southern kingdom — was all that was left of Israel for well over a hundred years. The Babylonian conquest of Judah occurred with several deportations of Judeans between approximately 607-586 BC (2 Kings 24–25).
Both David and Jesus Christ were incidentally from the tribe of Judah (Matthew 1:1). The Greek word for Jew is Ioudaios (ee-oo-DAH-yos) and is used in reference to Hebraic people some 185 times in the New Testament.
While Abraham was Hebrew, he wasn’t an Israelite or Jew because the Israelites wouldn’t exist until the time of his twelve great grandsons, one of which was Judah wherein — again — the term Jew originated much later.
Abraham Was a Gentile
Gentile in the Hebrew is goy (GO-ee) while in the Greek it’s ethnos (ETH-nos), both of which refers to the “nations” or non-Israelites. The Greek word hellén (HEL-layn) technically refers to Greeks, but often figuratively refers to Gentiles — non-Jews around the globe (e.g. Romans 2:9-10).
God’s chosen nation in the Old Covenant was the Israelites (Exodus 6:7, 19:5 & Deuteronomy 7:6). Abraham was technically a Gentile since the Israelites/Jews did not exist yet. While Abraham was the physical forefather of the Israelites/Jews in the inferior Old Covenant, he’s more importantly the father of all believers in the superior New Covenant (Romans 4:11 & Hebrews 8:6). This can be observed here:
16Therefore, the promise comes by faith, so that it may be by grace and may be guaranteed to all Abraham’s offspring—not only to those who are of the law but also to those who have the faith of Abraham. He is the father of us all. 17As it is written: “I have made you a father of many nations.” c He is our father in the sight of God, in whom he believed—the God who gives life to the dead and calls into being things that were not.
18Against all hope, Abraham in hope believed and so became the father of many nations, just as it had been said to him, “So shall your offspring be.” d
Romans 4:16-18
Notice the LORD’s original intention for Abraham:
“No longer will you be called Abram; your name will be Abraham, for I have made you a father of many nations.”
The name ‘Abram‘ means “Exalted father” whereas ‘Abraham‘ means “father of a multitude” or “father of many nations.” God made one nation through the loins of Abraham, Israel, but many nations through the faith of Abraham, which is one global spiritual nation regardless of sectarian tag, i.e. the Church of Jesus Christ (1 Peter 2:9).
Physical Israelites vs. Spiritual Jews
This explains why the Scriptures say that “not all who are descended from Israel are Israel” (Romans 9:6). The same was pointed out by Christ when he told the unbelieving Jews — who prided themselves on being children of Abraham — that, if they were truly Abraham’s offspring, they’d do the things Abraham did, which they didn’t (John 8:39). Thus the Lord told them frankly that the devil was their father (John 8:44).
In short, there are two kinds of Israel:
- The ethnic variety, meaning people physically descended from Abraham.
- The faith-oriented variety, meaning people who have the spirit of faith, i.e. those who turn to God in faith as their father of faith did (Romans 4:17).
There are some people of the first definition who are not of the second. Yet there are some of the second definition who are also of the first, like Paul. Today, you’ll often hear the latter referred to as Messianic Jews.
Those of the second definition are truly “Abraham’s seed” or “Abraham’s offspring” and are thus spiritual Jews, as it is written:
If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.
In other words, it is not the children by physical descent who are God’s children, but it is the children of the promise who are regarded as Abraham’s offspring.
28A person is not a Jew who is one only outwardly, nor is circumcision merely outward and physical. 29No, a person is a Jew who is one inwardly; and circumcision is circumcision of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the written code. Such a person’s praise is not from other people, but from God.
Romans 2:28-29
This isn’t just a New Testament phenomenon as it can also be observed in the Old Testament. For instance, Numbers 13-14 details how Moses sent twelve Hebrews from each tribe into the Promised Land in preparation to take it, but ten came back with a spirit of fear, discouraging the masses, while two had a spirit of faith — Joshua and Caleb (Numbers 14:6-9). The ten doubters were dyed-in-the-wool Hebrews, but they weren’t children of Abraham because they didn’t have a spirit of faith. Joshua and Caleb, by contrast, were Abraham’s true offspring, not just in flesh, but in spirit as well.
For anyone who argues that Gentile believers are not spiritual Jews, you can observe further scriptural proof here.
Why Did God Choose the Israelites/Jews to Reveal the Truth?
The Bible makes it clear that God did not choose Abraham’s descendants — the Israelites/Jews — because they were superior to anyone else on Earth (Deuteronomy 9:4-6). However a couple of obvious things contributed to the LORD’s choice:
- Their capacity to develop an advanced written language.
- Their capacity to preserve vital documents from generation to generation, both of which were necessary for us to have God’s Word today (Romans 3:2, 9:4 & Deuteronomy 4:8).
Another obvious reason the Creator chose this people and the corresponding locale — the proverbial “cradle of civilization” — is because it was the geographical center of the continents, which used to be one supercontinent, Pangaea or Gondwana, before splitting into separate land masses (Genesis 10:25).
Being centrally located, the truths of Judeo-Christianity would more easily spread to the four corners of the Earth and reach:
- The people of the Mediterranean, Europe and northern Asia,
- The people of sub-Saharan Africa,
- The people of the Far East,
- And, eventually, the people of the Western Hemisphere, who are not actually native to the Americas since their progenitors came from East Asia via Beringia to settle in the “New World.”
This illustrates that…
From the Beginning, God’s Plan of Redemption Included ALL Peoples
This can be observed in comparing Matthew’s genealogy of Christ with Luke’s version. Matthew traces Christ’s heritage back to Abraham (Matthew 1:1-17) whereas Luke traces it all the way back to Adam (Luke 3:23-38).
The reason for this difference is that Matthew wrote his account primarily for Hebraic readers while Luke, believed to be a Gentile, wrote primarily to Gentiles with the hope that they would learn that God’s love & truth reach beyond the Israelites/Jews to the entire world. With Luke’s list going all the way back to Adam, the first man (Genesis 2:7 & 1 Corinthians 15:45), it illustrates that the Messiah came for all humanity since every skin-color sprang from Adam’s loins (Romans 3:29-30).
This shows that there is, in essence, only one race, the human race. And since Earth used to be one continent, Pangaea or Gondwana, we’re all native to the same continent, the same Earth, regardless of the fact that the land mass eventually split into several pieces, including thousands of islands (Isaiah 51:5 & 66:19).
Secondly, observe what God said when he called Abram, aka Abraham:
1The LORD had said to Abram, “Go from your country, your people and your father’s household to the land I will show you.
2“I will make you into a great nation,
and I will bless you;
I will make your name great,
and you will be a blessing.
3I will bless those who bless you,
and whoever curses you I will curse;
and all peoples on earth
will be blessed through you.”
Genesis 12:1-3
The Almighty would use Abraham, the father of faith (Romans 4:11), to express his heart and purpose for all peoples of Earth (Galatians 3:8). God’s desire was to redeem humanity from the depths they had fallen after Adam’s sin. Through Abraham, the LORD would send the Messiah to fulfill the awesome plan of redemption for the whole world.
Closing Word
Let me close by stressing something emphasized in the Scriptures:
There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.”
“Jew” refers to the Israelites descended from Abraham while “Gentile” in this context refers to all non-Jewish people. In other words, there is no white, black, brown, yellow or red in Christ Jesus. Believers are all brothers and sisters — spiritual family — in the body of Christ. There’s no place for racism, which of course doesn’t mean you can’t take healthy pride in your physical heritage and culture. Please notice I said healthy pride à la Galatians 6:4, not carnal pride.
The world is obsessed with skin-color and race/racism while believers should be focused on the heart of the individual. It’s why Paul said:
16So from now on we regard no one from a worldly point of view. Though we once regarded Christ in this way, we do so no longer. 17Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!
2 Corinthians 5:16-17
Regarding a person from a worldly point of view means to focus on what’s on the outside, including skin-color. God isn’t like this. The LORD looks to the inside of a person — the heart — as observed when Samuel was trying to discern which one of Jesse’s sons God chose as the next king of Israel:
6When they arrived, Samuel saw Eliab and thought, “Surely the Lord’s anointed stands here before the Lord.”
7But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The Lord does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.”
1 Samuel 16:6-7
Related Topics:
REDEMPTION — God’s Plan of Liberation for Humanity & Creation
The Five Earths of the Bible (and the Eight Ages)
The Three Realms—Heaven, Earth and the Underworld
Mother Earth — What the Bible Says
Was Jesus White, Black or Yellow When He Was on Earth?
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