What does it mean to be Jewish?          

Let me first tell you, I am not Jewish.  I was raised a Christian. However, I was taught at a young age the history of Israel from the Bible.   I have become aware that many people do not know much about the Jewish people. There is even a controversy as to whether  a Jew  is of a nation or of a religion. I am going to attempt to you a Biblical explanation of what I consider to be a Jew. I will not be giving a lot of scripture or even references. I will leave that up to you. I just want to present a simple explanation of what I have come to understand over the years.

Also, let me preface by saying I am not anti-Jewish or anti-semetic in any way. I love the people of the "Book".  As a matter of fact I love all races of people and only judge them on their actions and morals, and at that I am very careful to try to understand a persons background and up-bringing before I make any kind of judgement on whether I like a person or not.

We all know the story of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. YHWH, our Creator and the God of Israel called out this special man Abraham and announced to him that he was going to make a nation of his descendants.

Jacob , his grandson, became known in scriptures as Israel and he had 12 sons.  One of the son's name was Judah.  And this is where we gets the name Jew.  The word "Jew" is referred to  10 times in scripture and 8 of those times is in the book of Esther....once in Jeremiah and once in Zechariah.

The 12 sons, or tribes of Israel came out of Egypt and settled in the land known then as Canaan. This was the land that YHWH had promised the descendants of Jacob. When they arrived they all had assigned land and scattered to take over the land. Judah settled in the land surrounding Jerusalem.  The Levites, or Levi, did not receive an inheritance of land but were dispersed among all the tribes to be teachers.

During the book of Judges we have a fledgling nation that  really seems to be having a tough time of it. The last verse in Judges tells us that they all did what was right in their own eyes, and we do not see much unity.

The Israelites soon came to the priest Samuel and asked for a king like the other nations had. YHWH relented and King Saul was annointed King. Then along came King David. He was successful in uniting the tribes to become the nation of Israel and his son Solomon  finally built a temple to YHWH in Jerusalem that became a centralizing force for the Israelites. At the temple we now have a center for the worship of YHWH on a unified basis and it was a place that the males of the country could come together for a type of reunion to celebrate the feasts to the Most High.

After  the death of King Solomon there was discord among the tribes and a civil war ensued.  The nation of Israel spits into two nations. Very similar to the way the United States split during their Civil War. It was even divided in much the same way , North and South Israel.

Judah was the southern nation, and included Judah, Benjamin, Simeon and many of the Levites as the temple was in Judah's midst.   The northern tribe was called Israel  and included the rest of the tribes of Israel. 

Israel, the northern tribe set up a new capital and built their own temple and changed some dates and times for their festivals and went down a path of rebellion to YHWH. They never had a king that properly obeyed YHWH and pretty much became like many of the surrounding  nations.   YHWH used the Assyrians as a rod of correction and after many years Israel , the northern tribes were taken captive and went up into Assyria. They never returned to the Promised Land  and were eventually dispersed to the four winds.

As for Judah, the southern nation, their kingdom had a little longer in the land. Around 125 years. In those years they had a couple of kings that would revive the old laws that had been delivered to them in the wilderness, but eventually, they too, were taken captive by the Babylonians.  

Judah along with the tribe of Simeon, Benjamin and the surviving tribe of Levi was in captivity for 70 years and then allowed to return. Upon returning they did build another temple.  But , from what I have read and studied they did not return to the old ways set down by Moses. Instead they began a religion called Judaism.  It was  named after the tribe of Judah. Many of the leaders of this new religion were of the tribe of Judah and Levi. And this is when the name for the people in the land at this time began to be called Jews.

Jews have many traditions and strive to base their religion on YHWH's laws.  However, what I will say here is probably very controversial , however, it is what I have come to understand about this time period.  YHWH did not create a religion, He created a government. In that government he was King and to be served. What the Jews created at their return was a religion. It is based on laws and traditions and is an attempt to recreate the way of YHWH.....but they have not created a government.

And this is the rub. YHWH's government included all twelve tribes. He dwelled with them in a sanctuary and was accessed by the priesthood. Today we have no sanctuary and we do not have a functioning priesthood.  We do not have a government of YHWH on this earth.

What we do have is a people that may or may not be descendants of Judah that call themselves Jewish. What they have done for the world is preserve the laws of YHWH's government in the Torah. They have preserved the name of their Elohim/God even though the priest would not allow the use of the name which caused a further separation of the people from Him.

They have, now, resettled the land, but have not done as Israel was commanded to do when they came into the land. The government there is secular and there is no  sanctuary or temple.  YHWH does not rule or govern the land. And there is only a small, very small, portion of the Israelites living there today.

So what does it mean to be Jewish? It means that you belong to a man-made religion based on doctrine. Much like any other of the thousand religions in this world.

Only when all tribes of the Israelites come back together under the leadership of YHWH will we once again have a true government  that will be a light to the nations and will bring peace to this world.  There is a lot that will have to be done. May it begin soon.

 

 

Shalomahava