Latest / truthunedited / Discover the Difference between Jews_ Hebrews and Israelites according to the Bible

Transcript

Discover the Difference between Jews_ Hebrews and Israelites according to the Bible · truthunedited

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: Have you ever been reading your Bible and stopped to
• 0:02
  Speaker 1: wonder who exactly are the Hebrews? Who are the Israelites?
• 0:07
  Speaker 1: And who are the Jews? These names appear again and
• 0:10
  Speaker 1: again throughout Scripture. Sometimes they seem interchangeable. Other times, they
• 0:15
  Speaker 1: carry a very specific meaning. Yet for many Christians today,
• 0:19
  Speaker 1: the distinctions aren't clear. That's what we're going to uncover
• 0:23
  Speaker 1: together in this video. By the time we're finished, you'll
• 0:27
  Speaker 1: understand how the Bible itself defines these three identities and
• 0:32
  Speaker 1: why knowing the difference can strengthen your faith. Jesus said
• 0:37
  Speaker 1: in John 8, 32, you shall know the truth and
• 0:40
  Speaker 1: the truth shall make you free. So stay with me
• 0:44
  Speaker 1: because we're about to trace the journey from Abraham the
• 0:47
  Speaker 1: Hebrew to the children of Israel, and finally, to the
• 0:51
  Speaker 1: Jews of the New Testament. Before we begin, please take
• 0:55
  Speaker 1: a moment to subscribe to this channel and turn on
• 0:58
  Speaker 1: the notification bell. Your support helps this ministry reach more
• 1:01
  Speaker 1: people with the truth of God's Word. Section 2. Who
• 1:06
  Speaker 1: are the Hebrews? The first question we need to answer
• 1:09
  Speaker 1: is this. Who are the Hebrews? The very first time
• 1:12
  Speaker 1: the word Hebrew shows up in Scripture is in Genesis 14.13.
• 1:18
  Speaker 1: which says, Then a fugitive came and told Abram the Hebrew.
• 1:23
  Speaker 1: Out of all the possible titles Abram could have been given,
• 1:26
  Speaker 1: the text specifically calls him Abram the Hebrew. So what
• 1:30
  Speaker 1: does that actually mean? The word Hebrew comes from the
• 1:34
  Speaker 1: Hebrew root word avah, which means to cross over, to
• 1:37
  Speaker 1: pass through, to move from one side to another. This
• 1:41
  Speaker 1: title is connected to Abraham's defining act of obedience. When
• 1:45
  Speaker 1: God called him out of Ur of the Shaldees, and
• 1:48
  Speaker 1: later from Haran, Abraham crossed over the Euphrates River into
• 1:52
  Speaker 1: the land of Canaan. That physical act of crossing over
• 1:56
  Speaker 1: was also symbolic of something greater. He left behind a
• 1:59
  Speaker 1: land of idolatry and entered into a covenant with the
• 2:03
  Speaker 1: one true God. He stepped away from his old identity
• 2:07
  Speaker 1: and into the promise that he would become the father
• 2:10
  Speaker 1: of many nations. So, when you hear Abram the Hebrew,
• 2:14
  Speaker 1: Think of it as a description of the man who
• 2:16
  Speaker 1: crossed over. He crossed from his old life into a
• 2:18
  Speaker 1: new one. From a homeland filled with idols into the
• 2:22
  Speaker 1: land of promise. Hebrew then is not simply an ethnic label.
• 2:27
  Speaker 1: It's a covenant identity. It marks Abraham as someone called
• 2:30
  Speaker 1: out and set apart for God. In Genesis 40.15, while
• 2:35
  Speaker 1: Joseph is in prison in Egypt, he says, I was
• 2:38
  Speaker 1: indeed stolen out of the land of the Hebrews. Joseph
• 2:42
  Speaker 1: identified himself with that covenant family line even though he
• 2:47
  Speaker 1: was in a foreign land, in Exodus 1, when Pharaoh
• 2:50
  Speaker 1: gave the command to kill the male babies. He specifically
• 2:54
  Speaker 1: told it to the Hebrew midwives. The Egyptians clearly recognized
• 2:58
  Speaker 1: the descendants of Abraham as Hebrews. To them, the Hebrews
• 3:01
  Speaker 1: were different, people who worshipped one God instead of many.
• 3:06
  Speaker 1: Throughout much of the Old Testament, the term Hebrew is
• 3:09
  Speaker 1: often used by outsiders when they refer to God's people.
• 3:12
  Speaker 1: Even in 1 Samuel 14.11, the Philistines mock them saying, Behold,
• 3:18
  Speaker 1: the Hebrews are coming out of the holes where they
• 3:20
  Speaker 1: have hidden themselves. In the mouths of the nations, the
• 3:23
  Speaker 1: word carried a sense of separation. These are the ones
• 3:26
  Speaker 1: who have crossed over into a unique identity. So to
• 3:30
  Speaker 1: sum up, Hebrew is the earliest label given to God's people.
• 3:34
  Speaker 1: It's about a covenant. Abraham was called the Hebrew because
• 3:38
  Speaker 1: he left behind everything to follow God. Section three, who
• 3:44
  Speaker 1: are the Israelites? Now let's move to the next question.
• 3:48
  Speaker 1: Who are the Israelites? Abraham's grandson Jacob plays a central
• 3:52
  Speaker 1: role here. In Genesis 32, 28, after wrestling all night
• 3:56
  Speaker 1: with the angel of the Lord, Jacob is given a
• 3:59
  Speaker 1: new name, Israel. The angel tells him, your name shall
• 4:03
  Speaker 1: no longer be Jacob, but Israel. For you have striven
• 4:07
  Speaker 1: with God and with men and have prevailed. From that
• 4:10
  Speaker 1: moment on, Jacob's identity shifts. He is Israel, the one
• 4:15
  Speaker 1: who wrestled with God and overcame. Out of Jacob came
• 4:18
  Speaker 1: 12 sons who became the patriarchs of the 12 tribes
• 4:22
  Speaker 1: of Israel. Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, Zebulun, Joseph, Benjamin, Dan, Naphali, Gad,
• 4:29
  Speaker 1: and Asher. This is where the term Israelite originates. An
• 4:33
  Speaker 1: Israelite is literally a descendant of Jacob, the man renamed Israel.
• 4:38
  Speaker 1: Exodus 1-7 paints a vivid picture of their growth. But
• 4:42
  Speaker 1: the children of Israel were fruitful and increased abundantly, multiplied
• 4:47
  Speaker 1: and grew exceedingly mighty, and the land was filled with them.
• 4:52
  Speaker 1: What began as a single family in Canaan grew into
• 4:55
  Speaker 1: a vast nation in Egypt. When God revealed himself to
• 4:59
  Speaker 1: Moses at the burning bush, he identified himself as the
• 5:03
  Speaker 1: God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. By this name, he
• 5:07
  Speaker 1: tied himself directly to the people of Israel. They are
• 5:11
  Speaker 1: the covenant nation God brought out of Egypt, guided through
• 5:15
  Speaker 1: the wilderness, and led into the promised land. In Deuteronomy 7.6 says,
• 5:20
  Speaker 1: God declares, for you are a holy people to the
• 5:24
  Speaker 1: Lord your God. The Lord your God has chosen you
• 5:27
  Speaker 1: to be a people for himself, a special treasure above
• 5:31
  Speaker 1: all the peoples on the face of the earth. To
• 5:33
  Speaker 1: be an Israelite was to be part of that covenant nation,
• 5:37
  Speaker 1: chosen and set apart. Section 4, The Divided Kingdom, but
• 5:44
  Speaker 1: history took a dramatic turn after the reign of King Solomon.
• 5:48
  Speaker 1: The once united kingdom of Israel split in two. The
• 5:51
  Speaker 1: northern kingdom kept the name Israel and was made up
• 5:55
  Speaker 1: of ten tribes. The southern kingdom was called Judah and
• 5:59
  Speaker 1: consisted of the tribes of Judah, Benjamin, and many Levites
• 6:03
  Speaker 1: who ministered in the temple. Sadly, the northern kingdom fell
• 6:07
  Speaker 1: rapidly into idolatry. They set up golden calves, rejected the
• 6:12
  Speaker 1: temple in Jerusalem, and ignored the warnings of prophets like Elijah, Hosea,
• 6:17
  Speaker 1: and Amos. Eventually, God's judgment came. In 7 to 22 BC,
• 6:24
  Speaker 1: the Assyrians conquered Samaria and carried the northern tribes away
• 6:28
  Speaker 1: into exile. These became known as the Lost Tribes of Israel. Meanwhile,
• 6:33
  Speaker 1: the southern kingdom of Judah endured. Jerusalem remained its capital,
• 6:38
  Speaker 1: and the temple continued to be the center of worship.
• 6:41
  Speaker 1: Though Judah also struggled with sin and rebellion, God preserved
• 6:45
  Speaker 1: them because of his covenant with David in 2 Kings 8.19.
• 6:48
  Speaker 1: It says, Section 5 Who are the Jews? Who are
• 7:11
  Speaker 1: the Jews? The word Jew comes from the name Judah,
• 7:15
  Speaker 1: one of Jacob's twelve sons. In Genesis 49.10, Jacob prophesies
• 7:20
  Speaker 1: over his son Judah, saying, The scepter shall not depart
• 7:23
  Speaker 1: from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet until
• 7:26
  Speaker 1: Shiloh comes, and to him shall be the obedience of
• 7:30
  Speaker 1: the people. From the very beginning, Judah's tribe was marked
• 7:34
  Speaker 1: for leadership. It was out of Judah that the kings
• 7:37
  Speaker 1: of Israel would arise. David, Solomon, and ultimately the Messiah himself,
• 7:43
  Speaker 1: Jesus Christ. When the northern kingdom of Israel was destroyed
• 7:46
  Speaker 1: by Assyria, only Judah remained, and the people of the
• 7:50
  Speaker 1: southern kingdom came to be known collectively as Yehud, the Jews.
• 7:55
  Speaker 1: When Babylon eventually turned its power toward Judah, devastation followed.
• 8:00
  Speaker 1: The 2 Kings 25 describes how Nebuchadnezzar's forces besieged Jerusalem,
• 8:06
  Speaker 1: destroyed the temple, and carried the people into captivity. But
• 8:10
  Speaker 1: even in exile, their identity endured. By the time of
• 8:14
  Speaker 1: the Babylonian exile, the name Jew had become the most
• 8:18
  Speaker 1: common label for God's covenant people. Ezra 4.12 records the
• 8:24
  Speaker 1: enemies of God's people writing to the Persian king, saying,
• 8:28
  Speaker 1: Let it be known to the king that the Jews
• 8:31
  Speaker 1: who came up from you have come to us at Jerusalem.
• 8:34
  Speaker 1: They are rebuilding the rebellious and evil city. Even the
• 8:38
  Speaker 1: book of Esther consistently uses the word Jew. Esther 2.5 says,
• 8:43
  Speaker 1: In Shushan, the citadel, there was a certain Jew whose
• 8:47
  Speaker 1: name was Morde, the son of Jer, the son of Shem,
• 8:51
  Speaker 1: the son of Kish, the Benjamite. Moriah was from the
• 8:55
  Speaker 1: tribe of Benjamin, not Judah, and yet he was still
• 8:58
  Speaker 1: called a Jew. By this time, the name Jew no
• 9:02
  Speaker 1: longer applied only to those from Judah's tribe. Instead, it
• 9:06
  Speaker 1: had become the umbrella term for all those who belonged
• 9:09
  Speaker 1: to the covenant people of the southern kingdom. Section 6,
• 9:14
  Speaker 1: Jews in the New Testament. Fast forward to the New Testament,
• 9:18
  Speaker 1: and you'll see how this title dominated. When the wise
• 9:22
  Speaker 1: men arrived in Jerusalem, they asked in Matthew 2.2, Where
• 9:26
  Speaker 1: is he who has been born King of the Jews?
• 9:29
  Speaker 1: At Jesus' trial, Pilate asked him directly in John 18.33,
• 9:32
  Speaker 1: Are you the King of the Jews? when Jesus was
• 9:36
  Speaker 1: crucified the sign above his head declared in Matthew 27
• 9:40
  Speaker 1: 37 this is Jesus the king of the Jews from
• 9:45
  Speaker 1: his birth to his death Jesus was consistently identified as
• 9:49
  Speaker 1: a Jew the son of David the heir of Judah's
• 9:53
  Speaker 1: line Hebrew begins with Abraham the one who crossed over
• 9:57
  Speaker 1: Israelite begins with Jacob the one who wrestled with God
• 10:01
  Speaker 1: and whose family became a nation. Jew begins with Judah,
• 10:05
  Speaker 1: the tribe that endured, preserved through exile, and gave the
• 10:09
  Speaker 1: world the Messiah. The Apostle Paul himself illustrates how these
• 10:14
  Speaker 1: identities overlap. In Romans 11.1, Paul writes, For I also
• 10:19
  Speaker 1: am an Israelite of the seed of Abraham, of the
• 10:22
  Speaker 1: tribe of Benjamin. Here Paul is making three claims about
• 10:26
  Speaker 1: who he is. He's an Israelite, a descendant of Jacob.
• 10:30
  Speaker 1: He's of the seed of Abraham, connecting back to the Hebrews.
• 10:34
  Speaker 1: And he's of the tribe of Benjamin, which marked him
• 10:37
  Speaker 1: as a Jew. In Philippians 3.5, Paul describes himself as
• 10:42
  Speaker 1: circumcised on the eighth day of the stock of Israel,
• 10:46
  Speaker 1: of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of the Hebrews,
• 10:49
  Speaker 1: concerning the law, a Pharisee. He embraces all three identities.
• 10:54
  Speaker 1: In Paul's story, we see how all three terms can
• 10:57
  Speaker 1: be true at once, but each shines light on a
• 11:00
  Speaker 1: different layer of his identity. Section 8, Bringing It All Together.
• 11:05
  Speaker 1: Now that we've defined each one, let's bring it together.
• 11:09
  Speaker 1: The title Hebrew... takes us back to Abraham. Genesis 14.13
• 11:13
  Speaker 1: calls him Abram the Hebrew. This was the earliest identity
• 11:17
  Speaker 1: of God's people. Every descendant of Abraham through Isaac and
• 11:21
  Speaker 1: Jacob could be called a Hebrew. But remember, Abraham also
• 11:25
  Speaker 1: had other descendants like Ishmael and Esau. They too were Hebrews.
• 11:30
  Speaker 1: That means not every Hebrew is an Israelite. The title
• 11:33
  Speaker 1: Israelite narrows the focus. This name is tied specifically to Jacob,
• 11:38
  Speaker 1: the man renamed Israel. From his twelve sons came the
• 11:42
  Speaker 1: twelve tribes of Israel. An Israelite was a member of
• 11:45
  Speaker 1: that covenant nation descended from Jacob. The title Jew is
• 11:49
  Speaker 1: the narrowest of the three. It originates from Judah, whose
• 11:54
  Speaker 1: descendants formed the southern kingdom after Israel split. When the
• 11:58
  Speaker 1: northern tribes were exiled, only Judah, Benjamin, and the Levites remained.
• 12:02
  Speaker 1: By the New Testament era, Jew had become the universal
• 12:06
  Speaker 1: label for God's people. Think of it this way. Every
• 12:09
  Speaker 1: Jew is an Israelite because they descend from Jacob's family.
• 12:14
  Speaker 1: Every Israelite is a Hebrew because they descend from Abraham.
• 12:18
  Speaker 1: But not every Hebrew is an Israelite, and not every
• 12:21
  Speaker 1: Israelite is a Jew. These three names are layers of identity.
• 12:25
  Speaker 1: Hebrew speaks of origin. Israelite speaks of nationhood. Jew speak
• 12:30
  Speaker 1: of survival and continuity. Each term tells part of the
• 12:33
  Speaker 1: larger story of how God kept his promises from Abraham
• 12:37
  Speaker 1: to Jacob, to Judah, and ultimately to Christ. Revelation 5.5 declares,
• 12:42
  Speaker 1: That Lion of Judah, Jesus, is the ultimate fulfillment of
• 12:45
  Speaker 1: them all. Section 10. Unity in Christ, Galatians 3, 28-29 says,
• 13:03
  Speaker 1: There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male
• 13:07
  Speaker 1: nor female. For you are all one in Christ Jesus.
• 13:10
  Speaker 1: And if you are Christ's, then you are Abraham's seed
• 13:14
  Speaker 1: and heirs, according to the promise. If you belong to Christ,
• 13:18
  Speaker 1: you are counted as Abraham's seed through faith, not bloodline.
• 13:23
  Speaker 1: The promises given to Abraham, Israel, and the Jews now
• 13:27
  Speaker 1: flow to us through Christ. Genesis 15 6 tells us
• 13:31
  Speaker 1: that Abraham believed in the Lord and he accounted it
• 13:34
  Speaker 1: to him for righteousness. That same blessing of justification by
• 13:39
  Speaker 1: faith is ours in Christ. Romans 9 6 says, For
• 13:43
  Speaker 1: they are not all Israel who are of Israel. True
• 13:46
  Speaker 1: Israel has always been defined by faith. Ephesians 2 19 says,
• 13:50
  Speaker 1: You are no longer strangers and foreigners. but fellow citizens
• 13:54
  Speaker 1: with the saints and members of the household of God.
• 13:57
  Speaker 1: You don't need Abraham's bloodline to be part of God's family.
• 14:02
  Speaker 1: You need to be born again in Christ. Each of
• 14:05
  Speaker 1: these identities points us to Jesus Christ. He is the
• 14:09
  Speaker 1: fulfillment of every promise. As a Hebrew, Jesus fulfills Abraham's covenant.
• 14:15
  Speaker 1: Galatians 3.16 says, To your seed who is Christ, Jesus
• 14:20
  Speaker 1: is the promised seed through whom all nations are blessed.
• 14:24
  Speaker 1: As an Israelite, Jesus fulfills the promises given to Jacob.
• 14:28
  Speaker 1: Matthew 2.6 says, A ruler will come who will shepherd
• 14:31
  Speaker 1: my people Israel. Jesus is that shepherd who obeyed perfectly
• 14:36
  Speaker 1: where Israel failed. As a Jew, Jesus fulfills the promises
• 14:41
  Speaker 1: given to Judah. Revelation 5.5 declares, Behold, the lion of
• 14:47
  Speaker 1: the tribe of Judah has prevailed. Jesus is the Lion
• 14:51
  Speaker 1: of Judah, the rightful heir to David's throne, the Messiah
• 14:55
  Speaker 1: in him, the story of Abraham Jacob. And Judah come together.
• 15:00
  Speaker 1: Through Christ you inherit the blessings of Abraham. Share in
• 15:04
  Speaker 1: the promises to Israel and enter into the hope of
• 15:07
  Speaker 1: the Jews. Section 12 Conclusion The Hebrews were the family
• 15:12
  Speaker 1: of faith, a people who crossed over with Abraham. The
• 15:16
  Speaker 1: Israelites were the covenant nation, born from Jacob, the man
• 15:20
  Speaker 1: who wrestled with God and prevailed. The Jews were the
• 15:24
  Speaker 1: tribe of Judah, the royal line through which the Messiah came.
• 15:28
  Speaker 1: But through Jesus Christ, all three stories meet. And through him,
• 15:33
  Speaker 1: you are invited into that same covenant promise. By faith,
• 15:37
  Speaker 1: not bloodline, you are part of God's eternal family. Faith,
• 15:42
  Speaker 1: not heritage, is what defines the true children of God.
• 15:46
  Speaker 1: The next time you read your Bible and see the
• 15:48
  Speaker 1: words Hebrew, Israelite, or Jew, remember this. Every one of
• 15:53
  Speaker 1: those paths leads to a single name, Jesus Christ. In him,
• 15:59
  Speaker 1: you are grafted into the covenant, adopted into the promise,
• 16:03
  Speaker 1: and sealed with the same faith that began with Abraham.
• 16:07
  Speaker 1: If this teaching has opened your eyes, like this video, subscribe,
• 16:11
  Speaker 1: and share it to help more people discover the truth
• 16:14
  Speaker 1: of God's word. Drop a comment below. I am Abraham's
• 16:18
  Speaker 1: seed through Christ. Until next time, may the Lord bless you.
• 16:23
  Speaker 1: And always remember, in Jesus, the Hebrew of Hebrews, the
• 16:27
  Speaker 1: true Israelite, and the Lion of Judah, you are a
• 16:30
  Speaker 1: child of promise. God bless you.