The Nagging Question, Part 3

The history of Adam’s race is sad and glorious, often at the same time. The image bearers of God have walked through the beauty and the darkness of the world and carried the consequences of sin for many long millennia. The history of the Nation of Israel is the best and worst of all. Sin worked its foul evil in Israel too; the house of David was rocked with tragedy and death. David committed adultery, David’s own son rebelled against him. Mighty and wise Solomon forgot his God and followed the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes in his alien wives as is recorded in I Kings 11, resulting in the momentous and awful words of verses eleven to thirteen:

11: Wherefore the LORD said unto Solomon, Forasmuch as this is done of thee, and thou hast not kept my covenant and my statutes, which I have commanded thee, I will surely rend the kingdom from thee, and will give it to thy servant.
12: Notwithstanding in thy days I will not do it for David thy father’s sake: but I will rend it out of the hand of thy son.
13: Howbeit I will not rend away all the kingdom; but will give one tribe to thy son for David my servant’s sake, and for Jerusalem’s sake which I have chosen.

The Sovereign God’s plan takes another turn after the death of Solomon, as the sins of the fathers fall on the heads of the children. But God remains faithful to his Covenant. The Kingdom was divided under Rehoboam, with Judah, Benjamin, and most of the Levites going to the Southern Kingdom, afterwards known as Judah. A man named Jeroboam, of the tribe of Ephraim (I Kings 11: 26-32) became the king of the Northern Kingdom, afterwards known by the old name of Israel, and often colloquially as Ephraim, for the promise was coming to fruition; to wit, his seed shall become a multitude of nations. Afterwards, the two were often at odds, playing out a tragic fratricide for centuries. It is in this mix our next clues are found.

A corollary to the question “Who is Israel?” must be “Who are the Jews?” The words are not synonymous, as it is now time to demonstrate. II Kings 16: 1-6 records -

1: In the seventeenth year of Pekah the son of Remaliah Ahaz the son of Jotham king of Judah began to reign.
2: Twenty years old was Ahaz when he began to reign, and reigned sixteen years in Jerusalem, and did not that which was right in the sight of the LORD his God, like David his father.
3: But he walked in the way of the kings of Israel, yea, and made his son to pass through the fire, according to the abominations of the heathen, whom the LORD cast out from before the children of Israel.
4: And he sacrificed and burnt incense in the high places, and on the hills, and under every green tree.
5: Then Rezin king of Syria and Pekah son of Remaliah king of Israel came up to Jerusalem to war: and they besieged Ahaz, but could not overcome him.
6: At that time Rezin king of Syria recovered Elath to Syria, and drave the Jews from Elath: and the Syrians came to Elath, and dwelt there unto this day.

There are three kings: a King of Judah, a King of Israel, and a King of Syria. The Kings of Israel and Syria are in alliance against Judah, resulting in the King of Syria driving the Jews from Elath and recovering it to Syria. Now, if, as is commonly taught, “the Jews” are synonymous with “Israel,” then Rezin must have turned on his ally! At the least, this would evidence confusion in the text. Surely the Holy Spirit can use the correct word to convey the intended meaning. Actually, the word rendered “Jews” is Yhuwdiy, Strong’s number 3064, defined as “a Jehudite (i.e. Judaite or Jew), or descendant of Jehudah (i.e. Judah) — Jew.” There is some confusion and redundancy here, as the word can mean either a descendent of Judah, or someone living in the land of Judah regardless of their ancestry. At any rate, 5/6 of the nation of Israel could never possibly be known as “Jews” as they neither dwelt in Judah nor were descended from the patriarch Judah. They ought not be called Jews today. Why, then, do we hear the word used as such? Can it be ignorance or is something darker at work?  To be continued. . .

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