Who is Israel?

Most people fail to even give the lineage of Abraham even a second thought. We all sing the child hood song that we are one of his sons but do we even know what that means? Abraham had 2 sons Ishmael and Isaac. Ishmael was a son that was born to Abraham through Sarah’s hand maid Hagar. He was blessed and was prophesied to have several kings to come from his lineage but it was Isaac that Gods blessing would go through. Isaac then has 2 sons Jacob and Esau. Although Esau was the eldest he did not receive the birthright nor did he receive the blessing. Some will say that this was done through scheming of his mother but it was told to her even before the twins were born. "The older would serve the younger".

Genesis 25:23 And the LORD said unto her, two nations are in thy womb, and two manner of people shall be separated from thy bowels; and the one people shall be stronger than the other people; and the elder shall serve the younger.

Jacob had 12 sons. After wrestling with an angel his name changed from Jacob to Israel.

Genesis 32:27 And he said unto him, what is thy name? And he said, Jacob.

Genesis 32:28 and he said, Thy name shall be called no more Jacob, but Israel: for as a prince hast thou power with God and with men, and hast prevailed.

His sons and their decedents then became known as the 12 tribes of Israel. Before his death he blessed Josephs 2 sons Manasseh and Ephraim. He crossed his hands and placed his hand on the youngest. Joseph thinking he was not seeing properly in his old age, tried to fix it so that he would have his hand on his eldest son Manasseh, but Jacob instructed him that he knew what he was doing and that Ephraim would become a multitude of nations. There by adopting them into his family. It was the younger who received the blessing of great multiplication of his seed. So much so that his see would inhabit a many of nations.

Commonly Israel meaning the Northern tribes is referred to as Ephraim because they were the largest of the tribes. The Northern tribes were Reuben, Siemion, Issachar, Zebululon, Dan, Naphtah, Gad, Asher, half of Levi, and Joseph ( which included Ephraim and Manasseh). The southern tribes were Judah, Benjamin and half of the tribe of Levi.

Joshua 18:5 And they shall divide it into seven parts: Judah shall abide in their coast on the south, and the house of Joseph shall abide in their coasts on the north.

Genesis 48:13 And Joseph took them both, Ephraim in his right hand toward Israel's left hand, and Manasseh in his left hand toward Israel's right hand, and brought them near unto him.

Genesis 48:14 And Israel stretched out his right hand, and laid it upon Ephraim's head, who was the younger, and his left hand upon Manasseh's head, guiding his hands wittingly; for Manasseh was the firstborn.

Genesis 48:15 And he blessed Joseph, and said, God, before whom my fathers Abraham and Isaac did walk, the God which fed me all my life long unto this day,

Genesis 48:16 The Angel which redeemed me from all evil, bless the lads; and let my name be named on them, and the name of my fathers Abraham and Isaac; and let them grow into a multitude in the midst of the earth.

Genesis 48:17 And when Joseph saw that his father laid his right hand upon the head of Ephraim, it displeased him: and he held up his father's hand, to remove it from Ephraim's head unto Manasseh's head.

Genesis 48:18 And Joseph said unto his father, not so, my father: for this is the firstborn; put thy right hand upon his head.

Genesis 48:19 And his father refused, and said, I know it, my son, I know it: he also shall become a people, and he also shall be great: but truly his younger brother shall be greater than he, and his seed shall become a multitude of nations.

Genesis 48:20 And he blessed them that day, saying, In thee shall Israel bless, saying, God make thee as Ephraim and as Manasseh: and he set Ephraim before Manasseh.

It is a lot of lineage to sift through but we serve the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob so we should at least have some clue as to who these people are. There will come a day when the two houses (as they are revered to) will come together again.

Ezekiel 37:15 The word of the LORD came again unto me, saying,

Ezekiel 37:16 Moreover, thou son of man, take thee one stick, and write upon it, For Judah, and for the children of Israel his companions: then take another stick, and write upon it, For Joseph, the stick of Ephraim, and for all the house of Israel his companions:

Ezekiel 37:17 And join them one to another into one stick; and they shall become one in thine hand.

Ezekiel 37:18 And when the children of thy people shall speak unto thee, saying, Wilt thou not show us what thou meanest by these?

Ezekiel 37:19 Say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I will take the stick of Joseph, which is in the hand of Ephraim, and the tribes of Israel his fellows, and will put them with him, even with the stick of Judah, and make them one stick, and they shall be one in mine hand.

Ezekiel 37:20 And the sticks whereon thou writest shall be in thine hand before their eyes.

Ezekiel 37:21 And say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I will take the children of Israel from among the heathen, whither they be gone, and will gather them on every side, and bring them into their own land:

Ezekiel 37:22 And I will make them one nation in the land upon the mountains of Israel; and one king shall be king to them all: and they shall be no more two nations, neither shall they be divided into two kingdoms any more at all:

Ezekiel 37:23 Neither shall they defile themselves any more with their idols, nor with their detestable things, nor with any of their transgressions: but I will save them out of all their dwelling places, wherein they have sinned, and will cleanse them: so shall they be my people, and I will be their God.

Ezekiel 37:24 And David my servant shall be king over them; and they all shall have one shepherd: they shall also walk in my judgments, and observe my statutes, and do them.

Ezekiel 37:25 And they shall dwell in the land that I have given unto Jacob my servant, wherein your fathers have dwelt; and they shall dwell therein, even they, and their children, and their children's children forever: and my servant David shall be their prince forever.

Ezekiel 37:26 Moreover I will make a covenant of peace with them; it shall be an everlasting covenant with them: and I will place them, and multiply them, and will set my sanctuary in the midst of them forevermore.

Ezekiel 37:27 My tabernacle also shall be with them: yea, I will be their God, and they shall be my people.

Ezekiel 37:28 And the heathen shall know that I the LORD do sanctify Israel, when my sanctuary shall be in the midst of them forevermore.

The “church” need not put themselves above Israel or say that they have “replaced” Israel.

Romans 11:17 And if some of the branches be broken off, and thou, being a wild olive tree, wert grafted in among them, and with them partakest of the root and fatness of the olive tree;

Romans 11:18 Boast not against the branches. But if thou boast, thou bearest not the root, but the root thee.

Romans 11:19 Thou wilt say then, The branches were broken off, that I might be grafted in.

Romans 11:20 Well; because of unbelief they were broken off, and thou standest by faith. Be not high-minded, but fear:

Romans 11:21 For if God spared not the natural branches, take heed lest he also spare not thee.

Romans 11:22 Behold therefore the goodness and severity of God: on them which fell, severity; but toward thee, goodness, if thou continue in his goodness: otherwise thou also shalt be cut off.

Romans 11:11 I say then, Have they stumbled that they should fall? God forbid: but rather through their fall salvation is come unto the Gentiles, for to provoke them to jealousy.

Romans 11:25 For I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this mystery, lest ye should be wise in your own conceits; that blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fullness of the Gentiles be come in.

Galatians 3:6 Even as Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness.

Galatians 3:7 Know ye therefore that they which are of faith, the same are the children of Abraham

Galatians 3:15 Brethren, I speak after the manner of men; Though it be but a man's covenant, yet if it be confirmed, no man disannulleth, or addeth thereto.

Galatians 3:16 Now to Abraham and his seed were the promises made. He saith not, And to seeds, as of many; but as of one, And to thy seed, which is Christ.

Galatians 3:17 And this I say, that the covenant, that was confirmed before of God in Christ, the law, which was four hundred and thirty years after, cannot disannul, that it should make the promise of none effect.

Galatians 3:29 And if ye be Christ's, then are ye Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise.

You just have to remember that Judah is our brother and that we should respect them and love them. One of the ways that they will come to know Jesus as Messiah is through our example. We are not here to judge or condemn, we are to follow in the example of Jesus and to be a light to others.