Old Testament Survey #3

Chapter 3 – Before They Become A People

Our study of the Old Testament is really a study of a people and nation called Israel. The region of land considered Israel today did not exist as a state/nation from the exile (740 [Israel – North] & 580 [Judah – South] BC) until 1948. The region was known by many names, depending on the conquering nation, it eventually became known as Palestine. The Jewish people, to this day, always saw this land as Judah.

The word “Jew” (in Hebrew, “Yehudi”) is derived from the name Judah, which was the name of one of Jacob’s twelve sons.

The terms Jew, Hebrew and Israelite are often used interchangeably, but technically:

• Jew = Tribe of Judah
• Hebrew = Semitic language spoken
• Israelite = Homeland is the nation Israel

God did not choose Israel He chose Abraham and as a result of Abraham’s seed (Isaac -> Jacob (Israel) -> the Nation called Israel came into existence.

Why was Israel chosen by God out of all the nations at the time?

“For you are a holy (separated for His Purpose) people to the Lord your God; the Lord your God has chosen you to be a people for Himself, a special treasure above all the peoples on the face of the earth. 7 The Lord did not set His love on you nor choose you because you were more in number than any other people, for you were the least of all peoples; 8 but because the Lord loves you, and because He would keep the oath which He swore to your fathers (Abraham, Isaac and Jacob), the Lord has brought you out with a mighty hand, and redeemed you from the house of bondage, from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt. (Deuteronomy 7:6-8 NKJVS)

God chose Israel because He had promised Abraham that his descendants would become a great nation (see Genesis 12:3, 7; 17:4, 7-8; 22:17). Abraham and his descendants were blessed because of Abraham’s faith which resulted in obedience to God’s law (see Genesis 26:3-5). This same promise was repeated to Abraham’s descendants (see Genesis 17:21; 26:24; 28:1-4, 13).

And the Lord said, “Shall I hide from Abraham what I am doing, 18 since Abraham shall surely become a great and mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth shall be blessed in him? 19 For I have known him, in order that he may command his children and his household after him, that they keep the way of the Lord, to do righteousness and justice, that the Lord may bring to Abraham what He has spoken to him (Genesis 18:17-19 NKJVS)

The Messiah would come through the line of Judah.

Isaac Prophesizes over Judah on his deathbed, “Judah, you are he whom your brothers shall praise; Your hand shall be on the neck of your enemies; Your father’s children shall bow down before you. 9 Judah is a lion ‘s whelp; From the prey, my son, you have gone up. He bows down, he lies down as a lion; And as a lion, who shall rouse him? 10 The scepter shall not depart from Judah, Nor a lawgiver from between his feet, Until Shiloh comes; And to Him shall be the obedience of the people”. (Genesis 49:8-10 NKJVS)

The Angel prophesizes over Jesus’ mother Mary, “He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Highest; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David. 33 And He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of His kingdom there will be no end”. (Luke 1:32-33 NKJVS)

Note: Adoption was absolute in biblical times to the point of repudiation of biological parents. This fact could place a person in a tribe and supports the belief that Christ was of the tribe of Judah by adoption from Joseph his father, though Christ was also a descendant from David (Judah) by his mother Mary.