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Who is Israel? Part 1 of 6

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• Let's get started today, but let me make a couple of statements before I begin the message. This message today is basically going to be an introductory message. I don't know how long I'm going to deal with this subject until I get through, but I have been asked to deal with this subject, and I'm going to do so to the best of my ability from Scripture. If you disagree, that's wonderful. You know, just make sure you have scriptural basis for doing so. But just keep in mind that I told you earlier that eschatology is nothing to sever fellowship about.

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• You can believe one thing and another can believe another. And it's going to be worked out when Christ returns, I can assure you. And so just listen carefully. And Lord willing, today we're going to start on lesson number one. And I have been asked the question, who is Israel? And I'm going to try to answer that in a series of messages from the Bible. So, open your Bibles into Romans chapter 2, and also 1 Corinthians chapter 15. Now, I'm going to read Romans chapter 2, and don't think that I have left that passage. I'm certainly going to come back to it. But I'm going to begin with it, and then give you an introduction and some historical background and then come back to Romans 2. So let's look in Romans 2, and let me deal with verses 28 and 29, and then we're going to 1 Corinthians 15. Romans 2, look at verse 28.

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• Scripture says, "For he is not a Jew who is one outwardly, neither is that circumcision which is outward in the flesh. But he is a Jew which is one inwardly, and circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit, and not in the letter, whose praise is not of men, but of God."

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• Now if you will turn to 1 Corinthians chapter 15, and let's begin reading there with verse 45. 1 Corinthians 15 verse 45. Scripture says, "And so it is written, The first man Adam was made a living soul; the last Adam was made a quickening spirit. Howbeit that was not first which is spiritual, but that which is natural; and afterward that which is spiritual. The first man is of the earth, earthy: the second man is the Lord from heaven. As is the earthy, such are they also that are earthy: and as is the heavenly, such are they also that are heavenly."

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• Now I've been asked to preach on the subject, who is Israel? If you ask that question to many Christians, undoubtedly you're going to receive different answers.

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• Now the varying answers depend upon one's eschatology. Eschatology is the study of last things. It's from the Greek word eschatos, which literally means last. So one's view as to who Israel actually is reveals what one's eschatology really is. So there are eschatological differences then between Christians. For instance, usually historic premillennialists, dispensational premillennialists, and amillennialists and postmillennialists will give different answers as to the identification of Israel. In some instances they may agree as to who Israel is, but then they will violently disagree on what Israel's role in the last days really are. If you are to ask an identity Christian who Israel is, they will answer the white, Anglo-Saxon, Germanic, and Scandinavian people. If you ask a fundamentalist Christian who Israel is, they're going to answer the Jews, referring, of course, to those people who now occupy Israel and to those who claim to be Jews that are scattered abroad. If you ask a Reformed Christian who Israel is, usually he's going to answer the church. And, of course, all of us, hopefully, would agree that the true Israel is saved by Jesus Christ.

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• Now, there has been a big debate, and I'm going to tell you very quickly how I'm going to be using the term. There's been a big debate among some people as to whether or not to use the term spiritual Israel. Because that term is misunderstood sometimes, I'm going to be using another term. That term is what I'm going to call saved Israel. Now, saved Israel would certainly include a spiritual aspect, but it's one also that can be distinguished from the carnal aspect, that is, from the national or physical Israel. Saved Israel is different from natural Israel.

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• How can I say that? Well, look in 1 Corinthians 10 and verse 18. 1 Corinthians 10 and verse 18. There is a difference. Look what the Apostle Paul says. 1 Corinthians 10 and verse 18, he says, "Behold Israel after the flesh." Now note the term, "behold Israel after the flesh," or "are not they which eat of the sacrifices partakers of the altar?" But note he says "behold Israel after the flesh," that is he's talking about a natural or a national Israel. So he says look at them after the flesh. Now if there is a natural or a national Israel, then certainly there is a saved or a spiritual Israel. So saved Israel is different than from a national or a natural Israel. If there is an Israel after the flesh, there must be an Israel after the spirit. Whoever Israel is, one truth must be adamantly admitted, and that is, only those who are in Jesus Christ are saved, because there is no salvation apart from Jesus Christ. Now, salvation then is not by race.

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• It is not by ancestry. It is only through the grace of God. If you look in your Bibles to the book of John chapter 1, let's go there and read verses 11 through 13. John chapter 1 beginning there with verse 11. Look what Scripture says. John 1 verse 11. The Bible says, "He came unto his own, and his own received him not." Now that's easily understood. He came unto his own, and his own received him not. "But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name." Now watch. "Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God." Now, let's go back to verse 12. The Bible says, "...but as many as received Him, to them gave He power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on His name." Now, He came unto His own and His own received Him not, but some received Him.

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• Now, why did they receive Him? Well, look at verse 13, "...which were born..." and then you have a whole list of negatives. "...which were born, not of blood," that is, ancestry, "nor of the will of the flesh," that is, works had nothing to do with it, "nor of the will of man," that is, man's will had nothing to do with it, "but of God."

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• Now, here's what you can do. You can take and put the negatives in a parenthesis, and let's leave them out temporarily and go back and read verse 12. "But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believed on his name, which were born of God." You see what I'm saying? When you leave the negatives out, you have the positive, "which were born of God." So he's saying then very clearly that it's not our ancestry, it's not our works, it's not the will of man that has anything to do with salvation. It is totally and completely the work of God.

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• Now, let me just show you from Scripture that one is not saved simply because Abraham is his ancestor. In fact, the truth of the matter is this. It is not really in Abraham that we are called, but in Isaac. For instance, look in your Bibles to Romans 9. Notice if you would please verse 7. Romans 9 and verse 7. Look what the Apostle Paul says very pointedly. "Neither, because they are the seed of Abraham, are they all children: but, In Isaac shall thy seed be called." As Isaac was the child of promise, which was a picture of Jesus Christ, who was indeed the true promise. So he says, "...in Isaac shall thy seed be called." Now, let me show you several illustrations from Scripture, and I'm going to be dealing with 1 Corinthians 15 in just a moment. But let me show you how the New Testament teaches that our relationship with Jesus Christ transcends even every physical relationship imaginable. For instance, go in your Bibles to the book of Mark chapter 3. Mark chapter 3, and let's begin reading there with verse 31.

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• Mark 3, verse 31. Notice if you would, "There came then his brethren and his mother," that would be His physical brothers, we're talking about the physical brothers of Christ. "There came then his brethren and his mother, and, standing without, sent unto him, calling him. And the multitude sat about him, and they said unto him, Behold, thy mother and thy brethren without seek for thee." In other words, your mother is out there calling you, Christ. Your brothers are out there wanting to see you. "And he looked round about on them which sat about him, and said, Behold my mother and my brethren! For whosoever shall do the will of God, the same is my brother, and my sister, and mother."

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• So what is he saying? He is saying that a relationship with himself transcends even physical relationships. His mother, his sisters, his brethren were his true disciples. So he says, here is something that is elevated over and above and beyond that.

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• Now if you'll go to 2 Corinthians chapter 5. 2 Corinthians chapter 5. And let me point out a statement. I have heard people say, I wish I had been alive in the time of Christ. I've heard people say, if I could have just heard Christ, if I could have seen Him, if I could have touched Him.

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• Now undoubtedly, there were people who did see Him, there were people who did hear Him, and there were plenty of people who did touch Him. But I want you to know what the Apostle Paul says in 2 Corinthians 5. Look in verse 16. 2 Corinthians 5 verse 16. "Wherefore henceforth know we no man after the flesh: yea, though we have known Christ after the flesh, yet now henceforth know we him no more. Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new." Now look what he says. "Though we have known Christ after the flesh, yet now henceforth know we him no more."

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• Let me put this to you very bluntly. Very bluntly. If Jesus Christ were to appear in this room in the flesh as a natural individual, the way He appeared in the New Testament times, and you were to talk to Him, and you were to touch Him, and you were to listen to Him, it wouldn't benefit you one bit. Why? Because that is not that which counts now. What counts now since Christ has come is a new creature in Christ Jesus.

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• That is regeneration and conversion. So Christ is saying that this has been elevated above and beyond a mere physical relationship. That's why He looked at His disciples and said, you're my mother and you're my brethren and you're my sisters. Look, if you would please now to 1 Corinthians chapter 15. You're going to see this principle, I hope, and you're going to find this principle enunciated throughout the entirety of Scriptures. But in 1 Corinthians 15, beginning there with verse 48, no, verse 45, I'm sorry, 1 Corinthians 15, verse 45, the Word of God says, "And so it is written, The first man Adam was made a living soul; the last Adam was made a quickening spirit." Now, I'm not going to get into the distinction necessarily between the first man and the second man theologically. But I do want you to note, he says, in the first man, Adam was a living soul. And when we think of Adam, we think of a natural, fleshly individual. He was a real, literal man. So as Adam was the first Adam, so Christ is the second Adam.

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• Look in verse 46. Here's the principle. "Howbeit that was not first which is spiritual, but that which is natural; and afterward that which is spiritual." Now here's the principle clearly enunciated. First of all, he says, in the Scripture, you have that which is natural. After that, you have that which is spiritual. Was Christ a real, literal individual? Oh, of course He was. But He was still the spiritual counterpart of the physical Adam. Now watch what he says. He says the first man, that is Adam, is of the earth, earthy. That's all he is. The second man, that is Christ, is the Lord from heaven.

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• So now you have a distinction. You have a real individual who is of the earth, earthy, who is natural. And on the other hand, you have the second Adam who is a real individual, but he's more than just simply earthy. He is heavenly. There is the spiritual aspect.

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• Now, I want you to understand that this is true of the Old and the New Testaments. You see, the Old Testament was earthy, emblematical, and symbolical. You look in the Old Testament and you have the tabernacle. You have the temple. You have the priesthood. You have the sacrifices. You know what we tend to do? We tend to say, man, that was real. That was not real. Let me show you what I'm talking about. Look in your Bibles to the book of Hebrews 9. The tabernacle, the temple, the priesthood, the sacrifices were not reality. In Hebrews 9, beginning there with verse 1, look what the Bible says. Hebrews 9 verse 1, "Then verily the first covenant," we're talking about the Old Testament now, "had also ordinances of divine service," now look what language the Word of God uses, "and a worldly sanctuary," or an earthy sanctuary. "For there was a tabernacle made; the first, wherein was the candlestick, and the table, and the shewbread; which is called the sanctuary. And after the second veil, the tabernacle which is called the Holiest of all; which had the golden censer, and the ark of the covenant overlaid round about with gold, wherein was

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• the golden pot that had manna, and Aaron's rod that budded, and the tables of the covenant; and over it the cherubims of glory shadowing the mercyseat; of which we cannot now speak particularly. Now when these things were thus ordained, the priests," literal, physical individuals, "went always into the first tabernacle, accomplishing the service of God. But into the second went the high priest alone once every year, not without blood, which he offered for himself, and for the errors of the people: The Holy Ghost this signifying, that the way into the holiest of all was not yet made manifest, while as the first tabernacle was yet standing:" now look what the Bible says concerning the tabernacle, concerning the temple, "which was a figure for the time then present, in which were offered both gifts and sacrifices, that could not make him that did the service perfect, as pertaining to the conscience;

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• Which stood only in meats and drinks, and divers washings, and carnal ordinances, imposed on them until the time of reformation." So he's saying that everything in the Old Testament was a type. It was a shadow. It was an emblem. There's a contrast in verse 11, "But Christ being come an high priest."

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• Now, let me just stop. That tabernacle, that earthly, literal, physical, carnal tabernacle was a picture of Jesus Christ. That earthly, carnal, physical temple was a picture of Jesus Christ. Those earthly priests were a picture of Jesus Christ. Those earthly sacrifices were a picture of Jesus Christ. Look in chapter 10, if you would, beginning there with verse 1. He says, "For the law," that is talking about the Old Testament now, "for the law having a shadow of good things to come, and not the very image of the things, can never with those sacrifices which they offered year by year continually make the comers thereunto perfect." Note, if you would, he calls everything in the Old Testament a shadow. It was a type. It was an emblem. It was symbolical.

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• We have reality in the New Covenant. We have the reality in Christ. That is why when you read through the book of Hebrews, one of the key words is the word, better. We have the better sacrifice. We have the better covenant. We have the better this and the better that. Everything is better in the new covenant.

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• Now, likewise, you would have in the Old Testament what you and I would call national Israel, which were nothing more than carnal people. I mean, fleshly people. They were the people of God. In the New Testament, you do have fleshly people who are the people of God, but they are the spiritual or the saved Israel in the sense they are literal, but they are saved, which is the spiritual aspect of it. Now that does not mean that there were no saved people in the Old Testament. Surely there were saved people in the Old Testament.

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• But here's what I'm trying to say. Just look in your Bible to the book of John, chapter 1 and verse 17. John 1 and verse 17, I believe it is. Look at what Scripture says. John 1 verse 17. This verse summarizes it. "For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ." Now, was there any grace in the Old Testament? Well, of course. Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord. Anyone who was ever saved in the Old Testament was saved by grace. Was there any truth in the Old Testament? Well, of course, all of the Old Testament is true. But did Abraham have all truth? No. Did Moses have all truth? No. Did the prophets have all truth? No. The fullness of grace and the fullness of truth only came by Jesus Christ. That's why he says, "For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth," that is the fullness, the epitome, the apex, of grace and truth came by Jesus Christ.

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• Now, I want you to turn back to Romans 2, and I just want you to hold that passage. In order to understand Romans 2, verses 28 and 29, we've got to have a historical understanding. The word Jew is greatly misused, misunderstood, and mistaken today. In fact, I will tell you, there is a vast difference between the way that term is used in the Bible and the way it is used today. The very first occurrence of the word occurs in 2 Kings 16. If you would turn there, 2 Kings 16, and look if you would please, at verse 6. 2 Kings 16 and verse 6. Here is the very first time the word Jew is used in our Bibles. 2 Kings 16 verse 6.

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• "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." Note, if you would please, he drave the Jews from Elath. Now, if you were to read the entire context of 2 Kings chapter 16, you would find that there was a war between Israel, I'll explain this a little bit later, the northern tribes, and the Syrians against Judah.

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• Well, what happened was this. There were some Judahites that were living in Elath. And so the king of Syria defeated them and drove them from Elath. That's all verse 6 tells us. "At that time Rezin king of Syria recovered Elath to Syria, and drave the Jews," and I'll go ahead and use the word, Judahites, "from Elath: and the Syrians came to Elath, and dwelt there unto this day."

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• Now the Hebrew word translated Jew here is the Hebrew word Yehudi, which literally means a Judahite or a descendant of Judah. Now the word is used in the Bible in at least five ways. First of all, it refers to a person or persons of the tribe of Judah. Secondly, it refers to the kingdom of Judah.

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• Thirdly, to the land of Judea. Fourthly, to the nation of Judah. Or fifthly, the house of Judah. Are you listening now? Anyone belonging to the tribe, the land, the nation, or the house of Judah could be called a Judahite. So all 2 Kings 16 and verse 6 says is this, that there were some folks of the tribe of Judah, of the house of Judah, or the land of Judah, or the kingdom of Judah that were in Elath, and the king of Syria defeated them and drove them out of the land. Now when you come to the New Testament, the Greek word is Ioudaios, which means Judean, and that means Judean in the sense of a country or a land or someone from the land of Judah or a Judean. For instance, we talk about Samaria was the capital of the Northern Kingdom. What do we call people who lived in Samaria? Samaritans. So, the Judeans or the Judahites would be someone of the tribe or the house of Judah, or someone who lived in the land of Judah.

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• Now, what we do today is this. When the word Jew is used today, it is not used to refer to someone of the house of Judah, or the tribe of Judah, or the land of Judah, or the kingdom of Judah. No, no. The word Jew today primarily refers to someone who embraces the religion of Judaism. For instance, look in your Bibles to the book of Galatians chapter 1. Let me show you. Galatians chapter 1. It's very important that you see this because this is one of the few times that you will see the word Jew that refers to the religion of Judaism. Most of the time in the New Testament, as well as in the Old Testament, it just refers to someone from the land, house, kingdom, or tribe of Judah. Look in Galatians 1 in verse 13.

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• Paul says, "For ye have heard of my conversation in time past in the Jews' religion, how that beyond measure I persecuted the church of God, and wasted it: And profited in the Jews' religion above many my equals in mine own nation, being more exceedingly zealous of the traditions of my fathers." Now the Jews' religion, or Judaism, was antagonistic to and contrary to Christianity. It was Judaism, it was the Pharisees and the Sadducees and those who embraced it that always opposed Christ and the Apostles and the Prophets.

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• Now let me make a statement. Are you listening to me? We are not and cannot be considered to be Judeo-Christians. We're not. Because Christianity has nothing to do with Judaism. It has nothing to do with it. Moreover, we're not connected to the land of Judea now, you understand, in any way, sense, form or fashion. So we are not Judeo-Christians, we are Christians. If you want to talk about the Old Testament influence, you might talk about Hebrew Christians, or you might talk about Israelite Christians, or you might just talk about Old Testament and Christianity. But Judeo-Christianity deals with a mixture of Judaism and Christianity which is not and cannot be. Judaism opposes Christianity, and Christianity opposes Judaism, and they are not the same. Now let me go ahead and really make you angry. Are you listening?

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• Christ was not a Jew. He was a Judahite. That is, he was from the tribe of Judah, but he was not a Jew, because he did not embrace Judaism. He was never in the Jews' religion. And if you will remember reading through the Bible, you'll find out one reason they were so upset with him was because he was always attacking them and their traditions. All you've got to do is read Matthew 5, Matthew 15, Matthew 23, and numerous other passages. I've got a friend and he's got a cap hanging up in his business. And on that cap, he's got written across there, "My boss was a Jewish carpenter."

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• I cringe every time I see that. Christ was not Jewish. He was from the tribe of Judah, that is for sure. He was a Judahite, that is for sure. But he never embraced and never taught Judaism. There's a difference. Judaism and Pharisaism is a perversion of the Old Testament. They follow the traditions of the fathers and not the Word of God. It was Judaism, it was Pharisaism that repeatedly attacked Christ and the apostles over and over. Thus, when you read in the New Testament about the word Jew, usually it refers to someone of the house, the tribe, or the kingdom, or the nation of Judah. It has nothing to do with Judaism. Just a couple of times, as I just read here, it refers to the Jews' religion.

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• Now, the kingdom of Israel was split during the days of Rehoboam. If you'll go back in your Bibles to 1 Kings 12. Notice, if you would please, beginning there with verse 15. You remember how that Rehoboam followed his father Solomon. And the people came to Rehoboam and said, look, your father laid grievous taxes on us and burdens too grievous to be borne. He said, if you'll ease them, then we'll be your servants for life. And he took counsel of the old men, and the old men told Rehoboam, said, yeah, you need to listen to the people. If you'll serve them, they'll serve you. Then he went to the young men. And the young men said, you tell him that your little finger is going to be thicker than your father's loins. Your father beat him with whips, you're going to beat him with scorpions. Well, Rehoboam kind of liked that rough, tough approach, you see. And so that's what he told the people. Well, look what happens. 1 Kings chapter 12 and verse 15. "So when all Israel saw that the king hearkened not unto them, the people answered the king, saying, What portion have we in David?

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• Neither have we inheritance in the son of Jesse: to your tents, O Israel: now see to thine own house, David. So Israel departed unto their tents. But as for the children of Israel which dwelt in the cities of Judah, Rehoboam reigned over them."

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• Now note, if you would, that statement. "But as for the children of Israel which dwelt in the cities of Judah, Rehoboam reigned over them. Then king Rehoboam sent Adoram, who was over the tribute; and all Israel stoned him with stones, that he died. Therefore king Rehoboam made speed to get him up to his chariot, to flee to Jerusalem. So Israel rebelled against the house of David unto this day."

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• Now what happened, of course, to fulfill prophecy, and it was the judgment of God, the ten northern tribes then went to Jeroboam. And the two southern tribes, Judah and Benjamin, stayed with Rehoboam. However, there were some Israelites still in Judah and Benjamin as well.

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• Now, so here you have a split in Israel. The ten northern tribes are now collectively called Israel, and the two southern tribes are collectively called Judah. But now let me emphasize the fact that the two southern tribes are just as much Israel as the ten northern tribes are, in reality. In fact, that is pointed out even in the New Testament. Let me show you. Look in your Bibles to the Acts chapter 2.

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• And let's begin there with verse 5. Acts 2, verse 5. There were twelve tribes in Israel, and there are still twelve tribes. Notice, if you would please, Acts chapter 2. Look in verse 5. Here's the day of Pentecost. "And there were dwelling at Jerusalem Jews," or Judahites or people from the nation of Judah, "devout men, out of every nation under heaven." Now look in verse 14. A lot of these are listed. And then in verse 14, "But Peter, standing up with the eleven, lifted up his voice, and said unto them, Ye men of Judaea, and all ye that dwell at Jerusalem, be this known unto you, and hearken to my words." Now skip down to verse 22. He's still preaching to the same people. Then he says, "Ye men of Israel, hear these words."

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• You see what I'm saying? So they're called Jews in verse 5. They're called Judaites in verse 14. And they're called men of Israel in verse 22.

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• Now, if you look in the book of Matthew, chapter 27. Matthew 27. And notice, if you would please, verse 37. Matthew 27, verse 37. What was this that was written and set up over Jesus on the cross? "And set up over his head his accusation written, THIS IS JESUS THE KING OF THE JEWS." Or the King of the Judeans. Ah, but look at verse 42. Let's read verse 41.

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• "Likewise also the chief priests mocking him, with the scribes and elders, said, He saved others; himself he cannot save. If he be the King of Israel, let him now come down from the cross, and we will believe him." So he had this written over his head, the King of the Judahites. But the tribe of Judah was also of Israel. It was certainly the southern tribe, but here he's called the King of the Jews, and now he's called the King of Israel, even by the leaders, by the elders, by the scribes.

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• Now look in Matthew chapter 2. Let me show you another one. Matthew chapter 2, beginning there with verse 19. Matthew chapter 2. Verse 19. Here it is. You remember Christ had been sent into Egypt because of Herod. Verse 19 of Matthew 2, "But when Herod was dead, behold, an angel of the Lord appeareth in a dream to Joseph in Egypt, Saying, Arise, and take the young child and his mother, and go into the land of Israel: for they are dead which sought the young child's life. And he arose, and took the young child and his mother, and came into the land of Israel. But when he heard that Archelaus did reign in Judaea in the room of his father Herod, he was afraid to go thither: notwithstanding, being warned of God in a dream, he turned aside into the parts of Galilee: And he came and dwelt in a city called Nazareth: that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophets, He shall be called a Nazarene."

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• So the whole southern portion was still called the land of Israel. It was still referred to as Israel. Actually you would have Judah and Galilee and Samaria which was actually the divisions put out basically by the Romans when they captured that land. Now the reason I'm emphasizing this truth is because I want you to understand that just because the southern kingdom was called Judah collectively, there were other people who lived there besides the Judahites and Benjamites. Judah consisted basically of those two tribes, Judah and Benjamin. But however, there were many Israelites from the northern kingdom who lived down there as well.

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• For instance, look in your Bibles to 2 Chronicles chapter 11. 2 Chronicles 11. And you're going to find out what happens to many of the Levites after Jeroboam takes over. 2 Chronicles 11. Notice, if you would please, verse 14. "For the Levites left their suburbs and their possession, and came to Judah and Jerusalem: for Jeroboam and his sons had cast them off from executing the priest's office unto the LORD: And he ordained him priests for the high places, and for the devils, and for the calves which he had made. And after them out of all the tribes of Israel such as set their hearts to seek the LORD God of Israel came to Jerusalem, to sacrifice unto the LORD God of their fathers." So when Jeroboam took over, and I'll tell you a little bit more about it in a moment, he set up false gods, golden calves, instituted false religion. So all the Levites then, who were true worshipers of God, they went down to Judah and Jerusalem. And then all the others who really wanted to worship God, did not want to be part and parcel of His idolatry, they went down there as well.

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• You've got to remember that Jerusalem was not only the capital of the southern kingdom, it was also the place of the temple. And it was also a leading city of commerce. So undoubtedly, many individuals would want to live there. Look in your Bibles back to 1 Kings 12, and you will see what happened and why so many of the Israelites left the northern kingdom and moved into the southern kingdom. Notice 1 Kings 12, beginning there at verse 25.

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• "Then Jeroboam built Shechem in mount Ephraim, and dwelt therein; and went out from thence, and built Penuel. And Jeroboam said in his heart, Now shall the kingdom return to the house of David: If this people go up to do sacrifice in the house of the LORD at Jerusalem, then shall the heart of this people turn again unto their lord, even unto Rehoboam king of Judah, and they shall kill me, and go again to Rehoboam king of Judah." So here's what happens. Jeroboam says, I know that Jerusalem is the place to worship God. I know that's where the temple and the true altar is. But when this people start going back down there, then their hearts are going to turn back to Rehoboam, and they're going to kill me.

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• So in order to save my life and save my throne, save my power, save my progeny, my ancestry, look what he did. Verse 28, "Whereupon the king took counsel," it was deliberate, it was purposeful, "and made two calves of gold, and said unto them, It is too much for you to go up to Jerusalem: behold thy gods, O Israel, which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt."

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• "And he set the one in Bethel, and the other put he in Dan. And this thing became a sin: for the people went to worship before the one, even unto Dan. And he made an house of high places, and made priests of the lowest of the people, which were not of the sons of Levi. And Jeroboam ordained a feast in the eighth month, on the fifteenth day of the month, like unto the feast that is in Judah."

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• "And he offered upon the altar. So did he in Bethel, sacrificing unto the calves that he had made: and he placed in Bethel the priests of the high places which he had made. So he offered upon the altar which he had made in Bethel the fifteenth day of the eighth month, even in the month which he had devised of his own heart; and ordained a feast unto the children of Israel: and he offered upon the altar, and burnt incense."

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• So what Jeroboam has done, he's started up a state religion, a false, idolatrous religion, and he did it to save his own hide and his own kingdom. So those who did not want to be a part of that, they then went down to Judah and Jerusalem, and they were living there. The Levites went, and many others as well.

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• Now, if you look in your Bibles to 2 Chronicles 15, when King Asa was used by God and instituted reform and sought to call the people back to the God of the Bible, once again, folks from the northern kingdom flocked down into Judah and Jerusalem. So in 2 Chronicles 15, look at verses 8 and 9. "And when Asa heard these words, and the prophecy of Oded the prophet, he took courage, and put away the abominable idols out of all the land of Judah and Benjamin, and out of the cities which he had taken from mount Ephraim, and renewed the altar of the LORD, that was before the porch of the LORD. And he gathered all Judah and Benjamin, and the strangers with them out of Ephraim and Manasseh, and out of Simeon: for they fell to him out of Israel in abundance, when they saw that the LORD his God was with him." So you have many of the northern tribes still coming down into Judah and Benjamin because of the hand of God and the work of God.

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• Now if you'll turn to 2 Chronicles 30, look at verses 11 and 12, you'll see that similarly under the revival in Hezekiah, many still came down to Judah and Jerusalem. 2 Chronicles 30, verses 11 and 12. The Bible says, "Nevertheless divers of Asher and Manasseh and of Zebulun humbled themselves, and came to Jerusalem. Also in Judah the hand of God was to give them one heart to do the commandment of the king and of the princes, by the word of the LORD." So there were many of those Israelites then of the northern kingdom who came down into the southern kingdom because not only of the apostasy of Jeroboam, but because of the revivals that God sent in the southern kingdom.

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• If you will turn in your Bibles to the book of Ezra, just flip over a couple of pages. You remember that the northern kingdom went into captivity into Assyria, but the southern kingdom went into captivity in Babylon. And so when you have the people returning from Babylon, instead of it just using the term Jews or Judean or the southern kingdom, it talks about Israel because there were so many Israelites in Judah and Benjamin, as well as Judah being part and parcel of Israel as well. For instance, in Ezra chapter 2 and verse 2, talking about those men that returned, "Which came with Zerubbabel: Jeshua, Nehemiah, Seraiah, Reelaiah, Mordecai, Bilshan, Mispar, Bigvai, Rehum, Baanah. The number of the men of the people of Israel." Look in verse 70. "So the priests, and the Levites, and some of the people, and the singers, and the porters, and the Nethinims, dwelt in their cities, and all Israel in their cities." Look in chapter 3 and verse 1, "And when the seventh month was come, and the children of Israel were in the cities, the people gathered themselves together as one man to Jerusalem."

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• Chapter 4 and verse 4, "Then the people of the land weakened the hands of the people of Judah, and troubled them in building." Now look in verse 12. "Be it known unto the king, that the Jews which came up from thee to us are come unto Jerusalem." So now they're called Jews, they were called of Judah then. "...building the rebellious and the bad city, and have set up the walls thereof, and joined the foundations." Look in chapter 5 and verse 1. "Then the prophets, Haggai the prophet, and Zechariah the son of Iddo, prophesied unto the Jews that were in Judah and Jerusalem in the name of the God of Israel, even unto them." So they had been called Israelites, then they had been called Judahites, and then they were called Jews, which were recognizing that some of them were of the tribe of Judah. But note, they are also called Israelites, and they're also prophesied in the name of the God of Israel.

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• Now, with this in mind, let's go back in our Bibles to Romans chapter 2. So I'm trying to point out the fact that in Judah, in Benjamin, you not only had Levites, and by the way, the Levites were of the tribe of Levi, but they were the teaching priests, and they were the priests that had the business around the tabernacle and the temple, but you had all these from these other tribes living there as well. So let's begin with verse 17. Romans 2, verse 17.

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• Now, let me set the stage before I read this. I'm using the term Jew the way it is used historically. That is to refer to anyone who lived in the southern kingdom, because the word Jew actually means a Judahite, someone who was surrounded by or in the land of Judea, who might have been of the tribe of Judah, but he certainly was in that southern kingdom that is in the kingdom of Judah. You've got to remember now that in Judah, the capital of Judah was Jerusalem.

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• That is where the tabernacle was. That is where the temple was. That is where the altar was. That is where the sacrificing was done. That is where the priests and the Levites were. The religious teaching emanated then from Jerusalem.

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• Now, let's begin with verse 17 to show you the perversion that took place around that teaching. Notice in Romans 2 and verse 17. "Behold, thou art called a Jew," or a Judahite, "and restest in the law, and makest thy boast of God." Now, how could the Judahites make their boast of God and rest in the law? Because the worship of the true God was in their kingdom, in their capital, and the temple was located there in their land. Now watch. He says, "Behold, thou art called a Jew, and restest in the law, and makest thy boast of God, And knowest his will, and approvest the things that are more excellent, being instructed out of the law."

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• In other words, you think you've got it. You know all of the traditions. You know all of the ins and outs. He said in verse 19, "And art confident that thou thyself art a guide of the blind, a light of them which are in darkness, An instructor of the foolish, a teacher of babes, which hast the form of knowledge and of the truth in the law." So he says, you're pretty sure that you've got it all down. Then he said in verse 21, and watch this condemnation. By the way, I want you to understand, this condemnation is a condemnation of ritualism, ceremonialism, hypocrisy, and if we want to just use one word, externalism.

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• Because here they had all of the externals. They had the temple, they had the priests, they had the sacrifices.

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• Now look what he says in verse 21, "Thou therefore which teachest another, teachest thou not thyself?" He said, you wouldn't teach somebody else. You wouldn't even follow your own lesson. "Thou that preachest a man should not steal, dost thou steal?" Well, of course they were guilty of theft. "Thou that sayest a man should not commit adultery, dost thou commit adultery?" I'll tell you what. If you ever really want to know about Judaism, you ought to read the Talmud. You'd be amazed how you can understand this passage, because you see, the Talmud will allow them to have sex outside of marriage. What you would call homosexual sex. Even with a child.

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• And here's what he's saying. You said a man shall not commit adultery. Does thou commit adultery? Watch it. "Thou that abhorrest idols, dost thou commit sacrilege?" What? You're saying don't worship any other God but the truly living God? Well, you're not even worshiping me, he says. "Thou that makest thy boast of the law, through breaking the law dishonourest thou God? For the name of God is blasphemed among the Gentiles through you, as it is written." Look what he says, "For circumcision verily profiteth, if thou keep the law: but if thou be a breaker of the law, thy circumcision is made uncircumcision." Now here's what they're saying. We've been circumcised. We've got the law. We've got the temple. We've got the priesthood. We've got the ceremonies. We've got all of the externals. And our Lord says, that if all you have is the externals, then your circumcision is counted or made as uncircumcision, just as if you'd never ever been a part and parcel of the covenant as well. Verse 26, he says, "Therefore if the uncircumcision keep the righteousness of the law, shall not his uncircumcision be counted for circumcision?"

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• So here's what he's saying. You've got all the externals and you think you've got it, but you're violating every law that I've made. Your heart's not right with me, therefore your circumcision is counted as uncircumcision. Now God says, on the other hand, if a man is uncircumcised and he keeps the righteousness of the law, shall not his uncircumcision be counted as circumcision? What's the argument? He says in verse 27, "And shall not uncircumcision which is by nature, if it fulfil the law, judge thee, who by the letter and circumcision dost transgress the law?" So he says, here's a man that you condemn, but if that man is righteous, he's going to turn around and judge you who profess to be righteous. Then he says, "For he is not a Jew," or a Judahite.

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• Remember, this is where the temple was, the worship was, this is where the teaching was. Verse 28 is a negative, all totally negative. "For he is not a Jew, which is one outwardly; neither is that circumcision, which is outward in the flesh." That's the negative. He says just because you have all the externals, just because you may even have the ancestry, just because you may have the law, as you call it, that doesn't make you a true child of God. He says in verse 29, "But he is a Jew, which is one inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit, and not in the letter; whose praise is not of men, but of God." Now, the word Jew, or Judahite, is to be taken as a designation for the people of God. For it says, "For he is not a Jew," or a people of God, "who is one outwardly, neither is that circumcision which is outward in the flesh, but he is a Judahite who is one inwardly and circumcision is that of the heart in the spirit and not in the letter, whose praise is

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• not of men but of God." So verse 28 is the negative, verse 29 is the positive.

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• Now, I want you to see that this truth was clearly taught in the Old Testament as well as the New Testament. The Old Testament emphasized over and over that their circumcision had to be of the heart as well. For instance, go back in your Bibles to the book of Deuteronomy chapter 10. Deuteronomy chapter 10, and let's read verse 16. Then we're going to Jeremiah chapter 4. Deuteronomy 10, then we're going to Jeremiah chapter 4. Deuteronomy 10, look at verse 16. God tells them, "Circumcise therefore the foreskin of your heart, and be no more stiffnecked." In other words, circumcision of the flesh is useless unless there is a circumcision of the heart. So He says, "Circumcise therefore the foreskin of your heart, and be no more stiffnecked." Look in Jeremiah chapter 4 and verse 4. Watch carefully now. Jeremiah 4 verse 4, "Circumcise yourselves to the LORD, and take away the foreskins of your heart, ye men of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem: lest my fury come forth like fire, and burn that none can quench it, because of the evil of your doings."

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• So he says, "Circumcise yourselves to the LORD, and take away the foreskins of your heart, ye men of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem: lest my fury come forth like fire." In other words, externals are useless. Look in your Bibles to Jeremiah 9, verse 26. Jeremiah 9, verse 26. This is an interesting passage. In fact, let's read verse 25.

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• "Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will punish all them which are circumcised with the uncircumcised; Egypt, and Judah, and Edom, and the children of Ammon, and Moab, and all that are in the utmost corners, that dwell in the wilderness: for all these nations are uncircumcised, and all the house of Israel are uncircumcised in the heart." What's God saying? If you live like the heathen, I'm going to judge you with the heathen.

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• I don't care what you profess. If you've got externals and that's all, He says you're going to be judged with the wicked. Look in the book of Ezekiel chapter 44. Ezekiel 44, note verse 9. And then I want us to go to Acts chapter 7, Ezekiel 44 verse 9, "Thus saith the Lord GOD; No stranger, uncircumcised in heart, nor uncircumcised in flesh, shall enter into my sanctuary, of any stranger that is among the children of Israel." So what God was saying is this, to be my people, in the Old Testament, he said, you not only have to be uncircumcised in the flesh, which was the sign of the covenant, which I'll deal with a little bit later, but he said, you must be circumcised in the heart. Now go to Acts chapter 7. In Acts chapter 7, you have Stephen's defense before he is put to death by those who were of the Jews' religion, by the way. And I want to show you something that's very interesting.

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• In Acts chapter 7, if you'll look at verse 51, look what Stephen says. Stephen looks at these men, these Jews, and he says, "Ye stiffnecked and uncircumcised in heart and ears, ye do always resist the Holy Ghost: as your fathers did, so do ye." Now, that's interesting. He looked at these men and said, "ye stiffnecked and uncircumcised in heart and ears."

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• Now who is he talking to? Let's go back in our Bibles and let's look in chapter 6 and begin there with verse 10. They were not able to resist the teaching of Stephen. Verse 10, "And they were not able to resist the wisdom and the spirit by which he spake. Then they suborned men, which said, We have heard him speak blasphemous words against Moses, and against God."

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• "And they stirred up the people, and the elders, and the scribes, and came upon him, and caught him, and brought him to the council," evidently it was the Sanhedrin, "And set up false witnesses, which said, This man ceaseth not to speak blasphemous words against this holy place, and the law: For we have heard him say, that this Jesus of Nazareth shall destroy this place, and shall change the customs which Moses delivered us. And all that sat in the council, looking stedfastly on him, saw his face as it had been the face of an angel."

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• "Then said the high priest, Are these things so?" So when Stephen says, "ye stiffnecked and uncircumcised in heart and ears," he was talking to the religious leaders who claim to have it all. He said, all you've got is externals and you're lost as a hound dog.

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• Now, look in your Bibles to the book of Ephesians chapter 2. Ephesians chapter 2. Notice there verse 11. Ephesians 2 verse 11. Paul writes these Ephesians and he says, "Wherefore remember, that ye being in time past Gentiles in the flesh, who are called Uncircumcision by that which is called the Circumcision in the flesh made by hands."

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• Now I want you to note that phrase. In fact, I'll read on verse 12, "That at that time ye were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope, and without God in the world: But now in Christ Jesus ye who sometimes were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ. For he is our peace, who hath made both one, and hath broken down the middle wall of partition between us." Now go back to verse 11. He says, "Wherefore remember, that ye being in time past Gentiles in the flesh, who are called Uncircumcision by that which is called the Circumcision in the flesh made by hands." Now, circumcision was a rite.

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• And these Judahites were circumcised. They were circumcised by men, and so they looked at other folks and said, you're uncircumcised. That's what you are.

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• Now, the point I'm trying to make is there is a circumcision made by hands. Now, look in your Bibles to the book of Galatians chapter 5, Colossians chapter 2. Galatians 5, Colossians chapter 2. Okay? Let's read Colossians 2 first. Colossians 2, verse 11. Now we're talking about, in fact, let's go back with verse 8. Colossians 2, verse 8. "Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ. For in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily. And ye are complete in him, which is the head of all principality and power:" now watch, "In whom also ye are circumcised with the circumcision made without hands, in putting off the body of the sins of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ." Now there is a circumcision made with hands according to Colossians chapter, according to, where did I just read it? According to what passage was it? Ephesians 2. Ephesians 2.

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• There is a circumcision made by hands. But here in Colossians chapter 2, there is a circumcision made without hands. Well, what kind of circumcision is that? Verse 11, "In whom also ye are circumcised with the circumcision made without hands, in putting off the body of the sins of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ." So there is a work of God in Christ that Christ does in a man's heart that is called a circumcision made without hands, which is true salvation.

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• Now go in your Bible to the book of Galatians 5 and look at verse 6. If you want to refer to the externals, he says this, "For in Jesus Christ neither circumcision availeth any thing, nor uncircumcision," he's talking about the physical act now, "but faith which worketh by love." In other words, that which really counts is that which is done in you by Christ. Now, one other passage before I close. Look in the book of Philippians chapter 3. Philippians chapter three.

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• And let me show you a comparison. Philippians chapter three. And I like how bluntly and how plainly Paul writes. He says, "Beware of dogs," and he's not talking about the four legged kind, he's talking about the two-legged kind. He says, "Beware of dogs, beware of evil workers, beware of the concision." Or the circumcision. He's talking about the Judaizers. Then he says, in verse 3, "For we are the circumcision," here's the true circumcision, "which worship God in the spirit, and rejoice in Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in the flesh." Did you hear that? He says, "For we are the circumcision. We are the circumcision which worship God in the spirit, and rejoice in Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in the flesh."

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• Now that's exactly the same thing that he said in Romans 2 and verse 29. So the true Israel of God, or the true Judahite, is one who places no confidence in the flesh, its works, its ancestry, its righteousness. The true Israelite, the true Judahite, is one who places all of his confidence in Jesus Christ, whose praise is not of man, but of God. You see folks, all of the externals profit us nothing. Just like it did not profit all those Judahites in Romans chapter 2 and anyone who was in that kingdom. If all you have is externals, you have nothing. Everything is in Jesus Christ.

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• For He and He alone is salvation. He is indeed the true King of Israel and the King of the true Judahites. Let's pray. Father, in the name of Jesus Christ, we ask that you help us. We ask that you teach us, that you build us up in the most holy faith. And Lord, as we continue the study in days to come, I pray that you will give us the answers we need. Help us, Lord. Give us enlightenment. Give us grace and mercy to serve Thee acceptably with reverence and godly fear. In Thy name we pray. Amen.

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deepseek | deepseek-v4-pro | clean_readable_transcript | 2026-06-06T03:26:56Z