“…Jerusalem, the city where I have chosen for Myself to put My Name.” (Yahweh speaking, 1 Kings 11: 36)
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A Serious Mistake
For many years, I’ve read the Ryrie Study Bible. It’s an NASB translation and I like that. It’s not the only Bible that I read, but it’s one of my go-to Bibles.
As a rule, Ryrie’s notes are helpful, but sometimes they miss the mark completely. This is about one of those examples, and it’s a biggie. It’s his note to Genesis 12: 2.
Genesis 12: 2 reads as follows:
“And I will make you a great nation, and I will bless you, and make your name great; and so you shall be a blessing….”
This is what Ryrie says about Genesis 12: 2:
12: 2 “a great nation”. When God made this promise, Abraham had no son. The reference is to the Jewish nation (i.e., the descendants of Abraham through Isaac and Jacob). “I will bless you, and make your name great”….
This is a crucial point. Many people miss it. Ryrie did. Yahweh’s promise in Genesis 12: 2 does pertain to Abraham’s descendants through Isaac and Jacob as Ryrie correctly points out, but that is not the Jewish nation as he said.
Abraham’s descendants through Isaac and Jacob include all 12 tribes of Israel, not just Judah. 10 tribes of Israel were exiled from the Promised Land and scattered around the world where most of them assimilated. They are commonly known as the 10 lost tribes of Israel, but they are not lost. Yahweh knows exactly who they are, and He is fulfilling His promises to them right now.
I am one of those people. Many of my readers are, too.
Judah and Benjamin remained in the Promised Land. Benjamin was small, so it was eventually absorbed by Judah. Together, they are what Ryrie calls “the Jewish nation”. That’s correct, but as I said, they are not Abraham’s only descendants through Isaac and Jacob.
If this interests you, read Ezekiel chapter 37. It explains what Yahweh is doing. In fact, you should read Ezekiel in its entirety, especially chapters 33 through 39.
Ryrie’s mistake is serious, but the one being made right now by Jewish religious leaders in Israel is even worse. They are denying citizenship in Israel to anyone who doesn’t buy into their philosophy of religion. Problem is their philosophy of religion has very little to do with what Yahweh said. Instead, they focus on the sages who wrote the Talmud, the Mishnah, and other religious doctrines which are nothing more than man-made law.
We call those man-made laws “the traditions of the Jews” or “halacha” (i.e., Jewish religious law). The Messiah condemned reliance on them (see John chapter 8 and Matthew chapter 23, for example), and they nailed Him to a tree.
One day, they will wake up and realize what their forefathers did. Zechariah chapter 12 deals with that day:
10 “I will pour out on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the Spirit of grace and of supplication, so that they will look on Me [Yahweh] whom they have pierced; and they will mourn for Him, as one mourns for an only son, and they will weep bitterly over Him like the bitter weeping over a firstborn. 11 In that day there will be great mourning in Jerusalem, like the mourning of Hadadrimmon in the plain of Megiddo.” (Zechariah 12: 10-11)
This is the bottom line: Yahweh’s promises, all of them, pertain to Abraham’s descendants through Isaac and Jacob and all of those who call upon the Name of Yahweh.
That’s not my opinion. That’s what Yahweh said.
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His Name is Yahweh, the website, is a companion of the book His Name is Yahweh.
To see videos that explain the importance of God’s Name, click here.
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“The glory which You have given Me I have given to them, that they may be one, just as We are one; I in them and You in Me, that they may be perfected in unity, so that the world may know that You sent Me, and loved them, even as You have loved Me. Father, I desire that they also, whom You have given Me, be with Me where I am, so that they may see My glory which You have given Me, for You loved Me before the foundation of the world.” (John 17: 22-24)
See “His Name is Yahweh”.
