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Jews: A Hebrew or Israelite
Greek: loudaios [ee-oo-dah’-yos] =Jew [193], of Judea [1], Jewess [2]. Vine’s words: Jew, Jewess, Jewish, Jewry, Jews’ religion. Strong’s Greek and Hebrew Dictionary. Is used (a) adjectivally, with the literal meaning, "Jewish," sometimes with the addition of anēr, "a man," Acts 10:28; Acts 22:3; in Acts 21:39. The name "Jew" is primarily tribal (from Judah). It is first found in 2 Kings 16:6, as distinct from Israel, of the northern kingdom. After the Captivity [Egypt] it was chiefly used to distinguish the race from Gentiles, e.g., John 2:6; Acts 14:1; Gal. 2:15, where it denotes Christians of Jewish race; Vine's Expository Dictionary of Old Testament and New Testament Words.
The Jews have been an amazing people and were first called so with Abraham. [1813-1638 BC]. He was a native of Mesopotamia; he rejected the idolatrous ways of his ancestors and contemporaries; he was the first person to use his own cognitive abilities to discover and recognize the one God. He then actively publicized his newfound monotheistic beliefs among his fellow citizens.
Eventually God revealed Himself to Abraham and commanded him to leave his ancestral home and travel to the land of Canaan [later known as the Land of Israel]. God then promised this land as the eternal inheritance of his descendants.
Abraham took upon himself the observance of the mitzvot [divine commandments] and at the age of 99, he followed God’s command to circumcise himself and the men of his household and thus the beginning of the Jewish race as they set themselves apart.
So often in the Gospels, the Jews spoke to Jesus concerning the fact they were of their father Abraham. But Jesus had a clear and profound truth to educate these Jewish folks. John 8:39 (NLT2) “Our father is Abraham!” they declared. “No,” Jesus replied, “for if you were really the children of Abraham, you would follow his example. What Jesus was attempting to get across to these folks is if they were following the pathways of faithful Abraham, they would be walking in faith and would not be under the bondage of another nation which was a curse to them and over 400 years of occupation by Rome.
This is true of America, and the voice of Jesus is ringing loud and clear again. Luke 18:8 (MSG) I assure you, he will. He will not drag his feet. But how much of that kind of persistent faith will the Son of Man find on the earth when he returns?" This was the Jewish problem in the days of Abraham and Jesus and the problem on the earth in the modern era.
The Jew was the follower of Abraham, and the Lord was upset with them because they claimed to be like Abraham but were not. They lost their way and found themselves losing their nation and often their freedoms. This is a great ‘wake-up” call for America and the “proof is in the Pudding’.
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