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I think the (erroneous) argument is based on Jews coming through Judah... who was the son of Jacob (Israel)... who was the son of Isaac... who was the son... of Sarah, dear WS (mornin' and peace to you, luv!)... as opposed to through Ishmael... who was the son of Hagar. Thing is... and what most folks MISS... if that if the mother was the SOLE factor... then the Jews WOULD have come through JOSEPH... due to HIS mother being Jacob/Israel's TRUE wife... the wife of his LOVE... Rachel.
But... they didn't. They came though Joseph's older brother, Judah, son of Jacob's first wife, Leah... the SISTER of Rachel... whom he he was tricked into marrying, after seven years of labor, before he could marry Rachel. Even so, he had to work another seven years just for getting Rachel. Judah, however, wasn't even Leah's FIRSTBORN... the one who USUALLY has the birthright. He had three older brothers: Reuben, Simeon, and Levi.
Jacob came to love Leah, yes, but not as he loved Rachel. In the same way, Abraham loved Hagar, but not as he loved Sarah. Rachel was his first choice... and thus is true "wife"... but he married Leah AND fathered children by the maidservants of Leah and Rachel before Rachel ever had children.
HER oldest was Joseph... who became the savior of the Hebrews during the great famine of Egypt (which included the land of Canaan, where Israel lived). But it was JUDAH, the progenitor of the Jews... who received the birthright to carry the seed (of Abraham).
In addition to this, we have the bloodline of Christ, through Mary. HER being a Jew, on BOTH sides... and being the fleshly mother of our dear Lord, adds to the notion that one is a Jew based on the bloodline of the mother.
But both of these notions are errors. Because what makes one a Jew in the FLESH... is coming from the bloodline from JUDAH. A FATHER. Which bloodline came through another father... Jacob/Israel. Which bloodline came through another father... Isaac. The son of Abraham by his wife, Sarah.
None of that matters, though, to the MOST HOLY One of Israel, JAH of Armies. Because for HIM, "he is not a Jew who is one on the OUTSIDE, but is a Jew ON THE INSIDE."
Meaning, for example, as with the "Good Samaritan", who was an Israelite, albeit not a Jew in the FLESH (because the Samaritans came from 10-tribe kingdom of Israel... versus the 2-tribe kingdom of Judah)... but PROVED himself a Jew... in SPIRIT... because of having the Law WRITTEN... on his HEART. Jeremiah 31:1, 31-34
Just as being the seed of ISAAC... and not Isaac's wife, REBEKAH... and of JACOB... and not Jacob's wives, Leah or Rachel... or his concubines, Zilpah Bilhah... of JUDAH, and not Judah's wives... makes one a "Jew"... being of these lines also makes one an "Israelite."
Really, though, what the MOST HOLY One of Israel, JAH of Armies, most recognizes... is the blood of ABRAHAM... who is the father of ALL of these... and more. He progeny through Isaac, then through Jacob/Israel, then through Judah, first and foremost. But ALSO through Ishmael, the son of Hagar, and Zimran, Jokshan, Medan, Midian, Ishbak and Shuah, the sons of Abraham's wife after Sarah, Keturah. Genesis 25:1-18
Abraham loved them ALL... and blessed them ALL... although giving MOST to Isaac:
"Abraham left everything he owned to Isaac. But while he was still living, he gave gifts to the sons of his concubines and sent them away from his son Isaac to the land of the east." Genesis 25:2
If anyone thinks those other sons didn't fare well, they're fooling themselves. Although they didn't receive the inheritance of Isaac, they were GREATLY blessed and WELL-cared for. Genesis 17:17-21; 37:25; Matthew 2:1, 2, 10, 11
Which is the same as with Christ and his brothers in spirit: while the latter don't receive ALL that he has/does, they ARE... GREATLY blessed... and WELL-cared for, as well.
And so, while these, too, are "special" because of THEIR "mother"... "Sarah", who is the Jerusalem ABOVE... JUST like these others... from Isaac, to Jacob/Israel, to Judah, to David... to Christ... it is the blessings of their FATHER that make them "rich"!
I hope this helps, dear WS! And don't worry as to what others think or believe: the MOST HOLY One of Israel, JAH of Armies, knows where ABRAHAM's blood is in the earth... and Seth's. And Isaac's... Jacob's... and Judah's. Even if no MAN does. And that blood SPEAKS. To HIM... as HE speaks... to that blood.
Peace to you!
YSSFS of Christ,
Shel
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