Abraham was a Hebrew:
Genesis 14:13 Then a fugitive came and told Abram the Hebrew (about Lot being taken captive).
His descendants are Hebrews. Even when YHWH changed Jacob's name to Israel, they were still descendants of Abraham, still Hebrews, becoming the House of Israel. Paul says as much in 2 Corinthians:
2 Corinthians 11:22 Are they Hebrews? So am I. Are they Israelites? So am I. Are they descendants of Abraham? So am I.
Yah is the God of our fathers: Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, with whom He has kept His everlasting covenant:
Genesis 17:7 "I
will establish My covenant between Me and you (Abraham) and your descendants
after you throughout their generations for an everlasting covenant, to
be Elohim to you and to your descendants after you.
Exodus 3:13 Then
Moses said to God, "Behold, I am going to the sons of Israel, and I
will say to them, 'The God of your fathers has sent me to you.' (He is going to the sons of Jacob/Israel [descendants of Abraham], who were the heads of each of their clans = the 12 tribes of Israel. Each tribe was named after each of the 12 sons.)
YHWH is God/Elohim of the Hebrews:
Exodus 5:3 Then they said, "The God of the Hebrews has met with us.
Exodus 7:16 "You
shall say to him, 'The God of the Hebrews, sent me to you,
saying, "Let My people go, that they may serve Me in the wilderness.
Exodus 10:3 Moses
and Aaron went to Pharaoh and said to him, "Thus says YHWH, the God
of the Hebrews, 'How long will you refuse to humble yourself before Me?
Let My people go, that they may serve Me.
God is YHWH the Elohim of the Hebrews and their descendants, and all who may turn from those pagan ways and serve Him. Not by any of man's traditions, but by obedience to His commands.
From the Mountain to the Tent
The first 'temple' was the Tabernacle constructed from the pattern YHWH showed Moses and it is patterned after the one in heaven. This is where God attached His Name after He moved from the mountain. It was the House of Elohim. This pattern also served as a foreshadow of the temple Solomon would build.
Exodus 25:8 "Let them construct a sanctuary for Me, that I may dwell among them.
9 "According
to all that I am going to show you, as the pattern of the tabernacle
and the pattern of all its furniture..."
Hebrews 8:5 They serve at a copy and shadow of the heavenly sanctuary. That is why
Moses was warned when he was about to build the tabernacle, "See to it
that you make everything according to the pattern shown you on the
mountain."
YHWH establishes the priesthood and selects those of the tribe of Levi to
tend to the sacred duties of the Tabernacle:
Numbers 8:19 "I
have given the Levites as a gift to Aaron and to his sons from among
the sons of Israel, to perform the service of the sons of Israel at the
tent of meeting and to make atonement on behalf of the sons of Israel,
so that there will be no plague among the sons of Israel by their coming
near to the sanctuary."
Numbers 18:23 "Only
the Levites shall perform the service of the tent of meeting... it shall be a perpetual statute throughout
your generations, and among the sons of Israel they shall have no
inheritance. 24 " For
the tithe of the sons of Israel, which they offer as an offering to Me, I have given to the Levites for an inheritance; therefore I have
said concerning them, 'They shall have no inheritance among the sons of
Israel.'"
Collectively, the descendants of Abraham the Hebrew are now being called the sons of Israel. Only those from the tribe of Levi were chosen to serve in the tent/temple and perform all related duties.
From the Tent to the House
1 Kings 6:1 ... Solomon began to build the House of YHWH... you can read further all the lavish details of this project, but notice it is called the House of Elohim, YHWH. 1 Kings 8 tells us when the House was done Solomon called the elders of Israel, who are all the heads of the tribes and the ancestral chieftains of the Israelites, and they arrange to have the Ark of the Covenant, the Tent of Meeting, and all the set apart vessels brought to the House of God. The presence of Elohim filled the House - He approved it. He fulfilled the promise He made to David:
1 Kings 8:16 "Ever since I brought My people Israel out of Egypt, I have not chosen a city among all the tribes of Israel for building a House where My name might abide; but I have chosen David to rule My people Israel... :19 however, you shall not build the House yourself; instead, your son... shall build the House for My Name.
There is only one House of Elohim albeit rebuilt a couple of times, but only one place where He attached His Name. It not a Jewish institution. It was a House of Prayer, a place where He could be in the midst of His people = the Israelites and those who attached themselves to the House of Israel (Spirit of Adoption). Y'shua refers to them as 'the sheep' and the 'other sheep' he came to gather together as one flock. That one flock is God's chosen people.
Here is a link to some History of the Temple although it was never a Jewish Temple. This is a good historical time line from Solomon to Titus and the Roman legions who looted and leveled this temple in 70 AD. They state after the temple was destroyed in 70AD, synagogues replaced that temple and prayer replace animal sacrifice. Please note when you are following up with your own research, remember to remove the Jewish mind-set from some of the sites you visit.
YHWH warns once again what happens if we turn away from Him, as He tells Solomon:
1 Kings 9:6 " If you and your descendants turn away from Me and do not keep the commandments and the laws which I have set before you, and go and serve other gods... then I will sweep Israel off the land which I gave them; I will reject the House which I have consecrated to My name; and Israel shall become a byword among all peoples.
And we know what happened... As smart and wise and just and fair as Solomon was, women turned out to be his downfall... he loved many foreign women who turned his heart away from Elohim and towards other gods - those false idols worshiped by his many women. He turned away from YHWH and eventually the Israelites were 'swept off the land'. After Solomon's death, the ten northern tribes refused to accept his son Rehoboam as their king. The country was divided into two kingdoms: the Kingdom of Israel in the north and the Kingdom of Judah (containing Jerusalem) in the south.
After some time, the Babylonian king, Nebuchadnezzar,
marched on Judah. He pillaged Jerusalem and deported tens of thousands to his capital in Babylon. The poor and sick people were allowed
to stay in Judah. Several months later Nebuchadnezzar's army began the destruction of Jerusalem and the House of Elohim:
Ezra 5:12 But
because our fathers had provoked the God of heaven to wrath, He gave
them into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, the Chaldean, who
destroyed this temple and deported the people to Babylon.
Ezra picks up after the 70 year exile in Babylon when King Cyrus is chosen by YHWH to declare the rebuilding of the temple in Jerusalem in Judah. So the chiefs of the clans of Judah and Benjamin, and the priests and Levites, all whose spirit had been roused by Elohim went to Jerusalem. In Ezra 2 is the list of the men of Israel who came up from among the exiled, including Levites and the temple servants. They searched genealogical records in order to select the priesthood. When the 7th month arrived they were ready to celebrate the feast of Tabernacles. All the Israelites assembled in Jerusalem as one. The temple is for all Set Apart believers - not just the Jews or not just for the Levites.
The problem with Judaism is
its mixture of rituals and religious observances, combined with
rabbinic laws and traditions. These bad habits were most likely picked up during
that 70 year exile in Babylon. This mind-set is what Y'shua was
revealing in his teaching from the Father. He called the Pharisees
'hypocrites' many times. He was reminding everyone by teaching what
Torah is about and how it was intended as opposed to Jewish Traditions.
It is not a bad thing to do good, but when you overrule God and teach
others to do the same, that is not good. Y'shua Messiah definitely was
not participating in Judaism nor its traditions. He was sent by the Father and spoke Yah's message, the same message from the beginning.
John 5:30 Y'shua is speaking, "I am not able to do anything of my own desire, but as I hear I judge, and my judgment is just, for I don't seek my will, rather the will of Him who sent me.
:36 ... For the works that my Father has given to me to complete, those works that I do, testify that the Father sent me.
:39 Search the Scriptures, because in them you think you have that life that is eternal, and
they testify of me. Yet you do not desire to come to me, that you may have that life that is eternal.
:43 I have come in the name of my Father, and you have not received me...
:46 IF only you had believed in Moses, you would also be believers in me, for Moses wrote concerning me. And if you do not believe the writing of that man, how will you believe my words?"
The writings of Moses are contained in the books of
Genesis through Deuteronomy. These writings, in the Hebrew language, are called
Torah, which translates to
Instructions. These are not to be confused with Jewish laws or holidays or traditions, which men added at a later time. This is an example of just how subtle Satan is. He causes 'doubt' just as he did with Eve in the garden. He spins his own doctrine from bits and pieces of what YHWH actually spoke. This is how we have ended up with hundreds of denominations and belief systems throughout the world. This is why when you attempt to 'google' Torah you get hundreds of sites that refer to it as 'religious Judaic tradition'. If you spend time reading Scriptures, the Word of Elohim, you will find this is not so.
There is only One God and His Name is YHWH (Yah-weh).
He sent His Son in His Name, Yashua (Yah-shua).
His Instructions are not a set of religious beliefs;
but a perfect governing system intended for
our well being while on this earth.
YHWH gave us a choice and many examples
of the results of those choices.
Do as Y'shua suggests: Read Scriptures
Let the Spirit of Truth reveal to you
the Way of the Creator.
