Israel’s Family

The family of Israel is large, wide, and diverse. By way of background, the living Sovereign LORD God of heaven and earth restarted the whole world with a new heaven and new earth after the Great Flood, and He restarted all human life through Noah and Noah’s three sons - Shem (Mesopotamia and Arabia), Ham (Africa and Eastern Mediterranean), and Japheth (Europe and Asia). 

 

Beginning with Genesis chapter 12, the story of the Holy Bible starts the divine line of Abraham and Abraham’s family, who descended from Noah’s son Shem, which included modern-day Israel, Iraq, Iran, Turkey, and Syria. Abraham was both a prophet and a friend of God. The living Sovereign LORD God called Abraham (Abram) to leave his Babylonian family (present-day Iraq and Iran) and come to His good Promised Land in Canaan (present-day Israel-Palestine). The living LORD God of Glory called Abraham (Abram) to leave Ur and later Haran, located in ancient Mesopotamia (modern-day Iran and Iraq), and move to a new land in Canaan, the Promised Land of Israel-Palestine. Abraham’s wife Sarah (Sarai) accompanied Abraham from Ur to Haran to Canaan. Thus, Abraham and Sarah were probably born in Iraq or Iran. Abraham and Sarah are known as the father and mother of the nation of Israel. 

 

Abraham became the father of Isaac, Isaac became the father of Jacob (later renamed Israel), and Israel became the father of twelve sons (patriarchs), later known as the Twelve Tribes of Israel. As Isaac grew older, Abraham wanted Isaac to marry a righteous and virtuous woman from Abraham’s homeland of Mesopotamia, rather than from the wicked women of Canaan, who would likely make Isaac’s life miserable. Isaac’s wife, Rebekah, and the mother of Jacob (Israel), came from Paddan Aram, also known as Aram-Naharaim, located in parts of modern-day Syria and Iraq. After their marriage, Isaac and Rebekah gave birth to twin boys named Esau and Jacob (later renamed Israel). Thus, Jacob (Israel) is of Syrian and Iraqi descent. Rebekah and her sons, Esau and Jacob, were Arameans, and Jacob also lived in Aram for many years, which is today modern-day Syria, Turkey, and Iraq. The name “Jacob” became synonymous with the nation of Israel. 

 

Later, Rebekah sent Jacob to her brother Laban in Haran (present-day Turkey). Also, Isaac and Rebekah sent their son Jacob to Rebekah’s brother Laban in Padan Aram (Haran), located in Mesopotamia (modern-day Turkey, Syria, and Iraq), so he would not marry the wicked women of Canaan. Jacob married Leah and then Rachel along with Leah and Rachael’s attendants (servants), Bilhah and Zilpah, and these women were from Paddan Aram (modern day modern-day Turkey, Syria, and Iraq), and they became the mothers of Jacob’s twelve sons (Twelve Tribes of Israel), who were also born in Paddan Aram. These twelve sons of Jacob were Reuben (Jacob’s oldest), Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, Zebulun, Dan, Naphtali, Gad, Asher, Joseph, and Benjamin. Thus, Abraham and his children, Isaac and Jacob (also known as Israel), as well as their descendants, were of Syrian, Iranian, and Iraqi descent. 

 

The living Sovereign LORD God promised that a conquering ruler would come from Jacob’s descendants. Ultimately, the Descendant of Abraham who brings blessings and salvation to all nations and people came with Christ Jesus, our Lord. Through Christ Jesus, everyone receives salvation and becomes a member of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob’s family, receiving God’s divine blessings through our faithful obedience to the living Sovereign LORD God, found in His Son, Christ Jesus. 

 

In the New Testament, the early Christian church regarded itself symbolically as the Israel of God and descendants of Abraham through their wholehearted faith and belief in Christ Jesus as Lord and Savior. Christ Jesus taught about Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob during His public ministry on earth. In His teaching, Jesus, as well as His cousin John the Baptist, taught everyone the importance of repentance, turning from Satan’s evil deeds, and producing good fruits so that one can enter the narrow gate and enjoy eating at the Messianic banquet with Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and the Old Testament prophets. The foundation of New Jerusalem is the Twelve Tribes of Israel (Jacob). Christ Jesus and His Kingdom's message did not abolish the Old Testament Law of Moses, the Prophets, and the Psalms because God’s Word and teaching endure forever and points to Christ Jesus, salvation, and righteousness. Salvation of the world comes through the Jewish people - Abraham, Isaac, Jacob (Israel), and Jesus - the Savior of the World.