THE PRINCIPLE OF ADOPTION
Beloved Family of YAH - With all of our
intense dialogue concerning our identity as Hebrews, as 'strangers', and
as Yisraelites known as Gentiles, somehow, for the most part, we've
bypassed the foundational principle of adoption. Whether at the immediate
family level, the extended family level or the tribal level, this
principle is essential in nation building and establishing Kingdom order.
And as always, in seeking a clear understanding on ANY issue concerning
the sons of men, we must look to THE son of man – Y'shua Himself. And when
it comes to national heritage and pedigree, the two lineages of Messiah
recorded in the Gospels give us a logical starting point...
To begin with, Y'shua was born the KING of all Yisrael. To this, we all
agree. And yet, His birth Father - YAH - is not a Hebrew Israelite!
Sélah.
Let’s briefly examine brethren, how this profound principle is set forth
in the Messianic genealogies:
MattitYahu (Matthew) 1
15 And Eliud begat Eleazar; and Eleazar begat Matthan; and Matthan
begat Ya'aqob;
16 And Ya'aqob begat Yosef (Joseph) the husband of Miriam (Mary), of whom
was born Y'shua, who is called Mashiach (Christ).
Notice that unlike in verse 15, and ALL the other genealogical passages,
verse 16 doesn't say that Yosef BEGAT Y'shua. But instead he says "…Yosef
the husband of Miriam, of whom was BORN Y'shua, who is called Mashiach… "
Why not? Why didn't MattitYahu just simply record "Yosef begat Y'shua"
just like he did with all the other generations? In my judgment, the
answer is clear – simply because Yosef is the ADOPTIVE father of the
Messiah; and it was "…Miriam, of whom was born the Messiah...
"Therefore, the Messiah Himself is the very Lion of the tribe of Yehudah
BY ADOPTION! Sélah.
Let there be no doubt. This truth undeniably reveals that determining
heritage by patriarchal lineage alone is incorrect…
Luke 3:23 reads:
And Y'shua himself began to be about (as if he were) thirty years of
age, being (as was supposed) the son of Yosef, which was the son of Heli,
According to Luke's
genealogy, Heli, being the father of Miriam (Mary) and the father-in-law
of Yosef (Joseph), is the grandfather of Y'shua. So then Y'shua is the
seed of His maternal grandfather Heli. [Heli is the seed of Abraham (Luke
3:34), and therefore, so is the Messiah.] Again, according to the
genealogies, it's the Messiah's ADOPTIVE father's lineage that gives
Y'shua the legal right to inherit the very throne of Dawid!
In Acts 17, Luke records
the apostle Paul
on this wise:
24 YHWH Elohim
that made the world and all things therein, seeing that He is Master of
heaven and earth, dwells not in temples made with hands;
25 Neither is worshipped with men's hands, as though He needed any thing,
seeing He gives to all life, and breath, and all things;
26 And has made of ONE BLOOD all nations of men for to dwell on all the
face of the earth, and has determined the times before appointed, and the
bounds of their habitation;
The truth is, a man's nationality is not a matter of BLOOD. So then in a
real sense, ALL men are in fact blood brothers... And it's a physiological
fact that a man's blood comes exclusively from his father. Surely this is
why the Messiah had to bypass the bloodline of men. If He were a blood
relative of Adam like the rest of us, He would've been a partaker of the
original sin, and thus unqualified to redeem us from the curse.
And so a true understanding of lineage according to the scriptures gives
us the correct means of determining national identity. Paul
also bears witness to this in the Ruach - Romans 9:
1 I say the truth in Christ, I lie not, my conscience also bearing me
witness in the Holy Spirit,
2 That I have great heaviness and continual sorrow in my heart.
3 For I could wish that myself were accursed from Christ for my brethren,
my kinsmen according to the FLESH:
(Not according to the bloodline.)
4 Who are Israelites; to whom pertains the adoption, and the glory,
and the covenants, and the giving of the law, and the service of YAH, and
the promises;
5 Whose are the fathers, and of whom as concerning the flesh Messiah came,
who is over all, YAH blessed forever. Ahmein.
(Perhaps most importantly, the principle of adoption is the key to finally
UNDERSTANDING and implementing as a Nation the profound truth revealed
through Paul concerning FAITH in defining a true Israelite...)
6 Not as though the word of YAH has taken none effect. For they are
not all Israel, which are OF Israel:
7 Neither, because they are the seed of Abraham, are they all children:
but, in Yitzhaq (Isaac) shall your seed be called.
8 That is, they which are the children of the flesh, these are not the
children of YAH: but the children of the promise are counted for the seed.
As these scriptures reveal, if a man is an Israelite according to the
flesh only, he is NOT Israel. But if a man is an Israelite
according to the Spirit, whether a Hebrew or a convert, he is an
Israelite indeed.
For me, this much is clear: Those who are Israelites according to the
flesh are original Hebrew Israelites - those whose life experience is
according to that which was spoken by the prophets, as sojourners among
ALL nations, AND all their progeny through intermarriage with the
indigenous peoples of the lands of their sojourning.
Now if a man is an Israelite according to the flesh AND the Spirit, I
believe he is a rightful PRIMARY heir of the adoption, the glory, the
covenants, the giving of the law, the service of YAH, and the promises. So
then, what is the conclusion of the matter? As I see it, apart from the
order of sons and servants in the house; in the final analysis, beyond
ones pedigree, a man's TRUE nationality will be determined not by blood OR
by flesh, but by FAITH.
May the grace, mercy and peace of Abeinu YAH continually abide with us
all.
Shalom Aleichem!
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