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Most all of us have heard the old Abbott and Costello
vaudeville routine, "Who's on First." Things got so
mixed up it was almost impossible to keep up with who
was what, where, and when.
Could it be possible this also happened with at least
some of the priests and the Temple service in Yeshua’s
day or even before? One major example being Caiaphus. He
was appointed as High Priest and he was not of the house
of Aaron; and then there were those who were truely
Levites such as Zacharias, who was a son of Aaron and
the father of John the baptist.
Certainly motive and opportunity were necessary factors
present for this to happen allowing strangers in the
Temple. God Himself confirms this in Ezekiel 44:7, where
He says they have brought strangers into His Sanctuary.
All that was needed was a people who were familiar with
the Temple duties and who could blend in over time or
even through captivitly becoming accepted by the general
population.
Was there such a people who could have decieved Israel
in this manner?
Is it possible? It is written that Israel was decieved
once before by a people called the Hivites who came with
old shoes and molded bread tricking Israel into making
peace with them in the days of Joshua..
We do know that Yeshua spoke very blunt to the Scribes
and the Pharisees of those days, never once calling any
them the sons of Aaron or the sons of Levi but rather
addressing some of them as, "those who say they are Jews
but are not."
This study does not intend to affirm or deny this as a
fact, however, due to scripture references alluding to
the possibility and even probability of imposters in the
Temple, it is certainly a subject that is worthy of a
closer look. This study is only intended to bring
attention to those sciptures.
The Bondage Issue
So, lets start with the bondage issue. In John 8 Yeshua
was speaking to some of the Scribes, and Pharisees of
the Temple, and others present about bondage. They
didn’t understand that Yeshua was talking about bondage
to sin, but rather assumed He meant bondage as in
captivity to others.
John 8:28-33
Then said Jesus unto them, [The scribes and the
Pharisees in the Temple] When ye have lifted up the Son
of man, then shall ye know that I am [he], and [that] I
do nothing of myself; but as my Father hath taught me, I
speak these things. And he that sent me is with me: the
Father hath not left me alone; for I do always those
things that please him. As he spake these words, many
believed on him. Then said Jesus to those Jews which
believed on him, If ye continue in my word, [then] are
ye my disciples indeed; And ye shall know the truth, and
the truth shall make you free. They answered him, We be
Abraham's seed, and were never in bondage to any man:
how sayest thou, Ye shall be made free?
First of all, if they are descendents of Israel, how can
they say they have never been in bondage? (1.) All of
Israel was in bondage to Egypt,
(2.) later the Assyrians captured Northern tribes,
called Israel, (3.) the remaining Southern tribes,
called Jews, fell captive to the Babylonians, and (4.)
During Yeshua’s ministry, Jerusalem and Israel was under
the control and authority of the Roman Empire (Edomites-Esau).
So, if those to whom Yeshua was speaking were of the
house of Israel, how can they say they have never been
in bondage. Are they not in bondage to the Romans even
as they speak?
Abraham’s Seed
As we examine the facts, notice previously in verse 33,
they only claimed to be Abraham’s seed. Have their own
words betrayed them? True, some of Abraham’s seed
(descendants), namely the Edomites [Esau] and the
Ishmaelites [associated with Midianites], may not have
ever been in bondage. However, we are talking about the
children of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and most
certainly the children of Israel, the children of the
promise, had been in bondage and still were in bondage
at this time to the Romans, paying tribute to Ceasar.
Yeshua challenged these Scribes and Pharasees about even
being of Abraham’s seed. He refers to them as serpents,
sons of the devil, and Jews who say they are Jews and
are not. Please take notice of the conversation in the
following verses.
John 8:39-47
They answered and said unto him, Abraham is our father.
Yeshua saith unto them, If ye were Abraham’s children,
ye would do the works of Abraham. But now ye seek to
kill me, a man that hath told you the truth, which I
have heard of God: this did not Abraham. Ye do the deeds
of your father. Then said they to him, We be not born of
fornication; we have one Father, even God. Yeshua said
unto them, If God were your Father, ye would love me:
for I proceeded forth and came from God; neither came I
of myself, but he sent me. Why do ye not understand my
speech ? even because ye cannot hear my word. Ye are of
your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye
will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, [Cain
killed Abel] and abode not in the truth, because there
is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh
of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it [“Ye
shall not surely die”]. And because I tell you the
truth, ye believe me not. Which of you convinceth me of
sin? And if I say the truth, why do ye not believe me?
He that is of God heareth God’s words: ye therefore hear
them not, because ye are not of God.
Matthew 23:33-35
Ye serpents, ye generation of vipers, how can ye escape
the damnation of hell? Wherefore, behold, I send unto
you prophets, and wise men, and
scribes: and some of them ye shall kill and crucify; and
some of them shall ye scourge in your synagogues, and
persecute them from city to city That upon you may come
all the righteous blood shed upon the earth, from the
blood of righteous Abel unto the blood of Zacharias son
of Barachias, whom ye slew between the temple and the
altar. [Yeshua attaches them all the way back to the
beginning. Even Abel’s blood will come on them. ]
Revelation 2:
I know thy works, and tribulation, and poverty, (but
thou art rich) and I know the blasphemy of them which
say they are Jews, and are not, but are the synagogue of
Satan.
Revelation 3:9
Behold, I will make them of the synagogue of Satan,
which say they are Jews, and are not, but do lie;
behold, I will make them to come and worship before thy
feet, and to know that I have loved thee.
Surely there has been enough conflicting dialogue back
and forth, in a literal context (not just spiritual
meanings), which merits further explanation. If they are
not Jews, nor have they ever been in bondage, then just
who are they? So, we will start our scripture search to
see if we find any referrences explaining just who they
could be, if anybody other than Israel.
The Scribes Were Called Kenites
In Daniel we are warned of those who will come thinking
to change times and laws trying to wear out the saints.
So, lets first take a look at the Sribes who were called
Kenites. We know the duty of the scribes was to copy the
writings of the Torah and such, but why were they called
Kenites? Are the Kenites even of the house of Israel,
and if not, just who are they anyway? Also we read that
Ashur will carry the Kenites away captive.
1 Chronicles 2:55
And the families of the scribes which dwelt at Jabez;
the Tirathites, the Shimeathites, and Suchathites. These
are the Kenites that came of Hemath, the father of the
house of Rechab.
Jeremiah 8:8
How do ye say, We are wise, and the law of the LORD is
with us? Lo, certainly in vain made he it; the pen of
the scribes is in vain.
Numbers 24:21-23
And he looked on the Kenites, and took up his parable,
and said, Strong is thy dwellingplace, and thou puttest
thy nest in a rock. Nevertheless the Kenite shall be
wasted, until Asshur shall carry thee away captive.
And he took up his parable, and said, Alas, who shall
live when God doeth this!
The Kenites were the scribes but they were descendents
of Midian, not of the house of Israel at all.
Kenites
The Kenites was name of a tribe inhabiting the desert
lying between southern Palestine and the mountains of
Sinai. Jethro was of this tribe (Judg. 1:16). He is
called a "Midianite" (Num. 10:29), and hence it is
concluded that the Midianites and the Kenites were the
same tribe. They showed kindness to Israel in their
journey through the wilderness. They accompanied them in
their march as far as Jericho (Judg. 1:16), and then
returned to their old haunts among the Amalekites, in
the desert to the south of Judah. They sustained
afterwards friendly relations with the Israelites when
settled in Canaan (Judg. 4:11, 17-21; 1 Sam. 27:10;
30:29). The Rechabites belonged to this tribe (1 Chr.
2:55) and in the days of Jeremiah (35:7-10) are referred
to as following their nomad habits. Saul bade them
depart out from the Amalekites (1 Sam. 15:6) when, in
obedience to the divine commission, he was about to
"smite Amalek." And his reason is, "for ye showed
kindness to all the children of Israel when they came up
out of Egypt."
The Kenites became the scribes. The Kenites, the
Midianites, and the Rechabites are of the same tribe and
not of the house of Israel.
The Rechabites
Lets look now at the Rechabites. They were commanded of
their father not to plant vineyards, nor sow seed, nor
build houses, nor even to have any. This is just the
opposite of what God told the children of Israel to do.
Also we find the Rechabites dwelt in Jerusalem for fear
of the Caldeans. God told Jeremiah to go to the
Rechabites and the following account is recorded for us.
Jeremiah 35:
-
The word which came unto Jeremiah from the LORD in
the days of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah king of
Judah, saying,
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Go unto the house of the Rechabites, and speak unto
them, and bring them into the house of the LORD,
into one of the chambers, and give them wine to
drink.
-
Then I took Jaazaniah the son of Jeremiah, the son
of Habaziniah, and his brethren, and all his sons,
and the whole house of the Rechabites;
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And I brought them into the house of the LORD, into
the chamber of the sons of Hanan, the son of
Igdaliah, a man of God, which was by the chamber of
the princes, which was above the chamber of Maaseiah
the son of Shallum, the keeper of the door:
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And I set before the sons of the house of the
Rechabites pots full of wine, and cups, and I said
unto them, Drink ye wine.
-
But they said, We will drink no wine: for Jonadab
the son of Rechab our father commanded us, saying,
Ye shall drink no wine, neither ye, nor your sons
for ever:
-
Neither shall ye build house, nor sow seed, nor
plant vineyard, nor have any: but all your days ye
shall dwell in tents; that ye may live many days in
the land where ye be strangers.
-
Thus have we obeyed the voice of Jonadab the son of
Rechab our father in all that he hath charged us, to
drink no wine all our days, we, our wives, our sons,
nor our daughters;
-
Nor to build houses for us to dwell in: neither have
we vineyard, nor field, nor seed:
-
But we have dwelt in tents, and have obeyed, and
done according to all that Jonadab our father
commanded us.
-
But it came to pass, when Nebuchadrezzar king of
Babylon came up into the land, that we said, Come,
and let us go to Jerusalem for fear of the army of
the Chaldeans, and for fear of the army of the
Syrians: so we dwell at Jerusalem.
The above scriptures are as though God wants to reveal
to Jeremiah or to us who the Rechabites are, or maybe to
make sure it was recorded for us to understand. Never
the less, the Rechabites were not of the house of
Israel. They dwelt in the Jerusalem area because they
feared Nebuchadrezzar and thought they would be safe in
the midst of Israel.
Rechabites:
The descendants of Rechab through Jonadab or Jehonadab.
They belonged to the Kenites, who accompanied the
children of Israel into Palestine, and dwelt among them.
Moses married a Kenite wife (Judg. 1:16), and Jael was
the wife of "Heber the Kenite" (Judg 4:17). Saul also
showed kindness to the Kenites (1 Sam. 15:6). The main
body of the Kenites dwelt in cities, and adopted settled
habits of life (1 Sam 30:29); but Jehonadab forbade his
descendants to drink wine or to live in cities. They
were commanded to lead always a nomad life. They adhered
to the law laid down by Jonadab, and were noted for
their fidelity to the old-established custom of their
family in the days of Jeremiah (35).
The Nethinims
Neither the Kenites (the scribes) nor the Rechabites
were of the house of Israel, and now come the Nethinims.
The Nethinims are actually descendants of Ham. In the
days of Saul, the Nethinims (meaning the given ones),
were originally called Gibeonites. (See lineage chart at
the end of this study. The Nethinims are none other than
a blend of the HIVITES and the Amorites. )
After David began to reign, he gave the Nethinims to the
Levites as Temple servants (Ezra 8:20). The Nethinims
did the menial work for the Levites for several years.
Being the Temple servants of the Levites, put the
Nethinims in a very unique position. Their duties would
enable them to become very knowledgeable with everything
concerning the entire Temple and Altar service.
It would have been extremely commonplace for Israel to
see the Nethinims coming and going every day at the
Temple. Compounding the situation, when the Jews
(Southern Israel) were carried away captive to Babylon,
the Nethinims were carried away with them and are
believed to have merged into the general body of the
Jewish people.
Now it becomes critically obvious why God commanded that
tribal lineage only comes through the father's seed to
the son, NEVER through the woman. Otherwise a Levite
woman, married to a Nethinim, could lay claim that her
son, who was fatherd by the Nethinim husband, is of the
Levite tribe though her seed, which absolutely
contradicts the Law, and sewing confusion.
1 Chr 9:1-2
So all Israel were reckoned by genealogies: and behold,
they were written in the book of the kings of Israel and
Judah, who were carried away to Babylon for the
transgression. Now the first inhabitants that dwelt in
their possessions in their cities were, the Israelites,
the priests, Levites, and the Nethinims.
Ezra 8:20
Also of the Nethinims, whom David and the princes had
appointed for the service of the Levites, two hundred
and twenty Nethinims: all of the were expressed by name
Nehemiah 11:20-21
And the residue of Israel, of the priests, and the
Levites, were in all the cities of Judah, every one in
his inheritance. But the Nethinims dwelt in Ophel: and
Ziha and Gispa were over the Nethinims.
Nethinim (formally Gibeonites)
the name given to the hereditary temple servants in all
the post-Exilian books of Scripture. The word means
given, i.e., "those set apart", viz., to the menial work
of the sanctuary for the Levites. The tradition is that
the Gibeonites (Josh. 9:27) were the original caste,
afterwards called Nethinim. Their numbers were added to
afterwards from captives taken in battle; and they were
formally given by David to the Levites (Ezra 8:20), and
so were called Nethinim, i.e., the given ones, given to
the Levites to be their servants. 612 Nethinim returned
from Babylon (Ezra 2:58; 8:20). They were under the
control of a chief from among themselves (2:43; Neh.
7:46). No reference to them appears in the New
Testament, because it is probable that they became
merged in the general body of the Jewish people.
Since the Nethinims were also carried away to Babylon,
it is very probable many became assimilated in with the
general body of Southern Israel (mostly Judah, Benjamin,
and some of Levi). This would easily explain Ezra’s
actions below when the Jews were permitted to return to
Jerusalem.
Ezra 8:
15 And I gathered them together to the river that
runneth to Ahava; and there abode we in tents three
days: and I viewed the people, and the priests, and
found there none of the sons of Levi.
16 Then sent I for Eliezer, for Ariel, for Shemaiah, and
for Elnathan, and for Jarib, and for Elnathan, and for
Nathan, and for Zechariah, and for Meshullam, chief men;
also for Joiarib, and for Elnathan, men of
understanding.
17 And I sent them with commandment unto Iddo the chief
at the place Casiphia, and I told them what they should
say unto Iddo, and to his brethren the Nethinims, at the
place Casiphia, that they should bring unto us ministers
for the house of our God.
18 And by the good hand of our God upon us they brought
us a man [one man] of understanding, of the sons of
Mahli, the son of Levi, the son of Israel; and Sherebiah,
with his sons and his brethren, eighteen;
Strangers In The Temple Sanctuary!
Things get worse. In Ezekiel, we are told that Israel
either hired or assigned strangers (not of Israel) to be
keepers of the sanctuary and God’s holy things! God
considers this to be an abomination.
Ezekiel 44:
6 And thou shalt say to the rebellious, even to the
house of Israel, Thus saith the Lord GOD; O ye house of
Israel, let it suffice you of all your abominations,
7 In that ye have brought into my sanctuary strangers,
uncircumcised in heart, and uncircumcised in flesh, to
be in my sanctuary, to pollute it, even my house, when
ye offer my bread, the fat and the blood, and they have
broken my covenant because of all your abominations.
8 And ye have not kept the charge of mine holy things:
but ye have set keepers of my charge in my sanctuary for
yourselves.
The Nethinims, it seems, would be the strangers who were
set as keepers in charge of God's sanctuary, especially
since they were already there trained as Temple servants
to Levites' and would know how the service of the
sanctuary was to be done. Who else could have been the
uncircumcised keepers so easily accepted by the people.
The Nethinims were seen there every day anyway
performing their menial duties as servants to the
Levites. The Nethinims would surely jump at the chance
to be exalted and set in as keepers of God's sanctuary.
All The Bases Are Covered
The Kenites and Rechabites (both Midianites) along with
the Nethinims and Gibeonites (both Hamites) are all
involved and seem to have even taken over most all of
the Temple service. Only to make matters worse, Herod
and the Romans (both Edomites) now control Jerusalem and
Israel.
The Romans even appointed Caiaphus (one of their own) as
High Priest, which was reserved for Aaron’s sons only.
The courage of our Lord becomes very clear as we see
what He was up against. He was all but surrounded by
treachery. With a better understanding of just whom
Yeshua was dealing with, His confrontation with the
religious leaders in His day takes on a whole new
literal meaning as we read the closing verses.
If this scenario is correct and certainly it is very
possible, it is no wonder they hated Yeshua and wanted
Him dead, He knew who they were.
Matthew 23:
29 Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites!
because ye build the tombs of the prophets, and garnish
the sepulchres of the righteous, 30 And say, If we had
been in the days of our fathers, we would not have been
partakers with them in the blood of the prophets.
31 Wherefore ye be witnesses unto yourselves, that ye
are the children of them which killed the prophets.
32 Fill ye up then the measure of your fathers.
33 Ye serpents, ye generation of vipers, how can ye
escape the damnation of hell?
34 Wherefore, behold, I send unto you prophets, and wise
men, and
scribes: and some of them ye shall kill and crucify; and
some of them shall ye scourge in your synagogues, and
persecute them from city to
city:
35 That upon you may come all the righteous blood shed
upon the earth, from the blood of righteous Abel unto
the blood of Zacharias son of Barachias, whom ye slew
between the temple and the altar
Revelation 2:
9 I know thy works, and tribulation, and poverty, (but
thou art rich) and I know the blasphemy of them which
say they are Jews, and are not, but are the synagogue of
Satan.
Revelation 3:
9 Behold, I will make them of the synagogue of Satan,
which say they are Jews, and are not, but do lie;
behold, I will make them to come and worship before thy
feet, and to know that I have loved thee.
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