So who are these infiltrators? Where did they come from? And what, if any, is their agenda?

I am aware of 3 instances when large numbers of other peoples were rapidly merged into the house of Israel.

1. The first integration was when the 10 northern tribes of Samaria were taken captive into Assyria. The Assyrian leadership sent citizens of their pagan society to repopulate & care for the plundered Israelite city. When the pagans arrived in Samaria they encountered wild animals that were so ferocious & bold that these Assyrians were being slaughtered within the city itself with terrifying frequency. In response to this dilemma they requested that the Assyrian leadership restore a team of Israelites to their homeland for the express purpose of educating the pagan settlers as to how to placate the God of the Israel. This mixture of peoples of course resulted in a

pagan-monotheistic faith combination. For this reason, centuries later Christ said to the Samarian woman by the well, “Ye know not what ye believe.”

The 10 northern tribes of Samaria were those Israelites that had separated themselves from the tribe of Judah under the reign of Solomon’s son, Rehoboam, as explained earlier. They left Jerusalem & migrated north to establish another kingship line. Unfortunately, their leaders routinely delved into pagan worship & intermarriage as well.

Eventually, God allowed them to be vanquished by the Assyrian conquerors & dispersed throughout the nations.

This global scattering of the Israelites is what is known as the diaspora.

2.  Centuries later, the Medo-Persian Empire had replaced most of the Assyrian territories. The Jews remained, but not without enemies. The story of Esther found in the Old Testament explains the second mass conversion.

In a nut shell what happened was that in order to avoid an armed conflict with the Jews, many people of the land pre-emptively converted to the Jewish faith.  This event is especially significant considering the fact that the Medo-Persian territory was massive, embracing the lands from Ethiopia through India.

This is the story behind today’s Purim celebration.

The book of Esther is only about six pages, so I urge you to read it for yourselves.

3. Eventually the Grecian Empire supplanted that of the Medo-Persians. At that point in history a remnant of the tribe of Judah had already returned to Jerusalem. The rebuilding of, both, the temple & the city in general should have been essentially completed. However, the Grecian Emperor, Antiochus, resented the division that the Jewish faith was causing within his territory so he commanded that a pagan statue be erected within the temple itself.

In response, an 80 year old Judean man led a band of revolutionaries to slaughter the Grecian soldiers who were in the process of executing their emperor’s decision. This Judean & his sons, surnamed Maccabee, retained leadership roles in an armed conflict that lasted about 2 years, today known as the Maccabean War. After winning back the independence of Jerusalem, the Maccabean victors imposed a forced conversion upon all those that resided in or near the city. This is enormously significant to understand since the Edomites inhabited Idumea, a city near Jerusalem that was embraced by the Maccabean compulsion.  Knowing who the Edomites are is crucial. Don’t give up yet. Stay with me. This is part is BIG!

Abraham, first father of the Israelites was a Syrian to whom God made three promises:

 -that he would give Abraham’s descendants the land of Caanan

                                          -that they would be as numerous as the stars of heaven

                                          -that through them all nations of the earth would be blessed.

Abraham begat Isaac to whom the promise was passed. Isaac in turn begat fraternal twin sons, first Esau, which means “Red”, then Jacob. During the pregnancy, Rebecca, Isaac’s wife, enquired of God to explain why she was experiencing unusual discomfort. The Lord revealed to her that “there were 2 nations warring within her womb”. Rebekah never forgot this revelation.

Esau, being the eldest, had birthright status to claim God’s promises. However, the story goes that one day he was so hungry following a hunting expedition that he allowed his brother Jacob to purchase his birthright for a bowl of soup.”

Nevertheless, due to his position as eldest son, Esau retained eligibility to receive a blessing of favor from his father.  The day came, when his father was old & blind, that Isaac was finally prepared to administer this blessing. He requested of Esau that he first hunt venison & make him a stew.

While Esau was departed, Rebekah manipulated her son Jacob, whom she believed to be the most deserving son, into pretending to be his brother so as to receive the blessing in his stead. She quickly prepared a stew using cattle meat & sent Jacob to his blind father. Isaac did indeed become convinced that Jacob was Esau & proceeded to give the blessing.