The Outcast God
This post will be a bit different, but there is a point! Stick with me and I think you’ll find it interesting. Even more than interesting, I hope our hearts are moved and intrigued by God. I love studying the Bible and constantly amazed at what can be discovered just beneath the surface. Cultural and background information that’s not difficult to peak into yet can unlock aspects of the Scripture that are immensely applicable (and interesting).
Recently studying through the Book of Exodus, I became interested in the different terms used to identify God’s people: Hebrew and Israelite (much later we’d have to add in Jewish.) Why the different terms and why does it matter? That’s the question I was asking myself.
The term Israelite comes from God’s people’s identification with the Patriarch Jacob. Jacob wrestled with God and in doing so was given a new name, Israel. The name means one who wrestled with God and men and prevailed. The term Israelite would become an internal identification of God’s people. It was a label of nationality and pride. The designation continues to this day.
Why additionally the term Hebrew?
Many scholars see a strong connection between the term Hebrew and the term Habiru which begins showing up around the 18th Century B.C.E.[1] The term Habiru wasn’t connected with a particular ethnic group, rather the term referred to people who were outcast or marginalized by a dominate ethnic group. The first occurrence in Scripture is Genesis 14:13. Abram is identified as a Hebrew by a survivor of Sodom. It wasn’t a designation of Abram’s ethnicity but his status as a stranger in the land of Canaan. This might be a bit of dense Old Testament history, but Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob while living in Canaan never occupied the land. The Israelites were a marginalized, outcast people until the conquest of Joshua! We’re talking half a millennia later!
The term stuck with the Israelites into and beyond the Egyptian exile. The Egyptians commonly referred to the Israelites as Hebrews in a derogatory sense to indicate their foreign and eventual slave status. When Pharaoh’s daughter identifies Moses, she does so as a Hebrew boy. It’s a term synonymous with outcast and foreigner and somehow becomes enmeshed with God’s people.
What I found so remarkable is God’s choice of identification when He represents His people to those who hold worldly power and authority. For example, He instructs Moses through the exchange with Pharaoh to present God as The God of the Hebrews (Ex. 3:18). Rather than God identifying as YHWY or even The God of the Israelites, God identifies Himself as the God of the outcast and foreigner. As the global superpower of the day, no wonder Pharaoh’s heart hardened!
God has a long history of identifying with the outcast and foreigner. In the New Testament, Jesus certainly demonstrated His identification with the poor and marginalized and it was a charge the early church boldly embraced. The marginalized were at the center of both the old and new covenant movements. Do you know what book of the Bible has the greatest focus on linking the old and new covenants? Hebrews! How cool is that!
As I observe the syncretism present in western Christianity, it makes me hungry to reflect deeply on the true character of God. The all-powerful God that self identifies with the outcast and foreigner. We can debate all sorts of theological points, but God’s heart for the marginalized is not one of them. From the formation of His chosen people, God has leveraged His unfathomable power to lift the marginalized and oppressed. The God of the outcast and foreigner. God help me reflect your heart!
[1] Duane Garret, Commentary on Exodus, 58.