Brian Somers As of June 2020, the “lost” ten tribes are still in the Assyrian diaspora. Except for a raid by elements of the exiles into Israel during the days of the Judean kings that turned into a stay of somewhat more than twenty years, the ten tribes have not returned from their corporate exile. This raid and extended stay is known to historians as the Scythian occupation.
This blog takes the view that the family of Jacob started out more or less united, was divided, and will be reunited in the future. Since the status as of June 2020 is that the division still exists, we hold to the two-house reality, while looking forward in hope for the reunification of the two houses into one.
It was not until the blessings of Jacob in Genesis 49 that a division was created. The blessings of the covenant that YHVH made with Abraham was passed down in their entirety to Isaac and from Isaac to Jacob. To Judah, the scepter was given (Genesis 49:10). But the blessings of explosive growth in population (Genesis 48:16,19) and material riches were given to Joseph (Genesis 49:25-26). The rest of their brothers shared in the overall blessings promised to Abraham and Isaac. Judah and Joseph now stood as leaders within the family of Jacob. This fact was emphasized by YHVH to Ezekiel saying that the divided family of Jacob were pictured as two sisters in Egypt that became His (Ezekiel 23:1-4). The fall of Solomon into idolatrous worship resulted in the division of the United Kingdom of Saul, David, and Solomon into the northern kingdom of Israel and the southern Kingdom of Judah. Since the division, the two kingdoms have been set into different trajectories forward into time and across the world. There will come a future day when the trajectories combine into a single path and the two become one in YHVH’s Hand (Ezekiel 37:19-22).
Given the above for context, I had some thoughts that I’d like to share with you about some practical issues related to the reunification of the Two Houses.
Identity
What is a Jew? Even Jews themselves for all their discussion over the decades since the formation of the modern State of Israel have not fully answered the question for purposes of the Basic Law of Return. But one thing they tend to agree on is that a Jew is NOT a believer in Yeshua. With respect to this division of belief, Paul commented that if we are of the uncircumcision, do not seek to join the circumcision. If of the circumcision, do not seek to be of the uncircumcision. But membership of either group is not as important as obedience (1 Corinthians 7:18-19)
So if there is no clear definition of what is a Jew, then what clear standard is given to be like them? Which group of Jews are we to look like? Reform, Conservative, Orthodox, Haredim? They each have different views about Torah. Do we follow any of their halachah, which is largely rabbinical and based on the Oral Torah? Do we adhere to the Tanakh and Brit Chadassah and be a recognizably different stick than the Jews? Do we call ourselves (Messianic|Nazarene) Jews, Messianic Christians, Hebrew Israelites? Ever since Israel recaptured Jerusalem in 1967 which gave birth to the Hebrew Roots movement, that last question has been endlessly debated with many proposals offered, and there’s still no answer accepted by everyone. This is the national level. Next, we’ll discuss the tribal level of identity.
The blessing that Jacob gave to each of his sons, and the tribal blessings that Moses gave at the end differ. Each tribe has unique characteristics and roles in Israel. There are twelve gates in the new Jerusalem. Each tribe was represented by a different banner and a different stone in the breastplate of the high priest. The warriors of the tribes had different skill sets. This means that in addition to being associated with a nation (Judah or Ephraim), the men of Israel are also associated with the tribes. For Jews, the leading tribes are either Judah or Levi. There are descendants among the Jews of the few members of the northern tribes that rejected the descent into idol worship and moved south. For the ten tribes led by Ephraim, there are Ephraim, Manasseh, Reuben, Gad, Dan, Asher, Naphtali, Levi, Simeon and Benjamin. Elements of the last three went into the Assyrian exile if captured and sent into exile with the northerners.
Ezekiel saw the Millennial Kingdom and wrote about it in chapters 40-48. Starting in the thirteenth verse of chapter 47 though the end of chapter 48, the boundaries of the twelve tribes are discussed. If an alien does not know if he descends from one of the tribes or a native-born descends from more than one tribe, then a choice of tribal affiliation can be made based on where the alien chooses to live.
21 So you shall divide this land among you according to the tribes of Israel. 22 You shall allot it as an inheritance for yourselves and for the aliens who reside among you and have begotten children among you. They shall be to you as citizens of Israel; with you they shall be allotted an inheritance among the tribes of Israel. 23 In whatever tribe aliens reside, there you shall assign them their inheritance, says the Lord God.
Ezekiel 47:21-23
Grafting into the olive tree
Paul’s comments in Romans 11 about the wild and natural branches bear consideration in this discussion. The wild branches that are grafted into the natural tree will eventually become part of the tree. But the wild branches are not allowed to boast over the natural branches; the question could be raised what does it mean to “boast”. The wild branches do not support the root, but the root the entire tree. Paul didn’t say that any of the natural branches had input whether or not the wild branches were grafted in. To reiterate, both branches have constraints: (a) the wild branches are not allowed to boast over the natural branches because of belief in Yeshua and (b) the natural branches have no say in the grafting in of the wild branches and are not allowed to be jealous. If Judah and Ephraim are viewed as two wives, which they are according to Ezekiel 23:1-4, Jeremiah 3:1-14, and Jeremiah 31:31-32, then Isaiah’s prophecy about them makes perfect sense:
The jealousy of Ephraim shall depart,
the hostility of Judah shall be cut off;Ephraim shall not be jealous of Judah,
Isaiah 11:13
and Judah shall not be hostile towards Ephraim.
To become a citizen of Israel requires sojourning, circumcision, and then celebrating the Passover. It is the alien’s decision to make and this decision is between the alien and YHVH. The native-born then need to accept the new citizen. (Exodus 12:48-9). The obligations and privileges of the covenant now applies on the new citizen as it does for the native-born. To illustrate this point further, at Mount Sinai, to become part of the covenant for both native-born and mixed multitude, each person had to tell YHVH that all He had said, they would do.
Now therefore, if you obey my voice and keep my covenant, you shall be my treasured possession out of all the peoples. Indeed, the whole earth is mine, 6 but you shall be for me a priestly kingdom and a holy nation. These are the words that you shall speak to the Israelites.” 7 So Moses came, summoned the elders of the people, and set before them all these words that the Lord had commanded him. 8 The people all answered as one: “Everything that the Lord has spoken we will do.” Moses reported the words of the people to the Lord.
Exodus 19:5-8
Present Day Tribal Politics
The thing is, we are 30+ centuries removed from the unity of that day on Shavuot at Sinai. We are now in the 21st century AD (CE for those who are secular), and for 21 centuries the Jews have fought hard to remain an identifiable people of the Word. They have studied the Word, developed teachings and halachah. They have developed rules to determine who can be accepted into the community. But it is now the last days. Times have changed and Messiah is soon coming.
This is not an easy time for the Jews. It will be as Isaiah asked “where have these come from?” and YHVH answered “these are coming from the nations” (Isaiah 49:19-22). The full passage is as follows:
Surely your waste and your desolate places
Isaiah 49:19-22
and your devastated land—
surely now you will be too crowded for your inhabitants,
and those who swallowed you up will be far away.
20 The children born in the time of your bereavement
will yet say in your hearing:
“The place is too crowded for me;
make room for me to settle.”
21 Then you will say in your heart,
“Who has borne me these?
I was bereaved and barren,
exiled and put away—
so who has reared these?
I was left all alone—
where then have these come from?”
22 Thus says the Lord God:
I will soon lift up my hand to the nations,
and raise my signal to the peoples;
and they shall bring your sons in their bosom,
and your daughters shall be carried on their shoulders.
Jews will also point to Genesis 49:10 and say that Judah has the scepter and thus the controlling right to set the rules.
On the other hand, those of the house of Ephraim can and do point to Deuteronomy 30 to make their case. As outlined below, while we’re in exile, which we are, we are to return to YHVH, obey Him with all our heart and soul according to that written in His word (30:10). It does not say that we are responding to any single tribe, but responding to Him. That makes me think that Zechariah 8:23 is a prophecy of what will be, not what should be.
When all these things have happened to you, the blessings and the curses that I have set before you, if you call them to mind among all the nations where the Lord your God has driven you, 2 and return to the Lord your God, and you and your children obey him with all your heart and with all your soul, just as I am commanding you today, 3 then the Lord your God will restore your fortunes and have compassion on you, gathering you again from all the peoples among whom the Lord your God has scattered you. 4 Even if you are exiled to the ends of the world, from there the Lord your God will gather you, and from there he will bring you back. 5 The Lord your God will bring you into the land that your ancestors possessed, and you will possess it; he will make you more prosperous and numerous than your ancestors. 6 Moreover, the Lord your God will circumcise your heart and the heart of your descendants, so that you will love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, in order that you may live. 7 The Lord your God will put all these curses on your enemies and on the adversaries who took advantage of you. 8 Then you shall again obey the Lord, observing all his commandments that I am commanding you today, 9 and the Lord your God will make you abundantly prosperous in all your undertakings, in the fruit of your body, in the fruit of your livestock, and in the fruit of your soil. For the Lord will again take delight in prospering you, just as he delighted in prospering your ancestors, 10 when you obey the Lord your God by observing his commandments and decrees that are written in this book of the law, because you turn to the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul.
Deuteronomy 30:1-10
Concluding Thoughts
It comes down to who makes the rules for entrance into the community and household of Israel. YHVH said what His requirements were in Exodus 12 and 19. Modern day Jews point to Genesis 49:10 and say they were given the authority to make the rules. Does Genesis 49:10 trump Exodus 12/19 and Deuteronomy 30? Because Yeshua said that all authority in heaven and earth was given to Him (Matthew 28:18), I consider the authority of Genesis 49:10 to be held by Yeshua, Himself a Jew, though I am fully cognizant that the vast majority of present-day Jews do not accept that statement. Therefore, once the non-Jewish are keeping and guarding the Torah, specifically the Mosaic Covenant, and Jews accept Yeshua as their King, then the complete integration of Ezekiel’s two sticks into one stick can take place.
HalleluYah! Love it!
And, excited to see this blog become a reality!