The Two Houses: Israel and Judah in Scripture

When I was growing up we typically went to church twice a week, but I never once heard that there were two houses of Israel in Scripture. I distinctly remember in my teens reading through the whole Bible and wondering why in Kings it kept going back and forth between mentioning Judah and mentioning Israel. Weren't these the same thing?

It has been said by Biblical scholars that if you don't realize that there are two houses of Israel then you're going to misunderstand seven-eighths of the Bible! I heard that quote before I knew about the two tribes and, in all honesty, I didn't believe it. Sure, I wasn't a Bible expert, but I grew up in church and was very familiar with Scripture. How could a topic that seems like it is barely brought up keep me from understanding properly almost 90% of the word?

Originally there was only one kingdom of Israel, which was made up of twelve tribes, named after the sons of Jacob/Israel. The tribes had their own territory, comparable to the states making up the USA. However, the kingdom split after King Solomon died. A great portion of Scripture relates to the two houses becoming unified again.

Where we see the two houses of Israel and Judah in Scripture:

1 Kings 11:31 - The prophet Ahijah tore his garment into twelve pieces, and told Jeroboam to take ten, because YHWH was tearing the reign from Solomon and giving it to Jeroboam. This was happening because Solomon had forsaken YHWH and worshipped Ashtoreth, Chemosh, and Molech and did not follow Biblical law (verse 33). Since Jeroboam is not given all twelve tribes, this makes two separate kingdoms of YHWH's people.

1 Kings 12 - This is where the people rebelled against Solomon's son, King Rehoboam, on account of heavy labor and taxation. Verse 20, "It came to pass when all Israel heard that Jeroboam had come back, they sent for him and called him to the congregation, and made him king over all Israel. There was none who followed the house of David, but the tribe of Judah only." David's grandson, Rehoboam was now king of Judah (and also Levi, since the temple was in Jerusalem, where he reigned), while Jeroboam was now king of Israel. (Note that the birthright to the name of Israel was given by Israel/Jacob himself to his grandson Ephraim in Genesis 48. This is why the ten tribes were called Israel.)

Jeremiah 31:31 - "The days are coming," declares YHWH, "when I shall make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah." There are many verses like this in the Bible, that we just won't be able to make sense of unless we acknowledge the split between Israel and Judah. It's significant that both houses are involved in the new covenant! The Gospel is not just for people of a certain bloodline or background, forgiveness and redemption is available to all. 

2 Kings 17:23 - "Israel was exiled from their land to Assyria, as it is to this day." This happened in roughly 740 BC, later we see the house of Judah taken into Babylonian captivity around 600 BC. We simply cannot reconcile the accounts of the Bible unless we look at Israel and Judah as separate entities at this point. It's also imperative to recognize that while the house of Judah returned from exile after 70 years and their culture was intact at the time of the Messiah, the house of Israel was scattered and 'lost,' which leads us to a major theme in Scripture of YHWH regathering and restoring his people.

Ezekiel 37:1-14 - Do you know the story of the dry bones? If not, please read it because it's amazing! But it's not just a euphemism for areas of our lives that feel hopeless. The Bible explains in verse 11, "These bones are the house of Israel." 

Ezekiel 37:15-28 - YHWH instructs Ezekiel to connect two sticks that he has written on. One says, "For Judah," and the other, "For Ephraim." This was a visual illustration of all twelve tribes being reunited, even though by this time the people of house of Israel had been scattered abroad.

The Good Samaritan (Luke 10:30-37) - While you are probably familiar with this story, it's interesting to see that the Messiah is acknowledging the separation of the tribes here. In his story, the first two people that pass the man who had been beaten, robbed, and left for dead were a priest and a Levite, so they would be from the house of Judah. Many people in Samaria at that time were from the house of Israel. The Messiah's point is not that one tribe is better than the others here. Since many of those in Judah looked down on those from the house of Israel, he used this story to say that he didn't look down on those from Israel or think they were all bad.

1 Kings 22:2 - "King Jehoshaphat of Judah went down to visit King Ahab of Israel." As the chapter goes on they speak to each other and talk about going to war together, showing the houses operate as separate entities from each other with their own armies, etc. Many people read through Kings and don't catch that Israel and Judah are two distinct kingdoms, but in this chapter it's easy to see.

Hosea - The story of Hosea being told to marry a harlot makes a lot more sense when we look at it through the lens of the house of Israel. Judah wasn't perfect either, but the house of Israel went significantly astray from YHWH. Jeroboam's sin of not adhering to Biblical law would later lead Israel into the grievance of worshiping demonic entities, thereby committing harlotry against YHWH. Hosea's action was a beautiful foreshadow of him lovingly coming after the unfaithful house of Israel.

Matthew 15:24 - "I was not sent except to the lost sheep of the house of Israel." Raise your hand if you've understood this verse to mean that the Messiah came only for Jews. Raise your other hand if you've believed that the Gospel was only made available to everyone because Jewish leaders rejected the Messiah. I have both arms up. I used to read this verse and feel slightly rejected because I am not from the tribe of Judah, but that's not what the Messiah is saying here. He said he came for the house of Israel, a people that had been in captivity and scattered in the nations for more than 750 years when he made this statement. Most of these people weren't serving YHWH, didn't know his instructions (let alone follow them), and wouldn't have known that their ancestors were part of Israel and the family of YHWH. That's significant because he's still after people like that.

Acts 13:46 - "It was necessary that the word of YHWH should be spoken to you first; but seeing as you push it away, and judge yourselves unworthy of everlasting life, we turn to the Gentiles." This happened shortly after Peter's vision about not believing that certain people were unclean or unfit for the Gospel. It was after that revelation that the Gospel was preached outside of the house of Judah. Up until then, New Testament leaders struggled with manmade teachings about those from Judah being superior to those from the house of Israel, or other nations.

Hebrews 8:8-9 - "I shall make with the house of Israel and house of Judah a new covenant, not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers when I lead them out of Egypt." Another reiteration of YHWH bringing the houses back together and making covenant with the people of both houses.

These are a handful of examples, but once you recognize this distinction you will start to see it throughout the Bible. The prophets frequently specify which group they are talking to, and once you realize that, they don't sound wishy-washy, saying one thing and then another, because you realize different messages were for the different houses! Kings is another great example, the story of Elijah calling fire down from heaven happened in Israel; the evil Athaliah, who murdered all but one of her grandchildren, was Queen of Judah. These distinctions matter and will help you to better understand the word!

Related posts:
Understanding the Other 88% of the Bible

Commandments or Traditions: Understanding the New Testament
Comparing the Melchizedek and Levitical Priesthoods

light, easy, small printable

"It is a light, easy, small thing to bring back the tribes of Jacob and to restore Israel." -Isaiah 49:6

The wording from this verse is so lovely to me. What seems to me as an insurmountable problem - the lost tribes of Israel - is described as light, easy, and small for YHWH. No problem at all.

That goes for what you're dealing with too. Maybe you're having relationship frustrations with family members. Easy thing for YHWH to restore. Or maybe your health diagnosis isn't so great at the moment. That is a light matter for YHWH. If your situation with work is bad that is a small thing to YHWH. 

Light easy small. YHWH overcomes it all. If that's a reminder you need, here is a printable for you. Put it in a place you will see it often, and be reminded of hope.

Click here to download. This printable is free for your personal use.

What I'm Reading - The History of the American Indians

American Indians have a ton in common with ancient Hebrew culture.

Before I came across this book that was an unknown idea to me. As you guys know I've spent some time studying and considering the Lost Tribes of Israel, and even heard of a few mentions of Hebrew culture showing up in South America, but never here in my own country. I've even read about the possibility of King Solomon sending out workers to what is now Michigan's Upper Peninsula to harvest enormous amounts of copper (see 1 Kings 10:22), but I hadn't really thought about Hebrews staying here. If you grew up being told that Native Americans had somehow arrived in North America from Asia, it is startling to realize, as Adair points out, the Native tribes have almost no similarities to the cultures of Asia. What is even more shocking is just how many strong connections some of these tribes have to the culture of ancient Israel. 

Who is James Adair?
Born in Ireland around 1709, Adair lead an adventurous life coming to the American colonies where he traded and practiced medicine. He spent something like forty years of his life living among Native American tribes in the south, primarily the Chickasaw. He clearly was convinced that the tribes he interacted with descended from the tribes of Israel, devoting about half the pages of his notes to his observances on this. The book was supposed to teach the English how to interact with the Indians.

According to Adair, American Indians:
-do not bow to others, but bow in religious practice
-call deceitful people snakes
-do not consider the bear as clean as the deer
-priests wear breast plates, a wreath around the head, and an ephod
-paid 10% of their produce to rainmakers
-have a celebration called 'feast of the new-sanctified fruits'
-insult others with the phrase, "you resemble those beaten in Canaan"
-observe ritual washings, even in cold water
-practice marital separation during the woman's menstrual cycle
-married couples stay have a separation of forty days after the birth of a child
-are separated from the tribe for three days after funeral duties
-separate wounded warriors from the camp the same way YHWH instructed Israel to separate the lepers
-had the unmarried brother of the husband marry the widow
-refered to rabbits with a form of the word, "not to meddle with"

Are these tribes observing the instructions of YHWH or are all of these things just coincidental? Perhaps the people living in this country when the Europeans arrived were not as pagan and heathen as we have been told to believe. According to Adair, "The American Indians are so far from being Atheists....that they have the great sacred name of God that describes his divine essence, and by which he manifested himself to Moses." He confirmed that tribes refer to the Deity as Yo He Wah and that name is used in their religious ceremonies. Isn't that incredible?!

One of the downsides of this book is that it is tough to read. It is written in a more formal, academic way and the 200+ years it's been since the book was written make some passages difficult to understand. He seems to use 'Indian' as a blanket label for the Chickasaw, Cherokee, and Muskogee tribes, but it is not always clear which specifically he is talking about. Something else to be aware of is the word 'Jew' is used incorrectly in place of 'Hebrew.' Since this type of reading is not everyone's cup of tea I thought I would share a few of quotes from the book that I found most interesting as an introduction to a couple of things. Firstly, that the Lost Tribes of Israel are not lost at all to YHWH. He has been faithful to preserve his people through the ages. And also that true history is more connected with Scripture than we realized in middle school social studies.

Quotes from The History of the American Indians:

They flatter themselves with the name hottuk oretoopah, "The beloved people," because their supposed ancestors, as they affirm, were under the immediate government of the Deity who was present with them, in a very particular manner, and directed them by prophets; while the rest of the world were aliens and out-laws to the covenant. -89

The Indian language, and dialects, appear to have the very idiom and genus of the Hebrew. -93

They say, "Yah" at the beginning of their religious dances, with a bowing posture of body. -101

Let us now turn to the copper colour American Hebrews. 141

While dancing they never fail to repeat those notes; and frequently the holy train strike up Halelu, Halelu; then Haleluiah, Halelu-Yah, and Aleluiah and Alelu-Yah. -142 (Whoa! Native Americans knew the phrase hallelujah and used it to praise YHWH!)

And may we not reasonably suppose, that they formerly understood the psalms, or divine hymns? at least those that begin with Halelu-Yah. -142

After which, they go to some convenient deep water, and there, according to the ceremonial law of the Hebrews, they wash away their sins with water. -143

The Indians formerly observed the grand festival of the annual expiation of sin, at the beginning of the first new moon, in which their corn became the full eared. -144 (Compare that with Leviticus 23:39, which tells us celebrate Sukkot to YHWH after the corn has been gathered in.)

...annually observed their festivals, and Neetak-Yah-ah, "days of afflicting themselves before the Deity." -144 (Sounds like Yom Kippur)

He charges them to be sure not to give the children a bad example of eating any unsanctified, or impure food. -150

When the Indians meet at night to gladden and unite their hearts before Yohewah, they say Yohewa-shoo, Yohewa-shoo, Yohewahshee Yohewashee, and Yohewahshai", with much energy. -156 (Very similar to our modern pronunciations of Yahusha or Yahushua.)

That these red savages formerly understood the radical meaning, and emblematic design, of the important words they use in their religious dances and sacred hymns, is pretty obvious, if we consider the reverence they pay to the mysterious divine name Yo He Wah. -156

Indian women always throw a small piece of the fattiest of the meat into the fire when they are eating. -157

They commonly pull their new-killed venison (before they dress it) several times through the smoke and flame of the fire, both by the way of a sacrifice, and to consume the blood, life, or animal spirits of the beast, which with them would be a most horrid abomination to eat. -159

Robert Williams, the first Englishman in New England, who is said to have learned the Indian language, in order to convent the natives, believed them to be Jews...that their language bore some affinity to the Hebrew. -227

Indian women of Canada purify themselves after travail, thirty days for a male child and forty for a female. -238

Isn't it amazing to think that the Native Americans knew the god of Israel? It's important to know that Adair wasn't saying any of these tribes did everything perfectly or had it all of Scripture figured out. Throughout the book he pointed out that some tribes had compromised and defiled themselves by eating unclean animals and so on. He was saying that there is a lot of evidence that suggests these tribes descended from the Twelve Tribes of Israel. 1 Kings 10:22 tells us that King Solomon sent people very far out to collect fine things from all over the world, and it even mentions these journeys took three years, so there is a possible hint of this in Scripture as well.

Have you ever heard of Israelites settling in North America? Which of the quotes really strikes you?

Harvesting the Fields

"The harvest truly is great, but the workers are few." -Matthew 9:37

Reading a book on local eating I came across an incorrect version of this benediction. It read, "The harvest is plentiful and the labors few." Ha!

Our first frost came this week. If you garden you know the mad dash the night before a frost is supposed to hit. You gather up everything because whatever's left will be ruined. Only the heartier leafy greens and roots can take a bit of frosting. So you take everything else. The green tomatoes, the baby squash, bitty lettuce leafs. And if you are a gardener you know that a plentiful harvest is a lot of work. A bountiful harvest with little labor? Not gonna happen.

"The harvest is plentiful but the laborers are few." That's more like it.

What was the point of Yeshua announcing this? He didn't say much that falls under the 'common sense' category, and I struggle to believe that food was so abundant in the fields and vineyards of Israel that it was left to rot for want of harvesters. Plus, an actual commandment is to NOT harvest your fields too well, but to leave some of the grain and grapes behind for the poor. So if we take this strictly as an agriculture statement it doesn't make much sense. The fields are abundant but workers are few? What does that mean?

If we take it as a parable we can understand more. To begin with, Yeshua is hinting that there is something to be gathered that most of us are unaware of. Secondly, there aren't workers for the fields because most people don't realize there is a need.

But a freeze is coming to your garden? You realize the need and you gather the harvest. Food growers tend to do whatever it takes. I moved more weight in squash than I can at the gym. You recruit your family to help out. Shine car headlights on the garden to work after dark. A farmer friend told me he once stayed in the tractor for 36 hours straight to beat a bad storm. Typically, the grains and vegetables of the earth have plenty of harvesters.

But what is Yeshua saying? There's something that needs gathered in that most of us are missing.

This verse appears in Luke as well as Matthew. Taking a closer look at the context gives us a better idea of what he means. Matthew 9:35 tells us Yeshua traveled from village to village proclaiming the Besorah of the malchut and healing the sickness and disease in the people. Verse 36 tells us he saw the multitudes of people and had compassion on them because they were scattered abroad. In Luke 10, immediately after saying, "The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few," Yeshua sends his disciples to share the Besorah (good news).

"Scattered abroad," is a phrase used hundreds of times throughout Scripture as a threat, warning, and fact. "Scattered abroad," is what happened to the Northern Kingdom of Israel when it was sent into exile, and in a more limited way when Judah was exiled from the land. (Though, by Yeshua's time much of the house of Judah had returned.) The tribe of Ephraim and the Northern Kingdom is still, in every sense, scattered abroad. When he says the fields are ready for harvest, Yeshua is talking about the lost tribes of Israel! In Luke 10 he mentions three cities in particular: Chorazin, Bethsaida, and Capernicum. These are three cities in the Northern part of Israel's territory. Historically they were occupied by tribes other than Judah. Though much of the Northern tribes were exiled, many still lived in the area at the time of Yeshua.

This is what Yeshua wants gathered in: the lost sheep of the house of Israel. He sent his disciples to Ephraim, to Manasseh, to Zebulon. He is after Israel's lost tribes, who have been scattered amongst the nations. He wants to bring them back.

Doesn't this understanding of the fields make more sense? The world has plenty of people to gather in food. While there are lots of missionaries, how many of them are reaching out to the house of Ephraim? Bringing back the lost tribes into covenant with YHWH doesn't occur to most of us, but it is the utmost desire of Yeshua!

Matthew 9:38
Make tefillah to the Master of the harvest, that He will send forth workers into His harvest.

The Ten Lost Tribes: A World History - What I'm Reading

Browsing the shelves in a library, I happened to come across this book. What are the odds of that?

Until the last few years I had never heard of the Lost Tribes of Israel.

As author Zvi Ben-Dor Benite presents, until the last few centuries the Lost Tribes were an incredibly popular subject; mentioned by the likes of John Calvin, Thomas Jefferson, the Israeli Parliament, Herman Melville, a 19th century theatrical parody, John Milton's Paradise Regained, and Theodore Roosevelt, among others.

A little background information:

The sons of Israel (better known as Jacob) comprise the Twelve Tribes of Israel. Through the reign of King Solomon the tribes were united as one nation known as Israel. When Solomon's son Rehoboam became king he became so harsh that the ten northern tribes revolted and the House of Israel was split in two. See 1 Kings 12:16.

The northern tribes--Ephraim, Manasseh, Reuben, Gad, Dan, Naphtali, Issachar, Asher, Simeon, and Zebulon--were known as Israel, and the southern tribes of Judah and Benjamin became known as Judah. (Levi doesn't have a land inheritance but they mostly stayed with Judah.)

This is why when you read in Kings and Chronicles it will say, "During the reign of ______ King of Israel," or "King _____ of Judah." I'd always thought Israel could be used interchangeably with Judah—like America or United States—but they are separate kingdoms!

So why are the tribes lost?

Around 740 BC Israel (the northern ten tribes) were taken captive by the Assyrians. This is seen in 2 Kings chapters 17 and 18, and 1 Chronicles 5.

Around 605 BC, Judah was also taken captive, but this time it was by King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon. Judah was captive for 70 years and then returned to their land. The books of Nehemiah and Ezra discuss the return of the exiles to the land.

The Ten Lost Tribes: A World History is filled with fascinating stories of adventurers who searched the earth for the Lost Tribes. They believed they would find them in a specific, hard-to-reach place (the Island of Atlantis, perhaps?), and that they would be obviously Israelite.

Unlike the southern tribes the House of Israel never came back from the exile. They assimilated into the nations and forgot their Israelite identity. Certainly, there are hundreds of millions of people today who have descended from the Lost Tribes, but have no idea. YHWH promised Abraham that his descendants would fill the earth, and there must descendants from the Lost Tribes in every nation.

There are shreds of Hebrew evidence around the globe. The Ten Lost tribes recounts the story of a Marrano Jew named Antonio Montezinos travellin in South America in the 1600s. A local man named Francisco learned of Montezinos' background and offered to take him on a journey to "see your brothers." For one week, they crossed rivers and swamps in what is now Colombia. After resting on the Sabbath they reached a river on a Tuesday morning. Three men and a woman appeared by canoe, excited to meet Montezinos, and began reciting the Shema.

What an amazing story! The Ten Lost Tribes contains many such fascinating fragments. Many considered Native Americans to be the Lost Tribes. Yemeni Jews often said the tribes could be found, "beyond China." A man called Ben-Israel wrote in the 1600s that "a great number of Jews" in China could be descendants of the Lost Tribes. Expeditions were sent to India and others theorized the tribes had gone to the North Pole before venturing elsewhere. Mexico was a popular location, and some believe the tribes had crossed the Atlantic Ocean by way of the legendary Island of Atlantis.

This book was a fascinating read, and much praise goes to Zvi Ben-Dor Benite for what surely must have been a mountain of research. This book is rich in insight for anyone learning of Israel's Lost Tribes.