Two House Israel -- Beit Yahudah & Beit Ephraim This 22-page article should answer basic questions related to the proper understanding of Israel, the beloved Covenant Bride of the Most High YHWH. This end-time secret of Elohim is being revealed to many diligent seekers, and Sister Sherry has made this important topic very easy to comprehend. Abraham's seed has indeed multiplied, becoming as numerous as the stars in the sky -- beyond our ability to count them all. Sherry brings out many interesting, pertinent points. It is presented here in its entirety for your edification:
BASIC
TWO HOUSE
TEACHING
By
Rebbetzin Sherry A. Hord
The following study identifies the Two Houses of Israel, the
House of
Israel, known as Ephraim, and the House of
Judah, as they are found in the
Scriptures.
The
study begins with their history, and ends with their fulfillment of the
Avrahamic Covenant. It reveals how
the people of Israel have shaped the history of the world.
The Two House teaching is one of the most important studies that a
believer should have after receiving salvation, and learning the fundamental
doctrines of the faith. Without
proper understanding of the Two House theme of Yahueh's Word, the believer
cannot properly align the First Covenant with the Renewed Covenant, and that is
precisely why false teaching and religious doctrines have thrived in
Christianity for centuries.
This study begins with the ten instructions of Torah given to the Kings
of Israel.
All
sources for Scriptures are noted.
Torah
Instructions for the Kings of Israel
Deuteronomy 17:14-20 gives
the ten instructions for the Kings of Israel to follow:
1. The King must be selected
by Yahueh, not the people.
2. The King must be an
Israelite.
3. He shall not acquire many
horses.
4. He must not have many
wives.
5. He must not acquire great
wealth.
6. He must write a copy of
Torah for Himself.
7. He must read Torah to
learn to revere or fear Yahueh.
8. He must carefully follow
Torah.
9. He must be humble.
10. He must not turn
away/stray from Torah.
It was paramount for the King to understand that if Yahueh's instructions
were
followed, the presiding King of Israel would be greatly blessed, and his
descendants
would continue to reign over the Kingdom of Israel as a dynasty.
Yahueh's
Punishment for a King's Disobedience
I Kings 9:1-9 Yahueh
reminded Solomon to obey Torah. If
he did not,
the
Kingdom of Israel would suffer consequences.
If Solomon or his sons turned away from Yahueh and did not follow Torah
to serve other elohim/gods or to worship them, THE PEOPLE KNOWN AS ISRAEL WOULD
SUFFER. The following things would
happen:
1. ".....,
then I will cut off Israel from the land,"
I Kings 9:7, NIV.
The Hebrew word for "cut off" is "karath" which means
to be "destroyed,
consumed, cut down." The
basic understanding of the Hebrew here is that
the people "Israel" would be left alone in the gentile/heathen
world without
Yahueh, separated from Him, and inevitably enter into a pact or covenant
with an enemy to eventually be destroyed or perish.
2. Solomon's Temple would be
"cast out of Yahueh's sight." The
Hebrew
word for "cast out" is "shalach" meaning "send
away from, forsake, leave,
depart (to remove His presence, the Shekinah glory)."
3. Israel as a nation of
people would become a byword (a proverb, an
epigraph or something amusing from the past and given little thought to),
a thing of mockery, an object of ridicule, scorn, and taunt among all the
people of the world.
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2
4. Solomon's Temple would be
scoffed at.
5. People of the world would
instinctively know that the people called Israel
stopped worshipping Yahueh, and embraced, worshipped, and served other
elohim (gods), meaning to participate in pagan Gentile religions.
A
King's Disobedience Brings Division
to the Nation of Israel
I Kings 11:9-13 tells us
that Solomon refused to obey Yahueh and follow
His
Torah. So Yahueh warned Solomon
that as a result of his disobedience Yahueh would tear the Kingdom of Israel in
two (divide in two parts). This
would happen during Solomon's son's reign, and his son would have only one
tribe, Judah, to reign over. Yahueh would give the Tribe of Judah to Solomon's
son for the sake of David.
A
Divided Kingdom - Two Houses
- 931-586 B.C.E.
I Kings 11:26-43
Yahueh sent His prophet Ahiyah to a young man named
Yeroboam/Jeroboam.
The prophet tore his new cloak into twelve pieces to represent
the
twelve tribes of Israel. To show
Yeroboam what Yahueh intended to do to the
nation
of Israel, Ahiyah gave Yeroboam 10 pieces of the torn cloak to represent ten
tribes
of the nation of Israel. Ahiyah
then related that Solomon's son would have only one tribe given to him for the
sake of David and the City of Yerusalem/Jerusalem.
The
one tribe given to Solomon's son would be the merger of the Tribe of Judah with
the Tribe of Benyamin/Benjamin and the Levites.
Yeroboam would become King over the ten tribes in the north, and Rehoboam,
Solomon's son would be King over the one tribe merger of the south.
The Kingdom of Israel would be two distinct Kingdoms.
The prophet Ahiyah admonished Yeroboam to follow Yahueh's instructions so
that his Kingdom would be blessed and be a lasting dynasty to humble the Tribe
of Judah for a period of time.
Upper
Division:
Northern Kingdom of Israel - House of
Israel (10 Tribes)
I Kings 12:25-33
during Yeroboam's reign over the ten tribes of the north,
he
became fearful that his people would continue to go down to the Southern Kingdom
under his rival, King Rehoboam, to celebrate the Feast Days of Yahueh as they
were
commanded
to do so in Exodus
23:14-17. His fear may
have been based on several
things
that most leaders would face. The
distance and effort to cross over borders might
cause
his people to want to live in the Southern Kingdom to be closer to the Temple in
Yerusalem
for the Feast Days. If his people
moved to the Southern Kingdom, he would suffer great financial and agricultural
losses, and military strength in his Northern Kingdom.
The
Golden Calf Worship System of the House of Israel - Northern Kingdom
To keep his people at home and happy in the Northern Kingdom, Yeroboam
developed the "Golden Calf Worship System."
He built two temples and strategically placed them in the Northern
Kingdom. One was in the City of Dan
near the upper Northern border close to Mt. Hermon, and the other in the City of
Bethel on the Southern border that divided the two Kingdoms.
The
focus of worship in these temples was a "golden calf."
Yeroboam mixed Torah worship of Yahueh with the revived Egyptian
"golden calf" Sun-god religion that Israel's ancestors had
learned
when
they were in Egypt during their 430 years of slavery. Yeroboam's greatest sin
was that he called his newly formed pagan religion the true worship of Yahueh.
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Exodus 32:1-6
relates how the people of Israel fell back into the "Golden
Calf
Worship" while Moshe/Moses was up on Mt. Sinai receiving Yahueh's Torah
instructions for the people of Israel. These
verses give us a clue that the Israelites
had
been involved in Egyptian Sun-god worship during their years of slavery.
According to Egyptian mythology, the Egyptians worshipped Amen-Ra/Amen-
Rah/Rah
as their high Sun-god, later called Osiris.
They believed that the gods could not
be
visibly seen, so they entered into the bodies of animals so that they could
reveal themselves through the characteristics of the animal.
Amen-Rah/Osiris was believed to be like a strong and virile bull, and
lived in the body of a special breed of bulls, called Hap-bulls.
These Hap-bulls were kept in the City of Ptah where the Egyptians formed
molten statues of the Hap-bulls to be used in the religious ceremonies of
worship to Amen-Rah/Osiris. Eventually
the Hap-bull statues became fashioned to look like a
half-man,
half-bull creature called Apis, (Egyptian
Mythology, Microsoft Encarta Online Encyclopedia 2001).
Yeroboam instituted his false worship of Yahueh approximately 930 years
before
Yahushua came to earth.
Lower
Division - Southern Kingdom (1 Tribe-Judah, Benyamin, Levites) -
House
of Judah
I Kings 14:21-31 tells us
that Rehoboam, Solomon's son, ruled
over Judah,
the
Southern Kingdom. Scripture also
tells us that the Southern Kingdom did evil in
Yahueh's
eyes.
1. The people of
Judah were worshipping the sexual, fertility gods and
goddesses of Canaanite/Babylonian origin which dated back to Cush,
Nimrod, and the "Queen of Heaven, " Nimrod's wife, Simmeranis
also
known as "Ishtar, Eostre, Eos, Ostara, Astarte, and Eastre."
From the
worship of this goddess, comes the pagan origin of today's Easter
celebrations. Jeremiah
7:18 tells us that even later in Judah's history, the
people of Judah continued to worship this goddess by baking cakes as
offerings to the Babylonian goddess
"Ishtar," (The Two Babylons,
by
Alexander Hislop).
2. The people of Judah
erected stone pillars and altars, and fertility poles
called Asherah/Asherath poles on hills or high places.
These poles
symbolized the "male genital organ."
The Asherah poles, the Egyptian
obelisks, church towers and steeples, the Washington Monument are all
related to the ancient poles and obelisks of Sun-god worship.
Male
prostitution was also engaged in during Judah's worst sins against Yahueh.
As a result of these sins, Rehoboam's reign suffered.
Solomon's valuable golden shields and articles were stolen from the
Temple in Yerusalem, and continual warfare plagued Judah which probably drained
the Kingdom's treasuries.
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The
Nation's Punishment for Disobedience
Deuteronomy. 28:64-68
expressly states that Yahueh's punishment for the nation's (twelve tribes)
disobedience would be the
following:
1. The people would be
scattered among all nations throughout the world.
2. They would worship and
serve other gods.
3. They would have no repose
(peace) nor resting place for their feet (be on
the move; migrate).
4. They would have anxious
minds (anxiety; fear; worry; wishful thinking),
eyes failing or weary with longing (to desire something unattainable;
crave
for), and sorrow of being (to have self-pity).
5. They would be in constant
fear, suspense, and dread.
6. They would have no
assurance of their future (complete uncertainty).
7. They would go back to
Egypt once again; Egypt as an
example of slavery,
hardship,
and turmoil found in the world.
Exile
- Punishment Fulfilled
Northern
Kingdom - House of Israel - 732-721 B.C.E.
II Kings 17:1-40 due to
their sins of idolatry and whoredom, the House of
Israel,
the ten tribes of the Northern Kingdom were sent into exile as captives of the
Assyrian
Empire. The beginning of the exile of the numerously populated ten tribes of the
North began in 745 B.C. E. when Yahueh raised up the Assyrians to invade the
Northern Kingdom, the House of Israel. Throughout
the following years, Assyrians deported huge masses of Israelites into Assyrian
held lands, transplanting them as laborers within the Assyrian Empire.
Yahueh's punishment was fulfilled upon the House of Israel, the ten
tribes
of
the Northern Kingdom of Israel:
1. They would be rejected by
Yahueh (Jeremiah 3:8, Hosea 9:17).
2. They would be invaded and
taken captive by the brutal Assyrians
(II Kings 17:23).
3. Their lands of the
Northern Kingdom would be resettled by Assyrian
captives taken from other lands (II
Kings 17:24).
4. They would be scattered
among the Gentile nations (Deuteronomy 4:27;
Ezekiel 36:21).
The Israelites were scattered among Assyrian held lands.
After the Assyrian Empire declined, they began to migrate further away
from
Assyrian lands. The largest portion of the Israelite refugees moved north
toward the European areas to eventually settle.
In the nations, they would
accept Gentile cultures and adopt heathen religions. The Israelites would
intermingle and intermarry with Gentile people and have mixed offspring.
They would so thoroughly assimilate that they would become like Gentiles,
thus they became "invisible" in the world and were believed to
be "lost." They
continued to move from lands to lands to eventually migrate throughout
all the
world (Hosea
9:17).
5. They would lose their
identity as Israelites, and their conscience would be
seared (Hosea 7:8, 8:8).
(KJ reads the best on Hosea 8:8.
6. The Israelites would not
return to their land in Israel as the House of Israel,
or the ten tribes, until their hearts returned to Yahueh (Deuteronomy
4:29-
31), and
the prophecies of restoration would be fulfilled Ezekiel
37:21-22;
Hosea 2:22-23).
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5
Hosea's
Life Becomes An Allegory for the House of Israel
Hosea 1:2-10
states that Yahueh called the Prophet Hosea to live out an
allegory
regarding the destiny of the House of Israel, the ten tribes of the Northern
Kingdom of Israel. The real life
allegorical experience for Hosea was to show him how Yahueh looked upon the
House of Israel and how He would mete out punishment for their sins.
1. Hosea represents Yahueh
as Israel's husband.
2. Gomer represents the
House of Israel as an adulterous, rebellious wife, a
spiritual fornicator and idolator.
3. Their marriage represents
an unholy union between Torah and pagan religion.
4. Jezreel is a Hebrew name
that has a dual meaning: In the
negative, it means
"to scatter;" in the positive, it means "to regather."
5. Lo-Ruhamah is a Hebrew
word that means "no compassion."
6. Lo-Ammi is a Hebrew word
that means "not my people;" term of rejection.
The allegory depicts Yahueh's punishment for the House of Israel, the ten
tribes.
Hosea
and Gomer's marriage depicts how Yahueh sees the House of Israel that was
once
married to Yahueh, in union with Him, and how Israel as His wife broke the
marriage vows. He gave His Torah to
Israel at Mt. Sinai as the "ketubah" or marriage contract which they
agreed to abide in (Exodus 19:8).
The three children depict what would happen to the House of Israel:
1. Yahueh would scatter ("Jezreel" in the negative meaning of
the name) the
Israelites among the nations as punishment for their sins; exile them.
2. He would have no
compassion or mercy on them during their exile.
3. He would strip them of
their Israelite identity by saying they are not His
people thereby rejecting them.
However, Hosea 1:10 also
reveals five positive things that would occur
with
the House of Israel during their exile among the Gentile nations of the
world.
1. The House of Israel, the
ten tribes of Northern Israel would literally fulfill
the Avrahamic Covenant. The
Israelites would become like the sand on the
seashore, so many that they can not be measured or counted as stated in
the
Avrahamic Covenant (Genesis 15:5).
NOTE:
At this point, one should realize that the population ratio
between the
House
of Israel and the House of Judah
from ancient times to modern day has always
been
a reality that the "Jews" have been smaller in number than the
Israelites. The House of Judah can
not possibly fulfill Gen.15:5 by itself.
2. At a future time, Yahueh
will no longer refer to the Israelites as "not my
people." They will be
reinstated in Yahueh's good favor.
3. Yahueh will call the
Israelites "sons of the living Elohim."
In
Romans 9:24-27,
Rav Shaul (Paul) refers to Hosea 1:10 in his statement
to the Messianic congregation in Rome. He states that Yahueh is calling
His
people out from not only the Jews but also from among the Gentiles, and
from
both Houses a remnant will be saved.
The remnant is Redeemed Israel which
includes the saved from both Houses and non-descendants from the Gentile
world.
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4. The House of Israel will
be reunited with the House of Judah under one
leader, Yahushua HaMashiach (Jeremiah
3:18; Ezekiel 37:15-28;
Hosea 1:11).
5. They will come up out of
the land (earth) in the Day of Jezreel. This Promise
refers to the positive side of the name "Jezreel" meaning
"to regather." This
Promise also alludes to two deeper levels of spiritual understanding:
A.. The Israelites along
with the Jews will be taken from the four corners
of the earth to be regathered in
Eretz Israel in the near future
(Isaiah 11:12).
B. The Israelite portion of
the remnant along with the other saints will be
resurrected from the earth when Messiah comes in the clouds
(1 Thessalonians 4:16-17).
Good
News For the House of Israel
Hebrews 8:8-12 The
Messianic author of the Book of Hebrews understood
very
well the plight of the ten tribes, the House of Israel, and the House of Judah.
He
was
making note of all the many references in the Prophets
concerning the Two Houses.
He made note that in the "last days" the tribes would
recover their relationship with Yahueh. In
particular, he referenced that Yahueh will put Torah in the minds of the people
of the House of Israel, and write
Torah on their hearts. He further
said that Yahueh will be their
Elohim (Mighty Sworn One), and they will be His people once more; He
will forgive the people of their sins and remember their sins no more.
Futhermore,
Yahueh intends to rename the people of the House of Israel even while they still
exist in exile:
Hosea 1:10b says, "In the place
where it was said to them (House of Israel),
'You
are not my people (rejection by Yahueh),' they will be called 'sons of the
living
Elohim (God)," NIV.
Rabbi Shaul
(Paul) told the congregation of Israelites meeting in Rome
that
those
of the House of Israel that had returned to Yahueh, quoting from Hosea 1:10, he
exhorted
them that they were "the sons of the living Elohim (God);" they were
to remain in a humble heart and not look down on the House of Judah because they
had not yet returned (Romans 9, 10, 11).
The Israelites will recover their relationship with Yahueh.
The following Scriptures all speak of their recovery:
Jeremiah 3:11-13, 31:18-20, 33:7-8,
14,
23-26,
50:4-6, 19- 20; Ezekiel 11:17, 36:24-31.
Yahushua
Came To Save the House of Israel
Matthew 10:6 says, "Go rather to the lost sheep of Israel," NIV.
Matthew 10:6 says, " But go rather to the lost sheep of the house of
Israel," KJV.
Matthew 10:6 says, " But rather go to the lost sheep of the house of
Israel,"
The Scriptures.
The NIV
translation has left out the important word "house" in the above
verse. The word "house" indicates that Yahushua gave His twelve
talmidim (disciples) specific instructions to seek out the descendants of the
House of Israel (ten tribes) to bring them the Good News.
Matthew 15:24 states, "I was sent
only to the lost sheep of Israel," NIV.
Matthew 15:24 states, "I am not sent but unto the lost sheep of the
house
of
Israel," KJV.
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Matthew 15:24 states, " I was not sent except to the lost sheep of
the
house of Israel," The Scriptures.
Again the NIV
translation leaves out the word "house" which clarifies that an
important
aspect of Yahushua's earthly ministry was to see that the ten tribes of Israel
that
were in exile beyond the borders of Eretz Israel were given the opportunity to
hear
the Good News. Yahushua wanted them
to know that their time of exile was over and that they could return to their
Elohim (God).
Matthew 18:11 further says, "For
the Son of Adam (Messiah) has come
to
save what was lost," The Scriptures. That
which is "lost" refers to the ten tribes of Israel, and their
descendants down through their generations.
The Great Commission is
a
seek, find, save, and restore mission (Matthew
28:18-20). The key word
in
Matthew
28:19 is
"nations" for that is where the tribes were to be found and are to be
found even today.
"....To the twelve tribes scattered among the nations:
Greetings,"
James
1:1, NIV.
The
House of Israel, Ten Tribes of Northern Israel Are Known By Other Names
The House of Israel is known by several other names in the Scriptures
depending
on
how Yahueh speaks about them, or depicts them to the Prophet He speaks to.
We
must
learn to distinguish the following names that pertain to the House of Israel.
Scripture examples are given for each name.
1. House
of Israel refers to the Northern Kingdom (I
Kings 12:21;
Jeremiah 31:31).
2. Samaria
is a reference to their state of idolatry or being like the pagans that
Assyria planted in the Northern Kingdom (Hosea
7:1, 8:5-6, 13:16).
3. House
of Joseph because the two tribes resulting from Joseph's two sons,
Manasseh
and Ephraim, literally filled the Northern Kingdom during its
existence due to their numbers. It
is also a reference to their numerous
descendants that would continue to fill the nations during their exile
(I Kings 11:28).
4. Ephraim
as a picture of the House of Israel who would spiritually perish in
the Gentile nations where they were scattered because they had forsaken
Torah; apart from Torah there is no spiritual knowledge.
It is an allegorical
picture of the House of Israel participating in pagan religions,
believing that
they have spiritual knowledge but in fact are destroying themselves
spiritually
(Hosea 4:17, 5:3, 7:1).
5. Manasseh
as a picture of the House of Israel seen as two tribes, Manasseh
and Ephraim at odds with each other (sibling rivalry) but together
carrying
hatred
toward the House of Judah (Isaiah 9:21).
Exile
- Punishment Fulfilled
Southern
Kingdom - House of Judah - 605-586 B.C.E.
II Kings 24:8-17, II Kings 25; Jeremiah 52
tells us that Judah also suffered
for
their sins against Yahueh. During
the years of 605-586 B.C.E., the Babylonian
army
under Nebuchadnezzer invaded the Southern Kingdom of Judah three times.
The
first invasion occurred in Yehoichin/Jehoichin's reign.
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8
He
was taken prisoner along with all the officers and fighting men, all the
craftsmen and artisans, and taken into exile into Babylon.
In 597 B.C.E., the second invasion took place and more captives of the
House
of Judah were taken into Babylon. Then
in 586 B.C.E. the Babylonians
destroyed
Yerusalem, captured King Zedekiah, and executed officials.
Jewish rabbis, scribes and priests were among those taken captive by the
Babylonians (God Intervenes in the Middle
East, by Marion F. Kremers. Yahueh's
punishment came with the high price of exile into foreign lands under the heavy
yoke of the Babylonians.
Jeremiah 25:11, "This whole
country will become a desolate wasteland,
and
these nations (Judah, Benyamin, Levites) will serve the King of Babylon
seventy
years."
House
of Judah Released From Babylonian Captivity - 536 B.C.E.
The Book
of Ezra tells us that after 70 years of captivity had passed, King
Cyrus
of Persia/Babylon announced to the survivors of the captivity that Yahueh had
appointed him to rebuild the Temple in Yerusalem.
The exiles were allowed to return
to
Yerusalem to help build the Temple. A
remnant of Judah, Benyamin, and Levites returned to their homeland.
The remainder of the captives chose not to return.
Many
remained
in Babylon to eventually wander out into other lands.
In those lands, they
would
be "visible" as "Jews" because they retained Torah practice.
Whereas the House
of
Israel would remain invisible and thought to be "lost" because they
adopted pagan religions and assimilated into Gentile cultures.
Roman
Invasion of Judea - 63 B.C.E. - 70 A.D.
The rebuilt
Southern Kingdom of Judah, then called Judea, had been re-established for
hundreds of years by the time of the Roman conquest.
The Roman armies invaded Judea in 63 B.C.E. They captured Yerusalem and
the Temple and entered the kodesh place (Holy of Holies).
Judea was then subject to Rome.
At the time of Yahushua's life here on earth, Judea was still under the
occupation of Rome. His talmidim thought that He had come to deliver them from
Roman oppression as the long awaited and hoped for "Messiah of
Israel." "HaTikvah
Yisrael," the Hope of Israel, looks to a time when the twelve tribes are
restored under the Messiah and the Nation of Israel is healed and made whole
again.
Acts 1:6 says, " So when they met
together, they asked him, 'Master
(Lord),
are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?' " NIV.
Roman occupation of Judea lasted until 70 A.D.