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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            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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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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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.