Today we continued our in-depth study of Ezekiel 37:15-28, focusing on the Two Sticks prophecy. We finished our study of the two Stick prophecy. We will be studying the Greater Exodus topic (from Ezekiel 37) on Monday:
Eze 37:15 The Word of Yahweh came again unto me, saying,
Eze 37:16 Moreover, thou son of man, take thee one stick, and write upon it, For Judah, and for the children of Israel his companions: then take another stick, and write upon it, For Joseph, the stick of Ephraim, and for all the house of Israel his companions:
Eze 37:17 And join them one to another into one stick; and they shall become one in thine hand.
Eze 37:18 And when the children of thy people shall speak unto thee, saying, Wilt thou not shew us what thou meanest by these?
Eze 37:19 Say unto them, Thus saith the Sovereign GOD; Behold, I will take the stick of Joseph, which is in the hand of Ephraim, and the tribes of Israel his fellows, and will put them with him, even with the stick of Judah, and make them one stick, and they shall be one in Mine Hand.
As we have seen in our study, Israel, which had been one kingdom, came to be divided into two sticks, because of Solomon's idolatry. In the early part of Solomon's son Rehoboam's reign, Israel was split into two, becoming Israel (the Northern 10 Tribes) and Judah (Judah and Benjamin). The Biblical account is recorded in 1 Kings 11:28-38. This split of Israel created the two kingdoms of Israel and Judah, who were the two sticks of Ezekiel 37:
The Two Sticks of the Prophecy:
Stick 1: Judah (Judah and Benjamin) | Stick 2: Israel (aka Joseph & Ephraim) |
King: Rehoboam (Solomon’s son) | King: Jeroboam (Solomon’s servant) |
Capital city: Jerusalem | Capital city: Samaria |
After the split, Israel - the Northern 10 Tribes - practiced idolatry. As a result, the Bible tells us that Yahweh warned them that He was going to take the Northern ten tribes of Israel away. Only the tribe of Judah would remain in the Promised Land. This is exactly what happened. Just one tribe would remain for David’s sake – Judah (which was joined by Benjamin, who became absorbed into Judah). Later in history, the people from the tribe of Judah came to be nicknamed “Jews.”
Originally, there was a ranking among the tribes. Four tribes were given leading roles among the 12 tribes. They were: Joseph (aka Ephraim), Judah, Reuben, and Dan.
These four tribes were also represented in the four leading constellations:
Joseph (represented in the Bull constellation)
Judah (represented in the Lion constellation)
Reuben (represented in the Man constellation)
Dan (represented in the Scorpion, serpent & eagle constellations - the star family)
The sun visually entered the Bull constellation, originally called Re'eym, at the time of the Spring Tekufah. The Spring Tekufah, now known as the Vernal Equinox, marked the end of a Biblical year and heralded the start of the new Biblical year. The actual first day of the new year was the day of the New Moon, immediately following the Spring Tekufah.
It was Moses which spoke of the bull, representing Joseph. Moses also refers to the supremacy of Joseph, in receiving both the blessing of Israel and the first-born birthright!
"And for the precious things of the earth and fullness thereof, and for the good will of him that dwelt in the bush: let the blessing come upon the head of Joseph, and upon the top of the head of him that was separated from his brethren. His glory is like the firstling of his bullock, and his horns are like the horns of unicorns (Re'eym, which is the name of the Bull constellation): with them he shall push the people together to the ends of the earth: and they are the ten thousands of Ephraim, and they are the thousands of Manasseh."
Deuteronomy 33:16-17
What is Moses talking about, in Deuteronomy thirty-three, where he refers to Joseph as "head" upon whom rests the family "blessing", whose glory is like the "firstling (first born) of his bullock (the Bull constellation, which is first in the heavens)? Actually, Scripture plainly tells us that Joseph was given both the blessing and the birthright, which is the position of the spiritual firstborn in the family.
“My son, the blessings I give are better than the promise of ancient mountains or eternal hills. Joseph, I pray these blessings will come to you, because you are the leader of your brothers.” Genesis 49:26 (CEV)
“Now the sons of Reuben the firstborn of Israel, for he was the firstborn; but, forasmuch as he defiled his father's bed, his birthright was given unto the sons of Joseph the son of Israel: and the genealogy is not to be reckoned after the birthright. For Judah prevailed above his brethren, and of him came the chief Ruler (this refers to Messiah, who is called the Lion of the Tribe of Judah); but the birthright was Joseph’s." 1 Chronicles 5:1-2
The fact that Jacob-Israel recognized his son Joseph as the spiritual firstborn, leader of the family is demonstrated in the famous "coat of many colors", which the father made for his son. Notably also, according to Genesis thirty-seven, (verses 2-3) Jacob made this coat for Joseph prior to his famous dream-visions.
But, the coat itself was indicative of family position rather than being an eye-catching fashion statement. To see this, let's consider the meaning of the Hebrew, from which “coat of many colors” is translated. In Hebrew, "coat of many colors" is Ketonet Passim, which was a “...long garment, coming down to the palms of the hands and the feet. The material out of which such a coat was made would have been fine wool or silk.” (Israel Biblical Studies, Ketonet Passim) Further, in Biblical times, a "Ketonet Passim was a type of garment worn by those in a high position or royalty and would likely have been purple in color", instead of rainbow-hued.
After the split, the Northern 10 tribes were idolatrous and were punished by being fully removed from the land… The Assyrians performed this displacement, taking the 10 tribes captive and replacing them with their own people.
2 Kings 17:18-24 – Israel was removed (the Northern 10 Tribes) from the Promised Land for the sin of idolatry. And the Assyrians took them captive and removed them into Assyrian land, and replaced them with their own people.
But even though the Assyrians took the Northern 10 Tribes out of the land, their locations were known. The apostles knew where these tribes settled, after the diaspora. And the Apostles and Early Christians specifically went to them to preach the Gospel (Matthew 10:6, Matthew 15:24).
So, what happened to Israel, after Assyria drove them out of their land and took them captive? The House of Israel became the Anglo-Saxons, Celtic, Germanic, Scandinavian and kindred peoples. They are scattered throughout the world, as shown on the following map:
- Worksheet #1: coming soon...
No comments:
Post a Comment