The Two House Teaching of Scripture Part 3

We talked last week about Yahweh reckoning ones ancestry through the fathers. I mentioned something about Yeshua’s ancestry being traced through Mary’s line, and Wade pointed out to me that that is recorded in Luke chapter 3. Let’s take a look:

Luk 3:23 When He began His ministry, Jesus Himself was about thirty years of age, being, as was supposed, the son of Joseph, the son of Eli,

Luk 3:24 the son of Matthat, the son of Levi, the son of Melchi, the son of Jannai, the son of Joseph,

Luk 3:25 the son of Mattathias, the son of Amos, the son of Nahum, the son of Hesli, the son of Naggai,

… and so on until this line is traced back to King David in verse 31:

Luk 3:31 the son of Melea, the son of Menna, the son of Mattatha, the son of Nathan, the son of David,

You will notice from comparing this genealogy with the one in Matthew chapter one that the names are different until we get to David. This is Mary’s line. But notice that it is still traced through the fathers. Mary was of the tribe of Judah because her father was of the tribe of Judah, and his father was of the tribe of Judah, and his father, and so on.

You will notice in verse one that the genealogy begins with Jesus being the son of Joseph. It does not state the son of Mary, although we know very well that He was. The next occurrence of the word “son” in this verse actually means son-in-law. The line then continues on through the fathers until we get to David.

I want to share something now from “Restoring The Two Houses Of Israel” by Eddie Chumney. I’m going to read from p. 438-439.

Gen 12:3 And I will bless¹²⁸⁸ those who bless¹²⁸⁸ you, And the one who curses⁷⁰⁴³ you I will curse⁷⁷⁹. And in you all³⁶⁰⁵ the families⁴⁹⁴⁰ of the earth¹²⁷ will be blessed¹²⁸⁸."

H1288 בּרך ba^rak BDB Definition:

1) to bless, kneel

1a) (Qal)

1a1) to kneel

1a2) to bless

1b) (Niphal) to be blessed, bless oneself

1c) (Piel) to bless

1d) (Pual) to be blessed, be adored

1e) (Hiphil) to cause to kneel

1f) (Hithpael) to bless oneself

2) (TWOT) to praise, salute, curse

“Ve nivrecu bekah kol mishpachot ha-adamah”

What is Abraham’s seed that we keep referring to? Abraham will have many descendants that will spread throughout the earth, and as the appointed firstborn, Ephraim will have the charge of blessing all the families of the earth. But in Galatians, another seed is referred to:

Gen 22:15 Then the angel of the LORD called to Abraham a second time from heaven,

Gen 22:16 and said, "By Myself I have sworn, declares the LORD, because you have done this thing and have not withheld your son, your only son,

Gen 22:17 indeed I will greatly bless you, and I will greatly multiply your seed as the stars of the heavens and as the sand which is on the seashore; and your seed shall possess the gate of their enemies.

Gen 22:18 "In your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed, because you have obeyed My voice."

So we see in Genesis 22:17 that Abraham’s seed will multiply and become many. But is a different seed referred to in verse 18? What does Galatians say?

Gal 3:13 Christ redeemed us from the curse of the Law, having become a curse for us--for it is written, "CURSED IS EVERYONE WHO HANGS ON A TREE"--

Gal 3:14 in order that in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles, so that we would receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.

Gal 3:15 Brethren, I speak in terms of human relations: even though it is only a man's covenant, yet when it has been ratified, no one sets it aside or adds conditions to it.

Gal 3:16 Now the promises were spoken to Abraham and to his seed. He does not say, "And to seeds," as referring to many, but rather to one, "And to your seed," that is, Christ.

We will see as we proceed that Messiah, as the seed of Abraham, is the agent by which all the families of the earth are blessed!

Let’s continue on now following the history of the children of Israel. We talked about the mixed multitude coming out of Egypt, and how they were woven in with the children of Israel. Throughout the wanderings in the wilderness, the group is referred to as the “children of Israel” or “Israel” or “the congregation of the sons of Israel”. The group is not referred to as two groups, that of the Israelites and the “mixed multitude”. They are considered one entity by Yahweh, as the “mixed multitude” joined to the tribes of Israel.

Exo 16:1 Then they set out from Elim, and all the congregation of the sons of Israel came to the wilderness of Sin, which is between Elim and Sinai, on the fifteenth day of the second month after their departure from the land of Egypt.

Exo 16:2 The whole congregation of the sons of Israel grumbled against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness.

The whole group is referred to as the “congregation of the sons of Israel”.

In Exodus 19, the group is referred to as the “sons of Israel”:

Exo 19:1 In the third month after the sons of Israel had gone out of the land of Egypt, on that very day they came into the wilderness of Sinai.

Exo 19:2 When they set out from Rephidim, they came to the wilderness of Sinai and camped in the wilderness; and there Israel camped in front of the mountain.

Exo 19:3 Moses went up to God, and the LORD called to him from the mountain, saying, "Thus you shall say to the house of Jacob and tell the sons of Israel:

Exo 19:4 'You yourselves have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I bore you on eagles' wings, and brought you to Myself.

Exo 19:5 'Now then, if you will indeed obey My voice and keep My covenant, then you shall be My own possession among all the peoples, for all the earth is Mine;

Exo 19:6 and you shall be to Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.' These are the words that you shall speak to the sons of Israel."

Exo 19:7 So Moses came and called the elders of the people, and set before them all these words which the LORD had commanded him.

Exo 19:8 All the people answered together and said, "All that the LORD has spoken we will do!" And Moses brought back the words of the people to the LORD.

The whole group again were referred to as the sons of Israel.

Yahweh viewed them all alike. He promised to make all of them a kingdom of priests and a holy nation, if they would just obey Him! And all of them, including the mixed multitude, promised that they would obey Yahweh.

I found that the phrase “mixed multitude” is very important to understand. The phrase “mixed multitude” is only used three times in the King James, in Exodus 12:38, Numbers 11:4, and Nehemiah 13:3:

Exo 12:38 And a mixed multitude went up also with them; and flocks, and herds, even very much cattle.

Num 11:4 And the mixed multitude that was among them fell a lusting: and the children of Israel also wept again, and said, Who shall give us flesh to eat?

Neh 13:3 Now it came to pass,¹⁹⁶¹ when they had heard⁸⁰⁸⁵ ⁽⁸⁵³⁾ the law,⁸⁴⁵¹ that they separated⁹¹⁴ from Israel^{4480, 3478} all³⁶⁰⁵ the mixed multitude.⁶¹⁵⁴

Last week we looked at Exodus 12:38, the mixed multitude being the large group of people that came out of Egypt with Israel, and joined themselves to Israel. We saw that Yahweh views them all as his family.

The word for mixed multitude in Numbers 11:4 is H628 “aspesuph” which means “rabble or promiscuous assembly”, which was a group that sinned through lust and grumbling. So that’s a different definition that does not refer to all the group of people that were joined with Israel. It was translated “mixed multitude” but is simply referring to a rebellious group of people, whether Israelite or of other descent.

The only other occurrence of “mixed multitude” is in Nehemiah 13:3. Let’s look at that verse in more detail:

Neh 13:1 On that day they read in the book of Moses in the audience of the people; and therein was found written, that the Ammonite and the Moabite should not come into the congregation of God for ever;

Neh 13:2 Because they met not the children of Israel with bread and with water, but hired Balaam against them, that he should curse them: howbeit our God turned the curse into a blessing.

Neh 13:3 Now it came to pass, when they had heard the law, that they separated from Israel all the mixed multitude.

Now the mixed multitude is being separated from Israel! What is going on? I thought Yahweh viewed them all alike!

We know that Nehemiah details the rebuilding of the temple and the city of Jerusalem, and the return of many of the Jews that were taken captive. The people found the book of the law and were studying it, and found these verses that they were not familiar with. We know from prior studies that the sin of Balaam was that he enticed the children of Israel to mix with other religions, namely that of Baal. When they intermarried with foreign peoples, they adopted foreign religions, causing their downfall.

The word for “separated” in verse 3 is H914 badal, which means “to divide, separate, or make a distinction”. The word for “mixed multitude” is H6154 which we studied above, ereb, which as you will recall, refers to the group of people that were interwoven with the Israelites.

So does this mean from this point on, Yahweh wants all foreigners separated from Israel? Does He want that cloth (remember the warp and the woof, with the interwoven threads) to be unraveled? Or is His desire for His people to separate themselves from anyone who refuses to follow and obey Him?

Let’s look at the section of the “book of Moses” that the children of Israel had discovered in Nehemiah 13:1:

Deu 23:3 "No Ammonite or Moabite shall enter the assembly of the LORD; none of their descendants, even to the tenth generation, shall ever enter the assembly of the LORD,

Deu 23:4 because they did not meet you with food and water on the way when you came out of Egypt, and because they hired against you Balaam the son of Beor from Pethor of Mesopotamia, to curse you.

Deu 23:5 "Nevertheless, the LORD your God was not willing to listen to Balaam, but the LORD your God turned the curse into a blessing for you because the LORD your God loves you.

Deu 23:6 "You shall never seek their peace or their prosperity all your days.

Who were Ammon and Moab? They were the sons of Lot’s daughters, conceived in incest. But does this mean that no one of physical Ammonite or Moabite descent will ever be saved, or joined to Yahweh? NO! This rejection of the Ammonites and Moabites is a picture of rejecting the spiritual adultery of mixing religions! It’s a picture of rejecting the spiritual state of incest… not being born of the only Father that makes us “legitimate”… Yahweh!

Let’s take a look at an example of this in King Solomon:

1Ki 11:1 Now King Solomon loved many foreign women along with the daughter of Pharaoh: Moabite, Ammonite, Edomite, Sidonian, and Hittite women,

1Ki 11:2 from the nations concerning which the LORD had said to the sons of Israel, "You shall not associate with them, nor shall they associate with you, for they will surely turn your heart away after their gods." Solomon held fast to these in love.

1Ki 11:3 He had seven hundred wives, princesses, and three hundred concubines, and his wives turned his heart away.

1Ki 11:4 For when Solomon was old, his wives turned his heart away after other gods; and his heart was not wholly devoted to the LORD his God, as the heart of David his father had been.

1Ki 11:5 For Solomon went after Ashtoreth the goddess of the Sidonians and after Milcom the detestable idol of the Ammonites.

1Ki 11:6 Solomon did what was evil in the sight of the LORD, and did not follow the LORD fully, as David his father had done.

1Ki 11:7 Then Solomon built a high place for Chemosh the detestable idol of Moab, on the mountain which is east of Jerusalem, and for Molech the detestable idol of the sons of Ammon.

1Ki 11:8 Thus also he did for all his foreign wives, who burned incense and sacrificed to their gods.

Was Solomon’s sin that he married foreign women? Partly, because that is what Yahweh commanded him not to do. But the reason for this command was the result: his sin was that he turned to the gods of the foreign women and did not follow Yahweh fully!

Let’s look at another example. Ruth was a Moabitess. She willingly joined herself to Yahweh, and was not only accepted into the family, but honored as being a woman who brought forth the ancestor of Yeshua.

Ruth 1:15 Then she said, "Behold, your sister-in-law has gone back to her people and her gods; return after your sister-in-law."

Ruth 1:16 But Ruth said, "Do not urge me to leave you or turn back from following you; for where you go, I will go, and where you lodge, I will lodge. Your people shall be my people, and your God, my God.

Obviously Ruth was not rejected simply because she was a Moabitess. We know that she went back with Naomi and was a loyal follower of Yahweh for the rest of her life. She was not cast aside simply because she was a blood descendant of Moab.

We know the story in Acts chapter 10 of Peter seeing the vision of all the unclean animals in the sheet. Peter knew Yahweh did not want him to eat unclean things, and wondered what the vision might mean. When he finally realized what it meant, that gentiles were being saved and grafted into the family of Israel, he said these words:

Act 10:34 Opening his mouth, Peter said: "I most certainly understand now that God is not one to show partiality,

Act 10:35 but in every nation the man who fears Him and does what is right is welcome to Him.

Again, physical ancestry does not determine whether you become part of Israel… we are joined to Yahweh by faith, whether we are descended from one of the “mixed multitudes”, including Ammon or Moab, or one of the 12 tribes. Yahweh has not rejected the “mixed multitude”. He considers them part of His family Israel, as long as they join to Him by faith and obedience.

We’re going to move forward a bit now until the time of Moses right before the children of Israel enter the promised land.

Deuteronomy chapters 27-30 are filled with exhortations to all Israel (all twelve tribes, not just Ephraim, Joseph or Judah) including the mixed multitude, to obey Yahweh’s commands, and follow the Torah. The curses for disobedience are outlined, as well as the blessings for obedience.

Among the curses for disobedience is the scattering among the nations:

Deu 28:64 "Moreover, the LORD will scatter you among all peoples, from one end of the earth to the other end of the earth; and there you shall serve other gods, wood and stone, which you or your fathers have not known.

Deu 28:65 "Among those nations you shall find no rest, and there will be no resting place for the sole of your foot; but there the LORD will give you a trembling heart, failing of eyes, and despair of soul.

Deu 28:66 "So your life shall hang in doubt before you; and you will be in dread night and day, and shall have no assurance of your life.

Deu 28:67 "In the morning you shall say, 'Would that it were evening!' And at evening you shall say, 'Would that it were morning!' because of the dread of your heart which you dread, and for the sight of your eyes which you will see.

Deu 28:68 "The LORD will bring you back to Egypt in ships, by the way about which I spoke to you, 'You will never see it again!' And there you will offer yourselves for sale to your enemies as male and female slaves, but there will be no buyer."

Deu 29:10 "You stand today, all of you, before the LORD your God: your chiefs, your tribes, your elders and your officers, even all the men of Israel,

Deu 29:11 your little ones, your wives, and the alien who is within your camps, from the one who chops your wood to the one who draws your water,

Deu 29:12 that you may enter into the covenant with the LORD your God, and into His oath which the LORD your God is making with you today,

Deu 29:13 in order that He may establish you today as His people and that He may be your God, just as He spoke to you and as He swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

Deu 29:14 "Now not with you alone am I making this covenant and this oath,

Deu 29:15 but both with those who stand here with us today in the presence of the LORD our God and with those who are not with us here today

I want to pause here just a minute. This is one of the most interesting statements in scripture. Who are those that “are not with us here today”? Certainly it would not be those who have already died. It must be referring to those who have not yet lived! Yahweh desired at this point, to make His covenant with the descendants of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob… all those that would obey His commandments, down through the ages. However, Moses knew that the children of Israel would be disobedient, and be cast out in to the nations:

Deu 30:1 "So it shall be when all of these things have come upon you, the blessing and the curse which I have set before you, and you call them to mind in all nations where the LORD your God has banished you,

Deu 30:2 and you return to the LORD your God and obey Him with all your heart and soul according to all that I command you today, you and your sons,

Deu 30:3 then the LORD your God will restore you from captivity, and have compassion on you, and will gather you again from all the peoples where the LORD your God has scattered you.

Deu 30:4 "If your outcasts are at the ends of the earth, from there the LORD your God will gather you, and from there He will bring you back.

Deu 30:5 "The LORD your God will bring you into the land which your fathers possessed, and you shall possess it; and He will prosper you and multiply you more than your fathers.

Deu 30:6 "Moreover the LORD your God will circumcise your heart and the heart of your descendants, to love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul, so that you may live.

Deu 30:19 "I call heaven and earth to witness against you today, that I have set before you life and death, the blessing and the curse. So choose life in order that you may live, you and your descendants,

Deu 30:20 by loving the LORD your God, by obeying His voice, and by holding fast to Him; for this is your life and the length of your days, that you may live in the land which the LORD swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, to give them."

Deu 31:16 The LORD said to Moses, "Behold, you are about to lie down with your fathers; and this people will arise and play the harlot with the strange gods of the land, into the midst of which they are going, and will forsake Me and break My covenant which I have made with them.

Deu 31:17 "Then My anger will be kindled against them in that day, and I will forsake them and hide My face from them, and they will be consumed, and many evils and troubles will come upon them; so that they will say in that day, 'Is it not because our God is not among us that these evils have come upon us?'

Deu 31:28 "Assemble to me all the elders of your tribes and your officers, that I may speak these words in their hearing and call the heavens and the earth to witness against them.

Deu 31:29 "For I know that after my death you will act corruptly and turn from the way which I have commanded you; and evil will befall you in the latter days, for you will do that which is evil in the sight of the LORD, provoking Him to anger with the work of your hands."

How heart-wrenching it must have been for Moses to speak these words! For forty years he led the stiff-necked people in the wilderness, doing everything he could to get them to walk in the ways of Yahweh! Now he knows he can’t follow them into the promised land, and he knows that they will rebel, be judged, and scattered.

Let’s fast-forward again, to the time of King Solomon.

The twelve tribes of Israel entered the promised land and took their respective places. The tribes were then divided into the northern kingdom and the southern kingdom. The southern kingdom included Judah and Benjamin, and the northern kingdom the remaining ten tribes.

The northern kingdom became known as “Israel”, or “Ephraim” and was taken captive by the Assyrians in 721 BCE. The southern kingdom became known as “Judah” and was taken captive by the Babylonians in 586 BCE.

I want to read some scriptures that detail this important part of Israel’s history.

1Ki 11:1 Now King Solomon loved many foreign women along with the daughter of Pharaoh: Moabite, Ammonite, Edomite, Sidonian, and Hittite women,

1Ki 11:3 He had seven hundred wives, princesses, and three hundred concubines, and his wives turned his heart away.

1Ki 11:4 For when Solomon was old, his wives turned his heart away after other gods; and his heart was not wholly devoted to the LORD his God, as the heart of David his father had been.

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1Ki 11:9 Now the LORD was angry with Solomon because his heart was turned away from the LORD, the God of Israel, who had appeared to him twice,

1Ki 11:10 and had commanded him concerning this thing, that he should not go after other gods; but he did not observe what the LORD had commanded.

1Ki 11:11 So the LORD said to Solomon, "Because you have done this, and you have not kept My covenant and My statutes, which I have commanded you, I will surely tear the kingdom from you, and will give it to your servant.

1Ki 11:12 "Nevertheless I will not do it in your days for the sake of your father David, but I will tear it out of the hand of your son.

1Ki 11:13 "However, I will not tear away all the kingdom, but I will give one tribe to your son for the sake of My servant David and for the sake of Jerusalem which I have chosen."

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1Ki 11:29 It came about at that time, when Jeroboam went out of Jerusalem, that the prophet Ahijah the Shilonite found him on the road. Now Ahijah had clothed himself with a new cloak; and both of them were alone in the field.

1Ki 11:30 Then Ahijah took hold of the new cloak which was on him and tore it into twelve pieces.

1Ki 11:31 He said to Jeroboam, "Take for yourself ten pieces; for thus says the LORD, the God of Israel, 'Behold, I will tear the kingdom out of the hand of Solomon and give you ten tribes

1Ki 11:32 (but he will have one tribe, for the sake of My servant David and for the sake of Jerusalem, the city which I have chosen from all the tribes of Israel),

1Ki 11:33 because they have forsaken Me, and have worshiped Ashtoreth the goddess of the Sidonians, Chemosh the god of Moab, and Milcom the god of the sons of Ammon; and they have not walked in My ways, doing what is right in My sight and observing My statutes and My ordinances, as his father David did.

1Ki 11:34 'Nevertheless I will not take the whole kingdom out of his hand, but I will make him ruler all the days of his life, for the sake of My servant David whom I chose, who observed My commandments and My statutes;

1Ki 11:35 but I will take the kingdom from his son's hand and give it to you, even ten tribes.

1Ki 11:36 'But to his son I will give one tribe, that My servant David may have a lamp always before Me in Jerusalem, the city where I have chosen for Myself to put My name.

1Ki 11:37 'I will take you, and you shall reign over whatever you desire, and you shall be king over Israel.

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1Ki 11:43 And Solomon slept with his fathers and was buried in the city of his father David, and his son Rehoboam reigned in his place.

1Ki 12:1 Then Rehoboam went to Shechem, for all Israel had come to Shechem to make him king.

1Ki 12:2 Now when Jeroboam the son of Nebat heard of it, he was living in Egypt (for he was yet in Egypt, where he had fled from the presence of King Solomon).

1Ki 12:3 Then they sent and called him, and Jeroboam and all the assembly of Israel came and spoke to Rehoboam, saying,

1Ki 12:4 "Your father made our yoke hard; now therefore lighten the hard service of your father and his heavy yoke which he put on us, and we will serve you."

1Ki 12:5 Then he said to them, "Depart for three days, then return to me." So the people departed.

1Ki 12:6 King Rehoboam consulted with the elders who had served his father Solomon while he was still alive, saying, "How do you counsel me to answer this people?"

1Ki 12:7 Then they spoke to him, saying, "If you will be a servant to this people today, and will serve them and grant them their petition, and speak good words to them, then they will be your servants forever."

1Ki 12:8 But he forsook the counsel of the elders which they had given him, and consulted with the young men who grew up with him and served him.

1Ki 12:9 So he said to them, "What counsel do you give that we may answer this people who have spoken to me, saying, 'Lighten the yoke which your father put on us'?"

1Ki 12:10 The young men who grew up with him spoke to him, saying, "Thus you shall say to this people who spoke to you, saying, 'Your father made our yoke heavy, now you make it lighter for us!' But you shall speak to them, 'My little finger is thicker than my father's loins!

1Ki 12:11 'Whereas my father loaded you with a heavy yoke, I will add to your yoke; my father disciplined you with whips, but I will discipline you with scorpions.'"

1Ki 12:12 Then Jeroboam and all the people came to Rehoboam on the third day as the king had directed, saying, "Return to me on the third day."

1Ki 12:13 The king answered the people harshly, for he forsook the advice of the elders which they had given him,

1Ki 12:14 and he spoke to them according to the advice of the young men, saying, "My father made your yoke heavy, but I will add to your yoke; my father disciplined you with whips, but I will discipline you with scorpions."

1Ki 12:15 So the king did not listen to the people; for it was a turn of events from the LORD, that He might establish His word, which the LORD spoke through Ahijah the Shilonite to Jeroboam the son of Nebat.

1Ki 12:16 When all Israel saw that the king did not listen to them, the people answered the king, saying, "What portion do we have in David? We have no inheritance in the son of Jesse; To your tents, O Israel! Now look after your own house, David!" So Israel departed to their tents.

1Ki 12:17 But as for the sons of Israel who lived in the cities of Judah, Rehoboam reigned over them.

1Ki 12:18 Then King Rehoboam sent Adoram, who was over the forced labor, and all Israel stoned him to death. And King Rehoboam made haste to mount his chariot to flee to Jerusalem.

1Ki 12:19 So Israel has been in rebellion against the house of David to this day.

1Ki 12:20 It came about when all Israel heard that Jeroboam had returned, that they sent and called him to the assembly and made him king over all Israel. None but the tribe of Judah followed the house of David.

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1Ki 12:25 Then Jeroboam built Shechem in the hill country of Ephraim, and lived there. And he went out from there and built Penuel.

1Ki 12:26 Jeroboam said in his heart, "Now the kingdom will return to the house of David.

1Ki 12:27 "If this people go up to offer sacrifices in the house of the LORD at Jerusalem, then the heart of this people will return to their lord, even to Rehoboam king of Judah; and they will kill me and return to Rehoboam king of Judah."

1Ki 12:28 So the king consulted, and made two golden calves, and he said to them, "It is too much for you to go up to Jerusalem; behold your gods, O Israel, that brought you up from the land of Egypt."

1Ki 12:29 He set one in Bethel, and the other he put in Dan.

1Ki 12:30 Now this thing became a sin, for the people went to worship before the one as far as Dan.

1Ki 12:31 And he made houses on high places, and made priests from among all the people who were not of the sons of Levi.

1Ki 12:32 Jeroboam instituted a feast in the eighth month on the fifteenth day of the month, like the feast which is in Judah, and he went up to the altar; thus he did in Bethel, sacrificing to the calves which he had made. And he stationed in Bethel the priests of the high places which he had made.

1Ki 12:33 Then he went up to the altar which he had made in Bethel on the fifteenth day in the eighth month, even in the month which he had devised in his own heart; and he instituted a feast for the sons of Israel and went up to the altar to burn incense.

So now the tribes have been divided into the northern and southern kingdoms. As we know, the northern kingdom is referred to as “Israel” or “Ephraim” or “Samaria” and the southern kingdom as “Judah”. Benjamin largely remained with Judah in the southern kingdom, with the remaining ten in the north.

Remember the prophecies over all twelve tribes in the book of Deuteronomy that declared that the tribes would be dispersed into the nations because of their disobedience? Those prophecies are about to be fulfilled, as Israel sets up the golden calf system. For fear of losing his kingdom, Jeroboam sets up two golden calves, calling them “the gods that brought you out of Egypt”. Just as Aaron called the golden calf “Yahweh”, Jeroboam set these up as a representative of Yahweh. He also instituted new feast days, and false priests, hoping to keep his followers, his kingdom, within their borders so as not to lose his power.

The prophecies in Deuteronomy are about to be fulfilled:

Deu 28:15 "But it shall come about, if you do not obey the LORD your God, to observe to do all His commandments and His statutes with which I charge you today, that all these curses will come upon you and overtake you:

Deu 28:36 "The LORD will bring you and your king, whom you set over you, to a nation which neither you nor your fathers have known, and there you shall serve other gods, wood and stone.

Deu 28:37 "You shall become a horror, a proverb, and a taunt among all the people where the LORD drives you.

The northern kingdom is about to be scattered into the nations, just as predicted. This happened in 721 BCE when the northern kingdom (Israel) was taken captive to Assyria:

2Ki 17:1 In the twelfth year of Ahaz king of Judah, Hoshea the son of Elah became king over Israel in Samaria, and reigned nine years.

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2Ki 17:5 Then the king of Assyria invaded the whole land and went up to Samaria and besieged it three years.

2Ki 17:6 In the ninth year of Hoshea, the king of Assyria captured Samaria and carried Israel away into exile to Assyria, and settled them in Halah and Habor, on the river of Gozan, and in the cities of the Medes.

2Ki 17:7 Now this came about because the sons of Israel had sinned against the LORD their God, who had brought them up from the land of Egypt from under the hand of Pharaoh, king of Egypt, and they had feared other gods

2Ki 17:8 and walked in the customs of the nations whom the LORD had driven out before the sons of Israel, and in the customs of the kings of Israel which they had introduced.

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2Ki 17:13 Yet the LORD warned Israel and Judah through all His prophets and every seer, saying, "Turn from your evil ways and keep My commandments, My statutes according to all the law which I commanded your fathers, and which I sent to you through My servants the prophets."

2Ki 17:14 However, they did not listen, but stiffened their neck like their fathers, who did not believe in the LORD their God.

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2Ki 17:18 So the LORD was very angry with Israel and removed them from His sight; none was left except the tribe of Judah.

2Ki 17:19 Also Judah did not keep the commandments of the LORD their God, but walked in the customs which Israel had introduced.

2Ki 17:20 The LORD rejected all the descendants of Israel and afflicted them and gave them into the hand of plunderers, until He had cast them out of His sight.

2Ki 17:21 When He had torn Israel from the house of David, they made Jeroboam the son of Nebat king. Then Jeroboam drove Israel away from following the LORD and made them commit a great sin.

2Ki 17:22 The sons of Israel walked in all the sins of Jeroboam which he did; they did not depart from them

2Ki 17:23 until the LORD removed Israel from His sight, as He spoke through all His servants the prophets. So Israel was carried away into exile from their own land to Assyria until this day.

Judah was also disobedient, and was taken captive. The southern kingdom was taken captive to Babylon in 586 BCE:

2Ki 23:26 However, the LORD did not turn from the fierceness of His great wrath with which His anger burned against Judah, because of all the provocations with which Manasseh had provoked Him.

2Ki 23:27 The LORD said, "I will remove Judah also from My sight, as I have removed Israel. And I will cast off Jerusalem, this city which I have chosen, and the temple of which I said, 'My name shall be there.'"

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2Ki 25:8 Now on the seventh day of the fifth month, which was the nineteenth year of King Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard, a servant of the king of Babylon, came to Jerusalem.

2Ki 25:9 He burned the house of the LORD, the king's house, and all the houses of Jerusalem; even every great house he burned with fire.

2Ki 25:10 So all the army of the Chaldeans who were with the captain of the guard broke down the walls around Jerusalem.

2Ki 25:11 Then the rest of the people who were left in the city and the deserters who had deserted to the king of Babylon and the rest of the people, Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard carried away into exile.

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2Ki 25:21 Then the king of Babylon struck them down and put them to death at Riblah in the land of Hamath. So Judah was led away into exile from its land.

The northern kingdom became known as “the house of Israel”, “the house of Joseph”, “Samaria” and “Ephraim”. We see examples of this in several scriptures:

1Ki 12:21 Now when Rehoboam had come to Jerusalem, he assembled all the house of Judah and the tribe of Benjamin, 180,000 chosen men who were warriors, to fight against the house of Israel to restore the kingdom to Rehoboam the son of Solomon.

Jer 31:31 "Behold, days are coming," declares the LORD, "when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah,

1Ki 11:28 Now the man Jeroboam was a valiant warrior, and when Solomon saw that the young man was industrious, he appointed him over all the forced labor of the house of Joseph.

Hos 7:1 When I would heal Israel, The iniquity of Ephraim is uncovered, And the evil deeds of Samaria, For they deal falsely; The thief enters in, Bandits raid outside,

Hos 8:5 He has rejected your calf, O Samaria, saying, "My anger burns against them!" How long will they be incapable of innocence?

Hos 13:16 Samaria will be held guilty, For she has rebelled against her God. They will fall by the sword, Their little ones will be dashed in pieces, And their pregnant women will be ripped open.

Hos 4:17 Ephraim is joined to idols; Let him alone.

Hos 5:3 I know Ephraim, and Israel is not hidden from Me; For now, O Ephraim, you have played the harlot, Israel has defiled itself.

Hos 7:1 When I would heal Israel, The iniquity of Ephraim is uncovered, And the evil deeds of Samaria, For they deal falsely; The thief enters in, Bandits raid outside,

The southern kingdom became known as the house of Judah, as we see in these scriptures:

2Ch 11:1 Now when Rehoboam had come to Jerusalem, he assembled the house of Judah and Benjamin, 180,000 chosen men who were warriors, to fight against Israel to restore the kingdom to Rehoboam.

Isa 37:31 "The surviving remnant of the house of Judah will again take root downward and bear fruit upward.

Map of Israel at the time of Joshua, Judges, and Ruth

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All boundaries, and borders of countries, are approximate. The territory controlled by a people varied from time to time, and was often disputed by other peoples.