Are Two Houses Scriptural?

 

There’s a big debate among some believers about the existence of “two houses” in Scripture. Quite frankly, this debate puzzles us at The Way of the Messiah, since two houses are clearly spoken about in the body of Scripture. We are uncomfortable with the idea of saying that something is not Scriptural or even heretical when YHWH uses that same terminology.

 

The purpose of this article is to look at what the Scripture says about these “two houses,” to trace the chronology of them through Scripture, and to look at the information YHWH gives us about them. It is our belief that YHWH has given us specific information in the Bible in order to be able to discern what He wishes to tell us on a particular subject. We believe that He uses terminology very carefully and that we can follow a subject throughout Scripture to see the entire story. That will be the focus of this article: to follow the terminology YHWH attributes to the “two houses” to see how He defines them and what He says about them.

 

There is one note we need to make up front. The terminology “Israel” can get confusing because there are several Israel’s in the Bible. There are:

1)
Israel, the grandson of Abraham

2) the historical Biblical people/"sons" of Israel

3) the united kingdom of Israel

4) the northern kingdom/house of Israel

5) the present day nation of Israel

 

For our intents and purposes, we will be talking about the kingdom/house of Israel in this article.

 

First, we need to look at a bit of history to understand what is being discussed. Many of you may know that there was one kingdom under the following rulers of the Hebrew people:

 

Saul

David

Solomon

 

The first mention we can find of the two houses is in 2 Samuel 12:8:

 

I also gave you your master’s house and your master’s wives into your care, and I gave you the house of Israel and Judah; and if that had been too little, I would have added to you many more things like these!

 

Some other Scriptures that specifically use this terminology for the house of Judah and the house of Israel are found in:

 

Jeremiah 5:11

Jeremiah 11:10

Jeremiah 11:17

Ezekiel 9:9

 

Why was the kingdom divided? YHWH was very specific about this information and the whole of the story is recorded in several different places. Let’s begin with what Moses told the Hebrew people before they entered the Promised Land found in

 

Deuteronomy 17:14-20:

 

14. “When you enter the land which YHWH your God gives you, and you possess it and live in it, and you say, ‘I will sent a king over me like all the nations who are around me,’                                  

15. you shall surely set a king over you whom YWHW your God chooses, one from among your countrymen you shall set as king over yourselves; you may not put a foreigner over yourselves who is not your countryman.

16. “Moreover, he shall not multiply horses for himself, nor shall he cause the people to return to Egypt to multiply horses, since YHWH has said to you, ‘You shall never again return that way.”  

17. “He shall not multiply wives for himself, or else his heart will turn away; nor shall he greatly increase silver and gold for himself.                        
18. “Now it shall come about when he sits on the throne of his kingdom, he shall write for himself a copy of this law on a scroll in the presence of the Levitical priests.

19. “It shall be with him and he shall read it all the days of his life, that he may learn to fear YHWH his God, by carefully observing all the words of this Torah and these statutes,                              

20. that his heart may not be lifted up above his countrymen and that he may not turn aside from the commandment, to the right or the left, so that he and his sons may continue long in his kingdom in the midst of Israel.

 

YHWH obviously knew that the Hebrew people would demand to have a king long before it happened. However, He clearly forbade a Hebrew king to:

 

1) multiply horses

2) return to Egypt

3) have multiple wives

4) increase silver and gold for himself

 

Yet David’s son, Solomon, did all of these things. That is what caused YHWH to tell Solomon the following.

 

I Kings 11:1-12

 

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

2. from the nations concerning which YHWH 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.

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

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

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

6. Solomon did what was evil in the sight of YHWH, and did not follow YHWH fully, as David his father had done.                                                    

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.

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

9. Now YHWH was angry with Solomon because his heart was turned away from YHWH, the God of Israel, who had appeared to him twice,                                                

10. and had commanded him concerning this thing, that he should not go after other gods; but he did not observe what YHWH had commanded.

11. So YHWH 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.   

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.

 

YHWH fulfilled this word to Solomon when he divided the kingdom after Solomon’s reign. The “united kingdom” was divided in two: the southern and the northern kingdoms. The southern kingdom of Judah was ruled over by Solomon’s son, Rehoboam and it:

 

1. Contained the tribes of Judah, Benjamin, part of the Levites

2. Had righteous and unrighteous kings

3. Contained the capitol city: Jerusalem

 

It is also possible that a portion of the tribe of Simeon resided in this kingdom.

 

Long before this time, YHWH set up VERY specific directions about how the Hebrews were to worship Him. (For more information see Are the Feasts and Sabbath of the Old Testament Applicable to New Testament Believers?) For the focus of this article, the important fact to know is that God prescribed that certain feasts had to take place in the city of Jerusalem and that these feasts are NOT the “Jews” but, according to Scripture, belong to YHWH and are to be celebrated by the people who are His. (Leviticus 23, Leviticus 24:22, Deuteronomy 16:11)

 

Isaiah 33:20 gives us some idea of what God said about the feasts taking place in Jerusalem:

 

Look upon Zion, the city of our appointed feasts;               

Your eyes will see Jerusalem, and undisturbed habitation,     

A tent which will not be folded;                             

Its stakes will never be pulled up,                                     

Nor any of its cords be torn apart.

 

When the kingdom divided, ten of the 12 tribes were in the northern kingdom of Israel. This kingdom was ruled by Jeroboam, who was not of the line of David. Israel:

 

1. Contained the rest of the twelve tribes (10)                              

2. Had ONLY unrighteous kings, beginning with Jeroboam

3. Capitol City: Samaria

 

Why did it ONLY have “unrighteous” kings? Because Jeroboam was worried that if the people returned to Jerusalem to celebrate YHWH’s feasts that it would have dire consequences for him. YHWH gives us the details in His word.

 

1 Kings 12:26-33:

 

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

27. "If this people go up to offer sacrifices in the house of YHWH 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."

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."                                                 

29. He set one in Bethel, and the other he put Dan.                                     

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

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

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.

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.

 

Jeroboam changed the time of God’s feast, changed the place YHWH had ordained it to be held and changed the way of worship by once again making graven images, the golden calves. This choice so distressed YHWH that He constantly compared each succeeding king with Jeroboam and what he had done.

 

I Kings 15:34

 

34. He (Baasha) did evil in the sight of YHWH, and walked in the way of Jeroboam and in his sin which he made Israel sin.

 

1 Kings 16:19

 

19. (Zimri) because of his sins which he sinned, doing evil in the sight of YHWH, walking in the way of Jeroboam, and in his sin which he did, making Israel sin

 

I Kings 16:31

 

31. It came about, as though it had been a trivial thing for him to walk in the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, that he married Jezebel the daughter of Ethbaal king of the Sidonians, and went to serve Baal and worshiped him.

 

2 Kings 3:1-3

 

1. Now Jehoram the son of Ahab became king over Israel at Samaria in the eighteenth year of Jehoshaphat king of Judah, and reigned twelve years.          

2. He did evil in the sight of YHWH, though not like his father and his mother; for he put away the sacred pillar of Baal which his father had made.                  

3.  Nevertheless, he clung to the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, which he made Israel sin; he did not depart from them.

 

2 Kings 10:31

 

31. But Jehu was not careful to walk in the law of YHWH, the God of Israel, with all his heart; he did not depart from the sins of Jeroboam, which he made Israel sin.

 

Additional Scriptures that mention kings of Israel and their comparison to Jeroboam:

 

1 Kings 22:52                                    2 Kings 15:8-9

2 Kings 10:29                                    2 Kings 15:17-18

2 Kings 13:1-2                                   2 Kings 15:23-24

2 Kings 13:10-11                               2 Kings 15:27-28

2 Kings 14:23-24

 

Because each succeeding king followed in the steps that Jeroboam had first laid, there was NO righteous king in the history of the kingdom of Israel.

 

Because of the sins of the people, who followed after their unrighteous kings, YHWH made a startling proclamation about this kingdom:

 

DIVORCE!

 

YHWH divorced Israel!

 

Ezekiel 3:4-7:

 

4. Then He said to me, "Son of man, go to the house of Israel and speak with My words to them.                                  

5. "For you are not being sent to a people of unintelligible speech or difficult language, but to the house of Israel,

6. nor to many peoples of unintelligible speech or difficult language, whose words you cannot understand. But I have sent you to them who should listen to you;                                         

7. yet the house of Israel will not be willing to listen to you, since they are not willing to listen to Me. Surely the whole house of Israel is stubborn and obstinate.

 

When the Hebrews came out of Egypt, YHWH took them to Mt. Sinai and married them there. He asked them if they would be His people, and they said, “We will.” Scripture confirms this in many places where YHWH speaks of the Hebrew people and Himself in a marriage relationship; the Hebrews as a bride, Himself as a bridegroom.

 

Let’s take a look at the divorce decree and some other Scriptures where YHWH talks about His view of Israel and what she’d done. We’ll come back to the thought in Jeremiah 3:1 a bit later.

 

Jeremiah 3:1:

 

God says, "If a husband divorces his wife

And she goes from him

And belongs to another man,

Will he still return to her?

Will not that land be completely polluted?

But you are a harlot with many lovers;

Yet you turn to Me," declares YHWH.

 

Jeremiah 3:6:

 

Then YHWH said to me in the days of Josiah the king, "Have you seen what faithless Israel did? She went up on every high hill and under every green tree, and she was a harlot there.

 

Jeremiah 3:8:

And I saw that for all the adulteries of faithless Israel, I had sent her away and given her a writ of divorce,…

 

The result of YHWH divorcing Israel was dispersal among the nations.

 

1 Kings 14:15-16:

 

15. "For YHWH will strike Israel, as a reed is shaken in the water; and He will uproot Israel from this good land which He gave to their fathers, and will scatter them beyond the Euphrates River, because they have made their Asherim, YHWH to anger.             

16. "He will give up Israel on account of the sins of Jeroboam, which he committed and with which he made Israel to sin.”

 

2 Kings 17:20-23:

 

20. YHWH 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.

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 YHWH and made them commit a great sin.

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

23. until YHWH 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.

 

The message of the prophets of both kingdoms was to:

1) Repent

2) Remember the covenant

3) Return to the Torah

 

Y’shua said the Torah and the prophets spoke of Me. What did they speak? These three things. Was the message in the New Testament (Brit hadasha) different in this respect, or the same?

The next verse will be important later, so make note of it.

 

Hosea 2:11:

 

I will also put an end to all her gaiety,

Her feasts, her new moons, her Sabbaths

And all her festal assemblies.

 

Hosea 4:6:

 

My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge.

Because you have rejected knowledge,

I also will reject you from being My priest.

Since you have forgotten the law (Torah) of your God,

I also will forget your children.

 

Believers are famous for quoting the first line of this Scripture, but the first line doesn’t give us the message of the verse. This verse is speaking of DIS-obedience to the Torah, the instructions and teachings of YHWH.

 

Because of their continued disobedience for the life of the kingdom of Israel, they were taken captive by the Assyrians and THEY NEVER RETURNED!!

 

But YHWH had mercy on Israel and foretold that she would be re-gathered and would one day return to the land.

 

Ezekiel 11: 17-21:

 

17. "Therefore say, 'Thus says YHWH GOD, "I will gather you from the peoples and assemble you out of the countries among which you have been scattered, and I will give you the land of Israel."'                 

18. "When they come there, they will remove all its detestable things and all its abominations from it.                           

19. "And I will give them one heart, and put a new spirit within them. And I will take the heart of stone out of their flesh and give them a heart of flesh,

20. that they may walk in My statutes and keep My ordinances and do them. Then they will be My people, and I shall be their God.

21. " But as for those whose hearts go after their detestable things and abominations, I will bring their conduct down on their heads," declares YHWH GOD.

 

What detestable and abominable things of the nations do the Scriptures tell us God’s people are not to do? Here are just a few:

 

Exodus 23:13:

 

…do not mention the name of other gods, nor let them be heard from your mouth.

 

Deuteronomy 18:9:

 

When you enter the land which YHWH your God gives you, you shall not learn to imitate the detestable things of those nations.

 

Jeremiah 10:2-4:

 

1. Hear the word which YHWH speaks to you, O house of Israel.

2. Thus says YHWH,

"Do not learn the way of the nations,

And do not be terrified by the signs of the heavens

Although the nations are terrified by them;

3. For the customs of the peoples are delusion;
Because it is
wood cut from the forest,
The work of the hands of a craftsman with a cutting tool.
4. "They decorate
it with silver and with gold;
They fasten it with nails and with hammers
So that it will not totter
.

 

If we are going to be honest, we can see that this closely resembles the description one would give of a Christmas tree. Any honest researcher will tell you that Christmas is not the birthday of the Messiah, has pagan origins, and that the word used for the Messiah’s resurrection comes from a pagan goddess! Scripture forbids us to speak her name yet we do so each year when we supposedly celebrate YHWH’s Passover. Just look up easter, word origin online on google or any search engine and it will confirm this.

 

For instance, in 2005 Easter was almost an entire month BEFORE Passover! Since Y’shua was the Passover lamb, how do you celebrate an event that has yet to take place? When I mentioned to several Christians that Passover wasn’t for another month and that it would be difficult to celebrate Y’shua’s resurrection when according to YHWH’s timetable He hadn’t even died yet, they said,

 

“Well that’s the day WE celebrate it.”

 

Do you think that YHWH is pleased that we have substituted a pagan name and celebration date for His appointed feasts? This was the sin of Jeroboam that ultimately got Israel divorced and exiled!

 

YHWH continues with His message of hope for Israel to return, telling them that when they return, they will return to His ways.

 

Ezekiel 20:41-44:

 

41. " As a soothing aroma I will accept you when I bring you out from the peoples and gather you from the lands where you are scattered; and I will prove Myself holy among you in the sight of the nations.

42. "And you will know that I am YHWH, when I bring you into the land of Israel, into the land which I swore to give to your forefathers.

43. "There you will remember your ways and all your deeds with which you have defiled yourselves; and you will loathe yourselves in your own sight for all the evil things that you have done.                                        

44. "Then you will know that I am YHWH when I have dealt with you for My name's sake, not according to your evil ways or according to your corrupt deeds, O house of Israel,” declares YHWH GOD.'"

 

Ezekiel 28:25-26:

 

25. 'Thus says YHWH GOD, "When I gather the house of Israel from the peoples among whom they are scattered, and will manifest My holiness in them in the sight of the nations, then they will live in their land which I gave to My servant Jacob.                                        

26. "They will live in it securely; and they will build houses, plant vineyards and live securely when I execute judgments upon all who scorn them round about them. Then they will know that I am YHWH their God."'"

 

Some teachers claim that Israel and Judah are the same, but YHWH is very specific about each “house” and its path; they are not the same. As you can see from the Scriptures in this article YHWH speaks specifically about EACH of the two kingdoms, differentiating between them at times in one verse or passage.

 

Isaiah 11:11-12:

 

The Restored Remnant

 

11. Then it will happen on that day that YHWH

Will again recover the second time with His hand

The remnant of His people, who will remain,

From Assyria, Egypt, Pathros, Cush, Elam, Shinar, Hamath,

And from the islands of the sea.

12. And He will lift up a standard for the nations
And
assemble the banished ones of Israel,
And will gather the dispersed of
Judah
From the four corners of the earth.

 

Note that this verse tells us that a SECOND TIME YHWH will gather the remnant of His people, so this hasn't happened yet.  And He specifically notes that He will gather "the banished ones of Israel" AND "gather the dispersed of Judah." If YHWH viewed them all as the same people, (one group, the" Jews") why did He mention them as two separate, distinct groups?

 

Jeremiah 3:12-18:

 

12. "Go and proclaim these words toward the north and say,

'Return, faithless Israel,’ declares YHWH;

'I will not look upon you in anger.

For I am gracious,' declares YHWH;

'I will not be angry forever.

13. 'Only acknowledge your iniquity,
That you have transgressed against YHWH your God
And have scattered your favors to the strangers under every green tree,
And you have not obeyed My voice,' declares YHWH.
14. 'Return, O faithless sons,' declares YHWH;
'For I am a master to you,
And I will take you one from a city and two from a family,
And I will bring you to
Zion.

15. "Then I will give you shepherds after My own heart, who will feed you on knowledge and understanding.           

16. "It shall be in those days when you are multiplied and increased in the land," declares YHWH, "they will no longer say, 'The ark of the covenant of YHWH.' And it will not come to mind, nor will they remember it, nor will they miss it, nor will it be made again.

17. "At that time they will call Jerusalem 'The Throne of YHWH,' and all the nations will be gathered to it, to Jerusalem, for the name of YHWH; nor will they walk anymore after the stubbornness of their evil heart.       

18. "In those days the house of Judah will walk with the house of Israel, and they will come together from the land of the north to the land that I gave your fathers as an inheritance.

 

For ease of understanding, it helps to know that the name “jew” used today came from those from the kingdom of Judah. This came from the term from Hebrew “Y’hudite” being a person of “Y’huda” (Judah, there is no “J” in Hebrew) shortened though time to “jew.”

 

Jews = Judah =the house of Judah

 

So then who is the Israel that is re-gathered? All we have to do to find out is to go to the Scripture and see what YHWH said.

 

Ezekiel 36:22-38:

 

22. "Therefore say to the house of Israel, 'Thus says YHWH GOD, "It is not for your sake, O house of Israel, that I am about to act, but for My holy name, which you have profaned among the nations where you went.                                                             

23. "I will vindicate the holiness of My great name which has been profaned among the nations, which you have profaned in their midst. Then the nations will know that I am YHWH," declares YHWH GOD, "when I prove Myself holy among you in their sight.

24. "For I will take you from the nations, gather you from all the lands and bring you into your own land.                        

25. "Then I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean; I will cleanse you from all your filthiness and from all your idols.                                           

26. "Moreover, I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; and I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh.

27. "I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will be careful to observe My ordinances.       

28. "You will live in the land that I gave to your forefathers; so you will be My people, and I will be your God.                        

29. "Moreover, I will save you from all your uncleanness; and I will call for the grain and multiply it, and I will not bring a famine on you.

30. "I will multiply the fruit of the tree and the produce of the field, so that you will not receive again the disgrace of famine among the  nations.                                           

31. "Then you will remember your evil ways and your deeds that were not good, and you will loathe yourselves in your own sight for your iniquities and your abominations.    

32. "I am not doing this  for your sake," declares YHWH GOD, "let it be known to you. Be ashamed and confounded for your ways, O house of Israel!”

33. 'Thus says YHWH GOD, "On the day that I cleanse you from all your iniquities, I will cause the cities to be inhabited, and the waste places will be rebuilt.                    

34. "The desolate land will be cultivated instead of being a desolation in the sight of everyone who passes by.                       

35. "They will say, 'This desolate land has become like the garden of Eden; and the waste, desolate and ruined cities are fortified and inhabited.'

36. "Then the nations that are left round about you will know that I, YHWH, have rebuilt the ruined places and planted that which was desolate; I, YHWH, have spoken and will do it."
37. 'Thus says YHWH GOD, "This also I will let the house of
Israel ask Me to do for them: I will increase their men like a flock.

38. "Like the flock for sacrifices, like the flock at Jerusalem during her appointed feasts, so will the waste cities be filled with flocks of men. Then they will know that I am YHWH."'"

 

We Are Told This People:

 

1.   Return to the land

2.   Are cleansed from filthiness and idols 

3.   Have a new heart  

4.   Have a new spirit

5.   Are given a heart of flesh for a heart of stone               

6.   God’s Spirit is put within them:
            To cause them to walk in His statutes
            To carefully observe His ordinances
7.   They will be His people
8.   He will be their God
9.   They will keep His appointed feasts
10. Then they will know that He is YHWH

 

In case you think some of this sounds familiar, check out Hebrews 8:10:

 

10) "FOR THIS IS THE COVENANT THAT I WILL MAKE WITH THE HOUSE OF ISRAEL

AFTER THOSE DAYS, SAYS THE LORD:

I WILL PUT MY LAWS INTO THEIR MINDS,

AND I WILL WRITE THEM ON THEIR HEARTS.

AND I WILL BE THEIR GOD,

AND THEY SHALL BE MY PEOPLE.

 

Note that only the house of Israel is singled out to receive the part of the covenant of having the Torah ("Laws") restored to them ("I will put My laws upon their heart and upon their mind I will write them."), because Israel lost them, Judah didn't! The Jews have always acknowledged and tried to keep the Torah.

 

YHWH gives us more clues to this people’s identity.

 

Hosea 1:10-11:

 

10. Yet the number of the sons of Israel

Will be like the sand of the sea,

Which cannot be measured or numbered;

And in the place

Where it is said to them,

"You are not My people,"

It will be said to them,

“You are the sons of the living God.”

11. And the sons of Judah and the sons of Israel will be gathered together,
And they will appoint for themselves one leader,
And they will go up from the land,
For great will be the day of Jezreel.

 

So the question that we need to ask is who are the “sons of the living God” today? Again, we compare Scripture to Scripture for the answer.

 

Romans 8:14-16:

 

14. For all who are being led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God.                                       
15. For you have not received a spirit of slavery leading to fear again, but you have received a spirit of adoption as sons by which we cry out, " Abba! Father!"       

16. The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are children of God

 

2 Corinthians 6:18:

 

"And I will be a father to you,

And you shall be sons and daughters to Me,"

Says YHWH Almighty.

 

For more information, see the following Scriptures:

 

Romans 8:19                         Hebrews 12:7

Galatians 4:7                         1 John 3:1-2

 

So, if we search the Scripture for like terms, we see that in the New Testament, the believers are clearly called “sons of the living God.” How does this work? Well, again Scripture gives us the answer.

 

Ephesians 2:11-14:

 

11. Therefore remember that formerly you, the Gentiles in the flesh, who are called " Uncircumcision" by the so-called " Circumcision," which is performed in the flesh by human hands

12. remember that you were at that time separate from Messiah, excluded from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world.

13. But now in Messiah Y’shua you who formerly were far off have been brought near by the blood of Messiah.                                    

14. For He Himself is our peace, who made both groups into one and broke down the barrier of the dividing wall

 

If you invert this statement, it would read something like this:

12) before you were separate from Messiah, but NOW you are Included in the
commonwealth of Israel, and are no longer strangers to the covenants of promise…

 

Now, believers are Included, grafted into the “commonwealth of Israel.” Just what did Y’shua have to say about Israel?

 

Matthew 10:6:

 

…go to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.

 

Matthew 15:24:

 

But He answered and said,

 

"I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel."

 

From what the Messiah said, do you think the information about Israel’s identity might be important to New Testament believers? Paul also spoke about the “house of Israel.”

 

Acts 2:36:

 

“Therefore let all the house of Israel know for certain that God has made Him both Lord and Messiah – this Y’shua whom you crucified.”

 

Paul talked about Gentiles becoming a part of the commonwealth of Israel by using an allegory with which the highly agrarian society of the day would be familiar: the grafting of a tree.

 

Romans 11:13-24:

 

13. But I am speaking to you who are Gentiles. Inasmuch then as I am an apostle of Gentiles, I magnify my ministry,                                        

14. if somehow I might move to jealousy my fellow countrymen and save some of them.                        
15. For if their rejection is the reconciliation of the world, what will their acceptance be but life from the dead?                                            

16. If the first piece of dough is holy, the lump is also; and if the root is holy, the branches are too.

17. But if some of the branches were broken off, and you, being a wild olive, were grafted in among them and became partaker with them of the rich root of the olive tree,                                             
18. do not be arrogant toward the branches; but if you are arrogant, remember
that  it is not you who supports the root, but the root supports you.                                                      
19. You will say then, "Branches were broken off so that I might be grafted in."

20. Quite right, they were broken off for their unbelief, but you stand by your faith. Do not be conceited, but fear;                

21. for if God did not spare the natural branches, He will not spare you, either.   

22. Behold then the kindness and severity of God; to those who fell, severity, but to you, God's kindness, if you continue in His kindness; otherwise you also will be cut off.

23. And they also, if they do not continue in their unbelief, will be grafted in, for God is able to graft them in again.                                              

24. For if you were cut off from what is by nature a wild olive tree, and were grafted contrary to nature into a cultivated olive tree, how much more will these who are the natural branches be grafted into their own olive tree?

 

So, who was the tree? Some say Y’shua, but we believe that Y’shua was the grafting agent and the tree was the Hebrew people (their own olive tree).

 

Some believers feel that most of what is being discussed in this article (and this site) is for the Jews and not for Gentile believers. However, Paul refutes this.

 

I Corinthians 10:1-2:

 

1. For I do not want you to be unaware, brethren, that our fathers were all under the cloud and all passed through the sea;

2 and all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea;

3 and all ate the same spiritual food;

4 and all drank the same spiritual drink, for they were drinking from a spiritual rock which followed them; and the rock was Christ.

 

It is generally accepted that Paul was writing to a group that included a good number of Gentiles in the ekkesia (called out ones, “church”) at Corinth. If this is true, then how could the Gentiles fathers have been “ALL under the cloud and ALL passed through the sea; ALL baptized into MOSES in the cloud and in the sea”? The forefathers of the Gentiles at Corinth weren’t THERE to pass under the cloud and through the sea! So, to what is Paul referring? The clue comes from Moses, himself.

 

Deuteronomy 29:12-15:

 

12. that you may enter into the covenant with YHWH your God, and into His oath which YHWH your God is making with you today,                                   

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.

14."Now not with you alone am I making this covenant and this oath,                          

15. but both with those who stand here with us today in the presence of YHWH our God and with those who are not with us here today

 

The covenant at Sinai INCLUDED those who were NOT there! YHWH looked into the future and included those who would come into the “wild olive tree” through the ingrafting of Y’shua, as he tell us in 1 Corinthians 10:4, “and the rock was Christ.”

 

So now that we have a lot of the pieces needed to make a picture, can we tell who is going to be re-gathered? Yes, we can and the picture is in Ezekiel 37.

Ezekiel 37

 

Vision of the Valley of Dry Bones

 

1) The hand of YHWH was upon me, and He brought me out by the Spirit of YHWH and set me down in the middle of the valley; and it was full of bones.

2) He caused me to pass among them round about, and behold, there were very many on the surface of the valley; and lo, they were very dry.

3) He said to me, "Son of man, can these bones live?" And I answered, "O YHWH, You know."

4) Again He said to me, "Prophesy over these bones and say to them, 'O dry bones, hear the word of YHWH.'

5) "Thus says YHWH to these bones, 'Behold, I will cause breath to enter you that you may come to life.

6) 'I will put sinews on you, make flesh grow back on you, cover you with skin and put breath in you that you may come alive; and you will know that I am YHWH.'"

7) So I prophesied as I was commanded; and as I prophesied, there was a noise, and behold, a rattling; and the bones came together, bone to its bone.

8) And I looked, and behold, sinews were on them, and flesh grew and skin covered them; but there was no breath in them.

9) Then He said to me, "Prophesy to the breath, prophesy, son of man, and say to the breath, 'Thus says YHWH, "Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe on these slain, that they come to life."'"

10) So I prophesied as He commanded me, and the breath came into them, and they came to life and stood on their feet, an exceedingly great army.

 

The Vision Explained

 

11) Then He said to me, "Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel; behold, they say, 'Our bones are dried up and our hope has perished. We are completely cut off.'

12) "Therefore prophesy and say to them, 'Thus says YHWH, "Behold, I will open your graves and cause you to come up out of your graves, My people; and I will bring you into the land of Israel.

13) "Then you will know that I am YHWH, when I have opened your graves and caused you to come up out of your graves, My people.

14) "I will put My Spirit within you and you will come to life, and I will place you on your own land. Then you will know that I, YHWH, have spoken and done it," declares YHWH.'"

 

Reunion of Judah and Israel

 

15) The word of YHWH came again to me saying,

16) "And you, son of man, take for yourself one stick and write on it, 'For Judah and for the sons of Israel, his companions'; then take another stick and write on it, 'For Joseph, the stick of Ephraim and all the house of Israel, his companions.'

17) "Then join them for yourself one to another into one stick, that they may become one in your hand.

18) "When the sons of your people speak to you saying, 'Will you not declare to us what you mean by these?'

19) say to them, 'Thus says the YHWH, "Behold, I will take the stick of Joseph, which is in the hand of Ephraim, and the tribes of Israel, his companions; and I will put them with it, with the stick of Judah, and make them one stick, and they will be one in My hand."'

20) "The sticks on which you write will be in your hand before their eyes.

21) "Say to them, 'Thus says YHWH, "Behold, I will take the sons of Israel from among the nations where they have gone, and I will gather them from every side and bring them into their own land;

22) and I will make them one nation in the land, on the mountains of Israel; and one king will be king for all of them; and they will no longer be two nations and no longer be divided into two kingdoms.

23) "They will no longer defile themselves with their idols, or with their detestable things, or with any of their transgressions; but I will deliver them from all their dwelling places in which they have sinned, and will cleanse them. And they will be My people, and I will be their God.

 

The Davidic Kingdom

 

24) "My servant David will be king over them, and they will all have one shepherd; and they will walk in My ordinances and keep My statutes and observe them.

25) "They will live on the land that I gave to Jacob My servant, in which your fathers lived; and they will live on it, they, and their sons and their sons' sons, forever; and David My servant will be their prince forever.

26) "I will make a covenant of peace with them; it will be an everlasting covenant with them. And I will place them and multiply them, and will set My sanctuary in their midst forever.

27) "My dwelling place also will be with them; and I will be their God, and they will be My people.

28) "And the nations will know that I am YHWH who sanctifies Israel, when My sanctuary is in their midst forever."'"

 

The text tells us that the dry bones that come to life are the houses of Israel and Judah being REJOINED under the Messiah!

 

The terminology YHWH uses here is the house of Israel =Joseph =Ephraim. I usually use the name Ephraim when talking about the kingdom/house of Israel’s return, since it’s less confusing since there are so many meanings to “Israel.”

 

In this passage we are told that Israel will:

 

1.   Be gathered from the nations

2.   Be brought into the land

3.   Have one king

4.   Rejoined into one kingdom with Judah

5.   No longer defile ourselves with idols and things God finds detestable

6.   We will be His people

7.   He will be our God

8.   Have one shepherd
9.   Walk in His ordinances
10. Keep His statutes and observe them
11. The nations will know that YHWH sanctifies
Israel

 

What “ordinance and statues is YHWH talking about? To explain that, we have to explain something else first, as groundwork.

 

In the beginning, YHWH told us something that most of us just read past to get to “the rest of the story.”

 

Genesis 1:14:

 

Then God said, "Let there be lights in the expanse of the heavens to separate the day from the night, and let them be for signs and for seasons and for days and years;

 

According to the Strong’s Concordance, sign means the following:

 

Strong’s number (0226) ‘owth’ {oth} = a signal, a distinguishing mark, banner, a remembrance, an omen, a warning, a token, an ensign, miracle and proof

 

Strongs gives the following meaning to seasons:

 

(4150) mowed` (mo-ade'); or moed` (mo-ade'); or (feminine) mow` adah (2 Chron 8:13) (mo-aw-daw'); from OT:3259 = properly, an appointment, i.e. a fixed time or season; specifically, a festival; conventionally a year; by implication, an assembly (as convened for a definite purpose); technically the congregation; by extension, the place of meeting; also a signal (as appointed beforehand):

how is this important to our discussion? Because we need to know what YHWH says is the sign of obeying the Torah. The answer is in the sample Scriptures given below.

 

Exodus 20:8:

 

“Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.

 

Exodus 31:13:

 

"But as for you, speak to the sons of Israel, saying, ' You shall surely observe My Sabbaths; for this is a sign between Me and you throughout your generations, that you may know that I am YHWH who sanctifies you.

 

Exodus 31: 15-17:

 

15. ' For six days work may be done, but on the seventh day there is a Sabbath of complete rest, holy to YHWH; whoever does any work on the Sabbath day shall surely be put to death.                                            

16. 'So the sons of Israel shall observe the Sabbath, to celebrate the Sabbath throughout their generations as a perpetual covenant.'                         

17. "It is a sign between Me and the sons of Israel forever; for in six days YHWH made heaven and earth, but on the seventh day He ceased from labor, and was refreshed."

 

Ezekiel 20:12, 20:

 

12 "Also I gave them My Sabbaths to be a sign between Me and them, that they might know that I am YHWH who sanctifies them.

20' Sanctify My Sabbaths; and they shall be a sign between Me and you, that you may know that I am YHWH your God.'

 

The Sabbath is YHWH’s! He specifically tells us this. This is the Sabbath that Y’shua kept from Friday night to Saturday night, not Sunday, the keeping of which as the “Sabbath” came from paganism. If we are to truly believe the Bible and “walk as He walked” (1 John 2:6) then we need to keep the Sabbath Y’shua kept.

 

1 John 2:5-6:

 

5) By this we know that we are in Him:

6) the one who says he abides in Him ought himself to walk in the same manner as He walked.

 

Scripture also tells us that there are special or extra Sabbaths:

 

Leviticus 23:1-3:

 

1. YHWH spoke again to Moses, saying,

2. "Speak to the sons of Israel and say to them, 'YHWH’s appointed times which you shall proclaim as holy convocationsMy appointed times are these:

3. 'For six days work may be done, but on the seventh day there is a Sabbath of complete rest, a holy convocation. You shall not do any work; it is a Sabbath to YHWH in all your dwellings.

 

Leviticus 23:32:

 

"It is to be a Sabbath of complete rest to you, and you shall humble your souls; on the ninth of the month at evening, from evening until evening you shall keep your Sabbath."

 

Leviticus 24:8:

 

Every Sabbath day he shall set it in order before YHWH continually; it is an everlasting covenant for the sons of Israel.

 

Leviticus 25:2-4:

 

2. "Speak to the sons of Israel and say to them, 'When you come into the land which I shall give you, then the land shall have a Sabbath to YHWH.                                       

3.' Six years you shall sow your field, and six years you shall prune your vineyard and gather in its crop,

4. but during the seventh year the land shall have a Sabbath rest, a Sabbath to YHWH; you shall not sow your field nor prune your vineyard.

 

The word feasts is Strong’s number 4744 (Old Testament):

 

miqra' (mik-raw'); from OT:7121 = something called out, i.e. a public meeting (the act, the persons, or the place); also a rehearsal:

 

YHWH wants us to have a holy rehearsal each year for certain events in HIS timetable! He wants us to rehearse and remember the feasts Y’shua fulfilled and He wants us to practice for events yet to come.

 

Numbers 10:10:

 

"Also in the day of your gladness and in your appointed feasts, and on the first days of your months, you shall blow the trumpets over your burnt offerings, and over the sacrifices of your peace offerings; and they shall be as a reminder of you before your God. I am YHWH your God."

 

2 Chronicles 2:4:

 

"Behold, I am about to build a house for the name of YHWH my God, dedicating it to Him, to burn fragrant incense before Him and to set out  the showbread continually, and to offer burnt offerings morning and evening, on Sabbaths and on new moons and on the appointed feasts of YHWH our God, this being required forever in Israel.

(and we were grafted in, our forefathers “passed under the cloud and through the sea”!)

 

Take a look at the following Scriptures and what they have to say about all of this.

 

Exodus 12:14:

 

Now this day will be a memorial to you, and you shall celebrate it as a feast to YHWH; throughout your generations you are to celebrate it as a permanent ordinance.

 

Exodus 12:24:

 

And you shall observe this event (Passover) as an ordinance for you and your children forever.

 

Exodus 12:47:

 

All the congregation of Israel are to celebrate this.

 

Exodus 12:49:

 

The same law (Torah) shall apply to the native as to the stranger who sojourns among you.

 

Exodus 13:9-10:

 

9. And it shall serve as a sign to you on your hand, and as a reminder on your forehead, that the law of YHWH may be in your mouth; for with a powerful hand YHWH brought you out of Egypt.

10. Therefore, you shall keep this ordinance at its appointed time from year to year.

 

Leviticus 23:3:

 

For six days work may be done, but on the seventh day there is a Sabbath of complete rest, a holy convocation. You shall not do any work; it is a Sabbath to YHWH in all your dwellings.

 

Leviticus 23:14:

 

Until this same day, until you have brought in the offering of your God, you shall eat neither bread nor roasted grain nor new growth. It is to be a perpetual statute throughout your generations in all your dwelling places.

 

Leviticus 23:21:

 

On this dame day you shall make a proclamation as well; you are to have a holy convocation. You shall do no laborious work. It is to be a perpetual statute in all your dwelling places throughout your generations.

 

Leviticus 23:31:

 

You shall do no work at all. It is to be a perpetual statute throughout your generations in all your dwelling places. It is to be a Sabbath of complete rest to you, and you shall humble your souls; on the ninth of the month at evening, from evening to evening you shall keep your Sabbath.

 

Leviticus 23:41:

 

You shall thus celebrate it as a feast to YHWH for seven days in the year. It shall be a perpetual statute throughout your generations; you shall celebrate it in the seventh month.

 

Numbers 29:39-40:

 

39. You shall present these to YHWH at your appointed times, besides your votive offerings and your freewill offerings, for your burnt offerings and your grain offerings and for your drink offerings and for your peace offerings.                                                 
40. Moses spoke to the sons of
Israel in accordance with all that YHWH had commanded Moses.

 

Deuteronomy 31:11-13:

 

11. When all Israel comes to appear before YHWH your God at the place which He will choose, you shall read this law (Torah) in front of all Israel in their hearing.                                                    

12. Assemble the people, the men and the women and children and the alien who is in your town, so that they may hear and learn and fear YHWH your God, and be careful to observe all the words of this law. (Torah)               

13. Their children, who have not known, will hear and learn to fear YHWH your God…

 

Are you reeling from all of this and how it even applies to NEW Testament believers? Do you disagree with what has been presented? If so, read on.

 

Ezekiel 18:25-32:

 

25. "Yet you say, 'The way of YHWH is not right. 'Hear now, O house of Israel! Is My way not right? Is it not your ways that are not right?     

26. "When a righteous man turns away from his righteousness, commits iniquity and dies because of it, for his iniquity which he has committed he will die.

27. "Again, when a wicked man turns away from his wickedness which he has committed and practices justice and righteousness, he will save his life.          

28. "Because he considered and turned away from all his transgressions which he had committed, he shall surely live; he shall not die.

29. "But the house of Israel says, 'The way of YHWH is not right.'Are My ways not right, O house of Israel? Is it not your ways that are not right?

30. "Therefore I will judge you, O house of Israel, each according to his conduct," declares YHWH GOD. "Repent and turn away from all your transgressions, so that iniquity may not become a stumbling block to you.                                                 

31. "Cast away from you all your trans-gressions which you have committed and make yourselves a new heart and a new spirit! For why will you die, O house of Israel?                                                 

32. "For I have no pleasure in the death of anyone who dies," declares YHWH GOD. "Therefore, repent and live."

 

In case you are still in doubt, how about a prophecy that has yet to take place? This is an end time prophecy that takes place when Y’shua is the physical king over all the nations of the earth.

 

Zechariah 14:16-19:

 

16. Then it will come about that any who are left of all the nations that went against Jerusalem will go up from year to year to worship the King, YHWH of hosts, and to celebrate the Feast of Booths. 

17. And it will be that whichever of the families of the earth does not go up to Jerusalem to worship the King, YHWH of hosts, there will be no rain on them.

18. If the family of Egypt does not go up or enter, then no rain will fall on them; it will be the plague with which YHWH smites the nations who do not go up to celebrate the Feast of Booths.  

19. This will be the punishment of Egypt, and the punishment of all the nations who do not go up to celebrate the Feast of Booths.

 

If the feasts were important to YHWH when He gave them, He declared them to be HIS, not the “Jews” and that they were to be rehearsed “forever;” if Y’shua kept them as did the first century ekklesia (“church”) AND we will be keeping them during the millennial kingdom, do you think they might be important to YHWH now? Do you think YHWH changes? Malachi 3:6 tells us that He does not.

 

Because of the teachings most of us have received, another somewhat disturbing picture for believers is found in Ezekiel 46:1-12, where Y’shua “the Prince” keeps Sabbath, offers offerings and keeps the feasts when reigning on earth. Pleas read this for yourself.

 

Now that we’ve looked at what YHWH has to say about the “two houses” of Israel and Judah, and we’ve looked at how YHWH feels about us keeping His Sabbath and feasts, just how important do you think the instructions and teachings (Torah) of YHWH are to Him?

 

It was important enough to cause Y’shua to come and DIE!!

 

1)     Y’shua had to come and die to restore us to covenant relationship with Himself.

2)     We broke our marriage vows

3)     YHWH divorced us

4)     We could not be remarried to YHWH; the Torah tells us that would be an abomination to Him

5)     Therefore, one spouse had to die

 

Why did He have to do this? For the purpose of this article, the answer is found in

Deuteronomy 24:1-4:

 

1. "When a man takes a wife and marries her, and it happens that she finds no favor in his eyes because he has found some indecency in her, and he writes her a certificate of divorce and puts it in her hand and sends her out from his house,

2. and she leaves his house and goes and becomes another man's wife,

3. and if the latter husband turns against her and writes her a certificate of divorce and puts it in her hand and sends her out of his house, or if the latter husband dies who took her to be his wife,                            

4. then her former husband who sent her away is not allowed to take her again to be his wife, since she has been defiled; for that is an abomination before YHWH, and you shall not bring sin on the land which YHWH your God gives you as an inheritance.

 

The only one in the marriage of YHWH and man who could die and be raised again to life was YHWH, Himself. So, Y’shua came so that we could be restored to a marriage relationship with Him.

 

HOW have we so missed this message? We believe it is for two reasons:


1) We didn’t understand the Hebraic nature of our faith so we missed important pictures and understanding of what the New Testament was saying and all about

2) It wasn’t YHWH’s timing for us to see this                            

 

NOW IT IS!

 

 

Please read End of Days article to understand the significance of this article for today.