THE SEARCH FOR THE TEN LOST TRIBES OF ISRAEL (2)

(Please scroll down to read part 1)

PROPHECIES CONCERNING RESTORATION OF THE TEN TRIBES

The prophecies concerning the restoration of the ten lost tribes are numerous, but perhaps none express it more clearly than does the prophet Jeremiah.

I am quoting quite a few scriptures below, but don’t omit any of them in your reading. They show both God’s commitment and his love for his people:

“For, behold, days are coming,” declares the LORD, “when I will restore the fortunes of My people Israel and Judah...I will also bring them back to the land that I gave to their forefathers, and they shall possess it” (Jeremiah 30:3 NAS).

“The land,” to which Jeremiah was referring, is the land of Canaan (Palestine) and he is speaking of the fulfillment of a promise that God first had made to their ancestor Abraham when Abraham journeyed out of the region of Haran (Genesis 12:1-3).

    Through the generations, God had reaffirmed this promise concerning the return of the ten tribes, and this place of return even became known as the “Promised Land.”  It has been the traditional homeland of the Jews. The entire Jewish Kingdom, as it was under the reign of David, included both the Northern and Southern Tribes.

In a beautiful and poetic discourse, Jeremiah continues with his prophecy, portions of which read as follows:

“Fear not, O Jacob My servant,” declares the LORD,

“And do not be dismayed, O Israel; for behold, I will save you from afar,

And your offspring from the land of their captivity.

And Jacob shall return, and shall be quiet and at ease, and no one shall make him afraid...”

Thus says the LORD, “Behold, I will restore the fortunes of the tents of Jacob

And have compassion on his dwelling places;

And the city shall be rebuilt on its ruin,

And the palace shall stand on its rightful place...”

“And you shall be My people, and I will be your God.”

“At that time,” declares the LORD, “I will be the God of all the families of Israel,

"And they shall be My people...

I have loved you with an everlasting love;

Therefore I have drawn you with lovingkindness." 

"Again I will build you, and you shall be rebuilt, O virgin of Israel!

Again you shall take up your tambourines, and go forth to the dances of the merrymakers.

Again you shall plant vineyards On the hills of Samaria;

The planters shall plant and shall enjoy them.

“For there shall be a day when watchmen on the hills of Ephraim shall call out,

‘Arise, and let us go up to Zion, to the LORD our God.’

For thus says the LORD, “Sing aloud with gladness for Jacob,

And shout among the chiefs of the nations;

Proclaim, give praise, and say, ‘O LORD, save Thy people, the remnant of Israel.’

 “Behold, I am bringing them from the north country,

And I will gather them from the remote parts of the earth,

Among them the blind and the lame,

The woman with child and she who is in labor with child,

Together; a great company, they shall return here.  (Jeremiah 30:10,18,22; 31:1,3-8 NAS).

 

This is a promise of a restoration of Israel and Judah in which God says that He will accomplish His intention of gathering of His people back to the land of promise.  Of Israel (the Ten Tribes) God specifically says, “Behold, I am bringing them from the north country.”

There are many other references in the Bible of this same promise, another of which is the prophet Ezekiel. 

And I will bring them out from the peoples and gather them from the countries and bring them to their own land; and I will feed them on the mountains of Israel, by the streams, and in all the inhabited places of the land (Ezekiel 34:13 NAS).

                                                          

               It is no wonder then, among those of us who hold the Word of God to be true, that there should be a great interest in these tribes that have been lost to history.  Scripture seems to require their reemergence to prominence.

     However, as important as this matter may seem to be, in the end of the matter, just how God will finally accomplish this restoration is not really our main concern.  If we hold the Bible to be true, we have faith that God will restore His people in His manner and in His time.

Nevertheless, that does not prevent our inquiring minds to wonder how this obstacle of restoring some tribes that have been lost for millennia will be overcome, for the difficulties in doing so are great.
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(In the next post we will look at some of these difficulties, and also some conjectures of what is involved with these prophecies concerning the ten tribes)