The legal inheritance of Jacob was naturally went to Reuben, the first son of Jacob’s first wife, Leah. Reuben slept with Jacob’s concubine, Bilhah (Genesis 35:22). This sin disqualified him to be the family’s legal heir; so Reuben’s firstborn rights passed to Joseph, the first son of Jacob’s second wife, Rachel (1 Chronicles 5:1,2), whom Jacob loved more than Leah (Genesis 29:18,30). It seems that many do not understand that. Before Jacob died, he passed the Blessings to Joseph’s two sons and adopted them as His,(Gen 48:5), bestowing the blessings of Abraham and Isaac upon them (48:16). In doing this, Jacob conferred upon Joseph a double blessing. Jacob gave the blessing of the firstborn to Ephraim, Joseph’s younger son, thus putting him ahead of Manasseh, the older son (Genesis 48:13,17-20). What waa done here continued the blessing of the spiritual birthright to the “second born,” just as it had been conferred upon Isaac, Jacob, and Joseph. Judah received the scepter and the rights to the birth of the King, Jesus in keeping the promise to David that he would have a son to sit on the throne.. After the division the Levites sided with Rehoboam (king of Judah) and came to Judah because Jeroboam (king of Israel) had rejected them (2 Chronicles 11:13,14). Many from every tribe of Israel followed the Levites to Jerusalem, supporting Rehoboam after they got there (11:16,17). A few members of Ephraim, Manasseh and Simeon settled in Judah as well so there was a small group that became aligned with Judah (15:9). So there were members of the Ten Tribes that made their way with Judah but not enough to be numbered when Judah returned from the Babylonian Captivity. The Israelites, after being taken captive by the Assyrians, did not return to the land of Israel, though. They fled, migrated, and were exiled to other places, eventually being scattered among the nations of the world, where they remain today. They were not in Israel at all when Jesus came. They are not there today. In fact the Divorce was so complete they everyone of them ceased to be known as Gods people. I do not often use the term Gentiles but will for this. They became Gentiles for all understanding. Their restoration to God will not include their understanding that they once had been His people because all their descendants would not be Gods people because their birth was to people who had ceased to be Gods people. Because of that it would require an adoption back into the Family of God, the Cultivated tree. Paul understood that but I will not get into that now. Faith was the key to their future relationship with God. It is the key to the door. There is but one door and Jesus it that door. This from Hosea 1:10 shows that they find that door wherever they are in the World, In the place where it was said to them, You are not My people, There it shall be said to them, You are sons of the living God.
Posted on: Mon, 03 Nov 2014 18:09:49 +0000
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