7. WHERE ARE THE "TEN LOST TRIBES OF ISRAEL?"

WHERE ARE THE “TEN LOST TRIBES OF ISRAEL”?

By Irene Belyeu

            Biblical history gives us the answer to this question. It is often said that the Bible is a book of prophecy. However, the truth of a prophecy is only proven when it comes to pass, Deuteronomy 18.22. The fulfillment of a true prophecy then becomes history. The Bible is a book of the history of fulfilled prophecies.  For example, God promised to give the land of Palestine to Abraham and his Seed, Genesis 15:18. This promise was fulfilled as recorded in Joshua 21:43-45:

(43) And the Lord gave unto Israel all the land which he sware to give unto their fathers and they possessed it and dwelt therein…. (45)There failed not ought of any good thing which the Lord had spoken unto the house of Israel; all came to pass.

            All of the promises to Moses were fulfilled according to I Kings 8.56:

(56) Blessed be the Lord, that hath given rest unto his people Israel, according to all his good promise, which he promised by the hand of Moses his servant.

            We know from the history recorded in the books of Kings and Chronicles that the twelve tribes separated and became two nations after the reign of King Solomon. The ten-tribe nation took the name “Israel” to distinguish it from the two-tribe nation called “Judah.” This did not mean that the two-tribes of Judah ceased to be a part of the original twelve-tribe nation. They were still Israel so far as their identity as descendants of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.

            The ten-tribe nation called “Israel” went into idolatry from its first king, Jeroboam, and the Lord allowed it to continue for many years, sending prophets to warn them of the consequences of their sins and pleading with them to repent and turn from their wickedness. For a full account see Isaiah chapters 24 through 32. The prophet Amos was also sent to them with the word of the Lord, Amos chapters 5-9. Hosea and Micah also prophesied to “Israel” during these years. They were fully warned that they must repent or be destroyed, yet they went on in their wickedness until they were attacked and captured by the king of Assyria. Their capital city, Samaria, fell in 722-721 BC. Many were taken captive to Assyria and there assimilated racially. Some were left in their land and Assyrians were brought in to mix with them racially and they became known as the “Samaritans.” The ten-tribe nation lost its racial identity.

            The prophet Amos said: “The virgin of Israel is fallen; she shall no more rise: she is forsaken upon her land; there is none to raise her up,” (5.2). And again in Amos 8.2: “The end is come upon my people of Israel; I will not again pass by them any more.” See also Amos 7.8 and 8.14. The ten-tribe nation called “Israel” never existed again as a racially identifiable group, and never will, never.

            The prophet Micah also saw the destruction of “Israel” because of all their abominable sins. But he also saw the glorious hope of a spiritual restoration in Jesus Christ, the Messiah, chapter four.

            The Biblical history of the fall and destruction of “Israel” is also recorded in II Kings 17:

(18) Therefore the Lord was very angry with Israel, and removed them out of his sight; there was none left but the tribe of Judah only. (19) Also Judah kept not the commandments of the Lord their God, but walked in the statutes of Israel which they made. (20) And the Lord rejected all the seed of Israel, and afflicted them, and delivered them into the hand of spoilers, until he had cast them out of his sight…. (22) Until the Lord removed Israel out of his sight, as he had said by all his servants the prophets. So was Israel carried away out of their own land to Assyria unto this day.

Those who claim to have found the “ten lost tribes of Israel” in Ethiopia or anywhere else in the world today are either deceived or deliberately deceiving others.

After “Israel” fell to Assyria, the nation called “Judah” continued for more than a hundred years and is sometimes referred to as “Israel,” for they were the only remaining remnant of the original twelve tribes. But they also fell into idolatry. II Kings takes up the history of “Judah” at chapter 18 and continues through chapter 25, where it is recorded that Judah fell to Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon in about 605 BC. Their fall had also been foretold by the prophets. Jeremiah had clearly warned them to turn from their sins, but they did not heed. Jeremiah had also foretold that their captivity in Babylon would be for seventy years and then a remnant would return. This promise of return is often quoted out of context as referring to a return in the twentieth century, but this prophecy was fulfilled and became Biblical history as recorded in the II Chronicles, Ezra and Nehemiah. There was no promise of return to the land after that. The promises of a later regathering were and are to be fulfilled in Jesus Christ, the Messiah.

Through all of the years of their idolatry and rebellion against God, there were a few that heeded the messages of the prophets and remained faithful to the Covenant with God. For these faithful few, often referred to as “the Remnant,” God fulfilled His Covenant promises of blessings, and recognized them as His people. Throughout this time, the good promises of God were for “the Remnant.” There were promises of restoration, deliverance and salvation, to be ultimately fulfilled in the coming of their Messiah, Jesus Christ. In the New Testament, that faithful Remnant were those who accepted Christ, for they recognized Him as the fulfillment of God’s promises, Romans 11.5-7.

The glorious Good News is that all who will accept the atoning and redemptive life of Christ and enter into His Body are the true Israel of God, the Church. The invitation is to “whosoever will.” God is no respecter of person. His Covenant is now with Jesus Christ and those in Him are the Covenant People, the Israel of God.