Prophesy of the House of Israel (Part 2)

I wrote an earlier article in 2011 regarding the land of Israel (the ten northern tribes) that split away, after the united monarchy under king David fractured when Solomon’s son Rehoboam acted upon some bad advice. Actually, this event was already in the making after Solomon let his heart be led astray by marrying women from pagan nations who enticed him to introduce the worship of foreign gods among the people of Israel. The prophet Ezekiel introduces a rather interesting prophesy regarding the nation as far as the duration of this national sin that does not seem to match up with the years of their rebellion, even if one includes the years of Solomon’s reign.

Ezekiel 3: 4-5

Then lie on your left side and put the sin of the house of Israel upon yourself. You are to bear their sin for the number of days you lie on your side. I have assigned you the same number of days as the years of their sin. So for 390 days you will bear the sin for the house of Israel.

Chronology of the kings of Israel (after Solomon):

 1 Kings 14: 20                                                

Jeroboam did evil (22 years).                          

1 Kings 15: 25

Nadab did evil (2 years).

1 Kings 15: 25, 33-34
Baasha did evil (24 years).  

1 Kings 16: 8-10

Elah did evil (2 years).

1 Kings 16: 10, 16-18                                     

Zimri did evil (7 days).                                   

1 Kings 16: 24-26
Omri did evil (12 years).

1 Kings 16: 29-34 thru 22: 38                        

Ahab did evil (22 years).                               

1 Kings 22: 40b, 51-55

Ahaziah did evil (2 years).

                                                                                                                                                                                2 Kings 10: 1, 11-25                   

Joram did evil (12 years).                            

*2 Kings 10: 35*
 Jehu did good (28 years).

2 Kings 13: 1-2                                             

Jehoahaz did evil (17 years).                        

2 Kings 13: 11

Jehoash did evil (16 years).

2 Kings 14: 23-24                                         

Jeroboam II did evil (41 years).                    

2 Kings 14: 29: 15: 8-11

Zechariah did evil (6 months).

2 Kings 15: 13-15                                         

Shallum did evil (1 month).                         

2 Kings 15: 17-18

Mehahem did evil (10 years). 

                                                                                                                                                                               
2 Kings 15: 23-24                                         

Pekahiah did evil (2 years).                          

2 Kings 15: 25-28
Pekah did evil (20 years).

2 Kings 17: 1

Hoshea did evil (9 years)

2 Kings 17: 23b

So Israel was carried away from their land to Assyria, “as it is to this day.”

NOTE: Assyria [Asshur] anciently comprised the whole region between the Armenian mountains of the North, the South country of Baghdad [Iraq], and on its Eastern boundary are the mountains of Kurdistan, and Westward it was bounded by the Mesopotamian desert as it reached the Euphrates (REFERENCE: Holman Bible Dictionary).

2 Kings 17: 6

In the ninth year of Hoshea, the king of Assyria took Samaria and carried Israel away to Assyria, and placed them in Halah, and by the Habor, the River Gozan, and in the cities of the Medes (Cp. 2 Kings 18: 11).

NOTE: Halah is a region in northern Mesopotamia, possibly northeast of Nineveh the capitol city of Assyria. The Habor is a major tributary of the Euphrates River and the Gozan is a Syrian city-state and probably modern Tel Halaf in northwestern Mesopotamia on the southern bank of the River Khabut. Cities of the Medes is a designation for Media proper- An ancient Iranian people and sister nation of the “Persians.” Their empire stretched from the Southern shore of the Black Sea and Aran province (Republic of Azerbajani) to North and Central Asia, Afghanistan, and Pakistan (REFERENCE: Holman Bible Dictionary).

CONCLUSION:

Although the years don’t quite add up to the 390 years as mentioned in Ezekiel’s prophecy, the interesting thing is that the original ten tribes who were the original settlers are never heard from again; at least as far as the Biblical record is concerned. The peculiar twist of fate called irony is that a lot of the modern anti-Semitism or adversaries who want to destroy the political State of Israel or the Jews are themselves of the same bloodline. Just think about it for a minute- the people of Iraq, Syria, Iran, Azerbajan, North and Central Asia,  the Pashtun tribes of Afghanistan, and Pakistan are undoubtedly mixed with some of the Israelites who were deported there thousands of years ago and became part of the indigenous culture.

 

Robert Randle

776 Commerce St Apt B11

Tacoma, WA 98402

April 13, 2016

robertrandle51@yahoo.com