Hi Steve,
Hope all are well up there in the Northern Hemisphere.
Down-Under is having a beautiful sunny day at the moment.
Well, the reason for writing to you is in regard to two scriptural quotations brought to my attention. These are of great interest as they lead on to the belief that Yahweh has divorced the tribes. Actually giving them a Certificate of Divorce.
However this seems to be at odds with other parts of scripture indicating the “RE-UNIFICATION OF THE TRIBES” (eg the joining of the sticks) and the return to the Holy Land.
The quotes are as follows:
Isaiah 50:1 Thus saith the LORD, Where is the bill of your mother’s divorcement, whom I have put away? or which of my creditors is it to whom I have sold you? Behold, for your iniquities have ye sold yourselves, and for your transgressions is your mother put away.
Jeremiah 3:8 And I saw, when for all the causes whereby backsliding Israel committed adultery I had put her away, and given her a bill of divorce; yet her treacherous sister Judah feared not, but went and played the harlot also.
Jeremiah 3:14 Turn, O backsliding children, saith the LORD; for I am married unto you: and I will take you one of a city, and two of a family, and I will bring you to Zion:
Jeremiah 3:20 Surely as a wife treacherously departeth from her husband, so have ye dealt treacherously with me, O house of Israel, saith the LORD.
I personally read the rest of the chapter and it appears that Yahweh is calling us back but also saying that we will come back in those days:
Jeremiah 3:15 And I will give you pastors according to mine heart, which shall feed you with knowledge and understanding.
Jeremiah 3:16 And it shall come to pass, when ye be multiplied and increased in the land, in those days, saith the LORD, they shall say no more, The ark of the covenant of the LORD: neither shall it come to mind: neither shall they remember it; neither shall they visit it; neither shall that be done any more.
Jeremiah 3:17 At that time they shall call Jerusalem the throne of the LORD; and all the nations shall be gathered unto it, to the name of the LORD, to Jerusalem: neither shall they walk any more after the imagination of their evil heart.
Jeremiah 3:18 In those days the house of Judah shall walk with the house of Israel, and they shall come together out of the land of the north to the land that I have given for an inheritance unto your fathers.
Jeremiah 3:19 But I said, How shall I put thee among the children, and give thee a pleasant land, a goodly heritage of the hosts of nations? and I said, Thou shalt call me, My father; and shalt not turn away from me.
ETC
I would much appreciate your take on this one Steve.
If I remember correctly Judah at one stage received a Certificate fo Divorce as far as I recall, but they are already back home and it seems to me that they are waiting for our return as well.
The person who brought this to my attention is one that is considered most learned on scripture by all whom I know. It is my first encounter and take him as a very sincere Christian.
Many thanks mate,
Brian Patmore
MYREPLY
Dear Brian,
In considering the “certificate of divorce” for Israel and Judah, we need to keep in mind that Yahweh was in a “covenant relationship” (hence the “marriage” metaphor) with Israel and Judah via two different covenants. The covenant made between Yahweh and Abraham was an unconditional covenant. Abraham’s seed (the Israelite tribes) inherited the blessings of this covenant and the tribes of Ephraim and Manasseh inherited the best portion of this covenant (called the “birthright”). This covenant was not breakable. In Hosea 1 when it is noted that Israel would be expelled from the Promised Land due to their disobedience, verse 10 reaffirms that the blessings of the Abrahamic Covenant will still follow the Israelites into their exile.
However, the second covenant (made between Yahweh and the Israelite tribes at Mt. Sinai was conditional and subject to revocation (if the tribes sinned). Israel and Judah were both eventually expelled from the Promised Land due to their disobedience, and the “write of divorcement” in Isaiah 50:1 refers to the covenant made at Mt. Sinai, but not the covenant made between Yahweh and Abraham (and Abraham’s seed). Yahweh did “divorce” both Israel and Judah under the Mt. Sinai covenant, but not the Abrahamic covenant which is still being honored by Yahweh today.
Steve
