God chooses Abraham and his family

Abraham's family were all Hebrews. Traditionally, the word Hebrew (עִבְרִי) is from an ancestral name Eber (Genesis 10:21), but literally means "one from the other side," perhaps in reference to the River Euphrates (Joshua 24:3). Thus he is known as Abraham the Hebrew (Genesis 14:13).

Only a later sub-sect of this family became known as Jews – those belonging to the House of Judah – the tribes Judah, Benjamin, and Levi.

None of the other 10 tribes are considered Jewish.

Jacob blesses his grandsons

Jacob blesses the two sons of Joseph – Ephraim and Manasseh. These two grandchildren become the largest tribes in the House of Israel.

The phrase "multitude of nations" in Hebrew is meló gowy (מְלֹֽא־הַגּוֹיִֽם) and is literally translated as "fullness of Gentiles".

Jacob essentially prophecies that the House of Israel will become Gentiles. This suggests that an event will sever 10 tribes from the whole of Israel losing their status as part of God's people.

Paul references this in Romans 11:25.

A marriage convenant is made

As witnessed by the prophet Isaiah, the Jewish nation today recognizes the event at Mt. Sinai as a wedding between God and His people, Israel – all 12 tribes.

One law for both Israel and Gentiles

While some Jews suggest Proselytes are only accountable to the seven Noahide laws, and Christians believe the law only applies to Jews, the fact remains that there is only ONE law for both Israel and believing Gentiles.

King David unifies the 12 tribes

While in 877 BCE David becomes king of Judah in Hebron, he officially becomes king of Israel (all 12 tribes) in Jerusalem in 869 BCE.

Judah and Israel are united as one kingdom.

The 12 tribes divide into 2 houses

As spoken by the prophet Ahijah in 1 Kings 11:30-31, after Solomon's death the kingdom divides into two houses.

House of Israel

• The Northern 10 tribes
• Reuben, Simeon, Issachar, Zebulun, Dan, Naphtali, Gad, Asher, Ephraim, and Manasseh
• Also referenced as: House of Joseph (1 Kings 11:28), Ephraim (Psalm 78:67), Israel, Samaria
• First ruled by King Jeroboam

House of Judah

• The Southern 3 tribes
• Judah, Benjamin, and a remnant of Levites
• Also referenced as: Judah (1 Kings 12:27), The Jews (2 Kings 16:6)
• First ruled by King Rehoboam

The etymology of the word "Jew" is strictly rooted in "Judah" which further enforces the point that only the House of Judah were considered Jews.

House of Israel falls to the captivity of Assyria

10 tribes were taken into captivity by Assyria. These 10 tribes never returned to Israel prior to the advent of Yeshua. They are considered among scholars as the 10 Lost Tribes.

Ezekiel speaks of them being scattered among the countries (Ezekiel 11:16). Hosea states they are mixed among the people. They will live among the Gentiles and have gone up to Assyria (Hosea 7:8 & 8:8-9). Jeremiah adds that Israel is a scattered sheep (Jeremiah 50:17). And finally, Josephus, a first-century Roman-Jewish historian, wrote that "ten tribes are beyond Euphrates till now; and are an immense multitude, and not to be estimated by numbers."

God divorces the House of Israel – 10 tribes

Due to spiritual adultery (1 Kings 12:28), God divorced the 10 tribes of House of Israel. The remaining three tribes (Judah, Benjamin, and Levi) were not divorced, and are still married to God. These are the only remaining identifiable tribes today known as the Jewish people. The other 10 tribes were scattered and assimilated into the Gentile regions (Jeremiah 10:1 & 21, Amos 9:9) just as Jacob prophesied upon his two grandchildren.

God's law of divorce (Deuteronomy 24:1-4) does not allow the husband to remarry his divorced wife, even if they both desire to remarry each other. The divorce has made her unclean. But there is an exception – the death of the former husband can release the woman from being bound under the letter of the law.

Paul references this in Romans 7:1-4.

God promises redemption to the House of Israel

The scattered lost sheep are the House of Israel.

Ezekiel 37:1-11

The dry bones in Ezekiel's prophecy represent the House of Israel. They were dead, but have been made alive again.

Ezekiel 37:15-27

Ezekiel also prophecies about the stick of Joseph (House of Israel) being joined again with the stick of Judah (House of Judah) and they will be one. Paul references this in Romans 11:24.

Hosea 2:14-23

The children represent both the House of Israel and the House of Judah. In the end, God shall say to them who were not His people (House of Israel), you are my people.

Isaiah 14:1

Isaiah recognized a time when the mercy of God would allow the House of Israel to return again.

Jeremiah 31:31

God promises a renewed covenant with the House of Judah and the House of Israel.

Zechariah 8:13

God explicitly calls out the salvation of both the House of Judah and the House of Israel.

Micah 2:12

Micah prophesies the gathering of the sheep of Israel.

House of Judah falls to the captivity of Babylon

The remaining 3 tribes were taken into captivity by Babylon. The verse documents the King of Babylon, Nebuchadnezzar's victory over Judah.

The captivity into Babylon is the official Jewish recognition of the beginning of the Jewish Diaspora. Because the 10 northern tribes were divorced, they were not considered part of the whole of Israel. The captivity of the 10 tribes into Assyria is not recognized as a part of the diaspora – only the fall of the House of Judah.

House of Judah returns to build the 2nd temple

Only the 3 tribes that were taken into Babylon returned to the land of Israel: Judah, Benjamin, and Levi. These are the only identifiable tribes today known altogether as the Jewish people. These three tribes rebuilt the 2nd temple and formed the factions of Pharisees and Sadduccess during the time of Yeshua.

Yeshua dies for the lost sheep of the House of Israel

The single most important purpose of the Messiah is to unite His kingdom. Everyone looked for the Messiah to restore Israel's kingdom on earth. But 10 tribes were still divorced from God. The law of divorce states that the only way the woman can be freed from the divorce is if her first husband dies. Yeshua came with all the authority of God (Matthew 28:18), as God's only begotten son, to die and release the House of Israel from the letter of the law of divorce. The promise is fulfilled.

Yeshua died for the "sins of many" as stated in Isaiah 53:11-12. These were the sins outlined in Hebrews 9:15 being the "transgressions that were under the first covenant." It was the sin of spiritual adultery under the first covenant that caused the House of Israel to be divorced and required Yeshua's death for their redemption.

Without Yeshua's death, there is no redemption. Without Yeshua's resurrection, there is no hope of a renewed marriage and united kingdom. It is only through Him that all things are made possible.

About this work

To explain Yeshua as the Messiah, many might begin in the New Testament. However, the apostles were able to justify Yeshua as the Messiah by way of the Tanakh only. To do this, one must be intimately familiar with the Tanakh. Yeshua is not simply a Christian Messiah, He is the Messiah and King of Israel. He has re-established the monarchy of David and unified the 12 tribes. He has gathered in the dispersed of Israel, the lost 10 tribes.

This timeline aligns the Messiah with a purpose that is accurate to Biblical history and prophecy, meets the expectations of the Jewish people (House of Judah), and establishes Yeshua as the redeemer of the Israelite Gentiles (House of Israel).

This work is meant to help unify the Jewish and Christian perspective of the Messiah, and to reveal the Messiah as the Jewish man, the Son of God, Yeshua.