A NEW EXODUS? (Part II)

June 2nd, 2008
Jerusalem Day

Jeremiah 16:14-21

In part I of this Bible study it was suggested that this prophecy of Jeremiah might have been misinterpreted and misapplied in recent prophetic circles as referring to the modern Exodus of Russian and other ex-Soviet Jews and their aliyah to Israel. It was also suggested that the "northern country" is neither Russia nor Finland and the Nordic countries.

My purpose here is to present further considerations that need to be taken into account in our study of the passage in question. This study is not intended to be exhaustive but rather to provoke discussion and further study. It is suggested that the reader has his/her Bible open at Jeremiah 16.

The Passover and the Return

Verses 14-15 seems to imply that the Passover would no longer be celebrated as a memorial of the Exodus from Egypt, but rather as a memorial of a "Second Exodus".
However, none of the waves of Zionist aliyah from Russia in the 19th and 20th centuries, nor the founding of the State of Israel in 1948, nor the influx of Russian Jews in recent decades, has as yet supplanted the Passover Seder, which is celebrated by Orthodox and Messianic Jews alike.

The North Country

The conventional wisdom among biblical scholars is that the "north country" is Babylon. Zechariah 2:6-7 refers to fleeing from the land of the north and escaping to Zion (Jerusalem) by those who dwell with the daughter of Babylon. Jeremiah too speaks of "all the tribes of the kingdoms of the north" coming to attack Jerusalem and Judah (Jeremiah 1:15). This is undoubtedly a reference to the Babylonians and their allies. Although geographically Babylon is situated to the east of Israel, all invading armies from the east, like the Assyrians before them and many after them, needed to follow the trade routes to northern Syria, then turn south along the coastal route through Syria, Lebanon and the Northern Kingdom of Israel. Travelling due west as the crow flies would mean marching through the desert. Thus enemies came from the north.
Jeremiah 16, however, does not refer to invading armies but to Israelites returning to the Promised Land. However, the return from Babylon was an anticlimax, something of a disappointment (Haggai 1:5-6, 9), not an event that eclipsed the Exodus from Egypt.

Baal worship

If "the land of the north" refers to ancient Mt. Zaphon (Jebel al-Aqra) situated to the north of Ugarit, a centre of Canaanite Baal worship (as is mentioned in Part I), Jeremiah chapter 16 could be interpreted as a liberation from the worship of Baal and a restoration of the worship of the God of Israel. Jeremiah 16:18 refers to the pollution of the Holy Land with idols, i.e. idols of Baal and Astarte (Ashtoreth). The Israelites were of course exposed to the influence of Canaanite gods when they entered the Promised Land under Joshua, but Phoenician influence became much more pronounced when King Solomon entered into partnership with King Hiram of Tyre in building the Temple in Jerusalem (1 Kings 9:10-14; 10:11,22). Undoubtedly the Israelite Diaspora began as early as this period, when Israelite sailors and merchants accompanied Phoenicians to their colonies around the Mediterranean coast, possibly as far afield as Spain. Tarshish may well be a Phoenician (later Carthaginian) colony in Spain, but this is uncertain.
The Falashas of Ethiopia, most of whom now live in Israel, trace their origin to an affair between King Solomon and the Queen of Sheba. This claim cannot be proved or disproved by historical research.
Phoenician influence in Israel was later reinforced when King Ahab of Israel took the Phoenician princess Jezebel as his queen in the days of the prophet Elijah. By the time of Jeremiah Baal worship had infiltrated Judah as well.

The Remnant

The idea of a faithful remnant is found throughout the Bible. Zephaniah 2:7 speaks of "the remnant of the house of Judah". After his contest on Mount Carmel Elijah was told by God that there was a remnant of seven thousand in the Kingdom of Israel who had not worshipped Baal (1 Kings 19:18).
The Apostle Paul refers to this very passage in Romans 11 (v.4). He identified himself as a Benjaminite (v. 11). When Paul defines the Gospel in the early chapters of Romans he refers to 'Jews' (e.g. Romans 1:16; 2:17; 3:1-2). In Romans 9-11 he refers sometimes to 'Israel' and 'Israelites' (9:4, 6, 27, 31; 10:19,21; 11:1-2, 7, 11, 25-26) and occasionally to 'Jews' (9:24; 10:12; 11:4). It seems that when speaking of election and the remnant he prefers the terms 'Israelite' and 'Israel' to the term 'Jew' (Rom.11:1-2, 25-26). When teaching on this subject he refers to the whole House of Israel, i.e. all twelve tribes, and not only to "the remnant of the house of Judah". And the example he gives is that of Elijah in the Northern Kingdom of Israel (11:2-5). And there is still a remnant, not of Judah alone but of "all Israel" (11:5, 25-26). This must not, of course, be confused with the modern State of Israel. Rather, it seems to refer to the faithful remnant of all the tribes of Israel, wherever they may be. Elijah did not know where the faithful remnant of Israel lived, nor where their biological descendants live today, but God does.
What we do know from the New Testament is that the nucleus of the Messianic community in Jerusalem was composed of Jews who accepted the preaching and teaching of the apostles - Acts 2:5, 14 ("Men of Judea and all who dwell in Jerusalem", 22 ("Men of Israel"), 36 ("all the house of Israel"), 41-47. Messianic Jews in Israel today see themselves as spiritually if not biologically the descendants of these early believers in Jesus the Messiah.
But the story does not end there. Later Jewish Messianic groups such as the Nazarenes and the Ebionites continued to exist in the Holy Land until at least the 5th century. Where are their descendants? I should think that unless they became extinct, they must have either reverted to Judaism or were merged into Christian groups. Their descendants today are presumably Palestinian Christians.
What became of the Messianic community of Jerusalem? Jesus warned them to flee from Judea to the mountains (Matthew 24:16; Mark13:15). This warning appears to refer to the Roman conquest of Jerusalem in AD 70 and the destruction of the Temple, together with the archives containing the genealogies of the tribes of Israel. Nowadays only Cohens ("priests") and Levites can trace their lineage to the tribe of Levi, while members of all the other tribes only have (or do not have) family records. There has been much intermarriage between tribes as well as with non-Jews. We know from early historical sources that the Jewish Christians of Jerusalem escaped the Roman siege and fled to a place called Pella in Transjordan. Where are their descendants? We don't know.

The Twelve Tribes in the Messianic Age

According to Jewish tradition, the "10 lost tribes" will be restored to the Holy Land when the Messiah comes. And the dead will be transported from around the world to the Mount of Olives through underground tunnels.
Does the New Testament speak of the restoration of the Ten Tribes? At the Last Supper, a Passover seder (Luke 22:1, 14ff), Jesus gave clear teaching to his 12 apostles: He would receive a kingdom from the Father and they would judge the twelve tribes of Israel (Luke 22:28-30). This would be impossible if the lost tribes were lost without hope of restoration. It would surely require a great supernatural miracle to identify Israelites worldwide and convince them to return to the Holy Land. This is without doubt an eschatological event, when Jesus returns in glory to Jerusalem as king.
Only with divine wisdom will it be possible to judge Israel and reveal the remnant who will be saved by grace, and so "all Israel will be saved". The Book of Revelation gives the symbolic figure of twelve thousand for each tribe (Revelation 7:7-8).

This will surely be an Exodus greater than the Exodus from Egypt, when the remnant of the House of Israel and the grafted-in Gentiles celebrate together in the Kingdom of God.