The Stars and the Sand – Two Houses Part 2

In the beginning God created man – adam in Hebrew – in His own image. He was without sin, yet of his own free will chose to give in to the temptation of the adversary, hasatan. Since that time each successive generation has been born (rather than created) in the image of sinful adam, not in the image of God (Genesis 5:3). That doesn’t mean we inherit “original sin.” We have an evil inclination, and we all sin on our own without help from Adam.

Ten generations later there was only one man out of the entire populated earth living righteously before God, the man Noah. So God wiped man off the face of the earth in a massive flood, saving only Noah and seven members of his family. Yet by the time only one of those eight who came through the flood was left alive – Noah’s son Shem – it is very likely only he and a few of his direct descendants were living righteously before God.

So God chose one of Shem’s descendants, Abram, and started over again. But this time, instead of beginning with one man to populate an empty earth, He chose that one man out of the crowd and gave him this promise: “And in you all the families of the earth will be blessed” (Genesis 12:3). Then He said, “I will greatly bless you, and I will greatly multiply your seed as the stars of the heavens and as the sand which is on the seashore” (Genesis 22:17).

From Abram (now Abraham), the blessing passed to his son Isaac. From Isaac, the blessing passed to his son Jacob, the one God renamed “Israel.” And as the book of Genesis closes, we read, “Now Israel lived in the land of Egypt, in Goshen, and they acquired property in it and were fruitful and became very numerous” (Genesis 47:27).

The Promise of the Seed

It is important to understand the promises given to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob regarding their physical seed. As already mentioned, God promised Abraham that He would multiply his “seed” exponentially “as the stars of the heavens and as the sand which is on the seashore.”

The Hebrew word for seed, zera (Strong’s #H2233), here refers to “descendants, offspring, children, and posterity” according to the Complete Word Study Dictionary. The Greek equivalent in the New Testament is sperma (Strongs #G4690). It is absolutely clear that the text is speaking of Abraham’s physical descendants, who would multiply and spread out all over the world.

God said to him, “Your name is Jacob; you shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel shall be your name.” Thus He called him Israel. God also said to him, “I am El Shaddai; be fruitful and multiply; a nation and a company of nations shall come from you, and kings shall come forth from you” (Genesis 35:11,12).

God promised Jacob that multitudes of people, even nations, would come from his loins. Even before they entered the Promised Land, Moses said that this was being fulfilled, and would continue to an even greater extent. “The LORD your God has multiplied you, and behold, you are this day like the stars of heaven in number. May The LORD, the God of your fathers, increase you a thousand-fold more than you are and bless you, just as He has promised you!” (Deuteronomy 1:10-11).

The Dispersion of the Seed

After Israel entered the Promised Land, the kingdom flourished. Following its peak under King Solomon, Israel was divided into two separate kingdoms. Eventually both were taken captive by foreign nations and, following different timelines and different paths, were dispersed among the nations of the world. You can read my first post on the Two Houses of Israel here.

Today the population of the modern state of Israel is about 8 million people. According to jewfaq.org, there are 13 to 14 million Jews worldwide, with about 6 million living in modern Israel. Scholars estimate that just before entering the Promised Land the ancient Israelites numbered between 2 and 3 million people. Multiply that by a thousand, as Moses said, and that means that it is entirely possible that there are in excess of 2 billion descendants of Israel on the earth today at a bare minimum.

The Fullness of the Nations

Even though all twelve sons of Jacob share in the blessing, the promise of physical multiplication was passed on to Joseph (whose name means “Yah has added”) and then to Joseph’s son Ephraim (whose name means “doubly fruitful”). “When Joseph saw that his father laid his right hand on Ephraim’s head, it displeased him; and he grasped his father’s hand to remove it from Ephraim’s head to Manasseh’s head. Joseph said to his father, “Not so, my father, for this one is the firstborn. Place your right hand on his head.” But his father refused and said, “I know, my son, I know; he [Manasseh] also will become a people and he also will be great. However, his younger brother [Ephraim] shall be greater than he, and his descendants shall become a multitude of nations”” (Genesis 48:17-19).

The Hebrew phrase translated as “multitude of nations” is melo hagoyim. Both Young’s Literal Translation and Jay P. Green’s Literal Version render the last part of verse 19 as “his seed is/shall become the fullness of the nations.” You may recognize the word “goy”- Gentile – in that Hebrew phrase melo hagoyim. The Septuagint, a Greek translation of the Old Testament often quoted in the New Testament, uses the word ethnos in this verse. These are the same words Paul used in the New Testament: “For I do not want you, brethren, to be uninformed of this mystery–so that you will not be wise in your own estimation–that a partial hardening has happened to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in” (Romans 11:25).

The southern kingdom of Judah, the Jewish people – even though they ceased to exist as a nation in the second century AD – have still maintained their cultural, ethnic and religious heritage and identity. Jews have been hated, despised and persecuted for more than 2000 years.

Who Is Israel? Redeemed Israel, A Primer by Batya Ruth WoottenThe northern kingdom? The Ten “Lost” Tribes? Not lost – they are scattered among the nations, all 2 or 3 or 4 billion of them, maybe more. They are the “multitude of nations,” the “fullness of the Gentiles” – like scattering sand on the ground, mixing it with other sand. God has promised to take the scattered sand from the nations, reunite them and bring them together as one Israel under Messiah Yeshua. And here is a critically important point – the uniting into one Israel includes the house of Judah, the house Joseph (or Ephraim) and anyone at all who wants to join them.

It is exciting to grasp the complete story of Israel as revealed in Scripture. Ultimately, though, physical lineage is not important. Isaiah chapter 56 tells us that anyone has always been able to join with Israel, worship the God of Israel, keep His commandments and enjoy the blessing. All who come to faith in Messiah Yeshua are brought near, made part of the commonwealth of Israel (Ephesians 2:11-13).

You can continue reading about the Two Houses of Israel here.

6 thoughts on “The Stars and the Sand – Two Houses Part 2”

  1. Wow, amazing study.
    i have one questions regarding the title: The Stars and the Sand – Two Houses Part 2
    the sand represents the goy/nations
    the stars represent Judah? if so, please elaborate
    thanks

    Reply
    • Thank you for the comment and question. I do not think there is significance to separating the stars and the sand into the two houses of Israel. They simply represent the overall innumerable descendants of Abraham. But it could be something worth looking into.

      Reply
  2. Hi Larry. I got caught up reading many of your recent posts and as time permits, I intend to read them all. I do not know a lot about Messianic Light but the subject matter really caught my eye. I was born into the catholic faith and I have always believed in Christ Jesus as our savior but never understood the self righteous piety these men of the Catholic faith bestowed upon themselves or the church they represented. I studied the bible elsewhere for a couple of years and came to know a more personal side of God & Jesus but since have, how do I say this? stood beyond the light for the last 20+ years. What I’ve read so far, is enlightening, as I always thought there had to be a connection between the Jewish & Christian faiths that, together, would bring us into the presence of our maker when he returns. Does that make sense? anyways, you may have shone a little light in my direction, as I have always been a seeker of truth so I will be reading your older posts as well as looking forward to your new ones. Great site!.

    Mark.

    Reply
    • Hey Mark, I am excited to read your comment. You are right, there is a connection and it goes back even further than the time of Jesus. You are in the right area with these three articles on the Two Houses of Israel, and I also highly recommend a 99-cent Kindle book that I discussed here. May you be blessed in your pursuit.

      Reply
  3. Wow! What a way to take your passion for the Bible and create a site now and doing something that talks about your interest and genealogy. I am always interested when others who believe in creationism are able to write down their own interpretations and understanding which always allows you to look at things through a new “light”.Great job on the contents and the website looks good.

    Reply

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