Why the Messiah choosed first the Tribes of the North.

The Messiah meets the Tribes of the North.

The Jews must wonder why the Messiah of Israel, Jesus of Nazaret had to go and meet the Jews of the North of Israel, first. it was told by the Prophets, but man wants to understand why things happend in the way they do. Seems like there is no reason for the Messiah to come twice and there seems to be no reason for the messiah to start from the North; after all the heart of Judaism is Jerusalem and the Temple is in Jerusalem, and the Jews that are dedicated to the temple and to the religion, the scribes, the theologians, are has a matter of fact, all in Jerusalem.

So we might ask, why the Messiah came the first time to the North? And why he spoke first, to the Tribes of the North?

The answer is Biblical and is already in the Torah, in the point of view of the Scripture; so it is written to fulfill what was spoken by the Prophet: " the land of Zebulon and the land of Neftali, by the way of the sea beyond the Jordan, Galliee of the gentiles. Mattew 4,14

Isaiah 9, 1 spoke already of all the things that took place in Israel 2000 years ago, and about all the things that were going to happend for the Jews in that period. The Messiah therefore came to fullfill most of the words spoken by the Prophet Isaiah, the Prophet of Salvation (this is the hebrew meaning of his name).

Neverthelsse there will be no more gloom for those who were in distress. In the past God humbled first the land of Zebulon and the land of Naphtali, but in the future God Almighty will honor the Way of the sea, beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the Nations. Isaiah 9,1

Reading already this Scriptures quote, we see not only that God will visit first the land of the Northen tribes, but that trough them, will gather give Light the the Nations. The people that walked in darkness have seen a Great Light: they who dwell in the land of shadow of death, upon them the Light has shined. Isaiah 9,2

It was already in God's project that the rebel Tribes of Israel, the one that refused against King David Kingship over them, would one day be one to reach first! The Tribes that for their good reason separated from Judah and from Judaism, to follow their initiave with God, were the first to me meet by the Messiah.

"I AM not sent but unto the lost sheeps of the House of Israel". Mattew 15,24

Israel has been divided since the times of King David, in 2 Houses of God; the House of Judah and the House of Israel, well known in the Scripture; The Northen Tribes rejected David and settled in the North following God's law according to their own initiative, and has King David was chosen by God to giude the Nation, not all of them were happy with the idea. The 10 tribes of the North chosed Samaria for their capital while the other 2 Tribes of Judah and Benjamin had Jerusalem for Capital and King David for King.

Already the Torah tells us about this division between the Northen Tribes and the Southern Tribes in the 2 Samuel 19,42 and according to the Scriptures, they did not talk nicely to each other. And 1 Kings 12 is even more clear about this separation: "so all Israel saw that the king had hearkened not into them. The people answer the king, saying: what portion have we in David? neither have we inheritance in the son of jesse, to your tents oh Israel. Now see to thine own house, David. So Israel departed into their tents.

The Messiah in Jewish theology comes to make peace, to bring Eternal joy and obviously, UNITY, and it is quiet normal for God to send the Messiah fist, to the 10 Northen tribes. They were the "lost tribes" of the House of Israel and they were awainting for the Messiah. Only they did not know when the Messiah would come!

While walking from Judea to Samaria, the Messiah had an interesting incounter: a woman by the well of Jacob, the well of the fathers; she might as well be part of the rebel Tribes of the North, but one thing for her was clear like for all the 10 tribe of Israel: the Messiah was to come and he would explain them everything!

The woman said, “I know that Messiah” (called Christ) “is coming. When he comes, he will explain everything to us.”John 4,25

The Jews of the North needed an explanations after generations of separation from their fellow Jews in the South, and they knew that the Messiah would solve all their problems and would explain unto them, all the things that were not still clear. The jews of the South would not go to the North and the jews from the North would not go to the South, as simple as that. Separation! . Only the Messiah could help.

God in His mercy, always wants to bring back His children and in order to UNITE the 2 Houses of the nation of Israel, its was clear that the Messiah was needed; and the Prophet Isaiah revealed that the first to see the Light of God, would be the land od Zebulon and Naphtali,the North. For the very simple reason that while gathering them, whould also enlight the Nations around; meaning the all Middle East. The Messiah would put His Light were there was only shadow and darkness. And the prophecy of Isaiah 9,1 is therefore fulfilled!

So he left Judea and went back once more to Galilee.

Now he had to go through Samaria. So he came to a town in Samaria called Sychar, near the plot of ground Jacob had given to his son Joseph. Jacob’s well was there, and Jesus, tired as he was from the journey, sat down by the well. It was about noon.

When a Samaritan woman came to draw water, Jesus said to her, “Will you give me a drink?” (His disciples had gone into the town to buy food.)The Samaritan woman said to him, “You are a Jew and I am a Samaritan woman. How can you ask me for a drink?” (For Jews do not associate with Samaritans.)

Jesus answered her, “If you knew the gift of God and who it is that asks you for a drink, you would have asked him and he would have given you living water.”

“Sir,” the woman said, “you have nothing to draw with and the well is deep. Where can you get this living water? Are you greater than our father Jacob, who gave us the well and drank from it himself, as did also his sons and his livestock?”

Jesus answered, “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life.”

The woman said to him, “Sir, give me this water so that I won’t get thirstyand have to keep coming here to draw water.” 

“Sir,” the woman said, “I can see that you are a prophet. Our ancestors worshiped on this mountain, but you Jews claim that the place where we must worship is in Jerusalem.”

“Woman,” Jesus replied, “believe me, a time is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. You Samaritans worship what you do not know; we worship what we do know, for salvation is from the Jews. Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in the Spirit and in truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in the Spirit and in truth.”

The woman said to him: "I know that Messiah-- thais Christ--is coming! And when he comes He will explain everything. Jesus said, 'That is who I AM, I who speak to you.' John 4,25

Christ means the Anointed One and surely the Messiah is the Anointed of God, the Christ Jesus - Yeshua of Christianity. 

Christian means Anointed,  followers of the Anointed one of God! Followers of the Messiah, also Messianic.

It might sound strange for the Jews in our time, to think that the Messiah has come already; afterall one might think that the signs of the Messiah are not yet visible in Israel. There is no peace and the House of Judah with its capital Jerusalem is dis-united from the rest of Israel, more than ever. But endeed the Messiah has come first to gather "the lost sheeps of the House of Israel, the ones that have already sparked the Meddle East and transofrmed the Nations, making the Messiah known all around the world. We know that its 2000 years since the world talks about the Messiah Yeshua of Nazaret! Everyone in the World know Jesus!

It might sound strange for the jews today, that the Messiah spoke to a few fisherman, people that study and know the Torah and were awaiting the Messiah, but that in the same time were walking in the darkness and never made their way in the Temple of Jerusalem, the House of God. And they were not scribes, doctors of Torah, doctors of the Law of Moses. The Tribes of the North seem to be really lost.

How can we blame God for having chosen the lost sheeps first; better to save the lost and after gather them all to the once that look more solid and attached to the teaching of the fathers in Jerusalem, the Capital of Judaism. Chosing the lost Tribes of the North, have made the servant of God suffering; the House of Judah could not believe that something good could come from the North, and the Gospel clearly sees this dis-unity fighting with this Messiah that dare to choose Galilee over Judea. No, how could the Temple be destroyed and how this Messiah dare to tell them what was right and wrong? They had the law of Moses, and that would be just perfect. No need for futher perfection.

And who is this man coming from the North, that everyone calls "son of David" that looks like a big prophet, but does not comes from Judah? How dare He question them on the Torah and the deep meaning of the Scripture given by Moses, the great prophet of God Almighty? How can anyone coming from the North, a rebel, dare to tell them and teach them anything about God?

These were the questions of the people of Judah, that could not see in this man of the North, the Messiah. The people of the North however, recognised Him as the Messiah promise by the prophets; they did study and keep the Torah and they did believe that the Messiah was coming. Probably they were not perfect in the North, but they knew that all that they could not understand now, they will when Messiah comes!

There is nothing that happends between man and in the History of man, that God does not know. And God was planning exactely what has already happend. it was all foretold by the prophets well in advance, so that we can't say we did not know, and it's all written. We must only read what God has spoken in anchient times.

It was foretold that the land of Zebulon and Nephtali was humbled, it was foretold that the North was in the shadow of death and darkness, it was fortold that Galilee was a cradle of the Nations. Here are already many clues for man in search of the truth.  The Northen tribes needed Salvation and the Messiah came for this reason; to save Israel. it has been easy for the Messiah to show up in the North, and start His work with the lost 10 Tribes and gathering the lost sheeps of the House of Israel, give the Light of God to the Nation, come as the son of David but also has the suffering son of Joseph and at the end gather the last 2 Tribes of the house of Judah, while inviting the nations at the banquet in the mount of the Lord, in Zion.

In other words, it's easy to gather first the bigger number, and second incorporate the last 2 Tribes of Judah and Benjamin. And this is exactely why the Messiah had to come twice and has already come once. he has already done the first big part of the job, and all is left now, is the minor and last part of it.

Like the woman of Samaria already say, the Messiah has told everything and explained already everything; now that some of the prophecies are fulfilled, we wait only for the second part of the prophecy of Isaiah to be fullfilled completly. The House of Judah is invited to the banquet of the nations in Mount Zion and the prophecy of Isaiah 25,6 is a work in process; but before the Ezechiel 37,15 prophecy must be fullfilled and there is no "banquet of the Nations", without the ONE STRONG UNITED NATION of Israel restored to his unity. 

One Nation Under One King

The word of the Lord came to me: “Son of man, take a stick of wood and write on it, ‘Belonging to Judah and the Israelites associated with him.’ Then take another stick of wood, and write on it, ‘Belonging to Joseph (that is, to Ephraim) and all the Israelites associated with him. Join them together into one stick so that they will become one in your hand.

“When your people ask you, ‘Won’t you tell us what you mean by this? say to them, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: I am going to take the stick of Joseph—which is in Ephraim’s hand—and of the Israelite tribes associated with him, and join it to Judah’s stick. I will make them into a single stick of wood, and they will become one in my hand. Hold before their eyes the sticks you have written on and say to them, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: I will take the Israelites out of the nations where they have gone. I will gather them from all around and bring them back into their own land. I will make them one nation in the land, on the mountains of Israel. There will be one king over all of them and they will never again be two nations or be divided into two kingdoms. They will no longer defile themselves with their idols and vile images or with any of their offenses, for I will save them from all their sinful backsliding, and I will cleanse them. They will be my people, and I will be their God. Ezekiel 37,15

Israel is the FIRST OF THE NATIONS and the UNITY of Israel comes before anything else for God. The prophecy of Isaiah 9,1 is already fulfilled and the second part, Isaiah 25,6 is waiting to be fullfilled. Even if in our days we only see strife and dis-unity, things are working for the fullfillment of the second and last part of the prophecy of Isaiah. And the Messiah son of Joseph will forget all the wrong he received from his fellow jew, and will bring everyone, jews and no-jews alike, in the mountain of Zion. 

The Messiah will reign like the son of David and will be King all over the Hearth. 

"On this mountain the Lord Almighty will prepare

a feast of rich food for all peoples,
a banquet of aged wine—
the best of meats and the finest of wines.
7 On this mountain he will destroy
 the shroud that enfolds all peoples,
the sheet that covers all nations;
8  he will swallow up death forever.

The Sovereign Lord will wipe away the tears
 from all faces;
he will remove his people’s disgrace
 from all the earth". The Lord has spoken.

 In that day they will say,

"Surely this is our God;
 we trusted in him, and he saved us.
This is the Lord, we trusted in him;
 let us rejoice and be glad in his salvation". Isaiah 25,6