“Remember ye the law of Moses My servant, which I commanded unto him in Horeb for all Israel, even statutes and ordinances.”
Malachi 3:22
“And Moses called unto all Israel, and said unto them: Hear, O Israel, the statutes and the ordinances which I speak in your ears this day, that ye may learn them, and observe to do them.
YHWH our God made a covenant with us in Horeb.
YHWH made not this covenant with our fathers, but with us, even us, who are all of us here alive this day.”
Deuteronomy 5:1-3
The prophet Malachi prophesied that in the latter days the children of Israel would need to remember the law of Moses that YHWH gave him for all Israel in Horeb, which Moses reiterated to the whole of Israel in the book of Deuteronomy as they were poised to enter the land promised to the patriarchs. At that time, he only paraphrased the first ten commandments, but he was reminding them of all the instruction he had given at that time. Was he speaking of 613 instructions that some say are the totality of the instructions of the Torah? What exactly did he say that day at Horeb/Sinai? The instructions that were agreed to lie within chapters 20-23 of Exodus, they are the essence of the covenant between YHWH and the children of Israel at that time. What were those instructions?
I am YHWH thy God, who brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. Thou shalt have no other gods before Me.
Thou shalt not make unto thee a graven image, nor any manner of likeness, of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. Thou shalt not bow down unto them, nor serve them.
Thou shalt not take the name of the LORD thy God in vain.
Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days shalt thou labour and do all thy work; but the seventh day is a sabbath unto YHWH thy God, in it thou shalt not do any manner of work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, nor thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates.
Honour thy father and thy mother, that thy days may be long upon the land which YHWH thy God giveth thee.
Thou shalt not murder.
Thou shalt not commit adultery.
Thou shalt not steal.
Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour.
Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's house; {S} thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's wife, nor his man-servant, nor his maid-servant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor any thing that is thy neighbour's.
These first 10 instructions were spoken- according to scripture- by God, and afterwards the following occurred:
14 And all the people perceived the thunderings, and the lightnings, and the voice of the horn, and the mountain smoking; and when the people saw it, they trembled, and stood afar off.
15 And they said unto Moses: 'Speak thou with us, and we will hear; but let not God speak with us, lest we die.'
16 And Moses said unto the people: 'Fear not; for God is come to prove you, and that His fear may be before you, that ye sin not.'
17 And the people stood afar off; but Moses drew near unto the thick darkness where God was.
Exodus 20
The children of Israel chose to not experience hearing the voice of God after receiving the first 10 commandments from Him, but rather appointed Moses to be the bearer of His instructions from that point onward. What was given to Moses from this point the people only heard from him, and this -along with the 10 first commandments- is what they agreed to. Here are those subsequent instructions.
Ye shall not make with Me--gods of silver, or gods of gold, ye shall not make unto you.
An altar of earth thou shalt make unto Me, and shalt sacrifice thereon thy burnt-offerings, and thy peace-offerings, thy sheep, and thine oxen; in every place where I cause My name to be mentioned I will come unto thee and bless thee.
And if thou make Me an altar of stone, thou shalt not build it of hewn stones; for if thou lift up thy tool upon it, thou hast profaned it.
Neither shalt thou go up by steps unto Mine altar, that thy nakedness be not uncovered thereon.
Exodus 20
If thou buy a Hebrew servant, six years he shall serve; and in the seventh he shall go out free for nothing.
If he come in by himself, he shall go out by himself; if he be married, then his wife shall go out with him.
If his master give him a wife, and she bear him sons or daughters; the wife and her children shall be her master's, and he shall go out by himself.
But if the servant shall plainly say: I love my master, my wife, and my children; I will not go out free.
Then his master shall bring him unto God, and shall bring him to the door, or unto the doorpost; and his master shall bore his ear through with an awl; and he shall serve him forever.
And if a man sell his daughter to be a maidservant, she shall not go out as the menservants do. If she please not her master, who hath gifted her to himself, then shall he let her be redeemed; to sell her unto a foreign people he shall have no power, seeing he hath dealt deceitfully with her.
And if he gift her unto his son, he shall deal with her after the manner of daughters.
If he take him another woman, her food, her raiment, and her conjugal rights, shall he not diminish. And if he do not these three unto her, then shall she go out for nothing, without money.
He that smiteth a man, so that he dieth, shall surely be put to death.
And if a man lie not in wait, but God cause it to come to hand; then I will appoint thee a place whither he may flee.
And if a man come presumptuously upon his neighbour, to slay him with guile; thou shalt take him from Mine altar, that he may die.
And he that smiteth his father, or his mother, shall be surely put to death.
And he that stealeth a man, and selleth him, or if he be found in his hand, he shall surely be put to death.
And he that curseth his father or his mother, shall surely be put to death.
And if men contend, and one smite the other with a stone, or with his fist, and he die not, but keep his bed; if he rise again, and walk abroad upon his staff, then shall he that smote him be quit; only he shall pay for the loss of his time and shall cause him to be thoroughly healed.
And if a man smite his bondman, or his bondwoman, with a rod, and he die under his hand, he shall surely be punished.
Notwithstanding if he continue a day or two, he shall not be punished; for he is his money.
And if men strive together, and hurt a woman with child, so that her fruit depart, and yet no harm follow, he shall be surely fined, according as the woman's husband shall lay upon him; and he shall pay as the judges determine.
But if any harm follow, then thou shalt give life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot, burning for burning, wound for wound, stripe for stripe.
And if a man smite the eye of his bondman, or the eye of his bondwoman, and destroy it, he shall let him go free for his eye's sake.
And if he smite out his bondman's tooth, or his bondwoman's tooth, he shall let him go free for his tooth's sake.
And if an ox gore a man or a woman, that they die, the ox shall be surely stoned, and its flesh shall not be eaten; but the owner of the ox shall be quit.
But if the ox was wont to gore in time past, and warning hath been given to its owner, and he hath not kept it in, but it hath killed a man or a woman; the ox shall be stoned, and its owner also shall be put to death. If there be laid on him a ransom, then he shall give for the redemption of his life whatsoever is laid upon him. Whether it have gored a son, or have gored a daughter, according to this judgment shall it be done unto him.
If the ox gore a bondman or a bondwoman, he shall give unto their master thirty shekels of silver, and the ox shall be stoned.
And if a man shall open a pit, or if a man shall dig a pit and not cover it, and an ox or an ass fall therein, the owner of the pit shall make it good; he shall give money unto the owner of them, and the dead beast shall be his.
And if one man's ox hurt another's, so that it dieth; then they shall sell the live ox and divide the price of it; and the dead also they shall divide.
Or if it be known that the ox was wont to gore in time past, and its owner hath not kept it in; he shall surely pay ox for ox, and the dead beast shall be his own.
If a man steal an ox, or a sheep, and kill it, or sell it, he shall pay five oxen for an ox, and four sheep for a sheep. Exodus 21
If a thief be found breaking in, and be smitten so that he dieth, there shall be no blood guiltiness for him.
If the sun be risen upon him, there shall be blood guiltiness for him--he shall make restitution; if he have nothing, then he shall be sold for his theft.
If the theft be found in his hand alive, whether it be ox, or ass, or sheep, he shall pay double.
If a man cause a field or vineyard to be eaten, and shall let his beast loose, and it feed in another man's field; of the best of his own field, and of the best of his own vineyard, shall he make restitution.
If fire break out, and catch in thorns, so that the shocks of corn, or the standing corn, or the field are consumed; he that kindled the fire shall surely make restitution.
If a man deliver unto his neighbour money or stuff to keep, and it be stolen out of the man's house; if the thief be found, he shall pay double.
If the thief be not found, then the master of the house shall come near unto God, to see whether he have not put his hand unto his neighbour's goods.
For every matter of trespass, whether it be for ox, for ass, for sheep, for raiment, or for any manner of lost thing, whereof one saith: 'This is it,' the cause of both parties shall come before God; he whom God shall condemn shall pay double unto his neighbour.
If a man deliver unto his neighbour an ass, or an ox, or a sheep, or any beast, to keep, and it die, or be hurt, or driven away, no man seeing it; the oath of YHWH shall be between them both, to see whether he have not put his hand unto his neighbour's goods; and the owner thereof shall accept it, and he shall not make restitution.
But if it be stolen from him, he shall make restitution unto the owner thereof.
If it be torn in pieces, let him bring it for witness; he shall not make good that which was torn.
And if a man borrow aught of his neighbour, and it be hurt, or die, the owner thereof not being with it, he shall surely make restitution.
If the owner thereof be with it, he shall not make it good; if it be a hireling, he loseth his hire.
And if a man entice a virgin that is not betrothed, and lie with her, he shall surely pay a dowry for her to be his wife.
If her father utterly refuse to give her unto him, he shall pay money according to the dowry of virgins.
Thou shalt not suffer a sorceress to live.
Whosoever lieth with a beast shall surely be put to death.
He that sacrificeth unto the gods, save unto YHWH only, shall be utterly destroyed.
And a stranger shalt thou not wrong, neither shalt thou oppress him; for ye were strangers in the land of Egypt.
Ye shall not afflict any widow, or fatherless child. If thou afflict them in any wise--for if they cry at all unto Me, I will surely hear their cry-- My wrath shall wax hot, and I will kill you with the sword; and your wives shall be widows, and your children fatherless.
If thou lend money to any of My people, even to the poor with thee, thou shalt not be to him as a creditor; neither shall ye lay upon him interest.
If thou at all take thy neighbour's garment to pledge, thou shalt restore it unto him by that the sun goeth down; for that is his only covering, it is his garment for his skin; wherein shall he sleep? And it shall come to pass, when he crieth unto Me, that I will hear; for I am gracious.
Thou shalt not revile God, nor curse a prince of thy people.
Thou shalt not delay to offer of the fulness of thy harvest, and of the outflow of thy presses. The first-born of thy sons shalt thou give unto Me.
Likewise, shalt thou do with thine oxen, and with thy sheep; seven days it shall be with its dam; on the eighth day thou shalt give it Me.
And ye shall be holy people unto Me; therefore, ye shall not eat any flesh that is torn of beasts in the field; ye shall cast it to the dogs. Exodus 22
Thou shalt not utter a false report; put not thy hand with the wicked to be an unrighteous witness.
Thou shalt not follow a multitude to do evil; neither shalt thou bear witness in a cause to turn aside after a multitude to pervert justice.
Neither shalt thou favour a poor man in his cause.
If thou meet thine enemy's ox or his ass going astray, thou shalt surely bring it back to him again.
If thou see the ass of him that hateth thee lying under its burden, thou shalt forbear to pass by him; thou shalt surely release it with him.
Thou shalt not wrest the judgment of thy poor in his cause.
Keep thee far from a false matter; and the innocent and righteous slay thou not; for I will not justify the wicked.
And thou shalt take no gift; for a gift blindeth them that have sight, and perverteth the words of the righteous.
And a stranger shalt thou not oppress; for ye know the heart of a stranger, seeing ye were strangers in the land of Egypt.
And six years thou shalt sow thy land and gather in the increase thereof; but the seventh year thou shalt let it rest and lie fallow, that the poor of thy people may eat; and what they leave the beast of the field shall eat. In like manner thou shalt deal with thy vineyard, and with thy olive yard.
Six days thou shalt do thy work, but on the seventh day thou shalt rest; that thine ox and thine ass may have rest, and the son of thy handmaid, and the stranger, may be refreshed.
And in all things that I have said unto you take ye heed; and make no mention of the name of other gods, neither let it be heard out of thy mouth.
Three times thou shalt keep a feast unto Me in the year.
The feast of unleavened bread shalt thou keep; seven days thou shalt eat unleavened bread, as I commanded thee, at the time appointed in the month Abib--for in it thou camest out from Egypt; and none shall appear before Me empty.
And the feast of harvest, the first fruits of thy labours, which thou sowest in the field; and the feast of ingathering, at the end of the year, when thou gatherest in thy labours out of the field.
Three times in the year all thy males shall appear before YHWH GOD.
Thou shalt not offer the blood of My sacrifice with leavened bread; neither shall the fat of My feast remain all night until the morning.
The choicest first-fruits of thy land thou shalt bring into the house of YHWH thy God. Thou shalt not seethe a kid in its mother's milk.
Behold, I send an angel before thee, to keep thee by the way, and to bring thee into the place which I have prepared. Take heed of him and hearken unto his voice; be not rebellious against him; for he will not pardon your transgression; for My name is in him. But if thou shalt indeed hearken unto his voice and do all that I speak; then I will be an enemy unto thine enemies, and an adversary unto thine adversaries. For Mine angel shall go before thee, and bring thee in unto the Amorite, and the Hittite, and the Perizzite, and the Canaanite, the Hivite, and the Jebusite; and I will cut them off.
Thou shalt not bow down to their gods, nor serve them, nor do after their doings; but thou shalt utterly overthrow them and break in pieces their pillars.
And ye shall serve YHWH your God, and He will bless thy bread, and thy water; and I will take sickness away from the midst of thee. None shall miscarry, nor be barren, in thy land; the number of thy days I will fulfil.
Thou shalt make no covenant with them, nor with their gods; I will send My terror before thee and will discomfit all the people to whom thou shalt come, and I will make all thine enemies turn their backs unto thee. And I will send the hornet before thee, which shall drive out the Hivite, the Canaanite, and the Hittite, from before thee. I will not drive them out from before thee in one year, lest the land become desolate, and the beasts of the field multiply against thee. By little and little I will drive them out from before thee, until thou be increased, and inherit the land. And I will set thy border from the Red Sea even unto the sea of the Philistines, and from the wilderness unto the river; for I will deliver the inhabitants of the land into your hand; and thou shalt drive them out before thee. They shall not dwell in thy land--lest they make thee sin against Me, for thou wilt serve their gods--for they will be a snare unto thee.
Exodus 23
“And Moses came and told the people all the words of YHWH, and all the ordinances; and all the people answered with one voice and said: 'All the words which YHWH hath spoken will we do.'
And Moses wrote all the words of YHWH, and rose up early in the morning, and built an altar under the mount, and twelve pillars, according to the twelve tribes of Israel.
And he took the book of the covenant and read in the hearing of the people; and they said: 'All that YHWH hath spoken will we do and obey.'
And Moses took the blood, and sprinkled it on the people, and said: 'Behold the blood of the covenant, which YHWH hath made with you in agreement with all these words.'”
Exodus 24:3,4,7,8
Moses was given an additional 80 instructions/commandments, which he related to the children of Israel, and after receiving their acceptance of them, wrote them in a book. He then read from this book, the book of the covenant, and, again, the people agreed to do and obey the words of the book. He then sealed the agreement by sprinkling the blood of the covenant upon the children of Israel, binding them to the agreement they had entered.
After this, Moses went up the mountain to receive further instructions from YHWH.
And YHWH said unto Moses: 'Come up to Me into the mount and be there; and I will give thee the tables of stone, and the law and the commandment, which I have written, that thou mayest teach them.'
Exodus 24:12
While he was gone, the children of Israel forced Aaron, Moses’ brother, to make them an idol to worship, which offended YHWH, who subsequently threatened to destroy them and start over with Moses alone. However, Moses persuaded Him not to do this and came off the mountain with the tablets of stone he had been given, which he destroyed when he saw the idol resting in the camp. This necessitated him returning up the mountain to plead for another set of tablets, which were given.
Chapters 25-31 deal almost exclusively with instructions for the construction of the sanctuary where YHWH would dwell in the midst of Israel, the exception being verses 12-17 of chapter 31, which are a reminder to Israel to observe the Sabbath.
And let them make Me a sanctuary, that I may dwell among them. According to all that I show thee, the pattern of the tabernacle, and the pattern of all the furniture thereof, even so shall ye make it.
Exodus 25:8,9
When he goes up the mountain the second time, however, he is given 10 additional instructions.
But ye shall break down their altars, and dash in pieces their pillars, and ye shall cut down their Asherim.
Thou shalt make thee no molten gods.
The feast of unleavened bread shalt thou keep. Seven days thou shalt eat unleavened bread, as I commanded thee, at the time appointed in the month Abib, for in the month Abib thou camest out from Egypt.
All that openeth the womb is Mine; and of all thy cattle thou shalt sanctify the males, the firstlings of ox and sheep. And the firstling of an ass thou shalt redeem with a lamb; and if thou wilt not redeem it, then thou shalt break its neck. All the first-born of thy sons thou shalt redeem. And none shall appear before Me empty.
Six days thou shalt work, but on the seventh day thou shalt rest; in plowing time and in harvest thou shalt rest.
And thou shalt observe the feast of weeks, even of the first-fruits of wheat harvest, and the feast of ingathering at the turn of the year.
Three times in the year shall all thy males appear before YHWH GOD, the God of Israel.
Thou shalt not offer the blood of My sacrifice with leavened bread; neither shall the sacrifice of the feast of the passover be left unto the morning.
The choicest first-fruits of thy land thou shalt bring unto the house of YHWH thy God.
Thou shalt not seethe a kid in its mother's milk.'
And YHWH said unto Moses: 'Write thou these words, for after the tenor of these words I have made a covenant with thee and with Israel.' And he was there with YHWH forty days and forty nights; he did neither eat bread, nor drink water. And he wrote upon the tables the words of the covenant, the ten words.
Exodus 34:13, 17-28
There is now another covenant: the covenant of the blood-oath was between YHWH and the children of Israel, with Moses merely their spokesperson, but once Moses made intercession for the children of Israel, he then became responsible for their adhering to the new agreement, so this covenant is now between YHWH, Moses, and Israel. This is why Horeb is referenced in Deuteronomy and again by Malachi the prophet as a reference point for the relationship between YHWH and the children of Israel: the blood-oath ceremony was not repeated in Deuteronomy, because, as Moses said, it was still binding, so he takes them back to that covenant that was made with the ancestors of the Israelites about to enter the land by paraphrasing the initial 10 commandments, and because he would not lead them into the land, the second covenant would become null and void. Malachi tells us that in the days to come, it is the first covenant that would be the path back to a relationship with YHWH for the children of Israel who would return from exile.
These instructions are the foundation for the returned of the House of Israel, the Israelites of the northern kingdom who were taken captive in 723 BC. They lost all connection with their history and heritage during the course of their sojourning in the midst of the nations of the earth, and became thereby, as recorded in the book of Ezekiel, dry bones.
“For, lo, I will command, and I will sift the house of Israel among all the nations, like as corn is sifted in a sieve, yet shall not the least grain fall upon the earth.”
Amos 9:9
“And He said unto me: 'Son of man, can these bones live?' And I answered: 'O my Lord YHWH, Thou knowest.'
Then He said unto me: 'Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel; behold, they say: Our bones are dried up, and our hope is lost; we are clean cut off.
Therefore prophesy, and say unto them: Thus, saith my Lord YHWH: Behold, I will open your graves, and cause you to come up out of your graves, O My people; and I will bring you into the land of Israel.”
Ezekiel 37:3,11,12
The House of Israel was sparsely scattered among all the nations, losing their Israelite identity and history, until YHWH opened their graves and called them forth to return to the land of their fathers. He brought about their return in a manner giving the glory to Himself, that no man could say, “We brought them back to Israel”. They would return recalling the instructions given to Moses, and dwell in the land recapturing their Israelite heritage as they shed the grave clothing that still clings to them from the lands of their sojournings. They would be given new minds, hearts, and spirits.
“Therefore, say unto the house of Israel: Thus, saith my Lord YHWH: I do not this for your sake, O house of Israel, but for My holy name, which ye have profaned among the nations, whither ye came.
For I will take you from among the nations, and gather you out of all the countries, and will bring you into your own land.
And I will sprinkle clean water upon you, and ye shall be clean; from all your uncleanness, and from all your idols, will I cleanse you.
A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you; and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you a heart of flesh.
And I will put My spirit within you, and cause you to walk in My statutes, and ye shall keep Mine ordinances, and do them.
Ezekiel 36:22, 24-27
The book of Malachi speaks of Eliyah, the prophet:
Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and terrible day of YHWH.
Malachi 3:23
Eliyah was the great prophet to the northern kingdom of Israel, it was the only area he administered to, therefore, it only seems reasonable to assume that he would be sent to the same people he had previously moved among, the house of Israel.
And it was so, when Eliyah heard it, that he wrapped his face in his mantle, and went out, and stood in the entrance of the cave. And, behold, there came a voice unto him, and said: 'What doest thou here, Eliyah?'
And he said: 'I have been very zealous for YHWH, the God of hosts; for the children of Israel have forsaken Thy covenant, thrown down Thine altars, and slain Thy prophets with the sword; and I, even I only, am left; and they seek my life, to take it away.'
And YHWH said unto him: 'Go, return on thy way to the wilderness of Damascus; and when thou comest, thou shalt anoint Hazael to be king over Aram;
and Jehu the son of Nimshi shalt thou anoint to be king over Israel; and Elisha the son of Shaphat of Abel-meholah shalt thou anoint to be prophet in thy room.
And it shall come to pass, that him that escapeth from the sword of Hazael shall Jehu slay; and him that escapeth from the sword of Jehu shall Elisha slay.
Yet will I leave seven thousand in Israel, all the knees which have not bowed unto Baal, and every mouth which hath not kissed him.'
1 Kings 19:13-18
Eliyah spoke of the children of Israel, and later is told to anoint a new king over Israel, and that Elisha would serve as prophet in his stead, Elisha was only a prophet in the north to the kingdom of Israel, and, finally, YHWH states that He would leave 7,000 in Israel affirming the area of Eliyah’s ministry and that in the latter days this is where he would be sent to once again administer in the name of YHWH, the God of Israel. This would be done for the returned of the House of Israel, to prepare them for what is to come next:
“And the word of YHWH came unto me, saying:
'And thou, son of Adam, take thee one stick, and write upon it: For Judah, and for the children of Israel his companions; then take another stick, and write upon it: For Joseph, the stick of Ephraim, and of all the house of Israel his companions,
and join them for thee one to another into one stick, that they may become one in thy hand.
And when the children of thy people shall speak unto thee, saying: Wilt thou not tell us what thou meanest by these?
say into them: Thus, saith my Lord YHWH: Behold, I will take the stick of Joseph, which is in the hand of Ephraim, and the tribes of Israel his companions; and I will put them unto him together with the stick of Judah, and make them one stick, and they shall be one in My hand.”
Ezekiel 37:15-19
There is a difference in the wording of the two versions of the uniting of the two sticks; in verse 16 it says, For Judah, and for the children of Israel his companions; then take another stick, and write upon it: For Joseph, the stick of Ephraim, and of all the house of Israel his companions, this is what is written on the two sticks. However, in relating to the people what the act of putting them together means, verse 19, the wording changes; take the stick of Joseph, which is in the hand of Ephraim, and the tribes of Israel his companions; and I will put them unto him together with the stick of Judah. In the writing of the names on the two sticks, Judah and the children of Israel his companions, is written first, Joseph, the stick of Ephraim and all the house of Israel his companions, is written second. In the 19th verse, Joseph is placed before Judah, and the tribes of Israel are now the companions of Ephraim, while Judah is now solitary!
This says to me that Judah would return first to the land, along with some of the children of Israel; later, Joseph/Ephraim and members of the whole house of Israel would be returned by YHWH. They return separately, as two distinct entities claiming a common heritage, so people would ask what this means. This is when YHWH establishes the place of Joseph/Ephraim as the firstborn and the tribes of Israel are his companions, to be united with the house of Judah.
“They shall come with weeping, and with supplications will I lead them; I will cause them to walk by rivers of waters, in a straight way wherein they shall not stumble; for I am become a father to Israel, and Ephraim is My first-born.”
Jeremiah 31:8
The returned of the house of Israel are not subject to Judaism, which is what distinguishes the house of Judah at this time (if we accept the Jewish people in Israel today as representing that house!), and this is an acceptable situation before YHWH, just as David was king of Israel and Judah, without favoring one over the other.
“Thus, today, Judaism has essentially two canons, the biblical one and the great corpus of writings included under the Oral Torah. Although these two bodies of writings were, and are, said to be of equal authority, in practice, the Oral Torah always wins.”
James L. Kugel, How to Read the Bible, Pg. 940
“But the biggest advantage Jerusalem offered David was its location. Not far from his hometown of Bethlehem, it was nonetheless perched on the border between Judah and the northern tribes. Making it his capital was thus a clear statement: this town, and my whole administration, belong neither to the north or the south, but to both.”
James L. Kugel, How to Read the Bible, Pg. 677
“And My servant David shall be king over them, and they all shall have one shepherd; they shall also walk in Mine ordinances, and observe My statutes, and do them.”
Ezekiel 37:24
The house of Israel and the House of Judah must live together in the land promised to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, each serving the God of our fathers and obeying his laws and statutes.
“And He will set up an ensign for the nations, and will assemble the dispersed of Israel, and gather together the scattered of Judah from the four corners of the earth.
The envy also of Ephraim shall depart, and they that harass Judah shall be cut off; Ephraim shall not envy Judah, and Judah shall not vex Ephraim.
And they shall fly down upon the shoulder of the Philistines on the west; together shall they spoil the children of the east; they shall put forth their hand upon Edom and Moab; and the children of Ammon shall obey them.”
Isaiah 11:12,13,14
The unification of the two houses must manifest before a new covenant can be entered.
“Behold, the days come, saith YHWH, that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah.
Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt; forasmuch as they broke My covenant, although I was a lord over them, saith YHWH.
But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, saith YHWH, I will put My law in their inward parts, and in their heart will I write it; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people.
Jeremiah 31:30-32
Only after a new covenant is made with the house of Israel, or rather, the Whole House of Israel, can all the great blessings flow forth that will serve as the light to the nations!