Who Found the Lost Tribes?

At various times in history the topic of the 'lost tribes of Israel' comes up -- referring to the northern 10 tribes who made up the nation of Israel -- the tribes who were conquered by the Assyrians in the 8th century BC (730 BC or so) and transported away from their homeland.


The two southern tribes -- Judah and Benjamin -- kept their national integrity (as the nation of Judah) until 586 BC, when they were conquered and deported by the Babylonians. Later, after the Persians conquered Babylon, the Persian leader Cyrus decreed that they could return to their homeland and rebuild their capital city of Jerusalem and their beloved temple.



But what about the 10 tribes that were exiled throughout Assyria 150 years earlier? The 'lost tribes'?

I heard someone mention them just this week --
were they the people who migrated across the Bering Strait into North America? Did they migrate to Greece and become the ancestors of the Spartans? Did Jeremiah really die in Ireland? Did they sail from Europe to North America and intermarry with the natives here?

Speculation is so much fun!  But it is even more fun to ferret out facts that can be documented and verified.

And the answers we are looking for are all right here in our Bibles....

Many scholars throughout history have claimed that the "northern 10 tribes" never returned to their homeland in Israel. It is true that many of those in the Assyrian captivity were assimilated in various places in the Assyrian empire, but many did, in fact, return to the Holy Land. Some came back in small groups, drifting back whenever it was possible.

But more returned in the 5th century BC when the Persians granted permission for the southern tribes to return.

That makes sense, because the Babylonians, after they conquered the Assyrians, inherited their captive peoples, and then the Persians, when they prevailed, absorbed the Babylonian captives.

So when Cyrus allowed, and by God's design, even encouraged the Jews to return, his proclamation included the survivors of all 12 tribes!

Ezra, chapter 1, tells us:

Now in the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, that the word of the LORD by the mouth of Jeremiah might be fulfilled, The LORD stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia,so that he made a proclamation throughout all his kingdom, and also put in writing, saying, 'Thus says Cyrus king of Persia: all the kingdoms of the earth the LORD God of heaven has given me. And He has commanded me to build Him a house at Jerusalem...Who is among you of all His people? May God be with him and let him go up to Jerusalem which is in Judah, and build the house of the LORD of Israel (He is God), which is in Jerusalem. And whoever is left in any place where he dwells, let the men of his place help him with silver and gold, with goods and livestock, besides the freewill offerings for the house of God which is in Jerusalem.'

And then in Ezra chapter 6, we read:

Now the temple was finished on the third day of the month of Adair...the children of Israel, the priests and Levites and the rest of the descendants of the captivity, celebrated the dedication of the house of God with joy...and they offered sacrifices...as a sin offering for all Israel twelve male goats, according to the number of the tribes of Israel.

When Cyrus authorized the return of the captives to Israel to rebuild the temple his decree included all Israelites, regardless of their tribes.

In doing this, Cyrus was fulfilling the remarkable prophecy of Jeremiah, issued 200 years before, but he was also setting the stage for the fulfillment of another prophecy in Jeremiah, which would be fulfilled by the Messiah (500 years later) and would include the house of Israel and the house of Judah.

That other prophecy concerned the "New Covenant" that the Messiah would introduce:

Behold, the days are coming, says the LORD, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah...I will put My law in their minds and write it on their hearts (Jeremiah 31:31).

The New Covenant was made with both the house of Israel and the house of Judah, and the New Testament states plainly that the New Covenant was inaugurated by Jesus Christ. This required converts of both groups.

Christ sent His disciples ahead of Him to preach to the "lost sheep of the house of Israel". In Paul's defence before Agrippa (Acts 26), he stated that all 12 tribes were currently serving God in Jerusalem.

So converts of all 12 tribes were in Israel at the time of Christ, and we know from John's Revelation that they will all be present in the future.

So the 'lost tribes' were never 'lost.' That's a small story in the history of mankind. But there's another bigger story that travels through history.

It's in Isaiah 45:1-4

Thus says the LORD to His anointed, 'to Cyrus, whose right hand I have held -- To subdue nations before him and loose the armor of kings...I will go before you and make the crooked paths straight..I will give you the treasures of darkness and hidden riches of secret places, that you may know that I, the LORD, who call you by your name, am the God of Israel. For Jacob My servant's sake, and Israel My elect, I have even called you by your name I have named you, though you have not known Me.'

But Cyrus did get to know the God of Israel. "All the kingdoms of the earth the LORD God of heaven has given me," he was able to say.

We call the Persian king Cyrus the Great, and according to the words of Cyrus himself, he knew he was great, because the God of Abraham made him great!


Nothing flows thourgh the current of human history that is not flowing through the channel God already prepared for it.