TEXT:"JAMES, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, to the twelve tribes which are scattered abroad, greeting."-James 1:1

Abraham gave birth to Isaac, and Isaac gave birth to Esau and Jacob, and Jacob gave birth to twelve sons, each son became a tribe, and the twelve sons of Jacob formed the twelve tribes of Israel. The twelve tribes went down to Egypt. And in Egypt, Manasseh and Ephraim, the sons of Joseph, were adopted by Israel, Genesis 48:1-5. This brought the number of the tribes, technically, to fourteen.

However, scripturally, there are twelve tribes. Dan fell by the way, Genesis 49:17, that was the reason the tribe of Dan was not included in the final gathering of the twelve tribes in Revelation 7:1-8. Also, Ephraim, the second son of Joseph, was set before Manasseh, Genesis 48:20, thereby making him Joseph's heir. Both Ephraim and Joseph are used interchangeably, in the scripture, when referring to the first son of Israel.

God through Moses, brought the twelve tribes up out of Egypt. And they entered the wilderness, onward journey to the promised land. In the wilderness, the Lord went before them by day in a pillar of a cloud, to lead them in the way; and by night in a pillar of fire, to give them light; to go by day and by night.

Furthermore, through Moses, the Lord gave them commandments, statutes, and judgments. He led the twelve tribes for forty years in the wilderness, to humble and to test them, to know what was in their hearts, whether they would keep God's commandments or not.

God fed them with manna, their clothes on them did not get old nor thorn, neither did their feet swell in their shoes, for forty years. God sustained and defended them until they entered the promised land.

Moreover, in the land of Canaan, Joshua divided the land among the twelve tribes by lot. Remember, there were, technically, fourteen tribes. But, the land was divided into twelve parts. To solve this riddle, the twelve parts did not include the tribe of Levi, although the Levite's got cities and suburbs. Also Ephraim replaced Joseph, Numbers 35:1-8; Joshua 16:1-4.

The twelve tribes continued until the time of Samuel the prophet. They demanded for a king. Saul was chosen, and later after Saul, David became king. His son Solomon took over from him, and later to Rehoboam. But, in the reign of Rehoboam the kingdom was divided: the northern kingdom comprising of ten tribes, with the capital first in Shechem and later in Samaria. And the southern kingdom comprising of Judah and Benjamin, also known as Judah or Judaea, with the capital in Jerusalem. Sadly, both kingdoms were carried away from the promised land, 2 Kings 17:18-23; 2 Chronicles 36:9-21.

Although, they came back after seventy years, during the time of Ezra and Nehemiah, Ezra 1:1-6. The whole twelve tribes did not come back, but only the southern kingdom of Judah and Benjamin. Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, and Jeshua the son of Jozadak, with the people rebuilt the destroyed temple, Ezra 3:8-13.

And after the temple was completed, God suspended his relationship with Israel. The twelve tribes were still scattered abroad during the time the apostle James was writing his letter, James 1:1. The twelve tribes were finally gathered from all over the earth wherever they are, during the time of the great Tribulation, Revelation 7:1-8.

The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Ghost, be with you all. Amen.

Pastor K. C.

Nice read..

you wrote about the twelve tribes but you said nothing about the twelve apostles.