Jews by Location

What I recently read; followed by my response.

Hebrew for Christians 

The word "Hebrew" (עִבְרִי) means "boundary crosser" or one who has "passed from beyond" (from the verb avar (עָבַר), to pass or to cross over). The word "Jew" (יְהוּדִי), on the other hand, comes from the root (יָדָה) which means to "thank" or to “praise” (see Gen. 29:35). The Apostle Paul alluded to this by saying that a Jew whose heart has been circumcised by the Spirit is "one who is praised by God" -- not by men (Rom. 2:29). Being a Jew therefore means that you are “chosen” to receive blessings and grace to live in holiness for the glory of God and for the welfare of the world. The performance of various commandments are for the greater purpose of tikkun ha'olam (תיקון העולם), the “repair of the world,” in order to reveal God’s goodness and love (Eph. 2:8-10). Doing so makes someone a Jew, since his praise comes not from man, but from the LORD. God is the source and the power of what makes a true tzaddik (righteous person). After all, Israel was meant to be a “light to the nations” (Isa. 42:6; 60:3), and God had always planned for all the families of the earth to come to know Him and give Him glory through Abraham (Gen. 12:3). “Jewishness” is therefore not an end in itself but rather a means to bring healing to the nations... Indeed, the entire redemptive story of the Scriptures centers on the cosmic conflict to deliver humanity from the “curse” by means of the "Seed of the woman" who would come. The gospel is Jewish because it concerns God’s great redemptive plan for the whole world (John 4:22-23). [Hebrew for Christians]

Oh, gosh..... I have read this 'claim' more than once, after finding it on a Hebrew Roots themed Facebook page. First time I couldn't believe what I was reading. Second time it seemed insane but I tried to see the point of it. Third time it just made me want to cry that someone under the title of 'Hebrew for Christians' could spew such unrelated hogwash. Now each time I read it I realized that Judeo-Christian doctrine is just another one of Satan's devices to continue driving that wedge between mankind and his Creator.

We who have come out of the Babylonian Churchianity Religious mindset in search of the Hebrew origins of faith have had to fight against being accused of 'going Jew' to family and friends, so you can imagine how I feel insulted by this article. The modern day word Jew does not have the same meaning as back in biblical times. The word 'Jew' didn't even exist back in the time Genesis was written, neither did the territory of Judea, for that matter.

Indeed, Leah was thankful for having sons, Judah being one of them, but I think this article is really stretching it in trying to define the word 'Jew". 

Abraham was a Hebrew. He 'crossed over' from the pagan ways of Chaldea, leaving his father's house in obedience to YHWH.

The example noted above about Paul was referring to when he was making a distinction between the 'hearers of Torah' and the 'doers of Torah'. Torah is the standard for righteousness that Paul applied to himself and those who read his letters. He was pointing out that if someone was circumcised because of their culture and not taught it was a sign of the covenant Yah made with Abraham, then circumcision is irrelevant in regards to the Kingdom of Elohim. 

"Being a Jew" =Does.Not.Mean= "that you are “chosen” to receive blessings and grace to live in holiness for the glory of God and for the welfare of the world." Who is Israel? It is a people, the descendants of Abraham the Hebrew, all 12 tribes and those grafted in who choose YHWH as their Elohim and abide by His Instructions. These are the sheep and those other sheep Y'shua said he would gather as One flock. These are they who are to be a light unto the nations. 

It is the leaves of the Tree of Life in the New Jerusalem that are meant for the healing of nations and by that time there will be no Jew or Gentile, slave or free man because we will be One People.

John 4:22 is part of the conversation Y'shua is having with the Samaritan woman who recognizes him as a Yehudean and later as a prophet and invites him to worship with them at their mountain. He tells her they worship something they do not know... and that life is from the Yehudeans (he gives her a hint of who she is talking to). He also lets her know in time true worshippers will worship the Father in spirit and in truth. ~~ Who is the Giver of Life, the Lion of Judah? Y'shua the Anointed One 

The point is that one who is called a "Jew" in Scriptures is not necessarily a chosen man of God, or a member of the tribe of Judah, an Israelite, or even a Semite, but one who is a resident of the territory of Judea. A Judean, Yehudean.

Paul describes himself in Philippeans 3:5- "Circumcised when eight days old; of the stock of Israel; of the tribe of Benjamin; a Hebrew, descendant of Hebrews; in regards to Torah, a Pharisee; as to zeal, a persecutor of the assembly of Messianic believers; and as to the righteousness of the oral Torah, I was without fault." (Oral Law is rabbinic tradition). Paul's attitude about himself and all he had mastered changed after he saw the superior knowledge of Y'shua and learned that his own righteousness came from Faith in the Messiah, that is, the righteousness which is from Elohim, and not of himself. Paul was not a 'Jew' pretending to be a Greek, but was well aware of his heritage as a descendant of Abraham. His Hebrew name, Saul, was taken from the first king of Israel, who was from the tribe of Benjamin, and Paul's teacher, Gamaliel, was also from the tribe of Benjamin. They were Jews by location, not by birth or religious affiliation, although Paul was under the influence of religion before Y'shua called him out. What a wonderful example for all of us!

That Pagan World

Over the years I have posted here and there, and shared several links to the topic of the Pagan Origins of the many things we take for granted. This is an important study and the knowledge needs to be shared - again.  Don't let yourself become overwhelmed or angry or discouraged. What I am sharing is a result of my research and study and reading Scriptures that started over fifteen years ago when I innocently looked for the origin of christmas... the journey had to start somewhere! I don't claim to be any sort of scholar, but I know a lot more now than I did back then.  And we are not the first to search these things.  Once you start looking, there have been many before us seeking truth.

I will include as much as I can and pray for this to be a source of light to those searching for His Path, continually seeking Him so that He will cause the Ruach haKodesh (His Set Apart Spirit) to reveal to you Truth in everything.

The Ten Commandments begin with Yahweh, our Creator, telling us He is the one true Elohim and that we shall have no other gods besides Him.  He goes on to define those gods as man made images (idols) of things in the heavens above or on the earth below or in the waters and Not to bow down to them or serve them. He is serious about this and will pass on the guilt of doing such things to the generations that reject Him and He will show kindness to the generations who love Him AND keep His commandments. He also knows that Satan will set up counterfeits along the way.  It is important for us to recognize the Spirit of Yahweh so as to identify the devices of Adversary.

To 'bow down to them' is to exalt, to think very highly of them, seeing them as powerful, lesser, greater or in place of YHWH. Whether made of stone, wood, gold or silver and in the image/symbols of what we think angels look like (heavens above) or man, or animal fetishes or representing fish or other things in the water, we are not to serve them.

Look around. You will notice right away a variety of images in a variety of forms representing heaven, earth, waters, sea, air, the elements -- things Yahweh said right off the get-go not to make. He wants us to be Set Apart (righteous); set apart from the world and its pagan ways, those subtle temptations that cause us to doubt the Creator, as when Satan said to Eve, "You are not going to die, but Elohim knows that as soon as you eat of it your eyes will be opened and you will be like divine beings who know good and bad."

Then what happened?
In short, they tried to hide themselves from Yahweh because of their guilt and were eventually kicked out of the Garden.

Right from the beginning Satan has been tempting us. It is our Faith in the Creator and our obedience to His Instructions, which are for our health and well being, reinforced by (witnessed) the life and death of His son, Y'shua Messiah that we choose to be Set Apart, resisting temptation cause the devil to flee from us.

Who would have thought that types of  Dance could be pagan?

“Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil; who put darkness for light, and light for darkness; who put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!” (Yeshayahu/Isaiah 5:20)

Most folks already are aware of when Messiah was born.

The Origin of Christmas Tree

Just as early Christians recruited Roman pagans by associating Christmas with the Saturnalia, so too worshippers of the Asheira cult and its offshoots were recruited by the Church sanctioning “Christmas Trees”.  Pagans had long worshipped trees in the forest, or brought them into their homes and decorated them, and this observance was adopted and painted with a Christian veneer by the Church. 

 ~ Here is what God says: “... Learn not the way of the heathen, and be not dismayed at the signs of heaven [the stars]; for the heathen are dismayed at them [millions ignore this plain statement of God and read their horoscopes daily]. For the customs of the people are vain: for one cuts a tree out of the forest, the work of the hands of the workman, with the axe. They deck it with silver and with gold; they fasten it with nails and with hammers, that it move not. They are upright as the palm tree…” (Jeremiah. 10:2-5).

The Origin of Mistletoe

Norse mythology recounts how the god Balder was killed using a mistletoe arrow by his rival god Hoder while fighting for the female Nanna. Druid rituals use mistletoe to poison their human sacrificial victim. The Christian custom of “kissing under the mistletoe” is a later synthesis of the sexual license of Saturnalia with the Druidic sacrificial cult.

The Origin of Christmas Presents

In pre-Christian Rome, the emperors compelled their most despised citizens to bring offerings and gifts during the Saturnalia (in December) and Kalends (in January). Later, this ritual expanded to include gift-giving among the general populace. The Catholic Church gave this custom a Christian flavor by re-rooting it in the supposed gift-giving of Saint Nicholas.

The Origin of Santa Claus  

Nicholas was born in Parara, Turkey in 270 CE and later became Bishop of Myra. He died in 345 CE on December 6th. He was only named a saint in the 19th century.  He was among the most senior bishops who convened the Council of Nicaea in 325 CE and created the New Testament. The text they produced portrayed Jews as “the children of the devil” who sentenced Jesus to death.

In 1087, a group of sailors who idolized Nicholas moved his bones from Turkey to a sanctuary in Bari, Italy. There Nicholas supplanted a female boon-giving deity called The Grandmother, or Pasqua Epiphania, who used to fill the children's stockings with her gifts. The Grandmother was ousted from her shrine at Bari, which became the center of the Nicholas cult. Members of this group gave each other gifts during a pageant they conducted annually on the anniversary of Nicholas’ death, December 6.

The Nicholas cult spread north until it was adopted by German and Celtic pagans. These groups worshipped a pantheon led by Woden –their chief god and the father of Thor, Balder, and Tiw. Woden had a long, white beard and rode a horse through the heavens one evening each Autumn. When Nicholas merged with Woden, he shed his Mediterranean appearance, grew a beard, mounted a flying horse, rescheduled his flight for December, and donned heavy winter clothing.

In a bid for pagan adherents in Northern Europe, the Catholic Church adopted the Nicholas cult and taught that he did (and they should) distribute gifts on December 25th instead of December 6th. 

In 1809, the novelist Washington Irving (most famous his The Legend of Sleepy Hollow and Rip Van Winkle) wrote a satire of Dutch culture entitled Knickerbocker History. The satire refers several times to the white bearded, flying-horse riding Saint Nicholas using his Dutch name, Santa Claus.

Dr. Clement Moore, a professor at Union Seminary, read Knickerbocker History, and in 1822 he published a poem based on the character Santa Claus: “Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the house, not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse. The stockings were hung by the chimney with care, in the hope that Saint Nicholas soon would be there…” Moore innovated by portraying a Santa with eight reindeer who descended through chimneys.

The Bavarian illustrator Thomas Nast almost completed the modern picture of Santa Claus. From 1862 through 1886, based on Moore’s poem, Nast drew more than 2,200 cartoon images of Santa for Harper’s Weekly. Before Nast, Saint Nicholas had been pictured as everything from a stern looking bishop to a gnome-like figure in a frock. Nast also gave Santa a home at the North Pole, his workshop filled with elves, and his list of the good and bad children of the world. All Santa was missing was his red outfit.

  

1931, the Coca Cola Corporation contracted the Swedish commercial artist Haddon Sundblom to create a coke-drinking Santa. Sundblom modeled his Santa on his friend Lou Prentice, chosen for his cheerful, chubby face. The corporation insisted that Santa’s fur-trimmed suit be bright, Coca Cola red. And Santa was born – a blend of Christian crusader, pagan god, and commercial idol. (I never heard this one about Coca-Cola - ckc) 

The origins of Easter

John 4:22-24 You worship something that you do not know. But we worship what we know, for life is from the Yehudeans (Messiah is referred to as the Lion of Judah). But the hour is coming, and now is when the true worshippers will worship the Father in spirit and in truth, indeed. For the Father, He seeks worshippers as these. For Elohim is Spirit and those who worship they must worship Him in spirit and in truth.

Mark 7:6-7 Messiah says, Yesha'yahu (Isaiah) the prophet did well prophesy about you hypocrites! As it is written that 'This people honor me with their lips (words) but their hearts are very distance from me. And vainly they fear me while they are teaching the doctrines of the (man made) commandments of the sons of men.

My husband and I don't 'celebrate' Purim or Hanukkah because they are not 'commanded' by Elohim. I realize they are of historical value, like the 4th of July or Memorial Day (which we do not celebrate, either).

Chanukah is a man made tradition. 

Quote: (John 10:22-24). Notice that this is the only reference to the festival of Chanukah (חַג חֲנֻכָּה) that occurs in all of Scriptures. Some additional "extra biblical" sources include the testimony of the first-century Jewish historian Flavius Josephus, who likewise referred to the commemoration of the Maccabees as an eight day "festival of lights", and various midrashim that quote Hillel and Shammai (i.e., two famous sages that predated the time of Yeshua) discussing the method of kindling the lights of the Chanukah menorah. One midrash states that Chanukah was to be regarded as an acronym for Chet Nerot veHalakhah K'bet Hillel ("eight candles and the law according to the House of Hillel"), referring to Hillel's view (his opinion) that we should light one candle on the first night and increase the amount by one every day (Shammai, on the other hand, thought we should light eight candles on the first night and reduce one every subsequent night). According to early Jewish tradition (preserved in Megillat Antiochus, 2nd Century AD), since the Maccabees were unable to celebrate the holiday of Sukkot at its proper time in the fall, they decided that it should be observed after the Temple was restored, which they did on the 25th of the month of Kislev in the year 164 B.C. Since Sukkot lasts eight days, this became the time frame adopted for Chanukah."  End Quote.

John 10:22 gives us a time frame, noting the Feast of Dedication (Hanukkah) occurred in Jerusalem and it was winter and Y'shua was walking in the temple in the porch of Solomon. (note: this is the only time Hanukkah is mentioned in Scriptures - there's no 2 or 3 other times to bear witness or support its importance as a feast day.)  Folks think because Messiah was 'there' that he was 'celebrating' but I think the reason he was there was because he was 'teaching', as he was accustomed to doing, not so much partaking of the feast. 

John 10 starts out with his Sheep Parable, then the feast day is mentioned, then: The Jews surround him again asking how long will he keep them waiting: "if you are the Mashiyach, tell us!" He lets them know that he HAS told them but they do not believe because 'they are not of his sheep'. Perhaps noting the feast day and the fact these Jews were celebrating it (which is why they were at the temple) and then Y'shua saying they were not his sheep, lets us know it is not of Elohim and we should not partake of it, either.

Y'shua was not celebrating Chanukah - he was present, on the porch of the Temple. It appears he was taking the opportunity to teach to those who had gathered there.  The lead in verses to John 10:22 sets the tone for what's going on.  In 10:7 he says that he is the Gate of the flock. He goes on to say if a man should enter by him (the Gate) he will live, enter and go out and find pasture. (No man comes to the Father except by Y'shua). He says he is the Good Shepherd that lays his life down for the flock. He knows those who are his and they know him. Then he says in 10:16 that he also has other sheep, those not of this sheepfold. It is necessary for me to bring them and they will hear my voice and all the flocks will become one and there will be One Shepherd. (I love this! He just told us the sheepfold is the House of Israel and the other sheep are those who have chosen to obey YHWH and have the testimony of His son - we will be One People with One Faith and One Elohim!) Well, once again Y'shua causes a stir among the Yehudeans, they don't believe, they don't recognize their Shepherd's voice and think Y'shua is possessed.

Here's info on Purim   

As a reminder, No matter what one uses for research and reference material, ALWAYS take what you have gleaned and measure it against Scriptures, the Word of God our Creator. His Ruach haKodesh - His Set Apart Spirit - will reveal the Truth as long as we maintain our Faith in the one true God. It's not about religion, but His perfect government system.  Judaism is a religion. Christianity is a religion. Islam is a religion, etc... 

Who is Israel?

When the truth was revealed that 'biblical' Israel refers to 'the people', the original Twelve Tribes and the descendants thereof AND includes those outsiders who chose to accept the God of the Hebrews, I knew I needed a deeper study of Scriptures in an attempt to find where the idea came from that the 'Jews are God's Chosen People' as well as why folks think prophecy was fulfilled when Israel became a state in 1948.

Let me be clear about my intentions with this study: 

I am not disrespecting the Jews nor the trials they have been through, especially during the reign of Hitler.  Those were heart breaking times (to put it lightly) and an extreme example to all of us as to just how evil the heart of man can be.  I am not prejudice against anyone who claims to be Jewish. Rather, I have become aware of a clash of ideas from various people in regards to the State of Israel and its inhabitants.  There are those who promote the 'Stand with Israel' and 'United with Israel' agendas which seem sincere and may have originated in their hearts, but are inspired by the lack of understanding Scriptures and spurred on by their own 'feel good' egos. Don't get me wrong! I would love the visit Israel and walk where our Messiah walked. But I know my time will come, as will everyone's, those who obey YHWH Elohim and have the testimony of His Son, as we continue to pray for the peace of Jerusalem.  

Many have been led astray by false teachers, wolves in sheep clothing.  I pray this study will help clarify who Israel is according to our Creator.

***Note: I respectfully use the Name of God in the Hebrew language, which is - YHWH - (pronounce Yah-weh); Elohim is the Hebrew word for God; Y'shua (pronounced Yah-shua) is the name of His Son; Ruach haKodesh is the original Hebrew word poorly translated as 'holy ghost/spirit'...***

The Study 

Would you be surprised to learn that the Jews are not God's chosen people and that the modern day state of Israel is not prophecy fulfilled, as many claim?  Fact is, back in the days after the Hebrews fell into slavery in Egypt, a 'mixed multitude' became united as One People by their Faith and Trust in the One True Living God, aka: The Elohim of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob (Elohim had changed Jacob's name to Israel).  This multitude became The House of Israel = YHWH's Set Apart people.  These people are the 'elect' of YHWH, those who obey His commandments, laws and teachings (which are written in the first 5 books of the old testament, known as Torah). These are the same people His Son, Y'shua, refers to as his sheep.

People wrongly assume that the modern day State of Israel is the same Israel written of in Scriptures and that today's population of Jews are Elohim's chosen people.  The current and changing borders of Israel do not represent the Promised Land as described by Elohim to Abraham, and, there are 11 other tribes that make up the whole House of Israel along with Judah.  Also, anyone of any background or nationality or false belief system who leave their pagan ways behind and come to YHWH Elohim, to keep His commandments, laws, rules and Teaching and have the testimony of His Son, Y'shua the Anointed One, they become adopted, grafted into the Commonwealth of Israel.  Y'shua refers to these folks who choose YHWH as their Elohim as the 'other sheep' that he has come to gather.

The Family Tree

In Genesis 12 YHWH tells Abram the Hebrew from Chaldea that He will make a great nation from him, from his offspring.  He tells him his name will be great, that he shall be a standard by which blessing is invoked.  YHWH later promises Abram that the land of Canaan will be given to his offspring.

Genesis 13:14 YHWH shows Abram the land and has him walk about the land.

Genesis 15:18 YHWH makes a covenant with Abram and once again denotes the area of land promised to his descendants, which is from the river of Egypt to the great river Euphrates including the territories therein.

Genesis 17:2 The promise is remembered and established forever - All the land of Canaan an everlasting holding and He shall be their Elohim.  With this YHWH changes Abram's name to Abraham because he will be a father of nations.

=> Fast forward a bit to Jacob, son of Isaac, son of Abraham.

In Genesis 28:13 YHWH lets Jacob know that He is the Elohim of his father Abraham and the Elohim of Isaac and proceed to tell Jacob about the land deal and his own descendants and the blessing, the everlasting covenant.

Genesis 29 through 35 is the account of Jacob's life.

Genesis 32:29 is when Jacob's name is changed to Israel.

Genesis 35:23 lists the sons of Israel and they are 12 in number.

Short Story of the 12 Tribes

In Genesis 41:12 we read about Jacob's (Israel's) sons who each became heads of their clans: The Twelve Tribes of Israel.  Each tribe was named after each son, carrying on the Hebrew lineage: Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, Zebulun, Joseph, Benjamin, Dan, Naphtali, Gad and Asher = The House of Israel.  These are the offspring YHWH told Abraham the Hebrew about so long ago that would eventually be as numerous as the stars, if stars could be counted.  These are the ones to whom the land of Canaan is promised.

 

Lets pick this up again at the life and times of Joseph, Jacob's favorite son.  His brothers sold him to a caravan of Ishmalites who sold him as a Hebrew slave in Egypt to Pharaoh's chief steward.  Joseph is later falsely accused of molesting Potiphar's wife, spent time in jail, was later recognized as an  interpreter of dreams, won favor with Pharaoh (who recognized the God of Joseph was with him) and eventually Joseph was put in charge of almost everything in Egypt - he was 2nd in command to Pharaoh. 

(Genesis 39 through 41)

Due to a famine in the land and the position of authority given to Joseph, he was able to send for his family: his father Israel, his brothers and all their households came to live in Egypt in the region of Goshen.  Thus in Genesis 46 we are told that Israel and all that was his, all his offspring, came to Egypt.  They were know as Hebrews.  After the original families eventually die and are forgotten, and a new generation arises, a new Pharaoh also takes his position.  He doesn't know or remember anything about Joseph or know his God or how the Hebrews came to be in his territory. But he does know he wants to get rid of them. He puts task masters over them which in turn becomes plain old slavery.  He tries to prevent male babies from surviving.

=> Fast forward  now to the time of the exodus, when the Hebrews along with that mixed multitude were led out of slavery, out of bondage in Egypt.  The mixed multitude consisted of folks other than Hebrews who had come to YHWH Elohim and attached themselves to the Israelites - they 'crossed over' and were adopted into the House of Israel and became heirs to the promised land.  Scripture says 600,000 men plus women and children along with the mixed multitude left Egypt that day.  YHWH's Chosen People, led by Moses, Aaron his brother, and Miriam his sister. They are of the tribe of Levi.

We establish early on that Israel is a people, not a place.  The land Elohim promised consists of what is the boundaries of Canaan - much more land than what is known as the State of Israel today.  All of YHWH's rules, laws, teachings and commandments apply to the entire commonwealth of Israel: the descendants of the House of Israel (the sheep) and those adopted in (those other sheep).  They ALL abide by Elohim's Instructions (Torah). His covenant is everlasting, for all generations.  All the way up until the reign of Solomon, they were a Hebrew nation.  Jerusalem is where YHWH attached His Name, which is in the territory of the tribe of Yehuda/Judah.

The Israelites are the offspring of Jacob/Israel, descendants of Abraham, who was a Hebrew.  These are they who YHWH Elohim chose to be Set Apart as He is Set Apart, through whom nations would be blessed.  The promised land of Canaan was divided among them but eventually, through a series of events, they were split into 2 groups of which 10 Tribes went northwards. Later on the tribes of Judah and Benjamin (along with some Levites and a few others) were taken into captivity by King Nebuchadnezzer of Babylon.  Toward the end of this time period King Cyrus of Persia was responsible for the release of the Israelites from Babylon, who returned to the area called Judea (the territory that was named after one of the 12 sons of Jacob: Judah). Those of the Ten Tribes who went northwards eventually scattered among the nations.

The time of Solomon, son of David, and the Division of the Tribes

The division of the House of Israel was a result of Solomon's sin against Elohim.  Solomon married many women, had many concubines - he had fallen "headlong into unreasonable pleasures" - married outside of his own people and began to worship the gods of these women, against the Will of YHWH.  Because of this, YHWH, as He promised David, would not withdraw all the people from Solomon, but would give Ten Tribes to a servant of his and leave only Two Tribes to David's grandson, Rehoboam, for his sake, because David did love Elohim, and for the sake of Jerusalem wherein He should have a temple.

Jeroboam, son of Nebat, received a prophecy from Ahijah about the parting of the dominion of Solomon and is told to be righteous and keep the laws of Elohim.  Jeroboam lived in Egypt until the death of Solomon.

David's grandson, Rehoboam, became king, but was not wise.  His behavior caused a rebellion which caused him to flee to Jerusalem where the tribe of Judah and that of Benjamin ordained him king.  The rest of the multitude appointed Jeroboam to be ruler of their public affairs. (Rehoboam is king of 2 tribes, King of Judah and Jeroboam is king of 10 tribes, King of Israel).

Now when the Feast of Tabernacles drew near, Jeroboam feared if he let the people go to Jerusalem to celebrate (as per the command of YHWH) that he would lose them and perhaps lose his own life. So he had 2 temples built - one near Bethel and one near Dan - and made Two Golden Heifers, one in each temple and convinced the people that God was everywhere and hears and sees those who worship him and that it was OK if they didn't go to Jerusalem to worship Elohim according to His rules but could worship him the way they saw fit.  Jeroboam succeeded in deluding the people which caused them to go against Elohim and transgress Torah.  This was the beginning of miseries for the Hebrews.  Jeroboam had made himself High Priest as well. Over the next 3 years, the priests and Levites and the good and the righteous of Israel left and gathered together with Rehoboam because they wanted to worship Elohim in Jerusalem, as it is written.  They were not willing to worship the idols made by Jeroboam.

Rehoboam's kingdom grew in number- it's greatness and prosperity became a transgression to men.  Rehoboam strayed from The Path, the right way of Elohim and gave into unrighteousness and pagan practices. He began to despise YHWH and eventually the people began to imitate his wicked actions.

I want to point out that having Faith in the Word of Elohim (Scriptures) is not about being Jewish, acting Jewish, following orthodox Jewish traditions, the Talmud or Kabbalah. YHWH did not set apart the Jews only, but the entire House of Israel, the descendants of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob/Israel. YHWH's set apart times, The Feast Days, are not Jewish holidays, but intended for all His people.  Man tends to skew the Word of God under the influence of Satan.  There's more to this story, but I will stick with pointing out who Israel is (for now).

It is so important to read Scriptures every day so that we may gain understanding and insight to the events happening today, in order to peel away the layers of deceptions and expose the lies that have been handed down through the generations.  This is the path leading out of the world system (Egypt and Babylon are examples of world systems and how we become enslaved).  When we come out of this man made system, this is what helps us to become Set Apart as He is Set Apart and makes us a Light unto others.  It's not about 'loving the Jews' or the 'Stand with Israel' mind set of today - it is about obeying YHWH Elohim and our Faith in Y'shua and allowing the Ruach haKodesh (Spirit of the Heavenly Father) to write Torah upon our hearts.  This is what it has been about from the very beginning.

Part Two - 

The Gathering of YHWH's people is an End Times scenario and did not occur in 1948.

Jeremiah 32:37 "Behold, I will gather them out of all the lands to which I have driven them in My anger, in My wrath and in great indignation; and I will bring them back to this place and make them dwell in safety. :38 "They shall be My people, and I will be their Elohim…"

Ezekiel 28:25 'Thus says YHWH your Elohim, "When I gather the house of Israel from the peoples among whom they are scattered, and will manifest My holiness in them in the sight of the nations, then they will live in their land which I gave to My servant Jacob."

Jeremiah 23:3 "Then I Myself will gather the remnant of My flock out of all the countries where I have driven them and bring them back to their pasture..."

To wrap this up, here is the Sheep allegory in relation to the House of Israel and those who are adopted in, as Y'shua relates it:

John 10:11 (Y'shua says) I am the Good Shepherd. The Good Shepherd lays down his life for the flock. But a hireling who is not the shepherd nor are the sheep his, when he sees a wolf coming he leaves the sheep and flees. And the wolf comes and plunders and scatters the flock.

John 10:14 I am the Good Shepherd and I know those who are mine. And those who are mine know me.

John 10:16 And I also have other sheep, those who were not from this sheepfold. And also them, it is necessary for me to bring them and they will hear my voice and all the flocks will become one. And there will be One Shepherd.

YHWH's Chosen People are the descendants of Abraham through Isaac and Jacob, and those who have been adopted in.

The story of Ruth the Moabite is another good example of one choosing Yah as their Elohim. In Chapter 1 verse 16 Ruth is pleading with her mother-in-law Naomi: "Do not urge me to leave you, to turn back and not follow you. For wherever you go, I will go; wherever you lodge, I will lodge; your people shall be my people and your God shall be my God..." Ruth ends up marrying Boaz. She is grafted into the House of Israel by loyalty and faith. She gives birth to Obed who begat Jesse who begat David.... the royal lineage into which Yahshua is adopted.

As always, take what you hear or read or have been taught and take it to Scriptures where the Truth is waiting to Revealed by the Comforter = The Ruach haKodesh.