The Twelve Tribes of Israel

 So, you learned a little about the 144,000, and now you're wondering what this business of the 12 tribes is about? Well... It's a little complicated. 

So, the tribes descended from the Patriarch, Jacob. 

And God worked through each of these "tribes"  to fulfill His purposes. 

His big fulfillment? Yeshua! (Jesus) Through the Tribe of Judah. 

A lot of people think that Israel is just a place, but... God actually renamed "Jacob" Israel. And what is the meaning of that?  The Hebrew definition is: A man seeing God. Other definitions: Fighter of God, God Contended, Triumphant with God, or Wrestles with God. And this name Jacob gets after he struggles with God. Pretty fitting, right? 

Anyway... back to the twelve tribes. 

As the nation Israel, God arranges Jacob's sons into twelve tribes. And He then brings them out of Egypt and into the promised land. In the New Testament, God works through another group of 12...That's right... the disciples. God is all about numbers. 12 months, 12 zodiac, 12 disciples, 12 tribes... I am seeing a pattern. 

So, The twelve tribes are named from the sons of Jacob and each name has a meaning and a symbol of the tribe. 

Reuben: "See a son!" And Water is their symbol. 

Simeon: "Hearing" A Gate is their symbol. 

Levi: "Attached" A Breastplate of the high priest is their symbol. (Instead of Levi and Joseph, Manasseh and Ephraim were represented on the breastplate. And Manasseh is added in the 144,000 and Ephraim is not.)

Judah: "Praise" A Lion is their symbol. (Yeshua/Jesus's tribe)

Dan: "Judge" and a Snake is their symbol.  (This Tribe is not included in the 144,000. More about this later.)

Naphtali: "My struggle" A Deer is their symbol. 

Gad: "Good Fortune" "Warrior" and Tents are their symbol. 

Asher: "Happy" and a Tree is their symbol. 

Issachar: "There is a reward" and a Donkey is their symbol. 

Zebulun: "Dwelling" and a ship is their symbol. 

Joseph: "He will increase" and a Sheaf of grain is their symbol. (Instead of Levi and Joseph, Manasseh and Ephraim were represented on the breastplate. And Manasseh is added in the 144,000 and Ephraim is not.)

Benjamin: "Son of the right hand" and a Wolf is their symbol. 

These Tribes above were the people that came out of Egypt. They were in Egypt for 430 years! And part of that time was in slavery. 

IT was prophesied long ago that Israel would be scattered among the nations of the earth. What reason? Because the people were wicked. When the Assyrians carried the ten tribes away into captivity (2 Kings 15:29; 17:6) it began. The twelve that were scattered: Asher, Dan, Ephraim, Gad, Issachar, Manasseh, Naphtali, Reuben, Simeon, Zebulun, Judah and Benjamin. Of these, only two survived: Judah and Benjamin.