Israel's separation began during the reigns in the 10th century B.C. of Rehoboam and Jeroboam. However tragic separation may be, God includes within His masterful design a plan to redeem Israel and humankind, to eventually bring them together with God and each other (Romans 11:7, 25-27).

God reveals that all 12 tribes of Israel will once again be united: "Surely I will take the children of Israel from among the nations, wherever they have gone, and will gather them from every side and bring them into their own land; and I will make them one nation in the land, on the mountains of Israel; and one king shall be king over them all; they shall no longer be two nations, nor shall they ever be divided into two kingdoms again ...

"Then they shall be My people, and I will be their God. David My servant shall be king over them, and they shall all have one shepherd; they shall also walk in My judgments and observe My statutes, and do them. Then they shall dwell in the land that I have given to Jacob My servant, where your fathers dwelt; and they shall dwell there, they, their children, and their children's children, forever; and My servant David shall be their prince forever.

"Moreover I will make a covenant of peace with them ... I will set My sanctuary in their midst forevermore. My tabernacle also shall be with them; indeed I will be their God, and they shall be My people. The nations also will know that I, the Lord, sanctify Israel, when My sanctuary is in their midst forevermore" (Ezekiel 37:21-28).

Have such prophecies ever been fulfilled? Ezekiel wrote these words some 350 years after Jeroboam's reign. The northern 10 tribes of Israel had been defeated and carried away into captivity at the hands of the Assyrians in the eighth century B.C. Ezekiel himself was writing from Babylon, where he, along with much of the populace of the southern kingdom of Judah, had been exiled several years earlier.

Ezekiel did not live to see these words fulfilled, nor has anyone since. A careful reading of the Bible shows that only a few remnants of the northern 10 tribes ever reunited with the exiles from the kingdom of Judah in their homeland. And later even their descendants were largely scattered after the destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans in A.D. 70.

Although many descendants of Judah have resettled in the Middle East since the modern state of Israel was established in 1948, most of Judah's descendants remain scattered among the nations.

Clues as to when Ezekiel's prophecies will finally be fulfilled can be found in the words that "David My servant shall be king over them" and "My servant David shall be their prince forever."

If David will literally "be their prince forever," this will obviously be after he has been brought back to life. Several passages in Scripture show that this resurrection of David—to eternal life—will occur at Jesus Christ's return (1 Corinthians 15:12-54; 1 Thessalonians 4:13-17). It is at that time that this man after God's own heart (Acts 13:22) will be given eternal life, along with many others who will live and reign with Jesus Christ (Revelation 20:4-6). Made immortal, David will then be able to rule over a reunited Israelite kingdom forever.

The Israelites will eventually be reunited under King David and reconciled to their Creator, from whom their sins had cut them off (Isaiah 59:1-2).

This prophecy is but a tiny glimpse of the astounding future God reveals to us through His prophets. To understand more, be sure to request your free booklets What Is Your Destiny?, God's Holy Day Plan: The Promise of Hope for All Mankind and What Happens After Death? GN