You have probably heard the expression the lost tribes of Israel, but you may not know what people are talking about. Late in their history, Israel was divided into two nations: the house of Israel and the house of Judah. After a little over 200 years, the ten northern tribes (which were called the house of Israel) were carried captive by the king of Assyria. After another 130 years, the House of Judah (which was centered on Jerusalem) went captive to Babylon. They returned to Jerusalem after 70 years in exile. But the tribes of the House of Israel were never heard from again—hence, the lost tribes of Israel.

The prophets never forgot the House of Israel. God frequently made mention of them in prophecies about the last days. I think most commentators assume that all these prophecies are fulfilled in the Jews. But if that were true, I really would expect a little different wording of the prophecies. Here’s one, for example, in Jeremiah 31:

Behold, the days come, says the Lord, that I will sow the house of Israel and the house of Judah with the seed of man, and with the seed of beast. And it shall come to pass, that as I have watched over them, to pluck up, and to break down, and to throw down, and to destroy, and to afflict; so will I watch over them, to build, and to plant, says the Lord. In those days they shall say no more, The fathers have eaten a sour grape, and the children’s teeth are set on edge.

Note that the expression house of draws an important distinction. It is not an ethnic description (like Children of Israel) but a political description. Keep in mind that the House of Israel was long gone at this time. All the refugees of the ten northern tribes who settle in Judah are now part of the House of Judah. Yet Jeremiah sees a House of Israel in the future. Right after this comes a startling passage regarding a new covenant that God will make…

It would be wrong to say that the Old Testament prophets bring nothing but bad news; they give us hope. The problem is that the good news they bring is mostly way out into the future. In the short term, they prophesy little beyond suffering and pain. Why is that? Possibly the most obvious reason is that there is no need for God to send us a prophet to tell us that we are doing just fine.

Imagine for a moment that there is a fundamental standard of right and wrong conduct that grows out of the nature of man and man’s social interactions. Natural law—it’s just the way things are. Imagine that standard is expressed in the last six of the ten commandments and all the other laws that can be derived from these. Now imagine that the first four commandments are the guarantors of the last six.

In other words, the form of revealed worship of God keeps us mindful of our duties to God. And our duty to God guarantees our duty to our fellow man. So, when we neglect our duty to God, our social fabric will eventually begin to unravel. And that is the time when God usually sends a prophet to tell us what we are doing wrong. Take Jeremiah for example. He isn’t all bad news, but the good news he has is way off into the future. Let’s see what he has to say in chapter 30.

Once upon a time, there was a man sitting quietly by a pool of water. He was a very sick man, and doubted that he had very long to live. While he stared into the water, something stirred the water. It was almost as though a hand had swished the water back and forth, but no one else was there. Wondering, the man reached out his own hand and swished the water back and forth. As he did so, he began to feel better. Standing, he noticed that his pain was gone and he felt stronger. As the day went forward, he realized that he simply was not sick any longer.

His friends were totally surprised at his recovery, and in the natural course of events, they learned about the pool and the moving of the water. For some time after that, all kinds of sick people went down to the pool and washed in its water, but no one else was helped...until the same season the next year, when another very sick man was healed after a similar moving of the water. A lame man, touching the water just after the first man was not helped in the least. This happened again the third year. Unfortunately, only one person was healed each year, and although it was at the same season, it was not entirely predictable. It could be on any one of several days.

Many years passed and then one day a man walked into the area of the pool and looked around at all the sick people there. It was the season of the year when an angel was said to stir the waters and the first person into the pool would be healed. The name of the pool was Bethesda and the man who walked in on this day was none other than Jesus of Nazareth.

And a certain man was there, which had an infirmity thirty and eight years. When Jesus saw him lie, and knew that he had been now a long time in that case, he saith unto him, Wilt thou be made whole?

The impotent man answered him, Sir, I have no man, when the water is troubled, to put me into the pool: but while I am coming, another steppeth down before me. Jesus saith unto him, Rise, take up thy bed, and walk. And immediately the man was made whole, and took up his bed, and walked: and on the same day was the sabbath.

What lies behind this story is even more interesting than the incident itself. But that isn't what especially caught my interest. What I thought was fascinating about the encounter was the resemblance to a lottery. Year after year, only one person was healed, and the selection was absolutely random. A blind man might not see the moving of the water. A deaf man might not hear it. A lame man couldn't reach it fast enough. And even Jesus healing on this occasion had the same random quality to it. Maybe Jesus selected this one man for a reason, but if he did, he didn't say so. And more important, he only healed one man on this day, just as the waters might have done. That one man won the lottery. The rest did not. On the surface, it seems unfair, doesn't it? But at the same time, it is a lot like life...