Is Israels prophetic future contained in a single word?
Hosea 1:11 Then shall the children of Judah and the children of Israel be gathered together, and appoint themselves one head, and they shall come up out of the land: for great [shall be] the day of Jezreel.
Jezreel is a compound word and as noted meaning: zara’ – seed, el – God, seed of God; this is a prophecy of the future of Israel/Yisrael, when they will all be united after being scattered throughout the world. In 70 AD this scattering happened when Jerusalem fell to the Romans and it occurred about 800 years after this prophecy was given. Today we are over 2,000 years forward and counting, looking for the future reuniting of Israel, as the scripture clearly points toward.
There are some who consider 1948 as the fulfillment of this prophecy.
There are also many commentators who say that the name Jezreel is given to Israel to indicate the reuniting of the faith.
Jewish commentators however take a different view on this point, they see this idea of the seed of God – Jezreel, as being after the time of the fall of Jerusalem in 70 AD.
After that when they were scattered throughout the world, so also was the planting of the seed of knowledge of God into every nation and people.
Even a surface study searching the many religions which have emerged over the last 2,000+ years, have within their concepts, doctrines and dogmas some indications of Hebraic/Jewish teaching; including that of Native Americans who have symbols and teachings which reflect that of Judaism.
There is a famous quote from Rabbi S. Hirsch which says: “Many ideals of duty and loving kindness, the search for truth and the quest for right, and even the invocation of God, became ideals which were gleaned by other faiths from the Law of the Teachings of Judaism and spread through the nations.”We have to admit that this is very true.
Both the two major religions in the world have their roots solidly in the Hebrew faith/ Judaism. In the first century after Messiah was risen marked the start of the messianic faith in Yeshua haMashiach; first to the Israelites/Jewish believers who were first called Christians in Antioch. Acts 11:26.
The disciples were first called Christians in Antioch. The Jews called them “Nazarenes” Acts 24:5, or “Galileans” Acts 2:7. They called themselves “disciples” Acts 6:1, “brethren” Acts 6:3, etc.
The term ‘Christian’ was initially used by outsiders to describe the followers of Christ, possibly as a term of derision. However, it became a badge of honor for believers, signifying their identity in Christ. This designation marked a significant moment in church history, as it distinguished the followers of Jesus/Yeshua from other Jewish sects. The use of the term in Antioch, a city known for its cultural diversity, highlights the universal nature of the Gospel message.
Later in the eighth century, Islam/Muslim was established making it only a religion approximately 600 years younger than Christianity. The fact that Messiah was prophesied to come in Genesis, makes the Hebrew roots of our belief in that very Messiah, as old as the beginning of the Hebrew Bible some 5000+ years ago.
Buddhism is about 2,500 years old, while Christianity is about 2,000 years old. Buddhism is much older than Christianity as we know it, with its origins dating back to the 6th century BC. A number of major religions seem to have all gotten their start, in different places around the globe, at roughly the same time in the 6th century BC.
As the chart indicates, among the very oldest religions are Hinduism, Judaism, and (possibly) Zoroastrianism. The roots of Hinduism stretch back at least to India’s Vedic era, and perhaps even further back, into pre-Vedic times (2000 BC, or earlier). The roots of Judaism stretch back to the time of the patriarch Abraham, traditionally dated at around 1800 BC. However we know that our Bible/Torah/TaNaKH stretches back before Abraham all the way to Adam. Which according to Hebrew calendar we are now in the year 5785.
Religions such as Buddhism and Hinduism adopted many of the teachings of Judaism into their religion.
Hosea’s prophecy has become a reality, in as much as the Jews have become Jezreel, they are the planters of the seed of knowledge of the One True God. It is a seed that is meant to grow and even if other religions have veered off on their own teachings and ideas …there is a seed back there in their beginnings.
For years, countless faithful missionaries have been watering that seed of the knowledge of the One True Living God, which the Fathers Holy Spirit can use to bring and individual to the true knowledge of Jehovah/YHVH; and His love and purpose for mankind.
1Cor. 3:6-8 I have planted, Apollos watered; but God gave the increase. 7 So then neither is he that planteth any thing, neither he that watereth; but God that giveth the increase.
The Israelites/Hebrew/Jewish people are called the chosen people, not because they were created special, as compared to or better than everyone else. They were chosen to keep the true knowledge of YHVH and His love, the purity of the desire and will of our Heavenly Father to share with the nations.
The Abrahamic Covenant, as mentioned earlier, is pivotal, establishing the Israelites as YHVH’s chosen people and promising land, descendants, and blessing. Genesis 15, 17.
Our expressions of the love we have for the YHVH God of Adam, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Yeshua, John, Peter and Paul and everyone in between and since, and the love that He has for us. Plus our desire and longing for closeness with our loving Heavenly Father is the result of Jezreel, the seed of our Heavenly Father that has been planted by His chosen people. As Christians/messianic believers in Yeshua haMashich, we owe a huge debt to Jezreel and the efforts and sacrifices made by His chosen people throughout history in order to preserve this knowledge.
There are many instances of such sacrifices, one we are familiar with is that had it not been for Esther, the Jewish faith would have died out and the knowledge of YHVH/Jehovah would have been lost. Another is, if not for the Maccabees the knowledge of YHVH/Jehovah would have been lost to the world. Next time Hanukkah comes around we should remember, if not for Hanukkah there would be no ‘Christmas’.
The Israelites/Jewish people have been faithful in their calling as the chosen people to keep the knowledge of YHVH pure and alive, and today Israel stands as a guiding light to that knowledge.
Yet so much of the world seems to hate Israel, could it be that it’s because to love Israel means you love their God and what He stands for? They are still Jezreel, the seed of God and because of the planting of that seed Messianic Christianity will continue to grow.
Zechariah 8:23: “Thus saith the LORD of hosts; In those days [it shall come to pass], that ten men shall take hold out of all languages of the nations, even shall take hold of the skirt of him that is a Jew, saying, We will go with you: for we have heard [that] God [is] with you.”
This word, seed is familiar to us in possibly the most well known teaching by Messiah recorded in Mark 4. It is interesting to look at what, how and why seeds have periods of dormancy, which is multifaceted with many causes which differ from species to species. The oldest seed recorded was dormant for over 2,000 years.
Some seeds only come alive after fire has freed them from their outer coatings. All the seeds of the Word of God planted throughout the world via early Judaism, and later by missionaries; faced many of the same challenges as that of plant seeds.
We should not be amazed by how our Heavenly Father uses His creation in the physical world, to mirror spiritual truths, which will bring wisdom and understanding into our lives. There is no one like our Creator Father God, and if we stay alert and receptive to His teaching, He will reveal many things to us as we pay attention to the natural world around us; and by keeping our eyes in Israel.
Hosea 2:22: “And the earth shall hear the corn and the wine, and the oil and they shall hear Jezreel.” The heart of our Heavenly Father is so beautifully expressed in the book of Hosea.
The picture we are given is of Hosea who was told to marry an unfaithful woman, however he loved her and longed for her to return to him; not just to fulfill her duties as a wife and mother, but to return to a love relationship. The reason God called Hosea to marry this unfaithful woman having put a deep love in his heart for her, was so that he could prophesy of His love for us.
Sadly it is true to say that we often give our heart to the Lord and then spend our time running after other gods, such as money, careers or earthly pleasures. We become like Hosea’s wife in our relationship to our Heavenly Father. In this book we can see the deep love of God, which is expressed by the longing and desire for His people to return to Him and not just to call Him baali’ = my master, but to call Him ishi = my husband.
In the midst of this declaration of love where God speaks of betrothing us to Him again as a young love, He starts to talk of the earth hearing the corn and the wine and oil and then hearing from Jezreel.
It seems quite strange to the reader that in the midst of declaring His love He starts to talk about farming.
The word used in the Hebrew for
hear is tanah
which has the idea of:
recounting, telling again.
There is a double meaning in this as well as a wonderful poetic expression.
The first meaning is a reference to the corn, which is a symbol of prosperity.
He then speaks of the wine, which is often a symbol of joy.
When he speaks of the oil, he uses a unique Hebrew word for oil, which is yashar; meaning: a pure, shinning oil. It is an anointing oil, not the same as the olive oil used in ceremonies but a pure oil used to anoint a wound.
Here Adonai shows us that by our unfaithfulness, His heart has been deeply wounded; however, He is not only saying that He will restore us to our former position with Him, and to restore our joy and prosperity in Him, but He will also bring healing to us. Because in this relationship, we also suffer a wounded heart for our sinful ways when we stray away from our Heavenly Father; and because of Who He is, He is thinking of the hurt we feel when we have been wounded, rather than that of His own hurt, in that we have rejected Him.
By looking at Hosea we can see this picture, Hosea has been deeply hurt by his wife’s unfaithfulness, he has a broken heart and yet as he says these words to express the heart of God, he is also expressing his own heart toward his wife and is thinking only of the hurt she must have experienced and is longing to heal that hurt. Rather than the pain and heartbreak he felt himself.
Then God says that we will hear Jezreel.
Seed of YHVH/God/El
As we have seen, Jezreel in the Hebrew means God sows,
and it is related to the verb
zara’ (to scatter seed)
and the word el (God)
Related names through the word זרע (zara’):
Nazarene, Nazareth, Zerubbabel
And the name Jezreel consists of two elements,
the second one being אל (El),
אל אלה
In names אל (‘el) usually refers to אלהים (‘elohim), that is Elohim, or God, also known as אלה (‘eloah).
In English, the words ‘God’ and ‘god’ exclusively refer to the deity but in Hebrew the words אל (‘l) and אלה (‘lh) are far more common and may express
approach and negation,
acts of wailing and pointing,
and may even mean oak or terebinth.
The first part of the name is an active form of the
verb זרע (zara’) means:
to scatter seed or to sow
but may even describe merely extending one’s arm or even a leg and ultimately signify the bearing of fruit or even children, here referred to as one’s seed.
Nouns זרע (zera’) and זרוע (zerua’) mean: a sowing or that which is sown, and may refer to: seed, sperm, one child, offspring, posterity, family or a whole community.
Nouns זרע (zeroa’) and זרען (zer’on) specifically denote vegetables.
And noun מזרע(mizra’) literally means: a place or agent of sowing.
Nouns זרוע (zeroa’) or זרע (zeroa’) or אזרוע (‘ezroa’) mean: arm but are mostly used to figuratively to denote the seat of strength of a person or a nation or even of God.
זרה
Noun זרה (zara) also means: to scatter but where זרע (zara’) scatters seed to bear fruit, זרה (zara) scatters chaff and debris. It means: to winnow.
Noun מזרה (mizreh), describes place or agent of scattering, which in this case denotes a winnowing fork.
For a meaning of the name Jezreel, in the NOBSE Study Bible the name list reads: God Sows and
BDB Theological Dictionary has: God Soweth.
Jones’ Dictionary of Old Testament Proper Names proposes: He Will Be Sown Of God, and explains it with: “i.e. have a numerous progeny”
There are two towns and two men named
Jezreel in the Bible.
The men named Jezreel are:
One of the “sons” of Etam of Judah (1 Chronicles 4:3).
The symbolically named son of the prophet Hosea and Gomer, although he appears to be named after Jezreel of Issachar (Hosea 1:4).
The towns named Jezreel are:
A town in a valley in the hill country of the territory originally assigned to the tribe of Judah (Joshua 15:56), but which later came to be situated in the territory of Ephraim (Joshua 17:16). This is possibly also the birthplace of Ahinoam the Jezreelitess (יזרעאלית), who became the wife of king David (1 Samuel 25:43) and the mother of Amnon and Tamar (2 Samuel 3:2). But she might also have come from Jezreel of Issachar. It’s unclear.
A town in the territory of Issachar, which was located in the north of Israel, close to the Sea of Galilee. (Joshua 19:18).
A town of Issachar Joshua 19:18 , where the kings of Israel often resided, 1 Kings 18:45; 21:1; 2 Kings 9:30. Here Elijah met Ahab, Jehu, and Bidkar; and here Jehu executed his dreadful commission against the house of Ahab, 2 Kings 9:14-37 ; 10:1-11. It has been identified with the modern Zerin, on the most western point of the range of Gilboa, reaching down into the great and fertile valley of Jezreel, to which it gave its name.
A town in Judah, Joshua 15:56, to the south-east of Hebron. Ahinoam, one of David’s wives, probably belonged to this place, 1 Samuel 27:3.
A symbolical name given by Hosea to his oldest son, Hosea 1:4, in token of a great slaughter predicted by him, like that which had formerly taken place in the plain of Esdraelon, Hosea 1:4, Hosea 1:5.
Where He is using an farming image to express his desire to restore us is somewhat fitting, but by using the word Jezreel, He is saying that He will be the one to give us our prosperity, joy and healing, no one else, especially not those false gods in the form of our investments, careers, or material possessions that we run after. We will find it all in Him for He will do the planting.
There is however, a secondary meaning here in the use of Jezreel.Jezreel is where Gideon defeated the Midianites, also where Saul defeated the Philistines; and it was in the city of Jezreel that Jehu ordered that Jezebel be thrown out of the window. Jezreel is a picture of victory and deliverance from our enemies, and from idolatry, when we place our hopes and trust in other things and resources. Our Heavenly Father will restore our victory over all these false gods that we chase after, and we will find our joy and complete fulfillment in Him. Note that this passage is not saying this will happen automatically, it is only expressing the heart of our Heavenly Father. When we find ourselves in a weak moment, when we give in to sin, we mess everything up and have to make our way back to Him.
We sometimes think He must really be angry with us, and we expect Him to punish us; and we probably think like that because that’s what we would do in the flesh. However if we can just see a small part of our Heavenly Fathers heart as we read in Hosea chapter 2, we will find that even after our worst mistakes and in whatever backslidden condition we fall, He wishes only to heal our wounds and forever remove those false gods from us. He is longing to restore us to His joy and abundant life in Messiah.
So yes, it would seem that Israels prophetic future and that of all grafted in believers, is contained in a single word…
Jezreel – seed of YHVH/God.
Shalom aleikhem
chaverim and mishpachah!
Peace to friends and family.
Shavua Tov, Have a blessed week.
Make certain Messiah Jesus/Yeshua is your Redeemer, Savior, Lord and soon returning King and that you have a personal relationship with Him.
It’s all about Life and Relationship, NOT Religion.
You are very precious in His sight.
Not sure ..you can be…
SIMPLY SAY THE FOLLOWING MEANING IT FROM YOUR HEART..don’t delay one more minute,
SAY IT RIGHT NOW…
Heavenly Father I come to you in the Name of Jesus/Yeshua asking for forgiveness of my sins for which I am truly sorry. I repent of them all and turn away from my past.
I believe with my heart and confess with my mouth that Jesus/Yeshua is your Son and that He died on the cross at calvary to pay the price for my sin, so that I might be forgiven and have eternal life in the kingdom of Heaven. Father I believe that Jesus/Yeshua rose from the dead and I ask you to come into my life right now and be my personal Savior and Lord and I will worship you all the days of my life. Because your word is truth I say that I am now forgiven and born again and by faith I am washed clean with the blood of Jesus/Yeshua. Thank you that you have accepted me into your family in Jesus’/Yeshua’s name.
Who, what or where is Jezreel/Yizreel? 
