Ajackson17
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Jeroboam set up his capital city in his native Ephraim (home of the Israelite tribes descending from Joseph the Hebrew and Asenath the Egyptian, who was the daughter of a high priest of On). It is a key note that ten of the tribes of Israel were turned over to someone who descended from a man who worshiped God and a woman who was (at the least) raised to worship a false Egyptian god. Why? Because Jeroboam ended up forsaking the God of his ancestor Joseph and returning to the ways of his ancestress Asenath, encouraging his fellow Israelites to worship and sacrifice to golden calves (a common motif of Egypt), instead of to God Himself (I Kings 12: 25-33).
Though Jeroboam and his family were erased from the earth for their sins, many of the kings of Israel who followed him continued to worship false idols, seeking after the idols of the nations around them.
Eventually, this second Nation of Israel (which, remember, was home to the ten tribes that left Solomon’s son Rehoboam) were lost, because of their idol worship. The only kingdom from the original Israel to remain was the Kingdom of Judah, which was eventually captured by the Babylonians (an ancient father of sorts to the Empire of Rome, as Rome appropriated many of the Babylonian gods into Roman mythology).
So, how does all of this relate to West African religion? Well, if you look at the original curse promised to the Children of Israel, it stated that if they turned from God, it would be a curse to them, listed in minute detail. Looking at this listing of curses (see below), it has indeed been enacted, and only one group of people proves to be the lost children of Israel through the oppression they experience, oppression mirrored in the Curses of Disobedience. That group of people is black people, especially African Americans.
No other people fit the description when you look at the ways in which the Children of Israel were to be punished for their disobedience. Across the world, black people are consistently oppressed, afflicted and hated. We have been cursed in the body with diseases like high blood pressure, diabetes, AIDS, heart failure and more; we have been pursued by the sword relentlessly; many of our ancient lands have been ravaged; our families have been destroyed; and alien nations have taken over our former lands, to rule over them.
Why? Because we, the original Children of Israel, turned from God to worship the gods of other nations.
Some people may struggle to think of black people as Israelite people, but they need only look at the bible for proof of this. Egypt was referred to as the Land of Ham (Psalm 105: 23, 27 and Psalms 106: 22). Ham was the forefather of many African nations, including Cush (Genesis 10:6), Sheba (I Chronicles 1:8-9) and Egypt, which was originally recorded as Mizraim (I Chronicles 1: 8-9). Ham’s brother Shem is the forefather of the Hebrews or Eberews, named after Eber (Genesis 10:22-31). Abraham, a Hebrew and descendant of Shem, was just one of many Hebrews/Israelites who would intermingle with the descendants of Ham: Abraham had an Egyptian concubine named Hagar , Joseph became viceroy of Egypt and married an Egyptian noblewoman, many Hebrews intermarried with Egyptians while in Goshen, a city outside of Egypt, David married Bathsheba (her name means “Daughter of Sheba”), and Solomon married a number of princesses from Hamitic countries, including Egypt and Zidon. Plus, the fact that Moses unwittingly posed as an Egyptian prince is proof of his appearance allowing him to blend in with the black Egyptians.
The point is, the ancient Israelites were black people, just like the people around them. The Israeli sub-tribe of Ephraim were direct descendants of Egyptian and Hebrew culture, blood, and heritage. Therefore, it is no surprise that it would be an Ephraimite (Jeroboam) who would lead the people of Israel back to worshiping idol gods that originated in the Land of Ham, Egypt.
Long story short, the current fascination with West African religion is nothing new to the black community. It’s in our blood, which, in a way, is common knowledge. But what isn’t so common knowledge is that our tendency to return to the God of Israel is just as much a part of our heritage. Our conflict between worshiping the false gods of some of our African ancestors or worshiping the One True God of our other African ancestors…that conflict is just as much a part of our heritage as well. [I count the Ancient Israelite people as Ancient Africans, since they were intermingled with Semitic and Hamitic heritage].
If you, as a black person, want to seek after the true religion of your forefathers (not the false one that led them into bondage), seek after the One True God, who sent His Son Jesus Christ/Yeshua the Messiah to live as a blameless man, so that He could be crucified for our sins. [If you read Matthew 1:1-17, you will see that He too, in His earthly form, was a mix of Semitic and Hamitic lineage.] If we but believe in Jesus Christ and follow Him, then we can be re-grafted into the family of our Lord and Savior, a family promised many blessings if we obey.
I leave you with this verse from Isaiah 11: 11
“ And it shall come to pass in that day, that the Lord shall set his hand again the second time to recover the remnant of his people, which shall be left, from Assyria, and from Egypt, and from Pathros, and from Cush, and from Elam, and from Shinar, and from Hamath, and from the islands of the sea.”
Though Jeroboam and his family were erased from the earth for their sins, many of the kings of Israel who followed him continued to worship false idols, seeking after the idols of the nations around them.
Eventually, this second Nation of Israel (which, remember, was home to the ten tribes that left Solomon’s son Rehoboam) were lost, because of their idol worship. The only kingdom from the original Israel to remain was the Kingdom of Judah, which was eventually captured by the Babylonians (an ancient father of sorts to the Empire of Rome, as Rome appropriated many of the Babylonian gods into Roman mythology).
So, how does all of this relate to West African religion? Well, if you look at the original curse promised to the Children of Israel, it stated that if they turned from God, it would be a curse to them, listed in minute detail. Looking at this listing of curses (see below), it has indeed been enacted, and only one group of people proves to be the lost children of Israel through the oppression they experience, oppression mirrored in the Curses of Disobedience. That group of people is black people, especially African Americans.
No other people fit the description when you look at the ways in which the Children of Israel were to be punished for their disobedience. Across the world, black people are consistently oppressed, afflicted and hated. We have been cursed in the body with diseases like high blood pressure, diabetes, AIDS, heart failure and more; we have been pursued by the sword relentlessly; many of our ancient lands have been ravaged; our families have been destroyed; and alien nations have taken over our former lands, to rule over them.
Why? Because we, the original Children of Israel, turned from God to worship the gods of other nations.
Some people may struggle to think of black people as Israelite people, but they need only look at the bible for proof of this. Egypt was referred to as the Land of Ham (Psalm 105: 23, 27 and Psalms 106: 22). Ham was the forefather of many African nations, including Cush (Genesis 10:6), Sheba (I Chronicles 1:8-9) and Egypt, which was originally recorded as Mizraim (I Chronicles 1: 8-9). Ham’s brother Shem is the forefather of the Hebrews or Eberews, named after Eber (Genesis 10:22-31). Abraham, a Hebrew and descendant of Shem, was just one of many Hebrews/Israelites who would intermingle with the descendants of Ham: Abraham had an Egyptian concubine named Hagar , Joseph became viceroy of Egypt and married an Egyptian noblewoman, many Hebrews intermarried with Egyptians while in Goshen, a city outside of Egypt, David married Bathsheba (her name means “Daughter of Sheba”), and Solomon married a number of princesses from Hamitic countries, including Egypt and Zidon. Plus, the fact that Moses unwittingly posed as an Egyptian prince is proof of his appearance allowing him to blend in with the black Egyptians.
The point is, the ancient Israelites were black people, just like the people around them. The Israeli sub-tribe of Ephraim were direct descendants of Egyptian and Hebrew culture, blood, and heritage. Therefore, it is no surprise that it would be an Ephraimite (Jeroboam) who would lead the people of Israel back to worshiping idol gods that originated in the Land of Ham, Egypt.
Long story short, the current fascination with West African religion is nothing new to the black community. It’s in our blood, which, in a way, is common knowledge. But what isn’t so common knowledge is that our tendency to return to the God of Israel is just as much a part of our heritage. Our conflict between worshiping the false gods of some of our African ancestors or worshiping the One True God of our other African ancestors…that conflict is just as much a part of our heritage as well. [I count the Ancient Israelite people as Ancient Africans, since they were intermingled with Semitic and Hamitic heritage].
If you, as a black person, want to seek after the true religion of your forefathers (not the false one that led them into bondage), seek after the One True God, who sent His Son Jesus Christ/Yeshua the Messiah to live as a blameless man, so that He could be crucified for our sins. [If you read Matthew 1:1-17, you will see that He too, in His earthly form, was a mix of Semitic and Hamitic lineage.] If we but believe in Jesus Christ and follow Him, then we can be re-grafted into the family of our Lord and Savior, a family promised many blessings if we obey.
I leave you with this verse from Isaiah 11: 11
“ And it shall come to pass in that day, that the Lord shall set his hand again the second time to recover the remnant of his people, which shall be left, from Assyria, and from Egypt, and from Pathros, and from Cush, and from Elam, and from Shinar, and from Hamath, and from the islands of the sea.”
