QUOTE (Here Am I @ Aug 24 2008, 09:32 AM)

"And the priests and the Levites that [were] in all Israel resorted to him out of all their coasts.
For the Levites left their suburbs and their possession, and came to Judah and Jerusalem: for Jeroboam and his sons had cast them off from executing the priest's office unto the LORD" 2Chron. 11:13-14
"And after them out of ALL the tribes of Israel such as set their hearts to seek the LORD God of Israel came to Jerusalem, to sacrifice unto the LORD God of their fathers. v.:16
So they strengthened the kingdom of Judah, and made Rehoboam the son of Solomon strong, three years: for three years they walked in the way of David and Solomon." v.17
The Levites and the godly remnant left Israel and defected to Judah under Rehoboam's rule to flee the state-sponsored idolatry under Jereboam's rule in Judah. They refused to live in a kingdom where worshipping God as He commanded was against the law.
This means that since the days of Jeroboam the southern kingdom of Judah was made up not only of the tribes of Judah and Benjamin, but also of a godly remnant from all the ten northern tribes. Every tribe was represented. In verse 14: ...Jereboam and his sons. i.e. his successors, indicates that migrating to Judah was a process that continued down through the years.
Consequently, the House of Judah are not only represented by the two southern tribes of Judah and Benjamin, but are representative of each of the 10 northern tribes, also.
The house of Judah (
Judah, Benjamin and Levi) did have some "
true worshippers" stay or go back to worship in the temple so it could be said that, as you and Bullinger stated....."
Because of that Judah was thus always representative of "all Israel.'" But, the majority of the northern kingdom did not stay or go back to worship and they are the house of Israel. Then, of course, they were taken captive two hundred years before the house of Judah and unlike the house of Judah....they never returned.
Hosea 1:10-11 Yet the number of the children of Israel shall be as the sand of the sea, which cannot be measured nor numbered; and it shall come to pass, that in the place where it was said unto them, Ye are not my people, there it shall be said unto them, Ye are the sons of the living God. 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.
Hosea wrote those words in the eighth century BC, close to the time when Israel was exiled to Assyria. The Book of Kings was written after Judah returned from their exile in Babylon (two hundred years later) and this was said then:
11 Kings 17:22-23 For the children of Israel walked in all the sins of Jeroboam which he did; they departed not from them; Until the Lord removed Israel out of his sight, as he had said by all his servants the prophets. So was Israel carried away out of their own land to Assyria unto this day.
So to me, although some folks of the northern tribes stayed or returned to worship I don't see that as Judah being representative of the northern tribes....although some of the tribes became part of Judah.
Anyway....that is something to consider in all this.