The Sons of Jacob Promised Return Series – The Tribe of Reuben
I recall as a young marine, I was deployed on board a military ship for many months. After seven long months, I was finally coming home to my home port in Honolulu, Hawaii. My daughter was nine months old when I left. When I returned, she was sixteen months and had learned to walk and talk, and I had missed her so much. When the ship pulled into our pier in Honolulu, families were gathered on the pier to greet their sailors and marines.
All the crew on the ship were on the deck, standing at attention as our ship pulled to the dock. The national anthem was playing as men saluted the flag. A chill ran up and down my back as I realized I was returning to one of the greatest nations on earth. Then, that solemn moment was suddenly interrupted by the voice of a little girl crying out, “Look! There’s my daddy!” Tears flowed as servicemen came to the pier to greet their families.
The mandated return of the scattered tribes of Israel is no less dramatic. God is drawing the Jewish people to return to their homeland from all over the world. In the year 2022, there was a record-breaking number of Jews returning. Those making Aliyah back to Israel were up from thirty-four thousand (34,000) in 2019 to sixty-five thousand (65,000) in 2022. It was reported those returning increased by over one hundred twenty-eight percent (128%) in this past year. In the past decade, Jews moving back to Israel came from one hundred fifty (150) countries. (According to the Jewish Agency for Israel). The Airlines landing carried multiple families from places like Ethiopia and Europe. When they landed, tears flowed as they realized they had returned home for the first time. Many bowed down and kissed the land as they realized they were home! (Jewishagency.org)
We cannot effectively pray for the return of these tribes unless we know their history and the promises God made to them. The truth is not one in ten Christians knows the names of the 12 Tribes of Israel or what they were like.
Returning Tribes Today
The 12-Tribes Described
The tribes are returning home at an ever-increasing rate which is a sign of the end times that God is moving to fulfill the mandated return of the tribes. The words of the prophet Ezekiel are literally being fulfilled in our day:
“For I will take you from among the nations, gather you out of all countries, and bring you into your own land.” Ezekiel 36:24
Who are the scattered tribes? Who are the Twelve Sons of Jacob, and where will they return to as their inheritance is restored according to the prophecies of God? In looking at these tribes, I asked, what are the prophetic promises God gave them? What did the prophets say about them? What can we learn from their history and how can we pray for their restored inheritance?
REUBEN. The Sons of Jacob start with his firstborn Reuben.
Reuben is the first son of Leah. His name means “to behold a son.” His name invites us to see and know Jacob’s sons. The symbol of this tribe is the mandrake flower which he gave to his mother. (Gen. 30:14-18)
Restored inheritance (Description)
Moses declared of this tribe, “Let Reuben live, and not die, nor let his men be few” (Deut. 33:36). Reuben’s tribe helped build an altar at the entrance into the Promised Land at the River Jordan. (Joshua 22:11). The lands appointed to Reuben were on the east side of the Jordan River and the Dead Sea.
Reuben is called “The First-born of my strength by Jacob. Part of his land was split between Ephraim and Manasseh. His land is restored to him in Ezekiel 48:6. Reuben slept with his father’s maidservant, Bilhah. He was the one who persuaded his brothers not to kill Joseph. He is described as having a sense of responsibility over his brothers and his four sons, described by Jacob on his deathbed as having dignity and power, but being fickle and hot-tempered and unstable as water. (Genesis 49:3-4). The good news is that this tribe is being called back to restoration to its original purpose by God.
In restoration of the tribes, God will restore them to their destiny and intended strengths. Each had faults, as all men, but God brings out the strengths in those that He redeems.
The Promise of Restoration for the Tribes
God, in His promise of the return (Aliyah) of the Twelve Tribes, let it be known to us that this mandate of return is based on his mercy and not man’s worthiness. He both qualifies and prepares them to inherit the promised land in a restored covenant with Him.
24 For I will take you from among the nations, gather you out of all countries, and bring you into your own land. 25 Then I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean; I will cleanse you from all your filthiness and from all your idols. 26 I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. 27 I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will keep My judgments and do them. 28 Then you shall dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers; you shall be My people, and I will be your God.” (NKJV)
Why does God tell us He is bringing the tribes back home?
22 “Therefore say to the house of Israel, ‘Thus says the Lord God: “I do not do this for your sake, O house of Israel, but for My holy name’s sake.” (Ezekiel 36:22)
The reason God is bringing back the tribes for “His name’s sake” is because He made a promise. He always keeps His covenant promises. We are told, “Not one of all the Lord’s good promises to the house of Israel had failed.” (Joshua 21:45).
He establishes them in the land of Israel and then He makes a covenant of peace with them followed by restoring His sanctuary or temple in their midst.
“Moreover, I will make a covenant of peace with them, and it shall be an everlasting covenant with them; I will establish them and multiply them, and I will set My sanctuary in their midst forevermore. The nations also will know that I, the LORD (Yahweh), sanctify Israel, when My sanctuary (temple) is in their midst forevermore.” Ezek. 37:27-28.
The Voice of Aliyah is being heard in the Nations for Reuben
Declaration of Return for the Tribe of Reuben
“Reuben, who was the first-born of Jacob’s strength – you shall return to your former glory and to the land of your inheritance. The altar at the river Jordan you helped build is a witness to the mighty power of God to restore you in the land appointed to you. (Joshua 22:10). You shall return to this land and once again bear witness to God’s deliverance. Like the mandrake you gave your mother, you will reflect the beauty of God’s love in this land of your inheritance.” Hear the voice of Hashem calling you home to restoration and blessings, so you will know His holy name in the land of your forefathers. (Gen. 30:14).
Location of the Land of Reuben just east of the Red Sea
See the map below showing the locations of the tribes in biblical times.
Where is the scattered tribe of Reuben in the nations today?
One theory is that the tribe of Reuben went to France. In the Book of Obadiah 1:20, Obadiah prophesies the tribes of Israel are going as far as “Tserefat. The word “Tserefat” is a Hebrew word for France. The French also colonized Canada, which uses the symbol of the lily which looks like the mandrake flower representing the Tribe of Reuben. No one can say for sure where all the scattered tribes are in the nations, but God knows and has promised to bring them home.
God has promised all the families of the earth will be blessed because of Abraham and his descendants. We pray for the return of Jacob’s sons because their return means blessings are returning in a greater measure to the land of Israel.
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