'The dispersed of Judah' are said to be 'in the four corners of the

earth' (Isa. 11:12), and the prophetic import of this scattering is

crystallized in the opprobrious epithets 'the Ubiquitous Jew' and 'the

Wandering Jew'.  Passages could be multiplied to show that God Himself

scattered Israel as a punishment for their sins, as it is written 'He that

scattered Israel, will gather him' (Jer. 31:10).  Nevertheless, just as in

the preaching of the gospel the Lord stoops to use human instruments (Rom.

10:14), so the animosity of the nations against Israel often furthered,

unwittingly, the Divine purpose:

'For, behold, in those days, and in that time, when I shall bring again

the captivity of Judah and Jerusalem, I will also gather all nations,

and will bring them down into the valley of Jehoshaphat, and will plead

with them there for My people and for My heritage Israel, whom they

have scattered among the nations, and parted My land' (Joel 3:1,2).

From New Testament and from Old Testament alike we find sufficient

evidence to refer to Israel as 'the Scattered People', but whether Isaiah

18:7 refers to Israel is a moot point.

Let us now turn to the other side of the picture, and see whether we

are justified in calling Israel 'the Gathered People' as we look to the end

of prophecy and the day of restoration spoken of by all the holy prophets

since the world began (Acts 3:19 -21).  Whether Israel will be gathered by

the consent and help of the nations of the earth, whether they will be

gathered by miraculous intervention, or a combination of both, it stands

written: 'He that scattered Israel, will gather him', and justifies our

closest attention to the terms used in the associations revealed.  The Hebrew

word that must occupy our attention is the word qabats, and Brown, Driver and

Brigg's Lexicon tells us that in the Sabean the word means a 'harvest', and

in many if not in all references, the harvest of either the wheat or the

tares, a gathering either for blessing or for judgment is implied.

Again, it will be necessary to make a selection from the great number

of references that are found in the Old Testament to the gathering of Israel.

One of the fullest promises, and supplying us with some of the necessary

conditions associated with this gathering is found in Deuteronomy 30:1 -6.

If in their captivity Israel 'call to mind' the threat of cursing and the

promise of blessing, if they 'return unto the Lord' and obey His voice, then

said God, I will turn their captivity and have compassion upon them 'and will

return and gather thee from all the nations, whither the Lord thy God hath

scattered thee', even though they were driven to the outmost parts of heaven.

These the Lord promises He will bring into the land which their fathers

possessed, and they shall possess it.

From this initial prophecy, several important features emerge.

The gathering of scattered Israel will be contingent upon their

repentance.  If Israel and Judah return to the land in unbelief that will not

be the gathering of the Lord, but a human attempt to bring about the

restoration by evil means, which will end in disaster, and such an abortive

movement has taken place, with disastrous consequences in our own time.

All Israel is in view in Deuteronomy 30.  The subdivision of the

Ten Tribes and the Two Tribes is not envisaged.  It matters not where the