The destruction of the Northern Kingdom of Israel was now complete. They had rejected David’s son as king, followed Jeroboam into idolatry, ignored the warnings of the prophets, so that the Lord allowed Assyria to conquer them and carry them away. Their demise is the basis for the search for the “Ten Lost Tribes.” However, such a search seems fruitless, as the Bible describes them as having intermarried with the Assyrians, so that their genealogy was lost. Yet, the tribe of Judah remained. Although along with it, much of the tribe of Benjamin, and the tribes of Simeon and Levi also remained, yet were incorporated into Judah, so that all were known as “Jews” from that point until now.
Later, Judah was also carried away by the Babylonians, but unlike the tribes of Israel, Judah did not intermarry and remained faithful to the Lord in exile. So, when they returned to Jerusalem after 70 years they were able to reinstitute Temple worship and retain their Jewish identity.
The destruction and disappearance of the Northern tribes came as a result of their rejection of the Lord as their God. Yet, the Lord patiently sent them His prophets to warn them and gave them time to repent. But they did not. Even so, the Lord has sent Jesus Christ to all nations, so that even the so-called “lost tribes” might be “found” in Him.