The Exiled Nations – Wild Donkeys

from the book YHWH Is Calling

“Israel is swallowed up; Now they are among

the Gentiles Like a vessel in which is no pleasure.

For they have gone up to Assyria,

Like a wild donkey alone by itself;

Ephraim has hired lovers.”

Hosea 8:8-9 (NKJV)

To understand the mystery of the donkey’s colt as it relates to our time, attention must be given to how God refers to the exiled nations in His Word as wild donkeys, as mentioned in the verse from the book of Hosea quoted earlier. (Regarding Judah, see also Jeremiah 2:24-28).

When considering the exile of nations, it is important to note that God declared He would give a certificate of divorce to the northern kingdom of ancient Israel (Jer. 3:8). Unlike with the southern kingdom of Judah, God dissolved the covenant (marriage) with the people of the northern kingdom. You may recall that God had entered into a (marriage) covenant with all the tribes of Israel and the foreigners associated with them at Mount Sinai, during Israel's journey from Egypt toward the Promised Land. A lesser-known fact is the renewal of this covenant through an oath, which is described in Deuteronomy chapter 29. It is worth reading that oath and the following chapter 30 carefully, because even then it is clear that God already knew Israel's apostasy would come. It is comforting, however, to read how, in those early books of the Bible, the Lord also describes the mercy that will come at the end of times, and how He will personally gather His people from among the nations and unite them once again.

To fully understand the symbolic significance of riding on a donkey's colt, it is important to remember that God, in His holiness, follows His own instructions and the law He has given with precise accuracy. Therefore, God does not simply re-betroth a people (a wild donkey) to whom He has already given a certificate of divorce. Our God forbids, in His law, the remarriage of a wife to her husband after he has given her a certificate of divorce. (This rule was given to ensure that divorces were not taken lightly, and to encourage careful consideration of the decision from the perspective of obedience to God. And let those who have made such decisions out of ignorance be at peace. As both the Old and New Testaments make clear, when God looks upon our missteps, He considers whether the sin was committed knowingly or unknowingly. So, be at peace.)

In many places, the Holy Word reveals that the mercy for the northern people would occur during the end times, in the generations to come. One day, a future generation of that exiled wild donkey people will experience what has been promised about mercy in the Scriptures. The Scriptures also explain that this event is connected to the approaching return of the Lord. Are you beginning to see the connection to the donkey's colt from a new perspective?

When we consider God's cyclical way of fulfilling His plan of salvation—where historical events that affected ancient Israel repeat themselves in the phases of the global plan of salvation—the following passages of Scripture can help us understand how the depiction of riding on a donkey is also connected to the approach of Jesus’ second coming.

“Now when they drew near Jerusalem,

and came to Bethphage, at the Mount of Olives,

then Jesus sent two disciples, saying to them,

‘Go into the village opposite you,

and immediately you will find a donkey tied, and a colt

with her. Loose them and bring them to Me.

And if anyone says anything to you, you shall say,

‘The Lord has need of them, and immediately

he will send them.’ All this was done that it might

be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet,

saying: ‘Tell the daughter of Zion,

Behold, your King is coming to you,

Lowly, and sitting on a donkey,

A colt, the foal of a donkey.’“

Matthew 21:1-5 (NKJV)

“Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion!

Shout, O daughter of Jerusalem!

Behold, your King is coming to you;

He is just and having salvation,

Lowly and riding on a donkey,

A colt, the foal of a donkey. I will cut

off the chariot from Ephraim And

the horse from Jerusalem; The battle

bow shall be cut off. He shall speak

peace to the nations; His dominion shall be

from sea to sea, And from the River to

the ends of the earth.”

Zechariah 9:9-10 (NKJV)

Although Jesus rode on a physical donkey’s colt into Jerusalem during His first coming to earth, and many received Him at that time as the promised Messiah and King, that occasion did not fully fulfill Zechariah’s prophecy regarding the taking of world kingship and the beginning of an era of peace. Therefore, the prophecy will reach its ultimate fulfillment only when Jesus returns to the Mount of Olives, as it is written.

When Jesus returns to earth and once again arrives in Jerusalem to complete the mission described in the prophecies of the Holy Scriptures, a donkey’s colt will again play a part in the events and timing. However, unlike the first time when “Hosanna” was proclaimed at the gates of Jerusalem, the role of the colt will be fulfilled by the forgiven, re-betrothed, and united assembly of believers. This group, singing "Hosanna" as a new song from their lips, awaiting the Lord and following His example, will descend from the ancient people whom the Lord once called a wild donkey, and will include many from the Gentile nations (as described in Ezekiel 37, where the Lord unites the two sticks, one representing Judah and the other Ephraim). Consider now the Gospel’s description of the events of Passover from this new perspective. It is also worth noting that the mare, said to be under the yoke, was freed along with the colt, and both were brought to the Lord.

It was only after receiving this revelation from the Spirit that I understood why the book of Job also refers to the humanization of the wild donkey's colt!

“For an empty-headed man will be wise, when

a wild donkey's colt is born a man.”

Job 11:12 (NKJV)

Think about it! How marvelous the Bible is, a book of mysteries! All future events are revealed within it, but by design, some of the mysteries are partially hidden, to be uncovered through study with the Holy Spirit and revealed at the Lord’s prompting when the time is ripe.

And the astonishing things don’t end here. Next, I want to briefly share with you how all of this is connected to our present time and the shape of Finland, the Maiden of Finland.

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Scriptures taken from the New King James Version:

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