Moreover, thou son of man, take thee one stick, and write upon it, For Judah, and for the children of Israel his companions: then take another stick, and write upon it, For Joseph, the stick of Ephraim, and for all the house of Israel his companions: Take thee one stick - alluding to Numbers 17:2, the tribal rod. The union of the two rods was a prophecy in action of the brotherly union which is to re-unite the ten tribes and Judah. As their severance under Jeroboam was fraught with the greatest evil to the covenant-people, so the first result of both being joined by the spirit of life to God is, they become joined to one another under the one covenant-King, Messiah-David.
And write upon it, For Judah, and for the children of Israel his companions - i:e., Judah, and, besides Benjamin and Levi, those who had joined themselves to him of Ephraim, Manasseh, Simeon, Ashur, Zebulun, Issachar, as having the temple and lawful priesthood in his borders (2 Chronicles 11:12-13; 2 Chronicles 11:16; 2 Chronicles 15:9; 2 Chronicles 30:11; 2 Chronicles 30:18). The latter became identified with Judah after the carrying away of the ten tribes, and returned with Judah from Babylon, and so shall be associated with that tribe at the future restoration.
Then take another stick, and write upon it, For Joseph, the stick of Ephraim, and for all the house of Israel his companions. Ephraim's posterity took the lead, not only of the other descendants of Joseph (cf. Ezekiel 37:19) but of the ton tribes of Israel. For 400 years, during the period of the Judges, with Manasseh and Benjamin, its dependent tribes, it had formerly taken the lead: Shiloh was its religious capital; Shechem its civil capital. God had transferred the birthright from Reuben, for dishonouring his father's bed, to Joseph, whose representative his son Ephraim, though younger than his brother Manasseh, was made by his grandfather, Jacob (Genesis 48:19; 1 Chronicles 5:1). From the pre-eminence of Ephraim, "Israel" is attached to him as "companions." The "all" in this case, not in that of Judah, which has only attached as "companions" "the children of Israel" (i:e., some of them-namely, those who followed the fortunes of Judah), implies that the bulk of the ten tribes did not return at the restoration from Babylon, but is and shall continue distinct from Judah until the coming union with that tribe at the restoration.