Wednesday: God and Israel
“Now therefore, if ye will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant, then ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto me above all people: for all the earth is mine: And ye shall be unto me a kingdom of priests, and an holy nation. These are the words which thou shalt speak unto the children of Israel” (Exodus 19:5-6).
Image © Steve Creitz at Goodsalt.com
In these verses the Lord is proposing His covenant with the children of Israel. Though in one sense the Lord has called them, that calling is not automatically bestowed upon them without their choice. They had to cooperate. Even their deliverance from Egypt involved their cooperation: If they did not do what the Lord said (such as putting the blood on the doorposts), they would not have been delivered. It was that simple.
Here, too, the Lord does not say to them, “Whether you like it or don’t like it — you will be a peculiar treasure unto Me and a nation of priests.” That is not how it works, and that is not what the text says.
Read Exodus 19:5-6, quoted above. How do you understand what the Lord is saying in the context of salvation by faith? Does the command included there to obey the Lord somehow nullify the concept of salvation by grace? How do the following texts help you to understand the answer? Romans 3:19-24; Romans 6:1-2; Romans 7:7; Revelation 14:12.
“We do not earn salvation by our obedience; for salvation is the free gift of God, to be received by faith. But obedience is the fruit of faith.” — Ellen G. White, Steps to Christ, p. 61.
Think of what the Lord was willing to do for the nation of Israel: not only did He miraculously deliver them from Egyptian bondage, but He wanted to make them His own treasured possession, a nation of priests. Basing their relationship with Him upon His salvation (both temporal, as from Egyptian slavery, and eternal), the Lord sought to elevate them to a spiritual, intellectual, and moral level that would make them the wonder of the ancient world. All for the purpose of using them to preach the gospel to the nations. All they had to do, in response, was obey.
| In what ways should our personal, one-on-one experience with the Lord reflect that same principle we see here in today’s study? |
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An integral part of the covenants is that the blessing is to be shared with others. Sometimes, when the winners of one of the big lottery draws make the headlines in the news, Carmel says that if she won a big one, she would give most of it away to family members and folk who are needier than we are. Now there is not much chance of her winning the lottery; she has never bought a ticket in one in her life. But I understand what she is saying. What is the point of sitting on a pile of money and possessions when you have the opportunity to make other people happy? As Steve Jobs said, "There is no advantage in being the richest person in the cemetery!"
We often think of the covenants in terms of an agreement between us and God. And we often come to the end conclusion that it is about our salvation. But we need another perspective. It is about how God wants to communicate salvation to others as well.
The priests responsible for organising the crucifixion of Jesus had this to say:
They missed the whole point of Jesus' ministry and death. It wasn't about him; it was about others!
The Israelites were to be a blessing to others. That was the active part of the covenant.
The image for today shows the smoke going up from the continual sacrifices and a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night over the mercy seat in the Most Holy Place and these were visible to all the Israelites through out the camp. Whenever the cloud moved then they moved when it remained over the tabernacle they camped at that spot. How wonderful to have a visible sign of the presence of the LORD wherever they went to guide them.
We have the Word of the LORD in our minds and the Holy Spirit in our hearts to guide us every day.
Exo 40:34-38 KJV Then a cloud covered the tent of the congregation, and the glory of the LORD filled the tabernacle. (35) And Moses was not able to enter into the tent of the congregation, because the cloud abode thereon, and the glory of the LORD filled the tabernacle. (36) And when the cloud was taken up from over the tabernacle, the children of Israel went onward in all their journeys: (37) But if the cloud were not taken up, then they journeyed not till the day that it was taken up. (38) For the cloud of the LORD was upon the tabernacle by day, and fire was on it by night, in the sight of all the house of Israel, throughout all their journeys.
I will sing of the mercies of the Lord for ever: with my mouth will I make known thy faithfulness to all generations. Ps 89:1
Maurice you said- 'The Israelites were to be a blessing to others. That was the active part of the covenant.'
I am asking, we say we are spiritual Israelites- in what ways are we a blessing to others? Do we have an active part of the covenant?
Shirley you said- 'How wonderful to have a visible sign of the presence of the LORD wherever they went to guide them.'
I am asking, did the Israelite recognized the presence of God at that time? In our times, is it only the bible we have? How does one have the Holy Words in their minds and hearts?
God and Israel
Exod 19:5-6. Are we overlooking Exod 19:1-4. What was happening at that time? Three months after leaving Egypt the people reached Sinai. The Lord invited Moses up with him and had a conversation with him. The Lord told Moses what is expected from the Israelites. At that time the people were expected to serve God by resting their faith on what they saw, both in Egypt deliverance and what took place in the wilderness.
Ques- What was the Lord expected/wanted them to obey? Was it based on somethings past or on the future, or both?
Ans - Both. They were expected to obey His voice, and his Covenant (comprises of the 5 laws). Jer 31:33 and Heb 10:16.
'In what ways should our personal, one-on-one experience with the Lord reflect that same principle we see here in today’s study?'
Are we expected to obey? Does obeying has to do with faith alone or faith and works?
Thank you for the thought-provoking questions Lyn. In Strong's concordance "obey" (šāma) is cited 1159 times in the KJV.
It is translated as follows:
hear (785x), hearken (196x), obey (81x), publish (17x), understand (9x), obedient (8x), diligently (8x), shew (6x), sound (3x), declare (3x), discern (2x), noise (2x), perceive (2x), tell (2x), reported (2x), miscellaneous (33x).
As you can see, "obey" (šāma) is most commonly translated as hear/hearken by a wide margin but appears to be almost exclusively interpreted by the lesson authors as obey/obedient although that interpretation only applies 8% of the time.
Example: Exodus 19:9 And the Lord said to Moses, “Behold, I am coming to you in a thick cloud, that the people may hear (šāma) when I speak with you, and may also believe you forever.”
Isn't it possible that God was saying "listen carefully to what I'm going to do for you..."
and the Israelites replied "we'll do it ourselves" (Exodus 19:8; Exodus 24:3).
I understand your focus Sieg, but if we look at what Samuel tells Saul(1 Sam 15:22), don't we see the similarity between "obey", and "hearken"? The end result God desires is righteous deeds and words from all who are formed in His image. This means that we must choose to "live by every word that proceeds from...God". Paul also tells us that "faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God", and this faith will result in obedience, or it is not faith. Paul also tells us that those who merely hear the law will not be justified, only those who do the law(obedience) will be justified.
God is inviting sinners to "come now, and let us reason together", and if we hear what God wishes us to know and understand, our choices will lead to better actions. God wants us to be saved from sin/sinning, which results in godly behavior seen in all our words and actions. God wants all to worship Him "in spirit and in truth". Belief effects actions, and results in "every good work"(2 Tim 3:17). God will judge all by their works, not their professed "belief".
God is not looking for puppets to manipulate, but people who will reason, and recognize the sinfulness of sin, and its effect on the sinner, and its final destruction. What He does is show His goodness by providing a means to offer forgiveness to any who will believe and repent of sin. We are left with choices to make which will result in sanctified actions. If we step forward in faith, God will supply the means/power, but He cannot force any against their will.
The people at Sinai responded correctly, but broke their promise when they transgressed the law they promised to keep, yet not all of them. Many remained faithful to their promise to obey the Lord. Good intentions are fine IF we act on them. We must choose to act since God will never force the will, and can do nothing for those who choose to act in disobedience.
Lyn, Absolutely the Israelites recognized the presence of the LORD in the cloud - why else would they follow it when it moved - no human could have made the cloud move. Plus they had just heard the voice of the LORD from Mt Sinai, plus all the other miracles in their journey from Egypt and while they wandered in the wilderness.
You asked "How does one have the Word of the LORD in our hearts and minds?" As I said we use our intelligence to read and study the Word of the LORD and we invite the Holy Spirit to dwell in our hearts to lead us into all truth and to transform our character to be like Jesus' Character.
As the Holy Spirit through Moses said:
Deu 6:4-9 MKJV Hear, O, Israel. the LORD our God is one LORD. (5) And you shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. (6) And these words which I command you this day shall be in your heart. (7) And you shall carefully teach them to your sons, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise up. (8) And you shall bind them for a sign upon your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. (9) And you shall write them upon the posts of your house, and on your gates.
This is how the Word of the LORD becomes part of our lives - by continual repetition and putting them into practice.
Lyn asks: we say we are spiritual Israelites- in what ways are we a blessing to others?
Jesus interacted with sinners. He ate with publicans. He set the example of helping and respecting others.
Do we have an active part of the covenant?
Yes. The covenants are not just about knowledge, but action. What is the use of knowing about electricity and doing nothing with it except expounding its theory. ...likewise with our Christianity.
Maurice- I am asking about spiritual Israelites. Jesus was a physical Israelite. What are we doing in our church/congregations that will help others different from the same old, same old? How is the church moving on in these end day times? Are we, the church just a social club or are we here for mission as ambassadors for the kingdom?
Our obedience is just as much a work of God as our salvation and comes from that salvation. It has to be about God, because in my own power, I can't obey. I can obey the letter of the law. But if my heart isn't right, can I really obey the spirit of the law? Not so easy.
I was baptized at the age of 13. Somehow I must have got the impression that I would not sin anymore when I was baptized. I was terribly disappointed to find that was not true - as soon as the next day when I got annoyed with my family. I wondered what had happened. I loved God and committed to following Him. So why was I acting like this? Unfortunately, just loving God doesn't automatically make behaviors like this go away. We need to be transformed by Him.
God is offering a choice(notice the “IF”?), and a clear path to salvation. We are left to choose, and accept by faith or reject through unbelief. It doesn't matter our profession, our true condition will be seen in our works which we will be judged by. Do we know and follow the will of God or not???
Jesus taught: “Come unto Me...take my yoke upon you and learn of me...”, and “if any man will come after Me, let him deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me”. Again, a choice is given and salvation offered, to be accepted by faith in all who “believe in Him”.
Well, irony of ironies, last week as we studied the lesson a new round of violence and bloodshed resumed between Israel and the Palestinians, with Hamas firing rockets at Jerusalem from Gaza followed by Israel's robust response. Unfortunately, the world has grown accustomed to this chronic conflict which, very unfortunately, has its roots in our current study.
In my last post (5/8/21 under "Abraham's Seed"), just two days before the Hamas rocket attacks began, I raised this question, "Were the thousands of lives lost in numerous conflicts over land possession a part of God's plan when He entered into the covenant with Abraham and promised him that "in your seed all the families of the earth shall be blessed" Gen 28:14 (NKJV)?". I'm raising this question again because, generally, Christians across the globe, and particularly certain evangelicals in the United States, aren't neutral on their views regarding this matter. However, I believe that for those who like Abraham are looking for "the city which has foundations, whose builder and maker is God" (Heb 11:10 (NKJV), by staying true to the "apostles' doctrine" (Act 2:42), are released from the anxiety of "standing with Israel" or with the Palestinians.
Through the most unlikely of ministers, God uses the apostle Paul to drop the equivalent of an atomic bomb of a revelation on a God-fearing community when he was inspired to write Gal 3:16,14,26,29. What impact should God's revelation have had on the Judeo-Christian recipients? It should have turned our attention away from nation-building within a physical land, like Abraham (Heb 11:9-10).
The implication of Gal 3:16 is huge! Despite the clear, specificity in the language of Gen 17:19 (NKJV) where God says, "No, Sarah your wife shall bear you a son, and you shall call his name ISAAC; I will establish MY COVENANT WITH HIM for an EVERLASTING COVENANT, and WITH HIS DESCENDANTS AFTER HIM", Paul appears to counter by saying essentially, "not Isaac, but Christ and His offspring" (Gal 3:16,26,29; Php 3:3). This teaching circumvents Abraham's physical son, Isaac, and his entire lineage--until Christ's incarnation. Then things get weird.
Ironically, but in line with prophecy, the physical descendants of Isaac would take on an Ishmael-like characteristic (Gen 21:9-10 (NKJV) against the true Messenger of the Covenant (Mal 3:1; Jn 1:11; Act 3:22-26) and His offspring (Act 9:1-5; Jn 16:1-4). Paul, in accord with Peter's sermon, would continue to drop more bombshell revelation by identifying Ishmael with Jerusalem (Gal 4:24-25), and declaring its judgment (Gal 4:28-30) in alignment with Christ's (Mt 23:37-38).
I encourage those who consider themselves to be "Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise", to do like Abraham (Heb 11:10) and the Messenger of the Covenant (Lk 12:13-15) and divest ourselves of transient, earthly concerns (Lam 2:14-15). May sharing the riches of our Christ-provided inheritance (Gal 3:8,14) ever be our primary interest.