The transition from slavery to freedom was an offer the 12 tribes of Israel could not reject. Along with a “mixed multitude” of believing Gentiles (captives of Egypt’s mighty war machine–Exo. 12:38), they exited Egypt with Moses in front of them and The Word, later to become Jesus of Nazareth, behind them (1 Cor. 10:4/ Jn. 1:1-4,14). It is estimated that between one and three million Israelites and Gentile slaves exited Egypt on that fateful night thousands of years ago. Within days they were at the foot of Mt. Sinai, also known as Mt. Horeb, where they came into direct contact with the living God Who appeared to them in a cloud of smoke, fire, light and sound. Read The God of the Old Testament. Key word–Old.

Following God’s call for them to obey “My voice” (what He would tell them,) and their agreement to do so, the Almighty spoke the Ten Commandments audibly (His “voice”) and wrote them in stone. The Israelites had agreed to obey those commandments (the Law) which was a miniature version of what would become the Holy Bible which would contain what are called the Old and New Testaments. Actually, what man has divided into two books is in reality one Book. The so-called “New Testament” is the continuation of the so-called “Old Testament.” It is all one testament (God’s covenant with mankind). There should be no break between the two “books.”

Malachi ends with the Lord’s promise to send “Elijah the prophet” who would prepare the world for the coming Messiah. Matthew picks up the story line in his first chapter where he describes both the birth of the Messiah and John the Baptist’s ministry of introducing Him to the world. “Elijah the prophet” was John the Baptist who came “in the spirit and power of Elijah” (Lk. 1:17), just as Malachi had foretold. The Messiah came as Jesus of Nazareth, a carpenter whose real job was the salvation of mankind. The Holy Scriptures comprise one book, one Gospel, one written account of who and what God and Christ are and their past and present work with Israel and those who would join her in obedience to and worship of the Godhead.

The Gospel Jesus preached to the people during His time on earth was not new. He (the Scripture) had earlier preached that same Gospel to Abraham, then later to the children of Israel through His prophets. Read Galatians 3:8/ Hebrews 4:2 and Romans 9:17. “Them” in Hebrews 4:2 refers to the Israelites who wandered around in the Sinai wilderness for 40 years after rebelling against God (3:17-19). Before Abraham was, Jesus (the Word/the Scripture/the God of the Old Testament) existed–John 8:58–AND SO DID HIS GOSPEL. Remember: HE IS THE SAME YESTERDAY, TODAY AND FOREVER. HE IS THE GOD WHO CHANGES NOT. Man claims that He lied, that He has changed. Man is the liar.

Jesus came to earth to “magnify the (Ten Commandment) Law and make it honorable (again)” (Isa. 42:21). Both Jesus and John proclaimed that in order to please God and enter His kingdom one had to “… repent and obey the (ten) commandments” (the Law)– Mat. 3:2/ Mk. 1:15. Notice that the people had to repent of breaking the Ten Commandment Law (1 Jn. 3:4). Then they had to obey it. The Ten Commandments cover every act a human being can perform, whether mental or physical. Actually, the first two commandments are a summary of the entire Law. This is why it is written that “… upon these two commandments hang the entire (Ten Commandment) Law” (Mat. 22:40). The Word “hang” was used because, unlike English in which words are written upon the line below them, Hebrew words hang from the line above them, and are written from right to left. Back to Mt. Sinai.

A former nation of slaves has been given the privilege of being ambassadors for the God Who had freed them. The Israelites accepted God’s offer and agreed to the terms of the covenant He had offered them, thereby becoming His peculiar treasure above all other people (Exo. 19:5,6;24:2). Israel was to become a holy nation, a people sanctified (set apart) by God for holy use. We know from several Scriptural sources that Israel’s job was to be God’s light to the Gentile (heathen) world. The Israelites shared a wonderful genetic background in that their ancestral fathers were none other than Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, whose name was changed to Israel, meaning power with God.

God had a great purpose for Israel to fulfill. Abraham’s faithfulness led Him to make the patriarch two promises, one of which was the birthright promise which guaranteed his descendants unparalleled blessings that would be bestowed upon them (the nation of Israel). The other promise was that one of Abraham’s descendants would be a blessing to the entire world. That blessing was that the God whom ancient Israel heard at Mt. Sinai would come to earth again as a man and die for the sins of the world. Read Jesus of Nazareth: God, Man or God-man.

The Israelites were to have one overriding purpose that would guide everything they would do in their service to their God:. THAT PURPOSE WAS TO BRING GLORY TO HIM BY OBEYING HIS LAW.. Read Deuteronomy 10:17,21. Notice that when they agreed to obey His “voice” (Exo. 19:5) He wrote His “voice” in stone which He placed in an ark protected by two powerful angels. Those stone-etched Words comprised His Law which both Israelites and Gentiles must obey in order to receive eternal life. Nothing has changed relative to His attitude toward obedience to the Ten Commandments. However, man took spiritual hammer and chisel in hand and removed God’s Sabbath day. He then doubled the abominable act by embracing the sun worshipers’ sabbath on which they pay homage to their god–the sun–on his day which is called “The venerable (holy) day of the sun.” All who follow in the Lawbreakers’ sabbath footsteps join them in the worship of their god on his weekly sabbath day–SUNDAY. God, through the Apostle James, said that to break one commandment is to break the entire Law, making one a worker of INIQUITY (GK.–LAWLESSNESS–Mat. 7:21-23). Read the series on the Sabbath, using that word as the key. Sabbath breakers believe they are honoring God by rebelling against His Law. Who else but Satan could pull off such a deception? Read Revelation 12:9.

Instead of glorifying God by obeying Him and receiving His promised blessings, Israel rebelled against Him. Time and time again she would rebel; He would send them into military defeat and enslavement; they would repent; He would raise them up and free them; they would rebel again; He would free them again; …. This happened many times. With the exception of a few true believers, Israel, the nation He had called to be his light to the Gentile world, failed to fulfill her commission. In time God’s patience ran out, prompting Him to send armies (Assyria and Babylon) against them who defeated them, enslaved them and eventually scattered them throughout the world where, with the exception of the Jews (tribes of Judah and Benjamin), they became known as The Lost Ten Tribes of Israel. Read Who and Where is Israel Today? Key word–Where?

Israel was created to be God’s peculiar people, His nation of priests, His holy people who would take His Gospel to the heathen world and shine as a light before them through obedience to it. In so doing they, they would glorify Him. Israel failed miserably. However, because of His rule that “the gifts and calling of God are without repentance ” (Rom. 11:29), He did not release Israel from her responsibilities relative to the rest of the world. He had called them and they would answer His call, though at a later date and in a different form.

He would make a new covenant with all 12 tribes of Israel–the descendants of those He had addressed at Mt. Sinai. The new covenant would feature a power element–the Holy Spirit. Physical Israel would become “spiritual Israel” (God’s church) and would have everything they needed to get the job done. Surely spiritual Israel–the descendants of ancient Israel–now empowered by the Holy Spirit, would obey Him, become His light to the Gentiles and glorify Him before the heathen world. To help Israel relative to her task, her God would come to earth as a man to lead her and prove to her that she could do what she had been commissioned to do. L.J.