THE FIRST TESTAMENT
When God called Abram, it was His original intent to make of his seed a great nation. To accomplish His purpose He allowed the descendants of Abram to be cradled and conditioned in the most advanced culture of that day. Because of its fortunate situation on either side of the River Nile, Egypt had become "the breadbasket of the world." In order to transport the circumcised desert-wanderers into Egypt, divine providence employed famine, human jealousy and hostility, lies, and perfidy. It was a supreme demonstration that God can take even the vagaries and errors of humankind and direct them to the fulfillment of His ultimate design.
In Egypt the descendants of Jacob were first accorded royal treatment, but later reduced to the status of slaves. In spite of dire bondage with its hardships, the people thrived under protection from on high. The seventy souls who went down into that country with Jacob multiplied in number until they probably exceeded two million. When the proper time came, they were freed from bondage and started on the way to the land that was to be peculiarly theirs, according to promise. Without realizing it, the ruling Pharaoh had been an instrument in training the slaves to develop the very qualities essential to their attainment of nationhood. The family of the Messiah was ready to become the nation of the Messiah.
God reveals himself in a manner adapted to the state of things existing when the revelation is given. Since the cardinal purpose was to make a nation to keep alive in the minds of men the existence of one true God, it was necessary to impress upon all nations the significance of His selection of Israel as a nation separate from all others. At that time when "every nation made gods of their own" (Cp. 2 Kings 17:29), the feeling was universal that the power of a god could be determined by two factors. One was the state of the people over whose fate he was alleged to preside, and the other was the works of wonder performed in their behalf. If a nation prospered materially, was strong in battle, and triumphed over others, it was conceded that the god of such a nation was a powerful deity.
To gain a proper degree of respect and reverence for himself and the chosen people, God accepted this criterion and proceeded to demonstrate His superiority. Since His people were slaves in Egypt, the first manifestation of power was against that nation and its gods. He selected as an ambassador one who had been reared and educated in the king's palace, but who had become a political exile under charge of homicide. God sent him to the royal court with a positive ultimatum to the Pharaoh to let His people go. When the haughty monarch denied any knowledge of the God of Israel, it became necessary for God to show His divinity. To be effective to mankind, any proof divine power must be supernatural and capable of being fully perceived.
Ten different demonstrations were manifested in Egypt. The first three were simply to prove that Jehovah was the Lord. "And the Egyptians shall know that I am the Lord, when I stretch forth my hand upon Egypt" (Exodus 7:5; KJV). The next three were to demonstrate that He was also God in Egypt and that the deities of the land were impotent before Him. To this end He drew a line of demarcation between Goshen, the province where Israel dwelt, and the rest of Egypt. "I will sever in that day the land of Goshen, in which my people dwell, that no swarms of flies shall be there; to the end thou mayest know that I am the Lord in the midst of the earth. And I will put a division between my people and thy people: to morrow shall this sign be" (Exodus 8:22, 23; KJV). Goshen was unaffected by the succeeding disasters that paralyzed the remainder of the country.
The third series of three catastrophic events advanced one more step. They proved that there was none like Him in all the earth. "'This time I will send all my plagues upon your heart, and upon your servants and your people, that you may know there is none like me in all the earth. For by now I could have put forth my hand and struck you and your people with pestilence, and you would have been cut off from the earth; but for this purpose have I let you live, to show you my power, so that my name may be declared throughout all the earth.'" (Exodus 9:14-16; RSV).
At the very birth of the nation, the final blow to Egypt was destined to prove that this God was a master of all gods. He proposed to deliver these bondslaves without revolt, clash of arms, or loss of a single life among them. At this time Egypt was the mightiest nation on earth. The Pharaoh was feared above every other earthly monarch. On the night appointed for Israel's deliverance, the slaves demanded of their masters jewelry of silver and gold. God moved upon the hearts of the Egyptians to grant this request. Another factor entering into the transaction was the reputation that Moses had gained in the eyes of the Egyptians, by reason of the mighty works done through him (Exodus 11:3).
At midnight the death angel passed through the land with terrible execution. He smote all of the firstborn, "from the firstborn of Pharaoh that sat on his throne unto the firstborn of the captive that was in the dungeon; and all the firstborn of cattle" (Exodus 12:29; KJV). Yet, "against any of the people of Israel shall not a dog move his tongue" (11:7). There was a great cry of anguish in Egypt, for there was not a house in which there was not one dead. The agonized Pharaoh did not wait until morning. He summoned Moses and Aaron by night and said, "Rise up, and get you forth from among my people, both ye and the children of Israel; and go, serve the Lord, as ye have said. Also take your flocks and your herds, as ye have said, and be gone; and bless me also" (12:31, 32).
When the full realization of what he had done dawned upon the Pharaoh, he changed his mind, and decided to pursue the Israelites and return them to slavery. The Israelites trembled when they saw the approaching Egyptians, but Moses said, "'Fear not, stand firm, and see the salvation of the Lord, which he will work for you today; for the Egyptians whom you see today, you shall never see again. The Lord will fight for you, and you have only to be still'" (Exodus 14:13, 14; RSV). Lifting his rod over the waters of the Red Sea, he caused them to part by the power of God. The people of Israel marched through the sea on dry ground, and the Egyptian cavalry, attempting to follow, were all drowned.
So mighty was this feat that many years later Moses asked, "'Has any god ever attempted to go and take a nation for himself from the midst of another nation, by trials, by signs, by wonders, and by war, by a mighty hand and an outstretched arm, and by great terrors, according to all that the Lord your God did for you in Egypt before your eyes? To you it was shown, that you might know that the Lord is God; there is no other besides him'" (Deuteronomy 4:34, 35; RSV). The expression, "take a nation for himself," is a key phrase in any study of the relationship of God to Israel. In fulfilling His design God showed His superiority to the gods of the most prosperous and flourishing nation of the day.
It is one thing to lead a group of slaves from the land of bondage, and a wholly different matter to weld them into a nation. To accomplish the latter, the first thing required is some system of laws or a constitution, by which the people shall be governed. In a theocracy such a constitution would have to be in the nature of an announced covenant. Accordingly, after God had freed the people of Israel, He did not allow them to take the direct route to Canaan, which would have led them by the way of the Philistine garrisons. Instead, God turned them southward toward Mount Sinai, and around the base of this peak they established their camp. Here God made known His intention to submit to the people en masse the question of whether or not they would be willing to enter into the covenant relationship with Him, accepting such responsibility as would be entailed. Thus, the Creator preserved the dignity and respected the will of creatures made in His own image, although He was under no obligation to deal with them on this exalted level.
Moses, the mediator, was summoned to come up into the mountain, and he ascended in the presence of all the people. The proposal of God was committed to Moses to convey to the entire multitude. It was conditioned upon the one great act of deliverance in which the Egyptians had suffered frightful retribution and Israel had been miraculously reclaimed. Moses was told, "'Thus you shall say to the house of Jacob, and tell the people of Israel: You have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I bore you on eagles' wings and brought you to myself'" (Exodus 19:3, 4; RSV). This was deemed of sufficient power to make Israel recognize an indebtedness to God and to inspire them to trust in His might for the future. With them, nationhood began, not in a resolution of human determination, but in a mighty act of God. For that reason the proposal was made, "'Now therefore, if you will obey my voice and keep my covenant, you shall be my own possession among all peoples; for all the earth is mine, and you shall be to me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation. These are the words which you shall speak to the children of Israel'" (vv. 5, 6; RSV).
Since there was no central means of communication available, and no mass media through which one person might speak to more than two million persons, Moses summoned the elders and relayed to them the message of God. He asked them to ascertain the will of the people and report back to him the results of their poll. The people unanimously agreed, saying, "'All that the Lord has spoken we will do'" (v. 8). Moses reported their decision to God, who informed him that He would personally address the people on the third day in a manner that they could not forget. As a preliminary for the occasion, the mountain was to be regarded as sacred. A boundary line must be drawn, across which the people were not to set foot. The death sentence was decreed for any man or animal crossing the line. During the interval the people were to wash their garments and abstain from all sexual relations. The blast of a heavenly trumpet would signal the beginning of the announcement of the covenant.
On the morning of the third day there were thunders and lightnings. A thick cloud dropped down to enshroud the mountain. A loud trumpet blast echoed among the peaks. Sinai was enveloped in smoke, and the entire mountain shook and trembled. The startled people were brought forth to stand and gaze at the awesome spectacle while wondering what the future held for them. Moses spoke, and God answered in the rumbling of thunder.
Moses never forgot the inaugural ceremony for the covenant. Shortly before his death he addressed the people in these words, "'For ask now of the days that are past, which were before you, since the day that God created man upon the earth, and ask from one end of heaven to the other, whether such a great thing as this has ever happened or was ever heard of. Did any people ever hear the voice of a god speaking out of the midst of the fire, as you have heard, and still live? Out of heaven he let you hear his voice, that he might discipline you; and on earth he let you see his great fire, and you heard his words out of the midst of the fire'" (Deuteronomy 4:32, 33; 36; RSV).