“And Moses went up unto God, and the LORD called unto him out of the mountain, saying, Thus shalt thou say
- to the house[hold] of Jacob,
- AND tell [a separate entity] the children of Israel,
“Ye have seen what I did unto the Egyptians, and how I bare you on eagle’s wings, and brought you unto myself“ (Exodus 19:3-4)
It is vitally important that we ascertain understanding of an ancient cultural practice that is taken for granted in this passage. “House” in this context includes both concrete meaning of a building for safety from the environment, and abstract meaning of all the people who were under the head man’s authority / protection.
Not just family members, but servants, and temporary guests as well who by custom of hospitality came under the protection of the head of the house. European estates and American ranches provide examples of this type of tight-knit extended family.
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- “when Abram heard that his brother was taken captive, he armed his trained servants, born in his own house” [indicative of others not born in his own house therefore not as trustworthy, good example being Theon Greyjoy] (Genesis 14:14)
- “when Abram was come into Egypt, the Egyptians beheld the woman that she was very fair…and the woman was taken into Pharaoh’s house…And Pharaoh called Abram and said…Why saidst thou, She is my sister? so I might have taken her to me to wife [in his harem, but he didn’t, she was simply a guest]..” (Genesis 12:14-19
- “And there came two angels to Sodom at even; and…Lot seeing them rose up to meet them; and…he pressed upon them greatly; and they…entered into his house; and…the men of the city…called unto Lot, and said unto him, Where are the men which came in to thee this night? bring them out unto us, that we may know them. And Lot went out at the door unto them, and shut the door after him [eliminating his way of escape and risking his own life], And said…unto these men do nothing; for therefore [for my protection] came they under the shadow of my roof.” (Genesis 19:1-8)
- “Abram said…I go childless, and the steward of my house is this Eliezer of Damascus…one born in my house is mine heir.” (Genesis 15:2-3)
- “Pharaoh said unto Joseph…Thou shalt be over my house, and according unto thy word shall all my people be ruled: only in the throne will I be greater than thou…I have set thee over all the land of Egypt.” (Genesis 41:39-41)
- “And the fame thereof was heard in Pharaoh’s house, saying, Joseph’s brethren are come: and it pleased Pharaoh…and his servants.” (Genesis 45:16)
- “Abimelech king of Gerar sent, and took Sarah. But God came to Abimelech in a dream by night, and said to him, Behold, thou art but a dead man, for the woman which thou hast taken; for she is a man’s wife. But Abimelech had not come near her: and he said, LORD, wilt thou slay also a righteous nation?…For the LORD had fast closed up all the wombs of the house of Abimelech.” (Genesis 20)
- “And Jacob sent messengers before him to Esau his brother…saying…I have oxen, and asses, flocks, and menservants, and womenservants…Jacob said unto his household, and to all that were with him…” (Genesis 32:, 35:2)
- “Esau cometh to meet thee, and four hundred men with him…And Esau took his wives, and his sons, and his daughters, and all the persons of his house [a substantial number of servants required to herd all the animals], and his cattle, and all his beasts, and all his substance, which he had got in the land of Canaan; and went into the country from the face of his brother Jacob. For their riches [in cattle and consequently herdsmen] were more than that they might dwell together (Genesis 32:6, 36:6-7)
- “Thus saith thy son Joseph, God hath made me lord of all Egypt: come down unto me…thou, and thy children, and thy children’s children, and thy flocks, and thy herds, and thy household…And Joseph said unto his brethren, and unto his father’s house, I will go up, and shew Pharaoh, and say unto him, My brethren, and my father’s house [two different groups], which were in the land of Canaan, are come unto me; And the men are shepherds [obviously lots of them, not just Jacob’s immediate family] (Genesis 45:9-11, 46:31-32)
- “Now these are the names of the children of Israel, which came into Egypt; every man and his household came with Jacob…And [making a distinction between servants] all the souls that came out of the loins of Jacob were seventy souls: And the children of Israel were fruitful, and increased abundantly, and multiplied, and waxed exceeding mighty; and the land was filled [with their households including servants.]” (Exodus 1:1-7)
During the Exodus, every “household of Jacob” would have consisted of non-Hebrews who had joined them in their homes sharing the Passover ritual to escape the Death Angel, and assuredly even more who joined them after experiencing the power of this God through their sons’ deaths and Pharoah’s capitulation.
So it is absolutely within the standard process of constituting a new nation out of a tired, poor, huddled mass of refugees yearning to breathe free to combine them all into one new nation.
“say to 1) the house[hold] of Jacob, and tell [a separate entity] 2) the children / nation of Israel…
- if ye – [both the household of Jacob and the nation of Israel – will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant
- then ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto me above all people:
- And ye shall be unto me a kingdom of priests, and an holy nation. These are the word which thou shalt speak unto the children of Israel. (Exodus 19:3-6)
Now, don’t hastily jump to the conclusion that “the children of Israel” in this context is referring to the political nation of Israel. Take your time, read carefully and most importantly keep the account in accurate chronological order.
For example, did you pay attention to the big IF at the beginning of what is an OFFER TO BECOME a special nation?
It hasn’t happened yet!
Even Judaism itself acknowledges that the original offer at Mount Sinai was to all the nationalities who worshipped YHVH, not just the children of Israel.
Read on in Exodus 19. The passage describes how God does not arbitrarily impose service on anyone. His plan develops as he interacts with people who willingly work with him.
“And Moses came and called for the elders of the people, and laid before their faces all these words which the LORD commanded him. And all the people answered together, and said, All that the LORD hath spoken we will do. And…the LORD said unto Moses
- Go unto the people, and sanctify them [spiritually clean them up to encounter holy God by leading them in confessing, repenting, and renouncing their sins]
- And let the priests also, which [already are used to] come near to the LORD, sanctify themselves
Are you catching the significance of “the priests”? These are the Hebrew priests like Job, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob who offered sacrifices on behalf of their households. The Levitical priesthood doesn’t get established until 8 chapters later.
Hermeneutically, there is no getting around the fact that God offered favored nation status to the multi-ethnic Hebrews headed by its Melchizedekian priesthood.
Moses is clearly the High Priest of YHVH, the primary interface between an unapproachable all-empowering God and needy humans. As demonstrated by the “Law of Moses”, he is also the lawgiver, i.e. king. This is poorly understood by people who grew up in humanistic democracies purportedly ruled “by the people”.
Moses is the foundational biblical Priest-King, four dimensional Messenger showing humans how to approach – and survive – the hyperdimensional absolutely righteous God of the Bible.
“And Moses said unto the LORD…if I have found grace in thy sight, shew me now thy way [customary condition, looks, like a bride in an arranged marriage unveiling herself to her husband], that I may know thee…I beseech thee, shew me thy glory / military victory / power encapsulated as in a portrait.”
And the LORD said unto Moses, I will do this thing also that thou hast spoken: for thou hast found grace in my sight, and I know thee by name…
- I will make all my goodness pass before thee,
- and I will proclaim the name of the LORD before thee;
- and will be gracious to whom I will be gracious,
- and will shew mercy on whom I will shew mercy.
And / But he said, Thou canst not see my face: for there shall no man see me, and live…there is a place by me…while my glory passeth by…I will put thee in a clift of the rock, and will cover thee with my hand while I pass by: And I will take away mine hand, and thou shalt see my back parts: but my face shall not be seen.” (Exodus 33:12-23)
Next, in Exodus chapter 19, God descends on Mount Sinai in the presence of all the Hebrew people and interacts with them all directly, as priests, exactly as he had offered.
“And it came to pass on the third day in the morning, that there were thunders, and lightenings, and a thick cloud upon the mount, and the voice of the trumpet exceeding loud; so that all the people that was in the camp trembled. And Moses brought forth the people out of the camp to meet with God; and they stood at the nether part of the mount. And the LORD came down upon mount Sinai, on the top of the mount: and the LORD called Moses up to the top of the mount; and Moses went up. And the LORD said unto Moses, Go down, charge the people, lest they break through unto the LORD to gaze, and many of them perish [remember, “for there shall no man see me, and live”].”
So far so good. Things going according to God’s plan.
“The LORD…rose up from Seir unto them; he shined forth from mount Paran, and he came with ten thousands of saints: from his right hand went a fiery law for them. Yea, he loved / united with the people; all his saints are in thy hand: and they sat down at thy feet; every one shall receive of thy words.” (Deuteronomy 33:1-3)
If you’ve seen Stephen Spielberg’s Close Encounters of the Third Kind you’ll recognize where he got his light and sound effects.
And it came to pass on the third day in the morning, that there were thunders and lightnings, and a thick cloud upon the mount, and the voice of the trumpet exceeding loud; so that all the people that was in the camp trembled…
It must have appeared like the whole mountain was ready to blow like a massive volcano.
Naturally, the reaction was pure terror. So when God became too real for them these Melchizedekian priest-leaders turned in their resignations
“And it came to pass, when ye heard the voice out of the midst of the darkness, (for the mountain did burn with fire)…even all the heads of your tribes, and your elders; And ye said…this great fire will consume us: if we hear the voice of the LORD our God any more, then we shall die. For who is there of all flesh, that hath heard the voice of the living God speaking out of the midst of the fire, as we have, and lived? [Unbelief!] Go thou near, and hear all that the LORD our God shall say: and speak thou unto us [refusing responsibility]…
and the LORD said unto me, I have heard the voice of the words of this people, which they have spoken unto thee, they have well said all that they have spoken. O that there were such an heart in them, that they would fear me, and keep all my commandments always…Go say to them, Get you into your tents again. But as for thee, stand thou here by me, and I will speak unto thee all the commandments, and the statutes, and the judgments, which thou shalt teach them, that they may do them in the land which I give them to possess it.” (Deuteronomy 5:23-31)
(Sigh) Notice how their reaction is completely the opposite of Moses’ when he first met God in a fire on this same mountain.
I think we can all empathize with the unwillingness of Moses’ Hebrew people to share the burden of government with him. How many of us are willing to serve a few hours a week on so much as a PTA committee, or a few days on a jury? Consider what Moses was asking them to do. Become full time priests! Consume all one’s waking hours in service to God! And if everyone in the kingdom were priests, who needed their intercession? Why, their competitors, adversaries, enemies. That would seriously cut into the quality of life.
So the Hebrew priests’ responsibilities towards their clans were given to another brotherhood / nation within the Commonwealth.
Kingdom Come 