CAN GOD FAST?! PART 7
The wickedness and sin that made God to destroy the whole world during the period of Noah did not stopped as men continually multiplied in sins. God thereby overlooked the whole world and chose to be identified with a man (or with a family). Noah, being the first family of God after flood was chosen by God. The next family was the family of Abraham. God told Abraham to leave his country, his relatives and his father’s family and go to an unknown land. God promised to bless Abraham and that all the families on earth will be blessed through Abraham. This reveals God’s intention in making a definite family His own people. In that, all other people are no more God’s people or belonging to God’s family. Lot, having had a contact with Abraham was also spared when Sodom and Gomorrah was destroyed with fire. However it is crucial to note the difference between the destruction of the people during the time of Noah and during the period of Lot. God destroyed the entire world during Noah’s period. Lot was rescued while God destroyed just a city.
For every period, era, or age of humanity, God always seek and loves to be identified with a particular family. After Noah comes Abraham followed by Isaac and later, Jacob. Jacob had a twin brother, Esau. God honoured Jacob’s family and dishonoured Esau’s even before they were born. The hairy or reddish Esau’s name was not changed while deceitful Jacob’s name was changed to Israel.
HOLY NATION
God’s promised Abraham that He will make him a father of multitude nations. That was why He changed his name from Abram (exalted father) to Abraham (father of many). Jacob, grandson to Abraham was chosen by God as elected head of a family of God and covenant God made with Abraham was transcended to Jacob. Jacob’s twelve sons had wives and children. These separate families (or tribes) combined to form a nation known as Israelites (or simply Israel). The nation of Israel was preferred to any other nations. God is ready to destroy any nation before Israel simply because Israelites are the people of God. They are set apart for God and they are subject to correction, instruction and blessing of God. When Israelite sins they were always punished. Any nation can defeat them when they were not in right tune with God.
God Himself chose and preferred Israel as a nation of His thus gave them precepts to guide them in life. The rule of conduct given by God is to Israelites were to serve as a protection against anarchy. Without these laws, Israelites would have been a lawless nation and there would have been chaos. It is a guideline on how to live a happy life. Another purpose of the law is to instill God’s fear into the heart of people of the Israel. The laws are in two faces. The two set of law are differently coded. There is Law of Moses and God’s law.
Law of Moses is a civil law that is meant to govern the people of Israel as a nation. It is a set of law that has now somehow gone into extinction because the law was temporarily made for people of then. This is kind of law that Jesus always referred to as law of Moses as most of these laws were not primarily God’s intention, Matthew 5:17; 19:7-8. God’s law is the one capped as Decalogue, the Ten Commandments. This law is an all – encompassing one that is meant to guide every individual. It is God’s law that guides our lifestyle and has not in anyway gone into extinction Matthew 5:18. The laws cover the following:
- How man is to worship God
- Parent to children relationship
- Command not to kill
- God’s standard on Sex
- A need to observe the Sabbath and keep it holy
- Cursing is disallowed
- Coveting is frowned at
- Stealing is a taboo...
With these commandments, God wants all people to love, acknowledge and worship Him. Also, they would be able to extend the love to their neighbor. This is the laws that Christ summarize in Matthew 7:12; 22:37-40 as inferred from Leviticus 19:18; Deuteronomy 6:5.As law is to guide the conducts of the Israelites so also God valued His relationship with them which sin always intercept. Thus God provided a means to reconcile with them through sacrifice. Sacrifices in the old covenant is a slaughtering of defects less young male animals (A sheep, a goat, a turtle dove or a pigeon) performed by a priest (or high priest). Leviticus 1:2-17. Aside animals, grains can also be used for sacrifice. Leviticus 2:1-16. The sacrifice serves two major purposes. It serves as a cleansing from sin by means of burnt offering; Sin offering and guilt offering, Leviticus 1:3-17; 4:1; 5:13; 5:14-6:7. It also serves as a means of expressing thanksgiving and devotion to God through grains and peace (fellowship) offerings Leviticus 2:1-16; 3:1-16; the sacrifice is to be done daily, Exodus 29:38-45, Numbers 28:1-8 weekly, (on Sabbath days), Numbers 28:9-10; Monthly (first day of every month), Numbers 28:11-15 and annually, (this is a festive Offering for the Passover, festival of harvest, festival of trumpets, festival of shelters and Days of Atonement, Numbers 28:16-29:38, Leviticus 16:1-34.
Sacrifice is a means of atonement whereby God draws sinful and transgressed Israelites back to Himself. It is done by shedding of blood. This means any sinner is billed to die but need a life for a ransom which no other human being can do, thus need to kill an animal as a replacement. It is a substitution of life for life. An Israelite that sins is guilty but as he/she sacrifices, he/she is declares guiltless accepted and righteous before God. This kind of sacrifice has been practiced by the Israelites with priests serving as intermediary between the Israelites and God. The total freedom from sin was not gained by this frequent sacrifice of animals which is expensive and has been molested by most priests especially with sacrifice having replaced simple total obedience God expects from Israelites 1 Samuel 15:22. God has to devise a new plan for Israelite to always be in good term with Him without the need of frequent killing of animals for sacrifice, Jeremiah 31:31-34.
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