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Moses and the Law of Israel
Abraham’s grandson, Jacob, had 12 sons who became the fathers
of the 12 tribes of Israel. They went to live in Egypt and
subsequently became slaves of the Egyptians. Moses led them
out of Egypt into the wilderness where they received the Law
from God. This was the national Law of Israel for 1500 years.
The tribes of Israel
Abraham’s grandson Jacob had 12 sons who became the fathers of
the 12 tribes of Israel. Abraham’s other descendants became part of
the Arab nations.
Jacob and his family left the land of Canaan and moved to Egypt
because of a severe famine around 1650 B.C. There were about 75 of
them in total. In a little more than two centuries, they had grown to
about 2 million and had become slaves to the Egyptians.
The exodus from Egypt
At the age of 80, Moses delivered a message from God to the
Pharaoh of Egypt, “Let my people go!”. Not only did God want to
deliver his nation from slavery, but his purpose was also to display
his power over Egypt, the most powerful nation of the day. Exodus 9:16
Only after a catastrophic succession of plagues, culminating in the
death of the firstborn of all in Egypt, did the Egyptian ruler relent
long enough for Israel to escape through the Red Sea.
The Ten Plagues
1. Blood Exodus 7:14–25
2. Frogs Exodus 7:25 – 8:15
3. Gnats Exodus 8:16–19
4. Flies Exodus 8:20–32
5. Livestock Exodus 9:1–7
6. Boils Exodus 9:8–12
7. Hail Exodus 9:13–35
8. Locusts Exodus 10:1–20
9. Darkness Exodus 10:21–29
10. Death of first-born Exodus 11:1–10; 12:29–30.
The wonderful miracles God performed for his people at this time
and his continued deliverance of them were constantly brought before
Israel in later years to remind them that they owed their existence
to him. The most dramatic of these was the opening of the Red
Sea which provided an escape for Israel and doom for the Egyptians.
All ten commandments clearly show man’s obligations and responsibilities
to others. First to God, second to family, third to all humanity.
Note that there is no commandment which draws attention to
self. Selflessness is therefore one of the dominating features taught
by the ten commandments. In every commandment there is the call
to deny self, and live only to serve others.
While the commands given to Moses were meant for the nation of
Israel, the principles behind them apply with equal force today. Jesus
showed that the essence of the Law is to
Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your
soul and with all your mind. . . Love your neighbor as yourself.
(Matthew 22:37–40)
Jesus reaffirmed 9 of the 10 commandments giving them an even
greater meaning. The only commandment not restated in the New
Testament concerns keeping the Sabbath. In fact, we are told to keep
God in our lives every day, and that there is no need to hold one day Colossians 2:16; Galatians
as special above others. 4:10
In addition to the 10 commandments, further statutes and judgements
were given. These expressed God’s will on a variety of
matters, and provided laws which regulated the attitude of the Israelites
to God and his worship, to each other, and to the nations
among which they dwelt. These various laws and ordinances together
came to be known as the Law of Moses. Obedience to the
Law would have guaranteed Israel continued occupation of the
Land of Promise until Messiah appeared
Laws of social justice
If you take your neighbor’s cloak as a pledge, return it to him by sunset, because his cloak is
the only covering he has for his body. What else will he sleep in? When he cries out to me, I
will hear, for I am compassionate. (Exodus 22:26–27)
Do not pervert justice; do not show partiality to the poor or favoritism to the great, but judge
your neighbor fairly. (Leviticus 19:15)
When you lay siege to a city for a long time, fighting against it to capture it, do not destroy its
trees by putting an ax to them, because you can eat their fruit. Do not cut them down. Are
the trees of the field people, that you should besiege them? (Deuteronomy 20:19)
Do not muzzle an ox while it is treading out the grain. (Deuteronomy 25:4)
The purpose of the Law
One reason why God gave the Law was to establish Israel as a
unique people, directing their minds towards his thoughts and
ways, so that other nations would admire them, fear them, and fol- Deuteronomy 4:6–8;
low them. This Law disciplined the people in divine thinking. It 28:9–10
brought God to the mind of the people in every way—in the home,
in their education, in the field, in the workshop, and in their daily
(not just weekly) worship.
The Law very effectively revealed that human beings were sinners
before God and in need of redemption. There was no hope of life Romans 5:20; Galatians
apart from the promised Messiah, for no man was able to live a life 3:19
without committing sin. Romans 3:21–23
But above all, the Law was designed to direct the nation to Christ,
the promised redeemer. It was this one great offering that God had Galatians 3:24
promised in the covenants made in Eden, and to Abraham, and Genesis 3:15; 22
which was fulfilled in Christ. Colossians 2:16–17
3.4 In the wilderness
It was a scene of glory when Israel left Mt Sinai after a stay of about
twelve months. A journey of only a week or two separated them Exodus 19:1; Numbers
from the Promised Land, but within a few days the people had be- 10:11
come dispirited by the hard, tiring walk through the barren and
desolate wilderness.
Numbers 13: The twelve spi
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