The period of Israel under the Law of Moses lasted just over 1500 years from about 1440 BC when Moses received the Law including, but not limited to, the 10 commandments from God (the Father) or the LORD on Mount Sinai to about 30 AD. This latter time was when a new dispensation, administration of time, began with the pouring out of the Holy Spirit on the beginning of the Church after the completion of the first earthly ministry of Jesus of Nazareth the Son of God and fulfillment of the suffering parts of the promised Jewish Messiah of the Old Testament. In the Law of Moses there was not just the 10 commandments for regulations of the Israelites or Jewish people but altogether 613 commandments that comprise most of the Pentateuch or five books of Moses or five books of Moses, Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. There were three main components of the Law of Moses: the ceremonial law such as regarding the sacrifices 7 Feast Days and dietary laws and the tabernacle or temple, the moral law (ethical guidelines including the Ten Commandments) and civil law such as rules for trade and government. The ordinaces of the law that had to do with the building of the tabernacle and the vessels of it and the vestments or clothing of the priests and high priest were not borrowed from Egypt or Sumeria or any other surrounding nation but were revealed directly from the LORD to Moses on Mount Sinai in Exodus 25 to 31 and later in the book instructions were given to the Israelites to actually make the tabernacle and all its articles according to the pattern the LORD showed Moses on Mount Sinai (Horeb). These laws were very detailed and very strict and expected to be carefully enforced. God's purpose in that age was to give his blessing to Israel when they obeyed him and his laws and show how he and his people Israel had much higher moral and other standards or principles than the surrounding nations and their false gods. These laws were meant to attract the people of the surrounding nations to the God of Israel and His people Israel to join themselves to him because of His blessing Israel when they obeyed Him.
God first told Israel that he promised to give them the land he promised to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and their descendants, the Jews, and they were to strive to possess it for God to worship him there in the promised land of Canaan or Israel (or sometimes called Palestine). This land was between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea and from the Negev Desert in the south to the Euphrates River in the north especially in the vicinity of Syria. God expected the people or children of Israel to kill and drive out the idolatrous and immoral Canaanites that God considered to have forfeited their right to the land plus their being under the curse of Genesis 9 for their father Canaan's disrespect to Noah. This was partly achieved under Joshua and in the time of the Judges but wasn't more fully realized until the time of Israel's first kings, Saul and especially David. King David secured most of the promised land allotted to Israel and brought Israel to the height of her glory in God's sight, their own regard and in that of the other nations. This position of Israel at athe height of her power and glory to God continued in the reign of peace and prosperity of King Solomon but started to decline because of his immorality, idolatry and extravagant spending. This led to the breakup of the land of Israel into the northern 10 tribes of Israel and the 2 southern tribes of Judah for the remainder of Old Testament history.
All the kings of the northern kingdom were ungodly and the northern kingdom of Israel was taken into captivity by the Assyrians in punishment about 720 BC (BCE). The southern kingdom had many evil kings but with occasional revivals and return to practice of the Law of Moses under some good kings like Jehoshaphat, Asa, Joash, Hezekiah and Josiah. However, they too eventually fell chronically into sin, self-centredness, immorality and idolatry and were taken captive by the Babylonian king Nebuchadnezzar about 600 BC. Under the Babylonians there was a trial period for Judah under some puppet rulers of Judah like Gedaliah that failed resulting in a full destruction of Jerusalem and the 1st Temple or Solomon's Temple there and other parts of Judah.
In fulfillment of prophecy, 70 years later Jewish people, especially of the southern kingdom of Judah were allowed to return to rebuild their temple in Jerusalem by the Persian king Cyrus. Then a couple decades later in 445 BC also in fulfillment of Bible prophecy the Jews of Judah were allowed by another Persian king, Artaxerxes to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem. It is from this time of 445 BC the 70 weeks of years or 490 years of the times of the Gentiles when Israel would be ruled by foreign kings or emperors or leaders plus the whole Church age began. In the time of Jesus Christ, Israel was still under the Law of Moses with limited autonomy under the Sanhedrin or council of 70 chief priest led by the high priest but overuled by the Roman emperor Caesar. This continued to the end of the time of Israel under the law in the Bible with the the coming of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost in about 32 AD. However the end of Israel's limited autonomy and Temple worship happened to a fuller degree in history about a generation later in 70 AD with the destruction of the 2nd (Herod's) Jewish Temple and the city of Jerusalem and the dispersion of the Jewish people among the Gentiles or nations. It is from these same countries the Jews are now continuing to return to the land of Israel in these last days of the times of the Gentiles. This is in preparation for the 70th week of Daniel and then the Messianic Age both of which the God of the Bible will again work through and with the Jewish people on Earth rather than the Church which will be raptured or caught up to heaven immediatly before the 70th week of Daniel or tribulation.
According to earlier chapters of the Book of Exodus, Moses was raised in the household of Pharaoh king of Egypt after his daughter brought Moses into their household when she saw him as a child in an ark of bullrushes by the side of the Nile. However after spending some time in Pharaoh's court as an adult, Moses killed an Egyptian who was persecuting a slave who was a fellow Hebrew to Moses. Moses then had to run for his life from Pharaoh and Egypt and went into the wilderness of Sinai. He was near Mount Horeb or Mount Sinai near where the Midianites sometimes journeyed when the LORD and the Angel of the LORD appeared to him in the burning but not consumed bush there. The bush is said to be miraculously preserved from being consumed by the Angel of the LORD appearing to Moses from its midst so it is likely that this Angel is not just an ordinary created angel but a pre-Incarnate appearance of the Divine Son of God the Lord Jesus Christ (Messiah) Who spoke to Moses out of this bush. However I believe there are also here two Divine Persons of the Divine Trinity both the Angel of the LORD the Lord Jesus Christ God the Son or the Son of God and the LORD (God the Fahter) and that the LORD takes over later in this chapter to mention His covenant relationship with His chosen earthly people the Israelites. The Divine Person, starting in verse 4 of this chapter (Exodus 3) I believe in mainly God the Father is identical with the LORD (Jehovah or Yahweh) as mentioned in verse 7 and later verses in this chapter. God (especially God the Father) or the LORD identifies Himself to Moses as the main divine Person with a covenant relationship with the fathers of Israel and the leading ancestors for Moses and Moses' people the Israelites as the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. God is there identifying Himself to Moses as the initiator of the Abrahamic Covenant by which God first made a covenant with the Israelites to give them the promised land (and also to eventually send the Messiah (Christ) or Saviour of the world through his (Abraham's) line according to the flesh. The LORD (God especially God the Father) then declares to Moses that He has seen the suffering of the Israelites in bondage or slavery to the Egyptians in Egypt under Pharaoh and that He would lead them out of Egypt to their promised earthly land in the Land of Israel into what was the land of Canaan. God then encourages Moses to be His human servant or instrument to lead to the deliverance from bondage of the Israelites under Pharaoh and Egypt but Moses was hesitant to take on this challenging role. God the LORD then encourages Moses that He is capable through Moses to deliver the Israelites to their promised land. Moses then asks God His name and God (especially God the Father) or the LORD says it is I AM or I AM THAT I AM as the self existent God which is the general meaning of the name the LORD or Jehovah or Yahweh. Although I do agree that in the New Testament the Lord Jesus Christ (Messiah) as God the Son or the Son of God rightly applies the divine title of I AM to Himself especially in the Gospel of John in verses such as John 8:12 where He says He says I am the light of the world or in John 14:6 I am the way the truth and the life I believe the reference of God or the LORD is mostly distinct from the Angel of the LORD or the Holy Spirit here in Exodus 3 and is mostly to God the Father Who I believe is generally the main Divine Person dealing with or through His chosen earthly people the Israelites in the Old Testament often under the Divine name the LORD. The scripture reference from Exodus 3 of the Divine Person the Lord Jesus Christ the Divine Son of God referred to as the Angel of the LORD at first speaking speaking to Moses out of the burning but not consumed bush in the wilderness but then shortly followed by God or the LORD as mostly God the Father speaking to Moses out of the same burning bush and giving Moses more instructions that He wants Moses to be God's servant to lead God's chosen earthly people the Israelites out of bondage in Egypt through the wilderness to their promised earthly land of Israel in the land of Canaan is as follows:
Now Moses kept the flock of Jethro his father in law, the priest of Midian: and he led the flock to the backside of the desert, and came to the mountain of God, even to Horeb. And the angel of the LORD appeared unto him in a flame of fire out of the midst of the bush: and he looked, and, behold, the bush burned with fire, and bush was not consumed. And Moses said, I will now turn aside, and see this great sight, why the bush is not burnt. And when the LORD saw that he turned aside to see, God called unto him out of the midst of the bush, and said, Moses, Moses. And he said, Here am I. And he said, Draw not nigh hither: put off thy shoes from off thy feet, for the place whereon thou standest is holy ground. Moreover he said, I am the God of thy father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. And Moses hid his face; for he was afraid to look upon God. And the LORD said, I have surely seen the affliction of my people which are in Egypt, and have heard their cry by reason of their taskmasters; for I know their sorrows; And I am come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians, and to bring them up out of that land unto a good land and a large, unto a land flowing with milk and honey; unto the place of the Canaanites, and the Hittites, and the Amorites, and the Perizzites, and the Hivites, and the Jebusites. Now therefore, behold, the cry of the children of Israel is come unto me: and I have also seen the oppression wherewith the Egyptians oppress them. Come now therefore, and I will send unto Pharaoh, that thou mayest bring forth my people the children of Israel out of Egypt. And Moses said unto God, Who am I, that I should go unto Pharaoh, and that I should bring forth the children of Israel out of Egypt? And he said, Certainly I will be with thee; and this shall be a token unto thee, that I have sent thee: When thou hast brought forth the people out of Egypt, ye shall serve God upon this mountain. And Moses said unto God, Behold, when I come unto the children of Israel, and shall say unto them, The God of thy fathers hath sent me unto you; and they shall say to me, What is his name? what shall I say unto them? And God said unto Moses, I AM THAT I AM: and he said, Thus shalt thous say unto the children of Israel, I AM hath sent me unto you. Exodus 3:1-14
Although God gave knowledge of His name Jehovah or the LORD meaning the self-existant one occasionally to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in times like Genesis 24:3, 7, 26:22, 27:7, 27, 28:16 and 32:9 as well as on occasion to other pre-Mosaic biblical characters, the Believer's Bible Commentary by William McDonald rightly points out that the reference in Exodus 6 that says God wasn't known before to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob doesn't mean they didn't know that name of him but they didn't know what God wanted the Israelites to associate God with with that name. God started to show in the time of Moses that he wanted the Israelites to associate his name Jehovah or the LORD with his role as deliverer (from slavery in Egypt through God or the LORD's plaguing the Egyptians and then making a path for the Israelites to cross the Red Sea). God or the LORD would also establish the name Jehovah or the LORD as his name in the sight of His chosen earthly people Israel in God or the LORD with regard to his covenant relationship to them through the covenant with Moses and the Law of Moses that details God's laws for them to observe when they reached and came to live in the promised land. This name was often used by the Israelites of God afterward when they came to live in the promised land of Israel. The scriptural reference in Exodus 6 of God giving the name Jehovah or the LORD as his name for his chosen earthly people the Jews to refer to Him with regard to His national deliverance of them and establishing his laws for them to live in the promised land of Israel he gave the Jews is as follows:
Then the LORD said unto Moses, Now shalt thou see what I will do to Pharoah: for with a strong hand shall he let them go, and with a strong hand shall he drive them out of his land. And God spoke unto Moses, and said unto him, I am the LORD: And I appeared unto Abraham, unto Isaac, and unto Jacob, by the name of God Almighty, but by my name JEHOVAH (the LORD) was I not known to them. And I have also established my covenant with them, to give them the land of Canaan, the land of their pilgrimage, wherein they were strangers. Exodus 6:1-4
I have found peronally both in talking directly with other believers and in reading Bible commentaries etc. that there is a substantial difference even with genuine or bible believing and born again Christians in the role of the Persons of the Divine Trinity in the Old Testament. One area of difference is Who is the primary Person of the Divine Trinity with respect to God's chosen earthly people Israel in the Old Testament or Hebrew scriptures. Some genuine scriptures say that Person of the Divine Trinity is the Lord Jesus Christ the Son of God and God the Son the second Person of the Trinity, while some would even say that main Person of the Trinity with respect to Israel is the third Person of the Divine Trinity or the God the Holy Spirit but most bible believing Christians and I think including Messianic Jews or Hebrew Christians would say God the Father the first Person of the Divine Trinity is the main Person of the Divine Trinity relating to God's chosen earthly people Israel in the Old Testament or Hebrew scriptures. I, as also a bible believing and born again Christian, believe now even more strongly and clearly that the main Person of the divine Trinity relating to Israel in the Old Testament or Hebrew scriptures is God the Father but with substantial roles also of God the Son Jesus Christ in His pre-incarnate appearances and also with some role of God the Holy Spirit. One term usually applied to God the Son the Lord Jesus Christ in His relation to Israel in the Old Testament or Hebrew scriptures especially with His pre-incarnate appearances is the term or office as the angel of the LORD or sometimes the angel of God in the King James Version of the Bible. I also believe the terms the angel of the LORD or the angel of God apply to God the Son or the Son of God the Lord Jesus Christ. This is in distinction from the more frequent term an angel of the LORD (or of God) which signifies an actual angel that is a created even though sometimes a high-ranking one such as an arch-angel compared to the eternal self-existent and not created Son of God or God the Son Jesus Christ (as God the Father and God the Holy Spirit are also eternal and self-existent and not created either). However one area where things get more confusing and where I believe God has given me more clear understanding recently in my recent reading through the Pentateuch or Torah or Law of Moses is that the angel of the LORD is distinct from the LORD and is distinct from the glory cloud or cloud by day and fire by night to lead the Israelites through the wilderness between Egypt and the promised land of Israel. There are some genuine Christians who would and continue to merge the term and roles of God as the angel of the LORD and the LORD generally or the LORD in the cloud by day and pillar of fire by night as all referring to One Person of the Divine Trinity whether it is God the Son Jesus Christ or God the Father or possibly even God the Holy Spirit. Based on a number of scriptures in the Pentateuch or Torah I now firmly believe and would insist that the references to the angel of the LORD are referring to a different Person of the Divine Trinity than the references to the LORD or the LORD or God in the pillar of fire by night or the cloud by day. I would insist now that the references in this way to the angel of the LORD (or of God) are to God the Son or the Son of God the Lord Jesus Christ in His pre-incarnate appearances in the Old Testament especially to God's chosen earthly people Israel while references to the LORD or to God are primarily to God the Father. (There are some exceptions in some parts of the Old Testament where God or perhaps the LORD can instead refer to God the Son Jesus Christ or to the entire Divine Godhead or Divine Trinity but I am referring to the general pattern.) One reason I now believe more definitely that especially in the Pentateuch or Torah or Books of Moses that the term angel of the LORD is to the Lord Jesus Christ God the Son or the Son of God while the term or name the LORD or God is primarily to God the Father is that there are some important verses or passages in the Pentateuch where these terms are used of two distinct Divine Persons.
One such Bible passage or passage of the Word of God where I believe two distinct Persons of the Divine Trinity are mentioned is in Numbers 14 especially verse 19 in the description of God fighting for Israel against the Egyptians on the far side from Egypt of the Red Sea. This was when God dried up part of the Red Sea to allow the Israelites to cross it as dry land but for some time the Egyptian armies of Pharaoh followed them to kill the Israelites or bring them back to Egypt in slavery or bondage. In verse 19 both the angel of God (or angel of the LORD) and the pillar of cloud are mentioned distinctly as both or each going from leading the Israelites to going behind the Israelites or following them between the Israelites and Egyptians and then fighting against the Egyptians on the far side from Egypt of the Red Sea. Then later in this chapter it is stated that the LORD spoke out of or was within the cloud or pillar of fire. I believe this verse and passage is saying that both God the Son Jesus Christ as the angel of God or angel of the LORD and God the Father as the LORD or God within the (pillar of) cloud or the pillar of fire were involved in fighting for Israel at the far end of the Red Sea for Israel and that both God the Son or the Son of God as the angel of the LORD or the angel of God and God the Father as the LORD or as God in the pillar of cloud or the pillar of fire generally both or each led the Triune God's but especially God the Father's chosen earthly people Israel through the wilderness with these respective titles or terms. The scripture reference in Exodus 14 of both God the Son or the Son of God's as the angel of God and God the Father as the LORD or God in the cloud or pillar of fire fighting for Israel including briefly getting behind Israel to separate them from the Egyptians at the far end of the Red Sea but generally both or each leading Israel the Triune but especially God the Father's chosen earthly people Israel in their journey through the wilderness from Egypt to the promised land of Israel is as follows:
And Moses said unto the people, Fear ye not, stand still, and see the salvation of the LORD, which he will shew to you by day: for the Egyptians whom ye have seen to day, ye (you) shall see them no more for ever. The LORD shall fight for you, and ye shall hold your peace. And the LORD said unto Moses, Wherefore criest thou unto me? speak unto the children of Israel, that they go forward: But lift thou up thy rod, and stretch out thine hand over the sea, and divide it: and the children of Israel shall go on dry ground through the midst of the sea. And I, behold, I will harden the hearts of the Egyptians, and they shall follow them: and I will get me honour upon Pharaoh, and upon his host, upon his chariots, and upon his horsemen. And the Egyptians shall know that I am the LORD, when I have gotten me honour upon Pharaoh, upon his chariots, and upon his horsemen. And the angel of God, which went before the camp of Israel, removed and went behind them; and the pillar of the cloud went from before their face, and stood behind them: And it came between the camp of the Egyptians and the camp of Israel; and it was a cloud and darkness to them, but it gave light by night to these: so that the one came not near the other all the night. And Moses stretched out his hand over the sea; and the LORD caused the sea to go back by a strong east wind all that night, and made the sea dry land, and the waters were divided. And the children of Israel into the midst of the sea upon the dry ground: and the waters were a wall unto them on their right hand, and on their left. And the Egyptians pursued, and went in after them to the midst of the sea, even all Pharaoh's horses, his chariots, and his horsemen. And it came to pass, that in the morning watch the LORD looked into the host of the Egyptians through the pillar of fire and of the cloud, and troubled the host of the Egyptians, And took off their chariot wheels, that they drave (drove) them heavily: so that the Egyptians said, Let us flee from the face of Israel; for the LORD fighteth for them against the Egyptians. And the LORD (Jehovah or Yahweh) said unto Moses, Stretch out thine hand over the sea, that the waters may come again upon the Egyptians, upon their chariots, and upon their horsemen. And Moses stretched forth his hand over the sea, and the sea returned to his strength when the morning appeared; and the Egyptians fled against it; and the LORD overthrew the Egyptians in the midst of the sea. And the waters returned, and covered the chariots, and the horsemen, and all the host of Pharaoh that came into the sea after them; there remained not so much as one of them. But the children of Israel walked upon dry land in the midst of the sea; and the waters were a wall unto them on their right hand, and of the left. Thus the LORD saved Israel that day out of the hand of the Egyptians ; and Israel saw the Egyptians dead upon the sea shore. And Israel saw that great work which the LORD did upon the Egyptians: and the people feared the LORD, and believed the LORD, and his servant Moses. Exodus 14:13-31
It is stated in the first verse of this chapter that the LORD (God) called Moses, Aaron and some of the elders of Israel to go up to meet him and hear his commandments in the third month. This was shortly after passover which was when the Israelites left Egypt on the 14th day of the 1st month. The Jews or Israelites have traditionally believed God gave them the law on the 6th day of the third month when they celebrate the festival of Pentecost. This would be consistant with this scripture in Exodus 19 as it says Moses started his time in the third month probably on the third day. Although the scripture says that the LORD appeared on the 3rd day of the month Moses was down with the people at the base of Mount Sinai when the Ten Commandments were given. However in Exodus 24:16 the Bible says the LORD was in the cloud above mount Sinai for six days which would be the 3rd to 8th day of the 3rd month and that on the seventh day or the ninth day of the 3rd month God called out to Moses out of the cloud. This could still mean the Ten Commandments were given on the 6th day of the 3rd month but I think the 3rd day is just as likely. The term the LORD that is much used in these chapters of Exodus 19 and 20 and other parts of the Old Testament or Hebrew Scriptures especially the rest of the Torah or Law of Moses or Pentateuch is also referred to as Jehovah or Yahweh. Most born again Christians including myself would see these as references to God the Father. It should be pointed out as there is much confusion on this point including with genuine or professing Christians that books like Romans and Galatians in the New Testament make it clear that Christians or the Church are not bound to keep the ceremonial part of the Law of Moses. This includes laws regarding the sacrifices etc connected to the tabernacle or temple or the civil law about how to govern society by the Law in all its details. Christians however are to heed but aren't saved by keeping the moral law such as the Ten Commandments. For this present Church Age God uses the Law to show people Jew and Gentile of his lofty standards and that the Law only condemns us because we can't keep it fully and that we should seek salvation by God's grace through faith in the perfect sacrifice of His Son Jesus Christ (Messiah) now. After the rapture of the Church God will again use the Law or a variation of the Law in the 70th week of Daniel or the tribulation and in the Messianic Kingdom. However this view of the law will then be in association with believing that His Son Jesus Christ uniquely completely fulfilled the Law of Moses and paid the price of death and the shedding of blood for all of us coming short of keeping the Law. The scripture here states that all the Israelites were camped around Mount Sinai at this time. There is an ongoing debate as to the exact location of Mount Sinai with the traditional view that it was Jebal Musa the Mountain of Moses and I believe this view was popularized by Constantine in the 4th century AD. This is in the southern Sinai peninsula. A good alternative however, with growing archaelogical evidence including remains of many chariot wheels in the nearby part of the Red Sea (the Gulf of Aqaba) is Mount Luz or I think the mount of almonds in the territory of the former Midianites in what is now north west Saudi Arabia. There is a large enough plain for the Israelites to have gathered there and local people believe this is the location of the original Mount Sinai. Moses then went out of the camp of the Israelites to meet God and God gave Moses a message for the children of Israel. God told Moses to remind the Israelites of his protection (bearing them on eagle's wings) and delivering them from slavery in Egypt. God also promised the Israelites today the Jews and some who call themselves the sons of Israel that if they obeyed him he would make a covenant with them and that they would be to him a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.
In the third month, when the children of Israel were gone forth out of the land Egypt, the same day came they into the wilderness of Sinai. For they were departed from Rephidim, and were come to the desert of Sinai, and had pitched in the wilderness; and there Israel camped before the mount. And Moses went up unto God, and the LORD called unto him out of the mountain, saying, Thus shalt thou say to the house of Jacob, and tell the children of Israel; Ye have seen what I did unto the Egyptians, and how I bare you on eagles' wings, and brought you unto myself. Now, therefore, if ye will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant, then ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto me above all people: for all the earth is mine: And ye shall be unto me a kingdom of priests, and an holy nation. These are the words which thou shalt speak unto the children of Israel. Exodus 19:1-6
Next Moses gathered the elders of Israel and told them what God had just told him in offering to make a covenant with Israel if they obeyed him. The people of Israel were also then told about God's offer of a covenant with them and they vowed to keep all of God's commandments (before they really knew what they were or pondered on what keeping these commandments would mean in practice). Moses then relayed their response to the LORD (God). The LORD then announced to Moses that he would very soon appear to him on Mount Sinai in part so the people would respect Moses as sent from God. Moses also told the LORD the response of the people to the LORD's offer of a covenant with them to make them his chosen earthly people. The LORD then instructed Moses to sanctify the people and to prepare them for the 3rd day of the 3rd month when the LORD would come down to Mount Sinai in the sight of the people and speak to Moses on Mount Sinai. God then instructed Moses to tell the people of Israel not to go up to Mount Sinai or even touch the base of it or let their animals touch it. This was to avoid being put to death at least until they heard the sound of the trumpet blast. They were also to wash their clothes and the men were not to have sex with their wives before the third day or of course with anyone else. The scripture reference in Exodus 19 of God instructing Moses to tell the people how to prepare for His coming down to Mount Sinai on the 3rd day of the 3rd month is as follows:
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 Moses returned the words of the people unto the LORD. And the LORD said unto Moses, Lo, I come unto thee in a thick cloud, that the people may hear when I speak unto thee, and believe thee (you) for ever. And Moses told the words of the people unto the LORD. And the LORD said unto Moses, Go unto the people, and sanctify them today and tomorrow, and let them wash their clothes, And be ready against the third day: for the third day the LORD will come down in the sight of all the people upon mount Sinai. And thou shalt set bounds unto the people round about, saying, Take heed to yourselves, that ye go not up into the mount, or touch the border of it: whosoever toucheth the mount shall be surely put to death: There shall not an hand touch it, but he shall surely be stoned, or shot through; whether it be beast or man, it shall not live: when the trumpet soundeth long, they shall come up to the mount. And Moses went down from the mount unto the people, and sanctified the people; and they washed their clothes. And he said unto the people, Be ready against the third day: come not at your wives. Exodus 19:7-15
On the 3rd day of the 3rd month the LORD (God) fulfilled his word and came to the top of Mount Sinai with much thunder and lightning in a thick cloud and a loud sound of a trumpet. This caused the people of Israel at the base of the mountain to tremble. When the LORD came out of the cloud to the top of Mount Sinai he came in fire and caused smoke to rise up from the top of the mountain and Mount Sinai to quake extensively. As the sound of the trumpet got louder and louder Moses spoke to God and God responded including instructing Moses to come up to the top of Mount Sinai. The LORD instructed Moses to forbid the people and the priests from breaking through to Mount Sinai so they wouldn't be killed and that Moses should go down to meet Aaron his brother and bring him up onto Mount Sinai as well. Moses also spoke to the people of Israel when he went down off Mount Sinai. The scripture reference from Exodus 19 of the LORD coming down to Mount Sinai in power and awe and speaking to Moses to prepare the people for the giving of the Law of Moses starting on the 3rd day of the 3rd month is as follows:
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. 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 mount Sinai was altogether on a smoke, because the LORD descended upon it in fire: and the smoke thereof ascended as the smoke of a furnace, and the whole mount quaked greatly. And when the voice of the trumpet sounded long, and waxed louder and louder, Moses spake, and God answered him by a voice. 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. And let the priests also, which come near to the LORD, sanctify themselves, lest the LORD break forth upon them. And Moses said unto the LORD, The people cannot come up to mount Sinai: for thou chargest us, saying, Set bounds about the mount, and sanctify it. And the LORD said unto him, Away, get thee down, and thou shalt come up, thou, and Aaron with thee: but let not the priests and the people break through to come up unto the LORD, lest he break forth upon them. So Moses went down unto the people and spake unto them. Exodus 19:16-25
The LORD (God) amidst all this powerful and awesome spectacle of the thunder, lightning, earthquake and trumpet blast associated with His presence on Mount Sinai gave the core of but not the only part of the Law of Moses. The Law of Moses is regulations to the children of Israel and that is also of profit for the whole human race as moral guidelines and expectations. The first four commandments are of God's expectations of Israel and to some extent of all human beings toward Himself and the last six are God's commandments of how we are to treat our fellow human beings. It is a sad commentary on society and an indication of the lack of reverential fear or respect for God that although most people in today's society still respect and usually keep the last six commandments not many people especially people who aren't committed Christians or Jews keep the first four commandments. These first four commandments have to do with our relationship with God. The scripture passage in Exodus 20 of the Ten Commandments that form the core of the Law of Moses is as follows:
And God spake all these words, saying, I am the LORD thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. Thou shalt have no other gods before me. Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth: Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me; And showing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments. Thou shalt not take the name of the LORD thy God in vain; for the LORD will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain. Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work. But the seventh day is the sabbath of the LORD thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates: For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested on the seventh day: wherefore the LORD blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it. Honour thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee. Thou shalt not kill. Thou shalt not commit adultery. Thou shalt not steal. Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour. Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's house, thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor any thing that is thy neighbour's. Exodus 20:1-17
The LORD appeared in power and awe with the thunder and lightning and smoke and fire and earthquake and the trumpet blast and spoke the Ten Commandments to the Israelites from Mount Sinai. The people responded by drawing back from Mount Sinai and asked Moses that God not speak to them directly but through Moses as their mediator. Moses then told them the LORD (God) had appeared to them in this way so they would have a (revential) fear of Him. Moses then approached the LORD again on Mount Sinai and the LORD told Moses to tell the people of Israel that He had talked with them from Heaven. The LORD (God) also instructed Moses to tell the people of Israel or the Jews and sons of Israel that they were not to make idols or gods of silver or gold. Instead they were to make an altar of earth to worship the LORD. This is what was done by the Jews or Israelites with the Tabernacle and then the Temple of Solomon and the second temple or Zerubbabel's Temple and probably the later version of it in Herod's Temple. This is also what groups like The Temple Institute are planning as part of the Third Temple that they say will be in the Messianic Kingdom but as Christians we believe will be in the 7 year tribulation. The altar of the Messianic Kingdom Temple mentioned in Ezekiel 44 will probably also be of earth. It was on this place that the sacrifices of sheep, oxen and other animals were to be offered to the LORD as burnt offerings, peace offerings or other offerings such as sin and trespass offerings. God later instructs the Israelites that these offerings should just be at the place he would choose. However at first after Israel left Egypt they set up the tabernacle wherever they stopped in the journeys of Israel through the wilderness to make offerings to the LORD. When Israel or the Jews arrived in the promised land the tabernacle and altar were first set up in Shiloh in the territory of the Ephraimites. Later under Kings David and Solomon the tabernacle was moved to the former location of the threshing floor of Aruanah (Ornan) the Jebusite on Mount Moriah in Jerusalem that King David bought from him for some pieces of silver. This is also the location of Solomon's Temple and Herod's Temple and the current Temple Mount where the Jews want to build the Third Temple but are being hindered by the presence of the Muslim Dome of the Rock that is very holy to Muslims on the same location. The priests were also to take precautions to serve God at the altar in a holy way. The scripture reference in Exodus 20 of the response of the Jews or Israelites to the LORD's appearance on Mount Sinai and giving them the Ten Commandments and the further instructions God gives through Moses for the Israelites to worship Him are as follows:
And all the people saw the thunderings, and the lightnings, and the noise of the trumpet, and the mountain smoking: and when the people saw it, they removed, and stood afar off. And they said unto Moses, Speak thou with us, and we will hear: but let not God speak with us, lest we die. And Moses said unto the people, Fear not: for God is come to prove you, and that his fear may be before your faces, that ye sin not. And the people stood afar off, and Moses drew near unto the thick darkness where God was. And the LORD said unto Moses, Thus thou shalt say unto the children of Israel, Ye have seen that I have talked with you from heaven. Ye shall not make with me gods of silver, neither shall ye make unto you gods of gold. An altar of earth thou shalt make unto me, and shalt sacrifice thereon thy burnt offerings, and thy peace offerings, thy sheep, and thine oxen: in all places where I record my name I will come unto thee, and I will bless thee. And if thou wilt make me an altar of stone, thou shalt not build it of hewn stone: for if thou lift up thy tool upon it, thou hast polluted it. Neither shalt thou go up by steps unto mine altar, that thy nakedness be not discovered thereon. Exodus 20:18-26
The LORD (Jehovah or Yahweh and mostly God the Father) instructs the Israelites through Moses to follow the leading of the Angel of the LORD or with the LORD speaking mine angel through the wilderness to the place the LORD has prepared for the Israelites that is the promised land of Israel. The LORD (God the Father) also instructs the Israelites to obey the voice of the Angel of the LORD and that the LORD would then bless the Israelites that He (the LORD) would be an enemy to the enemies of the Israelites (both through the wilderness and when they they had to face the Canaanites in the land of Canaan to become the land of Israel. Part of the LORD being an adversary to the adversaries of the Israelites if they obeyed the voice of His Angel (the pre-incarnate Lord Jesus Christ the Son of God) would be to cut off the Canaanites the Israelites would face in the land of Canaan to become the land of Israel. The LORD however also says to the Israelites through Moses and through His Angel (the Lord Jesus Christ or the Lord Messiah Jesus) that He wouldn't forgive the Israelites if they didn't give heed to the voice of the Angel of the LORD which would also be God the Father's or the LORD's will for the Israelites. The LORD also instructs the Israelites not to worship the idols or false gods of the Canaanites or other heathen people in the Land of Canaan or the Land of Israel or else that would be a snare to the Israelites with the LORD then disciplining the Israelites and probably at least temporarily withdrawing some of His protection of them from the Canaanites or other earthly enemies. The LORD (especially God the Father also goes in more detail of how He would bless His chosen earthly people the Israelites when they got to their promised land of Israel between the Jordan River and Dead Sea on one side and the Mediterranean Sea on the other if they did obey Him (or His Angel) including if the Israelites serve the LORD and destroy the altars or idols and temples of the pagan false gods and not make agreements including marriage or business agreements with the Canaanites or their gods or priests such as of Baal or Ashtoreth. The scripture reference from Exodus 23 of a distinction between two mentioned Divine Persons of the Trinity The LORD as mostly God the Father and His Angel (as God the Son the Lord Jesus Christ or the Lord Messiah Y'Shua the Son of God) in leading the Israelites through the wilderness into their promised land of Israel and whose voice they needed to obey for the LORD's blessing and Who would fight for Israel if they obeyed God's (both God the Father -the LORD and God the Son the Angel of the LORD the Lord Jesus Christ's (and God the Holy Spirit's) voice both in the wilderness and in the promised land against their earthly enemies is as follows:
Behold, I send an Angel before thee, to keep thee in the way, and to bring thee into the place which I have prepared. Beware of him, and obey his voice, provoke him not; for he will not pardon your transgressions: for my name is in him. But if thou shalt indeed obey his voice, and do all that I speak; then I will be an enemy unto thine enemies, and an adversary unto thine adversaries. For mine Angel shall go before thee, and bring thee in unto the Amorites, and the Hittites, and the Perizzites, and the Canaanites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites: and I will cut them off. Thou shalt not bow down to their gods, nor serve them, nor do after their works: but thou shalt overthrow them, and quite break down their images. And ye shall serve the LORD your God, and he shall bless thy bread, and thy water; and I will take sickness away from the midst of thee. ... And I will set thy bounds from the Red sea even unto the sea of the Philistines (the Mediterranean Sea), and from the desert (in the Sinai wilderness) unto the (Euphrates) river: for I will deliver the inhabitants of the land into your hand; and thou shalt drive them out before thee. Thou shalt make no covenant with them, nor with their gods. They shalt not dwell in they land, lest they make thee sin against me: for if thou serve their gods, it will surely be a snare unto thee. Exodus 23:20-25, 31-33.
After the incident of the Israelites making the golden calf in the wilderness and worshipping it, there is another scripture passage giving a distinction between the divine persons of the LORD and the angel of the LORD. In this passage in Exodus 32 the LORD (Who I believe is mostly God the Father and the primary Divine Person Who had a relation with God's chosen earthly people Israel) states to Moses that whoever sins against Him (the LORD) will bear his sins and that God didn't accept Moses' offer to bear the sins of the Israelites who made or worshipped the golden calf (even though Moses was innocent of that sin). The LORD (mostly God the Father) then instructs Moses to continue to lead the Israelites to their promised land of Israel in the land of Canaan but adds His (the LORD's) Angel will go before the Israelites through the wilderness. (Again I believe the Angel of the LORD is primarily a pre-Incarnate appearance of God the Son or the Son of God the Lord Jesus Christ or Y'Shua HaMashiach and that the Angel of the LORD is distinct from the LORD in the cloud or pillar of fire which also usually went before the Israelites through the wilderness.) The LORD I believe as especially God the Father expressed some authority to Moses saying He would judge those who made or worshipped the golden calf and claimed responsibility as the Divine Person who made the plague against those who made or worshipped the golden calf. The scripture reference of the Divine Person the LORD who instructed Moses to continue to proceed to the promised land and that He would judge the Israelites Who made or worshipped the golden calf would also send His Angel to go before the Israelites also is a scripture passage that shows a distinction between God the Father as the LORD and God the Son or the Son of God in His pre-incarnate appearance to the Israelites as the Angel of the LORD Who both led the Israelites through the wilderness from Egypt to the Promised Land of Israel in Canaan is as follows:
And the LORD said unto Moses, Whosoever hath sinned against me, him will I blot out of my book. Therefore now go, lead the people unto the place of which I have spoken unto thee: behold, mine Angel shall go before thee: nevertheless in the day when I visit their sin upon them. And the LORD plagued the people, because they made the calf, which Aaron made. Exodus 32:33-35
Exodus chapter 40 is describing Moses putting the furniture and other objects of the tabernacle in place in preparating for establishing the tabernacle service to the LORD. One of the things he did at God's commandment was to put the testimony (the tables of stone with the 10 commandments that were a testimony to the children of Israel when God wrote it with his finger) into the ark of the covenant. This was one object that was in the ark of the covenant through Israel's history as long as the ark was in the tabernacle or Solomon's Temple. This was not in the second temple including Herod's temple that stood in Jerusalem in the time of Jesus' first earthly ministry. However the testimony of tables of the ten commandments could have been contained in the ark of the covenant when it was hidden by Judah's last good king, King Josiah, before the Babylonians destroyed Solomon's temple. The ark of the covenant could still exist and be hidden including the tables of the ten commandments inside it under the Temple Mount or somewhere else probably in the Holy Land. Moses then put the mercy seat on top of the ark of the covenant. The scripture passage from Exodus 40 of Moses putting the tables of the ten commandments in the ark of the covenant is as follows:
And he (Moses) took and put the testimony into the ark, and set the staves on the ark, and put the mercy seat above upon the ark: Exodus 40:20
The year of Jubilee which means a continued blowing of trumpets from its Hebrew word Yobale was tied into the cycle of the sabbatical year or the Shemitta. After seven sabbatical years or 49 years there was the Jubilee year which was the 50th year. However there were only 49 years in the Jubilee cycle as the Jubilee year was also the 1st year of the next 49 year Jubilee cycle. This is necessary in order not to disrupt the Sabbatical year cycle that were every 7 years and this cycle was unbroken in Sabbatical years with a Jubilee as the 1st of its 7 years. The Bible says in verse 9 after the 49 years or 7 sabbatical years then meaning after that was the Jubilee or on the 50th year. The time of the year when the Jubilee started was on the Day of Atonement or Yom Kippur which was on the 10th day of the 7th month of the Israelite religious calendar. This was indicated by the blowing of trumpets (the shofars or ram's horn). These trumpets were blown throughout the land of Israel. The Jubilee was to be an especially holy day for the Israelites in their relation with the LORD or Jehovah that Christians call God the FAther. The Israelites were to proclaim and accomplish liberty for all the inhabitants of the land especially Jewish or Hebrew ones. If other Jews became poor or indebted to richer Jews in Israel in terms of money or selling some of their land if they still owed this by the year of Jubilee the richer or creditor Jew was supposed to let the debtor Jew go free for nothing and let them return to their full inheritance land in the land of Israel for nothing in return in the year of Jubilee. Otherwise payment would have to be made for the release of them or their land they had sold to a creditor based on how many years it was from a year of Jubilee if it was not curently in a year of Jubilee. The Jewish people were not supposed to sow or harvest any crops in the year of Jubilee (or in the Sabbatical years) so they were supposed to lay up store of harvest from the previous non-sabbatical years for which God promised to bless them with abundant enough harvest then if they were faithful to Him and His law including for the land of Israel. Although they weren't supposed to sow or harvest crops on a commercial basis the Israelites were allowed to eat the increase of the field that grew by itself and what they or their own family could gather themselves. For most of Israel's history in the Old TEstament days they did not honour God's laws about the sabbatical year or the year of Jubilee which ultimately led to God's chastening of them in the 70 years captivity in Babylon and the times of the GEntiles in the 70 weeks of Daniel mentioned in Daniel 9 from the time of Nebuchadnezzar or more particulary the time of the decress from the Persian king Artaxerxes to rebuild the streets and walls of Jerusalem in the time of Nehemiah around 445 BC. The scripture reference from Leviticus 25 about the year of Jubilee as a year of Liberty and redication of Israelites and their property to the LORD is as follows:
And thou shalt number seven sabbaths of years unto thee, seven times seven years; and the space of the seven sabbaths of years shall be unto thee forty and nine years. Then shalt thou cause the trumpet of the jubile to sound on the tenth day of the seventh month, in the day of atonement shall ye make the trumpet sound throughout all your land. And ye shall hallow the fiftieth year, and proclaim liberty throughout all the land unto all the inhabitants thereof: it shall be a jubile unto you; and ye shall return every man unto his possession, and ye shall return every man unto his family. A jubile shall that fiftieth year be unto you: ye shall not sow, neither reap that which groweth of itself in it, nor gather the grapes in it of thy vine undressed. For it is the jubile; it shall be holy unto you: ye shall eat the increase thereof out of the field. In the year of this jubile ye shall return every man unto his possession. Leviticus 25:8-13
As in some of the other scripture passages from the Pentateuch, Books of Moses or Torah I have already entered on this web page, I believe the Divine Person mostly in the Cloud by Day and the Pillar of Fire by night to lead the Israelites through the wilderness was God the Father. I believe the Lord Jesus Christ God the Son and the Son of God also led the Israelites through the wilderness as a separate Person of the Divine Trinity as mentioned in references to the Angel of the LORD or the Angel of God. In this passage in Numbers 9 there is a summary of God the Father's - the LORD's leading the Israelites through the wilderness to the promised land of Israel to the promised land of Israel in Canaan. These references say that it was the LORD or especially God the Father Who was especially in the cloud of glory that was over the tabernacle (probably especially the Holy of holies part of the tabernacle and the tent of the testimony is this is different) in the camp of the Israelites when they were stationary or encamped. It is stated in this passage it was through the commandment of the LORD (especially God the Father) that the Israelites receieved instruction to set up camp or to again resume their journey through the wilderness and to then follow the LORD's leading (and that of the Angel of the LORD) with the LORD in the cloud by day and the pillar of fire by night. The LORD's commandments or instructions to the Israelites was also partly through His chosen human leader of the Israelites Moses. The scripture reference from Numbers 9 of the LORD (mostly God the Father as the particular Person of the Divine Trinity here and generally with relation to His chosen earthly people Israel while God the Son the Lord Jesus Christ the main divine Person relating to God's chosen heavenly or spiritual people of this age - the true Church) leading the Israelites through the wilderness by becoming stationary or leading them forward through His Presence and commandments out of the cloud by day and the pillar of fire by night and also giving commandments through His chosen earthly leader Moses is as follows:
And of the day that the tabernacle was reared up the cloud covered the tabernacle, namely, the tent of the testimony: and at even there was upon the tabernacle as it were the appearance of fire, until the morning. So it was alway: the cloud covered it by day, and the appearance of fire by night. And when the cloud was taken up from the tabernacle, then after that the children of Israel journeyed: and in the place where the cloud abode, there the children of Israel pitched their tents. And at the commandment of the LORD the children of Israel journeyed, and at the commandment of the LORD (Jehovah or Yahweh) they pitched: as long as the cloud abode upon the tabernacle they rested in their tents. And when the cloud tarried long upon the tabernacle many days, then the children of Israel kept the charge of the LORD, and journeyed not. And so it was, when the cloud was a few days upon the tabernacle; according to the commandments of the LORD they abode in their tents, and according to the commandment of the LORD they journeyed. And so it was, when the cloud abode from even unto the morning, and that the cloud was taken up in the morning, then they journeyed: whether it was by day or by night that the cloud was taken up, they journeyed. And whether it were two days, or a month, or a year, that the cloud tarried upon the tabernacle, remaining thereon, the children of Israel abode in their tents, and journeyed not: but when it was taken up, they journeyed. At the commandment of the LORD they rested in the tents, and at the commandment of the LORD they journeyed: they kept the charge of the LORD, at the commandment of the LORD by the hand of Moses. Numbers 9:15-23
After the Israelites, but especially the mixed multitude of those who were partly Egyptian blood complained about having to eat manna again for food and longed for the food they ate in Egypt, some of the main burden for serving the LORD in leading Israel got too much for Moses. As a result the LORD, who I think again in this instance is mostly God the Father, called Moses to bring together with him the 70 elders of Israel. The LORD or God the Father promised that He would come down personally then into the camp of the Israelites and transfer some of the Holy Spirit and His annointing that was on Moses to rest on the 70 elders of Israel. This would in effect result in transfer some of the burden or authority of leading Israel from Moses to be shared more extensively with the 70 elders of Israel. On the next day Moses did gather with him the 70 elders of Israel and the LORD, who I believe again is mostly God the Father of the New Testament came down from heaven in a cloud in the camp of the Israelites. The LORD then transferred some of the Holy Spirit that was on Moses to partly put His Holy Spirit on the 70 elders of Israel to annoint them to take up some of the burden Moses had for serving the LORD and leading the Israelites the chosen earthly people of God or of the LORD. This passage shows that the Spirit or Holy Spirit, including in the Pentateuch, Torah or Books of Moses is a separate Divine Person of the Divine Trinity or Triune Godhead and that the LORD or cloud or pillar in which the LORD appeared was not mostly God the HOly Spirit but another Divine Person most likely God the Father. The scripture reference from Numbers 11 of the burden of leading God's chosen earthly people the Israelites through the wilderness getting too heavy for Moses and the LORD, especially God the Father, honouring Moses' request to share that burden by transferring some of His Holy Spirit to the 70 elders of Israel showing that the LORD in the cloud is mostly not the Holy Spirit but most likely God the Father is as follows:
Then Moses heard the people weep throughout their families, every man in the door of his tent: and the anger of the LORD was kindled greatly; Moses also was displeased. And Moses said unto the LORD, Wherefore hast thou afflicted thy servant? and wherefore have I not found favour in thy sight, that thou layest the burden of all this people on me? ... I am not able to bear all this people alone, because it is too heavy for me. And if thou deal thus with me, kill me, I pray thee, out of hand, if I have found favour in thy sight; and let me not see my wretchedness. And the LORD said unto Moses, Gather unto me seventy men of the elders of Israel, whom thou knowest to be the elders of the people, and officers over them; and bring them unto the tabernacle of the congregation, that they may stand with thee. And I will come down and talk with thee there: and I will take of the spirit which is upon thee (you), and will put it upon them; and they shall bear the burden of the people with thee, that thou bear it not thyself alone. And say thou unto the people, Sanctify yourselves against to morrow, and ye shall eat flesh: for ye have wept before the ears of the LORD, saying, Who shall give us flesh to eat? for it was well with us in Egypt: therefore the LORD will give you flesh, and ye shall eat. ... And Moses went out, and told the people the words of the LORD, and gathered the seventy men of the elders of the people, and set them round about the tabernacle. And the LORD came down in a cloud, and spake unto him, and took of the spirit that was upon him, and gave it unto the seventy elders: and it came to pass, that, when the spirit rested upon them, they prophesied, and did not cease. Numbers 11:10-11, 14-18, 24-25
When the Israelites had finished their wanderings through the wilderness and the older generation of Israelites who had not believed the faithful report of Joshua and Caleb about the LORD being able to help them possess the land of Canaan to become the land of Israel and who then died in the wilderness, God was ready through Moses then Joshua to lead the Israelites into the land of Canaan. It would become the land of Israel because of the idolatry and associated immorality and violence of the Canaanites. The Israelites were at this point at Kadesh Barnear where they were about 38 years earlier when the 12 spies were sent by the LORD into the promised land to scout it out to enable God's chosen people Israel plan how to with the LORD's help enter in to possess it and overcome the existing Gentile and idolatrous people in Canaan. God the Father as the LORD then led Moses to request the king of Edom (the descendants of Esau the brother of Jacob (Israel)) to led the Israelites pass peacefully through to the land of Israel on the then major highway the King's Highway but the king of Edom was suspicious and would not let the Israelites pass peacably through his people's land and this led to a conflict. Moses rehearsed some of the history of Israel to the king of Edom up to that point including their slavery in Egypt and the LORD (God the Father) sending His Angel (the Angel of the LORD) to lead the Israelites through the wilderness to at that point the land of Edom on their way to their (the Israelites) promised land of Israel between the Mediterranean Sea and the Jordan River that was at that time still occupied by the Canaanites and other Gentile people who worshipped other gods than the LORD (God the Father) and the rest of the Divine Trinity (including Jesus as the Angel of the LORD and the Holy Spirit as the Spirit of God). The scripture reference from Numbers 20 as God through His appointed chosen human leader of the Israelites Moses rehearses the recent history of the Israelites, including God leading them through the wilderness to the border of Edom by the Angel of the LORD (God the Son Jesus Christ), to the king of Edom just before entering his territory that the Israelites only wanted to go through his territory on their way to the land of Israel where the Canaanites were not to occupy Edom is as follows:
And Moses sent messengers from Kadesh (Barnea) unto the king of Edom, Thus saith thy brother Israel, Thou knowest all the travail (hardship) that hath befallen us: How our fathers went down into Egypt, and we have dwelt in Egypt a long time; and the Egyptians vexed us. and our fathers: And when we cried unto the LORD, he heard our voice, and sent an angel (the Angel of the LORD), and hath brough us forth out of Egypt: and behold, we are in Kadesh, a city in the uttermost (edge) of thy border: Numbers 20:14-16
In the last days of Moses, who God used to lead the Israelites out of bondage in Egypt and through the wilderness to the verge of the promised land, God gave a warning through Moses to the Israelites. Among other things God through Moses warned the Israelites when they came into the promised land and got settled there not to worship the false gods of the strangers, the Gentile inhabitants of the land of Canaan or the land of Israel. God warned the Israelites that if they worshipped false gods he would hide his face from them and withdraw his presence from among the Israelites. Among other things besides this meaning that God might not protect the Israelites from their enemies or famine or other things if they worshipped false gods this warming could also mean God would withdraw his visible presence of the Shekinah glory of God the Father above the mercy seat in the holy of holies in the tabernacle. This would mean that the tabernacle and all its services would be much less meaningless as a place to worship and access God's presence. I saw this because in a couple generations after the Israelites came into the land after Joshua the leader who brought them into Israel had died they did worship the gods of the land and God allowed the Gentile powers in and around Canaan or the land of Israel to overpower and suppress the Israelites until they confessed their sins of idolatry etc. to God and asked God for His mercy and to raise up deliverers or judges to free them from their enemies which when they did God did. However in the book of Judges or even in the time of Joshua or Samuel there is no record in the Bible that I can find of God's Shekinah glory in the tabernacle in the land of Israel which was then in a place called Shiloh. This could be a fulfillment of God's promise to hide his face or not to be among the Israelites if they worshipped the false gods of the land. The scripture reference from Deuteronomy 31 of God's warning to the Israelites through His leader Moses for the Israelites not to worship false gods of the people of Canaan or neighbouring Gentile nations and if they did that God would hide his face and the possible fulfillment of this warning that God's Shekinah glory is not mentioned in the tabernacle of God in the land of Israel in Shiloh is as follows:
And the LORD said unto Moses, Behold, thy days approach that thou must die: call Joshua, and present yourselves in the tabernacle of the congregation, that I may give him a charge, And Moses and Joshua went, and presented themselves in the tabernacle of the congregation. And they LORD appeared in the tabernacle in a pillar of a cloud: and the pillar of the cloud stood over the door of the tabernacle. And the LORD said unto Moses, Behold, thou shalt sleep with thy fathers; and this people will rise up, and go a whoring after the gods of the strangers of the land, whither they go to be among them, and will forsake me, and break my covenant which I have made with them. Then my anger shall be kindled against them in that day, and I will forsake them, and I will hide my face from them, and they shall be devoured, and many evils and troubles shall befall them; so that they say in that day, Are not these evils come upon us, because our God is not among us? Deuteronomy 31:14-17
Just before his death and just before the Israelites entered the promised land of Israel, Moses finished writing the Book of Deuteronomy and the five books of the Law of Moses. Moses then instructed the Levites to put the Book of the Law on the side of the Ark of the Covenant. Although many Bible commentators think the Book of the Law is the Book of Deuteronomy, it is not clear from the context if the Book of the Law is only the Book of Deuteronomy or all the books of the law that Moses wrote in other words Genesis through Deuteronomy. Whatever the case the Book of the Law was put on the side of the ARk of the Covenant which would be put back into the Holy of holies in the tabernacle when the Israelites stopped. This means that there were two writings associated with the ARk of the Covenant the testimony or tables of the ten commandments that would be inside the ARk of the Covenant and the Book of the Law that would be attached to the side of the ARk of the Covenant. This is something that the Lord just showed to me recently when I was reading the Book of Deuternomy. The scripture reference of Moses instructing the Levites to put the Book of the Law on the side of the Ark of the Covenant and it is understand them carrying this out in Deuteronomy 31 is as follows:
And it came to pass, when Moses had made an end of writing the words of this book of the law in a book, until they were finished, That Moses commanded the Levites, which bare the ark of the covenant of the LORD, saying, Take this book of the law, and put it in the side of the ark of the covenant of the LORD your God, that it may be there for a witness against thee. Deuteronomy 31:24-26
| Name of Offering | Scripture | Animals or Materials Involved | Purpose of Offering | Symbolic Meaning in Messiah (Christ) Jesus |
| The Burnt Offering | Leviticus 1:1-17 | Bullock, Sheep, Goat, Pigeon or Turtledove | To show dedication of the worshipper to the LORD by offering on the Altar of Sacrifice | To show Messiah Jesus' total dedication to the LORD (God the Father) |
| The Meal Offering | Leviticus 2:1-16 | Fine Flour, Oil, Frankincense | Recogition of and dedication back to God of God's provision of bread a basic food and oil as a symbol of affluence | Godly balance of life of Messiah with the Holy Spirit tested unto death and dedication of Messiah Jesus to God as the Lord of creation |
| The Peace Offering | Leviticus 3:1-17 | Bullock, Cow, Male or female sheep or goat | Fellowship of offerer with family, friends and priest | Messiah Jesus' sharing the benefits of his death with others especially believers |
| The Sin Offering | Leviticus 4:1-35 | Bullock, female goat | Offering made to cover sin nature of offerer on the Altar of Sacrifice | Offering made of Messiah Jesus to take away the blemish of the sin nature of people by his death on the cross |
| The Trespass Offering | Leviticus 5:1-19 | Female lamb or goat or turtledoves or pigeons | Offering made to cover sin deeds of offerer on the Altar of Sacrifice | Offering made of Messiah (Christ) Jesus by his death on the cross (altar) to take away our sins |
| The Drink Offering | Leviticus 23:13, 18, 37 | Wine | Offering made to dedicate wine as symbol of freshness and vitality as part of God's creation back to Him | Offering made of Messiah Jesus as the source of abundant spiritual life back to God |
One new or fuller insight God gave to me in my reading His word the Holy Bible this year (2018) was not only the importance but how it related to the sacrifices of the offering of the fat of the animal sacrifices to the LORD by the priests in the worship of God in the tabernacle or temple of God by the Israelites under the Mosaic Covenant. I had seen before by the Holy Spirit that the fat seemed to be very important to the LORD in the Levitical worship as part of the animals sacrificed to Him in the tabernacle or temple worship. The fat seemed to be of comparable importance to the LORD with the blood or flesh of the animal sacrifices. This is strange because although the blood and to some extent the flesh of the animal sacrifices are mentioned in the New Testament directly or indirectly or symbolically in reference of the one perfect sacrifice to take away all our sins in the sacrifice to God the Father of His only begotton Son Jesus Christ on the cross and in the three hours of darkness there when He Jesus bore God the Father's wrath for all our sins (was smitten of God as in Isaiah 53) or of Christian's service our lives for God to be a sacrifice to God the fat is not mentioned at all concerning sacrifices to God in the New Testament. However, I have now found, by God's grace a way in which the fat of the animal sacrifices are mentioned in a large way in Leviticus concerning the animal sacrifices and that carries over into the New Testament. This is in the animal sacrifices that are sweet savour offerings to the LORD that are not directly for coverning sins but for devotedness to God as in the burnt offering or for fellowship with God and other believers as in the peace offering.
In Leviticus 1, 4 and 8 the fat is treated as comparable source as the flesh in that which is burned on the altar to give a sweet savour to the LORD. However in the peace offering in Leviticus 3 it is mainly the fat that is offered by burning on the altar to the LORD as a sweet savour to the LORD. In a relatively arid or dry climate like Israel fat spoke of blessing or prosperity or abundance and health. The Lord Jesus Christ when He died on the cross for our sins and to take away all our sins was the ultimate example of perfect dedication to God the Father and we can have the benefit of His perfect righteousness or obedience to God the Father in the sight of Jesus and God the Father if we admit we are sinners and trust in the Lord Jesus Christ as our personal Lord and Saviour. Jesus on the cross was also the ultimate peace offering as because of His perfectly obedient life to God the Father including following His will to die on the cross for our sins Jesus could confirm perfect peace with God the Father for Himself but also extent God's peace to all people Jew and Gentile in the true Church or of Jews and Gentiles in Old Testament, tribulation or 70th week of Daniel and Millennial or Messianic Kingdom ages or dispensations who place heart faith in the true God the God of the Bible including what revelation of Messiah as the sin bearer they had that was fulfilled in Jesus of Nazareth. Some scriptures that mention the fat in a key way as related to the sweet savour of the sweet savour offerings or sacrifices to the LORD and that is contained in references to sweet savour offerings to the LORD used spiritually in the New Testament are the following:
And the LORD called unto Moses, and spake unto him out of the tabernacle of the congregation, saying, Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, If any man of you bring an offering unto the LORD, ye shall bring your offering of the cattle, even of the herd, and of the flock. If his offering be a burnt-sacrifice of the herd, let him offer a male without blemish: he shall offer it of his own voluntary will at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation of the LORD. And he shall put his hand upon the head of the burnt-offering; and it shall be accepted for him to make atonement for him. And he shall kill the bullock before the LORD: and the priests, Aaron's sons, shall bring the blood, and sprinkle the blood round about upon the altar that is by the door of the tabernable of the congregation. And he shall flay the burnt-offering, and cut it into his pieces. And the sons of Aaron the priest shall put fire upon the altar, and lay the wood in order upon the fire: And the priests, Aaron's sons, shall lay the parts, the head, and the fat, in order upon the wood that is on the fire which is upon the altar: But his inwards and his legs shall he wash in water: and the priest shall burn all on the altar, to be a burnt-sacrifice, an offering made by fire, of a sweet savour unto the LORD. And if his offering be of the flocks, namely, of the sheep,or of the goats, for a burnt-sacrifice; he shall bring it a male without blemish. And he shall kill it on the side of the altar northward before the LORD: and the priests, Aaron's sons, shall sprinkle his blood round about the altar. And he shall cut it into his pieces, with his head and his fat: and the priest shall lay them in order on the wood that is on the fire which is upon the altar: But he shall wash the inwards and the legs with water: and the priest shall bring it all, and burn it upon the altar: it is a burnt-sacrifice, an offering made by fire, of a sweet savour unto the LORD. Leviticus 1:1-13
And his oblation be a sacrifice of peace-offering, if he offer it on the herd; whether it be a male or female, he shall offer it without blemish before the LORD. And he shall lay his hand upon the head of the offering, and kill it at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation: and Aaron's sons the priests shall sprinkle the blood upon the altar round about. And he shall offer of the sacrifice of the peace-offering an offering made by fire unto the LORD; the fat that covering the inwards, and all the fat that is upon the inwards, And the two kidneys, and the fat this is on them, which is by the flanks, and the caul above the liver, with the kidneys, it shall he take away. And Aaron's sons shall burn it on the altar upon the burnt-sacrifice, which is upon the wood that is on the fire: it is an offering made by fire, of a sweet savour unto the LORD. And if his offering for a sacrifice of peace-offering unto the LORD be of the flock; male or female, he shall offer it without blemish. If he offer a lamb for his offering, then shall he offer it before the LORD. And he shall lay his hand upon the head of his offering, and kill it before the tabernacle of the congregation: and Aaron's sons shall sprinkle the blood thereof round about upon the altar. And he shall offer of the sacrifice of the peace-offering an offering made by fire unto the LORD; the fat thereof, and the whole rump, it shall he take off hard by the backbone; and the fat that covereth the inwards, and all the fat that is upon the inwards. And the two kidneys, and the fat that is upon them, which is by the flanks, and the caul above the liver, with the kidneys, it shall he take away. And the priest shall burn it upon the altar: it is the food of the offering made by fire unto the LORD. And if his offering be a goat, then he shall it before the LORD. And he shall lay his hand upon the head of it, and kill it before the tabernacle of the congregation: and the sons of Aaron shall sprinkle the blood thereof upon the altar round about. And he shall offer thereof his offering, even an offering made by fire unto the LORD; the fat that covereth the inwards, and all the fat that is upon the inwards, And the two kidneys, and the fat that is upon them, which is by the flanks, and the caul above the liver, with the kidneys, it shall he take away. And the priest shall burn them upon the altar: it is the food of the offering made by fire for a sweet savour: all the fat is the LORD's. It shall be a perpetual statute for your generations throughout all your dwellings, that ye eat neither fat nor blood. Leviticus 3:1-17
Be ye therefore followers of God, as dear children; And walk in love, as Christ (Messiah) also hath loved us, and hath given himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweetsmelling savour. Ephesians 5:1-2
Yea, and if I be offered upon the sacrifice and service of your faith, I joy, and rejoice with you all. For the same cause also do ye joy, and rejoice with me. Philippians 2:17-18
For I am now ready to be offered, and the time of my departure is at hand. I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith: Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only but unto all them that love his appearing. 2 Timothy 4:6-8
| Name of Furniture Piece | Scripture | Use Under Law of Moses | New Covenant Application | Current Prophetic Status |
| Ark of the Covenant | Exodus 25:10-16 | Used to Hold the Tables of the Ten Commandments | Speaks of the Lord Jesus Christ as God Come in the Form of a Man (John 1:14) | Believed by the Temple Institute and Many Orthodox Jews and Substantial Bible Believing Christians to be Under the Temple Mount and to be Brought for the Third Temple When Jews are REady to Build It |
| The Mercy Seat | Exodus 25:17-22 | Used as Place to Shekinah Glory of the LORD (God the Father) to Rest Above | Speaks of the Lord Jesus Christ Ascended to God's Right Hand (Hebrews 4:16) | Believed by the Temple Institute and Many Orthodox Jews and Substantial Bible Believing Christians to be under the Temple Mount with the ARk of the Covenant to be Brought for the Third Temple When Jews are Ready to Build It |
| Table of Shewbread | Exodus 25:23-30 | Used to Provide Bread for the Jewish Priests | Speaks of the Lord Jesus Christ as the Bread of Life (John 6:35) | Completed by the Temple Institute According to Halachic (Jewish Legal) Requirements and Ready for the Third Temple |
| Laver | Exodus 30:17-21 | Used for Priests to Wash Their Hands and Feet | Speaks of Cleansing Through the Lord Jesus Christ (John 13:3-10, Hebrews 10:22) | Completed by the Temple Institute According to Halachic (Jewish Legal) Requirements and Ready for the Third Temple |
| Altar of Incense | Exodus 30:1-10 | used for Priests to Offer Incense to the LORD as Worship | Speaks of the Lord Jesus Christ Interceding before God the Father for Believers (Scofield Reference Bible) (Hebrews 7:25) | Completed by the Temple Institute According to Halachic (Jewish Legal) Requirements and REady for the Third Temple |
| Altar of Sacrifice | Exodus 27:1-8 | Used to Offer Animal Sacrifics to Cover the Sins of the Israelites Before the LORD | Speaks of the Lord Jesus Christ as the Sacrifice to Take Away All Our Sins (John 1:29) | Initial Steps Have Been Taken by the Temple Institute to Build it According to Halachic (Jewish Legal) Requirements to Prepare for Use in the Third Temple |
| Menorah Candlestick | Exodus 25:31-39 | Used to Provide Light in the Temple | Speaks of the Lord Jesus Christ as the Light of the World (John 8:12) | Completed by the Temple Institute According to Halachic (Jewish Legal) Requirements and Ready for the Third Temple |
The barque or box superficially resembling the ark of the covenant of the Egyptians and the palenquin of the Mesopotamians or those of Sumer were also boxes used for religious purposes and which were associated with their deity (deities) as the Ark of the Covenant was associated with the God of Israel but there were also major differences as well. This includes the fact that the ark like vessels of the ancient Egyptians and Sumerians actually contained the god(s) associated with a given festival and it was believed by them that in this way the gods could be transported from place to place through transporting their physical idols or images. However with the God of Israel this definitely wasn't the case. Although sometimes as with the march around Jericho and crossing the Jordan River when the Israelites first came into the promised land and later when the Ark of the Covenant was captured by the Philistines God gave power associated with the Ark of the Covenant God was not then or ever actually in the Ark of the Covenant. The things in the Ark of the Covenant were the stone tables of the ten commandments, the golden pot of manna and Aaron's rod that budded which of course were not the God of Israel but just tokens of His acting on behalf of His chosen earthly people Israel. Another point of distinction between the God of Israel and the Ark of the Covenant on one hand and the outwardly similiar boxes of the Egyptians and Sumerians is that the God of Israel in the journeys with the Ark of the Covenant moved in His glory above and distinct from the Ark of the Covenant unlike the gods of the heathen Egyptians and Sumerians that were viewed as contained in the idols or images within their boxes for their gods. The Egyptian box was called a barque probably because it was shaped like a boat while the box of the Sumerians was probably a more similiar shape as the Ark of the Covenant with a rectangular shape. The scripture reference from Numbers 10 of the God of Israel as not contained in the Ark of the Covenant but his glory moving with but above the Ark of the Covenant and procession of the Israelites through the wilderness is as follows:
And it shall be, if thou go with us, yea, it shall be, that what goodness the LORD shall do unto us, the same will we do unto thee. And they departed from the mount of the LORD (Mount Sinai or Mount Horeb) three days' journey, to search out a resting place for them. And the cloud of the LORD was upon them by day, whey they went out of the camp. And it came to pass, when the ark set forward, that Moses said, Rise up, LORD, and let thine enemies be scattered; and let them that hate thee flee before thee. And when it rested, he said, Return, O LORD, unto the many thousands of Israel. Numbers 10:32-36
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