The nation of Israel had a very unique history, unlikely that of all the other nations. Created by God, privileged with all the super natural events while taken to the Promised Land, promised to the patriarch Abraham, whom God chose to be their father. He was a man after the heart of God for his zeal for God. Born in the days of Noah, he lived in Noah’s house for a period of time, where he learned the ways of the Lord and served the Lord all the days of his life. He destroyed all his father’s gods out of zeal for God and was put in prison for a time. (The Book of Jasher) No, Abraham was not a worshipper of gods, contrary to what Christians think. He was influenced by Noah and his son to follow the true God. He took a strong stand against his father’s gods and made sure that they were destroyed. While in Haran, the Lord called Abraham to leave his country, his relatives and his father’s house, to the land that He was going to show him and the Lord said to him, And I will make you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name famous and distinguished, and you will be a blessing; and I will bless those who bless you and curse him who curses or uses insolent language toward you; in you will all the families and kindred of the earth be blessed. And, Abraham departed, as the Lord had directed him… He was seventy-five years old when he left Haran. (Gen.12). From this man of faith and obedience, came the nation of Israel established by God Himself.
Four hundred years the descendants of Abraham lived in Egypt, as God told him. Subjected to the Egyptians’ demands and hard work, Israel suffered much until God called the man Moses to deliver them. It was a time of great deliverance, after God brought judgments upon the Egyptians for not let the people go. They were seventy people in all when they arrived in Egypt; four hundred years later they had multiplied to over a million people. Moses, who was adopted by the daughter of the king, was considered their son, but he chose to leave their life style to save his people. Starting, he killed an Egyptian for mistreating one of his brothers, and then fled to the land of Median, where God called him to save his people from slavery. That was forty years later after he had left Egypt. Afraid, he hesitated to answer to the call for his past hanged over his head. With the help of his brother Aaron, he went and miraculously he delivered the people. This was a new chapter in the lives of the people.
That was the beginning of their journey through the wilderness for forty years. It was there that God manifested His presence by miracles and wonders. To start with, He parted the Red Sea for them to cross it on dry land. It took all night for those people to arrive to the other side. He brought them out, on eagles’ wings safe and sound as He told them in Exodus 19:4: You have seen for yourselves what I did to Egypt and how I carried you on eagles’ wings and brought you to Myself. All through the forty years they wandered through the desert, God provided a cloud in the day time to protect them from the heat of the sun and a pillar of fire in the night to provided them light. These were years of teaching them to be a nation different of all the rest. They were to be priests unto the Lord and light to the world around them as a testimony of their true God. On the third month of their journey, God descended to Mount Sinai to covenant with them. The mount was wrapped in smoke, for the Lord descended upon it in fire; its smoke ascended like that of a furnace and the whole mountain quaked greatly (Ex. 19:18). The seriousness of that event took the people by surprise and fear. They were facing the holiness of their God which was to compel them to keep His covenant with Him, so not to be judged.
Light from the Word 