The
Holy Spirit
"I
Will Be Your God, and They Will Be My People"
A
Marriage Covenant
Ancient
Legal Terminology
The
term
"I
will be your God, and they will be my people"
is generally recognized as "the covenant formula". This
formula is derived from ancient legal terminology, specifically
regarding the marriage ceremony. (The
Expository Notes of Dr. Constable - Eze 11:19-20)
In marriage "the two become one flesh". Throughout
scripture, God's declaration of being their God and they being His
people is His statement of intent to have an intimate "one
flesh" relationship with them.
Gen 2:24
That is why a man leaves his father and mother and is united to his
wife, and they become one flesh.
One
Flesh
Paul
picks up on this as a type of God and the church.
This shows the eventual goal of a "one flesh" relationship
not only with Israel, but with the Gentiles who become a part of His
body.
Eph 5:31-32
"For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be
united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh." (32)
This is a profound mystery--but I am talking about Christ and the
church.
Col 1:25-27
I have become its servant by the commission God gave me to present to
you the word of God in its fullness-- (26) the mystery that has been
kept hidden for ages and generations, but is now disclosed to the
Lord's people. (27) To them God has chosen to make known among the
Gentiles the glorious riches of this mystery, which is Christ in you,
the hope of glory.
Joh 17:20-23
"My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will
believe in me through their message, (21) that all of them may be
one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be
in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me. (22) I
have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as
we are one-- (23) I in them and you in me--so that they may be
brought to complete unity. Then the world will know that you sent me
and have loved them even as you have loved me.
1Jn 4:12-13
No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us
and his love is made complete in us. (13) This is how we know that we
live in him and he in us: He has given us of his Spirit.
These
passages show that God's intent through the ages was and is to live
within Jew and Gentile alike as one (Col 1:25-27).
One
Flesh with Israel
God's
plan was to for Israel, to be their God, and they His people, and
that Israel would be a light to the nations to bring them into
relationship with God as well. The out working of this intent on
God's part began at Mt. Sinai with the Israelites.
Exo 6:7
I will take you as my own people, and I will be your God. Then you
will know that I am the LORD your God, who brought you out from under
the yoke of the Egyptians.
Exo 19:5-6
Now if you obey me fully and keep my covenant, then out of all
nations you will be my treasured possession. Although the whole earth
is mine, (6) you will be for me a kingdom of priests and a holy
nation.' These are the words you are to speak to the Israelites."
Isa 42:6
"I, the LORD, have called you in righteousness; I will take hold
of your hand. I will keep you and will make you to be a covenant for
the people and a light for the Gentiles,
Isa 49:6
he says: "It is too small a thing for you to be my servant to
restore the tribes of Jacob and bring back those of Israel I have
kept. I will also make you a light for the Gentiles, that my
salvation may reach to the ends of the earth."
Act 26:22-23
But God has helped me to this very day; so I stand here and testify
to small and great alike. I am saying nothing beyond what the
prophets and Moses said would happen-- (23) that the Messiah would
suffer and, as the first to rise from the dead, would bring the
message of light to his own people and to the Gentiles."
Israel's
Rejection
One
Flesh with Israel (Cont.)
In
(Gen 17:7-8)
God says the the purpose of the Abrahamic Covenant was "to
be your God and the God of your descendants after you".
Gen 17:7-8
I will establish my covenant as an everlasting covenant between me
and you and your descendants after you for the generations to come,
to be your God and the God of your descendants after you. (8) The
whole land of Canaan, where you now reside as a foreigner, I will
give as an everlasting possession to you and your descendants after
you; and I will be their God."
The
presentation of the Marriage Covenant was on Mt. Sinai about two to
three months after the Israelites had been freed from Egyptian
slavery.
Exo 6:6-8
"Therefore, say to the Israelites: 'I am the LORD, and I will
bring you out from under the yoke of the Egyptians. I will free you
from being slaves to them, and I will redeem you with an outstretched
arm and with mighty acts of judgment. (7) I will take you as my own
people, and I will be your God. Then you will know that I am the LORD
your God, who brought you out from under the yoke of the Egyptians.
(8) And I will bring you to the land I swore with uplifted hand to
give to Abraham, to Isaac and to Jacob. I will give it to you as a
possession. I am the LORD.'"
God's
intent was to make them kingdom of priests. Each individual Israelite
would be a priest to those around them bringing unbelievers to the
knowledge of God, aka bring a light to the Gentiles.
Exo 19:5-6
Now if you obey me fully and keep my covenant, then out of all
nations you will be my treasured possession. Although the whole earth
is mine, (6) you will be for me a kingdom of priests and a holy
nation.' These are the words you are to speak to the Israelites."
Israel
Rejects One Flesh Relationship
Israel
failed in this mission, and the reason they failed is their rejection
of Him who would have given them the power to be priests. They
resisted the Holy Spirit, and turned to idolatry instead.
Israel
Asks For a Mediator
Moses
records the actual response of the Israelites:
Exo 20:18-19
When the people saw the thunder and lightning and heard the trumpet
and saw the mountain in smoke, they trembled with fear. They stayed
at a distance (19) and said to Moses, "Speak to us yourself and
we will listen. But do not have God speak to us or we will die."
Deu 5:4-5
The LORD spoke to you face to face out of the fire on the mountain.
(5) (At that time I stood between the LORD and you to declare to you
the word of the LORD, because you were afraid of the fire and did not
go up the mountain.) ....
Deu 5:24-27
And you said, "The LORD our God has shown us his glory and his
majesty, and we have heard his voice from the fire. Today we have
seen that a person can live even if God speaks with them. (25) But
now, why should we die? This great fire will consume us, and we will
die if we hear the voice of the LORD our God any longer. (26) For
what mortal has ever heard the voice of the living God speaking out
of fire, as we have, and survived? (27) Go near and listen to all
that the LORD our God says. Then tell us whatever the LORD our God
tells you. We will listen and obey."
Jeremiah
looks back at the Exodus from Egypt and sheds light on what God's
intent was at that time, "I will be their God, and they will be
my people", and the Israelite response.
Jer 7:22-24
For
when I brought your ancestors out of Egypt and spoke to them, I did
not just give them commands about burnt offerings and sacrifices,
(23) but I gave them this command: Obey me, and I will be your God
and you will be my people. Walk in obedience to all I command you,
that it may go well with you. (24) But they did not listen or pay
attention; instead, they followed the stubborn inclinations of their
evil hearts. They went backward and not forward.
Stephen also looked back at this event and reflected on their resistance of
the Holy Spirit when he said:
Act 7:51
"You stiff-necked people! Your hearts and ears are still
uncircumcised. You are just like your ancestors: You always resist
the Holy Spirit!
God's
One Flesh Offer Put On Hold
God
is the same yesterday as today. It is clear reading through the
history of the Israelites that they had rejected God's offer to be
their God, and they to be His people and forfeited the indwelling
presence of the Holy Spirit. Throughout scripture, there
is a unmistakable and direct connection between "I will be your
God, and you will be my people" and the indwelling Spirit.
Notice the connection in these passages which are now referred to as
a provision of the "New" Covenant.
Eze 11:19-20
I will give them an undivided heart and put a new spirit in them; I
will remove from them their heart of stone and give them a heart of
flesh. (20) Then they will follow my decrees and be careful to keep
my laws. They will be my people, and I will be their God.
Eze 36:26-28
I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will
remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh.
(27) And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my
decrees and be careful to keep my laws. (28) Then you will live in
the land I gave your ancestors; you will be my people, and I will be
your God.
Eze 37:26-27
I will make a covenant of peace with them; it will be an everlasting
covenant. I will establish them and increase their numbers, and I
will put my sanctuary among them forever. (27) My dwelling place will
be with them; I will be their God, and they will be my people.
Zec 8:8
I will bring them back to live in Jerusalem; they will be my people,
and I will be faithful and righteous to them as their God."
Heb 8:10
This is the covenant I will establish with the people of Israel after
that time, declares the Lord. I will put my laws in their minds and
write them on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my
people.
The
Indwelling Spirit is Present For the Church
The
term "I will be their God, and they will be my people" has
great meaning. Paul explains the application of the term, and what it
means for us today. He clearly associates "I will be their God
and they will be my people" with the indwelling Holy Spirit.
2Co 6:16
"... For we are the temple of the living God. As God has said:
"I will live with them and walk among them, and I will be their
God, and they will be my people."
Paul
is corroborating Ezekiel when he said:
Eze 37:27
My dwelling place will be with them; I will be their God, and they
will be my people.
The
Consequence of Israel's Rejection
The
original intent of the Mosaic Covenant then cannot be anything less
than God's desire to put the Spirit of God inside the individual
Israelite by which they would become a nation of priests and
mediators between God and man. They
failed in this mission, the source of which was their rejection at
Mt. Sinai to come near to God. Through disobedience to go up the
mountain to meet Him, and by asking for a mediator between themselves
and God, they fell short of God's plan to place his Holy Spirit in
them. (Exo 20:18-19,
Deu 5:22-27,
ref above).
A Mediator Granted
(Moses)
God did not reject the
Israelites because of this however, and agreed to satisfy their
request.
Exo 20:18-19
When the people saw the thunder and lightning and heard the trumpet
and saw the mountain in smoke, they trembled with fear. They stayed
at a distance (19) and said to Moses, "Speak to us yourself and
we will listen. But do not have God speak to us or we will die."
Deu 5:24-27
And you said, "The LORD our God has shown us his glory and his
majesty, and we have heard his voice from the fire. Today we have
seen that a person can live even if God speaks with them. (25) But
now, why should we die? This great fire will consume us, and we will
die if we hear the voice of the LORD our God any longer. (26) For
what mortal has ever heard the voice of the living God speaking out
of fire, as we have, and survived? (27) Go near and listen to all
that the LORD our God says. Then tell us whatever the LORD our God
tells you. We will listen and obey."
A Mediator Promised
(Jesus)
Deu 18:15-18
The LORD your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among
you, from your fellow Israelites. You must listen to him. (16) For
this is what you asked of the LORD your God at Horeb on the day of
the assembly when you said, "Let us not hear the voice of the
LORD our God nor see this great fire anymore, or we will die."
(17) The LORD said to me: "What they say is good. (18) I will
raise up for them a prophet like you from among their fellow
Israelites, and I will put my words in his mouth. He will tell them
everything I command him.
The Law of Moses
Given
It was the Israelites
request that brought about the occasion of God giving to Moses the
commands, decrees, and laws.
Exo 20:21-22
The people remained at a distance, while Moses approached the thick
darkness where God was. (22) Then the LORD said to Moses, "Tell
the Israelites this: 'You have seen for yourselves that I have spoken
to you from heaven:
Deu 5:28-31
The LORD heard you when you spoke to me, and the LORD said to me, "I
have heard what this people said to you. Everything they said was
good. (29) Oh, that their hearts would be inclined to fear me and
keep all my commands always, so that it might go well with them and
their children forever! (30) "Go, tell them to return to their
tents. (31) But you stay here with me so that I may give you all the
commands, decrees and laws you are to teach them to follow in the
land I am giving them to possess."
The Tabernacle
The
Tabernacle was one of the provisions that resulted from Israel's
resistance of the Holy Spirit. The construction of a Tabernacle was
for the purpose of providing a dwelling place for God, where He could
be among
His people, but not in
them. The instruction to construct a tabernacle is itself strong
evidence showing the consequence of Israel's resistance of the Holy
Spirit. The Holy Spirit would not indwell the Israelites, but rather,
He would be among them in the tabernacle. Today, as would have been
the case then, there is no need for a Tabernacle or Temple, because
individuals are the temple of God.
2Co 6:16
"... For we are the temple of the living God. As God has said:
"I will live with them and walk among them, and I will be their
God, and they will be my people."
The
Provision of Mosaic Law
The Law a Tutor
In
the absence of the indwelling Holy Spirit, Israel was given a
guardian, or tutor to provide instruction that the Holy Spirit would
have otherwise provided. Paul
explains why the law was given:
Gal 3:19
Why, then, was the law given at all? It was added because of
transgressions until the Seed to whom the promise referred had come.
The law was given through angels and entrusted to a mediator.
This
verse is linked inextricably to the rejection of the Holy Spirit at
Mt. Sinai. It was at Mt. Sinai that the law was given, and it was at
Mt. Sinai that the law was entrusted to the mediator. This verse
refers to Deu 5:31,
in which God tells Moses (the mediator) to remain so He can give Him
the law. The Israelites failed to be a party to God's statement, "I
will be their God, and they will be my people". They stayed back
in fear, received the law, and requested a mediator, and God lived
among them in the Tabernacle but not in them.
The
Law vs. The Spirit
The
role of the Mosaic Law was teacher, convictor and guide for the
Israelites, and that is the very role of the Holy Spirit, whom they
were lacking.
The instruction the Holy Spirit provides is teaching in all things,
conviction of sin and guidance into all truth.
Joh 14:26
But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my
name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I
have said to you.
Joh 16:8
When he comes, he will prove the world to be in the wrong about sin
and righteousness and judgment:
Joh 16:13
But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all
the truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he
hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come.
The
written law came about because of the Israelites rejection of the one
who would teach them, convict them, and guide them, and became their
tutor until the Holy Spirit would be poured out on all flesh.
The
Law of Moses was Temporal
Further
support for the temporal nature of the Mosaic Law is given in several
passages. Mosaic Law was given "until the Seed to whom the
promise referred had come". Jesus, buy His death, burial and
resurrection cleared the way for the Holy Spirit to indwell us.
Rom 10:4
Christ is the culmination of the law so that there may be
righteousness for everyone who believes.
Joh 16:7
But very truly I tell you, it is for your good that I am going away.
Unless I go away, the Advocate will not come to you; but if I go, I
will send him to you.
Gal 3:14
He redeemed us in order that the blessing given to Abraham might come
to the Gentiles through Christ Jesus, so that by faith we might
receive the promise of the Spirit.
It
is because Jesus sent the Holy Spirit to indwell us that both Jews
and Gentiles are now realizing the fulfillment of "I will be
their God, and they will be my people".
2Co 6:16
"... For we are the temple of the living God. As God has said:
"I will live with them and walk among them, and I will be their
God, and they will be my people."
The
Provision of Holy Spirit
The Holy Spirit
Given to Israel
National Israel, the
ones who rejected the Holy Spirit, have yet to realize Christ in
them. Consider the New Covenant:
Jer 31:31-33
"The days are coming," declares the LORD, "when I will
make a new covenant with the people of Israel and with the people of
Judah. (32) It will not be like the covenant I made with their
ancestors when I took them by the hand to lead them out of Egypt,
because they broke my covenant, though I was a husband to them,"
declares the LORD. (33) "This is the covenant I will make with
the people of Israel after that time," declares the LORD. "I
will put my law in their minds and write it on their hearts. I will
be their God, and they will be my people.
This prophecy of the
New Covenant is made with Israel, that they will be God's, and God
will be theirs. This is a future prophecy, yet to be fulfilled.
Jer 31:34
No longer will they teach their neighbor, or say to one another,
'Know the LORD,' because they will all know me, from the least of
them to the greatest," declares the LORD. "For I will
forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more."
Jer 32:37-42
I will surely gather them from all the lands where I banish them in
my furious anger and great wrath; I will bring them back to this
place and let them live in safety. (38) They will be my people, and I
will be their God. (39) I will give them singleness of heart and
action, so that they will always fear me and that all will then go
well for them and for their children after them. (40) I will make an
everlasting covenant with them: I will never stop doing good to them,
and I will inspire them to fear me, so that they will never turn away
from me. (41) I will rejoice in doing them good and will assuredly
plant them in this land with all my heart and soul. (42) "This
is what the LORD says: As I have brought all this great calamity on
this people, so I will give them all the prosperity I have promised
them.
Israel will yet receive
the promise of the Holy Spirit:
Rom 11:11-12
Again I ask: Did they stumble so as to fall beyond recovery? Not at
all! Rather, because of their transgression, salvation has come to
the Gentiles to make Israel envious. (12) But if their transgression
means riches for the world, and their loss means riches for the
Gentiles, how much greater riches will their full inclusion bring!
The
original promise made to Israel, that they would be priests
(mediators), will finally come to pass in the Millennial Kingdom.
Exo 19:5-6
Now if you obey me fully and keep my covenant, then out of all
nations you will be my treasured possession. Although the whole earth
is mine, (6) you will be for me a kingdom of priests and a holy
nation.' These are the words you are to speak to the Israelites."
Compare
with Peter's reference to this passage where he shows that this
intent has been fulfilled in those who believe.
1 Pet 2:7-9
Now to you who believe, this stone is precious. But to those who do
not believe, "The stone the builders rejected has become the
cornerstone," (8) and, "A stone that causes people to
stumble and a rock that makes them fall." They stumble because
they disobey the message--which is also what they were destined for.
(9) But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation,
God's special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who
called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.
The
original intent of the Mosaic Covenant has been fulfilled in us, both
Israel and Gentiles. Peter clearly brings this out. Remembering the
chronology with respect to giving the law, God tells the Israelites
that THEY would be the kingdom of priests, something that they never
achieved.
The Holy Spirit
Given to the Church
If
the New Covenant is yet future, then how does is the church
benefiting from the Holy Spirit's presence today? Israel's
rejection meant riches for the Gentiles through the Abrahamic Promise
that Abraham, through his Seed, would be a blessing to the nations.
Gal 3:14
He redeemed us in order that the blessing given to Abraham might come
to the Gentiles through Christ Jesus, so that by faith we might
receive the promise of the Spirit.
Eph 3:4-6
In reading this, then, you will be able to understand my insight into
the mystery of Christ, (5) which was not made known to people in
other generations as it has now been revealed by the Spirit to God's
holy apostles and prophets. (6) This mystery is that through the
gospel the Gentiles are heirs together with Israel, members together
of one body, and sharers together in the promise in Christ Jesus.
The
church is made up of both Gentiles and believing Israelites
(Messianic Jews). Through the church, Gentiles are sharers in the
spiritual blessings promised to Israel. Those spiritual blessings are
ours through Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit. National unbelieving
Israel however are still the sole beneficiaries of the physical
blessings promised to them of land and physical blessing in the land.
Conclusion
The Mosaic Covenant and
the Holy Spirit are inseparable from each other. The Mosaic Covenant
came into existence to fulfill the provisions of the Abrahamic
Covenant. Those terms include Israel becoming a great nation, being
blessed, and being a blessing to the nations.
Israel's ability to
become such a people was clearly linked to it's relationship with the
Holy Spirit, as realized in the marriage covenant language of two
becoming one flesh through God being their God, and they being His
people.
Unfortunately, Israel
resisted the Holy Spirit, who would have been their internal guide,
teacher, and convictor of sin, but they resisted the Holy Spirit and
by association, the Holy Spirit's conviction, guidance and teaching.
Not to leave the Israelites without guidance, God agreed with their
request to stay at a distance and have a mediator. He provided them
with the Law of Moses to act as a guide, teacher and convictor of sin
until such a time as the Holy Spirit was once again made available to
fulfill that role on the day of Pentecost.