When the Israelites were held as slaves in Egypt, God commanded Pharaoh, via Moses, to ‘Let my people go’ (Ex. 5:1). You may remember that the Israelites had not yet discovered God’s purpose for them as a people. All they knew was slavery and the desire to be set free.
What they later discovered at Sinai and in the giving of the law, was that they were a nation created by God with a purpose – to be lights to the other nations – so that the whole world will know God and be filled with His glory. Israel was born as a nation on the slopes of Mount Sinai at that first Shavuot (Pentecost) and they were commissioned to be a light to the nations.
Sin and idolatry
Right from the beginning we see the problem of sin and idolatry, and Moses is sent back down the mountain by God to a people worshipping a golden calf. On that first Pentecost, 3,000 Israelites died in God’s judgment of their sin (contrast that with 3,000 Israelites being saved at the first Pentecost after Jesus’ resurrection).
After Bondi: I am Jewish - this is how it feels today
I write this with sorrow, and with a measure of fear that has been quietly exhausting to me.I am …