God made a covenant through Moses. As God revealed details of that covenant, He often re-affirmed the fact that this covenant was specifically with and for Israel. Here are examples for you to examine.
- In keeping with the specific nature of the covenant, the Sabbath was called a sign between God and the sons of Israel.
The Lord said to Moses, “You are to speak to the people of Israel and say, ‘Above all you shall keep My Sabbaths, for this is a sign between Me and you throughout your generations.’” (Exodus 31:12-13 cf. Ezekiel 20:9-12)
- Circumcision, which was confirmed by the law of Moses, was God’s “covenant” with Abraham and his descendants (Genesis 17:7-14).
The Lord spoke to Moses, saying, “Speak to the people of Israel, saying, If a woman conceives and bears a male child, then she shall be unclean seven days…. And on the eighth day the flesh of his foreskin shall be circumcised.” (Leviticus 12:1-3)
- The inner courts of the tabernacle (the sacred “tent of meeting”), and later of the temple, were for Israelites only.
[Regular burnt offerings shall be made] throughout your generations at the entrance of the tent of meeting before the Lord, where I will meet with you, to speak to you there. There I will meet with the people of Israel, and it shall be sanctified by My glory. I will conse crate the tent of meeting and the altar. Aaron also and his sons I will conse crate to serve Me as priests. I will dwell among the people of Israel and will be their God. (Exodus 29:42-45 cf. Numbers 1:51; 3:38)
- The priesthood of Aaron and the service of the Levites were given specifically to represent the sons of Israel before God (Exodus 28:29; Leviticus 16:6).
I have taken the Levites instead of all the firstborn among the people of Israel. And I have given the Levites as a gift to Aaron and his sons from among the people of Israel, to do the service for the people of Israel at the tent of meeting and to make atonement for the people of Israel, that there may be no plague among the people of Israel when the people of Israel come near the sanctuary. (Numbers 8:18-19)
- The annual Day of Atonement had sacrifices and rituals that removed—in a ceremonial way—the sins of the high priest, the priests and all the Israelites (Leviticus 16:17).
[The High Priest] “shall make atonement for the tent of meeting and for the altar, and he shall make atonement for the priests and for all the people of the assembly. And this shall be a statute forever for you, that atonement may be made for the people of Israel once in the year because of all their sins.” And Aaron did as the Lord commanded Moses. (Leviticus 16:33-34)
- The rules about clean and unclean foods were given to Israel as part of their holiness that separated them from all other nations (Leviticus 11:1-45; Acts 10:10-14).
You shall therefore separate the clean beast from the unclean, and the unclean bird from the clean…. You shall be holy to Me, for I the Lord am holy and have separated you from the peoples, that you should be Mine. (Leviticus 20:25-26)
- Indeed, all the rules given by Moses were meant for the Israelites as the chosen nation.
You are to distinguish between the holy and the common, and between the unclean and the clean, and you are to teach the people of Israel all the statutes that the Lord has spoken to them by Moses. (Leviticus 10:10-11)
This special relationship between God and the fleshly descendants of Israel can be seen in many more passages such as Exodus 19:5-6; 33:16; Deuteronomy 5:1-6; 6:1; 10:15; 14:2; 28:1 1 Kings 8:53; Psalm 33:12; 135:4; 147:20; Jeremiah 2:3; 10:16; 13:11; Amos 3:2 and Romans 9:3-5.