Prophetic Profile Of Israel According to Moses

by Joseph Hunting

It was Moses himself who wrote, "The secret things belong unto the Lord our God, but those things which are revealed belong to us and to our children forever ..." (Deuteronomy 29:29). "Those things which are revealed" in the five books of Moses make thrilling reading indeed.

From the tender age of three months Moses was reared as a prince in Pharaoh's household. During his early years, and perhaps beyond, his mother would no doubt tell him of his racial background, as she was hired by Pharaoh's daughter to nurse the infant babe.

During the forty years that Moses spent as a prince in the royal household he must have experienced deep emotional stirrings as he witnessed the harsh treatment of his countrymen under the lash of the Egyptian taskmasters.

I can appreciate the pent-up feelings that Moses had when he slew an Egyptian who was ill-treating a Hebrew slave. Following this incident Moses fled to the wilderness of Sinai where he spent the next forty years as a shepherd watching over a Midianite priest's flock. What a contrast to his previous life of influence and luxury! Those forty years of silence and solitude in the backside of the desert moulded the man whom God chose to be the great deliverer of His people from bondage to nationhood and liberty.

It is highly probable that Moses was well known to the Pharaoh of whom he demanded the release of the Hebrew slaves. What chutzpah! One has to remember the lofty position occupied by the Pharaoh of Egypt to appreciate his response to Moses' demand. Not only was Pharaoh the supreme potentate of Egypt which was at that time the most powerful kingdom on earth, but he was also elevated to the lofty status of deity by the Egyptians. That explains his disdainful reply to Moses' request: "Thus saith Jehovah, the God of Israel, Let My people go that they may hold a feast to Me in the wilderness. And Pharaoh said, And who is Jehovah that I should obey His voice to let Israel go? I know not Jehovah, neither will I let His people go" (Exodus 5:1-2).

Pharaoh made it clear that he wasn't going to be pushed round by the God of miserable slaves. "And who is this Jehovah?" Well may Pharaoh say, "I've never heard of Him." Little did he know just how soon he was going to have a reckoning with the God of Israel. The story of Israel's deliverance from bondage in Egypt accompanied by mighty miracles, and the ultimate destruction of Pharaoh and his army has thrilled countless millions.

The Prophecy of World-wide Blessing

The first prophecy concerning Israel among "Those things which are revealed" is that through Israel ALL nations one day will be blessed. What a staggering concept! No sooner had Abraham entered the Promised Land at the age of seventy-five than God announced: "I will make of you a great nation. And I will bless you and make your name great. And you shall be a blessing. And I will bless those that bless you and curse the one who curses you. AND IN YOU SHALL ALL THE FAMILIES OF THE EARTH BE BLESSED" (Genesis 12:2-3).

The greatest blessing Israel has already given to the world is the Word of God in both written and human form. However, whilst this prophecy awaits its final fulfilment there are many ways in which the newly-born state of Israel is already sharing its scientific and agricultural expertise with many third-world countries, many of whom do not recognize Israel's statehood or right to exist!

Israel is a world leader in the science of drip irrigation, and because Israeli farmers have been exposed to Arab terrorism, highly sophisticated computerized remote-controlled irrigation systems have been developed that required very little supervision or maintenance. Israel is sharing this advanced form of irrigation with many countries where water is scarce.

There are more doctors and scientists on a per capita basis in Israel than in any other country. Despite its miniscule size, Israel has become a world leader in its contribution of science, medicine, literature and education. Moses' prophecy that "in you shall ALL the families of the earth be blessed" awaits the Messianic age for its final fulfilment, but there are already the signs of "coming events casting their shadows before"!

Israel 's Uniqueness

Who can deny that Israel occupies a unique position among the family of nations? The very origin of the Hebrew race was the result of a series of biological miracles unparalleled in the history of mankind. The deliverance from slavery in Egypt was the result of a series of miracles never experienced before or since by any other nation. And the river Jordan was in full flood when it parted to let them enter the Promised Land. Indeed, the whole Bible gives testimony to the uniqueness of Israel and the supernatural events associated with their three and a half thousand year history.

Moses succinctly declared the reason why Israel should be so different from other nations. It certainly was not because of military might or any of the other factors that have raised nations or empires to power. Here is their secret" "For what nation is there so great, that has God so nigh unto them, as Jehovah our God is in all things that we call upon Him for? And what nation is there so great that has statutes and judgments so righteous as all this law, which I have set before you this day" (Deuteronomy 4:7-8). So there you have the secret! Added to those ingredients for greatness are the great unconditional covenants that God made with Israel's forefathers David and the Messiah.

There is one more component that contributes to Israel's exceptional relationship with God and the rest of the world's peoples. "For you are a holy people unto Jehovah your God: Jehovah you God has chosen you to be a SPECIAL PEOPLE UNTO HIMSELF, above all people that are upon the face of the earth. Jehovah did not set his love upon you nor choose you because you were more in number than any people; for you were the fewest of all people: BUT BECAUSE JEHOVAH LOVED YOU, and because He would keep the oath which He had sworn unto your fathers ..." (Deuteronomy 7:6-8).

Moses' End-time Prophecy

Israel 's more than three thousand year history has been a chequered one. For two-thirds of that time they have been cast out of the land for their disobedience to God exactly as Moses prophesied they would be. "When you shall beget children, and children's children, and you shall have remained long in the land, and shall corrupt yourselves, and make a graven image, or the likeness of anything, and shall do evil in the sight of Jehovah your God, to provoke Him to anger: I call heaven and earth to witness against you this day that you shall soon utterly perish from off the land whereunto you go over Jordan to possess it ...

"And Jehovah shall scatter you among the nations and you shall be left few in number among the heathen, whither Jehovah shall lead you ... But if from thence you shall seek Jehovah your God, you shall find him, if you seek him with all your heart and with all your soul.

"When you are in tribulation, and all these things are come upon you, EVEN IN THE LATTER DAYS, if you turn to Jehovah your God, and shall be obedient unto his voice (for Jehovah your God is a merciful God;) he will not forsake you, neither destroy you, nor forget the covenant of your fathers which he sware unto them" (Deuteronomy 4:25-31).

Among all the traumas and vicissitudes Israel has undergone during their long history none have been so far-reaching as the destruction of Jerusalem and their Temple in 70 AD, followed by nineteen centuries of dispersion. Surely they must have done something far worse than their previous misdeeds to have merited such Divine wrath. Nowhere in all literature is there such a dire warning with such terrible consequences as those contained in Deuteronomy chapter 28. It makes heart-rending reading, all the more so because it has ALL happened culminating in the most shocking human atrocity of all time, the Holocaust.

We turn to Daniel for details for the timing of the destruction of Jerusalem. According to the prophet 483 years would elapse after the decree was given to rebuilt Jerusalem (Nehemiah chapter 2) when Messiah would "be cut off". Daniel then foretold that immediately following this event Jerusalem would be destroyed (9:25-26). Thus we can associate the destruction of Jerusalem and the following nineteen hundred years of dispersion with the tragic death of Yeshua Hammashiach precisely as prophesied that Messiah would "be cut off, but not for himself" (9:26).

I find it fascinating that Moses should link the scattering of Israel with a call for national repentance. If Israel's past history is any guide for the future, then national repentance for the tragic event which caused the destruction of Jerusalem and the dispersion which followed would bring about Divine blessing and deliverance from the present threat of piecemeal destruction by the P.L.O. and even worse to follow, for the Divine promise through Moses still holds good: "When you are in tribulation, and all these things are come upon you, EVEN IN THE LATTER DAYS, IF YOU TURN TO JEHOVAH YOUR GOD ... he will not forsake you, nor destroy you, nor forget the covenant of your fathers which he sware unto them."

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