E4. Being a Kingdom of Priests, a Holy Nation, Proclaimers of the Good News & a Light to the Gentiles. [Make a Comment]
We are to be a kingdom of priests, a holy nation, proclaimers of the Good News, and a light to the Gentiles.
This precept is derived from His Word (blessed be He):
Key Scriptures
Genesis 17:4-16
(Maimonides RP215; Meir MP47; Chinuch C2)
"As for me, this is my covenant with you: you will be the father of many
nations. Your name will no longer be Avram [exalted father], but your name
will be Avraham [father of many], because I have made you the father of many
nations. I will cause you to be very fruitful. I will make nations of you,
kings will descend from you. I am establishing my covenant between me and
you, along with your descendants after you, generation after generation, as
an everlasting covenant, to be God for you and for your descendants after
you. I will give you and your descendants after you the land in which you
are now foreigners, all the land of Kena'an, as a permanent possession;
and I will be their God." God said to Avraham, "As for you, you are to keep
my covenant, you and your descendants after you, generation after
generation. Here is my covenant, which you are to keep, between me and you,
along with your descendants after you: every male among you is to be
circumcised. You are to be circumcised in the flesh of your foreskin; this
will be the sign of the covenant between me and you. Generation after
generation, every male among you who is eight days old is to be circumcised,
including slaves born within your household and those bought from a
foreigner not descended from you. The slave born in your house and the
person bought with your money must be circumcised; thus my covenant will be
in your flesh as an everlasting covenant. Any uncircumcised male who will
not let himself be circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin - that person
will be cut off from his people, because he has broken my covenant." God
said to Avraham, "As for Sarai your wife, you are not to call her Sarai
[mockery]; her name is to be Sarah [princess]. I will bless her; moreover,
I will give you a son by her. Truly I will bless her: she will be a mother
of nations; kings of peoples will come from her."
Exodus 19:1-8
In the third month after the people of Isra'el had left the land of
Egypt, the same day they came to the Sinai Desert. After setting out from
Refidim and arriving at the Sinai Desert, they set up camp in the desert;
there in front of the mountain, Isra'el set up camp. Moshe went up to
God, and ADONAI called to him from the mountain: "Here is what you are to
say to the household of Ya'akov, to tell the people of Isra'el:
'You have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I carried you on
eagles' wings and brought you to myself. Now if you will pay careful
attention to what I say and keep my covenant, then you will be my own
treasure from among all the peoples, for all the earth is mine; and you will
be a kingdom of cohanim for me, a nation set apart [NKJ: "a holy
nation"].' These are the words you are to speak to the people of
Isra'el." Moshe came, summoned the leaders of the people and presented
them with all these words which ADONAI had ordered him to say. All the
people answered as one, "Everything ADONAI has said, we will do." Moshe
reported the words of the people to ADONAI.
Leviticus 12:2-3
(Meir MP47)
Tell the people of Isra'el: 'If a woman conceives and gives birth
to a boy, she will be unclean for seven days with the same uncleanness as in
niddah, when she is having her menstrual period. On the eighth day, the
baby's foreskin is to be circumcised.
Deuteronomy 23:8(7)-9(8)
(Maimonides RN54-55; Chinuch C563-564)
But you are not to detest an Edomi, because he is your brother; and you are
not to detest an Egyptian, because you lived as a foreigner in his land.
The third generation of children born to them may enter the assembly of
ADONAI.
Isaiah 42:6-7
I, ADONAI, called you righteously, I took hold of you by the hand, I shaped
you and made you a covenant for the people, to be a light for the Goyim, so
that you can open blind eyes, free the prisoners from confinement, those
living in darkness from the dungeon.
Isaiah 49:5-6
So now ADONAI says - he formed me in the womb to be his servant, to bring
Ya'akov back to him, to have Isra'el gathered to him, so that I
will be honored in the sight of ADONAI, my God having become my strength -
he has said, "It is not enough that you are merely my servant to raise up
the tribes of Ya'akov and restore the offspring of Isra'el. I will
also make you a light to the nations, so my salvation can spread to the ends
of the earth."
Isaiah 60:1-3
Arise, shine [Yerushalayim], for your light has come, the glory of ADONAI
has risen over you. For although darkness covers the earth and thick
darkness the peoples; on you ADONAI will rise; over you will be seen his
glory. Nations will go toward your light and kings toward your shining
splendor.
Matthew 28:16-20
So the eleven talmidim went to the hill in the Galil where Yeshua had told
them to go. When they saw him, they prostrated themselves before him; but
some hesitated. Yeshua came and talked with them. He said, "All authority
in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore, go and make people
from all nations into talmidim, immersing them into the reality of the
Father, the Son and the Ruach HaKodesh, and teaching them to obey
everything that I have commanded you. And remember! I will be with you
always, yes, even until the end of the age."
Mark 16:14-16
Later, Yeshua appeared to the Eleven as they were eating, and he reproached
them for their lack of trust and their spiritual insensitivity in not having
believed those who had seen him after he had risen. Then he said to them,
"As you go throughout the world, proclaim the Good News to all creation.
Whoever trusts and is immersed will be saved; whoever does not trust will be
condemned."
Acts 1:3-8
After his death he showed himself to them and gave many convincing proofs
that he was alive. During a period of forty days they saw him, and he spoke
with them about the Kingdom of God. At one of these gatherings, he
instructed them not to leave Yerushalayim but to wait for "what the Father
promised, which you heard about from me. For Yochanan used to immerse
people in water; but in a few days, you will be immersed in the Ruach
HaKodesh!" When they were together, they asked him, "Lord, are you at this
time going to restore self-rule to Isra'el?" He answered, "You
don't need to know the dates or the times; the Father has kept these
under his own authority. But you will receive power when the Ruach HaKodesh
comes upon you; you will be my witnesses both in Yerushalayim and in all
Y'hudah and Shomron, indeed to the ends of the earth!"
Acts 13:46-48
However, Sha'ul and Bar-Nabba answered boldly: "It was necessary that
God's word be spoken first to you. But since you are rejecting it and
are judging yourselves unworthy of eternal life - why, we're turning to
the Goyim! For that is what ADONAI has ordered us to do: 'I have set
you as a light for the Goyim, to be for deliverance to the ends of the
earth.' The Gentiles were very happy to hear this. They honored the
message about the Lord, and as many as had been appointed to eternal life
came to trust."
Acts 26:19-23
So, King Agrippa, I did not disobey the vision from heaven! On the
contrary, I announced first in Dammesek, then in Yerushalayim and throughout
Y'hudah, and also to the Goyim, that they should turn from their sins
to God and then do deeds consistent with that repentance. It was because of
these things that Jews seized me in the Temple and tried to kill me.
However, I have had God's help; so to this day, I stand testifying to
both small and great, saying nothing but what both the prophets and Moshe
said would happen - that the Messiah would die, and that he, as the first to
rise from the dead, would proclaim light to both the People and the Goyim.
Romans 3:1-2
Then what advantage has the Jew? What is the value of being circumcised?
Much in every way! In the first place, the Jews were entrusted with the very
words of God.
Galatians 3:6-9
It was the same with Avraham: "He trusted in God and was faithful to him,
and that was credited to his account as righteousness." Be assured, then,
that it is those who live by trusting and being faithful who are really
children of Avraham. Also the Tanakh, foreseeing that God would consider
the Gentiles righteous when they live by trusting and being faithful, told
the Good News to Avraham in advance by saying, "In connection with you, all
the Goyim will be blessed." So then, those who rely on trusting and being
faithful are blessed along with Avraham, who trusted and was faithful.
Supportive Scriptures
Genesis 12:2-3
I will make of you a great nation, I will bless you, and I will make your
name great; and you are to be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you,
but I will curse anyone who curses you; and by you all the families of the
earth will be blessed.
Genesis 13:14-17
ADONAI said to Avram, after Lot had moved away from him, "Look all around
you from where you are, to the north, the south, the east and the west. All
the land you see I will give to you and your descendants forever, and I will
make your descendants as numerous as the specks of dust on the earth - so
that if a person can count the specks of dust on the earth, then your
descendants can be counted. Get up and walk through the length and breadth
of the land, because I will give it to you."
Genesis 17:1-8
When Avram was 99 years old ADONAI appeared to Avram and said to him, "I am
El Shaddai [God Almighty]. Walk in my presence and be pure-hearted. I will
make my covenant between me and you, and I will increase your numbers
greatly." Avram fell on his face, and God continued speaking with him: "As
for me, this is my covenant with you: you will be the father of many
nations. Your name will no longer be Avram [exalted father], but your name
will be Avraham [father of many], because I have made you the father of many
nations. I will cause you to be very fruitful. I will make nations of you,
kings will descend from you. I am establishing my covenant between me and
you, along with your descendants after you, generation after generation, as
an everlasting covenant, to be God for you and for your descendants after
you. I will give you and your descendants after you the land in which you
are now foreigners, all the land of Kena'an, as a permanent possession;
and I will be their God."
Genesis 17:18-21
Avraham said to God, "If only Yishma'el could live in your presence!"
God answered, "No, but Sarah your wife will bear you a son, and you are to
call him Yitz'chak [laughter]. I will establish my covenant with him as
an everlasting covenant for his descendants after him. But as for
Yishma'el, I have heard you. I have blessed him. I will make him
fruitful and give him many descendants. He will father twelve princes, and I
will make him a great nation. But I will establish my covenant with
Yitz'chak, whom Sarah will bear to you at this time next year."
Genesis 26:1-5
A famine came over the land, not the same as the first famine, which had
taken place when Avraham was alive. Yitz'chak went to G'rar, to
Avimelekh king of the P'lishtim. ADONAI appeared to him and said,
"Don't go down into Egypt, but live where I tell you. Stay in this
land, and I will be with you and bless you, because I will give all these
lands to you and to your descendants. I will fulfill the oath which I swore
to Avraham your father - I will make your descendants as numerous as the
stars in the sky, I will give all these lands to your descendants, and by
your descendants all the nations of the earth will bless themselves. All
this is because Avraham heeded what I said and did what I told him to do -
he followed my mitzvot, my regulations and my teachings."
Genesis 28:10-15
Ya'akov went out from Be'er-Sheva and traveled toward Haran. He
came to a certain place and stayed the night there, because the sun had set.
He took a stone from the place, put it under his head and lay down there to
sleep. He dreamt that there before him was a ladder resting on the ground
with its top reaching to heaven, and the angels of ADONAI were going up and
down on it. Then suddenly ADONAI was standing there next to him; and he
said, "I am ADONAI, the God of Avraham your [grand]father and the God of
Yitz'chak. The land on which you are lying I will give to you and to
your descendants. Your descendants will be as numerous as the grains of
dust on the earth. You will expand to the west and to the east, to the north
and to the south. By you and your descendants all the families of the earth
will be blessed. Look, I am with you. I will guard you wherever you go, and
I will bring you back into this land, because I won't leave you until I
have done what I have promised you."
Leviticus 19:33-34
If a foreigner stays with you in your land, do not do him wrong. Rather,
treat the foreigner staying with you like the native-born among you - you
are to love him as yourself, for you were foreigners in the land of Egypt; I
am ADONAI your God.
Isaiah 2:1-4
This is the word that Yesha'yahu the son of Amotz saw concerning
Y'hudah and Yerushalayim: In the acharit-hayamim the mountain of
ADONAI's house will be established as the most important mountain. It
will be regarded more highly than the other hills, and all the Goyim will
stream there. Many peoples will go and say, "Come, let's go up to the
mountain of ADONAI, to the house of the God of Ya'akov! He will teach
us about his ways, and we will walk in his paths." For out of Tziyon will go
forth Torah, the word of ADONAI from Yerushalayim. He will judge between
the nations and arbitrate for many peoples. Then they will hammer their
swords into plow-blades and their spears into pruning-knives; nations will
not raise swords at each other, and they will no longer learn war.
Isaiah 19:24-25
In that day Israel will be one of three with Egypt and Assyria - a blessing
in the midst of the land, whom the LORD of hosts shall bless, saying,
"Blessed is Egypt My people, and Assyria the work of My hands, and Israel My
inheritance."
Matthew 10:5-8
These twelve Yeshua sent out with the following instructions: "Don't go
into the territory of the Goyim, and don't enter any town in Shomron,
but go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Isra'el. As you go,
proclaim, 'The Kingdom of Heaven is near, heal the sick, raise the
dead, cleanse those afflicted with tzara'at, expel demons. You have
received without paying, so give without asking payment.'
Commentary
The designation of Israel to be a "kingdom of priests" and a "nation set apart" originated with the covenant that God made with Abraham. It was renewed through Isaac and again through Jacob, and came into fullness with the covenant that God made with the Israelites at Mount Sinai. We call the covenant with Abraham "the Abrahamic Covenant," and the one at Mount Sinai, "the Mosaic Covenant".
Although the Mosaic Covenant was given to Israel, its ultimate purpose was not only to benefit Israel, but rather that, through Israel functioning as a kingdom of priests, the rest of the world (i.e. the Gentile nations) would be blessed. God's plan was (and still is) to bring His Word to the Jew first, and the Jew to bring it to the Gentile. It doesn't always work out that way, but that is the overall plan.
Edom, Assyria, and ancient Egypt have a special role in that plan as being examples of the nations of the world that do not know God. The Israelites of old had reason to despise these three in particular. Esau (the patriarch of the Edomites) showed disdain for his birthright by selling it to his brother Jacob, and he later hated his brother for it (Genesis 27:41). At one point in history, Assyria (Iran today) subjugated Edom (which became an Assyrian vassal state), and captured and subjugated the Israelites of ancient Samaria. Both Edom and Assyria were, therefore, enemies of Israel at one time, and Egypt became an enemy of ancient Israel as well. Although Egypt first sheltered and provided sustenance for the Israelites, it later oppressed and enslaved them.
What is remarkable considering what has transpired, is that the Mosaic Scriptures name all three as blessed nations, and though they (the three nations) and their descendants may hate us and hate God's ways even today, we are, nevertheless, to bring the "Good News" of Yeshua to them with love and with the hope and expectation that some will receive it. In that way and through our prayers and our example of being a servant people devoted to loving God and neighbor, the Jewish people are uniquely commissioned by God to be a light to their own ("the lost sheep of the house of Israel") first, and then to the Gentile nations of the world.
Commentary by Daniel C. Juster
In regard to Assyria and Egypt: Despite the fact that Israel had to struggle with these two empires throughout its history, their people will nevertheless come to embrace the God of Israel and be one with the Jewish people, as the rest of the nations also come to the knowledge of God (Isaiah 2:1-4, supra).
Classical Commentators
Maimonides and HaChinuch wrote mitzvot stating that we are not to exclude the descendants of Esau and of the Egyptians from full membership in our Jewish communities after they have become proselytes; Meir did not write on the subject. All three commentators wrote mitzvot requiring b'rit milah for Jews.
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