(1) The aim and significance of God’s work in the Age of Law
Relevant Words of God:
The significance, purpose, and step of Jehovah’s work in Israel were to begin His work on the whole earth, gradually spreading to Gentile nations from its center in Israel. This is the principle according to which He works throughout the universe—to establish a model, then broaden it until all people in the universe have accepted His gospel. The first Israelites were the descendants of Noah. These people only had the breath of Jehovah, and could take care of the basic necessities of life, but they did not know what kind of a God Jehovah was, nor did they know His will for man, much less how they should revere the Lord of all creation. Adam’s descendants did not know what rules and laws they must obey, or what work the created must do for the Creator. All they knew was that the husband must sweat and labor to provide for his family, and that the wife must submit to her husband and perpetuate the race of humans that Jehovah created. In other words, this people had only Jehovah’s breath and His life, but did not know how to follow God’s laws or how to satisfy the Lord of all creation. They understood far too little. So although there was nothing crooked or cunning in their hearts, and though they seldom had jealousy and strife, they did not know or understand Jehovah, the Lord of all creation. These ancestors of man knew only to eat what Jehovah made, to enjoy what Jehovah made, but they did not know to revere Jehovah; they did not know that they should worship Him on bended knee. How could they be called His creatures? And so, were not the words, “Jehovah is the Lord of all creation” and “He created man as an expression of Himself, to glorify Him and represent Him,” spoken in vain? How can people who do not revere Jehovah be a testament to His glory? How can they be expressions of His glory? Do not Jehovah’s words “I created man in My image” then become a weapon in the hand of Satan—the evil one? Do these words not then become a mark of humiliation to Jehovah’s creation of man? In order to complete that stage of work, Jehovah, after creating mankind, did not instruct or guide them from Adam to Noah. It was not until after the flood that He formally began to guide the Israelites, who were the descendants of Adam and of Noah. His work and words in Israel guided the lives of all the people across the land, showing them that Jehovah was not only able to blow breath into man, so that he had His life, and was resurrected from the dust and made a creature of God, but could also scorch mankind with flames, and curse mankind, using His rod to govern mankind. So, too, did they see that Jehovah could guide man’s life on earth, and speak and work among them by day and by night. He did the work only so that His creatures might know that man came from dust picked up by Him, that man was made by Him. Furthermore, the work He began in Israel was meant so that other peoples and nations (who in fact were not separate from Israel, but had branched off from the Israelites, yet were still descended from Adam and Eve) might receive the gospel of Jehovah from Israel, so that all creatures in the universe would revere Him and hold Him to be great. Had Jehovah not begun His work in Israel, but instead, having created mankind, let them live carefree lives on the earth, then because of man’s physical nature (nature means that man can never know the things he cannot see, that is, that he does not know that Jehovah created mankind, let alone why He did so), he would never know that Jehovah created mankind and is the Lord of all things. If Jehovah had created man and placed him on the earth as His enjoyment, then simply dusted off His hands and left rather than leading among man for a period of time, then all humanity would have returned to nothingness; even the heaven and earth and all things that He created, including all humanity, would have returned to nothingness and been trampled upon by Satan. And so Jehovah’s wish that “He should have a place to stand on earth, a holy place among His creation” would have been shattered. So instead, after God created mankind, He guided them in their lives, and spoke to them, all in order to realize His desire, to achieve His plan. God’s work in Israel was meant only to execute the plan He had set in place before His creation of all things, and therefore His working first among the Israelites and His creation of all things were not at odds with each other, but were both for the sake of His management, His work, and His glory, deepening the meaning of His creation of mankind. He guided the life of mankind on earth for two thousand years after Noah, during which He taught them how to revere Jehovah the Lord of all things, taught them how to conduct themselves and live their lives, and most of all, how to act as a witness for Jehovah, obey Him, and revere Him, and to praise Him with music like David and his priests.
Before the two thousand years during which Jehovah did His work, man knew nothing, and almost all degenerated to the depth of promiscuity and corruption that preceded the flood; their hearts were devoid of Jehovah, let alone His way. They never understood the work Jehovah was going to do; they lacked reason, much less knowledge, like living, breathing machines, ignorant of man, God, the world, and life alike. On earth they engaged in much seduction, like the serpent, and said many things that were offensive to Jehovah, but because they were ignorant Jehovah did not chastise or discipline them. After the flood, when Noah was 601 years old, Jehovah formally appeared to Noah and guided him and his family, leading him, the birds, and the beasts that survived the flood, and his descendants until the end of the Age of Law, a total of 2,500 years. He was formally at work in Israel for 2,000 years, and the period for which He was at work both in Israel and outside of it was 500 years, which together makes 2,500 years. During this period He instructed the Israelites that to serve Jehovah, they should build the temple and wear priests’ robes, and walk barefoot into the temple at dawn, lest their shoes sully the temple and the fire be sent down on them from the top of the temple and burn them to death. They carried out their duties and submitted to Jehovah’s plans. They prayed to Jehovah in the temple, and after they were inspired by Jehovah, that is, after Jehovah had spoken, they led the people and taught them they should revere Jehovah—their God. And Jehovah told them that they should build the temple and the altar, and at the time set by Jehovah, that is, on Passover, they should prepare newborn calves and lambs on the altar as sacrifices to serve Jehovah, so as to restrain them and put reverence for Jehovah in their hearts. Whether they obeyed this law would be the measure of their loyalty to Jehovah. Jehovah also set the Sabbath day for them, the seventh day of His creation. The day after that He made the first day, a day for them to praise Jehovah, to offer Him sacrifices, and to make music for Him. On this day, Jehovah called together all the priests and divided the sacrifices on the altar for the people to eat so that they could enjoy the sacrifices offered to Jehovah. And Jehovah said that they were blessed and had a part with Him, and that they were His chosen people (which was Jehovah’s covenant with the Israelites). This is why, up to this day, the people of Israel still say that Jehovah is only their God, and not the God of other peoples.
During the Age of Law, Jehovah laid down many commandments for Moses to pass on to the Israelites who followed him out of Egypt. Jehovah gave these commandments to the Israelites, which were unrelated to the Egyptians, and they were meant to restrain the Israelites, and were His requirements for them. Whether one observed the Sabbath, whether one respected one’s parents, whether one worshiped idols, and so forth, these were the principles by which one was judged sinful or righteous. Whether one was struck by Jehovah’s fire, or stoned to death, or received Jehovah’s blessing, was determined according to whether one obeyed these commandments. Those who did not observe the Sabbath were stoned to death. Those priests who did not observe the Sabbath were smitten by Jehovah’s fire. Those who did not respect their parents were also stoned to death. This was all commended by Jehovah. Jehovah established His commandments and laws so that as He led their lives, the people would listen to and obey His word and not rebel against Him. He used these laws to control the newborn human race, to lay the foundation for His work to come. And so, because of the work that Jehovah did, the first age was called the Age of Law. Though Jehovah spoke much and did much work, He only guided them positively, teaching these ignorant people how to be human, how to live, how to understand Jehovah’s way. For the most part the work He did was intended to allow the people to observe His way and follow His law. The work was done on people who were shallowly corrupted; it was not concerned with the transformation of disposition or the growth in life. He was only concerned with using laws to restrict and control the people. For the Israelites at that time, Jehovah was merely a God in the temple, a God in the heavens. He was a pillar of cloud, a pillar of flame. All Jehovah required them to do was obey what people today know as His laws and commandments—one could even say rules—because Jehovah’s work was not meant to change them, but to give them more things that man ought to have, to tell them from His own mouth, because after man was created, man knew nothing about what he ought to possess. And so Jehovah gave them the things they ought to possess for their lives on earth, made the people that He had led surpass their ancestors, Adam and Eve, because what Jehovah gave them surpassed what He had given Adam and Eve in the beginning. Regardless, the work Jehovah did in Israel was only to guide humanity and make humanity recognize their Creator. He did not conquer them or change them, merely guided them. This is the sum of Jehovah’s work in the Age of Law. It is the background, the true story, the essence of His work in the whole land of Israel, and the beginning of His six thousand years of work—to control mankind by Jehovah’s hand. Out of this came more work in His six-thousand-year management plan.
from “The Work in the Age of Law” in The Word Appears in the Flesh
In the beginning, guiding man during the Old Testament Age of Law was like guiding the life of a child. Earliest mankind was newly born of Jehovah, who was the Israelites. They did not understand how to revere God or live on earth. Which is to say, Jehovah created mankind, that is, He created Adam and Eve, but He did not give them the faculties to understand how to revere Jehovah or follow the laws of Jehovah on earth. Without the direct guidance of Jehovah, no one could know this directly, for in the beginning man did not possess such faculties. Man only knew that Jehovah was God, and had no idea how to revere Him, what to do to revere Him, with what mind to revere Him, and what to offer up in reverence of Him. Man only knew how to enjoy that which could be enjoyed among all the things created by Jehovah. Man had no inkling of what kind of life on earth befitted that of a creature of God. Without instructions, without someone to personally guide them, such mankind could never lead a proper life, and could only be furtively held captive by Satan. Jehovah created mankind, which is to say that He created the ancestors of mankind: Eve and Adam. But He did not bestow upon them any further intellect or wisdom. Although they were already living on earth, they understood almost nothing. And so, Jehovah’s work of creating mankind was only half-finished. It was by no means complete. He had only formed a model of man from clay and gave it His breath, but had not bestowed unto man sufficient willingness to revere Him. In the beginning, man was not of a mind to revere Him, or to fear Him. Man only knew how to listen to His words but was ignorant of the basic knowledge for life on earth and the proper rules of life. And so, although Jehovah created man and woman and finished seven days of enterprise, He did not fully complete man, for man was but a husk, and was not truly a man. Man only knew that it was Jehovah who had created mankind, but man had no inkling of how to abide by the words and laws of Jehovah. And so, after the creation of mankind, the work of Jehovah was far from over. He also had to fully guide mankind before Him so that mankind was able to live together on earth and revere Him, and so that mankind would be able to enter into the right track of a proper human life on earth after being guided by Him. Only then was the work that had been principally conducted under the name of Jehovah fully completed; that is, only then was Jehovah’s work of creating the world fully concluded. And so, since He created mankind, He had to guide mankind’s life on earth for several thousand years, so that mankind was able to abide by His decrees and laws, and partake in all the activities of a proper human life on earth. Only then was Jehovah’s work fully completed. He began this work after creating mankind, and His work continued until the time of Jacob, when the twelve sons of Jacob became the twelve tribes of Israel. From that time onward, everyone in Israel became the people who were officially led by Him on earth, and Israel became the particular location on earth where He did His work. Jehovah made these people the first group of people among whom He did His official work on earth, and made the entire land of Israel the starting point for His work. He used them as the beginning of even greater work, so that all people born from Him on earth would know how to revere Him and live on earth. And so, the deeds of the Israelites became an example to be followed by the Gentiles, and what was said among the people of Israel became words to be heard by the Gentiles. For they were the first to receive the laws and commandments of Jehovah, and so too were they the first to know how to revere the ways of Jehovah. They were the human ancestors who knew the ways of Jehovah, and were the representative of mankind chosen by Jehovah.
from “The Vision of God’s Work (3)” in The Word Appears in the Flesh
So, you’ve read these regulations and principles of the Age of Law, yes? Do the regulations encompass a broad range? First, they cover the Ten Commandments, after which are the regulations for how to build altars, and so on. These are followed by regulations for keeping the Sabbath and observing the three feasts, after which are the regulations for offerings. Did you see how many types of offerings there are? There are burnt offerings, grain offerings, peace offerings, sin offerings, and so on, which are followed by regulations for priests’ offerings, including burnt offerings and grain offerings by priests, and other kinds of offerings. The eighth regulations are for the eating of offerings by priests, and then there are regulations for what should be observed during people’s lives. There are stipulations for many aspects of people’s lives, such as the regulations for what they may or may not eat, for the purification of women following childbirth, and for those who have been healed of leprosy. In these regulations, God goes so far as to speak about disease, and there are even rules for the slaughter of sheep and cattle, and so on. Sheep and cattle were created by God, and you should slaughter them however God tells you to; there is, without doubt, reason to God’s words, it is undoubtedly right to act as decreed by God, and surely of benefit to people! There are also feasts and rules to be observed, such as the Sabbath day, Passover, and more—God spoke of all of these. Let us look at the final ones: other regulations—burning the lamps, the Year of Jubilee, the redemption of the land, making vows, the offering of tithes, and so on. Do these encompass a broad range? The first thing to be talked of is the issue of people’s offerings, then there are regulations for theft and compensation, and the observation of the Sabbath day…; every one of life’s details is involved. Which is to say, when God began the official work of His management plan, He set down many regulations that were to be followed by man. These regulations were in order to allow man to lead the normal life of man on earth, a normal life of man that is inseparable from God and His guidance. God first told man how to make altars, how to set up the altars. After that, He told man how to make offerings, and established how man was to live—what he was to pay attention to in life, what he was to abide by, what he should and should not do. What God set out for man was all-embracing, and with these customs, regulations, and principles He standardized people’s behavior, guided their lives, guided their initiation to the laws of God, guided them to come before the altar of God, guided them in having a life among all the things God had made for man that was possessed of order, regularity, and moderation. God first used these simple regulations and principles to set limits for man, so that on earth man would have a normal life of worshiping God, would have the normal life of man; such is the specific content of the beginning of His six-thousand-year management plan. The regulations and rules cover a very broad content, they are the specifics of God’s guidance of mankind during the Age of Law, they had to be accepted and honored by the people who came before the Age of Law, they are a record of the work done by God during the Age of Law, and they are real proof of God’s leadership and guidance of all mankind.
from “God’s Work, God’s Disposition, and God Himself II” in Continuation of The Word Appears in the Flesh
Earliest mankind knew nothing, and so God had to begin teaching man from the most superficial and basic principles for survival and regulations necessary for living, imbuing these things in the heart of man bit by bit, and giving man a gradual understanding of God, a gradual appreciation and understanding of God’s leadership, and a basic concept of the relationship between man and God, through these regulations, and through these rules, which were of words. After achieving this effect, only then was God able to, little by little, do the work that He would do later, and thus these regulations and the work done by God during the Age of Law are the bedrock of His work of saving mankind, and the first stage of work in God’s management plan.
from “God’s Work, God’s Disposition, and God Himself II” in Continuation of The Word Appears in the Flesh
The work of Jehovah was to directly lead and shepherd man through setting forth the laws so that man could live a normal life and worship Jehovah in a normal manner on earth. God in the Age of Law was One who could neither be seen nor touched by man. He was merely leading men first corrupted by Satan, and He was there to instruct and shepherd these men, so the words He spoke were only of statutes, ordinances, and common knowledge of living life as a man, and not at all of truths that supply the life of man. The Israelites under His leadership were not those deeply corrupted by Satan. His work of law was only the very first stage in the work of salvation, the very beginning of the work of salvation, and had practically nothing to do with the changes in the life disposition of man.
from “The Difference Between the Ministry of the Incarnate God and the Duty of Man” in The Word Appears in the Flesh
During the Age of Law, the work of guiding mankind was done under the name of Jehovah, and the first stage of work was carried out on earth. The work of this stage was to build the temple and the altar, and to use the law to guide the people of Israel and work among them. By guiding the people of Israel, He established a base for His work on earth. From this base, He expanded His work beyond Israel, which is to say that, starting from Israel, He extended His work outward, so that later generations gradually came to know that Jehovah was God, and that Jehovah had created the heavens and earth and all things, had made all creatures. He spread His work through the people of Israel. The land of Israel was the first holy place of Jehovah’s work on earth, and God’s earliest work on earth was throughout the land of Israel. That was the work of the Age of Law.
from “The Vision of God’s Work (3)” in The Word Appears in the Flesh
Recommended:
Almighty God's Word "Knowing the Three Stages of God’s Work Is the Path to Knowing God" (Part Two) | The Church of Almighty God | Eastern Lightning
No comments:
Post a Comment