Yitro Torah Portion

Yitro is the Hebrew name “Jethro”, this is the name for the weekly <Torah portion link> reading for the Exodus starting in chapter 18 verse 1 and going through chapter 20 and verse 26.

<PROPHETS AND NEW TESTAMENT>

It is also important to point out that along with the Torah portion readings and teachings, there are what are called Haftarah portions which are readings from the Bible in the books of the prophets.  This week’s haftarah readings come from the book of Isaiah in chapter 6 verse 1 through chapter 7 verse 6, and chapter 9 verse 6 through 7. 

The gospel readings incorporated with the weekly Torah portion readings come from the book of Matthew in chapter 19 with verses 16 through verse 26.

Torah Portion Overview-

In this torah portion we see Jethro come to Moses with Moses’ wife and two sons.  Moses had previously sent his wife away.  There is some question about what this meant, was it a divorce, or perhaps Moses was just trying to send her to a safer place.  Now that the Israelites are free and away from Egypt Jethro brings Moses’ family back.  Moses greeted Jethro with respect and told him what Yahweh had done for Israel.  Jethro, who was a priest of another religion, yet because of Moses’ testimony he glorified Yahweh and offered a sacrifice to him.  Then the elders of Israel and Aaron ate with Moses and Jethro in a meal.  The next day Moses set up and judged the people.  Jethro saw that Moses was exhausting himself.  He advised that Moses appoint other men to help him judge and rule the people.  Moses followed his advice and appointed men, elders of Israel, to rule and judge on the smaller problems.  Israel continues their journey and arrived at Mount Sinai in the third month on the fifteenth day and Moses went up the mountain to God.  Yahweh began the covenant process.  He offered a covenant to Israel if they would obey His commandments and keep His covenant then He would reward them and they would be a priestly kingdom to the world and a set apart nation.  The people accepted this covenant.  God commanded that they wash their clothes, cleanse themselves, and not have sexual relations with their spouses to prepare for His coming on the third day.  Moses was to have boundary stones set up around the mountain that the people could not pass, under punishment of death.  They were to stay back until they heard the sound of the trumpet.  Moses went down the mountain and had the people cleanse themselves and get ready to meet God.  On the third day God came down on the mountain.  There was great lightning, fire, and the mountain shook!  Moses went up to meet with God alone.  God then warned the people not to come up the mountain yet, and sent Moses back down to warn them.  Apparently the people were wanting to come up the mountain too early.  Moses was told to bring just Aaron up with him.  Then God gave the ten commandments.  The people seeing the great presence of God, all the thunder, lightning, and shaking were terrified.  They asked Moses to go up on their behalf.  And so Moses drew near the Lord alone, even Aaron did not go with him.  The Lord then gave the commandment not to make an idol to worship Him but instead to simply build an altar.  An altar of earth or stone, and the stone must be unhewn stone, not touched by a tool.  The altar then, must be made of the stuff of the earth and not changed by mankind. 

Today I want to talk about the covenant, when God offered that they would be a priestly kingdom.

“Then Moses went up to God; the LORD called to him from the mountain, “Thus you shall say to the house of Jacob and tell the Israelites: ‘You have seen what I did to the Egyptians and how I bore you on eagles’ wings and brought you to myself. Now, therefore, if you obey my voice and keep my covenant, you shall be my treasured possession out of all the peoples. Indeed, the whole earth is mine, but you shall be for me a priestly kingdom and a holy nation.’ These are the words that you shall speak to the Israelites.”

Exodus 19:3-6 (NRSVue)

Let’s break down what is being offered here. 

Condition 1: If you obey my voice

Condition 2: If you keep my covenant

Result 1: you will be my treasured possession out of all the peoples

Result 2: you will be a priestly kingdom

Result 3: you will be a set apart (from the nations), or holy nation

Covenant keeping and obedience to the commandments, His Torah, were required here in order to obtain the result.  The result was that they were to be the elect, the chosen people.  They were to be separated from the world in order to serve the world.  Having received the Torah and having direct relationship with Yahweh, they could spread the worship of Yahweh to the world.  This may not be clear at first, however, this is the only understanding of “priestly kingdom” that makes sense to me.  What I mean by this is this, that the nation of Israel was to act as priests for the rest of the world.  Thus they would be a holy nation and a priestly kingdom. 

The focus was not on the individual but on the group.  The election here was not for the individual but for the group.  Israel, beloved by God, was chosen and being given a great honor.  They were going to be exalted above the nations in order to bring the knowledge of God to the whole earth.    

What does a “priestly kingdom” mean?  T. Desmond Alexander explains in vol 2 of the Apollos Old Testament Commentary that the Septuagint, the Greek Old Testament, translates this as a “royal priesthood”.  We can see later though that the entire nation was not a royal priesthood, but instead the sons of Aaron were chosen as priests.  Was this because of the people’s failure to uphold the covenant?  Remember that as they are given the covenant they fall into idolatry and lawlessness.  Moses came down the mountain and broke the stone tablets and the people were punished.  Later he goes back up the mountain to plead for the people and to find the mercy of God.  God relents and allows the stone tablets to be recreated.  Many see this as a renewal of the covenant that Yahweh made with Israel.  Was this the reason that he then chose a priesthood out of Aaron? 

Remember that His first choice wasn’t Aaron, it was Moses.  Yahweh desired to speak through Moses alone, however Moses was overwhelmed with his own inadequacies (as I imagine we all would be).  Seeing this he looked for another to speak for him and so the Lord appointed his brother Aaron.  This is not to in any way lower the honor of Aaron and the Levites.  They were chosen by God for a reason!  When the people acted in rebellion to the covenant and worshipped the golden calf it was the Levites who came to Moses when he called out for those who were faithful to Yahweh.  It was because of this action that they were chosen.  However, it is important to note that although they were chosen, they were not the first choice.  The first choice it appears, was the entire nation.  And so here we see the offer that the people would be a royal priesthood.  But why is that?  Why was the entire nation chosen at first?  Why not just lead with the tribe of Levi? 

I believe it was because of the purpose.  The calling of God on Israel was not for Israel alone, but for the entire world!  They were called to fulfil the covenant so that God could fulfil His promise to Abraham in Genesis 12:3; that through Abraham all the families of the earth would be blessed.  The desire of God was not just for Abraham or Israel alone, but for the entire world.  Israel would be a kingdom of priests to the entire world!  They would show the world the truth of Yahweh and His way. 

Thus the breakdown would possibly look like this:

Yahweh

       |

Israel

       |

World    

However, when the priesthood went to a tribe, it increased the division between the world and access to Yahweh.

Yahweh

       |

High Priest/Priesthood

       |

Israel

       |

World    

Thus it was easy to see Israel as the recipient of the fruit of the priesthood instead of the world.  Indeed, that is what we see in the history of Judaism.  Gentiles, and the nations around Israel, were considered to be outsiders.  They were not welcome at the temple and were often treated with disdain.  However the heart of Yahweh was always that all people would come to Him.

“And the foreigners who join themselves to the LORD, to minister to him, to love the name of the LORD, and to be his servants, everyone who keeps the Sabbath and does not profane it, and holds fast my covenant— these I will bring to my holy mountain, and make them joyful in my house of prayer; their burnt offerings and their sacrifices will be accepted on my altar; for my house shall be called a house of prayer for all peoples.” The Lord GOD, who gathers the outcasts of Israel, declares, “I will gather yet others to him besides those already gathered.”

Isaiah 56:6-8 (ESV)

I believe this is the heart of God.  He chose Israel as His special people, and indeed, they are special!  They are the apple of His eye!  The Jews today are the inheritors of this beauty.  Yet He does not desire to have them alone, He desires to have the whole world.  This is the reason that Peter picked up this idea and explained that it now applies to the church.  The church has been joined with Israel in their mission, to bring the glory of God to the whole earth! 

“As you come to him, a living stone rejected by men but in the sight of God chosen and precious, you yourselves like living stones are being built up as a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ… But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. Once you were not a people, but now you are God’s people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.”

1 Peter 2:4-5, 9-10 (ESV)

The context here is Israel.  Those who had not received mercy, those who were not His people, is a reference to Israel. 

“And she conceived again and bore a daughter. Then God said to him: “Call her name Lo-Ruhamah, For I will no longer have mercy on the house of Israel, But I will utterly take them away. Yet I will have mercy on the house of Judah, Will save them by the LORD their God, And will not save them by bow, Nor by sword or battle, By horses or horsemen… Then God said: “Call his name Lo-Ammi, For you are not My people, And I will not be your God. “Yet the number of the children of Israel Shall be as the sand of the sea, Which cannot be measured or numbered. And it shall come to pass In the place where it was said to them, ‘You are not My people,’ There it shall be said to them, ‘You are sons of the living God.’”

Hosea 1:6-7, 9-10 (NKJV)

Just as we see in Scripture that Jesus is the seed of Abraham that was promised, so too we see that the church is a part of this promise of Israel.  Unfortunately, the church has historically used this idea to say that the church replaced the nation of Israel and it’s descendants, the Jews.  We call this “replacement theology”.  However, replacement theology is faulty reasoning.  Just as Christ did not replace Israel when He fulfilled the promise of God to be the seed, so too the church did not replace Israel when they fulfilled the promise of God to be His people.  Israel and the Jews have not been replaced, they have been expanded!  Because now the people of God are not limited to Israel and the Jews, but the people of God are all those who come to Him, no matter what nation!  Thus, there is neither Jew nor gentile, that is, the chosen are not those who are born of a certain nation but those who are born of the Spirit of God! 

Now, as a kingdom of priests we look like this:

Yahweh

       |

The Church and Israel

       |

World    

Thus we have the chance to represent the Most High!  We have the opportunity to spread the glory of God to the whole earth!  We get the honor of sharing Him and the gospel with the whole world.  Therefore let us go!

“Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,”

Matthew 28:19 (NKJV)

Torah Portion Scriptural Highlights-

Exodus 18:1 Jethro visited Moses and brought back Moses’ wife and two sons.

Exodus 18:7 Moses greeted Jethro and told him all that the Lord has done, and Jethro glorified God and offered a sacrifice and the elders ate with him.

Exodus 18:13 Moses judged the people and Jethro advised him to appoint other elders to help him judge and rule and he did so.

Exodus 19:1 Israel arrived at the mountain of God and Moses went up to Him.

Exodus 19:3 Yahweh offered a covenant to the people that if they would obey His commandments and keep His covenant they would be a priestly kingdom and a holy nation and the people accepted.

Exodus 19:9b God commanded that the people purify themselves and prepare for Him to come down on the third day.

Exodus 19:12 God commanded that they set boundaries around the mountain to keep the people back until the trumpet sounded

Exodus 19:14 Moses prepared the people to meet with God.

Exodus 19:16 God came down on the mountain and summoned Moses to the top of the mountain.

Exodus 19:21 God warned the people not to come up the mountain yet and sent Moses back down to warn them and bring up Aaron.

Exodus 20:1 God gave the Ten Commandments.

Exodus 20:18 The people asked Moses to speak with God because they were afraid.

Exodus 20:22 The Lord forbade idols and gave the law of the altar.

Haftarah (Prophets) Scriptural Highlights-

Isaiah 6:1 Isaiah sees Yahweh on the throne in heaven.

Isaiah 6:8 Isaiah is appointed as a prophet and sent with a message.

Isaiah 7:1 Isaiah sent with a message to King Ahaz with a reassuring message.

Isaiah 9:6 Isaiah prophecies about a coming Messiah.

Brit (Gospel) Scriptural Highlights-

Matthew 19:16 The rich young ruler asks Jesus what good work he must do to inherit eternal life and Jesus answers.

References

·       T. Desmond Alexander, Exodus, ed. David W. Baker and Gordon J. Wenham, vol. 2 of Apollos Old Testament Commentary (London; Downers Grove, IL: Apollos; InterVarsity Press, 2017), 359.

·       Eugene Carpenter, Exodus, vol. 2 of Evangelical Exegetical Commentary (Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2016), 13–14.

·       Paul J. Achtemeier, 1 Peter: A Commentary on First Peter, ed. Eldon Jay Epp, Hermeneia—a Critical and Historical Commentary on the Bible (Minneapolis, MN: Fortress Press, 1996), 154-155, 163-165.

·       I. Howard Marshall, 1 Peter, The IVP New Testament Commentary Series (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1991), 1 Pe 2:9–10.