Concept: A Community of people made up of those who were born from Israel who was in the lineage of Abraham and a receiver of the promises of Abraham. By faith we who believe in Jesus as God’s Son and our promised Messiah also inherit the promises of God which are by faith; although we do not inherit the physical land of Israel we inherit the New Jerusalem along with all of those who are God’s children through Abraham’s seed.
Born Jacob, he was also seen as a supplanter, later seen as selfish, and with a prudence which approached to cunning, became known as Israel after His encounter with the Angel. MCclintock says the following of Israel;
‘The name was originally conferred by the angel-Jehovah upon Jacob after the memorable prayer-struggle at Peniel (Gen 32:28); and the reason there assigned is that the patriarch "as a prince had power with God and man, and prevailed" (comp. Gen 25:10; Hos 12:4).’
Ex 12:3-4 Tell the whole community of Israel that on the tenth day of this month each man is to take a lamb for his family, one for each household. Ex 12:6 Take care of them until the fourteenth day of the month, when all the people of the community of Israel must slaughter them at twilight.
Ex 12:19-20 For seven days no yeast is to be found in your houses. And whoever eats anything with yeast in it must be cut off from the community of Israel, whether he is an alien or native-born.
Ex 12:47 The whole community of Israel must celebrate it.
Ex 16:1-3 The whole Israelite community set out from Elim and came to the Desert of Sin, which is between Elim and Sinai, on the fifteenth day of the second month after they had come out of Egypt. 2 In the desert the whole community grumbled against Moses and Aaron.
Ex 16:9-10 Then Moses told Aaron, "Say to the entire Israelite community, 'Come before the LORD, for he has heard your grumbling.'"
10 While Aaron was speaking to the whole Israelite community, they looked toward the desert, and there was the glory of the LORD appearing in the cloud.
Lev 4:13-14 “'If the whole Israelite community sins unintentionally and does what is forbidden in any of the LORD’s commands, even though the community is unaware of the matter, they are guilty.
Lev 16:5 From the Israelite community he is to take two male goats for a sin offering and a ram for a burnt offering.
Num 1:2-3 "Take a census of the whole Israelite community by their clans and families, listing every man by name, one by one. NIV
This community of promise and faith should be an encouragement to us. We see Jacob born of promise, who plots and schemes to get what he believes he should have, only to receive it all because of God’s will, which if he had trusted God would have received it without so much struggle and fear.
Today we can rejoice that God has a future filled with hope and not destruction for us who love Him according to Jeremiah 29:11. We must focus all our efforts and skill on serving and pleasing God, as we do, our relationship with Him will empower us to fulfill all that He has planned for us since the beginning of time.
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