Objection:
The very wording of the Sinaitic law proves that it was designed only for the Jews. The Ten Commandments is introduced thus: ‘I am the Lord thy God, which have brought thee … out of the house of bondage’ (Exodus 20:2). To whom is that applicable? Only to the Israelite nation, of course. See also Deuteronomy 4:8, Romans 9:4, and similar passages, which state specifically that the law was given only to the Israelites.
Answer:
We would ask: To whom else could the Lord have given the Ten Commandments? To the Egyptians, the Philistines, the Amalekites, the Hittites, the Jebusites, or any other of the many pagan peoples that cursed the earth with their unholy presence? No, you say. God could not make a revelation of Himself to any people until that people were of a mind and heart to hear Him. God found in Abraham and his descendants such a people. Accordingly, He gave them a revelation of His will and ways. Yes, He spoke that great day at Sinai exclusively to a literal people called Israelites, who had been delivered from literal bondage in Egypt. But, we inquire again: To whom else could He have spoken?
We would further inquire: To who was God speaking when He gave His great messages through Isaiah, Jeremiah, Daniel, and all the mighty prophets of Old Testament times? The answer is, To the Israelites. The inspired messages that constitute the Old Testament were addressed almost wholly to the Jews, and the prophets who delivered the messages were Jews. But, does any lover of the Bible wish to suggest that therefore the beautiful messages of salvation in Isaiah, for example, which are so often addressed directly to Jerusalem, are not also addressed to us? We doubt not that many a Christian minister has taken for his text these typical words from Isaiah: “Cry aloud, spare not, lift up thy voice like a trumpet, and show thy people their transgression, and the house of Jacob their sins.” Isaiah 58:1. But no listener in the pew is troubled or confused or informs the preacher that the text is addressed to Jews, not Gentiles.
And who are the writers of the New Testament? With one possible exception, they are all Jews. To whom did Christ address virtually all that He said while on earth? To the Jews. To whom is the Epistle to the Hebrews addressed? Obviously, to Jews. To whom is the Epistle of James addressed? “To the twelve tribes which are scattered abroad.” James 1:1. But does any Christian have difficulty with these facts or feel that any portions of the New Testament are not really for him? No, of course not.
In the objection before us, Romans 9:4 is cited. It reads as follows: “Who are Israelites; to whom pertains the adoption, and the glory, and the covenants, and the giving of the law, and the service of God, and the promises.” Evidently, it is offered as proof because it says that “the giving of the law” was to them. But it says more than that. The “covenants” also were given to them. Note the plural. Both the old and the new covenant! The new covenant is made with the “house of Israel, and with the house of Judah.” (Jeremiah 31:31; Hebrews 8:8). But does any Christian believe that the new covenant is confined to the believing Jew? No. We all claim a part in it and believe that the new covenant promise is intended for us, even though its announcement is addressed directly and, apparently, exclusively to the Jews.
The words of Moses in Deuteronomy 4:8 are also cited. They read as follows: “And what nation is there so great, that hath statutes and judgments so righteous as all this law, which I set before you this day?” We would say that this statement is a good commentary on Romans 9:4. And we have found that this verse in Romans proves more than the objector desires. Another inspired comment on Deuteronomy 4:8 is the statement of Christ: “Salvation is of the Jews.” John 4:22. But has any Christian despised salvation because of this fact?
We must never forget that the revelations and warnings of the Scriptures are not given in a vacuum. Almost always, they are placed in the context of historical events and flesh-and-blood people. The sermon on the mount has as literally a rocky platform as the address from Sinai. And the multitudes addressed in that sermon were as definitely Jewish as the hosts gathered before Sinai. Often God took occasion in giving a revelation or invoking a particular course of conduct to refer to some experience through which the listeners had passed. That is one of the marks of Bible revelations. But that fact in itself never troubles any of us, nor prevents us from believing that those counsels of God’s Word apply to us as well.
Now, since God worked mighty miracles to draw out of the turbulent sea of paganism a people for Himself, how appropriate that He should place His eternal revelation to them in the context of the direct experience that they had miraculously through. Thus they might be prompted to give that revelation maximum weight in their minds and be most diligent in obeying it. Furthermore, that historical context provides a setting that we today, who are also flesh and blood, can understand, and, understanding, be likewise prompted to greater obedience to God. Well does the Bible commentator Murphy observe on Exodus 20:2:
“This [deliverance out of Egypt] in the manner of Scripture and of Providence is the earnest and the guarantee of their deliverance from all other and greater kinds of bondage. The present is the type of a grander future. We must descend the stream of revelation to the New Testament before we fathom the depths of this greatest deliverance.” – James G. Murphy, Commentary on the Book of Exodus.
Any display of God’s mercy and deliverance to His children at any moment in earth’s history is a reason why those living at that time and those who read of the account in all subsequent ages should serve Him with their whole heart and obey His holy will.
