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Were the Old Testiment Jews Saved?
by James Pyles
I get this question a lot. From a traditional Christian point of view, the concept of "salvation" was only introduced with Jesus (Yeshua) dying on the cross (execution stake), being resurrected and ascending to the Right Hand of the Father. Thus the Messiah conquered both sin and death showing us how we can be redeemed from sin and gain eternal life through the Son. A partial list of relevant New Testiment references are as follows:
- Matthew 26:28 For this is my blood of the new (renewed) testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins.
- John 3:16 For G-d so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
- John 6:35 And Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst.
- John 14:6 Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me."
- Romans 10:9 That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that G-d hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.
- Hebrews 9:22 And almost all things are by the law purged with blood; and without shedding of blood is no remission.
- 1 John 1:7 But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin.
- Revelation 1:5 And from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, and the first begotten of the dead, and the prince of the kings of the earth. Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood,
- Revelation 3:19 As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent.
Does this mean that there was no "salvation" prior to the coming of the Messiah? My opinion is "no". I believe there was a very specific set of circumstances that led to the Children of Israel being "saved" prior to the giving of the Torah. This may come as a surprise to some since the pre-Messianic Jews are often viewed as being under "legalism". That is to say, the opinion is that they were only saved if they obeyed all of the Torah perfectly and if they strayed in a single detail, their salvation was at risk.
We as a Messianic community are sometimes "accused" of being under legalism because we continue to keep the Biblical kosher laws, keep the traditional Shabbat, wear tzitzit, and only eat unleavened bread during Passover and the Feast of Unleavened bread. What many people have difficulty grasping, is that we don't believe that doing all of this saves us. We believe (I certainly hope we all do) that we are saved through the Almighty's grace and mercy and through the sacrificial death of His only Son Yeshua our Messiah. We keep the Torah as an act of obediance to Him (as in John 14:15 when the Master said: "If you love me, you will obey me...").
What did Yeshua mean "you will obey me"? Obey what? There was no such thing as the New Testiment in those days. The only written directives from the Almighty in existance were the collection of books in the Tanakh (Old Testiment) which Yeshua kept flawlessly. Now please keep in mind that Yeshua did not say, "If you obey me, then I will love you". It is never the case of keeping the commandments and then receiving salvation and grace. Quite the opposite. We keep the Torah out of love, respect, and gratitude for what He has done for us.
What's this have to do with the Old Testiment Jews? Everything, as we shall see. First off, according to traditional Hebraic thought. when the Children of Israel were slaves in Egypt (see Exodus), they were slaves not only to the Egyptians and Pharoah but to sin as well. In fact, the phrase you see in your Bibles "going down to Egypt" and conversely "going up to Jerusalem" not only describe geography but morality as well. When one goes down to Egypt, one goes down into sin and when one goes up to Jerusalem; to righteousness.
Exodus 11:4-13:10 describes the first Pesach (Passover) offering and the redemption of the firstborn. I'll quote Exodus 12:7.
They shall take some of the blood and place it on the two doorposts and on the lintel of the houses in which they will eat it.
Certainly there is no redemption without blood and we often refer to Yeshua as our "Passover Lamb" or as John the Immerser said in John 1:35, "Look! G-d's Lamb" implying that Yeshua was to be the sacrificial lamb to absolve the sins of believers.
The act of Moses leading the Children of Israel out of Egypt is an act of salvation and redemption both from physical and spiritual slavery.
Exodus 14:13-14: Moses said to the people, "Do not fear! Stand fast and see the salvation of HaShem (literally, "The Name") that He will perform for you today; for as you have seen Egypt today, you shall not see them ever again! HaShem shall make war for you and you shall remain silent".
Exodus 14:30-31: On that day, HaShem saved Israel from the hand of Egypt, and Israel saw the Egyptians dead on the seashore. Israel saw the great hand that HaShem inflicted on Egypt; and the people revered HaShem and they had faith in HaShem and in Moses, His servant.
Lest you think I'm performing some slight-of-hand by suggesting that their faith led to salvation, let's quickly turn to Genesis and then Romans:
Genesis 15:6: And he (Abram) trusted in HaShem, and He reckoned it to him as righteousness
Romans 4:1-5: Then what would we say Abraham, our forefather, obtained by his own efforts? For if Abraham came to be considered righteous by G-d because of legalistic observances, then he was something to boast about. But this is not how it is before G-d! For what does the Tanakh say? "Abraham put his trust in G-d, and it was credited to his account as righteousness." Now the account of someone who is working is credited not on the ground of grace, but on the ground of what is owed him. However, in the case of one who is not working but rather is trusting in him who makes ungodly people righteous, his trust is credited to him as rightousness.
Exodus 19:1-6 records the arrival of the Children of Israel at Mount Sinai and the Almighty's "proposal" to the people:
Exodus 19:3-6: Moses ascended to G-d and HaShem called to him from the mountain saying, "So shall you say to the House of Jacob and relate to the Children of Israel, You have seen what I did to Egypt, and that I have borne you on the wings of eagles and brought you to Me. And now, if you hearken well to Me and observe My covenant, you shall be to Me the most beloved treasure of all peoples, for Mine is the entire world. You shall be to Me a kingdom of ministers and a holy nation. These are the words that you shall speak to the Children of Israel".
On the surface it sounds like the Almighty is saying, "If you obey me, then I shall love you". That is if you "observe My covenant, you shall be to Me the most beloved treasure of all peoples...". However, what covenant is the Almighty talking about? Most people assume it's the Mosaic covenant or the Torah, but from the perspective of the Children of Israel, that hadn't been given yet. In fact, in the current generation has only been told about the redemption of the firstborn, the Shabbat, and Pesach for the most part. Sure, there were the Adamic, Noahic, and Abrahamic covenants, but none of those required any particular response from the Children of Israel. There were all unconditional promises G-d made to them. The Mosaic covenant was the first covenant that required an active response from Israel, but they had no idea what it would be.
Was G-d asking them to trust Him? After all, at G-d's direction Abram took Sarai, Lot, and his household and left the land of his birth without having a clue where they'd end up and trusting in the Almighty (Genesis 12:1-5). We often say that salvation is a free gift from G-d and all we have to do is accept it. Our acceptance of Yeshua HaMaschiac (Jesus Christ) as our L-rd and personal savior is the pivotal event in our lives as believers. It would seem then, that the Children of Israel en masse are about to face that same moment.
Exodus 19:7-8: Moses came and summoned the elders of the people, and put before them all these words that HaShem had commanded him. The entire people responded together and said, "Everything that HaShem has spoken we shall do!" Moses brought back the words of the people to HaShem.
Of course at this point, the Children of Israel had no idea what was really about to happen but neither did Abram and Sarai as the left Haran behind forever and travelled to the Land of Canaan. In other words, they trusted in the Almighty and to borrow from Genesis, "and it was credited to their account as righteousness.
In our individual lives, we are all asked the same question as in Exodus 19:3-6. Will we accept G-d's free gift through faith? Will we trust in Him who created us and guides us all our lives? The question asked of the Children of Israel at Sinai is the same question asked of us right before we accept the grace of Yeshua and salvation through Him. We said "yes" (assuming you who are reading this are believers) trusting that the Almighty would take care of what was about to happen next, just as the Children of Israel said "yes" with the same kind of trusting.
So far in the narrative of Exodus, I don't even see a hint of legalistic observance of the Torah as a requirement for salvation. I do see that the Children of Israel (as are we) have been saved by accepting G-d's free gift which was given out of the Almighty's mercy and grace. So where does the "law" fit in?
Exodus Chapter 20 is the actual giving of the Ten Commandments or more accurately, "the Ten Words". This is the giving of the Torah to the people. But what is it? The Torah is actually the first five books of the Bible, Genesis through Deuteronomy. Surely that couldn't have been "given" until after the death of Moses. So what are we reading in Exodus 20 and 21?
The short answer is "G-d's preferred lifestyle" for his already redeemed people. Sure, Chapter 20 delivers the expected Ten Commandments but Chapter 21 immediately launches into issues such as a Jewish bondservant, the "sale" of a daughter (an article unto itself), murder, manslaughter, and in fact, subjects that today would be considered civil and criminal law. There are many such passages in the Torah and these are usually the parts we tend to discount either as "boring" or as having no application in the life of the modern believer.
Wait a second though. Within a relatively short period of time, the Children of Israel were to be lead to the border of the Land of Canaan and to start taking possession of it as the Almighty had promised. At this point, Israel has no king in the conventional sense. Yes, Moses is leader and prophet and Aaron was soon to be annointed as High Priest but neither of these roles precisely fulfills the responsibilities of a king. Saul and David wouldn't be born for centuries. Who was to be Israel's king?
The obvious answer is the Almighty Himself. The nation of Israel was and is intended to be the only nation on the planet directly ruled by G-d. Every nation has some sort of documentation that defines the proper behavior of its citizens in every circumstance. In this case, the Torah goes beyond being the constitution of Israel or it's collection of penal and civil laws. It includes every aspect of life, including not only the relationship between the citizens of the Land but the relationship between the people and the Almighty.
As in all legal circumstances, lack of observance results in consequences up to and including death. Does this mean that the Children of Israel must perfectly obey or lose salvation? I don't believe so. Look at Moses in Numbers 20:7-8. The Almighty commanded Moses to "...speak to the rock before their (Children of Israel) eyes that it shall give waters." Let's see the response of Moses and the Almighty's "reaction".
Numbers 20:9-12: Moses took the staff from before HaShem, as He had commanded him. Moses and Aaron gathered the congregation before the rock and he said to them, "Listen now, O rebels, shall we bring forth water for you from this rock?" Then Moses raised his arm and struck the rock with his staff twice; abundant water came forth and the assembly and their animals drank. HaShem said to Moses and to Aaron, "Because you did not believe in Me to sanctify Me in the eyes of the Children of Israel, therefore you shall not bring this congregation to the Land that I have given them".
Moses and Aaron did not obey the Torah (and thus G-d) perfectly. Did they lose "salvation" that is, their eternal place with the Almighty? No. That's not what G-d said. However, they did suffer the consequences of their actions and neither one of them entered the Land with the People. They both died before that event and Joshua became the one to lead Israel across the Jordan.
Did the Children of Israel lose their salvation; their permanent relationship with the Almighty by not keeping Torah perfectly? No. We see that Moses, Aaron and in fact Abraham, Issac, Jacob, David, and Solomon all had faults, sinned before the Almighty and were indeed imperfect men. Were they rejected by G-d? No. Were there consequences to their actions? Yes. When we accidentally or willfully sin, do we lose our salvation? No. Are their consequences to our actions? Yes.
Let's recap this. The Children of Israel were redeemed as we see in Exodus 14:13-14 and Exodus 14:30-31. Once the people were redeemed and arrived at Sinai in Exodus 19:1-6, G-d "proposed" that He would be a G-d to them and they would be his special treasure. The people responded with faith and trust in Exodus 19:7-8 that they would do everything the Almighty said. The covenant was sealed at Sinai ultimately in Exodus 24:4-8 when "Moses wrote all the words of HaShem". The next day he "took the Book of the Covenant and read it in earshot of the people and they said 'Everything that HaShem has said, we will do and we will obey!' Moses took the blood and threw it upon the people and he said 'Behold the blood of the covenant that HaShem sealed with you concerning all these matters'."
After we became believers, we realized that our covenant was sealed in blood too.
Mark 14:22-25: While they were eating, Yeshua took a piece of matzah, made the b'rakhah (blessing), broke it, gave it to them and said "Take it! This is my body". Also he took a cup of wine, made the b'rakhah, and gave it to them; and they all drank. He said to them, "This is my blood, which ratifies the Renewed Covenant, my blood shed on behalf of many people. Yes! I tell you, I will not drink this fruit of the vine again until the day I drink new wine in the Kingdom of G-d".
No one is saved by legalistic observance of Torah. No one believed that legalistic observance would "save" them. Abraham didn't believe that. Moses didn't believe that. Certainly Yeshua and Paul didn't believe that. We don't believe it, either. When the Children of Israel conformed their will to the Almighty's by obeying what G-d commanded in the Torah, they were not hoping to be saved. They already were. When we as modern Messianic believers do our best to obey the Torah (and keep in mind that without a Temple, Levitical Priesthood, and Sanhedren, we cannot obey everything), we aren't hoping to be saved or fearful that if we don't perfectly obey that salvation will be lost...we know we already are saved. Our obediance is in direct response to the words of Jesus when he said in John 14:15, "If you love me, you will obey me". We do our best to love Him and each other everyday. The Torah is our guide book...the "lamp unto our feet" so we can see and walk the path of righteousness.
