GOD BEGINS TO

10.2.3
RESTORE HUMAN
FREEDOM
This chapter presents the following key learning points:
• The parents of the human race were created by God
to be free
• People experience God’s call through creation
• God initiated the Sinai Covenant so that the people of Israel
would be free to relate more closely with Him
• God called humanity through the Israelites.

The parents of the human race were created by God to be free

When they deliberately chose to disobey God, the parents of the human race destroyed their
original relationship with God. As a result of their rebellion, they experienced a loss of the
harmony of their being. As the Catechism of the Catholic Church explains:

‘The harmony in which they had found themselves ... is now destroyed: the control of the
soul’s spiritual faculties over the body is shattered ...’ (Catechism 400)

Their descendants would now experience weakness in the face of temptations and conflict
between what they know to be right, and what they really want to do.

They would discover in themselves a range of other failings and weaknesses such as
selfishness, jealousy, difficulty in resisting peer and social pressures, difficulty in letting go of
grudges, confusion about themselves and negative self-images.

Finally, they would discover a range of sufferings in their experience that God never intended
such as illness and distress that results from the greed, injustice and wrong-doing of others.

God resolved to renew humanity

From the moment the parents of the human race disobeyed God their original nature was
impaired, God determined to renew human nature and to make it possible for people to again
relate closely with Him.

They would then be able once again to draw on their Creator’s limitless spiritual power and
strength. This grace would empower them to grow stronger so that gradually their freedom
and ability to make responsible choices would return.

Close relationships can only be accepted freely, not imposed. For this reason, God sought new
ways to invite human beings into closer relationship with Him.

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People experience God’s call through creation
Since the beginning, even before they sinned, God called the parents of the human race into
relationship through creation. The beauty of nature, the vastness of the starry night, the powers
and forces of the universe, the spectacle of the crashing surf – are all part of creation. God
planned these to be one great advertisement or sign that says to every human being: ‘I am
here, present for you – will you love me as I love you?’

Human beings grow in awareness of God as they wonder: ‘How did all of this come to be?’
‘Who created it all?’ And as they continue to grow in awareness of God, they begin to question:
‘How should I relate with the all-powerful God who is always near to us?’

What people learn from their experiences of God through creation

Throughout history people have been led by their experiences of creation to the realisation that
God is present everywhere and calling them into relationship.

The call of God through creation seeks a response from human beings. They learn that two
things are required for a relationship with God. These are:
• to acknowledge God’s presence
• to communicate with God.

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Many people’s lives today are too busy to appreciate the creation that surrounds them. They
fail to recognise God in creation and to accept God’s call to relationship. They do not look
beyond what they see to recognise the meaning or basic purpose of all creation.

Others do become aware of God’s presence through their experiences of creation. Some go the
further step of communicating with God.

God wants a much deeper and more personal relationship with human beings than creation
alone makes possible. This led God to take the step of revealing to Abraham, ways to live this
relationship more deeply. God made a covenant with Abraham. God’s revelation continued
with Abraham’s son Isaac, Isaac’s son Jacob and Jacob’s descendants, the Israelites.

For your information...

An ‘Israelite’ is a descendent of the patriarch Jacob who was also called ‘Israel’ (Hebrew
yisrael meaning ‘God struggles’ Genesis 32:29). A ‘Jew’ was an inhabitant of the southern
Israelite kingdom of Judah. After the fall of the northern Israelite kingdom with the
capture of Samaria around 721BC, the southern kingdom of Judah became the centre
for the regrouping of all Israelites. Even after the capture of Jerusalem 65 years later, and
the subsequent deportation to Babylon, Judah remained the spiritual homeland of the
dispersed Israelites. By the time of Jesus those called Jews were recognised as the only
genuine Israelites.

...some go the further

step of communicating
with God.

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God initiated the Sinai Covenant so that
the people of Israel would be free to relate
more closely with Him
The Israelites were led by God into Egypt where they became
very numerous. Around 1290BC, Rameses II became the
Pharaoh, the ruler of Egypt. He was afraid that the Israelites
could contribute to the downfall of the government of Egypt
and so forced them into slavery.

The story of God calling Moses to lead the people of Israel

out of slavery is well known. When God first spoke to Moses,
it was as:

‘… the God of your ancestors … the God of Abraham, the

God of Isaac and the God of Jacob.’ (Exodus 3:6)

A critical moment in the relationship between the people of Israel and the God of their
ancestors Abraham, Isaac and Jacob was reached when the divine name, ‘Yahweh’, was
revealed by God to Moses:

‘You are to tell the Israelites, “Yahweh, the God of your ancestors, the God of Abraham,
the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you.” This is my name for all
time, and thus I am to be invoked for all generations to come.’ (Exodus 3:15)

For your information...

The divine name Yahweh, if translated from the Hebrew, probably means, ‘He is’. When
God speaks in the first person the name translates as, ‘I am’, or more literally, ‘I am what
I am’. Hence, when Jesus is teaching in the Temple and says, ‘I am He’ (John 8:24), he is
claiming to be God. The word “Yahweh”, Jahweh or Yehovah is not to be pronounced but
it is to be substituted when reading by other names such as Lord or God etc. The reason
for this is to show reverence for the name of God in people’s daily life, emphasising the
power of language as an act of devotion and worship. There is a need to be aware of
this sensitivity when reading scripture as the sacred and ancient Hebrew name of God is
held to be unpronounceable.

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God led the people of Israel to Mount Sinai
Through Moses, God called on Rameses to release the people of Israel to freedom. Through
Moses, God commanded Pharaoh:

‘Let my people go ...’ (Exodus 5:1)

Eventually, with the necessary help of God’s intervention, the Israelites fled Egypt. God led the
people of Israel through the Sinai desert to Mount Sinai. There God said to Moses,

‘Say this to the House of Jacob!

Tell the Israelites ... “if you are
really prepared to obey me
and keep my covenant ... you
shall be a kingdom of priests, a
holy nation.”’ (Exodus 19:3, 5)

God instituted a new covenant with the

people of Israel. Now free from human
slavery the Israelites learnt that the aim
of this covenant would be to free them
to relate more closely with God.

Under the leadership of Moses, the

people of Israel discovered much more
about God. For example, from being:
• freed from slavery in Egypt, they
learned that God is a freeing and
liberating God (Exodus)
• led through the Sinai desert, they
learned that God guides God’s
people (Exodus 16)
• fed in the desert, they learned that
God provides for them. (Exodus 16:4-36).
Moses (Approaching Mt. Sinai), 1905-07 (oil on canvas)
God revealed himself to Moses as a: by Ury, Lesser (1861-1931)

‘... God of tenderness and compassion, slow to anger, rich in faithful love and
constancy, maintaining his faithful love to thousands, forgiving fault, crime
and sin ...’ (Exodus 34:6)

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God called humanity through the Israelites
God called people into a new and
deeper relationship with their
Creator through the religion of
Israel which developed into the
Jewish religion (Judaism). This
relationship was deeper because
it required a greater personal
commitment to God who had
called and chosen the Israelites
to be God’s special people. God
initiated the religion of Israel in
two broad stages. These were by:
• calling the different Israelite
tribes together to make a
single people
• initiating the Sinai Covenant.

What the people of

Israel learned from their
experiences of God
In the seven hundred years
after the time of Abraham, the
people of Israel grew in number
and influence. From a group
of wandering herders they
eventually became a settled
nation united under a king. They
also grew in their knowledge and
Noah receiving the White Dove, Moses receiving the Tables of the Law,
experience of God. They came to the sacrifice of Abraham, Moses and the Brazen Serpent,
know that God is the one true God, late 13th century (vellum) by French School, (13th century)
the God of the covenant. They could
relate more closely with God than could people of other nations and other religions whose
experiences of God were more limited. Most importantly, the Israelites discovered that:
• God communicates, not just indirectly
through creation, but also personally
and directly
• God promises blessings
• God keeps these promises.

From these experiences the Israelites learned that, to relate closely with God, they needed:
• to worship and pray personally to God who listens
• to be open to the guidance of God
• to seek God’s blessings
• to put their trust in God
• to have faith in God’s promises.

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 Journal Activity
Reflect on and write about the times when you have experienced:
• the freedom that comes from the grace of God who frees from the
dominance of emotions and fear of peer pressures
• God’s guidance in times of personal confusion or when confronted with
important life questions
• the care of God in times of loneliness or when feeling that no one is
interested in you
• God’s tenderness in times of hurt, rejection or feelings of being misunderstood.

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