GOD’S CHOSEN

8.2.4
PEOPLE OF ISRAEL

This chapter presents the following key learning points:

• God established the people of Israel through Abraham
• God saved the Israelites from slavery in Egypt and
formed them to be the Chosen People
• God entered into a ‘covenant relationship’ with the
people of Israel.

God established the people of

Israel through Abraham
Around four thousand years ago, God began to
communicate directly with Abram who at that
time lived in Haran in Mesopotamia.

God said to Abram:

‘… Leave your country, your kindred and your
father’s house for a country which I shall show
you; and I shall make you a great nation, I shall
bless you and make your name famous; you are
to be a blessing!’
(Genesis 12:1-2)

Abram did as God asked, taking his wife Sarai,

later renamed ‘Sarah’, his nephew Lot and all his
livestock and possessions with him.

For your information...

In ancient times a change of name meant
a change of destiny. Abram’s and Sarai’s
God the Father with Abraham (stained glass) names were changed to Abraham and
by English School, (15th century) Sarah.

YEAR 8 | COME FOLLOW ME 1

Figure 1: Abram’s journey to the Promised Land around 1850BC

The covenant with Abraham

When Abram was an old man and his wife, Sarai, was too old to bear children. God spoke to
him again and made a covenant with him:

‘… this is my covenant with you: you will become the father of many nations. And you
are no longer to be called Abram; your name is to be Abraham, for I am making you
father of many nations … and to your descendants after you, I shall give the country
where you are now immigrants … to own in perpetuity. And I will be their God.

… You for your part must keep my covenant, you and your descendants after you,
generation after generation … every one of your males will be circumcised … and that
will be the sign of the covenant between myself and you.

… your wife Sarai, you must not call her Sarai, but Sarah. I shall bless her and moreover
give you a son by her. I shall bless her and she will become nations: kings of peoples
will issue from her.’ (Genesis 17:4-8, 9, 11, 15-16)

2 YEAR 8 | COME FOLLOW ME

 For your information...
What is the meaning of the word ‘covenant’?
A ‘covenant’ is a binding agreement between two people or groups.

Covenants involve a pledging of the parties’ whole selves to each other, for example, a
marriage covenant. Covenants are meant to be permanent, that is, until death.

Covenants in ancient times were generally not made in writing, but when people gave
their word, it was serious and binding. Covenants were sealed in blood, for instance, the
covenant between God and Abram was sealed in an ancient ritual which involved the
sacrifice of certain animals and birds (Genesis 15:1-21).

God told Abraham that male children were to be circumcised when they were eight days old.
This would serve as a reminder that the child was a member of God’s covenant people:

‘As soon as he is eight days old, every one of your males, generation after generation,
must be circumcised ….’ (Genesis 17:12)

Just as God promised, Sarah bore a child Isaac, although she was elderly and thought to be
sterile.

God repeated the covenant promise to Abraham’s descendants, to his son Isaac (Genesis 26:4-6),
and to his grandson Jacob (Genesis 28:13-15).

The twelve patriarchs of Israel

Jacob’s name was also changed by God (Genesis 35:10). Jacob became Israel and each of
his twelve sons became the ‘patriarch’ or founding father of one of the twelve tribes of
Israel. The tribes take their names from the patriarchs: Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Dan,
Napthtali, Gad, Asher, Issachar, Zebulun, Joseph, Benjamin. (Genesis 29:31-30:24)

Today, all Jewish people claim descent from one of these patriarchs.

The Jewish people go to Egypt

Joseph, one of the most famous of the twelve patriarchs, was sold into slavery by his brothers
because they were jealous of their father’s love for him. Joseph was appointed governor of
Egypt by the Pharaoh (king) (Genesis 41:37-49). When his brothers came to Egypt seeking food
during a famine, Joseph was reunited with them and forgave them. Around BC1700, Israel and
all his children and grandchildren moved to Egypt.

YEAR 8 | COME FOLLOW ME 3

 Family Tree of Noah to the Patriachs

Noah

Shem Ham Japheth

Terah

(Abram – Sarai) Haran

Abraham – Sarah

Lot

Isaac

(Jacob)
Israel
Reuben

Simeon

Levi

Judah

Dan

Napthtali

Gad

Asher

Issachar

Zebulun

Joseph

Benjamin

The Exodus from Egypt

As God had promised Abraham, the children of Israel increased greatly. Like others of their
time, they still thought that there were many gods. They saw God as one of many in the world,
a kind of ‘clan God’ – the God of their family. They called God ‘the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob’.

4 YEAR 8 | COME FOLLOW ME

The Finding of Moses (oil on canvas)
by Poussin, Nicolas (1594–1665)

God saved the Israelites from slavery in Egypt and

formed them to be the Chosen People
Around BC1280, just over four hundred years after they moved to Egypt, the descendants of
Israel (the Israelites) had grown so numerous that the Egyptian Pharaoh, Ramses II, became
fearful that they might help his enemies. He put them into forced labour or slavery:

‘Look’, he said… ‘We must take precautions to stop them from increasing any further,…
They might take arms against us and then escape from the country.’ Accordingly they
put taskmasters over the Israelites to wear them down … (Exodus 1:9-11)

Pharaoh’s efforts failed to wear down the Israelites so he ordered the deaths of all male babies.

The mother of one Israelite baby boy sought to save her son. She placed him in a basket and
floated the basket near where Pharaoh’s daughter bathed. Pharaoh’s daughter found the child
and brought him up as her own. She called him Moses.

YEAR 8 | COME FOLLOW ME 5

Moses learns the name of God
After he reached manhood, Moses had to flee
from Egypt because he killed an Egyptian
For your information...
who had attacked an Israelite. He became a
shepherd in the land of Midian, east of the Red Moses was an ancient Egyptian word,
Sea. meaning ‘to draw out’. (Exodus 2:10)

One day, God appeared to Moses in a flame

blazing from the middle of a bush, ‘...but the bush was not being burnt up.’(Exodus 3:2-3) God
called him to become the leader of the Israelites. When Moses came near, God said:

‘I am the God of your ancestors, ... the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God
of Jacob ...

… I have indeed seen the misery of my people in Egypt. I have heard them crying for
help on account of their taskmasters …

… the Israelites’ cry for help has reached me … So now I am sending you to Pharaoh,
for you to bring my people the Israelites out of Egypt.’ (Exodus 3:6-10)

Moses asked what name to call God and received the reply:

‘You are to tell the Israelites, “Yahweh, the God of your ancestors … has sent me
to you.”’ (Exodus 3:15)

By revealing to Moses the name ‘Yahweh’, God revealed that:

• God has always existed
• God will always exist
• God will always be present to those who seek him.

For your information...

God’s mysterious name is written in Hebrew as the Tetragrammaton YHWH, the four
consonants of the ancient Hebrew name for God. It means either, ‘I am he who is’, ‘I am
who am’ or ‘I am who I am’ or simply, I AM (Catechism 206, 207).

The word “Yahweh”, “Jahweh” or “Yehovah” is not to be spoken out loud in prayer or
liturgical celebrations, instead it is to be substituted by other names such as Lord or God.
It was part of the Church’s tradition from the beginning that when reading the sacred
Scriptures the Tetragrammaton was held to be unpronounceable as it is an expression
of the infinite greatness and majesty of God.

6 YEAR 8 | COME FOLLOW ME

The Passover
God told Moses to go to Pharaoh, demanding in God’s name:

‘Yahweh says this: “Let my people go ...”’ (Exodus 7:27)

Pharaoh refused God’s demand. Through Moses, God sent plagues on Egypt.

In Class Work
Read Exodus, Chapters 7-12, and list the ten plagues of Egypt.

After nine plagues Pharaoh still

refused to let the Israelites go.
This led to the tenth plague when
every firstborn, be they human or
livestock, died. Even the eldest son
of Pharaoh died.

God commanded that the

Israelites kill a lamb or baby goat
for each family. Its blood was to be
smeared on the door-posts of their
houses (Exodus 12:7, 22). They were
to stay inside their houses and
eat the meat. Their houses would
be passed over and their children
would be safe.
Facsimile copy of Exodus 3 1-22 The Burning Bush, and Exodus 4 1-4
God arms Moses with the miraculous rod (printed book) by German
God’s action of saving his people School, (15th century) (after)
was celebrated from then on as
the feast of the Passover.

The tenth plague caused Pharaoh

and the Egyptians to expel
the Israelites from Egypt. This
happened around BC1250.
Its blood was to be smeared on
the door-posts of their houses
(Exodus 12:7, 22)

YEAR 8 | COME FOLLOW ME 7

The crossing of the Sea of Reeds

For your information...

The biblical texts speak of the Sea of Reeds, not the Red Sea (Exodus 13:18). The Sea of
Reeds is a marsh (swamp) area while the Red Sea, further to the south, is a much wider,
deeper body of water. The biblical account suggests the Sea of Reeds is where: He [God]
so clogged their chariot wheels that they drove on only with difficulty … (Exodus 14:25)

The Egyptians regretted the loss of their

slaves. Pharaoh and his army followed
the Israelites, trapping them at the
shore of the Sea of Reeds. Then God told
Moses to hold his staff over the water
(Exodus 14:16-31).

The sea parted, so that the Israelites

could escape from the Egyptians across
the seabed. The Egyptian army followed
but the waters resumed their normal
flow once the Israelites had passed. Many
Egyptians were drowned.

Why is the story of the Israelites’ rescue from slavery in Egypt so important?
The Israelites’ exodus from Egypt made them more aware than ever of God’s saving power.
As the descendants of those saved reflected on this great event, they saw that God had been
involved in every step of their history.

Seen in the light of the Exodus, everything made sense to the Israelites. From the very start
God had been leading, protecting and forming them as God’s people. Their rescue from slavery
in Egypt was understood as the greatest moment – the climax – of all God’s saving activity.
It unified the different tribes into one nation and opened the way to a covenant relationship
based on God’s love and goodness and the Israelites’ faithfulness to God.

Every year at the Passover meal, Jewish families everywhere remember and relive the great
Exodus event. It is not just an historical memory; it is a saving act that is repeated each time a
Jewish family celebrates the Passover ritual.

For Christians, the story of God saving the Israelites from Egypt is like the climax of the first act
in a two-act drama. The climax of the second act occurs when God demonstrates his love and
saving power in the death and Resurrection of Jesus when he passes over into the hands of his
Father. Exodus saw a people freed from human slavery but Jesus freed people once and for all
from the power of sin and death.

8 YEAR 8 | COME FOLLOW ME

The pillar of cloud and the pillar of fire
God personally led the people from Egypt. God appeared as a pillar of cloud in the day and a
pillar of fire at night.

The pillar of cloud never left its place ahead of the people during the day, nor the
pillar of fire during the night. (Exodus 13:22)

God continued to lead the people under these forms until they reached the Promised Land
forty years later.

God fed the people in the desert

God led the people from the Sea of Reeds through the Sinai Desert. To feed them God
provided food such as manna, which they made into bread.

For your information...

Manna is probably a secretion of insects living in the Sinai. This substance is still
harvested in the middle of the year and can be bought at stalls in Egyptian street
markets.

When the layer of dew lifted, there on the surface of the desert was something fine
and granular … ‘That,’ Moses told them, ‘is the food which Yahweh has given you to
eat.’ (Exodus 16:14-15)

In Class Work
1. Why did the Israelites complain in the ‘Wilderness of Sin’? (Exodus 16:1-3)
2. How did God respond to the complaint of the Israelites? (Exodus 16:12-17)
3. Why did the Israelites complain to Moses at Rephidim? (Exodus 17:1-3)
4. How did God respond to the people’s complaint? (Exodus 17:5-7)
5. What other problem did the Israelites encounter at Rephidim? (Exodus 17:8)
6. How did God respond to this problem? (Exodus 17:8-13)
7. Why do you think God tested the Israelites in this way? (Exodus 19:1-8)
8. What two qualities do you think God was looking for in the Chosen People?
9. In what ways do people today behave like the Israelites? How does God
provide for them?

YEAR 8 | COME FOLLOW ME 9

God entered into a ‘covenant relationship’ with the people of Israel
God led the people across the Sinai Peninsula to a mountain called Sinai or Horeb. There God
appeared to them and made a new covenant with them and their children, called the Sinai
Covenant:

‘So now, if you are really prepared to obey me and keep my covenant, you, out of all
peoples, shall be my personal possession, for the whole world is mine. For me, you
shall be a kingdom of priests, a holy nation.’ (Exodus 19:5)

The Sinai Covenant was a covenant relationship. It could only be two-way. For their part,
therefore, the people had to agree to live holy lives, for sinful or ungodly people are unable to
relate with God. In return, God told them:

‘Be holy, for I, Yahweh your God, am holy.’ (Leviticus 19:2)

For your information...

Each of the Ten Commandments is a reminder of laws given by God to help people
become holy. They are also called the ‘Decalogue’ meaning ‘Ten Words’.

God identified actions that made people ‘unholy’ or ‘ungodly’ in a series of laws. These laws
are summed up in Ten Commandments (Exodus 34:28). For as long as the Israelites kept these
laws, God would remain faithful to his words:

‘You will be my people and I shall be your God.’ (Ezekiel 36:28)

For your information...

The people of Israel were called God’s Chosen People. They were chosen by God for a
unique purpose: to love, worship and serve God in a covenant relationship.

10 YEAR 8 | COME FOLLOW ME

The people of Israel agreed to keep the covenant that God made with them:

‘All the words Yahweh has spoken we will carry out!’ (Exodus 24:3)

Sacrifices were then offered to God and the leaders of the people went up the mountain into
God’s presence and shared a common meal at which they ate and drank (Exodus 24:5-11).

The covenant God made with the people of Israel meant that they became God’s Chosen
People. Scripture presents this teaching and explains God’s purpose:

For you are a people consecrated to Yahweh your God; of all the peoples on earth,
you have been chosen by Yahweh your God to be his own people ... Yahweh set his
heart on you… because he loved you and meant to keep the oath he swore to your
ancestors… (Deuteronomy 7:6-8)

With the Sinai Covenant, God formed the religion of the Israelites and gave this religion its
characteristics. Many centuries later, this religion would become known as Judaism and those
who belonged to this faith as Jews.

For your information...

The people God chose to be the Chosen People have a long history stretching back
at least 3500 years to the time of Abraham, the first of the Patriarchs. For much of
this time, they were called either the ‘people of Israel’, ‘the Israelites’ or ‘the Hebrews’.
In about BC535, the descendants of the Israelites – those who returned to Jerusalem
from exile in Babylon – came to be known as ‘Jews’. This is the name by which today’s
descendants of Abraham are known.

God leads the Israelites to the Promised Land

God then led the Israelites away from Sinai to the land promised to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.
The Promised Land would be an abundant land which God described to Moses as flowing with
‘milk and honey’ (Exodus 3:8).

Most Israelites became afraid when they discovered that people already lived in the Promised
Land and that they would need to fight them in order to possess the land. They forgot God’s
power and refused to take possession of the land (cf. Numbers 14). Consequently they were
forbidden from entering the Promised Land and were left to wander around the Sinai Desert
for forty years.

YEAR 8 | COME FOLLOW ME 11

When all those who had refused to enter the Promised Land died, God allowed their children
to enter the Promised Land. This was around BC1210.

In Class Work
Use the information in this chapter to answer the following questions:
1. Who is known as the father of the Chosen People, the people of Israel?
2. Who was Isaac? Why was his birth so special?
3. What is a ‘covenant’? How was a covenant sealed?
4. What is a ‘patriarch’?
5. Name some of the patriarchs. Why are they so important to the Jewish people
of today?
6. Explain why the Jewish people went to Egypt.
7. What was the ‘Exodus’?
8. Explain the meaning of ‘Passover’.
9. What is the ‘Decalogue’?
10. Name the person God chose to help lead the people of Israel out of Egypt
towards the Promised Land.

12 YEAR 8 | COME FOLLOW ME