whoare Israelites,to whombelongs the adoption as sons,and the gloryand the covenantsand the giving of the Lawand the [temple] serviceand the promises,
On that daythe LORDmadea covenantwith Abram,saying,"To your descendantsI have giventhisland,From the riverof Egyptas faras the greatriver,the riverEuphrates:
"Thisis My covenant,whichyou shall keep,betweenMe and you and your descendantsafteryou: everymaleamong you shall be circumcised.
"I will establishMy covenantbetweenMe and you, And I will multiplyyou exceedingly."
"I will establishMy covenantbetweenMe and you and your descendantsafteryou throughout their generationsfor an everlastingcovenant,to be Godto you and to your descendantsafteryou.
He said,"Your nameshall nolongerbe Jacob,but Israel;for you have strivenwith Godand with menand have prevailed."
so that the priestscouldnot standto ministerbecauseof the cloud,for the gloryof the LORDfilledthe houseof the LORD.
Rememberthem, O my God,becausethey have defiledthe priesthoodand the covenantof the priesthoodand the Levites.
He declaresHis wordsto Jacob,His statutesand His ordinancesto Israel.
ThusI have seenYou in the sanctuary,To seeYour powerand Your glory.
SurelyGodis goodto Israel,To those whoare purein heart!
And gaveup His strengthto captivityAnd His gloryinto the handof the adversary.
"I have madea covenantwith My chosen;I have swornto DavidMy servant,
"My covenantI will not violate,Norwill I alterthe utteranceof My lips.
Let Your workappearto Your servantsAnd Your majestyto their children.
"Whenyou enterthe landwhichthe LORDwill giveyou, as He has promised,you shall observethisrite.
Then the LORDsaidto Moses,"Writedownthesewords,for in accordancewith thesewordsI have madea covenantwith you and with Israel."
"Then you shall sayto Pharaoh,'Thussaysthe LORD,"Israelis My son,My firstborn.
Then the cloudcoveredthe tentof meeting,and the gloryof the LORDfilledthe tabernacle.
"But you, Israel,My servant,JacobwhomI have chosen,Descendantof AbrahamMy friend,
"Listento Me, O houseof Jacob,And allthe remnantof the houseof Israel,You who have been borneby Me from birthAnd have been carriedfrom the womb;
He dugit all around,removedits stones,And plantedit with the choicestvine.And He builta towerin the middleof it And alsohewedout a winevatin it; Then He expected[it] to produce[good] grapes,But it produced[only] worthlessones.
"Nolongerwill you havethe sunfor lightby day,Norfor brightnesswill the moongiveyou light;But you will havethe LORDfor an everlastinglight,And your Godfor your glory.
"Is EphraimMy dearson?Is he a delightfulchild?Indeed,as oftenas I have spokenagainst him, I certainly[still] rememberhim; ThereforeMy heartyearnsfor him; I will surelyhavemercyon him," declaresthe LORD.
"But thisis the covenantwhichI will makewith the houseof Israelafterthosedays,"declaresthe LORD,"I will putMy lawwithinthem and on their heartI will writeit; and I will be their God,and they shall be My people.
"With weepingthey will come,And by supplicationI will leadthem; I will make them walkby streamsof waters,On a straightpathin which they will not stumble;For I ama fatherto Israel,And Ephraimis My firstborn."
As the appearanceof the rainbowin the cloudson a rainyday,so[was] the appearanceof the surroundingradiance.Such[was] the appearanceof the likenessof the gloryof the LORD.And when I saw[it], I fellon my faceand hearda voicespeaking.
WhenIsrael[was] a youthI lovedhim, And out of EgyptI calledMy son.
Now when Moseswentinto the tentof meetingto speakwith Him, he heardthe voicespeakingto him from abovethe mercyseatthat was on the arkof the testimony,from betweenthe twocherubim,so He spoketo him.
"Listento anotherparable.There was a landownerwhoPLANTEDA VINEYARDAND PUTA WALLAROUNDIT AND DUGA WINE PRESSIN IT, AND BUILTA TOWER,and rentedit out to vine-growersand went on a journey.
For the Lawwas giventhroughMoses;graceand truthwere realizedthroughJesusChrist.
JesussawNathanaelcomingto Him, and saidof him, "Behold,an Israeliteindeed,in whomthereis nodeceit!"
"For the promiseis for you and your childrenand for allwhoare far off,as manyas the Lordour Godwill callto Himself."
Greatin everyrespect.First of all,that they were entrustedwith the oraclesof God.
For you have not receiveda spiritof slaveryleadingto fearagain,but you have receiveda spiritof adoption as sonsby whichwe cryout, "Abba!Father!"
But [it is] not as thoughthe wordof Godhas failed.For they are not allIsraelwhoare [descended] from Israel;
Are they Hebrews?Soam I. Are they Israelites?Soam I. Are they descendantsof Abraham?Soam I.
Nowthe promiseswere spokento Abrahamand to his seed.He does not say,"And to seeds,"as [referring] to many,but [rather] to one,"And to your seed,"that is, Christ.
[remember] that you were at that timeseparatefrom Christ,excludedfrom the commonwealthof Israel,and strangersto the covenantsof promise,havingnohopeand without Godin the world.
"You are the sonsof the LORDyour God;you shall not cutyourselves norshaveyour foreheadfor the sake of the dead.
Theseare the wordsof the covenantwhichthe LORDcommandedMosesto makewith the sonsof Israelin the landof Moab,besidesthe covenantwhichHe had madewith them at Horeb.
"Now not with you aloneam I makingthiscovenantand thisoath,
The LORDsaidto Moses,"Behold,you are about to liedownwith your fathers;and thispeoplewill ariseand playthe harlotwith the strangegodsof the land,into the midstof whichthey are going,and will forsakeMe and breakMy covenantwhichI have madewith them.
"So He declaredto you His covenantwhichHe commandedyou to perform,[that is], the TenCommandments;and He wrotethem on twotabletsof stone.
"For you are a holypeopleto the LORDyour God;the LORDyour Godhas chosenyou to be a peoplefor His own possessionout of allthe peopleswhoare on the faceof the earth.
Noweventhe first[covenant] hadregulationsof divine worshipand the earthlysanctuary.
since they [relate] onlyto foodand drinkand variouswashings,regulationsfor the bodyimposeduntila timeof reformation.
Behindthe secondveilthere was a tabernaclewhich is calledthe Holy of Holies,
and aboveit [were] the cherubimof gloryovershadowingthe mercy seat;but of these thingswe cannotnowspeakin detail.
Nowwhen these thingshave been soprepared,the priestsare continuallyenteringthe outertabernacleperformingthe divine worship,
