5. Nation of Israel Established

It is by this set of Laws, the Torah, that the Kings of Israel are to rule, the magistrates are to judge, and the Jewish people are to live. The Torah, therefore, is not a heavy yoke of burden. Rather the Torah is the yoke of heaven that stands as proof of Israel’s sovereignty as a people and as a nation. It is the mark of Hashem’s election of us as His covenant people for all eternity. Indeed, He states that He did not give the Torah to any person or any nation but Israel (Psalm 147:19-20).

Thus, through the establishment of Israel as a nation through the giving of the Law (our marriage vows), we see evidence of Hashem moving to lay out the boundaries of His eternal territory on earth. Though the actual possession of the earthly Promise Land would not come until after 40 years of wilderness wandering, we see that with the giving of His Law and the establishment of His Nation, Hashem was working to fulfill the Torah promises that He made to Abraham (Abram) in passages such as:

Genesis 15:5-6:

Prior to this part of the conversation, Abraham was convinced that Hashem was going to make his servant the heir that Hashem had promised since Abraham was old in age and had not yet had a son. To quell Abraham's doubts, Hashem told Abraham to go outside and count the stars (if he was able), since Hashem promised to make Abraham's offspring as numerous as the stars.

This promise of the stars is significant. At the start of creation, Hashem declared that He had created the stars, sun, and moon to be signs of days and seasons. This declaration was made according to the Torah by which all of creation came forth.

Later, as history would prove, the stars became the Jewish Nation: the people promised to shine the light of Hashem (The Shekinah) into the darkness of the world through Torah (Isaiah 49:6). The moon too became the promised sign of the eternal throne of King David established in Jerusalem (Psalm 89).

Of course Abraham could not count the stars, they were far too numerous. So, all Abram could do was trust Hashem and His word. This word of Hashem is Torah. Trusting in Torah here is accounted as Abram's keeping of Torah, for these events occurred prior to the giving of Torah on Mount Sinai.

Genesis 15:7-11

The proof that Hashem provides to Abraham that Hashem would make Abraham's descendants take possession of the Promised Land was a covenant of split pieces. These split pieces would later become the animal sacrifices in the Torah. Through these animal sacrifices, all of the sins of the descendants of Abraham would be forgiven, which would allow us to keep possession of the Promised Land for all of eternity. This promise is shown in Hashem driving away the vultures who tried to come down and eat the sacrifices. This imagery references all of the enemies that would (and still do) attempt to drive us Jewish Israelites out of the Land. But, Hashem will not allow it. Even when the sacrifices are stopped for a time, Hashem still protects His people and leaves a remnant in His land.

Genesis 15:12-14

This part of the promise made to Abraham is the Promise of the Egyptian slavery. The captivity, as mentioned earlier, was allowed by Hashem so that He could prove which of Abraham's descendants He had chosen as His beloved people. Only the Jews have ever been held as slaves in a land we did not know. So, though painful, the Egyptian slavery was part and parcel with the promise of eternal freedom as Hashem's chosen people under His yoke of Torah and love.

Genesis 15:15-16

At the time of making this promise, Abraham was dwelling in part of the Promised Land. We learn here that part of the covenantal promise was that AFTER the captivity in a land we did not know, the chosen descendants of Abraham would return to the very land where Abraham was then residing and talking with Hashem. Prior to the descendants of Abraham returning, Abraham would sleep in peace. We later learn in the Torah in Genesis that Abraham is buried in the same plot where he laid Sarah to rest: in a Cave in Hebron, which Abraham paid full price for so no one could ever contest whose land it was.

Genesis 15:17

As Abraham lay in a sleep-like trance, Hashem presented Himself as a burning pillar of fire and smoking pot. Then, He alone walked between the cut pieces. Conventionally, in a "cut-pieces covenant" both parties walk the isle of severed pieces as a way to say, "if I do not keep my part of the covenant, then let me become like these animal parts."

Here, however, Hashem alone walks the isle, taking ownership of both halves of the covenant. This is not to say that Hashem later becomes the sacrifice for us, as is postulated in other religions. Rather, by appearing as the pillar of fire and smoking pot, Hashem was signifying the animal sacrifice system that would be officially given in Torah to the Jews for the full atonement and forgiveness of sin. Through the animal fat turned to smoke, full forgiveness is made, and all promised blessings will be ours to have and to hold for eternity.

Genesis 15:18-21

Through the covenant of cut pieces, Hashem sealed the promises of His people and their Promised Land to Abraham and his descendants. The territory of the Promised Land is then listed so that there could be no contest in later generations as to whom the land was promised.

To give voice to all opinions: there are scholars that say that these territories are not necessarily only promised to Israel, but to ALL of Abraham's descendants. Meaning: Ishmael and those born to Ketura (one of whom is Midian). This argument, however, poses several contradictions to other parts of Torah. It is best you consult your Rabbi with questions.

The Fulfillment of the Promise of Israelite Nationhood

50 days after the Exodus, Hashem gave His people the Torah on Mount Sinai on the Holy Day of Shavuot. 40 years later, the Jewish Israelites would enter into and conquer the Promised Land under Joshua. Generation after Generation, the Jewish Israelites were settled in the Promised Land. Kings were established through the appointing of Saul, then the eternal kingship was promised to King David.

Under King David's son, King Solomon, the First Temple was built. Though because of Solomon's sin, the Kingdom of Israel was split into two parts: The Northern Kingdom and the Southern Kingdom. The Northern Kingdom became idolatrous and strayed from Torah more so than the Southern Kingdom, who held on to the Temple and its services and sacrifices. After much tribulation and sin, the people were eventually exiled for 70 years during the Babylonian captivity.

But, as promised in Genesis 15 verse 16 above, the Jewish Israelites were brought back to the land, where we again built a Holy Temple, reinstated the sacrifices, Davidic Kingdom, and lived by Torah. However, the "sins of the Amorites" proved not over, and the land again became filled with idolatry. Greece, and then Rome, came to destroy the Jews. Eventually, Rome captured our Holy Temple, and the prolonged diaspora exile began.

But, Baruch Hashem, He again used a tragedy (as He did with the Egyptian slavery) to bring good to His people. After the Holocaust, Hashem reestablished the Nation of Israel. In one day, the Nation of Israel was reestablished as a sovereign nation state in 1948 (as prophesied in the prophets). This establishment of the modern nation has set the stage for the eternal promises of the eternal Torah to be fulfilled in full! May we see it speedily in our days!