Page 222 - Through New Eyes

S I X T E E N

THE WORLD OF

THE TEMPLE

After Israel had been settled in the land for a while, the
Mosaic heavens and earth _
began to wear thin. Once again, the
nation began to break out of the seams of the covenantal gar-
ment, and a new covenant began to be anticipated.

The History and Decline of the Mosaic Establishment
In terms of social polity, Israel was governed by elders over
tens, fifties, hundreds, and thousands, with one or more
Supreme Judge as final court of appeal. These judges also led
the people in war when the nation was attacked. As the nation
developed, however, and the population increased, there was
more and more of a national spirit developing. Actually, a two-
nation spirit developed, with a Northern Israel ethos centered in
Ephraim, and a Southern Israel ethos centered in Judah. God
had said that eventually a king would come out of Judah, but
only when He was ready (Genesis 49:10). For a long time, most
of Judah was disqualified to hold public office, because they were
descendants of bastards (Genesis 38), and bastards were ex-
cluded from public office until the tenth generation (Deuteron-
omy 23: 2). Accordingly, none of the judges in the book of Judges
was from Judah. The genealogy at the end of Ruth is designed
to show that there were ten generations between Perez and
David, so that David was a legitimate Judahite King. 1 Still,
Israel failed to see the Lord as their true King, and lusted after
human kings (Judges 8:22-23; 9:6; 11:9; 17:6; 18:1; 19:1; 21:25 ).2
Their desire for a human king was thus both an anticipation of
the next covenant, and also a symptom of moral decline.
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