Daily Words of God: The Three Stages of Work | Excerpt 20

During the Age of Law, Jehovah laid down many commandments for Moses to pass on to the Israelites who followed him out of Egypt. Jehovah gave these commandments to the Israelites, which were unrelated to the Egyptians, and they were meant to restrain the Israelites, and were His requirements for them. Whether one observed the Sabbath, whether one respected one’s parents, whether one worshiped idols, and so forth, these were the principles by which one was judged sinful or righteous. Whether one was struck by Jehovah’s fire, or stoned to death, or received Jehovah’s blessing, was determined according to whether one obeyed these commandments. Those who did not observe the Sabbath were stoned to death. Those priests who did not observe the Sabbath were smitten by Jehovah’s fire. Those who did not respect their parents were also stoned to death. This was all commended by Jehovah. Jehovah established His commandments and laws so that as He led their lives, the people would listen to and obey His word and not rebel against Him. He used these laws to control the newborn human race, to lay the foundation for His work to come. And so, because of the work that Jehovah did, the first age was called the Age of Law. Though Jehovah spoke much and did much work, He only guided them positively, teaching these ignorant people how to be human, how to live, how to understand Jehovah’s way. For the most part the work He did was intended to allow the people to observe His way and follow His law, and to work on people who were shallowly corrupted; it was not concerned with the transformation of disposition or the growth in life. He was only concerned with using laws to restrict and control the people. For the Israelites at that time, Jehovah was merely a God in the temple, a God in the heavens. He was a pillar of cloud, a pillar of flame. All Jehovah required them to do was obey what people today know as His laws and commandments—one could even say rules—because Jehovah’s work was not meant to change them, but to give them more things that man ought to have, to tell them from His own mouth, because after man was created, man knew nothing about what he ought to possess. And so Jehovah gave man the things he ought to possess for his life on earth, made the mankind that He had led surpass their ancestors, Adam and Eve, because what Jehovah gave them surpassed what He had given Adam and Eve in the beginning. Regardless, the work Jehovah did in Israel was only to guide humanity and make humanity recognize their Creator. He did not conquer them or change them, merely guided them. This is the sum of Jehovah’s work in the Age of Law. It is the background, the true story, the essence of His work in Israel, and the beginning of His six thousand years of work—to control mankind by Jehovah’s hand. Out of this came more work in His six-thousand-year management plan.

Excerpted from The Word Appears in the Flesh