Thus, while the Israelites shared some common moral obligations with other nations, their observance of the Sabbath set them apart, as no other nations honored this sacred rest. Even circumcision did not distinguish them from other peoples to the same extent as the Sabbath did; for instance, the Idumeans, descendants of Esau, and the Ishmaelites practiced circumcision, and even the Egyptians, having learned it from the Jews, attempted to observe it. God Himself attests to this through the words of the prophet Jeremiah: "And I will punish all who are uncircumcised in flesh; upon Egypt, and upon Edom, and others.” But it was solely the people of Judah who preserved the Sabbath; thus, God declared, "And My Sabbaths I have given to them as a sign between Me and them, to know that I am the Lord who sanctifies them." After recounting their disobedience in Egypt and His patience, He again refers to the statutes given to them in the wilderness, along with their rebellion and violation of the laws. He clarifies the righteousness of His anger while also disclosing His boundless goodness. And I proclaimed, I will unleash My wrath upon them in the wilderness; I will consume them. And I will do this to protect My name from being profaned before the nations who know Me. Even wise Moses relayed this, stating that God said, "Now leave Me alone, that I may destroy them with My fierce anger; and I will make you into a great nation." Then He expresses His own supplication for them, concluding with: If You destroy them, the Egyptians will hear and say, Because the Lord was unable to bring His people to the land He promised their ancestors; He has destroyed them in the wilderness. God reiterates this point here: “And I will do this to keep My name from being profaned among the nations, to whom I have made Myself known.” He elaborates further, indicating that although His intention was to bring them to their ultimate downfall in the wilderness for their transgression of the justifications that grant life and their desecration of the sabbaths, He again separately notes the sabbaths.
THEOSIS