Ironically, Jesus employed a form of argumentation (known in Hebrew as kal v’chomer) that was common among the rabbis. In this instance, the reasoning went something like this: (1) The priests and judges of ancient Israel were known as "gods" (Heb., elohim) because they ruled on God’s behalf; (2) These rulers were not accused of blasphemy for being called "gods"; and (3) Upon what basis then would they condemn the very Son of God, who came from the Father, for blasphemy, because He called Himself "God"? In other words, He was saying, "No one objected when they called the ancient rulers of Israel elohim because they spoke and acted on God’s behalf. Yet, you want to stone the final King of the Davidic dynasty, the Messiah of Israel, who speaks and acts on God’s behalf, because He calls Himself God."

Does this mean that Jesus was backing down from His claim of being God in the flesh? Was He saying that He was God only in a representative or symbolic sense, like the Old Testament priests and judges? Not at all. He was simply employing a form of argumentation familiar to the Pharisees to show that there was no legal (or halakic) precedent for their condemnation of Him. Our Lord’s Jewish audience that day obviously understood that He was not relenting. It says they still wanted to take Him into custody, "But He escaped out of their hand" (John 10:39). The fallacy of the Pharisees’ position was that it assumed Jesus was an ordinary man who mistakenly and arrogantly claimed to be God. It did not allow for the possibility that He might be exactly who He claimed to be.

It was perfectly acceptable for the judges to be called elohim, because they were set apart to speak and to act on God’s behalf. Therefore, it should have been no crime for the Messiah, who was the very Son of God, to claim that He was "one" with the Father. Even today, the rabbis generally assume that the notion of a divine Messiah is contrary to Jewish teaching. However, ancient Jewish documents—including even the Babylonian Talmud—indicate this may not have been entirely the case: Rabbi Hillel said: "There will be no Messiah to Israel, because they have already enjoyed him in the days of Hezekiah". R. Joseph said:

"May the Lord forgive him for saying such a thing. When did Hezekiah live? In the time of the first Temple. And the prophet Zechariah prophesied in the second Temple. He said: Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion; shout, O daughter of Jerusalem: behold, your king comes to you; he is just, and having salvation; lowly, and riding upon an ass, and upon a colt the foal of an ass (Zech 9:9)." [Source: Sanhedrin 99a]

If the Messiah had already come, then, who was left to redeem Israel from her Exile (that is, the Diaspora) and fulfill the restoration promises given in God’s Word? According to Rashi, Rabbi Hillel believed the Redemption of Israel would be wrought not by a mortal, non-divine messiah, but by God. This is significant because it allows for the possibility that Israel’s promised deliverer would not be a mere man like most of the rabbis say, but would actually be God Himself!

Tractate Sanhedrin makes it clear that other rabbis, including Rav Yosef, disagreed with Rabbi Hillel on this point. It was not, by any stretch of the imagination, a majority opinion. Nonetheless, it shows that at least one ancient Jewish sage interpreted the prophecies to mean that "the redemption promised in the Torah will be wrought not by a human messiah, but by God Himself" (Cheilek, Chapter 11, on Sanhedrin 99a).

The Prophet Isaiah took it one step further and explained that Israel’s Redeemer would be both God and Man:

"For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us; and the government will rest on His shoulders; and His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty-El³⁵⁹, Father of Eternity, Prince of Peace. There will be no end to the increase of His government or of peace, on the throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish it and to uphold it with justice and righteousness from then on and forevermore. The zeal of Yehovah of hosts will accomplish this." (Is 9:6-7)

Isaiah 9:6 was not fulfilled in the days of King Hezekiah. The "son" who was born during Hezekiah’s reign (Is 7:14-16) was merely a symbolic forerunner (or type) of the future, Virgin-born Son of God recorded in Matthew 1:23.^{427/4, 9}

This promised Messiah would be both human and divine—human because according to 7:14 He is born of a virgin, and divine because He is called "the Mighty God" in 9:6. He would be a God-Man!^427/9

Since they are not trained warriors, they will have to depend on the Lord. So He reminds them of their unique relationship to Him. He says, in Deuteronomy 7:6, "For you are a holy people to Yehovah your Elohim; Yehovah your Elohim has chosen you to be a people for His own possession out of all the peoples who are on the face of the earth." After saying this, Israel might have become big headed thinking they are special and unique, so the Lord goes on to explain why he picked them: "Yehovah did not set His love on you nor choose you because you were more in number than any of the peoples, for you were the fewest of all peoples" (Deut 7:7).

Next, he gets to the real issue of why he delivered Israel out of Egypt: "But because Yehovah loved you and kept the oath which He swore to your forefathers, Yehovah brought you out by a mighty hand, and redeemed you from the house of slavery, from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt" (Deut 7:8). Notice that the Lord gives two reasons for His deliverance of Israel—His love and His promise. A New Testament counterpart to this verse is John 3:16. In Salvation, first and foremost, God was motivated by His love for us. Then, second, He fulfilled His promise to send the Messiah: Jesus Christ, so we could be saved through Him.

In this sense, then, Israel’s Exodus from Egypt typifies our salvation under the New Covenant. Just as Moses led the Jewish people out of Egypt and into the Promised Land, Jesus leads us out of the bondage of sin and into the blessedness of His salvation. This is why God chose the occasion of a Passover, which commemorates the Exodus from Egypt, to inaugurate the New Covenant (Luke 22:7-23).

Now we come again to Deuteronomy 7:9. "The Faithful God" is @m;a>N<h' laeh; (El Hana’eman), from the root aman, which means "assurance" or "faithfulness."²⁸⁶ It implies something tested and proven. God wants us to know that His faithfulness has been verified. His promise keeping power has been tested and proven throughout Israel’s history. He mentions the Exodus as a case in point: "But because Yehovah loved you and kept the oath which He swore to your forefathers, Yehovah brought you out by a mighty hand, and redeemed you from the house of slavery, from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt" (Deut 7:8).

The story of the Exodus reminds us of several things concerning God’s faithfulness. First, His faithfulness is not diminished by the passage of time. God is never in a hurry, and He never forgets. The Jewish nation had been in Egypt for 430 years (Ex 12:40-41), yet He remembered His promise to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob half a millennium before (Ex 3:6-10). The same principle applies to God’s promises to the Church. Peter foresaw that the long span of time between our Lord’s first and second comings would be misunderstood by the skeptics. They would see this 2,000-year delay as an indication that the Lord is not coming back at all! "Know this first of all, that in the last days mockers will come with their mocking, following after their own lusts, and saying, ‘Where is the promise of His coming? For ever since the fathers fell asleep, all continues just as it was from the beginning of creation’" (2 Peter 3:3-4). The people who scoff at these end time prophecies do not realize that in so doing they are fulfilling these prophecies.

A few verses later, Peter reminds us that God’s sense of timing is not as constrained as ours: "But do not let this one fact escape your notice, beloved, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day" (2 Pet 3:8). It has been approximately 6,000 years, or six "days," since Adam and Eve lived in the Garden of Eden. The seventh day signifies the coming of our blessed Messiah and the beginning of a 1,000-year Sabbath rest. He is coming just as surely as the sun will rise tomorrow morning!

We are told that He is a faithful God who keeps His promises to those who "love Him and keep His commandments to a thousand generations." How long is that? If we use the figure of 40 years for a generation (Ps 95:10), it would be 40,000 years! God is saying that He will keep all of His promises, even if it takes 40,000 years to do it! The passage of time may take its toll on us, but it has no effect on God.

Second, His faithfulness is not diminished by opposition. During the Exodus, Moses was opposed by the most powerful man on earth at that time: Pharaoh, king of Egypt. Yet God brought His people out of Egypt. ". . . and Yehovah brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm and with great terror and with signs and wonders" (Deut 26:8). God is not deterred by opposition; He is motivated by it.

Third, His faithfulness is not diminished by contrary opinions. Some Israelites were not in agreement with the decision to leave Egypt. They preferred the job security of being slaves for Pharaoh. The pay wasn’t much and the working conditions weren’t the greatest, but at least they had a roof over their heads and food to eat! Once in the wilderness, the dissenters became grumblers and complainers (Num 11:4-6). Even so, God was ultimately faithful to keep His promise and bring His people to Canaan.

Today in our society as Christians we have quickly become the minority, the scum of society. Paul wrote, "And indeed, all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will be persecuted." (2 Tim 3:12). If we endure the persecutions of our time, Jesus promises that in heaven we will be blessed beyond our imaginations.