Tuesday: The Sinai Covenant
The book of Exodus draws the reader’s attention to three major events. Like three mountains, the Exodus itself, the establishment of the covenant, and the building of the tabernacle-sanctuary rise above the foothills of lesser happenings. The establishment of the covenant, recorded in Exodus 19 through 24, was the Mount Everest of the three. A brief outline of Exodus 19 through 24 shows the sequence and the relationship of events.
Even if you do not have the time to look up all the verses listed below, focus on the sequence of events:
1. Israel’s arrival and encampment at Sinai after being delivered by the Lord (Exodus 19:1-2).
2. God’s proposal of a covenant with Israel (Exodus 19:3-6).
3. Israel’s response in acceptance of the covenant (Exodus 19:7-8).
4. Preparations for formally receiving the covenant (Exodus 19:9-25).
5. Proclamation of the Ten Commandments (Exodus 20:1-17).
6. Moses as covenant mediator (Exodus 20:18-21).
7. Covenant principles spelled out (Exodus 20:22-23:22).
8. Ratification of the covenant (Exodus 24:1-18).
Image © Standard Publishing from GoodSalt.com
This covenant plays a vital role in the plan of salvation. It is the fourth covenant listed in the Bible (preceded by the ones with Adam, Noah, and Abraham), and in it God reveals Himself more fully than before, particularly as the entire sanctuary ritual is established. Thus, the sanctuary becomes the means by which He shows the people the plan of salvation that they were to reveal to the world.
Though the Lord had redeemed Israel from the bondage of Egypt, He wanted them to understand that redemption had a greater, more significant meaning than merely freedom from physical bondage. He wanted to redeem them from sin, the ultimate slavery, and this could happen only through the sacrifice of the Messiah, as taught in the types and symbols of the sanctuary service. It is no wonder, then, that not long after they were redeemed from bondage, and given the law, the Israelites were instructed to build the sanctuary and establish its services, for in these things God revealed to them the plan of redemption — which is the true meaning and purpose of the covenant. For the covenant is nothing if not a covenant of salvation, that the Lord offers to fallen humanity. That is what it was in Eden, and that is what it was at Sinai.
| Why was a covenant between God and the people of Israel a necessity? (See Deuteronomy 29:10-13, notice, again, the relational aspect of the covenant.) |
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One of the issues I have with an extended study on a topic such as "The Covenants" is that our discussion tends to become more complicated as we try and tease more ideas out of the topic. We multiply words and suggest obscure meanings that only a theologian would appreciate. The real loser in all of this is often the simple intention of the covenants that are really for everyone to understand.
The recent death of Michael Collins, the third member of the Apollo 11 lunar landing expedition reminded me to look up the role that Australia played in that mission. You may not be aware that the video of Neil Amstrong setting foot on the Moon was sent back to earth through the Parkes Radio Telescope here in Australia. "The Dish" as it is called here, was a research radio telescope but during the Apollo missions, it was used by NASA to track and communicate with the lunar space vehicles. John Bolton was the director of the Radio Telescope at the time, and when NASA approached him to ask for assistance they discussed the issue over dinner. They finally drew up a contract between CSIRO (The Australian body that owned and operated the radio telescope) and NASA. The contract was one line long and simply read:
And the rest is history. The world saw the live video of Neil Armstrong setting foot on the moon through the services provided by the Parkes Radio Telescope. (Incidentally, on the day of the landing, a 110 kph gale-force wind blew across the western plains and John Bolton had teams of technicians standing by with crank handles to correct the direction of the dish in case of an emergency. Ironically the site of the telescope was chosen for its quiet stable weather.)
A simple one-line contract, easily understood, was the basis of the cooperation between NASA and the CSIRO.
Ultimately, the covenant between God and us is simple and should be easily understood by all. How do we go about expressing that simplicity?
Maurice - my simplest answer is "by living our lives by the faith as defined, demonstrated and expressed in the written Word of God."
Agreed. The LORD promises Eternal Life to all who believe in Him and become His Disciples. Amen.
Mark- I was reading 2 Thessalonians 2:1-17; James 2:19. Those verses speak of Satan how he can deceive men. Many says all we have to do is just 'believe'. Satan also believe their is one God and trembles. But what are we believing?
You are just the best story teller!! I switched to reading the lessons on the blog versus in lesson format just so I can read your commentary lol. Always consistent and always something to be learned. Thank you for sharing....I’m always blessed!!
The Everlasting Covenant is -
I will be your God, you will be My people and I will dwell with you!
and the response is -
Love the LORD your God with all your heart, mind and strength and His Words will be ingrained in your heart!
Now is not the Everlasting Covenant a part of the Sinai Covenant? And how are they synergestic?
John, I believe that all the divine Covenants are progressive revelations of the Everlasting Covenant, often revealing different and/or additional aspects of the Everlasting Covenant.
For thy lovingkindness is before mine eyes: and I have walked in thy truth. Psm 26:4
The Sinai Covenant
'Why was a covenant between God and the people of Israel a necessity? (See Deuteronomy 29:10-13, notice, again, the relational aspect of the covenant.)'
My answer- Why do/does parent/s make and leave 'Wills' for their only child or children when they are dead? Should the parent be concerned about what goes on even after they die? "Wills' have lasting effects even after death. Is a 'Will' in our day the same as the 'blessings of the birthright' in older days?
That covenant had, and is still having lasting effects. That covenant was given with love and trust. The Lord wants them and us to trust and obey him in love. The devastation of sin is more than we/humans understood what it did to our Creator. The covenant shows that our hearts are bind in love to him and we are willing to obey him and not his enemy-Satan.
The everlasting covenant is to love God and keep his commandments in our hearts, and He will abide with us for eternity.
the response is either through grace (new covenant) or works (old covenant)
Reynaldo,
There was a faith based response to the 1st Covenant Ex 19-24 and the 2nd Covenant with Israel Jer 31:31 as well as a legalistic response to the 1st and 2nd Covenant with Israel. The problem was with the people's response not the Covenants.
Reynaldo- according to the bible, which is the word of the Lord. The terms Old Testament(OT) and New Testament(NT) were words given to men to let us understand what took place before Christ came to physically dwell with men and what happened when he was here. The bible is one, OT and NT. The response through grace and works were mentioned in both OT and NT (whether he dwelled in his spirit form or whether he dwell in his physical form). Remember grace means unmerited favor. Do we see unmerited favor shown to people throughout the OT from Genesis- Malachi. e.g how is it Eli two sons too the ark of the covenant out of the Most Holy and was not struct down there? Noah found grace in the site of God. Gen 6:8. Many people misunderstood the meaning of John 1:17.
God, who created all things, wishes to save those made in His image who have fallen into rebellion against His government. This is the clear teaching of His Word. Since He will not enforce His will upon any, they must choose for themselves, and His covenant of Grace is the means for inviting all to be saved from the inevitable wages of sin. The promise is that "whosoever believes" will be saved. It is that simple, if we do not lose the meaning of "believe".
God, who created all things, wishes to save those made in His image who have fallen into rebellion against His government. This is the clear teaching of His Word. Since He will not enforce His will upon any, they must choose for themselves, and His covenant of Grace is the means for inviting all to be saved from the inevitable wages of sin. The promise is that "whosoever believes" will be saved.
Thank you Robert for this unadulterated description of God's covenant with mankind. It is truly a beautiful promise motivated by God's wondrous love for us. This is truly good news of great joy (Luke 2:10).
Christ gave us a covenant when He was on earth; “Love the Lord with all your heart; and love your neighbor as yourself”.
The covenant between God and the children of Israel was a necessity because of the conditional nature of the covenant.
Being related to the patriarchs who entered into these precious covenants with God couldn’t make the covenant active for future generations. Each needed to accept the conditions described in the covenant in order for it to be active.
In relationship with God, a choice had to be made by the people themselves and God. It’s like being related to an evangelist or preacher of the gospel doesn’t mean a person is converted or in a living relationship with God.
This mistaken belief that the privileges of God’s presence and power because of blood line followed Jewish leaders into the days that Christ was on earth. In some ways it has had a part in the reasoning and excuse for martyrdom of some over the course of history.
Covenant promises are conditional. We must choose to accept the conditions, they aren’t inherited. No one is forced into relationship with Christ by any means.
When in a covenant relationship with God, we are entitled to receive His blessings.
The greatest blessing is to be able to represent Christ in a pure, clear way to the world. Unseen worlds bear witness to the power of God’s love and justice that work great transformations in sinful beings.
What i found interesting was the importance of The Sanctuary in The Covenant....previously there has been so much emphasis on The Sabbath....
That struck me also - the sanctuary service was the crux of the Covenant redemption story; and when you think about it, the giving of the law didn’t change the plan of salvation; it was the same as it had always been - by faith in Jesus Christ. The law was simply the way God reintroduced himself to and established His people (in effect saying, look at these principles, this is who I am) for they had been amongst heathen worshippers with many Gods, for a long time. It was a necessary reintroduction before laying out the sanctuary service and its purpose of redemption. What a wonderful, loving God we have.