Mosaic Covenant
Lt. Adam E. Hines
Covenant • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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Meeting at the Mountain
Meeting at the Mountain
In the third month, on the same day of the month that the Israelites had left the land of Egypt, they entered the Wilderness of Sinai.
After they departed from Rephidim, they entered the Wilderness of Sinai and camped in the wilderness, and Israel camped there in front of the mountain.
The Israelites are three months out from their Exodus and they have come to Mount Sinai, a location we’re still not exactly sure of. But here they are…and Moses leaves them according to verse 3.
He’d been there before…burning bush in Exodus 3…he knew who he was meeting there…and once again Moses is met with a powerful picture in verse 4, this time of the protection of an eagle. This picture of an eagle is found in Deuteronomy 32 and in Psalm 40 and Psalm 91. As young eagles are learning to fly, the mother eagle flies under them with wings spread ready to catch them.
Imagine seeing the sign that says “speed limit 20 when children are present.” I don’t know if you’ve seen these, but they’re all over.
People fly past these signs like they don’t exist. Why? I don’t know, but we all speculate don’t we?
I’ve gotten tickets despite the fact that The sign was there.
I’ve got kids now. Have had for over 20 years now. Spiritually, now I’m that guy with his rake yelling SLOW DOWN, we’ve got kids…
The law couldn’t transform me but relationship did.
Sinai isn’t just about rules—it’s about the realization of relationship between God and His personal salvation power.
God’s grace-driven invitation is made evident when He says “You have seen what I did” in verse 3. Before the law, there was grace.
In chapter 20, we are going to get the law, which is God’s blueprint for covenant life. What was the purpose of the law? To reveal humanity’s inability because of sin to “be like God” - holy - and uphold it perfectly. Paul says it Romans 8:3-4
What the law could not do since it was limited by the flesh, God did. He condemned sin in the flesh by sending His own Son in flesh like ours under sin’s domain, and as a sin offering,
in order that the law’s requirement would be accomplished in us who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.
Invitation at the Mountain
Invitation at the Mountain
Now if you will listen to Me and carefully keep My covenant, you will be My own possession out of all the peoples, although all the earth is Mine,
and you will be My kingdom of priests and My holy nation.’ These are the words that you are to say to the Israelites.”
God invites the people to experience an exalted position among the nations in view of their acceptance of God’s righteous standards.
The words ‘listen’ and ‘carefully’ are very closely connected in Hebrew.
to hear intelligently, often with impl. of attention, obedience
Listen carefully - we’ve all said it. Listen carefully - I need you do something for me.
People will know Israel by their obedience and the gratitude they express towards God for what He’d done for them. God is not saying I will only uphold the covenant if you do this.
God’s invitation is not about earning favor, but about the people expressing gratitude that flows from obedience.
- **Fourfold identity:**
1. *Treasured possession* (God’s valued heirs).
2. *Kingdom of priests* (mediators of God’s holiness).
3. *Holy nation* (set apart for God’s mission).
The fourth of these is deeply applied in the New Testament by Peter in 1 Peter 2:9.
But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for His possession, so that you may proclaim the praises of the One who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light.
How do the people respond to this idea as a covenantal people?
After Moses came back, he summoned the elders of the people and set before them all these words that the Lord had commanded him.
Then all the people responded together, “We will do all that the Lord has spoken.” So Moses brought the people’s words back to the Lord.
We are the living remnant of these words -
“We will do all that the Lord has spoken.”
Wholehearted Commitment and Voluntary surrender
- **Voluntary surrender** – not legalism, but love-driven allegiance.
Now, there is a warning here underlying the surface
Rash vows reveal human weakness.
The golden calf in Exodus 32 and Paul’s I do/I don’t do commentary in Romans 7 are examples.
The Law is given *within a grace-sealed relationship*, not as a path to salvation.
Covenant at the Mountain
Covenant at the Mountain
Then God spoke all these words:
I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the place of slavery.
Before there are requirements/standards/law, there is a reminder of relationship.
No others gods
No idols
Don’t misuse name
Sabbath rest
Honor parents
Don’t murder
Don’t commit adultery
Don’t steal
Don’t lie
Don’t covet
These Ten are in two groups - 1st 4 upwards about God, next 6 outwards about others.
There’s great preparation in Exodus 19 for this moment.
On the third day, when morning came, there was thunder and lightning, a thick cloud on the mountain, and a loud trumpet sound, so that all the people in the camp shuddered.
There is an unmistakable connection in imagery here. First, that God is holy and awesome in power and majestic and supernatural. Second, that there is an immeasurable chasm between the divine and human. God warned the people not to cross the boundary on the mountain.
In 20:18, the people still stood at a distance, in verse 19 they are so afraid that if God spoke to them they’d die, and in verse 20, Moses tells them not to be afraid.
These 10 Commandments stand as a unique and important marker in the human story. They are set apart not just by their nature, but by their delivery, as they were given by God directly. The rest of the law was delivered through Moses.
The 10 commandments are affirmed in the New Testament by Jesus in the sermon on the mount and the writer of Hebrews affirms our ultimate Sabbath rest in the person of Jesus.
But we must understand the covenantal picture established through the 10 commandments:
Israel’s “we will do” failed, and so does ours.
### **IV. Conclusion: From Sinai to the Cross**
A. **The Impossible Standard:** Israel’s "We will do" (Ex. 19:8) failed (Ex. 32). Humanity cannot save itself.
B. **Christ, the Fulfillment:**
- He lived the Law perfectly (Matt. 5:17).
- His grace empowers our obedience (Ezek. 36:27; Rom. 8:3–4).
- We are now God’s "treasured possession" by faith (Eph. 1:14).
C. **Response:**
- **Worship:** Awe at God’s holiness and grace.
- **Repentance:** Turning from idols to serve the living God.
- **Mission:** Live as a "holy nation" reflecting His light (Matt. 5:14–16).
### **V. Preaching Tips:**
- **Visual:** Contrast Sinai’s thunder (Ex. 19:16–19) with the gentle voice of Christ (Matt. 11:28–30).
- **Gospel Emphasis:** The Law drives us to the Cross; grace empowers obedience.
- **Application:** Ask: *"What ‘idols’ compete for your allegiance? Where do you need Christ’s power to obey?"*
Where do you need Christ’s power to obey today?
> *"The Law sends us to Christ to be justified; Christ sends us back to the Law to be sanctified."*
> —J.I. Packer
