Chapter 5: New Commands and a New Covenant
Notes
Transcript
Handout
Main Idea of The Story: God is redeeming a people for himself from every nation, tribe, people, and language, for his own glory through Jesus Christ.
Text for the Chapter: Exodus 19-40
Text for the Sermon: Exodus 19; 19-25
FCF: God desires a people to serve him as his chosen priests, to live in a right relationship with him, and represent him to mankind. But, God’s chosen people are not holy and cannot enter into such a covenant with him on their own merits. Their sins must first be covered by the blood of the Lamb.
Intro:
God raised up and sent Moses to lead the Hebrew people, the descendants of Israel, out of slavery in Egypt and to the Promised Land.
Pharaoh was stubborn and hard-hearted, and he refused to let the people go, so God poured out 10 plagues upon Egypt, each demonstrating God’s authority over creation and his supremacy over all other gods.
The last plague was the worst—the death of the firstborn. The Israelites were to take a lamb, kill it, and smear its blood on the lintel and doorposts of their home. When they did this, the angel of death would passover them and spare them. The firstborn of the Israelites were spared, but the Egyptians suffered tremendous loss. Even Pharaoh lost his firstborn son.
Finally, Pharaoh conceded and let the Hebrews go. But he changed his mind again, and pursued after Israel, catching up to them at the Red Sea. God separated Pharaoh’s army from the Israelites all night long while a fierce wind parted the sea. The Israelites walked through on dry ground and then the Egyptian army pursued them. God brought the waters back down on the Egyptians and killed the army, but the Israelites escaped.
But, now that they have escaped Egypt, they find themselves in the desert in the Sinai peninsula. In Exodus 15, they’re only three days into their journey from Egypt, and have already ran into a problem finding drinkable water. Despite all that they have just witnessed, they immediately begin complaining. God works a miracle through Moses and provides water for them.
Then in Exodus 16, a few weeks later, they have run out of food and they begin complaining about that. God provides them manna, a bread-like substance that appears on the ground every morning, for them to eat. That manna will continue to be provided for them each morning during the entire 40 years they will wander in the wilderness as a daily reminder of God’s provision.
Then, in Exodus 17, they run out of water and begin complaining again. Moses strikes a boulder with his staff and God provides water from the rock for the people.
Today, we’re picking up with the story in Exodus 19, where the people have finally made it to Mt. Sinai, aka Mt. Horeb—the same mountain where Moses witnessed the burning bush and was first commissioned by God to lead Israel out of slavery.
What happens at Mt. Sinai is a crucially important event. We’ve already seen that God has established a covenant with Noah, back in Genesis 9 after the flood subsided. Then, God chooses Abraham and establishes a covenant relationship with him in Genesis 12, 15, 17, and that covenant is passed on to Isaac and Jacob, his son and grandson.
What happens at Mt. Sinai is a new covenant. It builds upon the Abrahamic covenant, but now it’s extended to the entire nation of Israel. And not only is there a promise from God for blessings on the people, but God also lays out his expectations for how his people are to live in response to his blessings.
1 On the third new moon after the people of Israel had gone out of the land of Egypt, on that day they came into the wilderness of Sinai. 2 They set out from Rephidim and came into the wilderness of Sinai, and they encamped in the wilderness.
There Israel encamped before the mountain, 3 while Moses went up to God. The Lord called to him out of the mountain, saying, “Thus you shall say to the house of Jacob, and tell the people of Israel: 4 ‘You yourselves have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I bore you on eagles’ wings and brought you to myself.
5 Now therefore, if you will indeed obey my voice and keep my covenant, you shall be my treasured possession among all peoples, for all the earth is mine; 6 and you shall be to me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.’ These are the words that you shall speak to the people of Israel.”
7 So Moses came and called the elders of the people and set before them all these words that the Lord had commanded him. 8 All the people answered together and said, “All that the Lord has spoken we will do.”
And Moses reported the words of the people to the Lord. 9 And the Lord said to Moses, “Behold, I am coming to you in a thick cloud, that the people may hear when I speak with you, and may also believe you forever.”
When Moses told the words of the people to the Lord, 10 the Lord said to Moses, “Go to the people and consecrate them today and tomorrow, and let them wash their garments 11 and be ready for the third day. For on the third day the Lord will come down on Mount Sinai in the sight of all the people.
12 And you shall set limits for the people all around, saying, ‘Take care not to go up into the mountain or touch the edge of it. Whoever touches the mountain shall be put to death. 13 No hand shall touch him, but he shall be stoned or shot; whether beast or man, he shall not live.’ When the trumpet sounds a long blast, they shall come up to the mountain.”
14 So Moses went down from the mountain to the people and consecrated the people; and they washed their garments. 15 And he said to the people, “Be ready for the third day; do not go near a woman.”
16 On the morning of the third day there were thunders and lightnings and a thick cloud on the mountain and a very loud trumpet blast, so that all the people in the camp trembled. 17 Then Moses brought the people out of the camp to meet God, and they took their stand at the foot of the mountain.
18 Now Mount Sinai was wrapped in smoke because the Lord had descended on it in fire. The smoke of it went up like the smoke of a kiln, and the whole mountain trembled greatly.
19 And as the sound of the trumpet grew louder and louder, Moses spoke, and God answered him in thunder. 20 The Lord came down on Mount Sinai, to the top of the mountain. And the Lord called Moses to the top of the mountain, and Moses went up.
21 And the Lord said to Moses, “Go down and warn the people, lest they break through to the Lord to look and many of them perish. 22 Also let the priests who come near to the Lord consecrate themselves, lest the Lord break out against them.”
23 And Moses said to the Lord, “The people cannot come up to Mount Sinai, for you yourself warned us, saying, ‘Set limits around the mountain and consecrate it.’ ”
24 And the Lord said to him, “Go down, and come up bringing Aaron with you. But do not let the priests and the people break through to come up to the Lord, lest he break out against them.” 25 So Moses went down to the people and told them.
Prayer
At Mt. Sinai, we learn a little more about who God is and what his plan is for his people. One of the first things that we see when God speaks to Moses on the mountain is that...
God desires a people for himself.
God desires a people for himself.
Now, it’s easy to miss this, but it’s absolutely crucial. The first thing that God says when he speaks to Moses on Mt. Sinai is that God wants a relationship with Israel.
4 ‘You yourselves have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I bore you on eagles’ wings and brought you to myself. 5 Now therefore, if you will indeed obey my voice and keep my covenant, you shall be my treasured possession among all peoples, for all the earth is mine; 6 and you shall be to me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.’ These are the words that you shall speak to the people of Israel.”
And this fits with what we have already seen in The Story. When God creates the universe, the highlight of his creative work is when he creates mankind. He breathes the breath of life into the man and woman, he creates them in his image and gives them a unique purpose and responsibility to rule and reign over his creation.
God then chooses to have a relationship with various different descendants of Adam and Eve, including Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and the patriarchs. And there’s a pattern forming here: God delights to enter into relationship with his creation, with his people. And this is part of the main point of the story of Scripture:
Main Idea of The Story (The Bible): God is redeeming a people for himself from every nation, tribe, people, and language, for his own glory through Jesus Christ.
God delights to have a relationship with his people. But, God is holy so there are requirements of the people of God for them to live in a right relationship with him. God is holy, so...
God’s people must be holy.
God’s people must be holy.
Holiness means “moral purity.” To be holy is to be set apart for God exclusively, not contaminated with sin or desires for lesser things. God expects his people to be pure, to be wholly, exclusively devoted to him.
5 ...if you will indeed obey my voice and keep my covenant, you shall be my treasured possession among all peoples...and you shall be to me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.’
God is laying down some ground rules for what it means to be in a covenant relationship with him. Obedience and holiness are not optional aspects of that relationship.
God expects obedience from his people. And God expects and demands that they are holy. He says “you shall be to me...a holy nation.”
45 For I am the Lord who brought you up out of the land of Egypt to be your God. You shall therefore be holy, for I am holy.”
One of the main purposes of the Law—if not the primary purpose—is to display the holiness of God and call his people to holiness.
So, when you’re reading Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, or Deuteronomy and you come across a Law that seems harsh or unrealistic or even kind of strange, stop and ask yourself, “How does this law reveal the holiness of God?”
And this requirement of holiness doesn’t change in the New Testament, by the way.
15 but as he who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, 16 since it is written, “You shall be holy, for I am holy.”
Now, the outward expressions of holiness are different—we’re not longer forbidden to wear clothes of mixed fabrics, and we don’t sacrifice animals—but the underlying character of a holy God and the demands upon his people to be holy are the same.
14 Strive...for the holiness without which no one will see the Lord.
There is a standard of holiness that, if you do not meet it, you will not see the Lord. Revelation describes the new heaven and new earth as a place that is free of all sinful influence:
27 But nothing unclean will ever enter it, nor anyone who does what is detestable or false, but only those who are written in the Lamb’s book of life.
That means that if you are unclean, you will not enter heaven. There are a lot of people that think that getting saved means they simply believe a list of propositions—Jesus died for my sins, Jesus is God, etc.—and then they are free to live however they want.
There are a lot of people in the pews that think that so long as they check the church box every now and then and are generally less immoral than the people around them that they’re ok. But that’s not how it works. God expects holiness from his people.
Now, if you’re wondering, “wait, I thought we are saved by faith, not works?” I’ll explain how these things work together in a bit. But for now, understand that obedience and holiness are not optional aspects of being saved. They are commanded and expected of God’s people. And, more than personal holiness, God requires...
God’s people must be priests to God and others.
God’s people must be priests to God and others.
“...and you shall be to me a kingdom of priests...”
The “you” here is plural, and God is talking to all of Israel. This isn’t just referring to the fact that Israel had a bunch of priests. God is saying here that he expects all of Israel to be priests in some sense. A priest has two basic jobs:
Priests represent God to the people.
Priests represent the people to God.
This means that God expects his people to represent him to other people. God expects his people to know him well enough to be his representative to others. God expects his people to be holy and to represent him well.
So, ask yourself this morning: “How good of a priest am I? How well do I represent God to the people in my life?”
And, God expects his people to represent one another before him. To pray for one another, to intercede for one another.
So, ask yourself this morning: “How good of a priest am I? How well do I represent the people in my life to God in prayer?”
Now, despite these requirements God has of his people...
God desires to dwell among his people and enter into covenant relationship with them.
God desires to dwell among his people and enter into covenant relationship with them.
5 Now therefore, if you will indeed obey my voice and keep my covenant, you shall be my treasured possession among all peoples, for all the earth is mine;
The language that God uses here is the language you would use to describe your valuables—your gold and silver. God says, “My people are my treasure.”
And God makes it clear on Mt. Sinai that he desires to dwell among his people. While Moses is up on the mountain, God gives him instructions for a tabernacle, which is a portable temple.
8 And let them make me a sanctuary, that I may dwell in their midst.
God desires to dwell with his people. This ought to make you think of the Garden of Eden, where it says that God was walking in the garden in the cool of the day to meet Adam and Eve. But, we also know that because of their sin, that relationship was broken and they were cast out of the garden. So, this makes us wonder—if people are still sinful, and God can’t be in the presence of sin, how can God dwell with his people?
Mt. Sinai revealed God’s desire to have a people, to enter into a covenant relationship with them and dwell among them, but it also revealed a problem...
The Problem revealed at Sinai: God’s chosen people aren’t holy.
The Problem revealed at Sinai: God’s chosen people aren’t holy.
When God lays out his expectations at Mt. Sinai, the people are quick to affirm what God has said
7 So Moses came and called the elders of the people and set before them all these words that the Lord had commanded him. 8 All the people answered together and said, “All that the Lord has spoken we will do.” And Moses reported the words of the people to the Lord.
But they’ve already broken his commands several times by this point just since they left Egypt, and before Moses even comes down from the mountain in Exodus 32, they will have already broken most of the Ten Commandments!
When Moses first goes to Pharaoh and demands the Hebrews’ freedom, and Pharaoh responds by increasing the burden, the Hebrews don’t respond with gratitude for Moses’ bravery and following God, but with complaining.
When the Hebrews find their backs against the Red Sea with Pharaoh’s army bearing down on them, they don’t cry out in trust to God but instead yell at Moses,
They said to Moses, “Is it because there are no graves in Egypt that you have taken us away to die in the wilderness? What have you done to us in bringing us out of Egypt?
After God parts the waters and the Hebrews are free, traveling through the desert on their way to Sinai and they run out of water, they don’t remember the God who parts the waters but instead cry out angrily at God and Moses
And the people grumbled against Moses, saying, “What shall we drink?”
God provides water for them, but a few days later, when they get hungry, they complain again:
And the whole congregation of the people of Israel grumbled against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness, and the people of Israel said to them, “Would that we had died by the hand of the Lord in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the meat pots and ate bread to the full, for you have brought us out into this wilderness to kill this whole assembly with hunger.”
God provides them with manna, and continues to do so on a daily basis for the next 40 years.
Then, a little while later, they get thirsty again and begin complaining:
But the people thirsted there for water, and the people grumbled against Moses and said, “Why did you bring us up out of Egypt, to kill us and our children and our livestock with thirst?”
And all of this happens before this passage here in Ex. 19. There’s a bunch more after! And the point is this...
God’s people are not holy enough to approach God.
God’s people are not holy enough to approach God.
God makes it very clear when he is speaking to Moses that the people are not able to approach him or get close to him because he is holy and they are not.
12 And you shall set limits for the people all around, saying, ‘Take care not to go up into the mountain or touch the edge of it. Whoever touches the mountain shall be put to death. 13 No hand shall touch him, but he shall be stoned or shot; whether beast or man, he shall not live.’ When the trumpet sounds a long blast, they shall come up to the mountain.”
They have to go through bathing rituals and all kinds of other requirements which are meant to point out their unholiness. And even then, then can’t even set foot on the base of the mountain. They can’t even be in the same zip code as this God.
And then God descends upon the mountain and it’s a terrifying sight. This is not the gentle, effeminate, airbrushed picture of God that we often see portrayed in art.
18 Now Mount Sinai was wrapped in smoke because the Lord had descended on it in fire. The smoke of it went up like the smoke of a kiln, and the whole mountain trembled greatly. 19 And as the sound of the trumpet grew louder and louder, Moses spoke, and God answered him in thunder.
insert image
The whole top of the mountain is ablaze in essentially a wildfire, it’s smoking like crazy, and the whole mountain is shaking like an earthquake. It’s pitch black on top of the mountain except for the fire. The heat coming off that mountain must have been intense. The sound is so loud and deafening that they can only describe it as blasting trumpets and thunder.
And the people get it. You don’t have to explain the imagery to them. They are terrified and they understand immediately—we can’t come near this God or we’ll die.
18 Now when all the people saw the thunder and the flashes of lightning and the sound of the trumpet and the mountain smoking, the people were afraid and trembled, and they stood far off 19 and said to Moses, “You speak to us, and we will listen; but do not let God speak to us, lest we die.”
20 Moses said to the people, “Do not fear, for God has come to test you, that the fear of him may be before you, that you may not sin.” 21 The people stood far off, while Moses drew near to the thick darkness where God was.
And that was the point. Israel needed to understand the power and holiness of the God whom they were entering into covenant with or they would never be able to understand the mind-boggling wonder that such a God would ever desire to enter into relationship with them.
And in our culture of flippant relationships and casualness, we need to catch a vision of the God of Mt. Sinai. We are all too quick to approach God casually as if he were just another guy at work, or worse, our own personal servant who exists to do our bidding.
When Isaiah was caught up into the throne room of heaven, he had a similar experience:
1 In the year that King Uzziah died I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up; and the train of his robe filled the temple. 2 Above him stood the seraphim. Each had six wings: with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew.
3 And one called to another and said:
“Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts;
the whole earth is full of his glory!”
4 And the foundations of the thresholds shook at the voice of him who called, and the house was filled with smoke. 5 And I said: “Woe is me! For I am lost; for I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts!”
This is the God that we serve. A God who commands angelic warriors. A God who is so holy and awesome that even the angels around his throne—angels with no sin—cover their faces because they cannot look upon him. A God whose majesty and holiness shakes the foundations of heaven, whose power erupts like an uncontrollable wildfire, a God in whose presence the holiest men in history have fallen to their face and cried “unworthy!”
Do you honor God as holy in your life? Do you speak of him with honor and devotion? Do you live in light of the fact that this God is the God who sees your every action, knows your every thought and the intentions of your heart? Do you live in light of the fact that you will one day stand—or rather, kneel—before this God and give an account of every sinful thing you have done?
“I tell you, my friends, do not fear those who kill the body, and after that have nothing more that they can do. But I will warn you whom to fear: fear him who, after he has killed, has authority to cast into hell. Yes, I tell you, fear him!
When you dismiss the gathering of God’s people in worship and Bible study as unimportant—this is the God whose worship you treat as unimportant. When you idolize your career, your money, your comfort and ease, your human relationships, your sports and hobbies and love them and pursue them with more devotion than you have for God, this is the God whom you demote for your idols. When you disobey and dishonor your parents, when you break your wedding vows in thought or deed, when you lie, cheat, and steal, this is the God who is watching, to whom you will give an account.
Therefore...let us offer to God acceptable worship, with reverence and awe, for our God is a consuming fire.
And then God gives the ten commandments...
The Ten Commandments reveal God’s standard of holiness.
The Ten Commandments reveal God’s standard of holiness.
What does it look like to be holy in God’s eyes?
Love God:
You shall have no other gods before me
You shall not make for yourself a carved image
You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain
Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy
Love People:
Honor your father and your mother
You shall not murder
You shall not commit adultery
You shall not steal
You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor
You shall not covet
The Ten Commandments basically boil down to two things: 1) Love the Lord 2) Love people
But the problem is that in the Garden of Eden, Adam and Eve couldn’t even keep one law that was a lot simpler than these! All they had to do was not eat the fruit from one tree. Now, God has given his people ten laws, and then he goes on for chapters and chapters explaining all the applications of these laws.
And the sad irony of all of this is that before Moses even gets down the mountain with the ten commandments, they’ve already broken the first and most important laws!
So, the point I want you to understand is this. If we go back to Ex 19.5-6...If being part of God’s people is dependent upon Israel’s obedience and holiness—let alone their acting as qualified priests to God!—they’re in serious trouble.
Now therefore, if you will indeed obey my voice and keep my covenant, you shall be my treasured possession among all peoples, for all the earth is mine; and you shall be to me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.’ These are the words that you shall speak to the people of Israel.”
It might sound simple enough—all they have to do is just obey! But there’s no way they’re going to be able to do it.
And remember that the requirement for us is the same. There is a holiness without which we will not see the Lord.
There’s a serious problem here for us. God wants a relationship with us, he wants for us to be his people, he wants to dwell with us and have us serve as his priests in his kingdom, but we can’t go five minutes without breaking his laws! We’re so unholy that we can’t even approach the mountain where God is, let alone have him dwell among us! We’re so disobedient that God can’t even finish giving us his commands before we’ve already broken the most important ones!
The Solution foreshadowed at Sinai: Atonement through sacrifice.
The Solution foreshadowed at Sinai: Atonement through sacrifice.
A covenant is a binding contract based in relationship which brings both blessings for keeping the covenant and penalties for breaking it. And the problem with sinful people entering into a covenant with a holy God is that they will always break the covenant and incur the penalties.
And when you transgress against a holy God, the penalty is separation from that God—a break in the relationship. And when that God is the source of your life and all that is good, then a break in that relationship means a loss of life and eternal separation from the source of all that is good.
The point is this—breaking a covenant with God brings death and hell, and every single human (except Jesus) is incapable of not breaking that covenant.
Entering into covenant with God requires payment for sins.
Entering into covenant with God requires payment for sins.
There’s only one way that sinful people can enter into a covenant with a holy God and live—the penalties have to be paid in some other way, by a third party.
That process of a third party paying for the sins of a covenant breaker is called atonement.
Atonement: restoration of a relationship accomplished by making payment for wrongdoing. (The process of making the two parties “at-one” again.)
So, when God’s people agree to enter into covenant with God at Mt. Sinai, they’re entering into a covenant they can’t possibly keep. They’re agreeing to keep his Law, which they’ve already broken. They have a sin-debt that demands a payment, and that payment is death. Blood.
So, as they enter into this covenant, a payment is already needed....
5 And he sent young men of the people of Israel, who offered burnt offerings and sacrificed peace offerings of oxen to the Lord. 6 And Moses took half of the blood and put it in basins, and half of the blood he threw against the altar.
7 Then he took the Book of the Covenant and read it in the hearing of the people. And they said, “All that the Lord has spoken we will do, and we will be obedient.” 8 And Moses took the blood and threw it on the people and said, “Behold the blood of the covenant that the Lord has made with you in accordance with all these words.”
They are sprinkled by the blood of the Covenant, symbolizing that the penalty for breaking this covenant is death. Since they have already broken this covenant, death is already required. A substitute is put in their place—a sacrificial animal dies instead of the people. And only by being covered by the blood are they able to enter into covenant with God.
And what is the result?
Then Moses and Aaron, Nadab, and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel went up, and they saw the God of Israel. There was under his feet as it were a pavement of sapphire stone, like the very heaven for clearness.
And he did not lay his hand on the chief men of the people of Israel; they beheld God, and ate and drank.
After the people are sprinkled with the blood of atonement they are able to be in the presence of God.
The blood of atonement makes us holy.
The blood of atonement makes us holy.
Only those who are holy, pure, are able to be in God’s presence. But through atonement, through the sacrifice of blood for their sins, God’s people are able to be in his presence.
The standard for being in the presence of God, for being in covenant relationship with him, has not changed. God still demands holiness. He still demands purity. He still demands obedience. And you and I are no more able to give what is required than those stubborn, hard-hearted Israelites wandering in the desert.
How many times have we seen God’s provision and then turned around and grumbled and complained? How many times have we beheld his glory and then chased after idols? How many times have we broken his law and defiled ourselves?
How many times has God provided your needs and you have turned around and asked...
“Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing?
God has not broken his end of the covenant, but we have broken ours. If we wish to enter into covenant with a holy God, a payment must be made. Blood must be spilled.
And if you’re sitting there thinking “How in the world could the blood of bulls and goats pay for the penalties of my sins?” you’re absolutely right. It can’t. That’s why in the Old Testament they were constantly having to offer sacrifices. The sacrificial animals could never atone for their sins.
1 For since the law has but a shadow of the good things to come instead of the true form of these realities, it can never, by the same sacrifices that are continually offered every year, make perfect those who draw near.
2 Otherwise, would they not have ceased to be offered, since the worshipers, having once been cleansed, would no longer have any consciousness of sins? 3 But in these sacrifices there is a reminder of sins every year. 4 For it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins.
See, these sacrifices in the OT were just a reminder of sins. They were sort of like an “I-O-U” from God’s people to God. A certificate of debt that they could never pay.
And if we’re talking about atoning for the sins of all of God’s people all through time, past, present and future, that’s a debt that is staggering.
But then along comes Jesus. And this God of Mt. Sinai, this holy, righteous, infinite God takes on human form. He lives a life of perfect obedience to God’s Law on our behalf, making him infinitely worthy in the Father’s eyes. And he becomes our sacrificial lamb. He becomes...
29 The next day he saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!”
And as Jesus prepared to give himself up for us, this is what he said:
27 And he took a cup, and when he had given thanks he gave it to them, saying, “Drink of it, all of you, 28 for this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.
Do you remember what Moses said when he sprinkled the people with the blood as they entered into a new covenant?
8 And Moses took the blood and threw it on the people and said, “Behold the blood of the covenant that the Lord has made with you in accordance with all these words.”
The blood of Jesus paid the penalty for your sins, so that you could enter into a covenant relationship with God and not suffer the penalties you deserve for breaking that covenant.
And it does more than that. The blood of Jesus not only pays the penalties, but
The blood of Jesus empowers obedience.
The blood of Jesus empowers obedience.
Earlier, we looked at this verse where God seems to imply that being part of his people is conditioned upon obedience.
Now therefore, if you will indeed obey my voice and keep my covenant, you shall be my treasured possession among all peoples, for all the earth is mine...
I made the point that you must actually be holy and obedient if you’re ever going to get into heaven, and that’s true. Nothing and no one who is not obedient will enter God’s presence. And the problem, of course, is that we’re not able to do that on our own.
But, just as the blood sacrifice purified the Israelites and enabled them to be in the presence of God at Mt. Sinai, the blood of Jesus purifies us and makes us holy.
But, there’s a difference between what happens at Sinai and what happens at Calvary. At Sinai, the people were able to be in the presence of God through temporary “IOU’s” that didn’t actually resolve their sins, let alone enable obedience.
But, when Jesus paid the penalty for our sins, he truly paid it in full. And the Spirit of God comes and resides not among us, but within us—he makes us his tabernacle—and he enables us to live lives that are pleasing to God.
The Law revealed at Mt. Sinai, the Mosaic Covenant, pointed forward to a much greater covenant that was coming one day.
31 “Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah,
32 not like the covenant that I made with their fathers on the day when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, my covenant that they broke, though I was their husband, declares the Lord.
33 For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the Lord: I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts. And I will be their God, and they shall be my people.
34 And no longer shall each one teach his neighbor and each his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest, declares the Lord. For I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.”
That promise was fulfilled in Christ. Jesus’ sacrificial debt paid the debt you owed, made it possible for you to be holy and enter into a restored relationship with your Heavenly Father, cleansed you so that you could be the temple of the Holy Spirit, and wrote God’s Law upon your heart so that you would desire to obey it.
The God who is a consuming fire has made it possible for you to be in his presence, he has satisfied the requirements that he had of you, because you are his treasured possession.
9 But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.
Benediction
Benediction
...To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood and made us a kingdom, priests to his God and Father, to him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen. Behold, he is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see him, even those who pierced him, and all tribes of the earth will wail on account of him. Even so. Amen. “I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, “who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.”
