The Law -   9/28/08

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I.    The Law’s Importance

No topic has been more misunderstood among Christians than the Law of Moses and its application to the NT believer today.

The giving of the Law is Revelation

In the Law God reveals His very nature

-          His Perfection

-          His Righteousness

And in doing so, the Law becomes

Instruction

To whom does God Give this Revelation?

He Gives it to those who are in His KINGDOM

What is the Kingdom of God?

God’s Kingdom is God’s People in God’s Place under His Rule and Blessing

The Law is God’s Instruction

 to those who have a Relationship with Him.

Israel does not keep the law in order to become God’s people, but because they already are God’s People!

Both the relationship….

And the giving of the Law, which expresses the relationship, are manifestations of God’s Grace

Because God reveals Himself as a redeeming, morally sensitive God, the proper response to his initiatives is faithful obedience.

To confuse the covenants of God is to misinterpret the mind of God and miss the blessings of God, so the believer is wise to examine the Word to determine the place and purpose of the whole Mosaic system.

(Dyrness)

The Law is an expression of the covenant and always secondary to it.

The Law is to express the Character of life in the covenant.

The giving of the Law is a part of giving of himself to his people in the covenant and expresses the sane loving purposes
 

IN orer to understand the Giving of the law, we must understand God’s Covenants with His People

II Redemptive History and Covenant Structure in the Bible

Creation

God had an originl design that became corrupt through the sin of mankind and its consequences…

Neverthe less, God remains committed to His creation and particulaly to those whom He created in His image and likeness.

For that reason HE has a redemptive design that has been developed through history and continues to move toward its consummation…

We only have to go to the third chapter of  Genesis fore it is obvious that God’s Grace is operative right from the the Fall.

.. The prediction of one to come in

Gen 3 who will “crush Satan’s head”

.. The grace and salvation given to all of mankind through Noah in the warning of the flood to come and in the building of the Ark.

We have seen in past weeks that God has created Man for Relationship…

Relationship with Himself

.. Relationship with others

The bible uses many metaphors to explain the relationship between Man and God..

..Husband & Wife

..Shepherd &Sheep

..King & Kingdom

..Head & the body

..Father & child

These images are used to explain what God has done

These examples take us from the known to the unknown.

One of the most important biblical metaphors for understanding  God’s redemptive relationship with us is the concept of “Covenant”

God’s Kingdom is God’s People in God’s Place under God’s Rule and Blessing
I. Covenant Structure In Redemptive History

Definition of Covenant:

A Covenant Is A Means Of Expressing And/Or A Method Of Establishing And Defining A Relationship

The concept of Covenant first appears in the bible after the flood.

While they are in the Ark and the waters flooded the earth for a hundred and fifty days.. scripture then says..

Gen 8:1 But God remembered Noah….

Noah, his family and the animals came out of the ark. and the very first thing that Noah did was to build an altar to the Lord and sacrificed to Him 8:20

Gen 8:21  The LORD smelled the pleasing aroma  and said in his heart: "Never again will I curse the ground because of man,  even though every inclination of his heart is evil from childhood.

And never again will I destroy all living creatures, as I have done.

1. The most common terminology for making a covenant in the Old Testament

"to cut (karat) a covenant (berit)"

-see, for example, Gen. 15:18. ..the Abrahamic Covenant

This idiom means "to establish ( or determine) the obligations (or stipulations)"

of a relationship between

two persons or groups of persons.

(like “cut a contract”

2. We will concentrate here on the biblical covenants that structure the relationship betwee God and man..

 a treaty (vertical).

But it was also very common to use the same customs and terminology in establishing relational obligations between men.. a treaty (horizontal)

Basic Points about Covenants in the Bible

Structure of Covenants

1.      Promises & Obligations

2.      Swearing and Oath

3.      Eating a Meal Together

Relational involvement

In regard to the covenants between God and man:

It is often argued that certain of the major covenants were conditional or administrative (placing "obligations" on man., usually the Mosaic and New Covenants; esp. the Mosaic)

While others were unconditional or promissory (not placing "obligations" on man. ..usually the Abrahamic and Davidic Covenants).

This misdirects the real intention

Promises assure the enduring nature of a covenant relationship no matter what may happen.

While the obligations focus on the importance of faithfulness to God in order to experience the Lord's blessings within a covenant relationship (as opposed to the Lord's chastisement. the curses ).

I. The Abrahamic Covenant

Personal  or Family Covenant

Promise: Gen 15:8

Gen 12:1-3

1The LORD had said to Abram, "Leave your country, your people and your father's household and go to the land I will show you. “I will make you into a great nation and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing.

I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you."

The Seed, The Land, The Blessing

Gen 15:17-18   Eating a Meal

When the sun had set and darkness had fallen, a smoking firepot with a blazing torch appeared and passed between the pieces. On that day the LORD made a covenant with Abram and said, "To your descendants I give this land, from the river of Egypt to the great river, the Euphrates--

the land of the Kenites, Kenizzites, Kadmonites,Hittites,Perizzites, Rephaites, Amorites, Canaanites, Girgashites and Jebusites."

Obligation: Gen 17:1, 9-14

Gen 17:9-14 Circumcision

Then God said to Abraham, "As for you, you must keep my covenant, you and your descendants after you for the generations to come. This is my covenant with you and your descendants after you, the covenant you are to keep: Every male among you shall be circumcised.

You are to undergo circumcision, and it will be the sign of the covenant between me and you.For the generations to come every male among you who is eight days old must be circumcised, including those born in your household or bought with money from a foreigner-- those who are not your offspring. Whether born in your household or bought with your money, they must be circumcised. My covenant in your flesh is to be an everlasting covenant. Any uncircumcised male, who has not been circumcised in the flesh, will be cut off from his people; he has broken my covenant."

The Covenant

The Covenant form in the ANE, which was a means of expressing, defining or creating Relationship, contains both Promises and Obligations. 

In the same way, the Old Testament Covenants are the expression of relationship between God and His people, those who have Faith and trust in Him. 

Each of the covenants, Abrahamic, Mosaic, and Davidic, are given as redemptive signs for God’s chosen people, the people of Faith.

Election and Promise

Out of all the people of the world, God chose Abram as the one through whom this relationship would be restored (Gen 12), calling him out from all other men and setting him aside for relationship with Himself. 

To seal this relationship, God initiated a covenant with Abram (Gen 15).

 The promises of the covenant were The Seed, the Land and Blessing to Abraham. 

It was a covenant of Promise between God and Abram, and while it had ongoing, relational obligations between the parties, it was Abram’s Faith that was credited to him as righteousness.  (Gen 15:6) 

Abraham’s external actions, the leaving the known for the unknown based on God’s Promise, that evidenced his internal faith  (Gen 12 1-9). 

Faith, the object of which was the promised seed, and Relationship, which were the bases of the Covenant, form the foundation for God’s redemption of mankind. 

Thus, the Abrahamic Covenant is one of promise based in relationship and faith between God and His people. 

Abraham was declared righteous by faith before there was the Law or Circumcision.  (Rom4, Gal 3)

Preparation for The Law

The Mosaic Covenant - Faith and Law  

It is important to note that the Abrahamic Covenant preceded the Mosaic Covenant and the Law. 

Surrounded by people groups who worshiped a multitude of gods, the Law was given to the people who had Faith in YAHWEH. 

The giving of the Law was based on the relationship between God and His people. 

As God continues to reveal himself to His people He calls them out of Bondage to Egypt and Calls them to be in His Kingdom.

The Kingdom of God is:

Gods People in

God’s Place under

God’s Rule and Blessing

His People in His Place under His

The Abrahamic Covenant leads to the Law

The Mosaic Covenant

A National Covenant

Promise: Ex 19:5b-6

19:55b. then out of all nations you will be my treasured possession. Although the whole earth is mine, you will be for me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.' These are the words you are to speak to the Israelites.

Exod 19:5a Now if you obey me fully and keep my covenant,

Exod 24:3-7

When Moses went and told the people all the LORD's words and laws, they responded with one voice, "Everything the LORD has said we will do. "Moses then wrote down everything the LORD had said.

Moses took half of the blood and put it in bowls, and the other half he sprinkled on the altar.

Then he took the Book of the Covenant and read it to the people. They responded, "We will do everything the LORD has said; we will obey."

Lev 26:40-46    'But if they will confess their sins and the sins of their fathers-- their treachery against me and their hostility toward me, which made me hostile toward them so that I sent them into the land of their enemies-- then when their uncircumcised hearts are humbled and  they pay for their sin, I will remember my covenant with Jacob and my covenant with Isaac and my covenant with Abraham, and I will remember the land. For the land will be deserted by them and will enjoy its sabbaths while it lies desolate without them.

They will pay for their sins because they rejected my laws and abhorred my decrees. Yet in spite of this, when they are in the land of their enemies, I will not reject them or abhor them so as to destroy them completely, breaking my covenant with them. I am the LORD their God.

But for their sake I will remember the covenant with their ancestors whom I brought out of Egypt in the sight of the nations to be their God. I am the LORD.'"These are the decrees, the laws and the regulations that the LORD established on Mount Sinai between himself and the Israelites

This history is the CONTEXT  for the Law that is given in Ex 20

The “Ten Words”

The basic word for law, torah, comes from the word yarag, which means to direct, teach or instruct in.

The basic meaning is “instruction”

Instruction by God, through Moses, as mediator  2 Chron 33:8b

The Law is  an expression of the covenant and always secondary to it.

The law is to express the character of  Life in the covenant. 

The giving of the law is part of God giving of himself to his people with a loving purpose

Israel had witnessed God’s mighty hand in the Exodus, his protection and provision in their wilderness journey. 

It is to these people, who had faith in God, who were chosen by Him and who had promised to “do everything the Lord has said” (Ex 15:8), that the LORD gave the Law. 

Faith was a prerequisite for the Law. 

William Dyrness puts it this way; “Israel does not keep the law in order to become God's people, but because they are God's people”.

It is important to note that the Abrahamic Covenant preceded the Mosaic Covenant and the Law. 

Surrounded by people groups who worshiped a multitude of gods, the Law was given to the people who had Faith in YAHWEH. 

The giving of the Law was based on the relationship between God and His people. 

Gods Kingdom are

God’s People in God’s Place

Under God’s Rule and Blessing.

 Permanent Promise and Obligation

How God Does relationship with man/

The Abrahamic Covenant leads to the Law

I.      The Stipulations of the Covenant 

          (Ex 20:1-23:33)

The Law is given in Ex 20

The “Ten Words”

“The basic word for law, torah, comes from the word yarag, which means to direct, teach or instruct in.” -- Dyrness

The basic meaning is “instruction”

Instruction by God, through Moses, as mediator  2 Chron 33:8b

The Law is  an expression of the covenant and always secondary to it.

The law is to express the character of ife in the covenant.  The giving of the law is part of God giving of himself to his people with a loving purpose

II.      The Ratification Of The Covenant By Swearing Of An Oath (Ex 24:3-8)

Exod 24:3-8  When Moses went and told the people all the LORD's words and laws, they responded with one voice, "Everything the LORD has said we will do."

 Policy & Procedures

Policy is the basis of community

It is the legal understanding of how life is maintained. 

Israel understood itself as a covenant community.  That is, its existence as a community rested on God’s having chosen it and his promise to uphold it.

The Procedures then are the means by which the policy is put into effect.

The Law itself provided recourse for those who transgressed it. 

(Lev 19:2, 20:7, Pet 1:16) 

The grace of the Law is displayed in its explicit sacrificial system that provided for the Profane to be made Holy and the Unclean to be made Clean. 

Through the Law, God made known His Holiness and made provision for His people to live, as He required, i.e. to  “Be holy as [He is] holy (Lev 11:44-5). 

The Grace contained in the Law enabled those who had faith and were under the Law to live righteously in God’s sight. (Deut 30:11). 

1. All the Commandments and Statutes of the Law are to be kept.

God’s Redemptive Plan

The God of relationship also reveals Himself as a God of Promise. 

On the very day that Sin entered the world, God set in motion the Plan of Redemption, revealed in the pages of scripture from Genesis 3 to Revelation. 

Even while proclaiming His just and righteous judgment upon man for sin,

God provides promise in the One who is to come (Gen 3:15) to restore relationship, peace (Rom 5:1) and rest (Mat 11:28) to His creation. 

Just as the fall resulted from a lack of faith in God’s Word and promise (Gen 3:1-4), the plan of redemption is accomplished through faith in God’s Word and Promise.  (Eph 2:8)

The Mosaic Covenant - Faith and Law  

It is important to note that the Abrahamic Covenant preceded the Mosaic Covenant and the Law. 

Surrounded by people groups who worshiped a multitude of gods, the Law was given to the people who had Faith in YAHWEH. 

The giving of the Law was based on the relationship between God and His people.  Israel had witnessed God’s mighty hand in the Exodus, his protection and provision in their wilderness journey.  It is to these people, who had faith in God, who were chosen by Him and who had promised to “do everything the Lord has said” (Ex 15:8), that the LORD gave the Law. 

Faith was a prerequisite for the Law. 

William Dyrness puts it this way; “Israel does not keep the law in order to become God's people, but because they are God's people”.

 It was those who trusted in God, those who had faith who were justified by the grace that is inherent in the sacrificial system within the Law. 

Through the Law, God made known His Holiness and made provision for His people to live, as He required, i.e. to  “Be holy as [He is] holy (Lev 11:44-5). 

The Grace contained in the Law enabled those who had faith and were under the Law to live righteously in God’s sight.  (Deut 30:11). 

Salvation History unfolds, the Promised Land was given through the faith of Joshua, but other generations grew up who knew neither the Lord nor what he had done for Israel (Judges 2:10).

Those generations desired a King instead of a relationship with YAHWEH (1 Sam 8:19).  Even through times of unfaithfulness on the part of the people,

God remained faithful to His covenant promise that One from the Seed of Abraham will come to restore Relationship with the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.

Now The End of the Story!

Christ the Author and COMPLETER

OF our faith

God’s People in God’s Place

Under God’s Rule and Blessing

After the Law Comes Gods King.

The One who is to Rule God’s People

The Davidic Covenant.
The Davidic Covenant –2 Sam 7

A Dynastic Level Covenant

Promise: 2 Sam 7:12-16

2 Sam 7:12-16

When your days are over and you rest with your fathers, I will raise up your offspring to succeed you, who will come from your own body, and I will establish his kingdom.

13   He is the one who will build a house for my Name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever.

14   I will be his father, and he will be my son. When he does wrong, I will punish him with the rod of men, with floggings inflicted by men.

15   But my love will never be taken away from him, as I took it away from Saul, whom I removed from before you.

16   Your house and your kingdom will endure forever before me; your throne will be established forever.'"

1 Chr 17:11-14

11   When your days are over and you go to be with your fathers, I will raise up your offspring to succeed you, one of your own sons, and I will establish his kingdom.

12   He is the one who will build a house for me, and I will establish his throne forever.

13   I will be his father, and he will be my son. I will never take my love away from him, as I took it away from your predecessor.

14   I will set him over my house and my kingdom forever; his throne will be established forever.'"

Obligations: IKing 2:1-4

1    When the time drew near for David to die, he gave a charge to Solomon his son.

2    "I am about to go the way of all the earth," he said. "So be strong, show yourself a man,

3    and observe what the LORD your God requires: Walk in his ways, and keep his decrees and commands, his laws and requirements, as written in the Law of Moses, so that you may prosper in all you do and wherever you go,

4    and that the LORD may keep his promise to me: 'If your descendants watch how they live, and if they walk faithfully before me with all their heart and soul, you will never fail to have a man on the throne of Israel.'

(NIV)

!! A.     The New Covenant

Predicted: Jer 31:31-37

Jer 31:31-34

31   "The time is coming," declares the LORD, "when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah.

32   It will not be like the covenant I made with their forefathers when I took them by the hand to lead them out of Egypt, because they broke my covenant, though I was a husband to them," declares the LORD.

33   "This is the covenant I will make with the house of Israel after that time," declares the LORD. "I will put my law in their minds and write it on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people.

34   No longer will a man teach his neighbor, or a man his brother, saying, 'Know the LORD,' because they will all know me, from the least of them to the greatest," declares the LORD. "For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more."

(NIV)

Promise: Mat 5:1-16;

Obligation: Mat 5:17,  Mat 11:28-30; Eph 2:10

Matt 5:17-18

17   "Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them.

18   I tell you the truth, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished.

Matt 11:28-30

28   "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.

29   Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.

30   For my yoke is easy and my burden is light."

(NIV)

Eph 2:8-10

8    For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith-- and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God--

9    not by works, so that no one can boast.

10   For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.

(NIV)

Initaited and ratified: in the sacrifice of Chrsit on the Cross

If we are in God’s Kingdom…

We are one of God’s People

He has palced us in His Place

And we are under His Rule

!!!!!! THE OBEDIENCE OF FAITH

God want us to respond to Him in an ongoing relationship

Rom 1:5 Through him and for his name's sake, we received grace and apostleship to call people from among all the Gentiles to the obedience that comes from faith (NIV)

Rom 1:5  Through Him we have received grace and apostleship for obedience to the faith among all nations for His name,

(NKJ)

Rom 1:5 through whom we have received grace and apostleship to bring about the obedience of faith for the sake of his name among all the nations, (RSV)

Rom 1:5  And now, through Christ, all the kindness of God has been poured out upon us undeserving sinners; and now he is sending us out around the world to tell all people everywhere the great things God has done for them, so that they, too, will believe and obey him.  (TLB)

Rom 1:5  through whom we received grace and apostleship, unto obedience of faith among all the nations, for his name's sake; (ASV)

Rom 1:5  By whom we have received grace and apostleship, for obedience to the faith among all nations, for his name:

(KJV)

Rom 1:5  through whom we have received grace and apostleship to bring about {the} obedience of faith among all the Gentiles, for His name's sake, (NAS)

Rom 1:5 through whom we have received grace and  apostleship to bring about the obedience of faith for the sake of his name among all the nations, 6 including you who are called to belong to Jesus Christ, (ESV)

Promise without obligation leads to license, antinomianism

Obligation without Promise leads to legalism and self righteousness

But those in Covenant with God will

Know the Lord!!