The Mosaic Covenant: A Law to Live By

Scripture Reading

Exodus 20:1–21 NIV84

1 And God spoke all these words: 2 “I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery. 3 “You shall have no other gods before me. 4 “You shall not make for yourself an idol in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. 5 You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, 6 but showing love to a thousand generations of those who love me and keep my commandments. 7 “You shall not misuse the name of the Lord your God, for the Lord will not hold anyone guiltless who misuses his name. 8 “Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. 9 Six days you shall labor and do all your work, 10 but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your manservant or maidservant, nor your animals, nor the alien within your gates. 11 For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but he rested on the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy. 12 “Honor your father and your mother, so that you may live long in the land the Lord your God is giving you. 13 “You shall not murder. 14 “You shall not commit adultery. 15 “You shall not steal. 16 “You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor. 17 “You shall not covet your neighbor’s house. You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, or his manservant or maidservant, his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor.” 18 When the people saw the thunder and lightning and heard the trumpet and saw the mountain in smoke, they trembled with fear. They stayed at a distance 19 and said to Moses, “Speak to us yourself and we will listen. But do not have God speak to us or we will die.” 20 Moses said to the people, “Do not be afraid. God has come to test you, so that the fear of God will be with you to keep you from sinning.” 21 The people remained at a distance, while Moses approached the thick darkness where God was.

Introduction

As we continue our study in the covenants in Scripture, we are continuing to look at the covenant that was made was Moses at Sinai. We could more specifically said that this covenant was made between God and Israel as a nation. Indeed, that is what we are going to find as we continue to look at this morning through Exodus chapter 20. Nonetheless it was Moses that was the mediator, the one to whom God spoke as he entered into this covenant with his people Israel.

As we come to consider this passage this evening. I do want to make a couple of preliminary comments in terms of the importance of what is taking place as God gives the law to Israel by which they are to live. What we will be considering this evening is what is referred to as the 10 Commandments. These are in the sense the 10 basic rules by which Israel was commanded to live. What will not touch on this evening are the further Commandments that God gave to Israel. But we do need to keep in mind that God did give additional commandments in addition to the 10 Commandments.

As we consider these 10 Commandments that were given, we will find that this covenant in essence deals with God’s chosen people living in right relationship with him as well as living in right relationship with those around them.

In other words, God is desirous of a true worship of him as the true and living God. In God desires that humans treat other people in a just and honorable way to the glory of God. In this sense, social justice is not a movement of the 21st-century. Social justice in the true sense flows out of the Scripture and and understanding of God’s requirements. The world’s concept of social justice has some elements that are true and good, but many elements that are incorrect. And the reason is that the world does not know God.

Nonetheless, as Christians, we want to ensure that genuine justice and love and compassion and all of these aspects in terms of relating to one another are done well according to the word of God because this is God’s revelation to us.

Before we consider the 10 Commandments together, it may make one further comment on the structure over here. In Exodus 20 we find these 10 words that are given. They are not in fact called 10 Commandments, but rather 10 words.

“Moses was there with the Lord forty days and forty nights without eating bread or drinking water. And he wrote on the tablets the words of the covenant—the Ten Commandments.” (Exodus 34:28, NIV84)

“He declared to you his covenant, the Ten Commandments, which he commanded you to follow and then wrote them on two stone tablets.” (Deuteronomy 4:13, NIV84)

“The Lord wrote on these tablets what he had written before, the Ten Commandments he had proclaimed to you on the mountain, out of the fire, on the day of the assembly. And the Lord gave them to me.” (Deuteronomy 10:4, NIV84)

In all of those cases, the word “commandments” is really the Hebrew word for “word”. There are 10 words that God gives by which I his nation Israel is essentially constituted. Some commentators make a link between these 10 words of God and his people Israel and the 10 words that God spoke at the point of creation. As God created the world, we find that repeated phrase, “and God said,” and then creation takes place from that word of God. There are 10 words that God gives in the book of Genesis as he creates the created order.

I want delve into the technical arguments of whether this is a definitive connection, but I do appreciate the words of one commentator in this regard when he says,

“In a very real way, the entire creation depends or hangs on the word of God. Here the book of the covenant is what forges Israel into a nation. It is her national Constitution, so to speak. And it is also the 10 words that bring about the birth of the nation. Like the creation, Israel as a nation hangs for her very life on (the) 10 words.” (Gentry et al., 2018:366)

With this in mind, let us consider…

1. The Law Given

The opening 2 verses of Exodus 20 give us the context in which the Lord is given. I will not delve into this in detail this evening because we are very dealt with it last time we were looking at this covenant. Those verses read,

“And God spoke all these words: “I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery.” (Exodus 20:1–2, NIV84)

So just by way of reminder, the giving of the law was founded upon God’s delivering mercies as he brought Israel out of the land of Egypt.

With that said, let us just briefly consider the 1st four commandments that are given, that particularly relate to the Israelites worship of and relationship to God. We will spend a little bit more time on this and then a little bit less time on the commandments relating to man’s relationship with one another.

Think it’s worth making one further comment at this point, and that is that there are different ways of dividing up the 10 Commandments. Looking to spend time trying to defend either way of structuring the 10 Commandments. Instead I am going to focus on the emphasis of what the commandments are instructing God’s people to do.

1.1. No Other gods

The 1st commandment is found in verse 3 of our chapter in Exodus.

““You shall have no other gods before me.” (Exodus 20:3, NIV84)

as we consider this command, we must remember the context into which it is given. We know very well from our Christian instruction that there is only one true God and we believe that. But we need to keep in mind that idol worship and the worship of false gods was very common / prevalent in the day.

We must also keep in mind that God has consistently gone about the task of separating for himself the people that belong to him. He furthermore delivered Israel out of captivity and bondage in Egypt in order to demonstrate his own power and authority is the only true and living God.

When God brought upon Egypt all of the plagues when Pharaoh refused to let the Israelites go those plagues were targeted at the gods of the Egyptians. God was showing that he was superior to all the gods that they claim to worship. And what was going to be distinct about the nation Israel is that they would refuse to worship any other God, since these God’s would be false gods. They were to worship the one true living God.

It’s also helpful to understand other the cultural milieu of that day. One commentator notes:

“In the culture of the ancient near East at this time, the gods operated within a pantheon, the divine assembly... “When the 1st commandment prohibits other gods in the presence of Yahweh, it is ruling out the concept that he operates within a pantheon, a divine assembly, or the consort.”

In other words, God was not merely one God among many. He was not one God that operated within a pantheon of other gods. Rather, he was the true and living God, and the only true God.

(e.g. 1 Kings 20:28… Arameans…)

But this commandment goes beyond merely stating that the Israelites are to worship no other gods. In essence, this commandment was instructing the Israelites that God was to be the highest priority in their attitudes, thoughts, words and ways. That’s certainly the way the Westminster confession conveys the thrust of this commandment.

1.2. No Idols to be Worshiped

The Next commandment is found in verse 4-6 of our text.

““You shall not make for yourself an idol in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, but showing love to a thousand generations of those who love me and keep my commandments.” (Exodus 20:4–6, NIV84)

It’s also important that we understand the cultural background as we consider this command. There are various ways in which it was seen that idols operated within that cultural setting.

One of the aspects in terms of the idol worship of the day, was that they believed that only the god that they claimed to worship could initiate the manufacturing of the idol. They would then make the idol, and hold a particular ceremony, called a mouth opening ceremony, at which point they believe that the god that they were serving would come and inhabit the idol that they were worshiping.

Further to this, the worship of the god centered around this image. In other words, the image was in a sense a mediator between the people and the god that they served.

In addition to this they also believed that this divine image manifested the presence of the God.

Given this understanding of the cultural context in the day, is important to realize that the command that God gave to the Israelites had to do with images being set up as mediators of the presence or the revelation of deity from God to human. It had to do with the worship of people in that day and how they would worship these images as if the gods were present with in those images.

Just a little bit further on in the book of Exodus you will find where Israel actually fell into this idol worship themselves. When Moses had taken a long time up on the mountain as he was receiving God’s revelation for the Israelite nation, the Israelites became impatient and they asked Aaron to set up an idol for them to worship. Turn with me to Exodus 32.

“Aaron answered them, “Take off the gold earrings that your wives, your sons and your daughters are wearing, and bring them to me.” So all the people took off their earrings and brought them to Aaron. He took what they handed him and made it into an idol cast in the shape of a calf, fashioning it with a tool. Then they said, “These are your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of Egypt.” When Aaron saw this, he built an altar in front of the calf and announced, “Tomorrow there will be a festival to the Lord.” So the next day the people rose early and sacrificed burnt offerings and presented fellowship offerings. Afterward they sat down to eat and drink and got up to indulge in revelry.” (Exodus 32:2–6, NIV84)

We immediately see from this that the idol was set up in order to represent the presence of God. We must see that Aaron refers to the worship of this idol in the festival that is held as a festival to the Lord. The word Lord that is used there is the particular name that was given to Israel for God, namely Yahweh. That set up an idol breaking these very commands that God had given them.

God forbade them from making idols, and bowing and worhsping them. He was the true and living God, and did not even dwell in temples made by hands, let alone idols…

1.3. Do Not Misuse the Name of God

The next command that we find given in this passage and is a commandment to not misuse the name of God. In verse 7 we read,

““You shall not misuse the name of the Lord your God, for the Lord will not hold anyone guiltless who misuses his name.” (Exodus 20:7, NIV84)

What is meant by misusing the name of God had to do with the way in which the people of the day would bring in the name of their gods in order to invoke the power in what they were doing. This also means of invoking the authority of the God that they claim to serve in terms of what they were carrying out.

Within example of this in Psalm 139.

“If only you would slay the wicked, O God! Away from me, you bloodthirsty men! They speak of you with evil intent; your adversaries misuse your name. Do I not hate those who hate you, O Lord, and abhor those who rise up against you? I have nothing but hatred for them; I count them my enemies.” (Psalm 139:19–22, NIV84)

David is here disassociating himself with those who claim allegiance with God and yet carry out wickedness in his name.

Now, we must note that any misuse of God’s name, or claiming to speak in the name of God, or claiming to represent God and you doing so falsely, is to misuse the name of God.

This can certainly overflow into the manner of life that we live. When we conduct evil or engage in evil practice in sinful practices all the while claiming to represent God and be his people, we are misusing his name.

When we live in a manner that is inconsistent with his character, all the while claiming to be his subjects, we misuse the name of the Lord.

Israel was clearly commanded that they were to honor the Lord in their lives and live in obedience to him such that his name would be upheld as honorable in their presence.

1.4. Remember the Sabbath

The fourth commandment is found in verses 8-11.

““Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy.” (Exodus 20:8, NIV84)

This command was one that was directed at a genuine submission to God.

This is a command to set aside the Sabbath (Saturday, the last day of the week) as a day of rest dedicated to the Lord.

There are at least two important things to note from this. Firstly, God is worthy of our worship and praise… even if that means a full day devoted to the worship of His name.

But importantly, and in addition to that, the keeping of the Sabbath meant that there was a day that could be used for personal work to be carried out. in this sense, there was declaration of dependence upon God through observing the Sabbath. Instead of increasing in income, or seeking to increase ones income by working on this day, the Israelites had to recognise that God was the provider.

One more comment is worth making on the Sabbath, and that is that the Sabbath Day, along with the various other Sabbath laws (which we won’t delve into now) were to be the covenant sign between Israel and God.

Exodus 31:13–17 NIV84

13 “Say to the Israelites, ‘You must observe my Sabbaths. This will be a sign between me and you for the generations to come, so you may know that I am the Lord, who makes you holy. 14 “ ‘Observe the Sabbath, because it is holy to you. Anyone who desecrates it must be put to death; whoever does any work on that day must be cut off from his people. 15 For six days, work is to be done, but the seventh day is a Sabbath of rest, holy to the Lord. Whoever does any work on the Sabbath day must be put to death. 16 The Israelites are to observe the Sabbath, celebrating it for the generations to come as a lasting covenant. 17 It will be a sign between me and the Israelites forever, for in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, and on the seventh day he abstained from work and rested.’ ”

1.5. Honour Parents

“Honor your father and your mother, so that you may live long in the land the LORD your God is giving you.”

This is a command to always treat one’s parents with honor and respect.

Relationships within the kingdom of God are essential.

This is a critical component in terms of loving

1.6. You Shall not Murder

“You shall not murder.” This is a command against the premeditated murder of another human being.

Man was made in the image of God, and thus the life of another person created by God, and in the image of God, was not to be taken.

1.7. Do Note Commit Adultery

“You shall not commit adultery.”

There was to be a faithfulness in relation to one’s spouse. There was to be no adulterous relationship with anyone but your spouse.

1.8. You Shall not Steal

“You shall not steal.”

This is a command against taking anything that is not one’s own, without the permission of the person to whom it belongs.

The protection of Private goods and property formed a very important part of the Law of God.

1.9. Do not Give False Testimony

“You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor.”

This is a command prohibiting testifying against another person falsely. It is essentially a command against lying.

1.10 Do Not Covet

“You shall not covet your neighbor’s house. You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, or his manservant or maidservant, his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor.”

This is a command against desiring anything that is not one’s own.

Let me just say… if we consider just these 10 commandments, we can see how freely and readily they are broken today.

If you watch Ray Comfort evangelistic videos… you will know that he uses the 10 commandments in order to point out the fact that the people are sinners.

And the reason that this approach is so effective is that man is a sinner… and we so easily fail in each one of these areas…

But with that said, we need to consider....

2. The Law’s Purpose

We need to consider this, because there is often a misunderstanding of the Law.

Firstly, the 10 commandments are often recited as the rules to live by.

There may be some element of truth behind that… certainly they are good and noble things to do… that’s not the primary purpose of the Law.

And we need to understand this.

The Law was not given by Israel for their salvation…

God had other purposes behind the Law…

2.1. Reveal God’s Character

Reveal the holy character of the eternal God to the nation of Israel (Leviticus 19:2; 20:7–8).

Leviticus 19:2 NASB95

2 “Speak to all the congregation of the sons of Israel and say to them, ‘You shall be holy, for I the Lord your God am holy.

Leviticus 20:7–8 NASB95

7 ‘You shall consecrate yourselves therefore and be holy, for I am the Lord your God. 8 ‘You shall keep My statutes and practice them; I am the Lord who sanctifies you.

2.2. A Holy Nation

Set apart the nation of Israel as distinct from all the other nations (Exodus 19:5).

Exodus 19:5–6 NIV84

5 Now if you obey me fully and keep my covenant, then out of all nations you will be my treasured possession. Although the whole earth is mine, 6 you will be for me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.’ These are the words you are to speak to the Israelites.”

2.3. Reveal Man’s Sinfulness

Galatians 3:19 NIV84

19 What, then, was the purpose of the law? It was added because of transgressions until the Seed to whom the promise referred had come. The law was put into effect through angels by a mediator.

The law itself was good and holy, but it could not provide salvation.

Romans 7:7–12 NIV84

7 What shall we say, then? Is the law sin? Certainly not! Indeed I would not have known what sin was except through the law. For I would not have known what coveting really was if the law had not said, “Do not covet.” 8 But sin, seizing the opportunity afforded by the commandment, produced in me every kind of covetous desire. For apart from law, sin is dead. 9 Once I was alive apart from law; but when the commandment came, sin sprang to life and I died. 10 I found that the very commandment that was intended to bring life actually brought death. 11 For sin, seizing the opportunity afforded by the commandment, deceived me, and through the commandment put me to death. 12 So then, the law is holy, and the commandment is holy, righteous and good.

2.4. To Provide for Atonement

Provide forgiveness through the sacrifice/offerings (Leviticus 1—7) for the people who had faith in the Lord in the nation of Israel.

This is not in the 10 commandments per se, but it certainly formed part of the giving of the law.

In this regard, the law was designed to point forward to the proper atoning sacrifice for sins, and that was Christ.

2.5. To Show that All Fall Short of God’s Righteousness

The law would reveal to humanity that no one can keep the Law but everyone falls short of God’s standard of holiness.

That realization causes us to rely on God’s mercy and grace.

When Christ came, He fulfilled the Law and with His death paid the penalty for our breaking it

Ultimately, this means that the law was designed to lead us to Christ, and to lead us to recognise that under the Mosaic Covenant, there can be no righteousness obtained.

Romans 10:4 NIV84

4 Christ is the end of the law so that there may be righteousness for everyone who believes.

Galatians 3:24 NASB95

24 Therefore the Law has become our tutor to lead us to Christ, so that we may be justified by faith.

Application / Conclusion

1 - The Law was given by God, reflecting His righteousness, so that Israel would reflect that righteousness in their own conduct...

We are called, as NT believers, to be holy, even as God is holy.

Our conduct… good or bad… cannot be seen to be neither here nor there.

2 - Rejoice that we know that obedience to the law cannot save...

3 - Rejoice that we have Christ, the final atoning sacrifice for sins.