God's Covenant of the Law

Introduction

In this series, “Making Sense of the Bible”, we will be looking at what I believe are some of the most important passages of scripture.

I believe this series will help us make greater sense of the over–arching story of scripture and further understand God’s purposes for our lives.

Review: We’ve looked at Creation in Genesis 1-2 and the “Creation Mandate, God mandate for man to contribute to the common good and human flourishing. In this God is glorified.

We also looked at Genesis 3 and the Fall of Man. Man was tempted to rebel against God and the curse of sin entered the world. We are under the judgment of God needed to be saved. In this message, we saw God’s promise of deliverance to come from the “seed of woman”.

Last week we looked at how God moved his redemptive purposes forward with Abraham and the people he formed. We also learned that God’s dealings with man would now be by faith.

Today, we will look at how God determines his people will be governed and it is by the Law.

Redemption Moves Ahead...

Throughout the rest of the book of Genesis, we see God’s redemptive purposes moving ahead through the descendants of Abraham, the Patriarchs.

Abraham, Isaac, Jacob (Israel), and Joseph.

As we arrive at the end of Genesis, we see the children of Israel in the land of Egypt after being rescued from a famine from Joseph, Jacob’s son who was sold into slavery by his brothers.

The book of Exodus begins with the revelation:

Exodus 1:8 NKJV

Now there arose a new king over Egypt, who did not know Joseph.

The children of Israel multiplied and presented a threat to Egypt so they responded by enslaving them.

The children of Israel cried out to God because of their bondage:

Exodus 2:23–25 NKJV

Now it happened in the process of time that the king of Egypt died. Then the children of Israel groaned because of the bondage, and they cried out; and their cry came up to God because of the bondage. So God heard their groaning, and God remembered His covenant with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob. And God looked upon the children of Israel, and God acknowledged them.

Transition: God raises up a deliverer in the person of Moses.

Redemption Moves Ahead With Moses

God calls Moses from the backside of the desert to be Israel’s deliverer.

For the sake of our time today, we will not look at every detail of the call of Moses and the events leading up to the Exodus.

In brief:

God uses Moses to confront Pharoah to let the people go to worship God.

Because of Pharaoh’s reluctance, God send 10 plagues on Egypt, the last one being the death of every firstborn male child.

The people of God are spared through the “Passover”.

Pharoah sends the Hebrews away, relents, and pursues them to the Red Sea. Here, God performs great deliverance for his people.

God’s intent is to bring his people back to the “land of promise” that they may continue to be his special people and he may fulfill his covenant to Abraham.

Transition: God will establish laws to govern his chosen people.

Redemption Moves Ahead With The Law

On the Exodus journey, God gives Moses the laws that will govern his people.

This law would govern every area of the people lives.

The intent of the Law is to preserve God’s people so they may fulfill the purposes for which he created them.

Spiritually

Relationally

Physically

Nationally

The 10 Commandments

The bedrock of these laws would be the 10 Commandments.

Exodus 20:1–17 NKJV

And God spoke all these words, saying: “I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. “You shall have no other gods before Me. “You shall not make for yourself a carved image—any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth; you shall not bow down to them nor serve them. For I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children to the third and fourth generations of those who hate Me, but showing mercy to thousands, to those who love Me and keep My commandments. “You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain, for the Lord will not hold him guiltless who takes His name in vain. “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord your God. In it you shall do no work: you, nor your son, nor your daughter, nor your male servant, nor your female servant, nor your cattle, nor your stranger who is within your gates. For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and hallowed it. “Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long upon the land which the Lord your God is giving you. “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 your neighbor’s house; you shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, nor his male servant, nor his female servant, nor his ox, nor his donkey, nor anything that is your neighbor’s.”

These commandments present the ideal behavior for God’s people to live.

If we look carefully, these commandments are much more than a list of “thou shall nots”.

They are to govern our relationship with God and others.

Relating to God

No other God’s before him.

No idols.

Honor his name.

Keep a day holy for worship.

Relating to Others

Honoring parents.

Do not murder.

Do not commit adultery.

Do not steal.

Do not bear false witness.

Do not covet what belongs to others.

These commandments present the standard to live perfectly in relationship with God and man.

These laws were meant to be “life–giving”, not binding and restrictive.

These laws are meant to provide “boundaries” for man to be in the best position to enjoy God’s blessings.

The Summation

The summation of the 10 commandments is the “shema”:

Deuteronomy 6:4–9 NKJV

“Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one! You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength. “And these words which I command you today shall be in your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.

This was most important for Israel to remember and rehearse.

Jesus expounded a bit further with this:

Matthew 22:34–40 NKJV

But when the Pharisees heard that He had silenced the Sadducees, they gathered together. Then one of them, a lawyer, asked Him a question, testing Him, and saying, “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the law?” Jesus said to him, “ ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets.”

Jesus includes the commandment to “love your neighbor as yourself”.

In Jesus’ words on these two commandments hang all the law and the Prophets”.

Final Thoughts

God’s plan of redemption moves ahead with Abraham’s descendents, the Patriarchs. By the time we arrive at the book of Exodus, God’s people are enslaved and in need of deliverance.

Through Moses and the “Passover” God delivers Israel and leads them BACK to the Promised Land.

In order to preserve relationship and govern his people, God institutes the LAW. This Law will govern every area of their lives and be the standard of God’s intent and expectations of his people.

This Law would bring blessings upon obedience and cursings upon disobedience.

The Truer Purpose of the Law

These commandments present the standard to live perfectly in relationship with God and man.

These laws were meant to be “life–giving”, not binding and restrictive.

These laws are meant to provide “boundaries” for man to be in the best position to enjoy God’s blessings.

We must never think God’s laws are in anyway detrimental to life.