November 15, 2020 - Mosaic Covenant

Old Testament Survey  •  Sermon  •  Submitted   •  Presented   •  51:27
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• Today we’re going to jump back into our Old Testament series...
After last week having stepped outside of it to address the election....
• Two weeks ago, if you recall, we discussed the response of the Israelites to God...in the wilderness.
• And it seemed quite shocking did it not?
• At every turn, these people chose to doubt God...
to doubt God and His promises.
• We saw how God lead them thru the wilderness by a cloud at day, and a pillar of fire at night.
• We saw God sustain them throughout the years
• These people saw this firsthand...and yet what -- completely blind to it.
• And what came at the end?
• ...Judgment.
• Why?
• Because the people of Israel accepted the blessings of God physically, but not - spiritually.
• They accepted God guiding them thru the wilderness...physically...BUT not - spiritually (Spiritual guidance)
• They accepted God providing for them, sustaining them (food, water, protection) physically...BUT not spiritually
• And so I must ask myself:
• Am I walking thru life, accepting God's blessing physically, but not spiritually?
• Do I accept God's guidance physically, but not spiritually?
• And so maybe my feet walk after to the Lord but my heart doesn't.
• Do I accept God's provision physically, but not spiritually?
• And so maybe I long for the physical blessings that God bestows, and yet have no desire for the Spiritual connection with the Giver.
• And so it can be very easy for us to point the finger at the Israelites and say - wow, how could they be so blind..
• and yet [in our pointing], reveal...how blind we are.
How easily we doubt God.
And so today we're going to focus on the Mosaic Covenant.
• Hopefully - We all remember the Abrahamic Covenant, and the promises that came with it...
(land, descendants, and blessing)...
• And now today we're going to see the continuation of God's plan through Covenantal promises.
• We're going to see how the Mosaic Covenant (the Law), fits into God's plan of redemption.
• We need to know - There's always, only been ONE plan.
• But in order for us to focus in on this today, we'll need to actually take a step back on the timeline we've set already in this series.
• 2 weeks ago, we ended by seeing that the Israelites refused to take the Land that God had promised them.
• They chose to walk by sight and not by faith.
• If you remember, we discussed that those who walk by sight, will ALWAYS lean on the wisdom of man...
• and this is exactly what the Israelites did here.
• They ignored the Promises of God, and instead leaned on the wisdom of man.
• The inhabitants are too big and too strong...
• and the city is fortified too heavily.
• THIS is what they said.
• THIS is what they believed.
• How do we know...
• Because THIS is what they acted on.
• They didn't take the land.
• And Hebrews 3:19 summed it all up for us saying - they were UNABLE to enter because of UNBELIEF.
Now prior to this, prior to God rendering judgment on the Israelites, we saw God meet with His people on Mt. Sinai.
...and it was at Mt. Sinai that God makes a Covenant with His people.
• So what was the point of Mt. Sinai?
• What is God doing here, and what's the point?
SLIDE: The Mosaic Covenant (God’s Law) is God revealing to His people who He is, and who they are before Him.
• Mt. Sinai, and the Mosaic Covenant is about God revealing to His people, who He is...
• AND, about Him revealing to His people who THEY are, before Him.
• It's important to note that the Israelites had been in Egypt for 400 years prior to God drawing them out.
• And 2 weeks ago – we saw the Israelites making their way thru the wilderness, and doubting God at every turn right?
• We remember that right after the miracle at the Red Sea, and right after the Israelites finished singing praises to God...
• ...that they begin complaining about being thirsty.
• And it's at this point that God begins to reveal Himself to His people.
• In Exodus 15:26, God begins by revealing Himself to the Israelites as Yahweh Rapha. (Hebrew)
Exodus 15:26 ESV
26 saying, “If you will diligently listen to the voice of the Lord your God, and do that which is right in his eyes, and give ear to his commandments and keep all his statutes, I will put none of the diseases on you that I put on the Egyptians, for I am the Lord, your healer.”
• "I AM, Healer"..."I AM, heals"
• ...and in context..."heals you".
• "I AM heals you"
• And there's a chance here that God is referring to their complaining...not the water.
• "I AM heals you of your complaining, judgmental, bitter, self-centered heart"
• And this is on the way to Mt. Sinai... They’re not there yet…
God is – PREPARING THEM…
• In Chapter 16, they're still on their way to Mt. Sinai, and if you recall, the people begin complaining now about food.
• They're hungry.
• And this is so reflective of ourselves is it not?
• Isn't this, more often than not - Our cry to God?
• WHERE ARE YOU?
• - - I'm hungry
• - - I'm thirsty
• - - I'm running out of money
• - - I need this
• More often than not our complaints to God spring from earthly desires...fleshly desires.
• And so these people were hungry.
• So God says - Alright, i'll just drop some quail on them. (heavenly quail)
• AND, every morning, i'll put this flaky substance on the ground...
• ...It will look like dew, but when it dries it will be edible.
• And so the first time the Israelites come out and they look at this stuff on the ground they say - Man-hu
• In Hebrew it's - "What is it?" - Manna
• Chapter 17 now, still on their way to Mt. Sinai, the people find themselves thirsty again, and this time the people are saying - "we're going to die"...
• ..."why did you bring us out here"
• So God responds by having Moses strike the rock, and water flows from it.
• God is revealing Himself here.
• A great picture of Christ, who gives living water...
1 Corinthians 10:4 ESV
4 and all drank the same spiritual drink. For they drank from the spiritual Rock that followed them, and the Rock was Christ.
• Later on, the people get thirsty again, and God tells Moses to speak to the rock...
• ...instead Moses strikes the rock.
• And God says - well, there's going to be a consequence for that...
• ...Moses - you will not get to enter the promise land.
• This is chapter 17...
• what else is in chapter 17?
• The first battle of Israel is in chapter 17.
• Where Joshua and his army are fighting in the valley...
• ...and Moses, Aaron, and Hur go up to the top of a hill.
• On that hill, whenever Moses would hold up his hand, Joshua would prevail.
• And so on their way to Mt. Sinai in chapter 17 verse 15, God reveals Himself to Israel as Yahweh Nissi.
What does this mean?
Exodus 17:15 ESV
15 And Moses built an altar and called the name of it, The Lord Is My Banner,
• "I AM, your banner...banner of victory"
• And so we're not even at Mt. Sinai yet and God is revealing Himself to His people...
SLIDE:
I AM heals you
I AM your victory
• In Chapter 18 Moses implements a form of leadership for God's people that we still have implemented in the church today...
• ...at least in stable churches.
• We see in chapter 18 the danger of a "one-man-show"...
• ...and the necessity of leader(S)...
• And so Moses implements this new form of leadership.
• That's chapter 18...
• In chapter 19, they come to Mt. Sinai.
• It's time for the Israelites, God's chosen people, to get to know who their God is.
Mt. Sinai
• The first thing that God does with Moses on Mt. Sinai is He gives him His plan for the people of Israel.
Exodus 19:3–6 ESV
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.”
• This right here is the beginning of the Covenant with Moses.
• This is God telling Moses what He wants to get across to His people.
• Verse 4 says -
• you've seen what I've done.
• you've seen my hand.
• ...how I brought you to Myself
• you did NOTHING but put your faith in the blood of a lamb...
• ...that saved you from the angel of death in Egypt.
• I did EVERYTHING.
• I brought you out.
• I drew you to myself...
• the passover...
• the exodus...
• the red sea...
• These are the miracles that Israel is known by, even to this day...
• It's God revealing Himself to His people.
• At Mt. Sinai now...God is saying - Ok, if you're going to be My people, you need to know who I am...
• ...and you need to know who you are before Me.
• Now - - what's the desired result of God here?
• See God's laying out the plan here for Moses...but what's the desired result?
• verses 5-6:
Exodus 19:5–6 ESV
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.”
• So..."My treasured possession, a kingdom of priests and a holy nation."
• So this is where God's taking this thing...
• A kingdom of priests and a holy nation
1 Peter 2:9 ESV
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.
• So Peter here describes the Christian church as a royal priesthood...a holy nation.
• Every saved soul in this room is a "priest"...part of a holy nation...
• And so at Mt. Sinai, when God reveals His plan to Moses...
• ....when He lays out the Law to him...
…THE LAW - has in it's view...the Christian church…and even further than that…the Glory of God.
• And so with the point of today's message being - How does the Law fit into God's redemptive plan...
• ...we're beginning to see that the Law, has in it's view…the Glorification of God.
• But how are they connected?
• Well, before God could give the Law to His people, they had to consecrate themselves.
Exodus 19:10 ESV
10 the Lord said to Moses, “Go to the people and consecrate them today and tomorrow, and let them wash their garments
• To consecrate is to "set apart" to be used by God.
• Moses had experienced this himself at the "burning bush".
Exodus 3:5 ESV
5 Then he said, “Do not come near; take your sandals off your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground.”
• So basically, God says - ok, prepare yourself to deal with Me.
• If you're going to deal with Me...
• ...If you're going to receive my blessing for you...
• ...experience my fullness of joy in your life, THEN you must prepare yourself.
SLIDE: Dealing With God: Entails Preparing To Do So

Dealing With God

• If as Christians, we feel like we're going to experience God's blessing in our lives WHILE we live for sin...we're foolin ourselves.
• While the Covenant as a whole is going to come to fruition, the blessings of God to His people here are conditional...
• ...predicated on...Israel's obedience.
There are BLESSINGS of God - TOWARD you - awaiting your obedience...
• So the people prepare themselves...
• And God gives them the Law.
• Now, the Ten Commandments are just an overview of the Law...
• ...as many more Laws were actually given.
• The Ten Commandments were just the overview.
SLIDE:
Ten Commandments
4 Vertical Commands
6 Horizontal Commands
Ten Commandments
• 4 commands vertical, setting the precedent for Israel's vertical relationship with God.
• 6 commands horizontal, setting the precedent for Israel's horizontal relationship with one another.
• So how do I relate to my God vertically...
• ...and if i belong to God, how do I relate horizontally to God's people.
Exodus 20:3-8
• 3 - You shall have no other gods before me...
• 4 - You shall not make for yourself a carved image (no idols)...
• 7 - You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain...
• 8 - Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy (set apart)...
• These are the 4 vertical commands...
• ...and then the 6 horizontal commands...
Exodus 20:12-17
• 12 - Honor your father and your mother...
• 13 - You shall not murder.
• 14 - You shall not commit adultery.
• 15 - You shall not steal.
• 16 - You shall not bear false witness...
• 17 - You shall not covet...
• Now, these are the Ten Commandments...the overview of the Law.
• And the people of Israel repeatedly respond to God thru this process by saying "All that the Lord has spoken we will do!"
• Really?
• We know the story.
• We know that when Moses returns back up the mountain for 40 days that the people - break the Law.
• They create a golden calf to worship it.
• So before this thing even gets started, Israel just blows this thing up.
• So where does that leave the Covenant?
• The Law was broken, so where does that leave the Covenant?
THIS IS IMPORTANT…
• Well, if this Covenant had been based on works alone, then clearly Israel would have been done.
• But to show that this Covenant was based on grace, God tells Moses in Exodus 34:1 to get two more stone tablets that God can use to rewrite the commandments on.
• See when Moses realized that the Israelites had created the golden calf to worship, he busted the first set of tablets.
• Listen to what God says here in verses 6 and 7...
Exodus 34:6–7 ESV
6 The Lord passed before him and proclaimed, “The Lord, the Lord, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness, 7 keeping steadfast love for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, but who will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children and the children’s children, to the third and the fourth generation.”
Moses then in verse 9 pleads with God saying:
Exodus 34:9 (ESV)
9 ... pardon our iniquity and our sin, and take us for your inheritance.”
And the Lord responds in verse 10:
Exodus 34:10 ESV
10 And he said, “Behold, I am making a covenant. Before all your people I will do marvels, such as have not been created in all the earth or in any nation. And all the people among whom you are shall see the work of the Lord, for it is an awesome thing that I will do with you.
• And so this Mosaic Covenant, founded on God's grace, with conditional blessings built into it...
• ...comes with promises just as the Abrahamic Covenant did.
• What are the promises?
Mosaic Covenant Promises
SLIDE: 1st Promise
Israel will be God's Prized Possession
• In Exodus 19:5 God says -
Exodus 19:5 ESV
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;
• God mentions that the "earth is mine" here to show that when He says that Israel will be His "own possession", He means more than the general care and authority He has over the earth.
• That they would be a prized possession...
• ...and have blessings beyond all other nations...IF they keep the covenant.
SLIDE: 2nd Promise
Israel will be a Kingdom of Royal Priests
• A second promise is found in Exodus 19:6. - "You shall be to me a kingdom of priests"
• What privilege did the priests have....access to God.
• They drew near on behalf of the people
• Their inheritance was not land, but the Lord
• And this privilege God promises to the whole nation
SLIDE: 3rd Promise
Israel will be a Holy Nation
• A third promise of this covenant is also found in Exodus 19:6 - "You shall be a holy nation"
• This "Holiness" mentioned here is really a two-pronged Holiness:
1. They would be set apart and distinguished from all other peoples and nations
2. They would be granted to share in the likeness of God - in His Holiness
• In Leviticus 19:2 God says to His people: You [shall] be holy for I am holy.
• And so if Israel keeps Covenant with God, she will have the all-satisfying privilege of likeness to God.
SLIDE: 4th Promise
God will defend Israel from all her enemies
• This promise is found in Exodus 23:22 where God says:
Exodus 23:22 ESV
22 “But if you carefully obey his voice and do all that I say, then I will be an enemy to your enemies and an adversary to your adversaries.
• As John Piper says - "Like the cat who bites into a mouse, and realizes it's a dogs paw...anybody who opposes Israel will have to deal with Almighty God...IF Israel keeps the Covenant.
• God will defend His people!
SLIDE: 5th Promise
God will be merciful and gracious and forgiving
Exodus 34:6-7:
Exodus 34:6–7 ESV
6 The Lord passed before him and proclaimed, “The Lord, the Lord, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness, 7 keeping steadfast love for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, but who will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children and the children’s children, to the third and the fourth generation.”
• These words here show us that the message of Moses (Old Testament), the message of Christ (New Testament)...
• ...God's plan of redemption has always been founded on Grace.
So five promises found in the Mosaic Covenant:
1. Israel will be God's Prized Possession
2. Israel will be a Kingdom of Royal Priests
3. Israel will be a Holy Nation
4. God will defend Israel from all her enemies
5. God will be merciful and gracious and forgiving
Five promises of blessing, founded on Grace, yet all predicated on Israel keeping Covenant with God.
• And so the question that i assume arises in your heart now is - How can this Covenant be founded on Grace, and YET be predicated on whether or not Israel KEEPS the Covenant with God?
• It would seem that this Covenant is founded on works right?
• That if Israel "does" the right things, then the Covenant would be kept.
• Well, we're going to look at this, and in doing so, see How the Law fits into God's redemptive plan.
How The Law fits Into God's Redemptive Plan
• First thing we need to understand is that the condition placed on this Covenant is not "sinless perfection".
• This covenant does NOT teach that if Israel sinned, then they forfeited the blessings.
• God settled that back in verse 7 of Chapter 34...
• "I will KEEP steadfast love for thousands, (HOW?) - forgiving iniquity, transgression, and sin..."
• And so when Exodus 19:5 says - Israel must "Obey God's voice and keep God's Covenant"...
• ...it doesn't mean that they must EARN their blessings by working for God.
• It means that they must continue to love and trust God, to receive His mercy, grace, and forgiveness.
• Listen to what God says in the middle of giving the Law. (DOWN BELOW)
Exodus 20:5–6 ESV
5 You shall not bow down to them or serve them, for I the Lord your God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and the fourth generation of those who hate me, 6 but showing steadfast love to thousands of those who love me and keep my commandments.
5 You shall not bow down to them or serve them, for I the Lord your God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and the fourth generation of those who [hate] me, 6 but showing steadfast love to thousands of those who [love] me and keep my commandments.
• Soooo....
SLIDE:
Israel upholds her end of this by loving God, not by working for God.
Israel upholds the Covenant by valuing God, treasuring God, above all things.
• And from THAT love, that valuing God, flows an obedience to His word...
So that the obedience itself is not earning God's grace, BUT that the obedience is the evidence of love FOR God's grace.
SLIDE:
True biblical obedience is NOT in pursuit of God's grace....it's fueled BY God's grace.
It's fueled by a love for God...a trust in Him.
• And this completely points to the fact that the Law can't save anyone.
Romans 3:20 ESV
20 For by works of the law no human being will be justified in his sight, since through the law comes knowledge of sin.
• Ok so, through the Law no one will be saved, yet through it comes the knowledge of sin.
• Not only that, but what does it say in Galatians 3:10:
Galatians 3:10 ESV
10 For all who rely on works of the law are under a curse; for it is written, “Cursed be everyone who does not abide by all things written in the Book of the Law, and do them.”
• So the Law is basically a Holy Mirror that God holds up to us and says - "OK, do you see yourselves now? Do you see who you are before Me? -- YOU'RE ALL CURSED!
• The Law reveals our sin, and in doing so, curses all those who are under it....pursuing it.
• So God gave us the Law - - to curse us?
• No - He gave the Law to show us - THAT we ARE cursed!!
• ...TO SHOW US WE ARE CURSED, that we might now by FAITH, experience the blessing of verse 13:
Galatians 3:13–14 ESV
13 Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us—for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who is hanged on a tree”— 14 so that in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles, so that we might receive the promised Spirit through faith.
• The Law damns us, and at the same time, points to Jesus Christ as our only way.
• WHY?
• Because Christ fulfilled the Law.
• Matthew chapter 5 begins with the Sermon on the Mount, and then Christ moves into teaching:
• good works
• letting our light shine before men
• ...and then He explains why...
Matthew 5:17 ESV
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.
• Christ fulfilled the righteous requirement of the Law...
• ...and now through FAITH in Him, that righteous requirement of the Law is fulfilled in us.
Romans 8:2–4 ESV
2 For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death. 3 For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do. By sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, he condemned sin in the flesh, 4 in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.
Romans 10:4 ESV
4 For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes.
• So how does this affect us today?
Romans 7:6 ESV
6 But now we are released from the law, having died to that which held us captive, so that we serve in the new way of the Spirit and not in the old way of the written code.
• It's interesting that in the process of God giving the Law to the Israelites, they keep responding to God saying...'
• ..."All that the Lord has spoken we will do"
• 3 times they said this...
• But we know the story.
• Those words ended up being hollow, empty.
• The scriptures make it a point to tell us that the people were afraid of God.
They were afraid and they trembled.
• Now while that's not necessarily a bad thing...we also know that these people didn't trust God.
• We saw it in the wilderness...
• And so when our relationship with God is based solely on fear...
• ...and void of love and trust for Him, when we get the chance to walk....we'll wander.
• The Righteous shall live by faith.
• We've talked about this...over and over again.
• We shall walk by faith, not by sight.
• How does the Law fit into God's redemptive plan?
The Law CAN'T save us.
The Law CAN'T sanctify us...or make us holy.
The Law CAN'T condemn us...if we're in Christ.
The Law CAN convict us of sin.
The Law CAN'T deliver us from sin.
The Law CAN be fulfilled by us...because of our faith in Christ who fulfilled it.
• God gave the Law to convict us of our sin...
• ...to show us who we are before Him
• ...to show us that we ARE cursed
• ...and to point us to the only way of salvation...
• ...His son Christ.
• Christ came and fulfilled the righteous requirement of the Law
• And only when we treasure Christ, love Christ, value Christ above all things will we experience the blessings of the Covenant...
• ...and our obedience will be fueled by that love.
The Law points to Jesus Christ.
It all points to the Son.
The Story of a Son
author unknown
A wealthy man and his son loved to collect rare works of art. They had everything in their collection, from Picasso to Raphael. They would often sit together and admire the great works of art.
When the Viet Nam conflict broke out, the son went to war. He was very courageous and died in battle while rescuing another soldier.
The father was notified and grieved deeply for his only son.
About a month later, just before Christmas, there was a knock at the door. A young man stood at the door with a large package in his hands.
He said, "Sir, you don't know me, but I am the soldier for whom your son gave his life. He saved many lives that day, and he was carrying me to safety when a bullet struck him in the heart and he died instantly. He often talked about you, and your love for art.
The young man held out the package. "I know this isn't much. I'm not really a great artist, but I think your son would have wanted you to have this."
The father opened the package. It was a portrait of his son, painted by the young man. He stared in awe at the way the soldier had captured the personality of his son in the painting. The father was so drawn to the eyes that his own eyes welled up with tears.
He thanked the young man and offered to pay him for the picture. "Oh, no sir, I could never repay what your son did for me. It's a gift."
The father hung the portrait over his mantle. Every time visitors came to his home he took them to see the portrait of his son before he showed them any of the other great works he had collected.
The man died a few months later. There was to be a great auction of his paintings. Many influential people gathered, excited over seeing the great paintings and having an opportunity to purchase one for their collection. On the platform sat the painting of the son.
The auctioneer pounded his gavel. "We will start the bidding with this picture of the son. Who will bid for this picture?"
There was silence. Then a voice in the back of the room shouted, "We want to see the famous paintings. Skip this one."
But the auctioneer persisted, "Will someone bid for this painting? Who will start the bidding? $100, $200?"
Another voice shouted angrily, "We didn't come to see this painting. We came to see the Van Goghs, the Rembrandts. Get on with the real bids! "But still the auctioneer continued, "The son! The son! Who'll take the son?"
Finally, a voice came from the very back of the room. It was the longtime gardener of the man and his son. "I'll give $10 for the painting." Being a poor man, it was all he could afford.
"We have $10, who will bid $20?" "Give it to him for $10. Let's see the masters." "$10 is the bid, won't someone bid $20?" The crowd was becoming angry. They didn't want the picture of the son. They wanted the more worthy investments for their collections. The auctioneer pounded the gavel. "Going once, twice, SOLD for $10!
A man sitting on the second row shouted, "Now let's get on with the collection!" The auctioneer laid down his gavel, "I'm sorry, the auction is over."
"What about the paintings?"
"I am sorry. When I was called to conduct this auction, I was told of a secret stipulation in the will. I was not allowed to reveal that stipulation until this time. Only the painting of the son would be auctioned. Whoever bought that painting would inherit the entire estate, including the paintings. The man who took the son gets everything!"
Let’s Pray…
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