March 19, 2006

Cawson Street Church of Christ

Hopewell, Virginia

Mural Worthey

 

Great Texts from Exodus--#6

 

Introduction:  “Confirming the Covenant”  (Exodus 24 & 34)

 

This is the last in our series on “Great Texts and Lessons from Exodus.”  These 40 chapters are an important part of the Jewish covenant and of the Bible as a whole.  It begins with the touching story of Moses’ birth and survival.  The ruling Pharaoh had given orders to kill all the Hebrew males when they were born.  When that failed, he gave the command to kill the children after they were born.  But there is a more powerful and compassion-ate Ruler on High who overruled the Pharaoh and made it possible for Moses to be raised in the palace of the King, by the King’s own daughter who paid Moses’ mother to take care of him.  This story fore-shadows the circumstances of Jesus’ birth nearly 1500 years later when wicked Herod sought his life.  Exodus ends with the nation of Israel leaving Mount Sinai with God guiding them with the pillar of cloud by day and pillar of fire by night.

 

Exodus covers about 80 years in time; from Moses’ birth to his fleeing Egypt (40 yrs.) and his life in the desert with his family (40 yrs.).  About one year of time was spent at the foot of Mount Sinai receiving the command-ments and instructions from God concerning Jewish worship around the old tabernacle.  (Numbers 1:1.)  This whole period of time around Mount Sinai, (building the tabernacle and consecrating themselves to follow the Lord), may be called “Confirming the Covenant between God and Israel.”  It is an important event in Jewish history.  We ought not to think of it merely as the giving of the Ten Commandments.  It is much more than that.  God cut a covenant with them; Moses was the mediator of the old covenant; the blood of animals sealed the covenant; and the people promised to follow the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.  They promised to put away all other gods and to not make any images of gods.  God promised to bless them and to give them the land flowing with milk and honey—The Promise Land of Canaan.

 

I would like to describe this important event in Exodus 24 (covenant affirmed) & 34 (covenant renewed).

The Mount & the Glory of God

 

Moses gave instructions to all the people before he went into the mountain.  Moses built an altar at the foot of the mountain according to the instructions of God for building altars.  This information is given in Exodus 20:22-26.  It was called an altar of earth or dirt.  The altar was not to be made by cutting stones, but natural stones that you would find on the ground.  Young men offered sacrifices upon the altar at the foot of the mountain.  Mount Sinai was covered with a cloud and the Lord appeared in a fire that sat on top of the mountain.  Moses disappeared in the cloud and went up into the presence of God.  The scene was so impressive that all the people vowed that they would listen to the voice of God and keep his words, but they did not.

 

Important Parts of the Covenant

 

Land promise:  (Exodus 23:20-33.)  An angel (probably the Angel of Jehovah) guided them and protected them until they conquered and drove out the inhabitants of the land of Canaan.  Israel was warned not to worship their gods.  The overall conquest would be gradual, not suddenly lest the wild beasts occupy the empty land. This was an important part of the covenant.  Here was a growing nation of people without a country in which they could live.  Where would they go?  Being freed from a tyrant is one thing, but having a new life in a new land is another.  God provided both.

 

Moses’ prominent role.  When the leadership of Israel was called to appear before God, Moses alone was allowed to draw near to the presence of God.  (Exodus 24:2.)  Moses wrote down all that God told him.  Moses presented God’s message to the people.  Moses was the Mediator of the old covenant between God and Israel.  Later, Jesus Christ became the Mediator of the new covenant.  Moses was a type or shadow of the Christ.  (1 Tim. 2:5.)

 

Note that Joshua, the son of Nun, called Moses’ assistant, went with Moses up into the mountain to meet God, the angel of Jehovah.  (Exodus 24:13, Joshua 1:1.)  Joshua is a young man compared to Moses who is now passed 80 years of age.  Joshua succeeded Moses 40 years later when Moses died.  Joshua led the Israelites into the Promise Land.  It is important that Joshua was present in the Mount with Moses to hear the instructions from God and to know God.  The 70 elders, Aaron, Hur (Miriam’s husband), Nadad and Abihu were not permitted to go with Moses and Joshua.

 

The book of the covenant. (24:4.)  Moses wrote down what God said to him.  It has always been important to have written records, not just oral ones.  The first five books of the Bible were written by Moses.  Many of these events Moses experienced alone.  Only Moses was allowed into the presence of God.  Moses spent forty days and nights on the Mount when the covenant was renewed.  We have copies of the words of Moses from God unto this day.  God has always wanted man to have a Bible, God’s Word, to guide him.

 

The blood of the covenant.   Moses sprinkled the book, the people and all the vessels of the ministry with the blood of animals.  The Hebrew writer said, “Neither was the first testament dedicated without blood. . .  This is the blood of the testament which God hath enjoined unto you.  Moreover he sprinkled with blood both the tabernacle and all the vessels of ministry.  And almost things are by the law purged with blood, and without the shedding of blood is no remission.”  (Heb. 9:18-22.)

 

The writer continued, “For it is not possible that the blood of bulls and goats should take away sins.”  (Heb. 10:4.)  The shedding of the blood of animals was allowed during the first covenant to teach Israel that a sacrifice was needed for redemption.  Later, the precious blood of Jesus was shed to really take away our sins.  Peter wrote: “But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb, without blemish and without spot, who verily was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you, who by him do believe in God that raised him up from the dead and gave him glory; that your faith and hope might be in God.”  (1 Peter 1:19-21.)

 

Jesus’ blood is not only greater than the blood of animals, but Jesus is greater than Moses.  “For this man was counted worthy of more glory than Moses, inasmuch as he who hath built the house hath more honor than the house. For every house is built by some man, but he that built all things is God.”  (Heb.3:3-4.)  We too have a covenant with God through Jesus Christ our Lord.  The promises of God in the new covenant, which include a land to which we are going, are sealed by the blood of Jesus Christ.

 

Cutting the covenant.  What happened in Sinai was a covenant was cut and sealed by the promises of God and the shedding of blood.  We have a vivid picture of that transaction when God first made these promises to Abraham.

(Genesis 15.)

 

God brought Abraham up out of the Ur of the Chaldeans to possess the land in which he sojourned.  Abraham asked God, “How am I to know that I shall possess it?”  (Gen. 15:7-8.) God told him to bring a heifer, goat and ram three years old and a turtledove and pigeon.  He was told to sacrifice them by cutting them into halves.  He laid the animal parts on the right and left making a path between them.  As the sun was going down, a deep sleep fell upon Abram.  A smoking fire pot and flaming torch passed between these halves of the animals.  On that day the Lord made a covenant (cut a covenant) with Abram saying, “To your offspring I give this land, from the River of Egypt to the River Euphrates.”  (Gen. 15:18.)  This is what happened on Mount Sinai; God cut a covenant with Moses and the nation of Israel.  His promise to Abram is now much closer to being fulfilled.  This event on Sinai was 430 years after God’s promise to Abram.  About 1500 years later, a more significant covenant was made.

 

God has also cut a covenant with us at the cross of Jesus Christ.  We walk through the path of the sacrifice, like Abram of old, each first day of the week.  We remember the sacrifice that made our covenant possible and what makes us know we will possess the Promise Land of Heaven.

 

The glory on Moses’ face.  After the covenant was cut, the children of Israel broke the first covenant immediately.  Three thousand died due to their disobedience.  (Exodus 32:28.)  God warned Moses that he would destroy the whole nation.  But Moses pleaded on their behalf and asked God to blot him out of the book instead of the nation.  (32:30-35.)

 

When the covenant was renewed and new tables of commandments were made, Moses came down from the mountain with his face glowing.  (Exodus 34:29-35.)  Aaron and others were afraid to come near to Moses due to the brilliant light coming from his face. (Note: Jerome’s Vulgate made a mistake in the translation saying that Moses had horns!  The mistake came about due to the word ray being translated horns.)  This important event is mentioned in the New Testament and an application is made by Paul to the Corinthians.  Moses veiled his face because of its brightness and the fear of the people.

 

Paul wrote that the veil represented the nature of the first covenant.  The full glory of the Lord was not revealed in that covenant, but rather in the second.  Paul added that when the Old Covenant is read today and followed, there is a veil on the hearts of people.  They cannot see clearly the glory of the Lord under the first covenant.  But when you turn to Jesus Christ, the veil is taken away.  As we follow the new covenant, we see the glory of the Lord and we are changed into the same image, from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of God.  (2 Cor. 3:13-18.)

 

Moses wore a veil; and there were others in the first covenant.  The Hebrew writer in describing the tabernacle wrote, “And after the second veil, the tabernacle which is called the holiest of all. . . “  (Heb. 9:3.)  This implies that there was a first veil—probably the one that closed the holy place off from the outer court.  So, the tabernacle had two veils.  When Jesus died, the veil was rent into that separated the most holy and holy places.  In fact, due to Jesus’ life and death, all the veils of the old covenant have been removed.  The veil from Moses’ face and both veils of the tabernacle are no more.  Now we may all draw near to God in full assurance of faith.  (Heb. 10:22.)  We may behold his glory in the life of Jesus Christ.

 

Conclusion

 

There is no mountain in the New Testament in which a law written on tables of stone was written.  The new covenant is written on the fleshly tables of the heart by the Spirit of God.  (2 Cor. 3:3.)

 

Jesus worked with twelve men who became leaders in the New Covenant.  He carried three of them up into the mount of transfiguration.  Peter, James and John behold more the divinity of Jesus than anyone else.  Moses and Elijah appeared with Jesus on that occasion.  Peter was so moved by the  moment that he wanted to build three tabernacles in their honor.  When Moses and Elijah disappeared, a voice from heaven said, “This is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased; hear ye him.”  (Matt. 17:1-8.)

 

We too are headed toward a land promised to us by God.  It is heaven itself.  There we may dwell with God and see his face.  All that went before under the first covenant was preparation for the new covenant and the eternal and spiritual principles that we now have received.