The Messiah and the Covenants of Israel (Continued)

The Mosaic Covenant (Continued)

The Giving of the Law was for Israel, God’s new ‘house rules’

 Since the nation’s period of slavery had left them ill-prepared for nationhood.  God set about providing them with leadership, and a moral and ethical code by which to live, and government that would produce discipline and order.  The nation was to be ordered as a theocracy so the code by which they were to be molded would be issued from the throne of heaven. These regulations were to be His house-rules.  They would not be an end in themselves – they would be preparatory for a further outworking of the purposes of their divine Author. Moses was called into the presence of God, where an offer of a covenant was made.  “And Moses went up to God, and the Lord called to him from the mountain, saying, “Thus you shall say to the house of Jacob, and tell the children of Israel: ‘You have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I bore you on eagles’ wings and brought you to Myself. Now therefore, if you will indeed obey My voice and keep My covenant, then you shall be a special treasure to Me above all people; for all the earth is Mine. And you shall be to Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.’” (Exod. 19:3-6) To this offer they unanimously replied, “All that the Lord has spoken we will do.” (Exod. 19:8)

  But it would be necessary for every individual Israelite to understand that these regulations were authored by the Lord and not by Moses. Therefore the initial communication of the house-rules would be by direct communication from above. The Decalogue on which the Law was to be based would first be audibly communicated by God Himself, then written with His finger on tablets of stone while attended by some of nature’s most awesome and violent events.  The unfolding drama that was the offering of the covenant took place on and around Mount Sinai, and more than two million witnessed it. Thunders, lightening and earthquakes attended the descent of the Lord on to the pinnacle of Horeb. With such evident manifestations of the presence and mind of God, everyone was clear about one thing - this code was to be non-negotiable – there would be no modifying of its requirements: either obey it, or face the Omnipotent and explain why!

The code under which they would serve would teach them to differentiate between holy and unholy, between clean and unclean. Since the issuing of the code coincided with the time of the nation’s liberation from slavery, and it might appear to the uninitiated that they exchanged one form of slavery for another - they were now to be under the bondage of the Law. But these regulations were accompanied by great and majestic promises of blessing and peace and happiness. Only by submitting to theocratic rule from above could they know true freedom and prosperity. As Matheson wrote, “make me a captive, Lord, and then I shall be free”.

 So Israel, from the dark womb of Egypt, was brought to birth as a nation, and called the firstborn of the Lord. ‘Thus says the Lord: “Israel is My son, My firstborn”. (Exod. 4:22)  Here, it is clear that the Mosaic covenant was established between Israel and the Lord. No other nations are involved, no other combination of peoples are involved. Moses repeats this truth, when he addresses the nation at the end of his life. “For what great nation is there that has God so near to it, as the Lord our God is to us, for whatever reason we may call upon Him? And what great nation is there that has such statutes and righteous judgments as are in all this law which I set before you this day?” (Deut. 4:7,8) This is repeated in the ‘writings’; “He declares His word to Jacob, His statutes and His judgments to Israel. He has not dealt thus with any nation; And as for His judgments, they have not known them. Praise the Lord!” (Ps. 147:19,20) and the prophets, “Remember the Law of Moses, My servant, Which I commanded him in Horeb for all Israel, With the statutes and judgments”. (Mal. 4:4)

More Next Time

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The Messiah and the Covenants of Israel (Continued)

The Mosaic Covenant

From such small beginnings, the purposes of God grew. There was no great sweeping movement of the Spirit of God at that time, just the Omnipotent dealing with one man. From this individual Abram, and his wife Sarai, was to be brought a nation whose number could not be counted. It did not matter that Sarai was barren or that Abram was allowed to grow old, God’s promise would hold. And not only was the Lord prepared to deal with just one man, but was prepared to let him proceed at his own pace.  Oh! The grace of God. But thereafter the pace quickened. Not only was a nation to be produced from Abraham, as his new name indicated, but it would now be done with some urgency. “Be fruitful”, is the command of the Lord. In the same way as He commanded Adam and Eve, and later Noah, to “be fruitful”; He commanded Jacob “be fruitful”.  And for the family to grow into a nation, that would be without number (as the stars of heaven, the dust of the earth or the sand on the seashore) the seed would need to be planted in fertile soil, where it would bear fruit a hundredfold. Furthermore, not only were they to be innumerable but also separate, that is, holy unto the Lord.

 The Lord had already indicated to Abraham that the land in which they would dwell was to be Canaan.  This was not some territory picked at random, but a strategically placed geographical location.  It was the crossroads where the three main streams of humanity meet. It was the junction of the three main continents, Asia, Africa and Europe; those territories where the sons of Noah settled, Shem in Asia; Ham in Africa; and Japheth in Europe.  Therefore, the soil for the incubation of the seed of Abraham had to be within a reasonable distance of Canaan. 

 The solution was to plant the seed in the hothouse climate of Egypt. In preparation for the move of Jacob’s family to Egypt, the Lord incorporated into His plan the actions of Jacob’s sons when they sold their brother into slavery. Joseph referred to it when he was reunited with his family. He said, “God sent me before you to preserve a posterity for you in the earth”. (Gen. 45:7) Thus, the plan of God became evident, for there they would know protection (the protection of Joseph to begin with; and afterward the dynasty that Joseph served).  There they could multiply while remaining separate. They would not be absorbed because their separation would be both physical and cultural. Physical, because they would live in a region apart from the main population – that of Goshen; and cultural, because shepherds and sheep farming were tolerated but not embraced by the Egyptian population. However, Egypt could not be their home – they would have to be transplanted in Canaan. But how would you get the new-born nation to leave Egypt? And when they left, they all had to leave – none to remain.  So how would you get a nation of more than two million people to leave Egypt of their own accord?  Alas, you could not. The only way to extract them from their life in Goshen was to get the Egyptians to drive them out, and the only way the Egyptians would drive them out, is if they became totally odious to them. Such was the background to the nation’s Egyptian bondage and their exodus. This does not imply that the Lord orchestrated the period of oppression, only that, in his wisdom, He was able to predict and incorporate the actions of the Egyptian leadership into His plans for the infant nation. His ways are higher than our ways.

Before they could enjoy liberty away from Egypt there would be commands to be obeyed, blood to be shed, and claims to be met.  The final break from the oppressive regime came because they obeyed the commands, shed the blood and acknowledged God’s claims. The requirements imposed on Israelite households at the time they began their escape from their Egyptian prison, are given in Exodus chapter twelve. God’s instructions through Moses were very particular.   Each household was to kill, roast and eat a lamb or kid as their last meal in Egypt. The animal had to be a male, one year old, in good health, with no visible defects – only a healthy animal would be suitable as a sacrifice to the Lord and only such an animal could be the substitute for someone who was to be consecrated to God. Though they did not know it at the time, only such an animal could foreshadow the Messiah, the true Lamb of God, who is holy, harmless, undefiled and separate from sinners. 

The animal, chosen on the 10^th of the month Abib or Nisan as it was later known, was to be slain on the 14^th. The head of each household was to slay the lamb at twilight. These men would occupy the office of priest, and thereby constitute Israel as a nation of priests. The concept ‘kingdom of priests’ would be a foundational aspect of the covenant between the Lord and Israel that would be agreed at Mount Sinai. They were to daub the blood of the animal on the door surround, as evidence that the household had obeyed God’s instructions and fulfilled the necessary conditions for salvation.  Then when God visited Egypt with judgment, the blood of the substitute protected the Israelite homes, while Egyptian homes, that had no such protection, suffered the death of their firstborn.  The Hebrew word for Passover (Pesach) comes from a verb meaning ‘to pass over’, and clearly refers to the means by which they escaped the judgment that fell on Egypt. They were to eat the meal dressed for their journey, and be prepared to leave at a moment’s notice.

 Their deliverance was so momentous that the calendar was re-ordered. “This month shall be your beginning of months; it shall be the first month of the year to you.” (Exod. 12:2) Their religious year was to begin with the month of Abib. Under the general name of ‘Passover’, this festival was incorporated into the life of the nation as a great educational tool in the hands of the Lord. It would be the first event of their religious year. This festival, that immortalized the birth of the nation, established for all future generations, the principles of substitution and consecration. And in light of the loss of the firstborn of Egypt and the deliverance of the firstborn of Israel, God claimed Israel’s firstborn for His own. Thus, the Egyptian Passover began the process of making Israel a unique and separate nation. A key feature of the ordering of the festival was that only those covered by the Abrahamic covenant could be admitted to the Passover meal.

In addition to the re-ordering of the calendar, the Lord memorialized the deliverance of the nation with a festival, “Speak to the children of Israel, and say to them …these are My feasts. On the fourteenth day of the first month at twilight is the Lord’s Passover”, (Lev.23.2,5) a festival that was to commemorate Israel’s birth as a nation, and celebrate their subsequent new life in His care. And as birth is followed by growth, so the nation would grow in the knowledge of Him and His purposes. In practical terms, separation from Egypt was to be followed by a separation to God. A consecrated walk with the Lord, in an ever increasing understanding of His character and will, was to be the process, and a covenant between the Lord and Israel would set out details of the behavior expected of the nation chosen by God to be His special treasure.

More Next Time

The Messiah and the Covenants of Israel (Continued)

The Abrahamic Covenant – Its Purpose and Effect

 Even before the foundation of the world God had been working to a plan. Essentially it was two fold. It was to produce a being that He could have fellowship with – that would learn from His wisdom and respond to His love. It would be an organism made up of those that already bore His imprint, that is, those that were made in His image and likeness, and so could be in perfect harmony with His own nature and would be able to be loved by Him, and love Him in return. In His wisdom and with His foresight He had already discounted the possibility of one individual member of His creation being able to fill this requirement. The disappointment, for disappointment it must have been, of the fall of Lucifer, suggests that this decision was the correct one, although He has given us no information to suggest that Lucifer or any of the angelic host were ever capable of responding to His love in any meaningful way. They were created as His servants to serve Him, although the nature of the Godhead demanded that even the service of such beings should be a willing service and not by compulsion. In consequence they were given the freedom of choice. No! The Omniscient One embarked on a course of action that would result in an organic, living entity that would be capable of fellowship with the Godhead by reason of many individual parts each bringing something unique and special to the relationship. And that by reason of great numbers and a wide array of gifts and abilities, harnessed together by a corporate delight in fellowship with God, they would collectively provide a beating heart of love that could respond to their divine Creator. His revealed aim then, is to have a great celestial ceremony amidst great rejoicing and in front of a great cloud of witnesses, to enter into a covenant relationship with the members of this foreknown and predestined group, who, although disparate in themselves are bound to each other by a common love of the Godhead. They will, when it takes place, be a united group, ‘all one in Christ Jesus’. The marriage ceremony between the Son of God and the Church is one of the last scenes provided for us in Scripture.

 But such an ambition would require a member of the Godhead to forge a link between Himself and humankind. Moreover, the great gift of moral freedom, which would be an essential element in this union, would ultimately produce a need for a plan of salvation, because the foreknowledge and wisdom of God, could predict the sin of Adam and the wide ranging consequence of his fall. The member of the Godhead entrusted with this task was the Son, who would be incarnate in the person of Jesus of Nazareth. His eternal position within the structure of the Godhead together with the briefest outline of the great master plan can be discovered within His prayer to God the Father, the night before He was crucified. He said, “Father, I desire that they also whom You gave Me may be with Me where I am, that they may behold My glory which You have given Me; for You loved Me before the foundation of the world”.(John 17:24) His existence  and His relationship with the Father before the beginning of time is the basis for the request. It also reveals that there is to be a relationship with the redeemed in the future, because His prayer was not only for His immediate friends and followers but also for those who would later become His followers, and be identified by the collective noun ‘Church’ for this also was foreknown and incorporated into God’s great purpose before the beginning of time. They were chosen, “in Him before the foundation of the world, that (they) should be holy and without blame before Him in love”. (Eph 1:4) Peter is the one who describes the incredible means of grace that would enable this magnificent gesture of love. “You were not redeemed with corruptible things, like silver or gold …but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot. He indeed was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you”. (1 Pet. 1:18-20)

 That there was such a program in place is revealed in the prophecy uttered at the fall of Adam. Satan, the arch enemy of God who master-minded the sin of Adam was told in respect of the seed of the woman, “He shall bruise your head”, adding that it would be at some personal cost, “And you shall bruise His heel.” (Gen. 3:15) These mysterious words need history to explain them, but now it is clear they refer to the defeat of Satan at Calvary.

But our purpose here is to consider how the Abrahamic Covenant fits into this overall purpose of God. Here are some suggestions.

1.                  The whole scheme of things will rest on an incarnation. The wisdom of God created man in His image, and the purpose of God provided for the creation of the Church. Therefore it would seem essential that God should be created in man’s image, to enjoy this meaningful relationship. In other words, man was created in God’s image, so that God could be created in man’s image, so that man could be re-created in God’s image and in a unity named ‘Church’ be called to join the Son of God in marriage.

2.                  Since the Godhead exists in the eternal state, the incarnation would also be needed to accomplish a redemption that would result in mortals putting on immortality. For this union to work, the members of the ‘Church’ need to live for ever.

3.                  Abraham was chosen to father a nation that could accommodate the incarnation.

4.                  Identifying a particular nation at its beginning, that is, in the loins of one man, was necessary because this particular nation will have to provide the conditions that would allow the Son of God to live a holy life essentially without persecution or opposition. With Abraham God began with an almost blank canvas.

5.                  The nation would have to be trained in such a way that the redemptive plan of God could be accomplished seamlessly within its religious structure.

6.                  The nation would have to be brought into a relationship with the Godhead that would signify that God was prepared to be related to humankind. (Israel is first called ‘the first-born’ of God, then later the ‘wife’ of Jehovah).

7.                  Once redemption was accomplished the nation could provide a focal point for the offer of a relationship with God to be advertised. It would provide fertile ground for the gospel to take root and flourish.

8.                  Moreover, a nation that had been separated by its training and its relationship to the Lord, when scattered among the nations, as they surely would be, would be the best advertisement for the truth of monotheism. The God of Abraham and the God of Israel would be known in all lands.

So God selected a man, Abram, tested him and found him strong in faith, and suitable to be father of such a nation – more than that – he would be suitable to be the father of many nations, and the father of the faithful. This is the man he trained and entered into a covenant relationship with. So the line of the seed of the woman is going to come through Abraham, Isaac and Israel. The Son of God must come from this nation.

Next Time: The Mosaic Covenant

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[1] John 17.20