If you could turn with me in your Bibles to Exodus chapter 19. That's Exodus chapter 19. Tonight we're going to look at Exodus 19 through 24. I think we see a thesis or the summary of the Old Covenant with Israel in chapter 19 verses 3 through 8.
Nonetheless, I'm going to read all of chapter 19 to set the stage. Namely, we're going to look at God's divine demand from a holy God. The divine demand from the holy God. I'll read now from Exodus 19, verse 1.
On the third new moon, after the people of Israel had gone out of the land of Egypt, on that day they came into the wilderness of Sinai. They set out from Rephidim and came into the wilderness of Sinai, and they encamped in the wilderness. There Israel encamped before the mountain, 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, You yourselves 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, you shall be my treasured possession among all peoples, for all the earth is mine. 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 Moses came and called the elders of the people and set before them all these words that the Lord had commanded him.
All the people answered together and said, all that the Lord has spoken we will do. And Moses reported the words of the people to the Lord. And the Lord said to Moses, Behold, I am coming to you in a thick cloud, that the people may hear when I speak with you, and may also believe you forever. When Moses told the words of the people to the Lord, the Lord said to Moses, Go to the people and consecrate them today and tomorrow, and let them wash their garments, and be ready for the third day.
For on the third day the Lord will come down on Mount Sinai in the sight of all the people. And you shall set limits for the people all around, saying, Take care not to go up into the mountain or touch the edge of it. Whoever touches the mountain shall be put to death. No hand shall touch him, but he shall be stoned or shot.
Whether beast or man, he shall not live. When the trumpet sounds a long blast, they shall come up to the mountain. So Moses went down from the mountain to the people and consecrated the people, and they washed their garments. And he said to the people, be ready for the third day.
Do not go near a woman. And on the morning of the third day, there were thunders and lightnings and a thick cloud on the mountain and a very loud trumpet blast, so that all the people in the camp trembled. Then Moses brought the people out of the camp to meet God, and they took their stand at the foot of the mountain. Now Mount Sinai was wrapped in smoke because the Lord had descended on it in fire.
The smoke of it went up like the smoke of a kiln, and the whole mountain trembled greatly. And as the sound of the trumpet grew louder and louder, Moses spoke, and God answered him in thunder. The Lord came down on Mount Sinai to the top of the mountain, And the Lord called Moses to the top of the mountain, and Moses went up. And the Lord said to Moses, Go down and warn the people, lest they break through to the Lord to look, and many of them perish.
Also let the priests who come near to the Lord consecrate themselves, lest the Lord break out against them. And Moses said to the Lord, the people cannot come up to Mount Sinai, for you yourself warned us saying, set limits around the mountain and consecrate it. And the Lord said to him, go down and come up bringing Aaron with you, but do not let the priests and the people break through to come up to the Lord, lest he break out against them. So Moses went down to the people and told them, amen.
Let us pray. Dear Heavenly Father, we thank you for this day, Lord. We know that you are a holy God. We know that, Lord, we must approach you in an appropriate and acceptable manner, which is why we praise you so much for the work of the Lord Jesus Christ, who is that great high priest who fulfilled the law, who lived that law in perfection, who died as that perfect sacrifice.
We thank you, Lord, that we can approach you with boldness because of his work, because you are a holy God. Father God, help us here to understand your holiness. Understand your apartness, Lord God, how you are different from the creature. You are God.
And Lord God, I pray that you be with me as I teach this truth, Lord God. I know that I am not a holy person. I know that I am in need of your strength and your aid and your spirit, Lord God. And I know that the people here are not holy as well, and I pray that you would just help them.
That you would just, by your spirit, help them to be attentive, for this is your word, Lord God. Help us to be awake and aware of what's going on in your truth. And may you forgive us of our sins, day in and day out, because of the work of Christ, Lord God. And may you be glorified in all things.
Amen.
Introduction
So the last time we gathered together several weeks ago, we looked at Exodus 1 through 18, which is the divine deliverance from sinful bondage. And I want to highlight some other things that we need to remember about the book of Exodus as a whole. First of all, I take the author of Exodus to be Moses, and I take the audience to be Israel. Secondly, regarding the whole of Exodus, is the overarching theme.
The primary theme of Exodus is that God is present as Israel's savior and king. We saw him present with his people as a divine deliverer in 1 through 18, and today we're going to see him as the divine lawgiver in chapters 19 through 24. And I want to highlight again the overarching structure of Exodus. I take this separation or this division from a guy named Dale Ralph Davis.
He divides it really nicely. First of all, what we looked at last time was the deliverance, Exodus 1 through 18. Secondly is the demand, Exodus 19 through 24, which we will look at tonight. And thirdly is the dwelling of the Lord in chapters 25 through 40.
So tonight we're looking at the demand of the Lord. So in Exodus 19 through 24, Yahweh's holy will is revealed in his awful presence as he communicates his holy law. In Exodus 19 through 24, Yahweh's holy will is revealed in his awful presence as he communicates his holy law To the people of Israel, so we will look at God's holiness God's demand under three headings this evening We will look at God the holiness of God Exodus 19 and 20 Secondly we will look at the book of the covenant or the judicial laws for the people of Israel in Exodus 21 through 23 and then lastly we will look at the covenant ratification of in Exodus chapter 24. So we're going to look at the holiness of God, the book of the covenant, and the covenant ratification.
The Holiness of God (Exodus 19–20)
So let us first now look at the holiness of God, Exodus 19 and 20. We'll look at the holiness of God under two broad considerations. First of all, the conditions of the covenant that's primarily found in chapter 19 verses 3 through 8. And then we will look at the presence or the holiness of the Lord from chapter 19 verse 9 to the end of chapter 20.
So let us look now at the conditions of the Covenant or look at the Old Covenant itself.
A Promise Fulfilled
But first of all I want you to notice in chapter 19 verse 1 a promise fulfilled. It says in chapter 19 verse 1, on the third new moon after the people of Israel had gone out of the land of Egypt on that day they came into the wilderness, chapter 2 as well, they set out from Rephidim and came into the wilderness of Sinai and they encamped in the wilderness There, Israel encamped before the mountain while Moses went up to God. This is a fulfillment of Exodus chapter 3 verse 12. This is the burning bush experience when Yahweh appears to Moses and he said, I am who I am and I will lead these people out of the land of Egypt.
And what he does is he gives Moses this promise in chapter 3 verse 12. Moses says in chapter 11, who am I that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the children of Israel out of Egypt? And God said, but I will be with you and this shall be the sign for you that I have sent you. When you have brought the people out of Egypt, you shall serve God on this mountain.
So we see the fulfillment of that in chapter 19 where God fulfills his promise to Moses that Moses is going to be this mediator on behalf of the people of God. So
Conditions of the Covenant
now let us look at the conditions of the covenant primarily in chapters 19 verses 3 through 8. Now chapter 19 verses 3 through 8 is very much structured like an Old Testament or an ancient Near Eastern treaty. We have a preamble, that is, the parties involved. We have the historical prologue, that is, the history between the two parties.
We have the stipulations, what you should and should not do. We have the blessings, what you will receive if you fulfill these conditions. And then we see this covenant confirmation as well. So notice the preamble in chapter 19, verse 3.
The Lord called to him out of the mountain, saying, thus you shall say to the house of God and tell the people of Israel." So we see the preamble. We see the two parties involved. It is Yahweh, the covenant Lord, with the people of Israel. And Moses functions as a mediator between the people of Israel and Yahweh.
And then we also see this historical prologue in chapter 19, verse 4. You yourselves have seen what I did to the Egyptians and how I bore you on eagle's wings and brought you to myself. We see a bit of a history of the relationship between Yahweh and his people. And I really, it's very interesting, this imagery of eagle's wings.
And it's used in Deuteronomy chapter 32, verse 11. Chapter 32, verse 11. I'm going to read actually at verse 10. And this is praising Yahweh for his faithfulness.
Chapter 32, verse 10. He found him in a desert land, and in the howling waste of the wilderness, he encircled him, he carried for him, and he kept him as the apple of his eye, like an eagle that stirs up its nest, that flutters over its young, spreading out its wings, catching them, bearing them on its pinions. The Lord alone guided him, no foreign god was with him." So we see Yahweh, like an adult eagle, caring for his young. And that is what he does for the people of Israel when they are taken up out of the land of Egypt.
He carries them on his back, if you will. That's an anthropomorphism. He carries them on his back up out of the land of Egypt. It's truly a wonderful, wonderful image that we see here.
And notice how he brought the people to himself. He is the one who brought about salvation for the people and brought them to himself. We see the stipulations in chapter 19 verse 5. Now therefore, if you will indeed obey my voice and keep my covenant.
Notice the stipulation. If you obey my voice. Now this is a conditional covenant. There's an if you do this, then you will receive this.
You will do this and live as it were so. In this case, you will do this and you will remain in the land and flowing with milk and honey. And so we see that they have to have faithful obedience unto Yahweh, the one who brought them up out of the land of Egypt. It is a conditional covenant.
Then we get to see the promises in chapter 19, the second half of verse 5 and verse 6. Then you shall be my treasured possession among all peoples, for all the earth is mine, 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." Now this is Old Covenant Israel, but Peter draws on the same imagery in 1 Peter chapter 2 Verse 9, when he talks about the New Covenant Saints in the New Covenant with Christ Jesus. The Church of God is considered, we'll read in 1 Peter 2 verse 9.
I went a little far. 1 Peter 2 verse 9, But you are a chosen race, you are a royal priesthood, you are a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness and into marvelous light. So Peter is drawing on the same idea, the same imagery, even for New Covenant people. as well. So it's a wonderful thing to see that God says that these people will be a treasured possession. Unfortunately, in the Old Covenant, it's based on a conditional covenant.
Thankfully, in the New Covenant, it's based on the Lord Christ, who fulfilled the conditions of the Old Covenant, that we can be called a holy nation, a royal priesthood, because of the work of the Lord Jesus Christ. So that's the promise, that's the blessing that they should receive should they fulfill the stipulations of the covenant. But notice we see confirmation from the people of God. Chapter 19 verses 7 and 8.
So Moses came and called the elders of the people and set before them all these words that the Lord had commanded him. All the people answered together and said, all that the Lord has spoken, we will do. And Moses reported the words of the people to the Lord. And the Lord said to Moses, behold, I am coming to you in a thick cloud that the people may hear when I speak with you and may also believe you forever.
So are they a faithful people? Will they actually do what they said they would do? According to this, they say they're going to do it. We know that that's not the case.
That's just one of several affirmations that the people of Israel give in chapters 19 through 24. Are they a faithful people? Not at all. That gives it away, but not at all.
They are not a faithful people. So we see the stipulations of the covenant in its micro form. If you want to understand the Old Covenant, I would say memorize 19.3 through 8, and you'll get a good grasp of the Old Covenant with Israel. We saw the conditions of the covenant.
The Presence of the Lord
Now let's look at the presence of the Lord under the holiness of God. So we see in chapter 19, verse 9, that, behold, the Lord is going to come with a thick cloud, that the people may believe Moses forever. So then Moses takes these words to the people. And the Lord says to Moses in chapter 19, verse 10, go to the people and consecrate them. and consecrate them today and tomorrow and let them wash their garments and be ready for the third day.
For on the third day the Lord will come down on Mount Sinai in the sight of all the people. And you shall set limits for all the people around saying, take care not to go up into the mountain or touch the edge of it. Whoever touches the mountain shall be put to death. No hand shall touch him, but he shall be stoned or shot with an arrow, whether beast or man.
He shall not live. When the trumpet sounds a long blast, they shall come up to the mountain." So Moses went down from the mountain to the people and consecrated the people, and they washed their garments. And he said to the people, be ready for the third day. Do not go near a woman.
So there's a lot of preparation for the coming of the Lord God Most High. And what Dale Ralph Davis does is he sums up why we even have chapter 19 here. We have 1 through 18. We have salvation by Yahweh from Egypt.
And then we have what maybe would be great if we just jumped into 20 and we got the actual specifics of the covenant stipulation. Yet we have this long chapter here in chapter 19. And Davis sums up why this is here. because of God's holiness must impress God's people if they are to revere God's law. The majesty of God nurtures the fear of God and so Yahweh wastes a whole chapter getting the people prepared to receive his law.
God is a holy God and we still must revere Him. We must understand that He is holy other. He has set apart. We are the creature.
He is the creator. He created heaven and earth. We are finite. He is infinite.
He is eternal. We are temporal. And praise God that He is. Praise God that He is the holy God of Israel.
And that's what Yahweh is trying to impress on his people that they must revere who he is. They must revere Yahweh as this holy God before that he even gives them the law. Before he even gives them that law. And so the people are consecrated, that is, they are set apart for the service of God.
They are a holy nation set apart for the service of God. And we saw that when I preached on Ephesians chapter one, where the new covenant people are set apart, are predetermined to be set apart for the service of God as well. In this case, it's more of a theocratic sphere, where the people are a holy nation under God. Certainly there's the moral aspect as well, but really, the gold covenant is with the people as a nation.
And so, look at also the seriousness of coming to God. We see capital punishment here. Do we not? And chapter 19 verse 12, and you shall set limits for the people all around saying, take care not to go up into the mountain or touch the edge of it.
Whoever touches the mountain shall be put to death. No hand shall touch him. but he shall be stoned or shot. Whether beast or man, he shall not live." It is a serious thing when we are dealing with the Holy God. It is a serious thing when we approach the Lord God Most High, even on Sunday morning, when we come to worship the true and the living God.
He is holy, something that I think is missed in our day and age. We see God as this buddy, this grandpa that we can approach, and he is loving, and he is good, but he is wholly other. He is wholly other, and we are unholy. Even in Exodus chapter 3, in the same place, what?
Moses had to take his sandals off because he was on holy ground. He had to take his sandals off because he was before Yahweh. Because he was before that holy God.
The Theophany at Sinai
And notice, after we see this preparation, we actually see the holiness of God kaboom. The holiness of God kaboom. Chapter 19, verse 16. On the morning of the third day, there were thunders and lightnings and a thick cloud on the mountain and a very loud trumpet blast so that all the people in the camp trembled.
Kaboom! Thunder, lightning. Remember when you're ever in a thunderstorm? It's awe-inspiring, it's terrifying when we hear the thunder go kaboom.
That is just a glimpse of the terrifying awfulness of Yahweh, or the awesomeness of Yahweh Most High. It's like that earthquake that happened in Abbotsford the other day. We weren't there, so we didn't feel it, but we heard stories of how it was just like a kabam! God took his hand, smacked it down upon the earth, kaboom!
Yahweh is awful. Yahweh is awesome. Yahweh is the most powerful being that there is. And that is what he's trying to impress on his people before he even gives them these stipulations.
Before he even gives them the law of God. And one guy calls this classic storm theophany. The theophany basically means the appearance of God. God, theophany, appearance.
The appearance of God. And he points us back to Genesis chapter 3 verse 8. Now, I don't like the translation in the ESV here, and I think it's the same in the New King James as well. This is after Adam and Eve have sinned, and then we hear the sound of the Lord coming.
And this is what chapter 3, verse 8 says, And they heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day. It kind of sounds like God is just kind of going for a little stroll in the garden. He's just kind of having a little chill time as he's looking for his people, looking for Adam and Eve. But I think there's one commentator who highlights that the translation highlights this judgment, this appearance of Yahweh, and it's probably better translated, the wind of the storm. the wind of the storm.
And think about it. What has happened? This is the cosmic fall of mankind. Right?
Adam and Eve have sinned and now Yahweh is appearing for judgment upon them in this case. He is appearing to judge them because they violated what? They violated His holy law. They have violated the holiness of God, and now He's appearing to them.
So this idea of thundering and lightning and thick cloud is very much representative of what is called storm theophany, or the appearance of Yahweh in an awesome, awesome way. In an awesome, awesome way. And so we see the presence of the Lord, we see the people tremble at the Lord, but yet we don't see the response of the people of the Lord until chapter 20 verse 18. So it's kind of interesting that inserted in there is we have chapter 20 verses 1 through 17, namely the Ten Commandments.
Now some commentators take chapter 20 with chapters 21 through 23. That is, we have the Ten Commandments and then we have the Book of the Covenant. That is, the judicial stipulations or the civil stipulations that flesh out the Ten Commandments. But I actually think chapter 20 goes with this idea of the holiness of God, because the Decalogue is God's holy standard.
And we see in chapter 19, verse 19, and the trumpet, excuse me, the sound of the trumpets grew louder and louder. Moses spoke and God answered in thunder. The Lord came down on Mount Sinai to the top of the mountain, and the Lord called Moses to the top of the mountain, and Moses went up. And in chapter 20, we get to see what that kaboom was.
We get to see the Decalogue as it's taught, as it's revealed. God's holiness is revealed to the Old Covenant Israel right there. And so we see that this is God's holy standard. This is what Adam broke when he sinned against the Lord God Most High in the garden.
And that holy standard is still applicable even today. That is God's holy law. This is His standard. And that's what He's trying to say to His people.
Here is my Ten Commandments. Here is my standard of holiness. And then He eventually fleshes that out in a national sphere in chapters 21 through 23. So that's why I take chapter 20 to go with the holiness of God or the awesomeness of God here.
So we see, you know, in chapter 20 verses 1 through 2, we see again another historical prologue type idea, the history of the relationship between Yahweh and Israel. He says in chapter 20 verse 2, I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. And then he goes to the first table in chapter 20 verses 3 to 11. You shall have no other gods before me.
You shall not make for yourself a carved image or any likeness or 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 or serve them for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God. Excuse me, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and the fourth generation of those who hate me, but show steadfast love to thousands of 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 a Sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work, you or your son or your daughter or your male servant or your female servant or your livestock or the sojourner who is within your gates. For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth the sea and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day.
Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy." So we see that first table that is directed vertical towards Yahweh. And specifically we see in chapter 20 verse 3, you shall have no other gods before me. This theme is repeated throughout this section in chapter 20 verse 23 when it comes to the making of altars. You shall not make gods of silver to be with me, nor shall you make for yourself gods of gold.
Chapter 22, verse 20, regarding social injustice. Whoever sacrifices to any God other than the Lord alone shall be devoted to destruction. Chapter 23, verse 24. You shall not bow down to the gods, their gods, nor serve them, nor do as they do, but you shall utterly overthrow them and break their pillars in pieces.
That is when the people of Israel enter in and take down the Amorites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Canaanites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites. Israelites aren't supposed to go into the land of Canaan and serve false gods. So that's an important theme. Remember, Yahweh has just crushed the Egyptian gods.
Yahweh has just extinguished the blazing sun of the Egyptian god Ra in darkness. And he has absolutely decimated Pharaoh. He's absolutely destroyed Pharaoh and so what is he saying? And notice he's come to them in thunder and lightning to bring terror and show them his awesomeness so that they won't, they will not, what?
That they will have no other gods before him. Idolatry is a serious, serious thing whether it's something that we craft with our hands or that we conjure up in our hearts. It is a serious Serious offense to the Lord God most high and so then we see the second table as well that is horizontal That's relationship with people chapter 20 verse 12 honor your father and your mother that your days may be long in the land that 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 or his male servant or his female servant or as ox, or as donkey, or anything that is your neighbors.
So again, we have this relationship where we're supposed to love God and love others. We have a horizontal aspect of the law of God and a vertical aspect of the law of God as well. So we see the Ten Commandments, the revelation of Yahweh's will here, part of His holiness, part of who He is, part of His standard of holiness. Then we get to see the reaction of the people of Israel in chapter 20, verses 18 to 21.
Now when all the people saw the thunder and the flashes of lightning and the sound of the trumpet and the mountains smoking, the people were afraid and trembled and they stood far off and said to Moses, you speak to us and we will listen, but do not let God speak to us lest we die. Moses said to the people, do not fear for God has come to test you that the fear of him may be for you that you may not sin. The people stood far off while Moses drew near to the thick darkness where God was. They had this fear and trembling at the boom that God was bringing on Sinai.
I think Stewart highlights what we can learn from this. Simply that the presence of God is so threatening to less than entirely holy people that his presence in the world, even amongst his own people, must be limited so as not to overwhelm humans." This wasn't even the full import of who he is. And notice, I like what he said, it is so threatening to less than entirely holy people. that his presence is in the world. So we see this appearance of Yahweh to bring terror and fear that they might trust in Yahweh, that they might not sin against him.
And so then they say, Moses, no. Will you stand as that mediator for us? Will you speak to Yahweh that we might that we might hear the words from you, because we are afraid lest we die. And Moses commends them.
Do not fear in a bondage type way, but fear the Lord in a trusting way, in a believing way on who He is, that He is the true and the living God. He is the Holy One. He is that all-powerful God. who has saved his people already out of bondage and slavery. So he says that, do not fear for God has come to test you that the fear of him may before you that you may not sin.
So the people stood far while Moses drew near to the thick darkness where God was. We also see the reaction here.
Laws Concerning Altars
We also see this idea of worship in chapter 20 verses 22 to chapter 22 verses 22 to 26. This is regarding the laws concerning altars and proper altar preparation. Chapter 20 verse 22, thus you shall say to the people of Israel, you have seen for yourselves that I have talked with you from heaven. You shall not make gods of silver to be with me, nor shall you make for yourself gods of gold.
An altar of the earth you shall make for me and sacrifice on it your burnt offerings and your peace offerings, your sheep and your oxen. In every place where I cause my name to be remembered, I will come to you and bless you. If you make me an altar of stone, you shall not build it of hewn stones, for if you wield your tool on it, you profane it. And you shall not go up by steps to my altar that your nakedness be not exposed on it." There is this idea that we have to approach God properly.
We have to approach God acceptably. And Stuart comments concerning the preparation of the altars. Now that he has become their covenant of God, it was important that they be able to respond fully to him in worship, not merely repeating the practices of the past or simply borrowing from pagans the concepts and procedures of worship and sacrifice. They need to extinguish the polytheistic paganism that was within them.
They need to crush that. And Yahweh, thankfully in His goodness and kindness, is setting forth what they must do. And it's pretty simple and pretty clear how they should approach Yahweh. So we've seen the holiness of God.
We've seen the terror that He brought on the people of Israel, that they might worship Him, that they might react to Him, that they might keep. They're these commands and we can take away one application. I think is very clear We must fear Yahweh who is awesome You know that old song that we I used to sing in Sunday school. Our God is an awesome God You know, that's a cool.
I I thought I was thinking about that today. I used when I was singing it before as a kid I didn't think about how awesome it really is. It really is an awesome song. Our God is an awesome God he you know, he with power and love he reigns it's just I Very very cool about the awesomeness of who our God really is and so really we need to trust in Yahweh with this fear That's what that fear means fear means we need to trust in him who he is We see in Proverbs 1 7 the fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge Throughout the Old Testament we see the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom and to shun evil is understanding the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom and and to shun evil is understanding.
Another thing is we need to approach God appropriately. I liked what one pastor said when he was preaching a sermon. I can't remember what it was about, but I remember what he said concerning worship. He said, I don't believe in the worship of God.
He said, I believe in the worship of God acceptably. I believe in the worship of God acceptably in the way that he is prescribed, in the way that he has set forth in his holy word, which is what makes the regular principle of worship so wonderful. God has told us what he would do, and that's what we must do. It's pretty simple. preach the Word, sing the Word, pray the Word every Sunday.
We don't need any other gimmicks or other things to add to it. It's what the Lord God has prescribed for us to do. So we've seen this holiness of God. Let us now look at the Book of the Covenant in chapters 21 through 23.
Now I'll probably just give summaries of these. We can't go into all these in detail. But I'll just give the outline that I got from a guy named Walter Kaiser. There's some outlines that are a little bit different.
I like the way he outlined things, so I chose him. And so again, this is for judicial state stipulations for a specific nation. And these stipulations are based on the Decalogue that we've already seen in Chapter 20. And so in Chapter 21, verses 1 through 11, we see laws concerning slaves.
In chapter 21, verse 12 through 17, we see laws concerning homicide. In chapter 21, verses 18 through 32, we see laws concerning bodily injuries. Chapter 21, verses 33 to 22, 15, we see laws concerning property damages. Chapter 22, verses 16 through 31, we see laws concerning society.
Chapter 23, verses 1 through 9, we see laws on justice and neighborliness. And then chapter 23, verses 10 through 19, we see laws concerning sacred seasons. And I'll just draw your attention to a few interesting things that we can draw from these things. So the section on laws on homicides, that's 21, verses 12 to 17.
Notice chapter 13. I'll read chapter 12 to 14. Whoever strikes a man so that he dies shall be put to death. But if he did not lie in wait for him, but God let him fall into his hand, then I will appoint for you a place to which he may flee.
But if a man willfully attacks another to kill him by cunning, you shall take him from my altar that he may die. That's notice chapter 21 verse 13. This is the foreshadow of the cities of refuge that we see in the rest of the Pentateuch or the Torah or the Law of God. We see these cities that have been set apart for men who accidentally kill someone and who are being pursued by the avenger of the one who was killed.
They can go to these cities for refuge, for safety that the Lord God has set. So we see a foreshadow of that. Notice in chapter 21 verses 18 through 32, these are the laws on bodily injuries, we see the first instance of what is called the lex talionis, or eye for an eye. In chapter 21 verses 23 and 24.
But if there is harm, then you shall pay life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot, burn for burn, wound for wound, stripe for stripe. It's a judicial thing that basically can be summarized that the punishment fits the crime. What God does is he protects the innocent civilly, and he punishes the guilty. he protects the innocent and punishes the guilty. This isn't for personal revenge but it was a judicial process that was set forth to make sure the person who actually committed the crime actually committed the crime and that the punishment would fit that crime.
It was both for the complainant and the defendant as well. So we see those laws, we see those stipulations and then chapter 23 verses 20 to 33 we actually see the conquest of Canaan promised. This conquest of Canaan promised. Chapter 23, verse 20.
Behold, I send an angel before you to guard you on the way and to prepare you to the place that I have prepared. Pay careful attention to him and obey his voice. Do not rebel against him, for he will not pardon your transgression, for my name is in him. But if you carefully obey his voice and do all that I say, then I'll be an enemy to your enemies and an adversary to your adversaries." Again, we have that conditional aspect of the covenant.
If you obey, then this will happen. And notice what the angel will do in chapter 23, verse 23. When my angel goes before you, and brings you to the Amorites, and the Hittites, and the Perizzites, and the Canaanites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites, and I will blot them out. And again, you shall not bow down to their gods, nor serve them, nor do as they do, but you shall utterly overthrow them and break their pillars in pieces." And notice in 23 verse 32, you shall make no covenant with those people and their gods.
You shall not dwell in your land, they shall not dwell in your land, lest they make you sin against me. For if you serve their gods, it will surely be a snare to you." What's Yahweh planning to do? Taking out these people so that the people of Israel do not sin. He's planning to crush these people so that the people of Israel do not sin.
Again, we know the end of the story. They don't crush the people, all the people in the land of Israel, in the land of Canaan. And unfortunately, the people actually do end up whoring themselves out to the Canaanite gods and worshiping false gods, which is truly abominable. But notice, I think the angel of the Lord, a lot of commentators see this as the pre-incarnate Christ.
This is the pre-incarnate Christ who goes before his people to do battle for his people, even before they enter into, or this one will enter into the land of Canaan. And so we see again, we see this, the conquest promise, we see this conquest of Yahweh. But why are these laws here? Why do we have these laws specifically in this place?
So I want to highlight a few things concerning why it's placed here. As I mentioned already, that the people had just come out of Egypt. It's been about three months since they've come out and they're at Sinai now. So there's probably still some Egyptian residue upon them.
There's probably still these pagan ideas within them, even a little bit. So what's God trying to do? He's trying to crush those ideas and get them out of their system. But probably most importantly is that he set these people apart as a nation. as a holy nation.
What nation can run without rules? What nation can run with no order no governance, no one to give them guidance, otherwise it'd be absolutely utter chaos. So what he does is he's setting apart for these people what they must do as a covenant people, as a national people, and it's actually a truly wonderful thing the way he sets these things up. And I'll get to that in just a second.
But another thing to notice as well, as we'll see at the end of chapter 24 at verse 18, Moses is gonna be gone for 40 days and 40 nights. Moses, this mediator, is going to be gone. They don't have Google. They don't have a library.
They don't have any of the luxuries that we do. They can't just open their phone and look at the stipulations that are there. So therefore, what do they do? Moses writes these laws down before he goes up to the Lord once again, so the people know I think what to do in the land, right off the bat as this holy nation.
Purpose of the Judicial Laws
But notice as well that these laws are set up for the protection of the innocent. They are set up to protect people. Remember they were in bondage to Pharaoh in Egypt and he was a tyrant, he was evil, he treated them poorly. But now they're in servitude to the Lord God Most High.
Not for salvation, but again, because they have been saved. that they are set apart that they might serve Yahweh because of His grace. Here's what Yahweh has done, therefore serve me. Now the conditions of the Old Covenant are still conditional, but that doesn't mean there can't be the grace of God even there, because God brought these people up out of the land of Egypt. But again, He's protecting these people.
I really liked what Stuart had to say concerning, he's talking about the difference between some of the penalties that were given, namely restitution. That is, if you burn someone's house down, you probably need to give them a new home. That's just a summary of that. But if you burn someone's house down, you give them a new home.
But I like the way he summarized the advantages of this over something like prison. He had four things he had to say. So this restitution that is throughout the Old Testament, throughout even Deuteronomy as well and Exodus, he says, this compensates the victims more generously, so that the victims are protected. Two, it requires the offender to deal directly with the person he offended.
It requires the person actually to confront the person that he wronged and actually look in their face, look in their eyes and see what they did. Thirdly, I like this one a lot. It permits a repentant offender to continue a productive life immediately upon making a restoration. What happens now?
If you go to jail, you're going to be there for a while. Right? But here, if you sin, if you do something wrong to your neighbor, if you burn his house down, then you pay him back, repent, and move forward with your life. So it even not only protects the complainant, but it protects the defendant as well.
And that's what the lex talionis does. It makes sure, again, that the punishment fits the crime, that it doesn't exceed what the person should receive. And fourthly, this does not require society to provide housing, food, and clothing for the duration of the offender's imprisonment. That is, we don't have to pay for the people to be in prison.
So you see, the law of God is set up in such a wonderful way that it should protect the innocent if it were to be upheld perfectly. Obviously, it wasn't. But if they were to uphold it perfectly, it's supposed to be protecting the innocent and punishing the guilty. And so it actually is a very, very wonderful setup, a very, very wonderful way in which God sets forth a civil stipulation or a civil covenant with his people.
Application: Moral Law and the New Covenant
But I think the one application we can draw from this Book of the Covenant, we are not under these judicial laws now. The theocratic Israel has been gone into exile, they are extinguished, but nonetheless, we are still, the moral law is still binding for believers who believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. It is still normative. Remember why God brought about, appeared to them in his holiness, and that's to make sure that they obey him, that they trust in him.
But for us, thankfully, because Jesus Christ has provided salvation for his people, we must respond to the work of the Lord Christ out of gratitude, not for acceptance with God, but because we have been saved. So we do need to obey God. We do need to trust in Him. And that these, even these laws are meant even for our good as well.
They're meant to protect us. They're meant to be, to be to be, so that we don't, you know, murder our brother, hurt our brother, that we don't have the ramifications of the things even on a civil sphere that we would face. You know, if we murder someone, we're probably going to go to prison. If we kill someone in the States, we're probably going to get the death penalty.
Like, these things are good, are good restrainers for us. Even as the New Covenant people, you know, we shouldn't murder, we should worship God, we should keep his Sabbath. Again, we won't do it perfectly, but thankfully, we have that true Israel who did fulfill those 10 words perfectly, who was that true Israel, who lived, died, and rose again on behalf of his people. And as I've said already, another application is that we are saved.
We see that Israel is saved from this bondage to Pharaoh, and now they're under bondage to God. We see the bondage, and same for the New Covenant people. We were once under bondage to sin. Now we are slaves to righteousness.
We were once under bondage to sin, but now we are slaves to Yahweh, or slaves to Jesus, slaves to the triune God. in righteousness because of his goodness because of his grace we are released from that curse of the law but again it's we're not under the law as that covenant of works that israel was under but we are under it as a normative use as a pattern for living that we might live in a manner consistent with the gospel of our lord and savior jesus christ so praise god if we're believers we're under a law that doesn't that doesn't condemn us, that doesn't hurt us. Because, you know, even in 1 John 5, God's, Jesus' laws are not burdensome. The commandments are not burdensome. You know, He even says in, yeah, His commandments are not burdensome.
It is truly a wonderful thing when we understand that we are released from the curse of the law, released from that covenant of works, yet as believers we still to live in a manner consistent with the gospel.
Covenant Ratification (Exodus 24)
So we've seen the holiness of God that should strike fear in his people, we've seen his stipulations for the people of Israel for a specific time, and now we'll see that covenant ratified in chapter 24. in chapter 24, at verse one. Then he said to Moses, come up to the Lord, you and Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, and 70 of the elders of Israel, and worship from afar. Moses alone shall come near to the Lord, but the others shall not come near, and the people shall not come up with him. Moses came and told the people all the words of the Lord and all the rules.
And all the people answered with one voice, and all said, All the words that the Lord has spoken, we will do. All the words that the Lord has spoken, we will do. This is reminiscent of chapter 19, right? All the words that the Lord has spoken, we will do.
They say they're going to do this. Are they a faithful people? Question mark, question mark, question mark. Are they going to be a faithful people?
And we know that that answer is no. And so we see them say this, and then Moses ratifies the covenant. But notice, first of all, how he does it. Chapter 24, verse 4.
And Moses wrote down all the words of the Lord. And Moses wrote down all the words of the Lord.
Canon Inherent in Covenant
And I think this gives us an indication of the importance of the necessity of seeing that Exodus and the old books, the books of the Old Testament, are part of the canon. Because what are we dealing with here in Exodus? We're dealing with a covenant. Now, as one theologian pointed out, canon is inherent in covenant.
Canon and authoritativeness is inherent in covenant and basically even in the ancient Near East we saw the treaties Would be would have these things called what they're called document clauses And what they do is they would sign on paper the covenant they were they have the written covenant out They would sign it essentially sign it and then they keep it for themselves in some area or another. We still do this today when we are making contracts. I think for the most part we're pretty thick and we need reminders of what it is we must, or the contracts we must fulfill, like a phone contract, right? You know, the preamble, I'm with, I'm Covenanting with Telus to make sure that they give me this service and I'll pay them this dough, right?
And what's the issue if I don't? Oh, I'm not going to have a phone anymore. Oh, and what do we do? We sign it to make sure that we understand the stipulations and what the covenant is so that we know it.
The same thing is true here. Canon is inherent in covenant. because Yahweh wants to make sure also his people know what it is that they must do. And as I said already, Moses is going to be gone. Thankfully, now they have a written document.
Now they have something that they have there. But nonetheless, I hope this highlights the idea. Even in the New Covenant, the New Testament is a New Covenant document between God and the believers, God and his people, Jesus as that mediator. And so it's quite a wonderful thing when we understand that, that this idea of canon is within the idea of covenant as well, based on the ancient Near Eastern treaties.
They have these document clauses as well.
The Covenant Meal and Blood
And then we see what they do. In chapter 24, verse 5, we see this kind of covenant meal And he sent young men of the people of Israel, who offered burnt offerings and sacrificed peace offerings of oxen to the Lord. And Moses took half of the blood and put it in basins, and half of the blood he threw against the altar. Then he took the book of the covenant and read it in the hearing of the people.
And they said, all that the people, all that the Lord has spoken, we will do and we will be obedient. And Moses took the blood and threw it on the people and said, behold, the blood of the covenant that the Lord has made with you in accordance with all these words, it is binding in blood. It is binding in blood and both parties must seek to fulfill it. In this case, in the conditional covenant, we know that Israel does not fulfill this, that Israel does not fulfill this.
And what this signifies is this idea of alliance with one another, with this binding in blood. But the end of the chapter, I think, sets the scene for chapters 25 through 40. It's kind of a cliffhanger of sorts. It's actually very, very interesting, very fascinating.
We see twice in chapter 24, the people say, all that the Lord has said, we will do. All that the Lord has said we will do. And then Moses ascends the mountain. He ascends the mountain.
We see that in chapter 24 verse 12 and verse 15. The Lord is supposed to go up and Moses does ascend that. But notice he gives a charge in 24 14 to the elders. And he said to the elders, wait here for us until we return to you.
And behold, Aaron and Ur are with you. Whoever has a dispute, let him go to them. That is, wait here for us. And behold, there's this charge for the elders to be in charge while Moses is gone.
And then we see this summary statement that Moses ascends the mountain and he's going to be there 40 days and 40 nights. Again, that sets the stage for 25 through 40, where we see worship, And we also see, I won't tell you because it's a cliffhanger, so you have to come next time. But it's truly, truly an interesting thing, what will happen to the people of Israel.
Application
So in conclusion, we must remember in this section that Yahweh is revealing His holiness, both in His presence and in His law as well. And I think the applications are pretty clear that I've said already. fear Yahweh, we need to obey Yahweh, and we need to praise, but we also need to praise Yahweh for the faithful Israel, that is, Jesus Christ. Thanks be to God that we have Jesus Christ, who is the true Israel, who came, He was born of a woman, born under the law, that He might redeem those under the law. He fulfilled the stipulations both with the covenant of Adam, the covenant of works with Adam, and the old covenant with Israel.
He did what we could not have done, he did what Israel could not do, and he died as that perfect sacrifice for a better covenant. I'm going to close by reading Hebrews chapter 12, verses 18 through 24. concerning the mountain that we get to ascend because of the work of Christ. Hebrews chapter 12 verses 18 through 24, this is a better covenant. And he actually quotes, the writer of Hebrews quotes Exodus 19 verse 12.
Hebrews 12 verse 18. For you have not come to what may be touched, a blazing fire and a darkness and gloom and a tempest, and the sound of a trumpet and a voice whose words may the hearers beg that no further messages be spoken to them. For they could not endure the word that was given. If even a beast touches the mountain, it shall be stoned.
Indeed, so terrifying was the sight that Moses said, I tremble with fear. But you have come to Mount Zion, and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to innumerable angels in festal gathering, and to the assembly of the firstborn who are enrolled in heaven, and to God, the judge of all, and to the spirits of the righteous made perfect, and to Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel. Amen. Well, let us pray.
Closing Prayer
Dear Heavenly Father, we thank you for your awesomeness, Lord God. We thank you that we can come to you and approach you because of the work of Christ, Lord God. We know that we are unholy people, Lord God, but yet we know that you call a people to be a holy nation. Help us by your spirit to have a right and holy fear of who you are.
Help us to have that true fear, that trust in you, knowing that you are the one who can save people from their sins. We thank you for the work of the true Israel, the true mediator, that true Adam who lived, died, and rose again. We thank you for that work of Christ, Lord God. For if we see those stipulations and we would not have been able to fulfill them, Lord God, and we see that Israel did not, Lord God, we pray that you would forgive us of our sins.
Help us now as believers to walk in a manner consistent with the gospel that you might be glorified, Lord God. Amen.