Exodus 19:1-20:2 - Why the law?
Inrtoduction: Just this last week, it was reported that in
We are a country that has morally lost its bearings. A cloud of relativism has hidden the star we should navigate by. And so it has become acceptable to head in pretty much any direction we please: Whether it is the question of truth in religion, the nature of the family, the sanctity of life, the commitments of marriage, degrees of honesty in public life or our ambitions and desires, little is frowned on and much is approved.
Well we are going to be studying the ten commandments this term. And there need be no greater case for studying these, because they in fact touch on each of these areas. And their relevance is affirmed not just pragmatically, but theologically. Did you note Jesus’ words in our gospel reading?
Do take a look at it. Highlighting the importance of what he is about to say, Jesus declares “I tell you the truth.” He then makes an astonishing statement: [READ v18b-19]
Again we see Jesus’ high view of the Old Testament. It is accurate, authoritative and continually relevant down to the least serif used in the Hebrew lettering. And so it must be obeyed and taught after Jesus just as it was before Jesus.
Yet having said that, we must look a bit more closely. You see, there has been some change. Take a look at verse 17 [READ] The meaning of these words is much debated. But their sense is most probably this: We are not called to obey and teach the law as if Jesus had never come. No we are to teach and obey it giving due weight to how his life, death and resurrection confirm and deep our understanding of them, of their purpose, and of whether or not they are applicable in different contexts.
In other words, we might say that NO law is abolished in its relevance. But some is relevant only in what it reveals about God’s king and the nature of his kingdom. Whereas others are relevant in revealing the laws the subjects of that kingdom are still to live by.
Illustration: It’s rather like looking at light rays refracted through a prism. Every ray or law is significant. Yet some is absorbed in the prism itself – ie. Christ. Whereas the rest is for us, but it reaches us THROUGH the prism of Christ, so that we can see its colourful makeup more clearly.
Well before we get into the laws themselves, we must consider their. And in Exodus chapter 19, God seems to be highlighting six key reasons why we should ensure we obey them. I’ll mention each only briefly.
Obeying God’s law is…
1. A response to redemption v4
The date is probably around 1440 BC, and the vast nation of
we learn by chapter 19 that [those God has redeemed] are an imperfect people. To leave them to themselves will mean moral anarchy. They need laws if they are going to survive, and especially if they are going to be GOD’S people.
Well so it is that, those saved by the blood of Christ, still need laws to live by. Even though God’s Spirit indwells us in a fuller way than he did the believing Israelite.
Yet we should note that for
Illustration: Verse 4 is such an intimate picture. The eagle used to stir up its nest to encourage its young to fly. But when they got into difficulty, it would swoop down and catch them in its wings and carry them to safety. Well so it was that God rescued
2. A pathway to privilege v5
The heart-warming language continues in verse 5 [READ]
The word “covenant” refers to an agreement between God and man with promises of blessings or curses depending on whether the covenant is kept. Well the blessing for those who “keep the covenant” is not hard to spot here. It is to be God’s “treasured possession,” that is a people for whom God has a special care, and who he will bless with a glorious life in the land he promised Abraham.
Well to “keep the covenant” is to “fully obey God,” but we should not assume this means “being perfect.” Obedience to the law included making sacrifices for sin. To “fully obey” and so keep “God’s covenant” was therefore to seek to “lovingly obey every command” yet make sacrifices to atone for ones sin in failing to do so. I have to say, we will need to our consciences mindful of this, as we find the law convicting us of our sin over the coming weeks. It is not intended to drive us to despair, but point us to God’s mercy.
The Old Covenant was kept then, the same way the New Covenant is kept, by repentance and faith, by striving to live for him having first believed his promises of forgiveness and blessing – belief that is ultimately IN Christ, because those promises eventually find fulfilment in him.
Well so it is that OUR repentance and faith gives us the great privilege of God’s care and of everlasting life in the new heavens and earth. But we should note too, that just as
3. A badge of belonging v5
This is a logical consequence of all this. Obedience is the proof of faith, it is therefore the proof of our salvation and that we are indeed God’s. Jesus puts it most clearly in John 14v23: “If anyone loves me, he will obey my teaching. My Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him. Whoever does not love me will not obey my teaching.”
Little more needs to be said. Just ask yourself whether your willingness to submit to Jesus teaching suggests that you love him or not. Jesus is clear, only those who obey and so love him are specially loved by his Father.
4. A means of mission v6
Now this an often missed truth. Take a look at verse 5c onwards [READ v5c-6]
Priests are those who represent God to the world. God’s intent was always that
Well, the history of the Old Testament is a history of
Could it be that the decline of the church is partly down to our wiliness to settle with English niceness rather than radical righteousness? The New Testament expectation is that we are so holy, so different, in how we live at home, school or work, that people see God in us and moved to ask us about what we believe.
5. A refection of reverence v7-25
What happens next? Well Moses relays God’s words to the people. They commit themselves to obedience, and Moses tells them to prepare for God to “come down on
And what follows beats any New Year firework display. As with firework displays, God keeps the people back from the mountain for their own safety. Then thunder, lightening, thick cloud, a trumpet blast, smoke billowing up, fire like a furnace, the whole mountain trembling, and them most awesome of all, God literally speaks. And we immediately read in chapter 20 verse 1: “God spoke all these words,” meaning the ten “words” literally the “deca-logue” or ten commandments.
The ten commandments were only put on tablets of stone later in the book of Exodus. And if none of the other reasons for obeying them pierce our armour of self-determination, the fact that this is an act of reverence should. God was not play acting here. He is a holy God. There should be godly fear even in those who experience his grace. God will not be mocked by those who say they believe, assume they belong, but show no willingness to behave.
Referring to this exact event, Hebrews 12v25 and 28 says: “See to it that you do not refuse him who speaks. If they did not escape when they refuse him who warned them on earth, how much less will we, if we turn away from him who warns us from heaven? So let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe, for our God is a consuming fire.”
6. A labour of love v1-2
Our final reason for obedience is our conclusion. Chapter 20v2 brings another dose of intimate language. Take a look. “I am the LORD – YOUR – God, who brought you out of
We are mistaken if we see God’s law as a harsh restraint on human freedom or a rather negative lists of dos and don’ts. It is a labour of love from God to us. A gift to those he has rescued, a means of bringing order to moral chaos and freedom to those enslaved by sin. And just as it is a labour of love from him, so our obedience should be a labour of love for us.
And this is of course made clear in the greatest of all commandments. Deuteronomy 6v4-6: “Hear O
[1] Now in the book of Exodus to this point, two significant things have happened. First,
Second,
