Jesus throughout the Scriptures: Exodus (6)

Pray Psalm 19.7-11.
The law of the LORD is perfect, converting the soul;
The testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple;
The statutes of the LORD are right, rejoicing the heart;
The commandment of the LORD is pure, enlightening the eyes;
The fear of the LORD is clean, enduring forever;
The judgments of the LORD are true and righteous altogether.
More to be desired are they than gold,
Yea, than much fine gold;
Sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb.
Moreover by them Your servant is warned,
And in keeping them there is great reward.

Sing Psalm 19.7-11.
(St. Christopher: Beneath the Cross of Jesus)
The Law of God is perfect, His testimony sure;
the simple man God’s wisdom learns, the soul receives its cure.
God’s Word is right, and His command is pure, and truth imparts;
He makes our eyes to understand; with joy He fills our hearts.

The fear of God is cleansing, forever shall it last.
His judgments all are true and just, by righteousness held fast.
O seek them more than gold most fine, than honey find them sweet;
be warned by every word and line; be blessed with joy complete.

Read Exodus 20.1-21; meditate on verses 20, 21.

Preparation
1. Why were the people afraid?

2. Why had God come to them and given His Law?

Meditation
This passage, and all the subsequent giving of God’s Law, is rich with Christological insights and foreshadowing. First, the Law itself is holy and righteous and good (Rom. 7.12). It is God’s perfect standard for holiness and sets forth what He requires of those He has called to be among His people.

But that standard is so far beyond our reach that we quail in fear from it, just as the people of Israel did (vv. 18, 19). We fear to look into the Law lest our ugliness and corruption be revealed by it. This is undoubtedly one reason why so many Christians today do not meditate on God’s Law. They know it will reveal in them sinful attitudes, dispositions, and practices which they are not willing to forego.

The people of Israel feared before God and His Law, and they cried out for a mediator—Moses—to stand between them and the Lord and His standard (v. 19). Moses comforted the people and explained that the Law was not intended to destroy the people but to empower them for holy living. He would show them how. Thus comforted, the people drew near to learn.

The Law is holy and points us to Jesus, the supreme embodiment of the holiness of God (Matt. 5.17-19). But we need the mediation of Jesus—His life, death, resurrection, and intercession—to empower us, by His Spirit, to know and keep His Law (Ezek. 36.26, 27; Rom. 3.31). And, as we do, as we meditate in God’s Law, we increase in holiness, that is, in Christlikeness, so that we walk the Jesus path in all our ways (2 Cor. 3.12-18). 

We must not neglect this Law, which is so rich in Jesus and can bring so much of Jesus to us.

Treasure Old and New: Matthew 13.52; Psalm 119.162
“So the people stood afar off, but Moses drew near the thick darkness where God was” (Ex. 20.21).
And why did these people stand afar off? Because this is what they witnessed of God that day:
thunderings, lightning flashes, the sound of a trumpet, and a smoking mountain. I might be a little far off too.

This God is to be feared, reverenced, and obeyed. No questions. No equivocating. Just do what He says.
And what He had just said was this: I AM the LORD your God so you will have no other gods besides Me. Don’t make idols of anything. You will worship only Me. You must not take My Name upon you in vain, for no purpose. Remember the Sabbath day and keep it holy. Don’t work on it like you do the other six days of the week. Honor your mother and your father. Don’t commit murder. Don’t commit adultery. Don’t steal. Don’t lie. Don’t covet (Ex. 20.2-17). All this with thunder, lightning, trumpets, and smoke as the backdrop. A vividly memorable and awesome scene. One meant to get the attention of the recipients of the message. They were to observe and do. We, too, are to observe and do. Because “God spoke all these words” (Ex. 20.1).

Then we have this God: “Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God;
and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God.
He who does not love does not know God, for God is love.
In this the love of God was manifested toward us,
that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world,
that we might live through Him.
In this is love,
not that we loved God,
but that He loved us and
sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins.
Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another” (1 Jn. 4.7-11).

“The LORD our God, The LORD is One!
You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart,
with all your soul, and with all your strength” (Deut. 6.4, 5).

And Jesus said, “I and My Father are One” (Jn. 10.30).

“I AM the light of the world.
He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness,
but have the light of life” (Jn. 8.12).

The Triune God’s power and love appear in deep darkness, thunderings, lighnting flashes, trumpet sounds, smoking mountains, whispers (1 Kgs. 19.12), and Light. All throughout Scripture The Father, The Son, and The Holy Spirit abound in every type of situation to exude the Love that only This One offers. “The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament shows His handiwork. Day unto day utters speech, and night unto night reveals knowledge. There is no speech nor language where their voice is not heard. Their sound has gone out through all the earth, and their words to the end of the world” (Ps. 19.1-4).

As those two disciples who didn’t physically recognize Jesus, but walked and talked with Him said after their fellowship: “Did not our heart burn within us while He talked with us on the road, and while He opened the Scriptures to us?” (Lk. 24.32).

Every day as we read the Scriptures and observe creation we see Jesus, the Son of God, God Himself incarnate, and we marvel and say: Doesn’t our heart burn within us as we read and see this God, in all His manifestations and power; and don’t we long to serve Him as we ought—keeping the Law that rumbled from His power to guide, bless, and keep us within His parameters. Then we are truly rich in Jesus.

Reflection
1. What role does the Law of God play in your life?

2. How does meditating in the Law of God enrich us in Jesus?

3. What would you say to a fellow Christian who insisted he didn’t need the Law of God?

They were terrified, then, not that they might be stupified with astonishment, but only that they might be humbled and submit themselves to God. And this is a peculiar privilege, that the majesty of God, before whom heaven and earth tremble, does not destroy but only proves and searches His children. John Calvin (1509-1564), Commentary on Exodus 20.18-24

Pray Psalm 19.12-14.
Call on the Lord to increase your love for and delight in His Law. Ask Him to open up His Law to you so that you see Jesus in it more consistently.

Sing Psalm 19.12-14.
(St. Christopher: Beneath the Cross of Jesus)
Who, LORD, can know his errors? O keep sin far from me!
Let evil rule not in my soul that I may blameless be.
O let my thoughts, let all my words, before Your glorious sight
be pleasing to You, gracious LORD, acceptable and right.

T. M. and Susie Moore

If you have found this meditation helpful, take a moment and give thanks to God. Then share what you learned with a friend. This is how the grace of God spreads (2 Cor. 4.15).

Our book, The Law of God, compiles all the laws, precepts, and statutes of God’s Law under their appropriate number of the Ten Commandments. This can be a valuable resource for learning and meditating in God’s Law. Order your copy by clicking here.

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Except as indicated, all Scriptures are taken from the New King James Version. © Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved. For sources of all quotations, see the weekly PDF of this study. All psalms for singing are from The Ailbe Psalter.