The Heart of God: Exodus through Joshua (3)

And beginning at Moses and all the Prophets, He expounded to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning Himself. Luke 24.27

Read and meditate on Exodus 19, 20, 24, and 40.
As God renewed His covenant with Israel, He constituted them as a people and gave them His Law to establish their unique identity: Holy to the Lord. He saved Israel, then declared them to be His people, before He gave them His Law so that they could love Him and their neighbors. We must not lose sight of this order of events.

For reflection
1.  According to Exodus 19.1-6 and 20.1, 2, what is the basis upon which God declared this further stage of His covenant’s development? Is this a new covenant or a new development of the existing covenant? Explain.

2.  This is neither a new nor a different covenant; rather, is it an elaboration in more specific detail – due to a change in the circumstances of His people – of His existing covenant (cf. Gal. 3.16-22). What was it about Israel’s change of circumstances that made it necessary to bring these new changes into God’s covenant? Should we expect to see similar changes as God’s covenant continues to unfold in Scripture? Explain.

3.  The Law was not given in order to save Israel, and Israel did not become God’s people by keeping His Law. He saved them and took them to Himself, then gave them His Law. What is the role of Law in God’s covenant, as we see it unfolding here?

4.  How did the people respond to God in these chapters, and what can we learn from them about how we should respond to the Lord? Are the people earning the favor of God or responding to it? And how did they respond to the favor, graciously received?

5.  Why was the Tabernacle important? How would the Tabernacle have reinforced the significance of God’s Name? What was in the Tabernacle, and what was done there? In John 1.14 Jesus is described as having “tabernacled” among us (the Greek verb is the same as the Septuagint uses for the Tabernacle). What significance should we attach to this? Is the Tabernacle yet another sign? Explain.

Summary
In order to constitute Israel as a people holy to the Lord, God needed to do two things: First, He had to set forth His expectations for His people, in order to guide them in to His blessings. And, second, He needed to assure them of His presence with them, which He did through the Tabernacle. Can you see any foreshadowing in this of what it means to follow Jesus Christ?

Closing Prayer
Save us, O LORD our God,
And gather us from among the Gentiles,
To give thanks to Your holy name,
To triumph in Your praise.
Blessed be the LORD God of Israel
From everlasting to everlasting!
And let all the people say, “Amen!”
Praise the LORD!

Psalm 106.47, 48

T. M. Moore

Two books can help you gain a fuller understanding of the terrain we will be covering in this series. Kingdom Documentsprovides a concise overview of the primary teaching of the Old and New Testaments, and shows, through early Church creeds, how our forebears understand the primary teachings of God’s Word. (click here to order). I Will Be Your God develops more fully the idea of God’s covenant and leads us to consider the practical implications of our covenant relationship with God (click here).

Visit The Ailbe Seminary, where our course, Introduction to Biblical Theology, offers a parallel study of our theme in this series, using brief video presentations and the workbook God’s Covenant: An Introduction. All courses at The Ailbe Seminary are available without charge.

We are happy to be able to offer each week’s Scriptorium studies in a free weekly PDF, suitable for personal or group use. You can download all the studies in this series by clicking here. Please prayerfully consider sharing with The Fellowship of Ailbe through your giving. You can contribute to The Fellowship by clicking the Contribute button at the website or by sending your gift to The Fellowship of Ailbe, 19 Tyler Drive, Essex Junction, VT 05452.

Except as indicated, Scripture taken from the New King James Version. © Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.