The King's Church in Ilford
The following is the text of the talk given on 26th October 2008 by Robin Hawkins
- Let me start then by asking the question: What would you say was the central message of the OT?
"The Covenant of Moses"
EXODUS 19:1-8
Reading: Exodus 19:1-8
This passage we've just come to is regarded by many as the heart of the OT.
All that Jesus did in the NT finds its roots here. So what we're looking at today is central to all that we believe as Christians .
Ans: By making Covenants (or Agreements) with people or nations. [It means the same as Testament. So when we talk of the Old & New Testaments, it means Old and New Covenants. ]
Can you remember as children, meeting the local bully on the way from home from school, and just as he was about to do you over, you said in as threatening a tone as possible: "You touch me and I'll get my big brother onto you!" Bullies are essentially cowards at heart, this hopefully made the bully pause long enough to you to get away. Somewhere in that illustration is a glimpse of the meaning of Covenant. Your brother is bigger than you or the bully - and he has more authority. He feels protective towards you, and loyalty because you're in his family. So he has said to you: "That bully gives you aggro, just give me a shout."
It goes a lot further than that, and it's really important we understand the meaning of the word Covenant clearly. Some people confuse it with the word "contract", which is an agreement made between two parties of equal power and authority. But it's not that at all.
1. Covenants are an agreement made entirely on God's initiative, not between equal partners, but as a greater Being wanting to bless a lesser person. So for God, covenants are a means of blessing others; but they are also a means God uses to reveal what he is like, and to encourage us to trust Him.
2. God made the conditions, and they were not negotiable. The other party had the choice to either accept them or reject them. God stated exactly what the other party was to do; then He said what He would do. Once accepted, the Covenant was regarded as legally binding on both parties. It could not be broken, changed or added to or, although it might be superceded. EG: The Covenant of law that God made with Moses has been superceded by the New Covenant we have in Christ.
3. He then stated the blessings to be had by keeping the Covenant, and there may have been curses invoked for not keeping it. (See Deut 28)
4. The Covenant might have be confirmed by a meal, or by swopping clothes or weapons, or by an animal sacrifice and the shedding of blood. Whenever we have Communion, it is a Covenant meal, reminding us that Jesus' blood was shed as a means of bringing us into Covenant relationship with God. It is also an opportunity for us to renew our commitment to our side of the Covenant.
There are seven covenants recorded in Scripture. With seven being the number of perfection or completion, there must be a sermon there - but not today! Today we look at the covenant made through Moses between God and the people of Israel. All that has gone before in Exodus has been preparation for this encounter with God at Mt Sinai - this high point of the OT. I need to say here, "Don't detach yourself from this encounter. It has so much in common with our own encounter and relationship with God; and yet we have so much more!"
God's promise to Moses back in Ex 3:12 has been fulfilled. "...This will be the sign that I have sent you. When you have brought the people out of Egypt, you will serve God on this mountain." So now God unfolds the next stunning part of His plan - a covenant with this people: "...If you will indeed obey my voice and keep my covenant, then you shall be a special treasure to me above all people." But first God reminds them of what He has done for them already. "You have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I bore you on eagles wings, and brought you to myself." This is a beautiful picture of God's marvellous grace. The eagle is often used as a picture of God in action. It's the king of birds, admired for its strength and ability to soar to the heights. So here's Israel, safely delivered out of the bony hands of death back in Egypt, carried along through the desert by God's grace. Over and over again, God had delivered them and born them on eagle's wings.
Now tell me God hasn't done that for you and me - over and over again. In spite of all our stubbornness and self-will, has He not brought us to this "mountain" today, and here we are worshipping Him and celebrating His covenant-love for us in Jesus?
The second mind-blowing statement here is God saying: "You shall be my treasured possession." Anyone here got a treasured possession? You look after treasured possessions. You guard them and protect them, You cherish them and provide for them. This was what God was promising to do for Israel, but, are we any less treasured? God loved you and me so much He was willing even to sacrifice His Son, the Son who'd with Him throughout eternity, who'd never left His side. That's how much He loves and treasures us.
There was, of course, a very important condition attached to this promise, "..if you will obey me fully, and keep my covenant, then out of all the nations..."
The obedience required of Israel was to be expressed in two ways. The first was to be a "Kingdom of Priests". The word "priest" means bridge, and priests are to be bridges between one group and another. As a kingdom of priests, they were to represent God to the other nations, and be the means by which the other nations could approach God. You find this all through the prophets. As well as messages to Israel, many of them brought messages from God to the surrounding nations. Likewise, when people wanted to find God, they came to Israel. So on one hand, each had the privilege of individual access to God, but each was required to be a "bridge" between God and others. As a fellowship, we are committed to the "Priesthood of all Believers"; but it actually started here, not in the NT.
The second way they were to express the covenant was by being a "holy nation". This meant that they were to be separated, set apart from all the other nations, to serve God and His purposes. It also meant they were to live lives that reflected the character of God. It's this theme that runs through not only the covenant of Moses, but also the new covenant of Jesus. In 1Peter 2:9, he writes, "but you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God." Everything that God says about Israel at Mt Sinai, He says about us at the cross - for that's the place where our covenant was made, sealed in Jesus' blood.
Israel's response to God's covenant proposal was clear and unanimous: "We will do everything the Lord has said." It was going to require commitment and obedience from them, just as it does from us. But what I want you to notice in closing is that God chose them before they made this response. He's delivered them and brought them to Sinai. They'd done nothing to deserve it. They weren't rich, or strong, or numerous, or influential. God chose them because He loved them, and because He wanted to keep His promise to Abraham (Deut 7:7).
So keeping the Ten Commandments was not the way into the Covenant. God had a already chosen and accepted them. They were in His team! Do you remember those awful moments at school when teams were being picked; and you stood there waiting, certain to be humiliated by being the last to be chosen? And you so wanted to be in your hero's team! Well, the good news is that God's chosen you to be in His team. But now you're in it, you'll want to please Him by obeying what He asks you to do. In the same way, God could use the Israelites to show His character to the world only to the extent that they were obedient and reliable. So obedience to the Law did not make the Covenant. Laws like the Ten Commandments showed them how to fulfil it; to keep their side of it.
It was an act of grace then, and it's an act of grace now. The difference is that our covenant is made through Jesus, a far better sacrifice than anything Moses could offer. We can now be born again by the Spirit of God, and be changed from the inside so that we want to be godly. We have been given the Holy Spirit who not only gives us the power to be holy, but who enables us to fulfil our priestly duties of bringing people to God. We have a far far better covenant than ever those Israelites did, so let us rejoice in the amazing grace that God has lavished upon us, and determine to be more faithful to our calling as the people of God to holiness and mission. I would like us to celebrate our covenant now...
And their expanse is declaring the work of His hands. Psalm 19:1