The Everlasting Covenant - 8.2 The Sinai Covenant

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8.2 The Sinai Covenant
by Hubert F. Sturges, www.everlastingcovenant.com, July 31, 2010

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There are several problems in studying the Sinai Covenant. What made up the Sinai Covenant? What is the Old Covenant? Pastors, Scholars, and careful Bible students find problems in these areas and express different viewpoints. I will present mine, yet recognizing that there is much more to learn. This is an important topic, and a long article. Please read the entire article, and then look over the Reference MCG article for more information.


Sinless Men and Angels

Sinless men and angels in the universe of God are governed by a law that is “holy, just and good. (1)” In the wisdom of a loving God, men and angels were given free choice (2). Adam and Eve were given instructions and responsibilities (3). These instructions were accepted with joy and enthusiasm. They gave purpose to their lives. They were given just one restriction: They were to show their loyalty and obedience in not eating of one certain tree in the garden (4).
See article #2.1 References for Adam and Eve; paragraph 5 Law in Eden.

Was there a law for Adam and Eve before they sinned? And for the angels in heaven? Yes! The ten commandments expressed the character of God and are as eternal and unchangeable as is He (5). In the atmosphere of love, peace, and enthusiastic interest in sinless Eden -- and in sinless Heaven, they followed the example of the One they loved the most. God Himself was enthroned in the nature of each man and each angel and His law was written on their hearts. They did not focus on law, but rather on how best to praise and honor their Creator! In this they went way beyond the law and surpassed even its “minimum requirements. (6)”

Knowing that the responsibilities of family and daily life would occupy their attention, God set aside a day each week and made it holy. It was to be a day of fellowship whereby created beings would remember their Creator, learn of Him, and fellowship with Him. It was to be a day of rest from daily work to allow time for worship and praise (7).

There remained another matter that was unknown, a mystery, to sinless men. Within the council of the Godhead from “before the foundation of the world” there was formulated the Everlasting Covenant or the Covenant of Redemption, to be held in reserve in case man sinned. The Father chose to give His only begotten Son, and the Son willingly offered Himself to take the penalty of the broken law (John 3:16; 10:17,18) (8). It was called “My Covenant (9)” as it belonged to God and He made it a gift to mankind. It is the basis for all the covenants and promises made by God to man through history. While this covenant was formed before the foundation of the world (8) it was ratified or confirmed when Jesus died on Calvary (10).


The Sinai Covenant

At Sinai, Israel had become a nation and laws were necessary to bring order and consistency to their society. God called Moses into the Mount and gave him “My Covenant,” promises of His benign purpose for Israel through obedience to His law, by grace.

     “Ye have seen what I did unto the Egyptians, and how I bare you on eagles' wings, and brought you unto myself.
      “Now therefore, if ye will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant, then ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto me above all people: for all the earth is mine: And ye shall be unto me a kingdom of priests, and an holy nation. These are the words which thou shalt speak unto the children of Israel. (Exodus 19:4-6).

God reviewed their deliverance from Egypt. By His power and grace they were delivered from bondage in Egypt. "Now therefore," by this same power He would make of them His covenant people. This set the direction of the covenant. If a person had it in his heart to obey God, he would welcome the promise of grace in verse four. If he intended to go his own way, he would omit verse four as unneeded material.

“If ye will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant.” God began with what He would do for Israel, IF they would obey His voice and keep His covenant. This covenant was the law, the Ten Commandment law (11), a law that was mild, “holy, and just, and good” (Romans 7:12), totally different from the harsh demands of the taskmasters in Egypt. This covenant was unique in that it emphasized obedience, yet it promised grace to make it possible. Through His law God would make of them “an holy nation, a peculiar treasure, and a kingdom of priests.(12)”

These promises are repeated in 1 Peter 2:9. These indicate the purpose of God (2 Peter 1:4-9) which is not temporary, nor “old” nor about to pass away. However, the stipulation of obedience is not repeated in this New Testament reference.

Why was the law so prominent at Sinai, when so little was said to the patriarchs in the centuries before. First, we don’t know all that was said to the patriarchs, as the oral tradition was much more active at that time, and not much was written until Moses. Second, after being oppressed in Egypt for 215 years, the people were steeped in heathenism and there was much they needed to learn. And third, as a nation, they had reached the place where written records were needed.


A Stiffnecked People

God knew His people. He knew that they had been oppressed in a heathen land for 215 years. He knew their ignorance, their weakness, and their warped concept of Him. God knew that His covenant must be very clear and very basic (Hebrews 5:11 - 6:2). Thus He gave them His ten commandments clearly spoken by His voice, and written in stone by His finger.

By contrast, Adam and Eve, sinners though they were, knew the holiness and justice of God. Noah was born in 1056 am, just 126 years after Adam died. He had all the patriarchs who followed Adam to talk to, and he could daily see the angel with the flaming sword guarding the gate to Eden. Noah knew the holiness of God. Abraham also was unique. In line with the patriarchs from Shem, of the tribe of Eber (Hebrews), and son of Terah who was first called out from Ur. He had somehow escaped the prevailing idolatry, He knew the living God, worshiped and obeyed Him. He had developed a special relation with God so that he was called “the friend of God” (James 2:23). He knew the commandments of God and taught them to his household (Genesis 26:5; 18:19). To him the covenant was given in detail.

The response of these patriarchs is recorded only for Abraham, who “believed in the Lord; and he counted it to him for righteousness” (Genesis 15:6).

God, knowing the heathen background of Israel, gave a plain unequivocal covenant that required obedience and also required a response. The response from a “stiffnecked” people could only be “faulty.” They had a heathen fear of God and did not know Him as “merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth.” They had seen their deliverance from the plagues and from the oppression of Egypt. They had been blessed by the goodness and mercy of God in their trek through the wilderness (Deuteronomy 26:8,9). Yet they failed to appreciate God, failed to give Him praise and honor. When in discomfort they murmured and blamed Moses. They had not learned to trust the promises of God.

When these words were presented to the people, they answered, “All that the Lord hath spoken we will do” (Exodus 19:8). This was a unique response. The people were enthusiastic, but ignorant and presumptuous. They forgot that they were just slaves that made bricks for Pharaoh, and that they were not able to keep the law of a Holy God.


God Meets With the People

God next came onto the mount in fire, smoke, a trumpet long and loud, thunder, lightning and an earthquake. It was a demonstration of power and majesty never seen from the gods of the heathen. God came to engender an awe and a holy fear of His presence. The people were to experience the power of God as Creator and Lord (Exodus 19:16,18,19). It was a demonstration of the power God declared in Exodus 19:4; God Himself stood behind His covenant and would fulfill its terms.

God gave Moses specific instructions to sanctify the people for two days and for them to wash their clothes. If the people had put away all sin, and all worldly thoughts from their minds, leaving a deep hunger to know God, they would have been thrilled. Like Moses at the burning bush, they would remove their shoes, as the place where they stood was holy ground!

For a people to come into the presence of the living God in reverence and awe is a life-changing experience. If they believed in a God who is “merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth” (Exodus 34:6) they would have, like Abraham, fallen on their faces as God talked (Genesis 17:3). Instead the people were terrified, “they removed and stood afar off” (Exodus 20:18). They asked Moses to not let God speak to them again, but rather for God to speak to Moses, who would then speak to them.

This showed that in spite of what God had done for them, they still had a heathen concept that God is vengeful, judgmental, and seeking only to punish men. They were terrified and “stood afar off,” asking Moses to talk to God for them. God was willing to come close to His people, but they had a heathen fear to come close to God. It is an issue that will not be resolved until just before Jesus comes again!

If Israel had a holy chutzpah such as they talk about today, how different would be the history of this world!

It is easy to blame the naive faithlessness of the people at that time. Are we today better than they? When Jesus comes again, He is looking for a people who have consented to the work of grace in their lives, and who look for His coming with joy (13). The wicked will be terrified, as were the Israelites (Revelation 6:15,16), but the righteous will say:

      “And it shall be said in that day, Lo, this is our God; we have waited for him, and he will save us: this is the LORD; we have waited for him, we will be glad and rejoice in his salvation” (Isaiah 25:9).


The Ten Commandments Spoken

In the midst of the fiery demonstration on Sinai, there came a pause and a great silence. Then the voice of God rolled through the mountain peaks as He spoke the ten commandment law. It was the basis for the everlasting covenant and was specifically called “the covenant”. If this law had been kept by sinless beings, there would have been no sin. Written on tables of stone by the finger of God showed its permanence, being kept under the mercy seat in the ark demonstrated God’s grace (12).

There was a preamble of grace to both the Promises of God (Exodus 19:4-6) and to the covenant law (Exodus 20:2-17).

      4 “Ye have seen what I did unto the Egyptians, and how I bare you on eagles' wings, and brought you unto myself” (Exodus 19:4).
      2 “I am the LORD thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage” (Exodus 20:2).

These Promises and the ten commandment law were both promises of what God would do for His people, through grace. It was God’s purpose to restore the image of God in His people. The Ten Commandment law, as a description of His character (5), would act as a guide as the lives of people were changed by grace.

The giving of the law of God was a unique experience. The law was not given in this fashion to Adam and Eve, to Noah, or to Abraham. But here on Sinai, it was spoken by God Himself after a most awesome presentation of His majesty and glory. It was written in stone by His own finger. And it was kept inside the ark of the covenant, under the mercy seat. Israel, steeped in heathenism, needed a concept of the holiness of God, and they needed the law in stone as a permanent reminder.

This eventually became a snare and a trap. People looked on the law as a list of “minimum requirements.” If they kept the letter of the law, they were “safe.” This was aggravated by the accumulation of numerous regulations, to keep people safely away from the law. Thus the law became a burden. Yet people often felt condemned and it became a “ministration of death” (2 Corinthians 3:6,7).

When Jesus came to earth and gave the sermon on the mount, He emphasized the law written on the heart -- the law must go beyond “minimum requirements.” It must reach into the depths of the heart, changing attitudes and motives. Determination must be replaced by love.

In the center of the ten commandment law is the Sabbath commandment. The Sabbath was designed to bring each person close to God, to bring him to the place where he can truly “follow Him.” By contemplating God on the Sabbath, meditating on His law, and reviewing His teachings a person will become like Him (2 Corinthians 3:18). If a person will obey the will of God in keeping the Sabbath, he will keep the other nine commandments also.

If the ten commandment law was the “old covenant” what happened to this law when Jesus died on the cross? The problem with an objective (written) law is that humans are very inventive (Ecclesiastes 7:29). They can rationalize away a law, or work out ways to circumvent its requirements. When men’s motives and attitudes are those of love, their inventiveness will seek ways to give more than the law requires!


The Covenant is Ratified

When it came time to ratify the covenant, a warning was given to the people. Their response promised obedience. If their covenant was based on their promises, rather than on faith, God would send His angel with them and fulfill His promises, BUT there was no pardon if they broke their promise to keep the law! (Exodus 23:20-23). Within a short time, a ratification ceremony was carried out (Exodus 24:3-8).

Their promise of obedience, while well intentioned, could only be temporary and subject to the faith of the people (14). This was the historical old covenant, and lasted just 40 days. Yet God was pleased and accepted their covenant, a covenant of dedication:

     “... I have heard the voice of the words of this people, which they have spoken unto thee: they have well said all that they have spoken.
      “O that there were such an heart in them, that they would fear me, and keep all my commandments always, that it might be well with them, and with their children for ever (Deuteronomy 5:28,29)!”
 
The people promised obedience and claimed the promises of My Covenant of Exodus 19:4-6. In Hebrews it is also called the “first or faulty” covenant. It was the “first” covenant made with the nation of Israel. The unique characteristics of the old covenant in Hebrews will be discussed under those topics.