The Everlasting Covenant - 10.3 References Sinai

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10.3 References Sinai
by Hubert F. Sturges, www.everlastingcovenant.com, September 1, 2010

Topics:
1. The “Abrahamic Covenant”
2. The Promise of Grace
3. The Abrahamic Covenant Identified
4. The Burning Bush
5. Covenant given to Isaac and Jacob
6. Blessings and Curses
7. Moses and Aaron before the elders of Israel
8. The Passover
9. The Exodus to Sinai
10. The People’s Promises
11. Why Was Another Covenant Formed?
12. The Ten Commandments are the Covenant
13. The Old Covenant of Human Promises Ratified
14. The Abrahamic Covenant Renewed.
15. The Experiential Old Covenant
16. Beginning conquest of Canaan


1. The “Abrahamic Covenant:”
2 “And I will make my covenant between me and thee, and will multiply thee exceedingly.
3 “And Abram fell on his face: and God talked with him, saying,
4 “As for me, behold, my covenant is with thee, and thou shalt be a father of many nations.
5 “Neither shall thy name any more be called Abram, but thy name shall be Abraham; for a father of many nations have I made thee.
6 “And I will make thee exceeding fruitful, and I will make nations of thee, and kings shall come out of thee.
7 “And I will establish my covenant between me and thee and thy seed after thee in their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be a God unto thee, and to thy seed after thee.
8 “And I will give unto thee, and to thy seed after thee, the land wherein thou art a stranger, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession; and I will be their God” (Genesis 17:2-8, KJV). See Genesis 17:1-21 for all details.

17 “That in blessing I will bless thee, and in multiplying I will multiply thy seed as the stars of the heaven, and as the sand which is upon the sea shore; and thy seed shall possess the gate of his enemies;
18 “And in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; because thou hast obeyed my voice” (Genesis 22:17-18, KJV).

16 “Now to Abraham and his seed were the promises made. He saith not, And to seeds, as of many; but as of one, And to thy seed, which is Christ.
29 “And if ye be Christ's, then are ye Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise” (Galatians 3:29, KJV).

The following are quotations of interest from Ellen White, writer and founder of the Seventh-day Adventist church.
“We must come under the provisions of the Abrahamic covenant, and the requirements are, "If ye be Christ's, then are ye Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise." White EG: Messenger. May 19, 1893.
“The only means of salvation is provided under the Abrahamic covenant.” White EG: The Faith I Live By, p. 78
“The gospel preached to Abraham, through which he had hope, was the same gospel that is preached to us today, through which we have hope. Abraham looked unto Jesus, who is also the Author and the Finisher of our faith.” Youth's Instructor, September 22, 1892, p. 304. ("Words to the Young")
The Lord made a special covenant with ancient Israel: "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" (Exodus 19:5, 6)....” White EG: Counsels on Health, 577.


2. The promise of grace: To Adam and Eve were given enmity against evil, the law written on their hearts. Their probation was extended to give time for them to learn the love of God and to again choose Him, the Redeemer who would pay the penalty for their sin.
To Noah and his family, he was to build an ark to save his family. After the flood there was the promise of regular seasons and no more flood (Genesis 8:21,22; 9:15). The rainbow from the throne of God (Genesis 9:13; Revelation 4:3) was given as a token of this promise.
To Abraham were given rich blessings and the promise that the Messiah would come through his descendants.


3. The Abrahamic Covenant is identified by the special promises given to Abraham:
1. Many descendants -- as the sand of the sea shore or the stars in the heaven. This is referring to the people of the world who would be brought to God by his descendants.
2. The land of Canaan for a home, an everlasting possession.
3. To be a blessing to all families (Genesis 12:3) and all nations (Genesis 22:18) of the earth. Abraham’s descendants were to be a strong influence for good in the earth; and especially in the “one seed” which is Christ (Galatians 3:16).
4. Continued blessing on condition of obedience for which God commended him. Abraham commanded his household after him (Genesis 18:19) and he kept the laws of God (Genesis 26:5). His greatest test of faith and obedience came when God commanded Abraham to sacrifice Isaac on Mt. Moriah (Genesis 22:1,2).
5. The Abrahamic Covenant was also identified when Moses spoke to God in the burning bush, and when they spoke to the elders of Israel of the covenant given to “Abraham, and to Isaac, and to Jacob.”


4. The Burning Bush. God presented the Abrahamic Covenant from the burning bush, invoking four times the names of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in His presentation.
6 “Moreover he said, I am the God of thy father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. And Moses hid his face; for he was afraid to look upon God.
7 “And the LORD said, I have surely seen the affliction of my people which are in Egypt, and have heard their cry by reason of their taskmasters; for I know their sorrows;
8 “And I am come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians, and to bring them up out of that land unto a good land and a large, unto a land flowing with milk and honey; unto the place of the Canaanites, and the Hittites, and the Amorites, and the Perizzites, and the Hivites, and the Jebusites” (Exodus 3:6-8, KJV).


5. Abrahamic Covenant given to Isaac and Jacob. Genesis 26:3-5, 24; 28:13-15; 35:10-12.


6. Blessings and Curses. The promised blessings were conditional on their continued obedience and their covenant relation to God. If these conditions were met, the promises were certain.
Blessings for obedience spoken from Mount Gerizim
Deuteronomy 7:12-24
8:1,4,7-9
11:9,11,14-15
28:2-13
33:6-25 -- The tribes of Israel are blessed by tribe.
Curses for apostasy spoken from Mount Ebal
Deuteronomy 3:16-19
4:26-28
11:17
27:15-26
28:16-45, 48-68


7. Moses and Aaron before the elders of Israel after their return to Egypt. They repeat the Abrahamic covenant and all the words the Lord spoke to Moses from the burning bush.
31 “And the people believed: and when they heard that the LORD had visited the children of Israel, and that he had looked upon their affliction, then they bowed their heads and worshipped” (Exodus 4:31, KJV). See Exodus 4:29-31; 6:5-8 for all details of the TWO presentations.

The Abrahamic Covenant repeated after their first confrontation with Pharaoh. The People were discouraged because of the hard labor they were forced to do (Exodus 6:5-8)


8. The Passover (Exodus 11:4-12:36). Egypt had suffered under nine plagues, and still Pharaoh hardened his heart and would not let Israel go. Pharaoh threatened Moses with death if he appeared before him again. However, God commanded Moses to appear before Pharaoh one more time to inform him of the coming tenth plague, when all the firstborn of Egypt would die (Exodus 11:1-8).

Israel were instructed to “borrow” of their Egyptian friends and neighbors jewelry and other useful items, which the Egyptians were glad to give. Each family was instructed to take a lamb, and on the appointed evening kill the lamb, and sprinkle blood on the two side posts and on the lintel of the door. Then they were to roast the lamb, and eat it in haste with unleavened bread and bitter herbs. At the same time each one was to be fully prepared for flight.

At midnight the destroying angel passed through the land and all the firstborn were killed, except in those houses that were marked by blood. There was a great cry all through Egypt, and Israel was urgently thrust out of the land. The Exodus had begun. From that time onward, the Passover marked the first month of the year (Genesis 12:2).


9. The Exodus to Sinai

As they traveled the next few weeks, they were protected by dense cloud and darkness from the pursuing Egyptians, they walked through the Red Sea on dry land to escape the Egyptian army, Moses cast a tree into a lake of bitter water making it sweet, they were given quails for one day, and manna thereafter on a daily basis to eat, water from the rock in Rephidim to drink, the Amalekites were defeated, and in the third month they arrived at Sinai.

All during this time they were led and reassured of the presence of God, by the pillar of cloud by day and by the pillar of fire by night. During this time, Moses was refreshed by the visit of Jethro and the arrival of his wife and children (Exodus 18:5). Shortly after Jethro left, Israel arrived at Sinai.


10. People’s Promises
This was a covenant of dedication. God is pleased when we choose to serve Him, and when we make a commitment to serve Him. Such covenants were made by at least six of the good kings of Judah when they had a revival from idolatry. The problem with the people at Sinai was their lack of understanding – of the holiness of God and of their own weakness. They thought they could do it in their own strength, and did not understand the implications of the promise of grace in Exodus 19:4. They had yet to know the meanings of faith and grace.

"And all the people answered together, and said, All that the Lord hath spoken we will do.... This covenant is of just as much force today as it was when the Lord made it with ancient Israel (SW March 1, 1904).” White EG: Seventh-day Adventist Commentary, p. 1103. (see also Exodus 19)
“The covenant that God made with His people at Sinai is to be our refuge and defense.” White EG: Seventh-day Adventist Commentary, p. 1103. (see also Exodus 19)


11. Why Was Another Covenant Formed?
“Another compact -- called in Scripture the ‘old’ covenant -- was formed between God and Israel at Sinai, and was then ratified by the blood of a sacrifice....
“But if the Abrahamic covenant contained the promise of redemption, why was another covenant formed at Sinai? In their bondage the people had to a great extent lost the knowledge of God and of the principles of the Abrahamic covenant. In delivering them from Egypt, God sought to reveal to them His power and His mercy, that they might be led to love and trust Him...” White EG: Patriarchs and Prophets, p. 371


12. The Ten Commandments written by God on two tablets are called the covenant or testimony:
Exodus 32:15 (testimony)
Deuteronomy 9:9,11,15 (covenant)
Exodus 34:28

“... The Lord gave me two tables of stone, even the tables of the covenant.” (Deuteronomy 9:11)


13. The Old Covenant of Human Promises Ratified
3 “And Moses came and told the people all the words of the LORD, and all the judgments: and all the people answered with one voice, and said, All the words which the LORD hath said will we do.
4 “And Moses wrote all the words of the LORD, and rose up early in the morning, and builded an altar under the hill, and twelve pillars, according to the twelve tribes of Israel.
5 “And he sent young men of the children of Israel, which offered burnt offerings, and sacrificed peace offerings of oxen unto the LORD.
6 “And Moses took half of the blood, and put it in basons; and half of the blood he sprinkled on the altar.
7 “And he took the book of the covenant, and read in the audience of the people: and they said, All that the LORD hath said will we do, and be obedient.
8 “And Moses took the blood, and sprinkled it on the people, and said, Behold the blood of the covenant, which the LORD hath made with you concerning all these words” (Exodus 24:3-8).


14. The Abrahamic Covenant Renewed. In the conquest of Canaan, God did marvels in giving Israel victory after victory, sometimes against superior foes. He intervened directly in making the sun stand still. Israel was a land of beauty and prosperity when the people followed their God. They were an example to the world in the wisdom of the laws of God. And especially the wonders of God law was seen in the lives of the people.
9 “And he said, If now I have found grace in thy sight, O Lord, let my Lord, I pray thee, go among us; for it is a stiffnecked people; and pardon our iniquity and our sin, and take us for thine inheritance.
10 “And he said, Behold, I make a covenant: before all thy people I will do marvels, such as have not been done in all the earth, nor in any nation: and all the people among which thou art shall see the work of the LORD: for it is a terrible thing that I will do with thee.
11 “Observe thou that which I command thee this day: behold, I drive out before thee the Amorite, and the Canaanite, and the Hittite, and the Perizzite, and the Hivite, and the Jebusite” (Exodus 34:6-11, KJV).

The Ten Commandments written again on the tables of stone prepared by Moses.
27 “And the LORD said unto Moses, Write thou these words: for after the tenor of these words I have made a covenant with thee and with Israel.
28 “And he was there with the LORD forty days and forty nights; he did neither eat bread, nor drink water. And he wrote upon the tables the words of the covenant, the ten commandments” (Exodus 34:27-28, KJV).


15. Corrupted Sacrifices. For 215 years they had lived in the midst of a heathen idolatrous society. It was inevitable that they would be affected and even take on some of the popular ideas and customs. Even so there were always the “remnant” who were able to maintain true faith, and resist the culture.

With this background it is understandable even while inexcusable, that the people would fall back into old ways of thinking. After the thrilling experiences of Sinai, and with their new impressive worship forms, they slowly began to look on those forms as the sum and substance of their religion. They began to see power and efficacy in the sacrifices and ceremonies in themselves, and began to look less and less on the Redeemer to which they pointed. It was this mindset that brought on the experiential old covenant, and grew to be dominant at the time of Jesus and led to His being rejected.

“Consider the circumstances of the Jewish nation when the prophecies of Daniel were given.... Their religion had centered in the ceremonies of the sacrificial system. They had made the outward forms all-important, while they had lost the spirit of true worship. Their services were corrupted with the traditions and practises of heathenism; and in the performance of the sacrificial rites they did not look beyond the shadow to the substance. They did not discern Christ, the true offering for the sins of men. The Lord wrought to bring the people into captivity, and to suspend the services in the temple, in order that the outward ceremonies might not become the sum total of their religion. Their principles and practise must be purged from heathenism. The ritual service ceased, in order that the heart might be revived. The outward glory was removed, that the spiritual might be revealed.” --Unpublished Testimonies.


16. Prelude to the Conquest of Canaan
Sihon, king of the Amorites defeated (Numbers 21:21-25).
Og, king of Bashan defeated (Numbers 21:33-35).
Balak, king of Moab and Balaam the prophet (Numbers 22 - 24).
Idolatrous fraternizing between Israel and Moab (Numbers 25:1-5).
Phinehas, grandson of Aaron, spears brazen offenders (Numbers 25:6-15).
Phinehas given covenant of everlasting priesthood (Numbers 25:10-13).
War against Midian, Balaam slain (Numbers 31:1-12).
Second census of Israel, 601,750 of men 20 years or older,
plus23,000 of tribe of Levi, males 1 month or older (Numbers 26:51,62).
Death of Moses (Deuteronomy 34).
Two spies sent to Jericho (Joshua 2).
Crossing of Jordan on dry land (Joshua 3).
All the men circumcised at Gilgal (Joshua 5:2-8).
Passover is kept and Manna ceases (Joshua 5:10-12).
Jericho taken (Joshua 6).