The Everlasting Covenant - 10.5 Covenant Broken

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10.5 The Covenant is Broken
by Hubert F. Sturges, www.everlastingcovenant.com, March 2009

Topics:
Moses and Joshua in the Mount
The Tables of Stone
Rebellion in the Camp
Aaron is in Trouble
Retribution

You say the Old Covenant lasted only six weeks? What happened to it? Did it come back again?
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Moses and Joshua in the Mount

Moses spent much time in conference with God at Sinai. After the ratification ceremony, he and Joshua were in the mountain again. God gave Moses two tables of stone, beautifully engraved by God with the words of the ten commandments. Exodus 24:10 speaks of a pavement of clear sapphire at the place where they met with God. Some have thought that the tables of the law were also clear sapphire (?).

Forty days were spent while God explained the meanings and applications of each of the ten commandments. Details were given for the sacrifices, the priestly services, and for building the sanctuary. All this was written in a book as the civil and ceremonial laws of Israel. It was pleasant. It was inspiring. . . . Suddenly, “The LORD said unto Moses, Go, get thee down; for thy people, which thou broughtest out of the land of Egypt, have corrupted themselves” (Exodus 32:7).

Moses and Joshua hurriedly turned back to camp. They heard shouting. Joshua said, “It sounds like war!” Moses listened a little more, and answered, “No! It sounds more like singing and revelry. And the music is that wanton Egyptian music we had to endure for so many years.”

As they got closer and the situation became clearer, Moses became more angry. When they came into sight, the revelry suddenly stopped. How can one man stop a thousand, or was it ten thousand? It became deathly quiet. With a loud crash, Moses threw down the beautiful tables of stone with the ten commandments. “Everyone! Back to your tents.”
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The Tables of Stone

Moses really cared about the people of Israel and about their welfare. He deeply cared and depended upon the presence of God to make the Exodus to Canaan a success. He, more than others, understood the covenant. He was appalled, devastated and crushed. The people had turned away from God. They had rejected the covenant and the purpose of God. In anger and despair, Moses threw the tables of the law against the rocks.

God Himself wrote on those tables of stone the covenant, the ten commandment law (Exodus 31:18; 34:28). This was a crucial symbol of God’s will for the people. The covenant is everlasting. It was initiated by God, given by God and made effective by God. Man is not free to destroy what God has done. Even by their sin, the people could not destroy the covenant of God.

They HAD destroyed their presumptuous promises to obey. They had shown their weakness and inability to keep their promises. But the promises of man have nothing to add to the everlasting covenant. This covenant still stood and there were many in the camp who did not take part in the debacle. It was the intent and the will of God, still, to bring Israel to the promised land.

Probably a minority of the camp were involved, but there is no record that the rest of the camp were protesting! Even then, to throw down the tables of stone written by God was a mistake. The covenant of God cannot be broken. There will always be a remnant of the faithful, their will always be the 7,000 who have not bowed unto Baal (1 Kings 19:18).

The people had sinned greatly. There would be retribution, “for whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth” (Hebrews 12:6). Moses, too, needed correction. He had erred in Egypt in trying to take to himself the leadership of Israel and in killing the Egyptian. He erred in destroying the tables of stone made by God. For this, Moses was himself required to reconstruct another set of stone tables upon which God would re-write the ten commandments. And, more important, since Moses had symbolically destroyed the covenant, he had to intercede with God four times to re-institute the everlasting covenant with Israel.

God hoped to teach Moses a lesson and prevent his final mistake, when he struck the rock in the desert of Zin (Numbers 20:7-12). For this, Moses died on Mt. Nebo and was not permitted to go into the promised land. In mercy God did not forget His faithful servant. Moses was resurrected and taken to heaven (Jude 9; Matthew 17:2, 3)
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Rebellion in the Camp

What happened in the camp while Moses was in the mount for forty days? The will and the faith of the people were given another test, the test of delay. (Jesus, in the wilderness of temptation, was also tested by delay, forty days without food. See Matthew 4:1,2).

    “And when the people saw that Moses delayed to come down out of the mount, the people gathered themselves together unto Aaron, and said unto him, Up, make us gods, which shall go before us; for as for this Moses, the man that brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we wot not what is become of him” (Exodus 32:1).

In the absence of Moses, Aaron and Hur were assigned to govern the camp. The people, again losing faith, put pressure on Aaron to “make us gods.” The majesty and the grace of God they too soon forgot. They longed for the “security” of Egypt. They became tired of manna and wanted the leeks and garlic of Egypt. They were tired of the desert, and wanted to see gardens and have homes. They were even willing to return to bondage to get back to how things were. They feared for their safety from marauding desert tribes and failed to trust God to keep them. And worst of all, they rejected God Himself, making a golden calf.

See article 15.2, “Step by Step at Sinai.”

Just forty seven days after their solemn promises they had broken and nullified the covenant. They despised the promises of God. They turned away from the grace that would have made them “an holy nation.” They refused Jehovah as their god. They could no longer claim the promises of the covenant.

It was possible, even probable that many had no intention of doing this. They appreciated all that Jehovah had done. But, according to heathen custom, they thought that maybe the gods of Egypt could benefit them too. And possibly be a lot more fun! Why not serve both? But, God does not cooperate with evil. He does not work with divided loyalty. To the wicked He is a consuming fire. He requires full commitment from His people. The people failed to recognize what Jehovah meant when He said:

    “Thou shalt have no other gods before me” (Exodus 20:3).
    “Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the Lord thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me” (Exodus 20:5);
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Aaron is in Trouble

There was an angry clamor outside the tent. Aaron stepped out to face a crowd of men.

“Aaron! Where is Moses? He went up into that mountain and disappeared into the cloud almost six weeks ago. God warned us not to get too near. And now Moses and Joshua . . . . who knows what happened to them. We will have to make some decisions to get everybody out of this mess.” The man seemed to be speaking for the crowd. Loud murmurs of approval followed his speech.

Aaron was at a loss for answers. He knew no more than the men where Moses was. The man continued, “Jehovah seems to have given us nothing by trouble. You are in charge now. Make us gods which shall go before us.”

Aaron was aghast, but hesitant. The crowd pressed around him. “Sure, Aaron, let’s go!”

“Alright! Alright! Take all your earrings, all of them, from all of the family. Bring all of your gold. Bring it to me.” Aaron smiled to himself. He had shown real leadership qualities. He hadn’t refused the people but he had made an impossible request. There was no way that they would bring him all that gold!

In a short time they were back. “Here it is, Aaron. Where do you want it?”
Whoops! Aaron was now boxed in. Even thinking fast, he saw no way out . . . “Bring it all down to the furnace”.

    “And he received them at their hand, and fashioned it with a graving tool, after he had made it a molten calf: and they said, These be thy gods, O Israel, which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt”
    “And the people sat down to eat and to drink, and rose up to play” (Exodus 32:4, 6).

It was not just breaking a law, the people had rebelled and chosen to return to their heathen gods. The Covenant of works was broken, almost before it started! What would soon become known as the “Old Covenant” had no further life or effect.
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Retribution

Moses stood in the gate of the camp. “Who is on the Lord’s side. Let him come unto me” (Exodus 32:26). All the sons of Levi immediately rallied around him. Moses instructed them, “Get your swords. Run through the camp and I mean run, from gate to gate and from row to row. Slay every man who had a part in this.”

They were told to spare no one. It wasn’t hard to find them. Those in party dress, or undress, painted faces, laughing and making fun of Moses and Joshua. Three thousand men fell that day. “And the Lord plagued the people.” This was just the beginning.

Even though a “vocal minority” were the ones to take part in the heathen festivities, the camp had failed to mount an effective resistance. Failure to oppose evil is tantamount to participating in that evil. All must feel the disapproval of God.

    “And he took the calf which they had made, and burnt it in the fire, and ground it to powder and strawed it upon the water, and made the children of Israel drink of it” (Exodus 32:20).

Their promises to obey had held like “ropes of sand.” God permitted them to fail this test so that they might begin to learn an important lesson, the weakness of human flesh and the need of God’s redeeming grace.
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