CSSA 3-1-270 - ISRAEL AT SINAI-CONSTITUTED A KINGDOM

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270. ISRAEL AT SINAI-CONSTITUTED A KINGDOM

"Ye shall be unto me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation''

For the first time in their history, the people of Israel were beginning to feel that they had indeed become a nation. They had never experienced such feelings in Egypt. But now they had been united by their God, and given a leader, Moses. As one Body, they had been led out of Egypt to commence a journey that would transform them into the Kingdom of God.

Our aim in this lesson is to see how God established His Kingdom upon the basis of His law.

Exodus 19-20

ARRIVAL AT MT. SINAI (Ex. 19).

For nearly three months Israel journeyed, arriving eventually in the plain at the foot of Mt. Sinai. Here they encamped. An awe-inspiring sight met their gaze. Up through a narrow valley, a gentle ascent had brought them out into a plain three kilometers long and about one kilometer wide. Ahead of them and towering majestically skyward, were the rugged granite peaks of the mountain. They were to remain at Sinai for about 11 months (Ex. 19:1; Num. 10:11).

Here Moses went up to the mount, and God explained to him the Divine purpose behind the difficulties Israel had suffered (Ex. 19:4-6). It was to educate them and discipline them for the great work He had for them. It was to make them hardy and reliant, recognizing the power of God to save and help in time of need. "I bare you on eagles wings and brought you to myself." The eagle thrusts her young out of the nest to force them to fly, but carefully watches over them that no hurt will come to them. As the young birds flutter helplessly down to certain death below, the mother bird swoops down and bears them aloft upon her wings. Thus they learn to trust the mother bird and also, eventually to fly.

Priests are mediators and teachers, and it is clear that God's purpose in choosing Israel to be a "kingdom of priests" involved them being a lightstand of God's Truth for the whole world, teaching other nations God's way (Deut. 4:6).

The people accepted the covenant God outlined to Moses (Ex. 19:7-8). Since this required Israel to obey God's voice, Moses then told them to prepare themselves to hear in three days time what God would declare as the basis of the covenant (Deut. 4:13-14; Heb. 9:4). They were to be clean in mind and body (Ex. 19:10-11). God was holy, and they, His children, were to be holy, also. Barriers were set around the mount because it was a holy place. They were warned not to touch it on pain of death (vv. 12-13).

On the third day, in a terrible thunderstorm, accompanied by earth quakes and supernatural trumpet blasts, with the whole mountain enveloped in smoke and capped at the top with terrifying flames, Moses brought the people before God (v.17). As their leader he spoke, and God answered (v.19). As their representative, he ascended into the mount, and receiving further instructions from the angel of God, returned with them to the people. And then, in awful majesty, the people heard 10 great and important commandments.

THE TEN COMMANDMENTS (Ex. 20:1-17).

1-4 Relate to God:

Thou shalt have no other gods before Me.
Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image...
Thou shalt not take the Name of Yahweh thy God in vain...
Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy...

5 Relates to Parents:

5. Honour thy father and mother...

6-10 Relates to Fellows:

Thou shalt not kill.
Thou shalt not commit adultery. Concern works.
Thou shalt not steal.

9. Thou shalt not bear false witness... Concerns words.

10. Thou shalt not covet... Concerns thoughts.

All ten commandments clearly show man's obligations and respon sibilities to others. First to Yahweh; second to family; third to all humani ty. Note that there is no commandment which draws attention to self. Selflessness is therefore one of the dominating features taught by the ten commandments. In every commandment there is the call to deny self, and live only to serve others.

While the commands given to Moses were meant for the nation of Israel, the principles behind them apply with equal force today. Jesus showed that the essence of the law is to "love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind... and to love thy neighbour as thyself" (Matt. 22:36-40). During the course of his ministry, Jesus reaffirmed all the 10 Commandments (giving them an even greater meaning, e.g. Matt. 5:19-22) except for the 4th concerning the sabbath. Our "sabbath", or rest from the ways of the flesh, must be kept seven days a week (Heb. 4:10).

THE REST OF THE LAW.

In addition to the Ten Commandments, further statutes and judgments were given. These expressed God's will on a variety of mat ters, and provided laws, judgments and penalties which regulated the at titude of the Israelites to God and His worship, to each other, and to the nations among whom they dwelt. These various laws and ordinances together came to be known as the Law of Moses. Obedience to the Law would have guaranteed Israel continued occupation of the Land of Pro mise until Messiah appeared.

THE PURPOSE OF THE LAW € A SCHOOLMASTER.

One reason why God gave the Law was to establish Israel as a unique people, directing their minds along the channel of His thoughts and ways, so that other nations would admire them (Deut. 4:6-8), fear them (Deut. 28:9-10), and follow them (cf. Jer. 16:16; Zech. 8:23). This Law disciplin ed the people in Divine thinking. It brought God to the mind of the people in every way € in the home, in their education, in the field, in the workshop, and in their daily (not just weekly) worship.

But, above all, the Law was designed to direct the nation to Christ, the Divinely promised Redeemer (Gal. 3:24). It did this in the sacrifices and offerings which pointed forward to the one great offering that God had promised in the covenants made in Eden (Gen. 3:15), and to Abraham (Gen. 22), and which was fulfilled in Christ (Col. 2:16-17). The Law very effectively revealed to man that he was a sinner before God and in need of redemption (Rom. 5:20; Gal. 3:19). And as the Law cursed all who did not obey it in every detail (Gal. 3:10), so it revealed that there was no hope of life apart from the promised Messiah (Rom. 3:21, 22), for no man was able to live a life without committing sin (Rom. 3:23). The true Israelite, therefore, was found ever looking for that one who would thus deliver him from the bondage of sin and death, and from the curse of the Law (Gal. 3:13). Every time a faithful Israelite offered a sacrifice, he was directed to think of the promised Seed, and in faith to look forward to the time when he would come. Because the offeror showed faith in God, as we must do today, his sins would be forgiven in Christ (though Christ had not yet appeared), and he could live in hope of eternal life.

BY GRACE YE ARE SAVED, THROUGH FAITH.

Men cannot save themselves by keeping law; if they could, they could do without God. So it is "by grace (i.e. unmerited Divine favour) are ye saved through faith" (Eph. 2:8). Faith is belief € an implicit confidence and trust that God will fulfill His promises (Heb. 11:1; Rom. 4:20). Faith comes through hearing the Word of God (Rom. 10:17), and thus has within it the idea of complete dependence upon God instead of self. When men have faith, they try to please God because they understand that, without God, they can do nothing. God in turn is pleased when men recognize their need of Him and when, in love, they seek to obey His laws, He forgives their sins for Christ's sake (Eph. 4:32). To be saved, it is necessary that we:

Believe the things concerning the Kingdom of God and the Name of Jesus Christ.
Be baptised into Jesus Christ, for the remission of sins.
Seek earnestly thereafter by obedient and holy living to follow the teaching and example of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Confess our sins, forsake them and be forgiven.

Those who accept the Lord in the way laid down are accounted in God's sight, as "a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a peculiar people," as was Israel under Moses (cp. 1 Pet. 2:9 with Ex. 19:5-6). To come unto the Lord truly, however, one must not only take upon oneself his yoke € one must also learn of him (Matt. 11:28-30). This requires the daily study of God's Word, and a willingness to walk in God's ways. The world about us is constantly placing us under pressure to conform to its ways; we need the daily influence of God's thinking to change our ways and overcome the world.

LESSONS FOR US:

The Law of Moses served several purposes:

It established Israel as a unique nation, a lightstand of truth to attract others to God's ways.
By its various laws, it pointed to a promised redeemer who would bring salvation.
It taught men, because they could not keep the Law, that salvation would have to come some other way. € It was thus a "schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ" (Gal. 3:24),
enabling us to understand that it is "by grace ye are saved through faith" (Eph. 2:8).
As Israel was called to be a "kingdom of priests", so the ecclesia is a "royal priesthood" which is to teach the gospel and bring others to Christ.
Faith in Christ requires us to believe the gospel, be baptised and by study, prayer and good works, to walk in God's ways.

REFERENCE LIBRARY:

"The Law of Moses" (R. Roberts) € Chapter 12

"The Visible Hand of God" (R. Roberts) € Chapter 16

"Elpis Israel" (J. Thomas) € Pages 298-299

"Christadelphian Instructor" € Nos. 96 to 102

PARAGRAPH QUESTIONS: