Covenant Series: Mosaic Covenant

Sorry its been a while since I posted anything! I actually had this article written a while ago, I have just been trying to find time to edit and review it! I should have the Davidic Covenant up by the end of the week! Enjoy!

After Abraham and Isaac die, the story of Joseph, the son of Jacob is told. Joseph is sold into slavery by his brothers where he eventually, with God’s help, becomes the highest ranking official in all Egypt, second only to Pharaoh. Through his God given wisdom, he interprets Pharaoh’s dreams which foretell of seven years of plenty followed by seven years of famine. Once the famine years begin, Joseph’s brothers make their way to Egypt to buy grain. After the brothers are reunited, Pharaoh graciously gives to the family of Jacob some land for them to dwell in. Fast forward 400 years, and the descendants of Abraham have grown to be quite numerous. A new Pharaoh who doesn’t know anything about the previous Pharaoh or Joseph enslaves the Israelites in order to control them. The years go on and the oppression of their Egyptian overlords becomes too heavy to bear, so the people cry out to God. And God hears them.

The making of this Covenant begins in Exodus 6:1-8. This is where God calls Moses to be his spokes person and to deliver a message to the Israelites. God says that he will redeem them, free them from the Egyptians, and take them to be His own people and will bring them into the land which he swore to give to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. In Exodus 15:25-26, after the Israelites are delivered from the Egyptians and have crossed the Red Sea, they travel into the desert where God makes a law for them stating, “If you will diligently listen to the voice of the Lord your God, and do that which is right in his eyes, and give ear to his commands and keep all his statues, I will not put upon you the diseases that I put on the Egyptians, for I am the Lord, your healer.”

After this God provides manna for the people to eat on a daily basis. He also institutes the Sabbath as a holy day to the Lord. Exodus 16:23-30 describes the first Sabbath and how many people did not listen to God when he told them to gather enough on the sixth day for the seventh. Those who went out to gather on the seventh day found nothing. From this point forward the seventh day was always taken as a day of rest. After this, the Israelites successfully defeat the Amalekites who attacked them, and Moses receives a visit from his father in law, Jethro, who gives him sound advice for how to mediate and govern the Israelities.  Finally, In Exodus 19, the Israelites arrive at the base of Mount Sinai.

Moses goes up the mountain to meet with God and God gives him the basis of what is known as the Mosaic Covenant:

Thus you shall say to the house of Jacob, and tell the people of Israel: You yourselves have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I bore you on eagles’ wings and brought you to myself. Now therefore, if you will indeed obey my voice and keep my covenant, you shall by my treasured possession among all peoples, for all the earth is mine; and you shall be to me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation. These are the words that you shall speak to the people of Israel.

The initial premise of the covenant, then, is that the people are to be faithful and obedient to God. In return, God will sanctify them and make them holy. Notice, God does everything; the people have nothing to prove their worth. All the people have to do, is be obedient and faithful to Him only. Moses returns to the people and gathers the elders to tell them of the covenant. The people then respond in Exodus 19:8, “All that the Lord has spoken, we will do.” Thus, the covenant is made.

What continues in the rest of Exodus, Leviticus, and parts of Numbers is the Mosaic Law, which is the details concerning what faithfulness and obedience to God looks like. In essence, the people of God are a holy nation and a kingdom of priests, but they need to know how to live as a holy nation and kingdom of priests. The Law was never meant to be a way to get redeemed or saved, rather it is the effect of the redemption they already possess. They are already redeemed, so Go is not making them into a holy nation and teaching them how to live redeemed lives. What God sets up in the Mosaic Law is a new worldview and social culture which the people are to adhere to. God is making them stand out as different from all the surrounding nations. The Law created an alternative community that was completely different from the power struggles of the Egyptian Empire, the greed of the Canaanite city states, the paganism of the small kingdoms of Edom, Moab, and Ammon, and the military prowess of the Philistine ruling classes. God set the Mosaic Law before the people to keep them holy and pure, and to keep their existence in the proper perspective.

It is the Mosaic Law that is fiercely attacked in the New Testament, not the Mosaic Covenant. In fact, if anything, the Mosaic Covenant is reaffirmed! Christ repeatedly calls the Jews to be faithful to God. Exodus 19:1-6 emphasizes the fact that faithfulness and obedience is what makes us children of God. In John 10:1-16, Jesus calls himself the “good shepherd”. Moreover, he says that his sheep know his voice, and listen to his voice. Thus as Mosaic Covenant states, the people don’t just hear the voice and commands of God; they listen and obey them as well. Also, in Matthew 19:16-28, Jesus answers the question from the rich man of what to do to inherit eternal life. Jesus answers and says, “If you want to enter life, keep the commandments.” The Mosaic Law and the commandments contained within are God’s word to His people. Keeping the commandments is obeying God.

The important thing to note here is that the Mosaic Covenant is still very much in existence. If we claim to be saved by the death of Jesus Christ, then we enter into a new life in which we are willing to hear and obey the word of God. Just as God gave the Mosaic Law to the Israelites to so that they would have a new worldview and social structure and be different from all the surrounding nations, God gives us new commandments to follow that will differentiate us from our surrounding cultures as well. Colossians 3:1-2 say, “Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your heart on things above…Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God.” We have a new existence that is filled with new purpose and perspective. We are not like we once were, we are different. Just as the Israelites became a distinct nation that was different than all the others nations when they entered into the Mosaic Covenant with God, we do become different when we enter into the New Covenant and proclaim that Christ is our Savior. This difference often comes with a price as John 15:18-25 states. The world will hate true believers in Christ because such individuals are no longer members of the regular society, they no longer conform to worldly views of values, but are transformed by Christ’s righteousness. This means that followers of Christ no long act like the other members of their society, but are radically different to the point that we are condemned for our difference, which is Christ.

To say that the Old Testament and the Law is done away with is to completely do away with everything the New Covenant is built on. In fact another name for the Old Testament, is the Old Covenant. “Old” specifies its age, not its relevance. When we accept Jesus Christ as our savior we become part of the family of Abraham, and we enter into the Mosaic Covenant by letting God have control and teach us how to live redeemed and holy lives.

The Mosaic Law has been fulfilled buy the death of Jesus Christ on the cross, and as such Jews and Gentiles are no longer required to do certain things, such as sacrifices, to keep and fulfill the Law because the Law, that is, the will and word of God, is now written on the hearts and minds of all believers. But that will be covered under the New Covenant, so stay tuned!