SERMON: Old Testament Overview Part 5 - The Giving of the Law

 







Old Testament Overview
Part 5 - The Giving of the Law

  • This Session:
    • The Exodus
    • The Giving of the Law
  • I. Introduction
    • Last time, we considered the beginnings of Israel
      • It started with God’s calling of Abraham and giving the covenant
      • God renamed Jacob Israel
        • His children would become the twelve tribes.
        • Joseph was sold into slavery, but was able to save their lives in Egypt
        • Israel spent generations in Egypt, growing in number, causing a new Pharoah concern.
    • Because of the enslavement & mistreatment of the children of Israel, God raised up a redeemer.
  • II. The Exodus
    • God ordained plagues:
      “…against all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgments—I am the LORD” (Exod. 12:12).
    • God ordained Passover:
      • The “Passover” was the death angel passing over and leaving souls alive.
      • The image was that of the blood of the lamb, covering the doorposts.
      • A feast to celebrate deliverance from bondage.
      • This looked forward prophetically to the “Lamb of God” (John 1:29)
    • God ordained passing through:
      • God parted the waters of the Red Sea.
      • God manifested the fiery pillar to block the Egyptians, giving the children of Israel time to cross.
      • God then allowed the Egyptians to follow, only to collapse the waters on them.
      • The exact location is debatable (southern route traditional)
    • When?
      • Traditional: 1446 B.C. 
      • Great Documentary on the dating:
        “Patterns of Evidence for the Exodus”
        (2014, 1hr 55m)
  • III. The Law
    • The exodus proper ends with Exodus 15.  The children of Israel head to Mount Sinai and receive the law.
    • Remember the purpose of the Torah: God chose Israel to be His priestly nation over His created earth. (cf. Exodus 19:4–6)
    • Everything at this point slows down (except for a few chapters devoted to the forty years of wandering in Numbers)
    • The Law is part of the Mosaic Covenant (Exod. 19:5–8)
      • The giving of the Ten Commandments is part of this (Exod. 20).
      • The following chapters give examples of moral, civil, and ceremonial stipulations (20–24).
      • The people then affirm the covenant in Exodus 24:
        • Moses took half of the blood and put it in basins, and the other half of the blood he sprinkled on the altar.  Then he took the book of the covenant and read it in the hearing of the people; and they said, “All that the LORD has spoken we will do, and we will be obedient!” So Moses took the blood and sprinkled it on the people, and said, “Behold the blood of the covenant, which the LORD has made with you in accordance with all these words.”
          (vv. 6-8)
      • The Ten Commandments are a summary of the Law:
      • Forgiveness for law violations built in through the tabernacle.
    • Does the Law still apply to us?
      • Some say no: “…you are not under law but under grace” (Rom 6:14).
      • However, the NT writers reference the Law often. 
      • All Scripture (even the Law) is profitable for us (2 Tim. 3:16)
      • In context of Romans 7, we (who are in Christ) are no longer under the condemnation of the Law (Rom. 8:1).
      • The Law still applies:
        • In its moral teaching.
        • Not in its ceremony (including food and sacrifice)
    • What does the Law teach us?
      • That we are sinners before a holy God (pedagogical use)
        • “But sin, taking opportunity through the commandment, produced in me coveting of every kind; for apart from the Law sin is dead” (Rom 7:8, cf. vv. 12–14).
        • “The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law” (1 Cor. 15:56).
        • A “schoolmaster” to lead us to Christ (Gal. 3:24–27)
      • What a just society looks like/restraining evil (civil use)
        E.g., Thou shalt not murder.
      • How to live a pleasing life to God (normative use)
        “If you love Me, you will keep My commandments” (John 14:15).
  • IV. To Be Continued…
    • There’s a lot we’re overlooking:
      • The golden calf rebellion
      • The kinds of sacrifices
      • God’s confirmation of Moses/Aaron during their wandering.
      • The bronze serpent
      • The reason for the forty years of wandering
    • Next time:
      • Joshua, Judges, and Ruth



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