Scripture Reading: Exodus 21 - 24 …
Reading parts of the Old Testament can make you
scratch your head and say, "WHAT?! Did God really say these
things?" This is especially true when reading some of the laws
God gave to the people as they came out of Egypt. Some of the laws
actually form the basis of case law in the United States and other countries to
this day: laws concerning accidental death and murder, laws regarding
restitution and liability. Other laws, such as those dealing with slaves
and those who sacrifice to other gods were given to Israel as a people who now
were being taught that they belonged to God. They had been slaves in
Egypt for several generations and God was bringing them into a new relationship
with Him and with each other. They had no government, no laws, no justice
system and they were … sinners, in need of redemption. Imagine a moving
city of two million or more people - ALL of them homeless and traveling to a
place where enemies would fight against them every step of the way.
Because of the hardness of their hearts God gave them laws to control
their sinful natures and to guide their living together.
Chapters 21 and 22 explain some of these laws as
God gave them to Moses and he told them to the people. In Chapter 23 God
reminds them of the importance of resting the seventh day and of allowing the
land to be restored, to "rest," on the seventh year. He also
introduces the three annual feast days where every man was called to gather and
to appear before God. God was pointing
ahead to Christ and His work of salvation, when He offered His body as the
perfect sacrifice for sin and then God poured out His Spirit and began the
gathering of His Church from every people, tribe, nation and tongue. All these
were pictures of a spiritual reality that God would accomplish centuries later
through the "Seed of Abraham!"
God continually pointed them to the future, when He
would lead them to the promised land, defeat all their enemies and dwell with
them. The last half of Chapter 23 and Chapter 24 are awesome pictures of
God's promises for the future for all of His people … for all who believe in
Him and who come to Him through faith in Jesus. God says to Moses, "See,
I am sending an angel ahead of you to guard you along the way and to bring you
to the place I have prepared" (23:20). While this was uniquely
true for Israel as God led them to the land of Canaan, it is also true for us.
Psalm 34:7: "The angel of the LORD encamps around those who fear
him, and he delivers them." In Hebrews 1:14 we read, "Are
not all angels ministering spirits who are sent to serve those who will inherit
salvation?" What an incredible reality for those who know God.
Chapter 24 takes it even one step further.
God told Moses to come up the mountain with Aaron, Nadab and Abihu and
seventy of the elders of Israel. Before they went up, Moses offered
sacrifices and took the Book of the Covenant, the laws that God had given him
so far, and he read the laws to the people and they responded, "We will
do everything the LORD has said; we will obey" (24:7). Then
Moses took the blood and sprinkled it on the people. God was showing
again that while the people said they would obey, their hearts were hardened by
sin and they would break this covenant over and over again. That's why a
NEW covenant would be necessary. Always remember when reading the Old
Testament that all this is a picture of why we need a Savior!
Speaking through Jeremiah, God says, "The
time is coming when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and
with the house of Judah. It will not be like the covenant I made with
their forefathers when I took them by the hand to lead them out of Egypt,
because they broke my covenant" (Jeremiah 31:31-32). How will
the new covenant be different? "'This is the covenant I will make
with the house of Israel after that time,' declares the Lord. 'I will put my
law in their minds and write it on their hearts. I will be their God and
they will be my people.'" (Jeremiah 31:33).
God promised through Ezekiel, "I will give
you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart
of stone and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put MY SPIRIT in you
and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws" (Ezekiel
36:26-27). And in Paul wrote in Galatians, “ ... the law was put in
charge to lead us to Christ that we might be justified by faith. Now that
faith has come, we are no longer under the supervision of the law" (Galatians
3:23-25).
Through Jesus Christ the Law of God has been
fulfilled and we now live under grace. The Spirit of God now uses
His Word in the New Testament to teach us how to live together and the Spirit
Himself produces in those who believe the desire to obey God. It is no
longer a law that is OUTSIDE of us, but God now dwells within us to move us to
do His will (See II Corinthians 3:3 and Philippians 2:12-13).
We do not live under the Old Covenant. By God's
grace we can approach Him without fear, for through the blood of Christ
sprinkled on us we have access to His very presence. Thank God today for
His New Covenant, the promises of God fulfilled in the perfect Lamb, Jesus
Christ. It is HIS blood that gives us access to God, Who is now our
Father in heaven. The writer of Hebrews
again compares the Old Covenant to the New in Hebrews 12 and warns us not to
refuse God's grace in Jesus (Hebrews 2:1-4).
And then: "Since we are
receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship
God acceptably with reverence and awe, for our 'God is a consuming fire!'" (Hebrews
12:28-29; Deuteronomy 4:24). Give thanks to the Lord and live with Him
and for Him today, knowing that His angels encamp around you and His grace is
sufficient for your every need!
"O LORD God Almighty, I bless Your Name, for
You alone are worthy of my worship and my praise! You
are enthroned above the heavens and yet You have come to me by Your Word
and Spirit and called me to come to YOU through faith in Your Son Jesus Christ.
O Lamb of God, I come! I enter Your presence and bow humbly before
Your throne in awe and worship. To You, my God, be glory and honor and
praise, now and forever, in Jesus' name, Amen"
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