Archived Daily Manna | Rejoice Fellowship | A mission to release people to rejoice in the world.

Message: (Editor’s Note: I thought, in connection with our study of Israel after David, that it would be interesting to review the bedrock of the Mosaic covenant, to keep fresh in our minds the immediate reasons for God’s anger.) The word “covenant” is almost identical to the word “contract.” The ten laws spoken by God to the Israelites at Mount Sinai are covenantal; the term “commandments” does not fully express the nature of the relationship they imply, for God’s relationship with the Hebrews was a covenant. He does not impose commandments on the Hebrews; He has not freed them from involuntary servitude in Egypt, only to bring them into involuntary servitude under Himself. They must agree willingly, as we see in Exodus 19. Stained glass drawing of Moses by James Frederick Fields ca. 1900 Most people skim over the first words of today’s Scripture, but they have real significance. When you write a contract, the first thing you do is identify the parties, and that is the first thing God does here: He formally recites who He is, and the “you” is unmistakable, in light of the context. There is nobody in hearing range except those Hebrews who have consented to enter into the covenant. After identifying the parties, the second thing one must do to form a contract is to state what is called “consideration.” The crux of a covenant is that both parties must give, or promise to give, something of value. “I promise to give you $500” is not a contract and a court will not enforce it, because it is entirely one-sided. It becomes a contract only when the recipient also makes a promise, e.g. to paint the first person’s house. And thus, the second thing God does is to mention His own side of the bargain. In exchange for the assent of the Hebrews to follow His laws, God has made promises to them. So the phrase, “who brought you out of the land of Egypt” has a specific purpose: to show that God has both the ability and the intention of keeping His promises. God allows people to live without honoring His laws. The voluntary aspect of the ten commandments is difficult to see in Exodus 20, but becomes unmistakable as one reads through Exodus (and Genesis) as a whole. His offer to the Hebrews stands in contrast to His treatment of the Egyptians, to whom he gave unilateral orders: Let my people go, or I will kill your first-born sons. Notice that God did not tell the Egyptians “thou shalt not steal” or “keep the Sabbath holy”, etc. Once they cease their enslavement of the Hebrews, He leaves them alone. They are allowed to live in such peace as they may find, worshipping myriad idols. Why does God tell the Hebrews they cannot commit murder, etc., but not the Egyptians? It is because He has chosen the Hebrews, because He loves them in a special way. Why them? Nobody knows. God’s reason for choosing Abram and his kin is, ultimately, not told to us. What we do know is that mankind has lived in sin, alienated from its Creator, since the time of Adam. For whatever reason, God chose this time to start a long-term project, the reconciliation of humanity to Himself. But it is covenantal, not unilateral: if Christ is the bridegroom, we must say “I do.” If we want to have a relationship with God, we have to make an effort.