The Covenant of the Law: Moses and the Gospel

Transcription

1 Covenant Love Introduction to the Biblical World View Lesson 6 The Covenant of the Law: Moses and the Gospel 12/30/2007 Covenant Love: Master Key to the Bible 1

2 Objectives To read the Books of Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy with understanding. To understand God's covenant with Israel at Sinai and to see how this covenant looks forward to and is fulfilled in the New Covenant of Jesus Christ. To appreciate the key figures and events Moses, the Passover, and the vocation of Israel as "a kingdom of priests" The Golden Calf affair and the Apostasy to Baal, and how these led to the Laws of Leviticus and Deuteronomy To understand that the Second Law of Deuteronomy was imperfect and not what God wanted for his people 12/30/2007 Covenant Love: Master Key to the Bible 2

3 As we turn to Moses and the Covenant of the Law, we notice several parallels between Moses and Jesus. Moses Pharaoh orders the death of the Hebrew baby boys. Exodus 1:15-16 Moses mother and sister saved him from death. Exodus 2:1-10 Moses fasted in the desert for 40 days and nights. Exodus 34:27-28 Moses instituted the Passover as a memorial feast to recall their deliverance from Egypt. Exodus 12:21-28 Moses gave the people of Israel the Law upon a mountain. Deuteronomy 5:1-5 Jesus King Herod ordered the death of all boys in Bethlehem and its vicinity. Matthew 2:16 Jesus mother and father saved him from death. Matthew 2:13-15 Jesus fasted in the desert for 40 days and nights. Matthew 4:1-2 Jesus instituted the Eucharist as a memorial feast to recall our deliverance from sin. Luke 22:14-20 Jesus gave the people of Israel a new law upon a mountain. Matthew 5:1-7:28 12/30/2007 Covenant Love: Master Key to the Bible 3

4 The Passover story in Exodus provides the background needed to understand the celebration of the Mass. In the Passover, each family sacrificed an unblemished lamb, applied its blood to the doorposts, and ate the lamb. Exodus 12:1-10 In the Mass, Jesus is the Lamb of God who was slain for us. John 1:29, Revelation 5:1-10 Pilate sentenced Jesus to be crucified just as the priests in the Temple were sacrificing lambs for Passover. John 19: Jesus executioners used a hyssop branch to give him wine soaked just as the Israelites applied the blood of the lamb on their doorposts with a hyssop branch. John 19:29; Exodus 12:22. The Romans did not break Jesus legs just as the legs of the Passover lamb were to be unbroken. John 19:31-36; Exodus 12:46. As the Israelites ate the sacrificed lamb, so are we to eat the Lamb who was slain for us. John 6:53-58; Matthew 26: /30/2007 Covenant Love: Master Key to the Bible 4

5 The powerlessness of Egypt s gods is the point of the ten plagues. Each plague showed one or more of the gods to be false. Exodus 18: Here are some of the Egyptian gods and the plagues related to them Heket, the frog goddess Apis, the bull god; Hathor, the cow goddess Nut, goddess of the sky Re, the sun god Egyptian God Hapi, god of the Nile Min and Apis, fertility gods; Pharaoh and his sons were considered gods Plague Water turned to blood Infestation of frogs Disease of livestock Hail storms Darkness Death of the firstborn 12/30/2007 Covenant Love: Master Key to the Bible 5

6 Why did God command the Israelites to sacrifice a lamb in order to be saved from the tenth plague, the death of the firstborn? The lamb was a symbol of the Egyptian god, Amon-Re, who was regarded as the king of all the gods. Later, in the Levitical renewal of the Mosaic covenant, God declared unclean those animals that the Egyptians sacrificed to their various gods (such as the pig). In short, God Commanded Israel to sacrifice those animals that the Egyptians worshiped Declared unclean those animals that the Egyptians had sacrificed to their gods This was how God made clear to his people that they should abandon the gods of Egypt whom they had worshiped Joshua 24:14 12/30/2007 Covenant Love: Master Key to the Bible 6

7 When God finally delivered the people of Israel from slavery in Egypt, he established his Covenant in terms that foreshadow the Eucharist. God made his covenant with them at Mount Sinai Exodus 19:1-8 He gave them the Ten Commandments. Exodus 20:1-17 He ratified the covenant when Moses sprinkled blood on the people The seventy elders sat down in God's presence to eat a meal to seal the covenant. Exodus 24:1-11 But before the ink of the Covenant was dry, the people broke it! They abandoned Yahweh and returned to the worship of Apis (the Golden Calf), a popular Egyptian fertility god. Exodus 32:1-6. The Levites were the only tribe not to worship the Golden Calf. Moses commanded the Levites to slay those who would not return to worshiping only the Lord, about 3,000 people! Exodus 32: /30/2007 Covenant Love: Master Key to the Bible 7

8 Because of the Golden Calf Affair, God changed the nature of His Covenant with the people of Israel. The book of Leviticus with its hundreds of laws represents the restoration of the Covenant with Israel following the Golden Calf affair Previously, the firstborn of each family was to be a priest before God Exodus 13:1-2; Numbers 3:11-13 Now if the firstborn of any other tribe tries to act as a priest, they are sentenced to death Numbers 3:10 But this renewed Covenant lasted only 40 years before the people of Israel once again lapsed into serious idolatry This time they worshiped the Moabite god Baal Numbers 25:1-5 The events are similar to the Golden Calf affair, only this time 24,000 people are put to death! Numbers 25:6-9 12/30/2007 Covenant Love: Master Key to the Bible 8

9 In the second renewal of the Covenant, Moses himself gives a Second Law to deal with the reality of the people s hardness of heart. This second law is recorded in the book of Deuteronomy, literally Second Law. This second law is not from God but from Moses. Deuteronomy 4: This new law was imperfect and some laws were not good, allowed by God only because the people were rebellious. Ezekiel 20:21-25 These imperfect laws include Allowing divorce and remarriage Deuteronomy 24:1-4 Marriage to foreign wives Deuteronomy 21:10-14 Carrying out wars of genocide Deuteronomy 20:15-18 A thousand years later, Jesus declared that this imperfect second law was not what God wanted for his people. Matthew 19:1-9 12/30/2007 Covenant Love: Master Key to the Bible 9

10 Discussion Questions 1. What are some of the parallels between the life of Moses and the life of Christ. 2. What covenant is God being "mindful" of in delivering Israel from bondage in Egypt? 3. How is God portrayed in Exodus as a loving Father of His first-born son, Israel? 4. Why is the Crucifixion and Resurrection of Jesus called "the Lord's Passover"? 5. Why did Jesus say that some of the Laws of Moses did not reflect God s purpose for humanity? 12/30/2007 Covenant Love: Master Key to the Bible 10