GraceLife Thoughts – Train to Reign (Part 25)

Grace Thoughts

GraceLife Thoughts – Train to Reign (Part 25)

And Moses went up to God, and the Lord called to him from the mountain, saying, “Thus you shall say to the house of Jacob, and tell the children of Israel: ‘You 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, then you shall be a special treasure to Me above all people; for all the earth is Mine. And you shall be to Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.’ These are the words which you shall speak to the children of Israel. Exodus 19:3-6

The children of Israel are now ready for the next step in their training to reign with God. If they obey His voice and keep His covenant, they will be to God ‘a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.’

Obeying God

Obeying God is the second of five ‘absolutes’ we are using to share how God ‘Trains to Reign.’ The first absolute is to believe in One True God (Monotheism). The second absolute is to Fear God and Obey Him. God had proven Himself worthy of believing to be the One True God. Now it was time for Israel to fear Him and obey Him. How would God do it?

God prepared the people of Israel to meet Him in a far more ‘personal’ way. God had spoken to Moses, who had spoken to the people. The time had come for God to move His Presence closer to His people. He would ‘descend’ on Mount Sinai in view of the people. Preparation included the following –

Moses was to consecrate the people
The people were to wash their clothes
The men were not to ‘come near’ their wives (sexually) during the three days of preparation
God would ‘come down upon Mount Sinai in the sight all the people’
Moses was to set bounds for the people and their animals so no one would touch the mountain and die
When the people heard ‘the trumpet sounds long,’ they would come near the mountain

Then it came to pass on the third day, in the morning, that there were thunderings and lightnings, and a thick cloud on the mountain; and the sound of the trumpet was very loud, so that all the people who were in the camp trembled. And Moses brought the people out of the camp to meet with God, and they stood at the foot of the mountain. Now Mount Sinai was completely in smoke, because the Lord descended upon it in fire. Its smoke ascended like the smoke of a furnace, and the whole mountain quaked greatly. And when the blast of the trumpet sounded long and became louder and louder, Moses spoke, and God answered him by voice. Then the Lord came down upon Mount Sinai, on the top of the mountain. And the Lord called Moses to the top of the mountain, and Moses went up. Exodus 19:16-20

Imagine being an Israelite on that great day. The God of Creation came down upon Mount Sinai in your view. The whole mountain quaked and smoke ascended like the smoke of a furnace. You are standing at the foot of the mountain, taking in the greatness of your God. Why was God doing this?

Now all the people witnessed the thunderings, the lightning flashes, the sound of the trumpet, and the mountain smoking; and when the people saw it, they trembled and stood afar off. Then they said to Moses, ‘You speak with us, and we will hear; but let not God speak with us, lest we die.’ And Moses said to the people, ‘Do not fear; for God has come to test you, and that His fear may be before you, so that you may not sin.’ So the people stood afar off, but Moses drew near the thick darkness where God was. Exodus 20:18-21

The answer is simple: God was training His people to reign with Him on earth – ‘for God has come to test you, and that His fear may be before you, so that you may not sin.’ The people were afraid, but Moses drew back to the thick darkness where God was.

God made two primary points in His first speech to the children of Israel –

God alone is the One True God – ‘You shall have no other gods before Me.’
The people were to treat each other with honor and respect – ‘Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long upon the land which the Lord your God is giving you.’

This reminds me of how Jesus answered the scribe’s question about, ‘Which is the first commandment of all?”

Jesus answered him, ‘The first of all the commandments is: ‘Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.’ This is the first commandment. And the second, like it, is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these. Mark 12:29-31

Ten Commandments?

Your Bible may have a heading for Exodus 20 that reads ‘The Ten Commandments.’ I remember going to the theater with my father when I was a young child to watch a new movie with Charlton Heston titled ‘The Ten Commandments.’ The 1956 classic played a role in leading many people to think of God’s commands to Israel as numbering ‘Ten.’ While I agree that the Ten Commandments certainly encapsulates the ‘spirit’ of God’s Law, there are far more than ‘Ten Commandments’ in the Mosaic Law. The real number is in the ‘hundreds.’

The next several chapters of Exodus and Leviticus include many of those Laws. Here’s a quick look at some of the legal categories where you’ll find the specifics of the Laws (using the headings from the New King James Version). Keep in mind that this is just a list of some of the ‘categories’ of God’s Law. The specific Laws in each category make the number of ‘Commandments’ much higher in number –

The Law of the Altar
The Law Concerning Servants
The Law Concerning Violence
Animal Control Laws
Responsibility for Property (Property Laws)
Moral and Ceremonial Principles
Justice for All
The Law of Sabbaths
Three Annual Feasts
Offerings for the Sanctuary
The Ark of the Testimony
The Table for the Showbread
The Gold Lampstand
The Tabernacle
The Altar of Burnt Offering
The Court of the Tabernacle
The Care of the Lampstand
Garments for the Priesthood
The Ephod
The Breastplate
Other Priestly Garments
Aaron and His Sons Consecrated
The Daily Offerings
The Altar of Incense
The Ransom Money
The Bronze Laver
The Holy Anointing Oil
The Incense
The Burnt Offering
The Grain Offering
The Peace Offering
The Sin Offering
The Trespass Offering
Offerings with Restitution
Foods Permitted and Forbidden
The Ritual After Childbirth
The Law Concerning Leprosy
The Law Concerning Leprous Garments
The Law Concerning Leprous Houses
The Law Concerning Bodily Discharges
Laws of Sexual Morality
Moral and Ceremonial Laws
Penalties for Breaking the Law

I’ll stop there because of how long this article is becoming. Imagine again that you are an Israelite and you hear Moses describe God’s Laws in lengthy detail. How are you supposed to even remember them all – less obey them all? Imagine what the Israelites thought when they heard Jesus Christ say this centuries later –

Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill. For assuredly, I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one tittle will by no means pass from the law till all is fulfilled. Whoever therefore breaks one of the least of these commandments, and teaches men so, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever does and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven. For I say to you, that unless your righteousness exceeds the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven. Matthew 5:17-20

Jesus Christ is the only Israelite who actually kept every Law of God. Keeping hundreds of Laws was a seemingly physical impossibility, yet Jesus kept them all. How? He was God in Flesh. Only God could keep His own Laws.

So, what was the purpose of the Law if no one but God could keep them? The answer is right in front of us –

What purpose then does the law serve? It was added because of transgressions, till the Seed should come to whom the promise was made; and it was appointed through angels by the hand of a mediator. Now a mediator does not mediate for one only, but God is one … Therefore the law was our tutor to bring us to Christ, that we might be justified by faith. But after faith has come, we are no longer under a tutor. Galatians 3:19-20, 24-25

God used His Law to train Israel to understand that their ability to ‘subdue’ the earth and ‘reign’ with Him was not in their power, but in His promise of ‘the Seed’ to whom ‘the promise was made.

Free eBooks

You can download the first 13 chapters of this series here.

You can download chapters 14 – 24 of this series here.

Next Time

We’ll remind ourselves about ‘the Seed’ in the wilderness ‘to whom the promise was made’ In the next part of our series – Train to Reign.

Bible StudyChildren of IsraelChristianityFear of the LordGod's LawIsraelJesus ChristLaw of MosesMosesMount SinaiObedience

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Founder & Director of GraceLife Ministries View all posts by gracelifethoughts