Part 20
Not Given to the
Fathers
Interestingly, in
Deuteronomy chapter five, we learn that God made a covenant with the people of
Israel, which was not the same covenant made with their fathers:
“The Lord our God made a
covenant with us in Horeb. The Lord did not make this covenant with our
fathers, but with us, those who are here today, all of us who are alive. The
Lord talked with you face to face on the mountain from the midst of the fire. I
stood between the Lord16 [i.e. the Son of God] and you at that time,
to declare to you the word of the Lord; for you were afraid because of the
fire, and you did not go up the mountain. He said:
‘I am the Lord your God
who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. You
shall have no other gods before Me’” (Deuteronomy 5: 2-7).
The fathers were
Abraham, and Jacob. This is quite clear
in the Bible, as evidenced when Moses saw the burning bush that was not
consumed and God commissioned him to go down to Egypt:
“God said to Moses,
“Thus you shall say to the children of Israel: ‘The Lord God of your fathers,
the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you”
(Exodus 3:15).
It is very clear who the
fathers are, and according to the scriptures, they had not been given the Ten
Commandments as a covenant. Yet it needs to be pointed out that Abraham kept
all of God’s commandments, statutes and laws, as well as keeping His charge and
obeying His voice (Genesis 26:5). While this implicitly includes the Ten
Commandments, there was no covenant like the Mosaic covenant made with Abraham,
or Isaac, or Jacob. The scripture has no record
of any covenant being made with any of the fathers charging them to keep the
Ten Commandments,17 like there was a covenant made with the
Israelites, who had been rescued from Egypt.—This does not mean we should break
the Ten Commandments carte blanche, though, that grace upon grace might be
extended to us (cf. Romans 6:1-2).
The covenant made with
the Israelites after their rescue from the oppression of Pharaoh was for a good
reason. God had to set up an appointed time to demonstrate His righteousness to
all of Creation and legally lay claim to what was lost when Adam forfeited his
right to reign on Earth to Lucifer, the now ex-Archangel; who is otherwise
known as Satan and the Devil—among other names.
Some major cosmic
declarations18 were taking place at the time of the Israelites
deliverance from Egypt and these were seen in everything God commanded Moses to
copy from the Heavenly Sanctuary (Hebrews 8:5). Much of what occurred during
this period and what Moses was ordained to do was full of typology that
represented greater truths about God’s purpose for humankind. God in His wisdom
ordained this so that those who truly wanted to know Him would seek Him and
find Him, while for others, the events that happened and the requirements of
the covenant would seem like nonsense.
The Ten Commandments
were given specifically to the Israelites, along with the sacrifices and
redemptive model that Moses copied from the Heavenly Sanctuary. The aim was for
these to become a tutor until the full truth was revealed (Galatians 3:24). The
commandments, statutes, laws and charge that were given to Moses included the
weightier matters of the law (faith, justice and mercy).
However, the blood of bulls and goats could not provide the efficacy of grace and truth that was needed for salvation. Neither could the blood of goats and bulls act as a shield to protect the sinner against the accusation of the Ten Commandments. This is why it is written that the Law came through Moses, but grace and truth came through Jesus Christ—Jesus did what the Mosaic Law could not do through the blood of animals and provided salvation power through His death and resurrection. However, the many regulations of the Ceremonial Law did provide the knowledge of God and how men were to be redeemed from the bondage of sin and death. As for the Ten Commandments, they have always been of value, except no human being appears to have been able to keep them—that is, apart from Jesus of Nazareth, the Son of God.
However, the blood of bulls and goats could not provide the efficacy of grace and truth that was needed for salvation. Neither could the blood of goats and bulls act as a shield to protect the sinner against the accusation of the Ten Commandments. This is why it is written that the Law came through Moses, but grace and truth came through Jesus Christ—Jesus did what the Mosaic Law could not do through the blood of animals and provided salvation power through His death and resurrection. However, the many regulations of the Ceremonial Law did provide the knowledge of God and how men were to be redeemed from the bondage of sin and death. As for the Ten Commandments, they have always been of value, except no human being appears to have been able to keep them—that is, apart from Jesus of Nazareth, the Son of God.
To keep the Ten Commandments—and fulfill the
Royal Law (James 2:8) by walking in the Spirit—a person needs to, first of all,
understand that they have to heed the voice of God. This is what the first
commandment is really about. We need to know who God is and obey His voice,
which we do because He is our Lord. The reason God is our Lord is because He
has rescued us from the slavery of sin and the bondage of death. If we do not
know the reason why we need to know God, then it is impossible for God to be
our Lord. Essential to knowing God and being saved from a life of futility is
reasoning with God why we need Him in our life. God invites us to “come and
reason with Him”.
Copyright 2012 H.Riches
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