We have had the Great Escape—God rescuing his people
from slavery. Through this event he
acted in line with the people part of his promise—forming them into a unified,
distinct nation. However they are not yet
in the promised land. Their redemption
though real is in a sense incomplete.
Such a situation mirrors that of the Christian, we have experienced
God’s forgiveness and acceptance, but await Christ’s return, when all God’s
promises will be brought to ultimate fulfilment. They, like us, are a rescued people who,
looking forward in hope, must live by faith in the promises of God.
Having passed through the Red Sea they journey towards
Sinai[1]. This journey takes them through inhospitable
countryside. Despite their complaints,
God demonstrates his faithfulness towards them: sending them bread—manna
(meaning ‘what is it?’), and quail (chapter 16); he brings water from a rock;
and he delivers them from the hostile Amalekites[2]
(chapter 17).
By chapter 19 they are at Sinai and the LORD speaks to
Moses:
“This is what you are to say to the house of Jacob and what you are
to tell the people of Israel: ‘You
yourselves have seen what I did to Egypt, and how I carried you on eagles’
wings and brought you to myself. Now if
you obey me fully and keep my covenant, then out of all nations you will be my
treasured possession.[3] Although the whole earth
is mine, you will be for me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.’. . . (Exodus
19:4-6) (NIV).
If they show that their redemption is not merely
outward, but a thing of the heart, they shall be his special possession out of
all the people of his world and will represent him to the world.[4]
In the remaining chapters of Exodus and in the book of Leviticus which follows we are primarily watching God act in line with the blessing part of the promise (remember P, P, B?). As Vaughan Roberts points out[5], at this stage in their history the ‘blessing promise’ is chiefly fulfilled in two ways: God gives his people the law at Sinai, and his presence with them in the Tabernacle. But how can we say law is a blessing? Because in the Bible there is nothing negative about God’s authority, to live under God’s rule is to enjoy his blessing. God’s law is for their good!
God’s
Rule-The Law
In chapter 20 we have the giving of the Ten Commandments
(or literally the ten ‘words’). These
are prefaced with the words of verse 2: ‘I
am the LORD your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery’(NIV). He is their God, and in his grace he has already
saved them. The law he gives them is not
telling them how to earn salvation but how to respond to the salvation that he
has already achieved for them.
The Ten Commandments have a unique status in the
law—they alone were spoken by God directly to the people; they alone are later
inscribed on stone tablets by the ‘finger of God’ (Exodus 31:18); they are the
heart of the law and they include the principles that govern the whole of the
law.
However as we read through the Law of Moses we may be
left with a question—how does it relate to us as Christians? After all there is a law in Leviticus (Lev.
19:19) that forbids the wearing of garments made of mixed fibres—I have shirts
that contain a mixture of polyester and cotton!
And Jesus himself abolishes the food laws in Mark 7:19.
The first thing to say in response to this is that
Christians are no longer subject to the law.
Paul says this in Romans 7:6.
This is true not just of seemingly obscure laws such as what you can
wear or what you can eat but the whole thing.[6] The law that God gives to Moses was a
temporary measure, dealing with the problems arising from human sinfulness,
prior to the coming of Jesus (see Galatians 3:19). It was temporary and every part of it pointed
to Jesus, although different parts of it pointed to him in different ways.
So for example the law contains a system of sacrifices
for sin. The book of Hebrews (10:4-18)
tells us that the sacrifices in and of themselves could not remove sin, but
they pointed ahead to Jesus’ sacrificial death for our sin, and because of his
death such sacrifices are no longer necessary.[7]
As for the moral instructions of the law, the ethics of
Jesus’ kingdom go beyond that of the law.
For example in the Sermon on the Mount when he teaches on adultery he
challenges not just the action, but what goes on in the heart (Matthew
5:27-28).
And what about my example of such things as clothing
made of mixed fibres, or certain foods the people could not eat. We might call these cultural laws. When God brought his people out of Egypt he
made them into a nation, a special nation set apart from all others to belong
to God (Exodus 19:5). Such things as
what they ate and what they wore were important as it marked them out as
different from the surrounding peoples.
However, with the coming of Christ such laws become redundant; food and
clothing no longer serve to set God’s people apart.
Following Sinai, obedience to the Law was the distinguishing mark of the people of God. However after the coming of Christ it not obedience to the Law of Moses that is the distinguishing mark of God’s people, but our faith in Christ, and the transformed life he brings through his Spirit.
God’s presence-The Tabernacle
God blessed the people by giving them the Law, so that
they might live under his rule and enjoy his blessing; he also blesses them by
giving them the Tabernacle (which means ‘tent’) where his presence is focused
among them.
The Tabernacle consists of a courtyard and a tent. The tent is separated in two—there is the
Holy Place, and the Most Holy Place (or Holy of Holies). A curtain or ‘veil’ screens the entrance into
the Most Holy Place.
Inside the Most Holy Place is a piece of furniture—the ark. Inside the ark are the stone tablets on which God inscribed the Ten Commandments. Above the ark is a lid, which has been called ‘the mercy seat’ or ‘atonement cover’. At either end are representations of a cherub (a heavenly creature). The wings of the Cherubim spread horizontally over the cover to form the throne of the invisible God. God tells Moses in Exodus 25:22, ‘There, above the cover between the two cherubim hat are over the ark of the Testimony, I will meet with you and give you all my commands for the Israelites (NIV).’ The book of Exodus finishes by telling us that the glory of the LORD fills the tabernacle and stays with them (Exodus 40:34-38). God blessed the people by his presence.
Approaching a holy God—the Day of Atonement
While God’s presence with his people is a magnificent
blessing, it also creates a problem—‘How can a holy God live among a sinful
people?’ The system of sacrifices is
designed to deal with this problem.
Every day sacrifices were offered in the tabernacle for
the sin of the people. There was also
the annual Day of Atonement (Lev. 16).
On that day the High Priest took two goats, he killed the first as a sin
offering for the people and then he sprinkled its blood on the atonement cover
in the Most High Place. The people
deserved to die for their sin, but God provides a goat to die in their
place. The people can live because that
animal has died.
As for the second goat—this is the scapegoat. The High Priest confesses the sins of the
people over this goat and then it is driven far away, taking away the sins of
the people.
The sacrifices enable some measure of relationship with God but it is not a close one. Indeed only one man, once a year, can enter the Most Holy Place: the High Priest of the Day of Atonement.
Conclusion
The Law, the Tabernacle, and the sacrifices all point to
something better beyond themselves.
With regards the law we have seen that it was a
temporary measure dealing with the problems arising from human sinfulness,
prior to the coming of Jesus. Insofar as
it was temporary, every part of it pointed to Jesus and his teaching, although
different parts of it pointed in different ways.
God’s blessed his people with his presence in the
tabernacle. In the New Testament we read
that Jesus is the true tabernacle—John 1:14, ‘The Word become flesh and made
his dwelling place [literally ‘tabernacled’] among us (NIV)’. If we want to meet with God we must go, not
to a tent, but to Jesus.
The sacrifices were needed if God’s sinful people were
to have a relationship with their holy God.
These sacrifices point beyond themselves to the perfect sacrifice Jesus
offers through his death on the cross.
His death deals with sin once and for all. His sacrifice opens up the way into God’s
presence ‘beyond the veil’.[8]
Shortly before Bobby Moore died he was asked what it
felt like to up to the balcony of Wembley and receive the world cup from the
Queen. “It must have been a wonderful experience to do that in front of the
home crowd,” said the interviewer. But
he replied, “No, it was terrifying, because as I was going up the steps to the
balcony I saw that the Queen was wearing some beautiful white gloves. I looked at my hands and realised that they
were covered in Wembley mud, and I thought ‘How can I shake hands with her like
this?—I’ll make her gloves dirty!’” Apparently, if you watch footage of him as
he walks up the steps he can be seen desperately wiping his hands against his
shorts to try to get them clean.[9]
God not only has white hands, he is white all over,
perfect in his holiness. And we had not
only dirty hands but in our sin we are dirty deep within. But through Jesus we have been cleansed from
all our sin and so we who have put our trust in what he has done for us are
invited to enter the Most Holy Place with confidence. As Hebrews 10:19-20 declares, ‘. . . we
have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus, by a new
and living way opened for us through the curtain . . .(NIV)’
[1] Where God had appeared to Moses through the burning bush—Horeb
(3:1) is another name for Sinai.
[2] In that battle as long as Moses held his staff in the air the
Israelites won.
[3] The idea here is of a king’s special property. See 1 Chronicles 29:3.
[4] God had promised Abraham that he would bless all the nations through
him (Gen. 12:3). We see him act in line
with that promise in the role that he gives Israel. They are to be a kingdom of priests and a
holy nation. The role of a priest was to
approach God on behalf of people and people on behalf of God. His people are now called to that role
amongst the nations—they were to represent him to them, and they were to be so
obviously different that the rest of the world might take notice and glorify
God. See
1 Peter 2:9.
[5] Roberts, The Big Picture, p. 68.
[6] There are slightly different opinions regarding the Law among
Christian scholars. A widely held view
(which differs from that which I am putting forward) involves dividing the Law
into moral, ceremonial, and civil laws.
It is then said that the civil laws have passed away because God’s
people today no longer constitute a nation; the ceremonial laws because they
pointed to Jesus who fulfilled it by
dying on the cross, thereby rendering them obsolete; but the moral laws remain. For an outline of the position I am putting
forward see John Richardson, What God has made clean (available at www.thegoodbook.co.uk).
[7] Since Christ has come, we no longer need a temple, or a sacrificial
priesthood, or sacrifices (see Hebrews 8:13).
[8] On the night he died, the curtain in the Temple of Jerusalem[8]
was torn in two by God (Mark 15:58). The
symbolism is powerful—the door to God’s presence in now open for all who will
go in.
[9] Illustration taken from Roberts, Turning Points, p. 47-48.
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