Moses and the New Nation  (Exodus - Deuteronomy)

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Though God promised that Abraham would become the father of nations, he never saw that fulfilled in his time. Abraham did indeed have sons–ironically one a son of the promise (Isaac) and the other who rejected the promise (Ishmael). 

 

Isaac had sons (Jacob and Essau) and Jacob had twelve sons. But still, it was just one big family. According to Genesis 46:7, there were approximately 70 of Jacob’s family, including sons and their families, who left the promised land during a famine to find food in Egypt. According to Exodus, the family lived in Egypt for about 400 years (Exodus 12:40,41). In the meantime, they had become slaves at hard labor to the pharaoh and were now crying out to God for deliverance.

 

As we open the Book of Exodus the first chapters take us to the next significant episode in the administration of grace: the story of God’s deliverance, raising up a mediator named Moses and revealing the next phase of his plan in history: a new nation. 

 

You probably learned as I did the story of baby Moses in a basket, how he ended up living in the palace of Pharaoh, raised to be one of the rulers of Egypt. You probably also learned how God called him to deliver Israel from their bondage in Egypt, using the ten plagues to break the king’s will, culminating in the passover and exodus through the Red Sea. 

 

All these events are important in God’s covenant plan but for purposes of this introduction we need to skip ahead to the next covenant administration, given to Moses and the million or so people that ended up at Mount Sinai. Though God had revealed to Abraham he would make him a new nation, that was now to become a reality. To accomplish it, God would reveal the most comprehensive statement of his covenant requirements. We will simply call it the law of Moses. In covenant terms, perfect obedience to the law would be the foundation for the new nation of Israel. Obedience would be necessary to avoid sanctions. It’s important to emphasize what the law of Moses was able to do and what it was not intended to do in the covenant  for failure to make this distinction has resulted in many theological errors throughout history. First, let’s make sure we have a workable understanding of the law of Moses itself. 

 

What was the Law of Moses?

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Though we sometimes think that the law of Moses was limited to the two tablets of stone described as the Ten Commandments (Exodus 20), in fact, the Ten Commandments were but a summary of the entire law. In my own theological tradition of the Westminster Confession, three categories of laws are identified:  moral, ceremonial and civil. A full discussion of this understanding is beyond the scope of our introduction, but I will just summarize it like this:

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• Moral Law: Summarized by the Ten Commandments, it reflects the eternal, unchangeable character and will of God (e.g., Exodus 20:1-17). This law remains binding on all people at all times.

• Ceremonial Law: Governed the worship life of Israel, including the priesthood, sacrifices, and feasts (e.g., Leviticus). These were a shadow and a type pointing to Christ, and are therefore fulfilled and no longer binding for the New Covenant believer.

• Civil Law: Provided judicial and societal statutes for the nation of Israel as a theocracy (e.g., laws concerning property, commerce, and justice). These principles provide a moral foundation for justice, but the specific penalties and institutions are abrogated for Christians today, having been fulfilled in Christ's kingdom. (see Westminster Confession of Faith, section 19:3,4,5).

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Notice that the moral law (the Ten Commandments) is the foundation of the ceremonial and the civil. The ceremonial and civil laws were never to be permanent but temporarily pointed to future fulfillment in Jesus himself. This is why Jesus said, “I did not come to abolish the law but to fulfill it.” (Matthew 5:17). 

 

What Could the Law of Moses Do for Israel?

 

Once we understand the three categories of law and how they functioned we can answer the second question: what could the law of Moses do for Israel? Historically, theologians have answered this further question by describing the three uses of the law (in addition to the three categories). I will just mention them here but if you are unfamiliar with the three uses I urge you to research the phrase yourself. 

 

The law is a mirror - by looking into the law we see our true condition as sinful creatures (see James 1:23-25).

 

The law is a bridle - the requirements and warnings of the law will restrain the destructive power of sin in our own lives and in society itself (1 Timothy 1:8-11).

 

The law is a lamp - as the psalmist said, “thy word (law) is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path” (Psalm 119:105)

 

I like to add a fourth: the law is a window. By looking into the moral law we are catching a glimpse into the moral character of God himself. 

 

What Could the Law of Moses Not Do for Israel? 

 

Their failure to understand the right purpose of the law resulted in generational failure and destruction.  They foolishly imagined that they could perfectly obey it in their own strength. They  refused to appreciate their need for God’s grace and mercy. God always knew they could not do it and that is why in the Mosaic covenant itself God provided ceremonial and civil laws. But it was not the laws themselves that would save them. The laws would point to the One who could: Jesus.  God’s covenant plan was always that he himself would pay the penalty for our  disobedience. The maledictory oath God revealed to Abrahahm meant God would perfectly fulfill the covenant duties and then pay the price for our failure to do so. 

 

In the New Testament, Paul particularly referenced this understanding. One of my favorite passages is in Romans where he admonished Christians to trust in Jesus’ perfect obedience not our own.  

 

For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus made me free from the law of sin and of death. 3 For what the law couldn’t do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God did, sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, he condemned sin in the flesh, 4 that the ordinance of the law might be fulfilled in us who don’t walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit (Romans 8:2-4).

 

Since Adam, it has been proven that the moral law could never be fulfilled “by us.” It’s not because the law is bad but because it did not provide the power for obedience. That’s what he meant by the “weakness” of the law. Even so, the covenant of grace was God’s plan to save us from ourselves! What the first Adam could not do, the last Adam did. And because he did, the moral law is fulfilled “in us” rather than “by us” when we live life relying on the power of God’s Spirit.