We arrived at the Mosaic Covenant, the covenant that the Lord mediated through Moses.
This will be part one from an Old Testament text.
Next week will be the Mosaic Covenant part two from a New Testament passage.
You can turn today to Exodus, beginning in chapter six.
Be ready to turn and follow along.
We're going to be reading a lot of scripture and a lot of different chapters in Exodus.
So I'll do my best to make sure you're following along with me.
As I read this, I invite you to receive it as I do, as God's inspired, inerrant, infallible, clear, and sufficient word.
It's God's very own word for his people.
When I'm done reading, I'll say this is the word of the Lord and you can respond, thanks be to God.
All right, Isaiah, I'm sorry, Isaiah, Exodus, starting in chapter six and verse five.
Exodus six, five.
I have heard the groaning of the children of Israel.
I'm sorry, I'm going to start at verse two.
Would you look back at verse two with me?
Here we go.
Then God spoke to Moses, telling him, I am the Lord.
I appeared to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob as God Almighty, but I was not known to them by my name, the Lord.
I have also established my covenant with them to give them the land of Canaan, the land they lived in as aliens.
Furthermore, I have heard the groaning of the Israelites, whom the Egyptians are forcing to work as slaves.
And I have remembered my covenant.
Therefore, tell the Israelites, I am the Lord, and I will bring you out from the forced labor of the Egyptians and rescue you from slavery to them.
I will redeem you with an outstretched arm in great acts of judgment.
I will take you as my people and I will be your God.
And you will know that I am the Lord, your God, who brought you out from the forced labor of the Egyptians.
I will bring you to the land that I swore to give to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, and I will give it to you as a possession.
I am the Lord.
Moses told this to the Israelites, but they did not listen to him because of their broken spirit and hard labor.
Turn next to Exodus 19.
Exodus 19, starting at verse 1.
In the third month from the very day the Israelites left the land of Egypt, they came to the Sinai wilderness.
They traveled from Rephidim, came to the Sinai wilderness and camped in the wilderness.
Israel camped there in front of the mountain.
Moses went up the mountain to God and the Lord called to him from the mountain.
This is what you must say to the house of Jacob and explain to the Israelites.
You have seen what I did to the Egyptians and how I carried you on eagles' wings and brought you to myself.
Now, if you will carefully listen to me and keep my covenant, you will be my own possession.
Out of all the peoples, although the whole earth is mine.
And you will be my kingdom of priests and my holy nation.
These are the words that you are to say to the Israelites.
Now let's turn to Exodus 20.
In Exodus 20, the Lord gives them the Ten Commandments, which He wrote with His own finger.
In our reading, we'll start at verse 18 next.
Exodus 20, 18.
All the people witnessed the thunder and lightning, the sound of the trumpet in the mountains surrounded by smoke.
When the people saw it, they trembled and stood at a distance.
You speak to us and we will listen, they said to Moses.
But don't let God speak to us or we will die.
Moses responded to the people,
Don't be afraid, for God has come to test you so that you will fear Him and will not sin.
And the people remained standing at a distance as Moses approached the total darkness where God was.
The last chapter I'll have you turn to for today is Exodus chapter 24.
Exodus chapter 24.
I'll start reading at verse 3.
Exodus 24, 3.
Moses came and told the people all the commands of the Lord and all the ordinances.
Then all the people responded with a single voice.
We will do everything that the Lord has commanded.
And Moses wrote down all the words of the Lord.
He rose early the next morning and set up an altar and 12 pillars for the 12 tribes of Israel at the base of the mountain.
Then all Israel at the base of the mountain,
they offered burnt offerings and sacrifices,
bowls as fellowship offerings to the Lord.
Verse 6.
Moses took half the blood and set it in basins.
And the other half of the blood he splattered on the altar.
Then he took the covenant scroll and read it aloud to the people.
And they responded,
We will do and obey all that the Lord has commanded.
Moses took the blood,
splattered it on the people,
and said,
This is the blood of the covenant that the Lord has made with you concerning all these words.
Then Moses went up with Aaron,
Nadab,
and Abihu,
and 70 of Israel's elders.
And they saw the God of Israel.
Beneath his feet was something like a pavement made of lapis azuli,
as clear as the sky itself.
God did not harm the Israelite nobles.
They saw him,
and they ate and drank.
Verse 12.
The Lord said to Moses,
Come up to me on the mountain and stay there,
so that I may give you the stone tablets with the law and commandments
I have written for their instruction.
This is the word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.
You may be seated.
The grass withers and the flower fades,
but the word of the Lord endures forever.
Would you pray with me?
Amen.
Lord, you are the creator and sustainer of everyone and everything.
You are eternal,
infinite,
and unchangeable
in your power and perfection,
goodness and glory,
wisdom,
justice,
and truth.
Nothing happens except through you
and by your will.
We praise you, Lord,
for how you are not distant.
We praise you for how you have acted in history,
how you have revealed yourself,
how you have come and redeemed a people
for your son.
Help us to see,
Lord,
your faithfulness,
your holiness.
Well,
we've read some passages about the Mosaic Covenant.
We've read powerful descriptions of how God revealed himself
to these former slaves at the base of a mountain.
What do we make of this covenant between God and people today as a church?
I want to illustrate this with something Min Su taught me about.
It's called a pre-echo.
When a beautiful melody is captured digitally and then compressed,
sometimes you'll hear the sound like an echo before the actual sound happens.
And this is a limited analogy,
but it made sense to me to think of the main melody line of all the Bible
is salvation in Jesus Christ by faith alone.
Amen?
But that melody is so glorious
that when the Lord has compressed it
into time and space on the cross at Calvary,
the defining moment of all human history,
past and present,
it's so glorious that it's going to reverberate.
Now here's where the analogy is limited.
What happens between God and every other person
that we read about in the Bible,
it's not an accident of compression.
Instead, it's the exact opposite.
It's by God's divine providence.
He has providentially given us these glimmers
and these refrains that echo that same glorious melody
all the way throughout the Bible.
So my prayer has been that as we look at the Mosaic covenant,
this covenant between God and the people
at the base of Mount Sinai,
it's a covenant that the New Testament says
it reveals death, you know,
because it reveals our sin
and it's trembling in fear of the mountain.
My prayer is that you'll see the glory of God elevated
and you'll see your need all the more
for the Savior that will come by grace.
So first I want to try to open this covenant up
with seven unfoldings of the Mosaic covenant.
Number one is this,
the Lord prearranged His son's marriage.
The Lord prearranged His son's marriage.
We read in Exodus 6-5.
You're welcome to turn back there if you like.
Exodus 6-5.
The people that come from the seed of Abraham,
they're in slavery in Egypt.
And in Exodus 6-5, God says,
I have heard the groaning of the children of Israel
whom the Egyptians keep in bondage
and I have remembered my covenant.
I have remembered my covenant.
God told Abraham, this will happen.
Your seed will be in bondage in Egypt for 400 years,
but I will bring them out and bring them to this land.
Well, before that,
outside of time and space
and the covenant of redemption,
do you remember in Psalm 110 and Psalm 2
and in John 17,
the Father promises the Son a kingdom
and the Father remembers this covenant.
And the Son says,
I want an army,
a kingdom that will be willing,
that will love me
and want to follow me as their king.
We read in Exodus 6-7
this glorious promise.
God says,
I will take you to myself for a people
and I will be your God.
Exodus 6-7.
I will take you to myself for a people
and I will be your God.
This becomes the refrain of the people of God.
Do you remember what Ruth said?
She said,
Your people will be my people.
Your God will be my God.
When the Lord's covenant is brought up
and we appeal to Him by grace,
this is the promise.
You will be my people.
I will be your God.
God.
This is language that reminds me of a wedding vow.
Except it's more than a wedding vow.
This has legal sanctions.
And it's not with two parties that are just individuals.
This is between God Himself, the Creator,
and an entire kingdom.
An entire people group.
But this is no accident.
And it's no reaction.
This was all predetermined, prearranged.
It was part of God's design all along.
So when I say the Lord prearranged His Son's marriage,
I'm referring all the way back to the covenant of redemption.
The Lord prearranged that God the Son would have a kingdom,
a vast kingdom,
that He would call His bride.
He will be their God.
They will be His people.
Second thing I want to unfold is that the Lord shows the Son's bride.
He is more than able to provide.
What bride would want to go with a man who will fail,
who can't provide in any way for her needs?
Well, the Lord shows He is more than able to provide.
Turn to Exodus 19.
We read in Exodus 19, verse 4,
You've seen what I did to Egypt.
Egypt being the most powerful, dominant nation in the world.
Every one of Egypt's idols was turned upside down and demolished.
The Lord is way more powerful than anything the world can promise you or give you.
The Lord says in Exodus 19, verse 4,
I bore you on eagles' wings,
and I brought you to Myself.
I am more than able to provide for you.
John Gill, 1700s Reformed Baptist pastor, he said,
Yahweh was to Israel like an eagle.
What a great picture.
An eagle is affectionate to its eaglets.
They don't have a bunch of eggs.
They have one or two eaglets that are precious to them.
They nourish them carefully.
They can fly very swiftly.
They have strong wings.
And in that way, the Lord carried Israel.
Could have carried Israel anywhere safely in a marvelous way.
The Lord says, I am your deliverer.
I am able to wrap around you and shelter you in my wings like a great eagle.
I will provide because I am more than able to provide for the bride of my son.
The third thing I would like to unfold here is that the Lord shows the son's bride that he will be a faithful and loving husband.
The Lord shows I will be a faithful and loving husband to you.
Exodus 19, 5.
Now, therefore, if you will indeed obey my voice and keep my covenant,
then you shall be my own possession from all other peoples, for the earth is mine.
I will take you, Israel, who are nothing, and I will make you my own special possession.
You will belong to me.
The Lord shows the bride he will be loving and faithful.
And more than that, the bride will be involved in his mission.
This is the fourth unfolding.
The Lord foretold how the son will even involve his bride in his mission.
Exodus 19, verse 6.
You shall be to me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.
You'll be my possession.
And you'll also be involved in what I'm doing in this world.
Remember the promise, through Abraham's seed, all nations will be blessed.
You, this kingdom, you will be part of this glorious mission.
John Gill pointed out, a kingdom.
It's referring to a free state.
You're not slaves anymore.
Your identity is belonging to me freely.
It's a commonwealth governed by its own laws.
And in this case, they would be governed by the laws that God himself made for his kingdom.
He would be their king.
They wouldn't just be a kingdom.
They would also be priests.
They would be priests that are forming a kingdom.
Priests had access to God.
They served God.
They would be able to approach him in pleasing worship that the Lord would receive graciously.
Priests were greatly esteemed and honored.
And his entire nation, this entire kingdom, would be a kingdom of priests.
The Lord foretold how the son will involve his bride in his mission.
Number five, the Lord made it clear that this marriage must be exclusive.
The Lord made it clear that the marriage to his son must be exclusive.
See, the Lord requires his bride to make wedding vows as well.
He promises, I will be your God.
And I will take you for myself as my people.
And then in Exodus 19, verse 7, we're told that Moses came and called for the elders of the people
and sat before them all these words which Yahweh commanded him.
And all the people answered together.
Here's their response.
Their vows.
They said, Exodus 19, verse 8, all that Yahweh has spoken, we will do.
So in the Mosaic covenant, we see a difference with what we saw in the Abrahamic covenant.
The covenant with Abraham, who would pass through?
Who would pass through those pieces that were bloodied?
Abraham didn't pass through.
The Lord himself passed through.
Now with this covenant of the law with Moses, there's a condition attached to their works.
The Lord said, if you will obey everything I give you.
And the people say, all you have commanded, we will do.
The Lord made it clear that he will not tolerate infidelity.
We read one of the Ten Commandments today.
And we read that the Lord is a jealous God.
In Exodus 34, 14, he gets even more specific.
He says, you shall worship no other God for the Lord, whose name is jealous, is a jealous God.
The name of God is God's revelation of who he is.
It's his essence, his divine being put in front of us in a way that we can hold on to and receive.
We read in Exodus 19, verse 9,
Yahweh said, behold, I come to you in a thick cloud that the people may hear when I speak with you and may also believe forever.
The Lord had said that when he appeared to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, they didn't know his name.
It means that the Lord was revealing more now.
There's more to come.
This next covenant is going to open it up even more.
And the Lord says he will use his own creation, this thick cloud,
to show that God is mysterious and above all and unapproachable because he's holy.
And his terms are very high.
You must obey your side of the covenant to have fellowship with him if you're going to be with him by works.
That's the conditions because the marriage to his son is exclusive.
There's no room for being unfaithful to the son of God.
Number six, the Lord's fleshly kingdom.
This kingdom on earth that the New Testament calls of flesh,
meaning from the physical line of Abraham,
it understood the requirements of being God's bride.
Look at Exodus chapter 20, verse 18.
They understood these high stakes that the Lord had revealed.
Exodus 20, 18.
Now when all the people saw the thunder and the flashes of lightning and the sound of the trumpet
and the mountain smoking,
the people were afraid and trembled,
and they stood far off and said to Moses,
You speak to us and we will listen,
but do not let God speak to us lest we die.
They understood the high stakes of a covenant with God the Creator.
The Lord was calling them to behold his holiness
and his unapproachable holiness.
They cannot come close to the mountain.
Anything that comes close must be put to death
unless he provides a way to forgive your sin.
In verse 20, Moses said to the people,
Do not fear, for God has come to test you,
that the fear of him may be before you,
and that you may not sin.
What is the Lord after?
He's after the obedience of his kingdom.
Those who belong to his kingdom
understand they may not disobey this God.
In Deuteronomy 6.25 we read,
It shall be righteousness to us
if we observe to do all these things
that God has commanded.
Then we will be righteous.
So the people stood there and they said,
We understand we must obey everything you've given us
in order to be righteous,
to be able to be in your presence and to be with you.
If we disobey your commands,
even one of them,
we do not deserve any blessing from this holy God.
That even this fleshly kingdom,
this national Israel,
they understood the requirements
of being in covenant with God.
The seventh thing I'll unfold here for us
is that the Lord pre-echoed
even a marriage ceremony.
The Lord pre-echoed
the marriage ceremony as well.
Let's look at Exodus 24
to see what is this covenant-cutting ceremony
that they go through.
For a covenant to be cut
or for a ceremony to be executed,
put into effect,
I'm going to point out four observations
that we see in Exodus 24.
The first one is Exodus 24, verse 5.
The Lord required that blood be shed
to cover the sins of his bride.
Exodus 24, 5.
The people offered burnt offerings
and sacrificed peace offerings
of cattle to Yahweh.
Moses took half of the blood
and put it in basins,
and half of the blood he sprinkled
on the altar.
They understood the terms,
and now they're receiving in a ceremony
a blood ritual.
Number two,
the Lord required that his son's bride
understand what he loves.
The Lord required that his son's bride
understand what he loves.
And that's this,
to be with God,
they must align themselves
to his kingdom values.
Look at Exodus 24, verse 7.
He took the book of the covenant
and read it in the hearing
of all the people.
And they said again here now,
we will do all that Yahweh has said.
We will be obedient.
We are accepting the terms
of this covenant.
We will be righteous
if we keep obeying
all that God has commanded.
Number three,
the Lord ratified
this covenant ceremony.
It goes into effect.
He makes it actual.
Now on,
this is in effect.
It's going.
His legal will
and testament was executed.
Exodus 24, verse 8.
Moses took the blood
and sprinkled it
on the people.
And he said,
look,
this is the blood
of the covenant
which Yahweh
has made with you
concerning
all these words.
This is the
maledictory ceremony.
It's saying
the blood
of these dead animals
that have been cut.
May it be on us
if we disobey
the terms of this covenant.
And it's sprinkled
on the people
representatives
of this kingdom
because it's
pre-echoing
a greater ceremony
that will come.
The fourth observation
of this ceremony
is that the Lord
consummates the covenant
by allowing His people
to then
commune with Him
by grace.
Look at verse 9.
Representatives
go up.
In verse 10,
they saw
the God of Israel.
The Lord
allowed these sinners
as a blessing,
a part of this ceremony,
to see God.
These representatives
on this mountain
because God
made a way
involving a blood
ceremony
and an actual covenant
and He's receiving them
and revealing Himself
to them
even more fully.
notice Moses'
description.
It's going to remind you
of other parts
of the Bible.
Under the feet
of God,
it was like
a paved work
of sapphire stone.
Verse 10,
like the skies
of clearness.
Verse 11,
He didn't lay
His hand
on the nobles
of the children
of Israel.
God could have
smitten them.
He could have
laid His hand
on them.
But God had said,
approach me
in this way.
And as they
approached God
in the way
He gave them,
He kept His word.
He didn't strike
them down.
They saw God,
they ate,
and they drank.
The end of this
covenant-cutting
ceremony
includes a meal,
a sharing
of food
and of drink.
And in these ways,
the Lord pre-echoed
the marriage
ceremony.
In Sunday school,
we talked a little bit
about a type.
Hebrews uses
the language
of types
and shadows.
So a type
is more than symbolism.
A type,
it's a real person
or a real,
in this case,
a real event.
This actually happened
on the Mount Sinai.
A real historical event.
But it also has
a further fulfillment
that it's pointing to.
That's what makes it a type.
So in that sense,
it's a real event.
It's a real covenant
in history.
But it's also more.
There's a greater substance
attached to this shadow.
So I'd like to use
the rest of our time
to point out
three interpretations.
I'm going to do my best
to give you
why I believe
this was such
an important
pre-echo
of the Lord's
wedding
for His kingdom
for all eternity.
So number one is this.
Why do we call
this Mosaic covenant
a kingdom wedding
pre-echoed?
I got three reasons.
Number one,
because
the Lord Himself
uses language
of marriage
referring to this
relationship
between God
and Israel.
In this marriage
between this
fleshly kingdom
and the Holy God,
it did not go well
in the Old Testament.
Jeremiah 3,
verses 6 through 8
says,
in the words of the Lord
through the prophet Jeremiah
to this rebellious people
that are about to be
carried off into exile,
he says,
have you seen
the backsliding
of Israel?
That means
they were walking
with me,
but they're sliding
away from me.
She has gone up
on every high mountain
under every green tree
and played
the harlot.
I said,
after she had done
all these things,
return to me,
for I am married to you,
but she did not return.
The Lord said,
Israel
played the prostitute
with many lovers.
In verse 2 of Jeremiah
chapter 3,
he says,
you Israel
have polluted
the land.
Their obedience
was attached
to their presence
in the land.
This marriage
did not go well
between a fleshly kingdom
and the holy God.
Number two,
this covenant
through Moses
exposed
that a fleshly kingdom,
a kingdom
that's not
united by the heart,
it's incapable
of loving faithfulness.
Simply not capable
of loving God
in a way
that a divine marriage
needs.
Hebrews 8,
verse 7 says,
the covenant
God made
when he led the people
out of Egypt,
that covenant
found fault
with them,
with the people.
It exposed
their fault.
National Israel
was exposed
under this covenant.
They did not
continue in my covenant
and I disregarded them,
says the Lord.
So this covenant
exposed
that this fleshly kingdom
was incapable
of loving faithfulness.
the third reason
I call this
the kingdom wedding
pre-echoed
is because
it pre-echoed
the Lord's covenant
with a different
type of nation,
a different type
of kingdom.
Hosea,
chapter 2,
verse 23.
Hosea is the prophet
the Lord used
his own life
as a sign act,
having him marry
a prostitute.
And Hosea prophesied
in the words
of the Lord,
I will call them
one day.
I will call them
my people
which were not
my people
and I will call
her beloved
who was not
my beloved.
Romans 9.25
quotes this
interpretation
and says
this is referring
to all the nations.
That's why it was
a type,
a real covenant
that exposed
the inability
of a flesh
to fulfill
what God needs
and God requires
of a holy people.
And instead,
all the nations,
all the true bride
will be in covenant
with the Lord.
Now Romans 9,
verse 14,
Paul anticipates
a question
and he gives
a strong rebuttal.
He says,
does this mean
that the Lord
was unfaithful?
He says,
is there unrighteousness
with God?
Was it not right
of God
to do this?
And the answer
we get in Romans 9
is this.
Paul says,
by the inspiration
of the Holy Spirit,
they are not
all Israel
that are
of Israel.
Well,
then we have
to ask the question,
okay,
who is true Israel?
Who is the Son's
true bride
all along?
That's the second
question I want
to try to interpret
for us.
True Israel,
who is the true
bride of the Son?
Well,
we know that
true Israel
or the true bride
is not anyone
who thinks
they can approach
the holiness
of God
and climb up
that mountain
where the cloud
and the lightning
and the blast
of the trumpet
knock everybody
down on their seats.
If you think
you are holy enough
to approach God
on your own righteousness,
that means you are
not the bride.
Romans 10 says,
they were seeking
to establish
their own righteousness
and they did not
subject themselves
to the righteousness
of God.
Well,
who is the true
bride then?
Romans 10 verse 4,
he says,
it's Jesus Christ's
bride.
Who is it?
Anyone for whom
Christ's righteousness
was put on them.
Jesus Christ is the
fulfillment of the law
for righteousness
for everyone
who believes.
The true bride
is everyone
who believes in Jesus
and receives
his righteousness
as their own
freely by grace
and faith.
Deuteronomy 18
verse 18,
Jesus,
I'm sorry,
the Lord said,
I will raise them up
a prophet
from among their
brothers like you,
like Moses,
and I will put my words
in his mouth
and he shall speak
to them
all that I shall
command him.
And in Acts chapter 3,
quoting this,
affirming that
greater prophet
that would come
and speak on behalf
of the Lord,
that was Jesus Christ.
God raised up
his servant
and sent him
first to the
ethnic national
Israelites,
first to them
to bless you
with grace
and turning every
one of you
away from your
wickedness
so that you
will obey.
You are incapable
of obeying
before Christ.
That's why God
sent him to you
that you will
receive him by faith
and then obey
because his spirit
makes you able.
Who is the true bride?
Well, throughout
all of the Bible,
the true bride
is those
who are engrafted
into the true vine.
In John 15,
verse 1,
Jesus says,
I am the true vine.
The vineyard
is the people of God.
Anyone connected
to Jesus,
the true vine,
is his bride.
And this promise,
it begins all
the way back
in the curse
on Satan
after they're
kicked out of the garden.
Your seed, Eve,
will crush the serpent's head.
Anyone who believes
in that promised seed
all along,
they're connected
to the vine,
Jesus Christ.
They are the true bride.
And Jesus says,
every branch
in me
that doesn't bear fruit,
the Father
takes away.
So who was
the true bride
connected
to the true vine?
Well, even Old Testament
is giving us
glimmers
and little foreshadowings
of the Gentiles
believing
and being grafted in.
As soon as
the people of God
and the leadership
of Joshua
come into the land,
we have this
beautiful story
that shows up
in the genealogy
of Jesus.
Rahab,
the prostitute,
is part of
the son's bride.
Joshua 6,
verse 25,
we're told
Rahab,
the prostitute,
Yeshua,
saved alive.
Ruth,
the poor foreigner,
she's part of
the bride of Christ.
And Ruth,
we see this
beautiful story
of a foreigner
from Moab
and she becomes
part of this
covenant people.
She's part of
the true bride.
It is all those
elect from every
people,
nation,
tribe,
and tongue.
And it begins
with the Israelites,
the ethnic nation.
We see in Daniel
and the Hebrew
friends as they
were carried off
to Babylon,
they were still
part of this
bride.
They were still
faithful.
They were still
united by faith
to the living God.
Remember in
1 Kings 19,
verse 18,
Elijah,
he feels all
alone.
Where's your
promise to your
bride?
You said you
would be with
your people.
Where are they?
And the Lord
says,
I have reserved
for myself
7,000 men
who have not
bowed the knee
to Baal.
The New Testament
interprets this
promise.
The bride of Christ
is the remnant.
It's those who
believe in every
generation in
Jesus Christ
by faith.
Romans 5,
1 says,
there is still
a remnant
according to
the election
of grace.
And Paul
prays in Romans
10,
he says,
my heart's
desire and my
prayer to God
is for Israel
that they may
be saved.
And he says
in Romans 11,
verse 26,
all Israel
will be saved
when they believe
by faith
in Jesus Christ.
So true Israel
is the true
bride.
It's the elect
who believe
when they hear
the gospel.
Well,
the last
interpretation
I'll offer you
here is this.
How is this
Mosaic covenant
then a pre-echo
of the kingdom
wedding?
There's so many
beautiful parallels
and imagery
that we simply
can't miss.
I won't be able
to summarize
all that I believe
is here,
but I want to
draw your attention
to several.
Could you turn
back to Exodus
chapter 19,
verse 1?
Exodus 19,
1.
Exodus 19,
1.
Exodus 19,
1.
Exodus 19,
1.
How does this
point
to the ceremony
and the covenant
of Jesus Christ?
Exodus 19,
1.
In the third
month
after the children
of Israel
had gone out
from the land
of Egypt.
The timing
on the calendar
here is significant.
Right before
they go out
from the land
of slavery,
they celebrate
what God tells
them.
It's a Passover
meal.
And this
third month
would mark
50 days.
50 days
after their
deliverance,
they are given
the law.
Do you see
the parallels?
The Lord Jesus
became the Passover
lamb.
He celebrated
the last supper
and told his
disciples,
do this in
remembrance of me.
He died,
he rose again,
and 50 days
later at
Pentecost.
The Holy Spirit
comes and
writes the
law of God
inside the
true bride.
When these
3,000 Jews
are added to
their number,
the law of God
that they knew
from reading
the Old Testament
and hearing it,
the Spirit
put it on their
hearts,
and he wrote
it in their
minds.
They can finally
have inside
of them
what they need
to fulfill
what the Lord
requires of his
bride.
I mentioned
how this
covenant
was prearranged.
It's a
prearranged
marriage.
Jonathan Edwards,
he's called
the greatest
intellect
of American
soil.
His conclusion
after reading
all the Bible
was this,
God created
the world
in order to
prepare a bride
for his son.
Read your
Bible with
that lens.
God created
this whole
world.
God acted
throughout human
history.
Why?
To prepare
a bride,
a true bride
for his son.
It's been
prearranged all
along.
It's the most
glorious
prearranged
wedding.
In Exodus
6-7,
remember that
wonderful vow.
The Lord says,
I will take you
to myself
for a people.
I will be
your God.
Look to Jesus
and see how
he kept that
promise.
Here's another
one,
Leviticus 11-45,
and think of
how Jesus Christ
alone fulfills
this.
He says,
For I am
Yahweh,
who brought
you up out
of slavery
to be your
God.
You shall
therefore be
holy,
for I am
holy.
Leviticus 26-12,
I will walk
among you.
I will
be your
God,
and you
shall be
my people.
The Lord
walks among
his church.
He ministers
to us
as our
great high
priest,
because this
has been God's
design since
before the
foundation of
the world.
If you
believe in
Christ and
you receive
his forgiveness
by faith,
that means you
are married
to the Son
of God.
And it was
prearranged.
Ephesians 1-4,
God chose
us,
church,
in Christ
before the
foundation of
the world.
Why?
That we
would be
holy and
without defect
before him
in love.
God has
always designed
for the
bride to be
holy before
his Son.
And in our
flesh, we
can't any
better than
the national
Israelites.
But God
now makes
a way by
the power of
his Spirit
for us
as a
church to
be his
bride.
Not with
thunder and
fear, but
in love.
We stand
before him
without defect
because Christ
became our
righteousness for
us.
The Lord
shows you
that he is
able to
provide.
Just like
he carried
Israel on
Wigglezings.
We read in
Ephesians 3-20,
the Lord is
able to do
exceedingly,
abundantly,
above all
that we ask
or think
according to
the power
that works
in us.
How is he
your provider?
It's the
power of
the Holy
Spirit in
the believer.
He provides
for you in
every way you
could possibly
imagine.
Everything that
we need,
the Lord
provides.
And the
Lord gives
you what
you lacked
on your
own.
See, the
covenant
through Moses,
it exposed
the lack
of the
people.
It exposed
they cannot
be with
God by
their own
hard work.
Instead, the
Lord promises
to be
what you
lack.
Isaiah 61-6,
he says,
you will be
called
Yahweh's
priests.
Men will
call you
the servants
of God.
After Israel
failed, and as
they're about to
be taken over
and carried
off into
exile, this
promise
lingers.
You will
be called
Yahweh's
priests.
Men will
call you
servants of
God.
Well, how
is that
fulfilled in
the new
covenant under
Christ's
rule?
1 Peter 2-9,
to the church,
to people like
you and me,
who receive
Christ by
faith, he
says, you
are a
chosen
people.
You are a
royal priesthood.
You are a
holy nation.
You are God's
special
possession,
that you may
declare the
praises of
him who
called you
out of
darkness
and into
his
marvelous
light.
We walk
by faith as
sojourners in
this life, and
one day, this
kingly priest,
Jesus Christ,
will walk and
rule among his
people in the
new heavens and
the new earth.
And he gave
John a vision
of this.
Revelation 1-6,
he has made
us a kingdom
and priests
to serve
God and the
Father.
prayer.
Would you
turn to one
last passage
from Exodus
with me?
Turn to
Exodus 24.
Exodus 24,
verse 10.
This Old
Testament covenant
through Moses,
it's like the
Lord couldn't
wait to
consummate it,
to bring it to
fulfillment,
finally and
fully.
And he so
graciously gave
them even this
glimpse, just
to record the
experience.
Exodus 24,
10.
They saw the
God of
Israel.
Under his
feet was like
a paved work
of sapphire
stone.
sapphire is
a blue
stone and
it's paved
and laid in
such a way
that it's
reflecting like
a clear sky
is how Moses
describes it.
In verse 11,
we read that
he didn't lay
his hand on
the nobles of
the children of
Israel.
They approached
the Lord in
the way he
had appointed
and he
received them.
They saw
God.
They ate
and drank.
God has
appointed a
way for
anyone,
for many
nation,
people,
tribe,
and tongue
to approach
him.
And if you
approach him
the way he
has ordained,
the way he's
commanded you,
you don't need
to fear.
He will not
strike you down
though that's
what our sin
deserves.
And it also
involved blood
and the cutting
of a covenant.
We just read
in Hebrews 10,
that covenant
was cut
once for all.
that blood
was shed
once for all
by Jesus
Christ,
God the
Son,
in the flesh.
And if you
enter by the
way he's
provided,
he invites you
to this glorious
throne room
of heaven.
You can have
that blessing
today.
You can be
in the presence
of the Holy
God by faith
today.
And one day
fully,
consummately,
fulfilled as
we read in
Revelation 19,
verse 7.
Those who
have approached
God by the
way he's
provided in
Christ,
we rejoice,
we are
exceedingly
glad,
we give
thanks to
him,
and all
glory to
him,
for the
wedding of
the Lamb
has come,
and his
wife has
made herself
ready.
it was
given to
her that
she would
array
herself in
bright,
pure,
fine linen.
What is
the clothing
that adorns
the bride of
Christ?
Revelation 19,
8 says,
it is the
righteousness
given to
the saints.
We approach
the Holy
God by
Jesus Christ,
the blood
of the new
covenant.
it.
And when
we come to
the Lord's
table today,
it's simple,
it's still,
but it's
real.
This is a
foretaste of
that great
wedding supper
of the Lamb.
Let's prepare
ourselves to
receive once
again today,
by grace,
all the
salvation that
God has
accomplished for
us by the
work of
Christ.
Let's
pray.
Lord,
thank you
for how you
have come
close to
us.
Thank you
for teaching
every true
believer we
could never
presume and
approach you
on our own
terms or
with our
own righteousness.
We confess
once again,
Lord,
that we need
the salvation
you have
provided.
Thank you
for his
shed blood
on our
behalf.
Thank you
for receiving
us.
Thank you
for letting
us to
behold you,
not by sight
yet, but by
faith.
And we
long for that
day when we
can see you,
Lord, where
we enjoy the
kingdom with
our groom,
Jesus Christ.
And the
spirit and the
bride say,
come quickly,
Lord Jesus.
Amen.