Exodus ~ What Else Came With God’s Law?
This subject of “keeping your distance” might seem like a trivial thing, but it is far from trivial. Ultimately it ends up being a matter of life and death. No, I’m not overstating it, and in the next few posts you’ll see why.
We began to learn about this matter of “distance” from an event recorded in the Old Testament. It’s important to realize these Old Testament accounts are not just stories. They’re much more than events of the distant past with no relevance beyond the recording of history.
Now these things happened to them as an example, and they were written for our instruction, upon whom the ends of the ages have come. I Corinthians 10:11
Evidently, there are things to be learned from these “stories”. So, let’s return to the book of Exodus and the “example” of the introduction of the Law to the children of Israel. Let’s see what other “instruction” we can receive concerning this topic of “distance”.
By instituting the Law, God knew two things would follow on its heels. One was violation, and the other was wrath.
…for the Law brings about wrath, but where there is no law, there also is no violation. Romans 4:15
The Law was coming…and wrath was coming. What exactly is wrath? It is anger exhibited in punishment! Knowing this, God had a pressing matter to take care of. It was of utmost importance that, before the Law came, a distance was created between Himself and the people. In reading the story, one can’t help but see how urgent this was to God. (Read the whole story here)
And the story continues…
Once this crucially important distance was in place, God audibly speaks the Law in the hearing of the people. However, the people can’t bear hearing God’s voice themselves so they plead with Moses to be a mediator. (Exodus 20:18-22) From this point on, God speaks His ordinances to Moses to then convey to the people. This Law was a covenant, and a covenant is between two parties. (Galatians 3:20) However, as of yet, the people hadn’t agreed to the terms. They had yet to “sign the contract”.
Having received all the rules of this covenant, Moses recounts them to the people, and they agree to the terms. Nevertheless, it’s still not official. Moses then writes the Law in a book, builds an altar, offers the prescribed offerings, sprinkles the altar with blood, and reads the book of the covenant to the people. The people once again agree to abide by this Law, are themselves sprinkled with blood, and officially enter into covenant with God to obey His Law. (Exodus 24:7-8)
Unfortunately, attached to the rules that made up this law were the drastic penalties that came if they broke them…and it wasn’t long before they did and those deadly consequences had to be faced. While Moses is again on the mountain, having been instructed by God to come up and remain till He Himself writes the Law on something more permanent (Exodus 24:12), the people break the first two commandments by making themselves a god in the form of a golden calf. Moses descends, with stone tablets inscribed with that penalty-bearing Law in hand. Upon seeing the calf, he throws down the tablets, breaking them in response to their breaking them. The Law had come, the violation had come, now for the wrath. The punishment? Three thousand men die that very day.
Once again, Moses is told to ascend the mountain and bring two more tablets of stone. However, this time, while there, He sees the glory of God. When he returns to the people, he brings not only the Law on those newly inscribed stones…he brings something else.
It came about when Moses was coming down from Mount Sinai (and the two tablets of the testimony were in Moses’ hand as he was coming down from the mountain), that Moses did not know that the skin of his face shone because of his speaking with Him. Exodus 34:29
This time, in addition to carrying the Law, Moses also carries the very presence of God. He brings with him the glory…and the people react!
So when Aaron and all the sons of Israel saw Moses, behold, the skin of his face shone, and they were afraid to come near him. Exodus 34:30
Notice they were afraid…afraid to come near. Before they had even agreed to the covenant they had learned to keep their distance. Now that they had broken it, when the presence of God showed up on Moses’ face, they were afraid. Why? Because when you combine law that you’ve broken with the glory…you’d better keep your distance. Simply put, now that they were under law, the presence of the glory revealed that God was holy and they weren’t! You see, you cannot come boldly into the presence of holiness when you are conscious of sin in your life, and if you’re under law, you are constantly sin-conscious, for
through the Law comes the knowledge of sin. (Romans 3:20b)
So, whether you have put yourself under the Law of the Old Covenant or have somehow made a law out of the New, realize that you are justified…not by obeying rules, but by faith in Jesus Christ. As a result, we are no longer under law, there is no longer violation, and thank God, no more of that “anger exhibited in punishment“, for…
…having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from the wrath of God through Him. Romans 5:9
More to come….
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