Yahweh’s Top 10 … Covenant Theology Part 4

In Covenant Theology Part 1 we learnt the background to the Divine Covenants. In Part 2 we learnt about Yahweh’s first Divine Covenant; his Covenant with Noah and all creation. In Part 3 we learnt that Yahweh extended his Covenant from one man, to one family with his Covenant with Abraham and his descendants.

If Yahweh’s Covenant with Abraham was made for a whole family, then his Covenant with Moses was made on behalf of a nation, the nation of Israel.[1] The Covenant takes place on Mount Sinai and can be found in the book of Exodus, Chapter 19 to Chapter 22 verse 21. This Covenant follows the Exodus of the Israelites, where Yahweh saved them from their slavery by the Egyptians in Exodus 12:31-42 and Exodus 14 where Yahweh parts the Red Sea to aid their escape. This is parodied in the ‘Parting of the Soup’ scene in the film Bruce Almighty.

Once again, I will brake down the Covenant by using the four sections explained in Part 1.

1.  The Vassel is Moses on behalf of the whole of the Israelites.

2. The contents of the Covenant are that Yahweh will make Israel his ‘treasured possession’ (19:5).

3. The Covenant is sealed when it is confirmed and cut in Exodus 24. Moses takes the blood of the Covenant as a seal and sprinkles it on the sacrificial alter (v.6) and the people (v.8), a visible sign of the drawing together of Yahweh and his people.[2]

4. The terms given to Israel are the Decalogue, more commonly known as the ten commandments (20:3-17). He also gave them the Book of the Covenant (Exodus 20:22 – 23:19) which gave instructions for how the Decalogue should be applied.

The keeping of the Decalogue is not something the people of Israel do to be saved by Yahweh, rather it is an act of ‘…gratitude for what Yahweh had already done in their behalf’ through the Exodus.[3]

Yahweh’s Divine Covenant with Moses and the Israelites is also known as the Mosaic Covenant or the Sinai Covenant. This Covenant could be seen as the most significant agreement between Yahweh and his people in the Old Testament, a defining moment of Salvation.[4]

There are many things we can learn from the Sinai Covenant. Firstly, in Exodus 20:3-4, Yahweh gives the instruction that ‘You shall have no other gods before me.’  When we read the Old Testament, we can do so in light of this declaration of monotheism. We can be sure that the Israelites of the Old Testament, as well as us today, Worship the one true Yahweh. (For more on Monotheism, see The Trinity)

Secondly, we can look back to the Covenant with Abraham and see the Sinai Covenant as Yahweh building on the promises he made in Genesis 15. Israel, the descendant of Abraham has become a nation (Exodus 19:5) and the land of Canaan is promised to the Israelites (Exodus 23:31).Thirdly, we can see the Sinai Covenant as the establishment of a nation ruled by Yahweh, not by any human ruler. This is also known as theocracy. Looking forward, this theocracy with the people of Israel is preparation for their moving into the Promised Land. [5]

[1] Sandra Richter The epic of Eden: a Christian entry into the Old Testament (Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 1998)  p. 165.

[2] Youngblood The Heart of the Old Testament: A Survey of Key Theological Themes, P.50.

[3] Bernhard Anderson The Living World of the Old Testament (London: Longman Group, 1980) pp.75-97.

[4] Youngblood The Heart of the Old Testament: A Survey of Key Theological Themes P.49.

 [5] Richter The epic of Eden: a Christian entry into the Old Testament, p. 188.