Why did God allow Israel to make a promise that they were incapable of keeping?
(Exodus 19:5-8; 20:1-17; 34:27-28; Rom. 9:30-32; 10:2-4; Gal. 4:21-31; Heb. 9:16-22) Blog May 09-15, 2021
Prepared by Richard A. Marin: Present Truth PO Box 700, Fallbrook CA 92088-0700 USA
REVIEW: God bases his lasting relationship with his people on a covenant. First he makes a proposal and after a period of time enters into a covenant with them. When Adam broke God’s covenant with humanity, God immediately offered a new covenant for our redemption. This covenant, like those made with Noah, Abraham, and David, were given by grace and the blessings offered are received by faith alone. The covenant God made with Israel at Sinai, like that made with Adam, was based on human performance.
The Words of God’s Covenant (Exodus 6:2-8; 19:4-8; 20:1-17; 34:27-28; Deut. 4:13)
1. When did God make a proposal of a future covenant he desired to make with his people who had grown large in Egypt? When Moses returned to Egypt after fleeing to Midian & before any plagues fell on Egypt.
2. When did God give Israel the words of the covenant that he desired to make with them? When, after crossing the Red Sea & traveling for fifty days, they arrived at Mount Sinai.
3. What were the words of the covenant God made with Israel at Mount Sinai? The Ten Commandments.
4. What demonstration of his love does God mention as he begins the words of his covenant with Israel? That he has delivered Israel out of Egyptian slavery (even like an eagle cares for its young).
5. Where in the Ten Commandments is the governing authority stated? In the fourth Commandment that says God is the Creator of heaven & earth.
6. What is the sign of the covenant God made at Sinai? The seventh-day Sabbath.
Reasons for God’s Covenant at Sinai (Ex. 6:6-7; 19:3-20; 24:8; Deut. 5:29)
7. If the Abrahamic covenant offered redemption, why was another covenant formed at Sinai? Because in their bondage the people had lost a correct understanding of the principles of the Abrahamic covenant & needed a new revelation of God’s power and mercy, that they might be led to love and trust him as their deliverer.
8. When Moses delivered the words of God’s covenant to Israel, what was their response? Israel promised: “All that the Lord hath spoken we will do.”
9. Why did Israel break the promise they made at Mount Sinai? Because they were sinful in nature & were incapable of fulfilling their promise.
10. Why did God allow Israel to make a promise that they were incapable of keeping? To show them that they had no true conception of the holiness of God, of the exceeding sinfulness of their own hearts, nor of their utter inability, in themselves, to render obedience to God’s law.
God’s Two Covenants at Sinai (Ex. 24:7-8; 34:1-10; Matt. 5:45; Rom. 9:30-33; 10:1-3; 13:10; Gal. 4:21-31; 1 Tim. 2:6; Heb. 4:1-2; 9:16-22)
11. After Moses read the details regarding God’s Sinai covenant, in what way was it ratified? The Sinai covenant was ratified by sprinkling blood upon the book from which Moses read & upon all the people.
12. What happened to the Sinai covenant that was ratified with the sprinkling of blood? It was broken by the people that promised to keep it.
13. In what way were the covenant God made with Adam and that made at Sinai both similar and different? They both demanded perfect obedience of the other party but they were different in that Adam was capable of keeping his covenant, but Israel was not able.
14. When God gave Israel a new covenant while they were still at Mount Sinai in Exodus 34, which of his characteristics did he emphasize? In verses 6 & 7, God emphasized his mercy & willingness to forgive iniquity, transgression, & sin.
15. In the new covenant that God made with Israel after Moses broke the first tables of stone, who promised to do the work? God promised saying, “I will do marvels, such as have not been done in all the earth… & all the people among which thou art shall see the work of the LORD: for it is a terrible thing that I will do.”
16. For whom did Jesus do God’s will and pay the ransom? For every human being.
17. Of what does Paul accuse the Jews in Romans 9 and 10? Of falling short of the righteousness demanded by the Law while zealously, yet misguidedly, seeking to offer the Law their own obedience. This was because they sought it not by faith, but as it were by the works of the law. For Christ is the fulfillment of the law for righteousness to every one that believeth.
18. Isn’t God taking a big risk by allowing people to receive his blessings before they demonstrate their ability to keep his commandments? No, for without the gift of his Holy Spirit no one can keep his commandments. Only love engenders love & love is the fulfilling of the Law.