So turn your Bibles to Psalm 114 and then Hebrews 3, and we're going to read. And let me remind you as you're turning that why we're talking in cycle two about covenant and covenants is that there is one covenant of grace. It's the historical outworking of what's called the eternal covenant, a covenant between the Father, Son, and the Holy Spirit that was made prior to history, that is revealed in history as the covenant of grace. And it begins with the promise to Adam and Eve that the seed of the woman will crush the head of the serpent. So there's a war, a spiritual war between the seed of the woman and the dragon slayer who will come and enslave the dragon and redeem his people. Covenants reminds us that there are these successive supplemental covenants, that the covenants do not supplant, they supplement. They don't replace prior covenants, they expand upon, they advance. So when you have the Abrahamic covenant, you're getting more than you did with the Adamic covenant. You're getting more than you did with Noah, the covenant with Noah, and you're getting quite a bit more when you get to Moses. It's not replacing or supplanting the Abrahamic covenant, it's expanding and advancing, and that's what we're going to look at today. So it's giving us more information as history is progressively revealed. So today, we're going to look at Moses. Then after the break, we're going to look at David to Christ, and then we'll begin Cycle 3, okay? We'll begin Cycle 3, which will be a formal survey of the Pentateuch, the Torah, the prophets, and the writings, all right? Okay. All right, so let's pray and then we'll read Psalm 114 and begin today this exciting class. Our Father and our God, we thank you that we can come to you through the throne of grace. We can find mercy and help in our time of need. We thank you that the Lord Jesus sits at your right hand, enthroned in our flesh, glorified in our own humanity. having taken to himself our humanity permanently and in hypostatic permanent personal union with the Son of God, with deity. We thank you for the person of the Lord Jesus, that while in essence, Lord Jesus, you are one with God, equal in power and glory with the Father and the Spirit. As man, you are limited, local, and learning because you're truly man. And yet in the one person, Lord Jesus, we thank you that you are a man who in union with deity accomplished for us and for our salvation, our redemption, our freedom, our deliverance from slavery to sin, and you overthrew death and you overturn the just judgment of God against sinners. And we thank you that you have defeated definitively the power of the enemy and the flesh and the world over us. The sin no longer reigns, though it does remain. Lord Jesus, thank you that you are God-man. that you are one person, the Lord Jesus Christ, shepherd of the sheep, covenantal friend who possesses two natures. And we're grateful that you've sent forth your spirit. You received the Holy Spirit from the Father at the appropriate time. And at the appropriate time, after earning our salvation, you sat down at the majesty on high enthroned, possessing fully the Holy Spirit from the Father and poured it out on us. We thank you that we have the Holy Spirit. Holy Spirit, we pray, help her, comfort her. Paraclete, the one who comes alongside us in the physical absence of Christ. We pray that you would lead us today, guide us, help our thoughts and our hearts to know you more deeply. Help us to think your thoughts more clearly after you. Help us to be transformed by these truths and live for you. And we pray that you'd help your servant, that he would decrease and you would increase. We thank you so much for this class and ask that you would continue to help us to learn all that we can about you. And remember your word. is the revelation of your person and your works. And it's a revelation so that we might know you, the one true God in Jesus Christ whom you've sent. We pray in Jesus' name. Amen. All right. Psalm 114, beloved. As I read this, I just want to say that really in verses 1 through 3 of Psalm 114, you have the heart of the Mosaic Covenant. You've got everything that you need to know. When Israel went out from Egypt, the house of Jacob from a people of strange language, Judah became his sanctuary. Israel, his dominion. The sea looked and fled. Jordan turned back. Note three things, beloved. Israel is a people redeemed by the power of God. Israel went out from Egypt. Notice that the house of Jacob is referred to. And the house particularly is not just a family. children of God now through redemption. But verse 2, notice, Israel is now his dwelling place or his sanctuary. That's his dwelling place. And Israel is his dominion, the place over whom he rules, the people over whom he rules, the place he rules over as king. Everything you need to know about the Mosaic Covenant is right there. A redeemed people, a people who are the dwelling place of God, the very household of God, and the people who are ruled by God through his law. So now let's turn to Hebrews 3 and look at a few things here to remind us of the importance of the Mosaic covenant and how it's contrasted with the new covenant in the Lord Jesus. And I think it's easiest, as I said last time, and I want to reiterate, when you're thinking about the old covenant, to put in place of that, if there's a bit of confusion as to how the Old Covenant and the New Covenant fit together, you're trying to see one covenant of grace and yet they're being referred to as old and new, then think of the old and the new as simply old being promise and new being fulfillment, because that's what it means. So when you're talking about the Old Covenant, It means a time of promise, and new means a time of fulfillment. So when you're thinking about your Bibles, if you're in the Old Covenant, then you're going to remember that you're in a time of promise. And you won't leave that time of promise until the birth of John the Baptist. That's when the time of fulfillment begins. All right. Listen to Hebrews 3, verses 1 through 6. Therefore, holy brethren, you who share in a heavenly calling, consider Jesus, the apostle and high priest of our confession, who is faithful to him who appointed him, just as Moses also was faithful in all God's house. For Jesus has been counted worthy of more glory than Moses. As much more glory as the builder of a house has much more honor than the house itself. For every house is built by someone. But the builder of all things is God. Now, Moses was faithful in all God's house as a servant to testify to the things that were to be spoken later. But Christ is faithful over God's house as a son. And we are his house, if indeed we hold fast our confidence and our boasting in our hope. Verse 5, most important, isn't it? That Moses was in a time period that was glorious. And yet, it wasn't as glorious as the time of fulfillment. And it's just because, verse 5, two reasons at least, though Moses was faithful in God's house, he was a servant, a mere servant like us. He was a sinner, servant. And it was a time of promise because it was to testify the things that were to be spoken later. So Moses served you, ultimately. Moses served those on whom the end of the ages would come. That's 1 Corinthians 10. So all those are examples for us on whom the end of the ages has come or the time of the fulfillment. So Moses was a servant's son who was in the time of promise. So though the old covenant is glorious, it's not as glorious as the new because the new covenant, why is it glorious? Well, Jesus Christ is faithful, but he's a son. He's the builder of the house. He's God himself. And all the things that Moses spoke of and pointed to are now fulfilled. OK. And we are his house, meaning that we are part of Israel. That language of house is used in three different ways in the Old Covenant. The language of house is used as family, and it's used as the dynasty or kingdom, and it's used as temple. And we are all three of those things in Christ. All believers are, whether in the time of promise or fulfillment, all believers are the family of God, And particularly now that Christ has come, the people who are the temple of God in a very special way and the people over whom God rules and reigns through his law. And so when we think of Moses, we think of law and we should because that's the expansion or advancement of the Abrahamic government to reveal God's character, God's will. in a way that was revealed in creation to some degree and revealed on the conscience to some degree, but was prevented from being a full revelation to sinners because it was revealed in the conscience of sinful man. And so, God brings very clearly the law to show that what we already knew to be right, to say, this is clearly the truth. This is who I am. And this is my will for the world, not just for my people, but for the world. All right. That's important. Right. So let's go back and review a couple of things and then we'll move forward with Moses. OK. Everybody all right. All right. I think the first thing we want to do as we Consider this as remember the three promises of the Abrahamic Covenant that we always want to keep in mind, because if the Abrahamic Covenant is the headwaters or the fount from which all the particular redemption or the special revelation of God or redemptive history formally begins with Abraham, because he's forming a people, a man and a people, and that's what Abrahamic Covenant is about, then we want to remember the three things. What are those three things? The seed. All right. He's promised a seed or a people. Right. So we'll put that right there. And then what? A land. All right. So he's promised a place. And number three, a blessing. So he's going to be a blessing to all. To all. All right. And this would just be the power to put it in another P or the rule of God. Because the reason why Israel is going to be a blessing is not because they have anything good in themselves, it's because they're going to be God's representatives before the world. They're going to be a light to the nations. That's a big deal, isn't it? That's a big deal. So, will they succeed? Will they succeed is the question. They're being, if you will, put on the stage in the drama to reenact to some degree the covenant God made with Adam and Eve. You know, the seed of God, humanity, they're going to be put in a special place where God dwells, like Eden, and they're supposed to be a blessing to all, like Adam was the representative of the human race. Israel is going to be a corporate representative of the human race in that they're going to be priests, mediators of God's character, of God's goodness. of everything good and beautiful and true that humanity knows to some degree in their hearts, or in their consciences, and fails to observe, or exchanges the truth for a lie, or exchanges just when it's convenient, or follows their consciences only when it's convenient for them. The main theme of this cycle two, right? We're in cycle two that we always, I think it's important to remember is that it's God's what? Let's do this over and over together. God's what? What is it? God's principle. Uh-huh. And what's that principle? Very simply, Emmanuel principle. All right. So it means that God will dwell with his people. OK. That he what? He peepee. What is it? He progressively pursues. Why is the word progressively so important? It's throughout history. It's to emphasize there's a goal, there's a plan. It's to emphasize that it's always progressing, it's always expanding and advancing, all right? That there's a continuity to it, right? There's one drama, one story. That the means of pursues, so progressively pursues through the means of what? Covenant. So God, or covenants, right? But there's one primary covenant. For the purpose of purchasing a... All right, here's our seed. All right, here's our seed, all right, for his own possession. All right, and these people will be zealous for good works, which will adorn and give glory to God and adorn the world with God's character and be a draw to others in the world. All right, so covenant overview. Let's remind ourselves of this one. If we start with the eternal covenant, all right, eternal covenant between the triune God, And I sent you a little primer on that. If you if you'd like to read it more about that, the eternal covenant is the pre-temporal, historical, eternal covenant before the foundation of the world that includes, by the way, election. OK, that this covenant includes what we call election. All right. And this is revealed beginning with with whom? What's the next name we should have after the eternal covenant? Adam and then Noah and then Abraham, and then Moses, and then, and then Christ, or the new covenant, right? All right, so it all is one storyline. You see, it's all one drama, one wonderful progressive revelation of God and his will or his plan. Okay, and so that means when we get here, The Mosaic covenant advances and supplements, all right, the Abrahamic covenant. And that's very important. All right. That's very important. So let's let's do a few things. I'm going to center. I'm going to focus on chapter chapters 19 and 20 in Exodus. But I want to give you four primary ways that God reveals himself in the Mosaic Covenant that progresses or that gives more of himself to his people through Moses. All right, so one would be, very importantly, in, you just turned to Exodus, And we'll look at Exodus more in detail in cycle three. But for now, for the covenant with Moses, we can we can begin. Exodus 3. I'm in Exodus 2. Turn to Exodus 2. I want you to follow along with me if you have your Bibles. If you don't, there's Bibles there in the in the kitchen. You can grab real quick and and look with me. We want to look at the Bible on this. Exodus 2, this is the verses that link together the Mosaic covenant with the Abrahamic. That's what we're interested in learning first, is that there's a link between the covenant made with Abraham and the covenant made with Moses. In verses chapter two, verses 23 to 25, listen to what happens. During those many days, the king of Egypt died and the people of Israel groaned because of their slavery and they cried out for help. Their cry for rescue or redemption from slavery came up to God. And God heard their groaning and God remembered his covenant with Abraham, with Isaac and with Jacob. All right. It's a covenant that is really the main focus of the book of Genesis, isn't it? Because it takes up chapters 12 through 50 of Genesis. And as God told Abraham, your people will be enslaved for over 400 years. So that's part of his plan. It wasn't an accident. But what links together the two covenants is that it was when the people of Israel called out at a particular time when God had already timed it. God had his particular time period. in response to their prayers for help. God remembered. It doesn't mean that he had forgotten, but it means when it's used right here of God remembering, it means that God acts based on his promises. So if you get to where you're being reminded that God remembers and you think, well, how could the Almighty forget? Well, it's not implying that. It's a wonderful way of accommodating to our finiteness, really, to our littleness and his bigness and grandeur. So it's to say this, basically, that God heard the prayer. And God acted on his promise. That's what it means. So when you see that, just remember God acts on his promise. So he's acting on his promise. And he calls him. And what did he do? But he calls a man named Moses to be the mediator of this old covenant. All right? And again, we could say so much about Moses, and I'd love to spend a lot of time on his character, I can't today, but he's known to be not only faithful in God's house as a servant, Numbers 12 particularly, Hebrews 3, He's known to be a man of faith, Hebrews 11. Moses was not the kind of guy who necessarily you'd look at on the outside and think that he'd be the leader, redeemer, mediator of the old covenant. He was classically trained in the Egyptian liberal arts, no doubt, and in all of the wonderful, deep classical thought of Egypt. He was well-trained, but you remember he just didn't see himself as meteor. This is often the case with God calling someone to his service. He says, you know, don't choose me Yahweh. How am I going to be a redeemer? I've got blood on my hands. I can't speak very well. I'm just not confident in myself. Very much like we'll hear with Gideon, isn't it? I love Gideon because he says, oh, man of God, praise yourself. You know, we're going to send you forth, you know. Oh, man. Oh, man, full of courage when he's not right. But he will be. And Moses will, too. And so Moses is called simply by God's grace to be mediator and to have a high calling. And Moses is so special to Yahweh that he's that he's one who God wants to say, you know, with everybody else, I will be happy to speak through, you know, to my word, through prophets and through mediators. But to Moses, I speak in the Hebrew literally lip-to-lip. I speak with Moses face-to-face, lip-to-lip. You know, that's a big deal. Moses is special in that way. And so, the first thing we know about the Mosaic Covenant that's very important to get in mind is Exodus 3. What does Moses reveal? The revelation of God's name. Oh, the revelation of God's name. Praise God. Now, we've seen the revelation of Yahweh before, you know. We've seen in the Genesis account, right? But, You've got to remember the Genesis account, though it's history that is before the Exodus, it's written by Moses after the Exodus. So he interprets inspiredly, in an inspired way, He interprets the way he uses God and Lord in Genesis in a very particular way. So when he wants to emphasize God as covenant Lord and emphasize his name, he uses that, as we've looked at in previous classes, right? But here is a fuller revelation of God's name because he is I Am, that I Am. Now, I Am, it can mean I am, I will be, it's got the sense of I am with you. That's the sense of it. It's I am with you now. I'm with you in the future. I am always with you. So it's the Emmanuel principle name. Just kind of keep that in mind is that when he says I am that I am, it's not only self-existent, all powerful God Almighty, but with regard to sinners, it's the God who has an intention to be with us no matter what. You go through the fire, I'm with you. I am with you. I am with you. Be always with you. I am with you, even to the end of the age. I am with you. I am with you. I am with you. I am with you. So, I am can rightfully be translated and interpreted, because every translation is an interpretation. You can see I am that I am, and you can think lots of wonderful things about God, but you as a sinner, me as a sinner, should think about this. It's God saying, I am with you. And that's what we want to know. So there's a fuller revelation of God's name. There's the revelation of Yahweh, the Lord. You know, that's the distinction in the ESV is capital L, capital O, capital R, capital D. Second is the revelation of God's grace. So there's a fuller grace revealed coupled with his power. That grace is revealed in acting on behalf of his people in redemption. So it's a... It's, you know, from the bringing Israel out of slavery, okay, with a mighty strong hand. So it's redeeming grace, if you will. There's a more, there's an advancement of our understanding of redeeming grace, okay? Isn't that wonderful? Because we get to see his salvation work in his bringing, doing the impossible, bringing a people out and literally, In this act of redemption, it's later called an act of creation. It's an act of creating. I've created you, O Israel. I've formed you for myself. Isaiah, look at chapters 43 through 45, for instance. I've created you, O Israel. This is a, if you will, you ready? A fuller revelation that God's redemption will include. You ready? New creation. a new creation. So he's giving us this in bits and pieces. So Israel wouldn't have known as fully as we do, but that Israel could have said the former things are passed away, the new has come. Or Israel could have heard this, that if anyone be in God's promise, voila, a new creation. All the things before have passed away. Do you all hear that in the New Testament somewhere? You hear that in 2 Corinthians 5.17, don't you? If anyone be in Christ, he's a new creation. Well, this was already being revealed in the Old Testament, this redeeming grace. So, next is law. Now, law, I want you to start doing something for me by God's grace. I want you to, every time you hear law from now on, that you hear life. That you hear life. Now, there are some laws that are referred to negatively. And the negative use of law, when Paul particularly uses it, contrasting it, the law, time of the law with the Spirit, is this. It's at least two things he's meaning negatively. Ready? He's not meaning the Ten Commandments. So let's just wipe that out of your minds. All right? All right. Number one, he's not meaning the Ten Commandments. Never, ever let it be. All right? Because Jesus says, I didn't come to abolish the law and the prophets. I came to fulfill them. That's Matthew 5, 17 to 20. And that your righteousness must exceed that of the righteousness of the Pharisees and scribes. In other words, you've got to get the Ten Commandments in a way they don't. And that better be from the heart, by the Spirit, through promise, through grace. So, the two ways that Paul will use law, and when you're seeing him use it negatively, here's what you say. Put in your mind this. You ready? He's not talking about the Ten Commandments. Secondly, He's talking about law as a way of salvation, as thinking that the law brings grace or precedes grace, precedes grace. That's when he's using it. When someone's trying to use the law to get saved, works righteousness, in other words. That's wrong, right? That's awful. That's the default mode of sinful man in every religion and every cult, by the way. It shows you the beauty and glory of God's law But it shows you the despicable depravity of the sinner. He doesn't give God the glory for what he does know, but he tries to use it and form another religion and idolatry and a cult in order to try to achieve God's purposes, his own way, on his own terms, for his own glory. That simple. But you note that every cult and every religion that's worth our even consideration or apologetic towards or polemical toward is a works-religious-based, law-informed but law-twisted and deformed religion or cult. Everybody OK with that? Number two, the other thing about the law, you've got to remember that it's usually negative, is that he's using it where people haven't realized that it's no longer the time of the law. It's the time of fulfillment in Christ. And so those are the two ways that law does not mean life. And when Paul uses negative, just think, I'll give you three things actually. So number one, I say he's, what did I say? I said number one, that he's saying it as Well, let me go back to the two things. I had those in my head. Somebody help me if you wrote the three things. What was the first? Yeah, okay, good. We're not talking about the Ten Commandments, number two. So let's do all three of them then. And then number two, the law is, when he's talking about the works righteousness that he's talking about, not the Ten Commandments. And number three, it is, help me out here. Yep, yep. It's not the time of the law anymore. It's people who are still living according to the law in the time of promise, even though Jesus has come. And it's the time of fulfillment. So they're living in the wrong time period. All right. But otherwise, when you see law, start thinking of life. And I'll try to show you how Moses reveals life to not only the church in the Old Testament, not only Israel, but how he reveals life to the world. All right. And then finally, there's the revelation of God's sanctuary. in Moses. Very important, isn't it? Very important. You know, his name shows his good intentions. It shows that he's Emmanuel. I'm going to write that down. His redeeming grace shows that he's interested in a people of his own possession. His law, which is life, shows that he wants to be a blessing to the world and he wants his people to be a blessing to all. And his sanctuary shows how he wants to be worshipped and served. The sanctuary will be the tabernacle. And by the way, you should note in the inspiration of Scripture that if there are For instance, in Genesis, chapters 12 through 50 are interested in the covenant and how Israel got into Egypt. You can note that by inspiration of Scripture, not just the content of those chapters, but the form. That means God's saying that those chapters are a must. You must understand, they're very important, that He's given you all of these chapters. to remember that how important it is, these 38 chapters, how important it is to understand what God's doing as a foundational revelation of His sovereign grace throughout history. Secondly, when you read Moses, when you read Exodus, 25, chapters 25 to 40 are on the sanctuary. They're on worship. And the take-home there is not just the content, it's the form. It's for you to say, wow, God cares about His worship and His service. I'm not to bring my own ideas to the Almighty. He'll tell me how he wants to be worshipped and served. Another very important point. All right, let's go to Exodus 19. This is where we formally see the Mosaic covenant. And I want to expand on a few things that are revealed in Exodus 19. All right, any questions so far here? Any questions so far? Everybody clear? Now, I'll do this in a second. Remind me somebody to do the important distinction when studying the Mosaic Law. If I had to write it on the board again, I would have emphasized the three things I gave you about what the law, when Paul particularly is using it negatively, what he's meaning. I would have written that, so write that out. And the other thing is I have two important distinctions that are most important, I think, very helpful, extremely helpful when you're considering the law of Moses that I want to bring to your attention in just a moment, OK? Yes, sir. I'm sorry. I did forget one thing. Sure. Yes. OK. You talked about the covenant supplant. Yes, yes, yes. In our modern terms, we go into specifics as to how we execute that. Good. As long as we understand that the Father, Son, and the Holy Spirit already had this contract, this covenant, signed, sealed, and delivered before the foundation of the world, we're good. That the historical outworking is that because it's progressively revealed, there are addendums, there are additions, additional revelations, fuller revelations, so that the people of God will know God better. Does that answer your question? Yes. I'd say I'm just making a distinction between the eternal realm and the historical outworking. In the historical outworking, I think you could use that example or illustration. Okay, so the formal chapters for the Mosaic Covenant, right? If you're saying, where do I go for the Mosaic Covenant? Remember in the Abrahamic Covenant, they were Genesis chapters 12, 15, 17, and 22, right? If you're going to go to the chapters in Exodus, you want to know, where do I go for the Mosaic covenant? You go to chapters 19 through 24, and we're not going to read all those chapters, but I do want to point out a few things to you. Let's look at chapter 19, all right? And we'll look at a few verses here, and I'll seek to unpack them to the best of my ability as we're going through, okay? Let's read. This is God's Word. On the third new moon, after the people of Israel had gone out of the land of Egypt, on that day they came into the wilderness of Sinai. They set out from Rephidim and came into the wilderness of Sinai and they encamped in the wilderness. There Israel encamped before the mountain while Moses went up to God the Lord. you notice Yahweh there, called to him out of the mountain saying, thus you shall say to the house of Jacob and tell the people of Israel, you yourselves have seen what I did to the Egyptians and how I bore you on eagles' wings and brought you to myself. Isn't that beautiful? Beautiful. You know, the writings of Tolkien always have, you know, the great Gwendor, the eagle, or Gwaihir. And what's the Lord of the Eagles' name? Is it Gwendor, the Lord of the Eagles? Who's the one in the Lord of the Rings trilogy? One of the descendants of Gwendor, right? What's his name? Oh, it is Gwahir, yeah, it's Gwahir, yes, absolutely. So Gwahir, wonderful imagery that Tolkien picks up from scripture because the creation account has the Holy Spirit as an eagle over the nest, using a language of an eagle over the nest. And then, of course, God uses the language of an eagle bringing Israel out and rescuing them. God was the one who created not only the story, but the deus ex machina, or machina. He's the God from above who brings that resolution, conclusion from above to bring resolution to the story. It's unbelievable, isn't it? So from above, by the way, you know that in literature the great Guahir serves as a wonderful legitimate deus ex machina or machina. You know that, right? It's the God from above. It's God bringing, or Tolkien bringing them down to sweep down and rescue from above. Well, the redemption from Egypt is referred to such. So God, again, is not only the author of the story, the originator of story and drama, he's the originator of bringing the salvation from above. that we see in plays and in stories. And they can be done legitimately or illegitimately, right? Well, I got way off track there. Need to stop. Here's the point. So he bore you on eagle's wings and brought you to myself. Beautiful picture of God's care. And listen to how sweet that is. He brought you to himself. That's what he wants you to know. In fact, he will refer to Israel as his firstborn son, you know, in Exodus 4, that I brought you as my child. In Hosea, he said, I taught Ephraim, I taught you to walk. I grabbed your hand and we walked around, but you were unfaithful to me. But he says, I walked with you, and I talked with you, and I taught you. Verse 5, listen to this. Now therefore, because I've done all these things, if you will indeed obey my voice and keep my covenant, you shall be my treasured possession among all peoples. For all the earth is mine, and you shall be for me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation. These are the words you shall speak to the people of Israel." So we could just stop right there and have everything we need for the rest of the class, though I think I'm going to show you a few other things. This is what we need to understand. Let's go back. God's name is revealed, beloved, and this will happen throughout God's revelation in the Old Testament, but particularly here in the Mosaic Covenant, the revelation of God's name. Notice verse 3, the Lord called to Moses. Moses is his chosen mediator, instrument, servant, vessel to make his revelation known to the people. And here's the special revelation. You ready? Redeeming grace, I bore you on eagles' wings. I called you as my firstborn son. I taught you how to walk." All of those scriptures we think of, but they're here in seed form. I brought you to myself. I brought you to myself. Now the blessing for all. Listen, if you'll indeed obey my voice, keep my covenant, you shall be a treasured possession among all peoples. There's the Abrahamic promise of the blessing to all. The earth is mine. You shall be to me a kingdom of priests. You should be a whole kingdom here where I'm going to live and be worshiped and served as you were created to worship and serve as you were created to live life to its fullest. I'm going to do this through you as a kingdom of priests. You're going to be mediators to the world like Adam before you. And. You're going to be a holy nation. You're going to be a holy people for a season. You're always going to be a holy people, that's the goal, but they won't be a holy nation, but for a season. This is the second thing that's important in understanding, making a distinction in the Mosaic covenant. You ready? The church is not a theocracy, beloved. The church was a theocracy for a season in the old covenant before the exile. And that was a time of promise. And that was unique. And then it came to an end because of Israel's sin. It was all part of the plan of God. But it's most important to remember something. When you're studying the Mosaic covenant, don't confuse these two things, and people often do. Covenant theocracy and covenant election. Oh, beloved, don't make this mistake. Don't confuse the two. People read both of them into the Old Testament. Without the proper distinctions, And then they get all confused, and their thinking gets muddled, and they think things like, well, the church should be a theocracy, or they get confused and have priesthoods today, or, oh, I just get really confused about things. Or they think that all of Israel was truly Israel. Or they think that the outward signs were somehow, you know, saving in the old covenant. or that Israel was saved, that all of them were believers. It's just not true. It is true this, you ready? That in a general way, all Israel's been elected. In a general way, Israel was called to be a holy nation, right? All Israel. All Israel for a season was called, in a general way. But only a particular number were truly the elect. Because many Israelites died under judgment in the wilderness. And we're told to remember that over and over. So because you were in the covenant, beloved, this is the application for us today, because you are in the covenant does not mean you are one of the elect. Though the covenant is the means through which election is revealed and made known, Though the covenant is the means through which election is revealed and made known, being in the covenant does not necessarily mean you are an elect person. And that is so important when you're talking about Israel. That's why Paul will say not all of Israel are truly Israel. True Israel in the time of promise and fulfillment are those who believe like Father Abraham. In fact, the unbelief was so rampant in the time of Jesus Christ, especially made manifest in the Jews, the Jewish leaders, not Jewish people. The Jews means Jewish leaders, not Jewish people in general. The Jewish leaders in rejection Christ, Christ said in John 8, you're not of your father, Abraham, you are of your father, the devil. And implied there is anyone who puts their hope in anything or any religion or any hope other than Jesus Christ. Is of the devil, ultimately has been deceived by him, at least, you know, you know, you're of your father, the devil. It's most important to understand that the true children of Abraham are those who believe. OK, so that's something to be important is when we look at a holy nation, understand that it was a holy nation for a season. After the exile, is that holy nation intact ever again? No. But was there a remnant? Yes. And this should change your political views to some degree as well, beloved, but I'm not getting into that today. Or I should say, putting that better, I should say that your political view should be driven by the good of your citizenship in your nation, whatever that may be, and not by some false biblical interpretation. Did I say that clear? All right. I love you. I'm very sweet. I love you. I'm not very sweet, actually. But God is sweet. Yes. Exactly, that's a really good point. That's an excellent point. Thank you, Rick. Well, when he says in John 539 and 40, you know, that you search your scriptures to find eternal life, and Moses wrote of me, you know, That's good. Luke 16, I think 29 to 31. Let's look. I'm my brain's a little tired this morning, so let's look it up just to make sure. Luke 16, I think. That's a great scripture. Is it we read it versus 29 to 31? Excellent. All right. That's a really helpful scripture. Thank you. So what I want to point out that I think you already see is that if we take, if we plug in the seed, the land and the blessing to all, how do you see that here? Somebody show me the seed. What would the seed be here? The people, you know, the God's redemptive grace, right? That brings a people to himself, right? Okay. Where would you see the land or the place? What's that? With the land or the place, what would you see? God's name, Emmanuel, right? Because he's God with us. But also, what is the sanctuary's purpose? What's the purpose of the sanctuary? A place for God to dwell, to worship, and what's the work that's done there in the sacrifices? And so there's a mediation going on there. The sanctuary is so God can dwell with his people. So it's another aspect of the land or the place where God will dwell. God will dwell in the sanctuary. God will dwell with the people through blood offerings. And then a blessing to all would be the law of life or the life that is revealed in the law. Let's look now at Exodus 20 for a moment and just reiterate some of these things. I'm only highlighting a few things, okay? I can't go into detail, but I hope that this will help us to see these main points at least. How does the Ten Commandments, how are they first revealed? How does God begin the revelation of the Ten Commandments? Someone read it for me if you'd like. So Exodus chapter 20 verses 1 and 2. The gracious God. Yep. The redeeming God. The Lord. Yahweh. Right. All right. Can someone read that? Just read verses one and two. Yep. And God spoke all these of slavery. OK, good, good, good, good. So you notice the grace of God, his name and the grace of God precede the law. And it's to emphasize again that all the promises of Abraham that a believer believes is all by God's sovereign grace. That no one in Israel are truly the elect without faith that God is who he is, that God is who he says he is, the saving God who promises to redeem, okay? That's very important. So it reveals God's sovereign grace. Then it goes on to give us the law. And what was the law's purpose, beloved? But to show all creation, all the nations, through a people who were made holy by God's grace, not through words. A people made holy by God's grace who would glorify God and serve Him and worship Him and be mediators. They would be a kingdom of priests so that the world would see light. The world would see life. The world would see not only that never in the history of mankind and in the history of religions has a God dwelled, with His people so closely, so intimately, so covenantally, and never has a people been so transformed by grace. They were to be attractive to all. They were to show forth that life that's revealed in the law. For what is the law but God's character and His will? And so everything that humanity knew to some degree on their consciences was made clearly known to Israel. And that's why the law is life. That which was written in mankind, written in their very spiritual DNA, the Ten Commandments, that there's one God and that we're to love Him with all our heart, soul, mind and strength and our neighbor as ourself, that was to bring life. But sin came into the world. And so this way is closed. There's no way that the law can bring life. But it doesn't mean the law doesn't reveal life. It means that we need a Savior to redeem us from our sins through promise, through sovereign grace, through His power, so that we can know life. And the life He reveals is what's revealed in the law, beloved. Now, there's no taking away the Ten Commandments. The Ten Commandments are all just a summary of God's will and His character, and everything that's written on our hearts. So that's how Israel was to be a blessing to the nation. So we see the seed, which are the people who will be a kingdom of priests, a holy nation. We see the sanctuary and the name of God on this people who will be the place or the dwelling place of God with men. And we see the blessing to all that they will, by grace, show forth the life and the law of God to all the world through faith. through faith. You remember in Hebrews 11, all the Old Testament saints are commended for their faith, not for their works, though works will necessarily follow. But the point being that they're commended for their faith because they believed God and it was credited to them as righteousness. How was Abraham saved? He believed God and it was credited to him as righteousness. All right. Everybody with me? A little snoozing over there? Wake up. And listen, respectfully, listen, I'm telling you, over and over, look, I get on my finger now, you know, you got my finger out, all right? Remember to bring your Bibles, because at least what you'll do is affirm that God is present with us and His Spirit is with us. And at least, even if you're tired, even if this stuff might be going over your head, you might get something out of God's Word, because it is living and active. And I am, but not in the same way. OK, so don't look to me to keep you awake and entertain. Look to the Holy Spirit to help you. All right. You got my finger out. Look, look, look, look, look. Just reminder, I love you. I'm I love you. But do it. All right. Do it. Ah, OK. You got to see the Mr. Gracious frustration. All right. I yeah, I mean, if I was if I was I mean, Mr. Frustration, where's your Bible? No, I hope I'd be Mr. Grateful. All right. I'm very thankful for you. I am. And I commend you. You've worked hard. You've worked hard. You're at the end. I understand. Let me talk about understanding now. I love you. I love you. Yep. You're at the end of the thing. I understand. But finish strong. Finish strong. And know that the Spirit is at work, and He uses the Word. And if all you've got is your Bible open, then have that. All right? Period. That's to keep me from lecturing. I'm about to go into lecture mode, right? You know that? The girls are going, oh no, daddy's going into the next mode. All right. So three important aspects of the Mosaic Covenant that we're going to memorize. All right. You ready? All right. You ready? Here we go. Exodus. All right. That's the first. That's the first good one. That's the redeemed people, right? Exodus. And then what do you think this L would be for? Law. There you go. And the S? Sanctuary. There you go. Now, all right, let's do this. You ready? With the Mosaic Covenant and typology, the fulfillment of Christ, we're looking at the progressive revelation, correct? If that be the case, and it is, there are three ways that the Mosaic Covenant works in pointing very specifically to Christ. All right, the first is, let's use these three aspects. You ready? Exodus, law, and sanctuary, okay? All right, now, how would the Exodus be fulfilled in Christ, beloved? The Exodus is the redemption from Egypt. How would that be fulfilled in Christ? Okay, from slavery to sonship, alright, that's what Israel was in type, was being delivered by God's power, His sovereign grace, because of His covenant. He delivered a people for Himself, for His own possession, right? Exodus. So, He redeems us from slavery to sonship, and in Christ, look real quick in Luke 9, 31, beloved, In Christ, we have the same principle, the ultimate exodus through his death and resurrection. Beloved, listen. The typology here that's fulfilled is that the exodus is a going down into the sea and up again. It's going from slavery to sonship by the power of God, and in that you have a picture of baptism. And baptism shows forth the dying with Christ and being raised. You notice that in Sinai, it was on the third month, and then on the third day. There's all these references to the third to remind you that one day there's something wonderful, something consummate, something awesome, something Christ. This Christ event is going to be on the third day when he rises from the dead. So the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ here is ultimately pictured in Luke 9, verse 30 on the Mount of Transfiguration. It says, Behold, two men were talking with him, Moses and Elijah. Now, Moses and Elijah are the two representatives of the Old Covenant, right? When you think about Moses, you think about the main mediator, you think of... And you think about the main prophet, you think of... All right. Not the first. The first is Samuel. But the greatest of the prophets, perhaps, Elijah. Right? All right. So they're there. So it's like an Old Covenant summit. They're there as an Old Covenant summit. It's this promise and fulfillment embodied. and they're having this summit. And what happens is that Jesus appeared in glory and spoke of his departure. Do you know what that word is in Greek? The same word used of the exodus. It's the exodus. Jesus' death and resurrection is an exodus. It's a greater exodus. It's what the exodus in the Old Covenant pointed to. All right, so exodus is Christ, and it's from slavery to sin. Whoops. Yep, that's how you spell it. Slavery to sin. to sonship in Him. Amen? All right. How would Christ reveal and fulfill the law, beloved? How would He reveal and fulfill the law? Amen. He's the true Israelite. The one Israelite who kept the Mosaic Covenant. Not a soul in Israel in chapter 24 who said all these things Moses said we will do. Not a one of them did it with all their heart, soul, mind, and strength. Not a one of them. And thus the glory of the sanctuary. That's why the sacrifices. That's why there was bloodshed all the time. Because God wanted to dwell with His people out of grace, not works. And He knew that they would blow this whole thing. It was part of the plan. And Jesus was the true Israelite who Matthew 5, 17-20 didn't come to abolish the law, but fulfill it. So Jesus came to fulfill every jot and tittle of the law. And what is that called that's imputed to us? That is our imputed righteousness. Have you ever thought about it, beloved? Listen to this. Even if Jesus had died for your sins, would that guarantee you heaven? If he just took away your sins, would that give you any benefit of blessing advancement of heaven? No, not necessarily. It just means that you hadn't sinned against God. But it wouldn't guarantee heaven. For heaven, you've got to have a righteousness according to the law. And you can't get it. So where are you going to get it? Where are you going to get it? You're going to get it from Jesus Christ by faith. That's his imputed righteousness. So even if your sins are wiped away, you don't have a righteousness that will make you fit for heaven unless you've got Christ. So the fulfillment is imputed righteousness and by his spirit, what else kind of righteousness? Very important, imparted righteousness, beloved. And this imparted righteousness is simply sanctification. Imputed is justification, right? So justification, sanctification. Oh, this is good stuff. Oh, this is very helpful. This is the kind of stuff you think when you see that law and it looks unbearable. You know, you remember, I'm just a sinner, but Christ has fulfilled this for me and he's imputed his perfect righteousness that's revealed in the law for me. And now I'm going to live for him. I'm going to live this law for him because I'm on display for the whole world to see. The power and transforming grace of God, and I'm going to live like it, I'm a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works. Because Israel failed and I'm now a spirit filled person who is going to be sent out in the world to show the demonstration of God's power and grace, that's what we're going to live. That's we're going to live. That's why the thinking about how you're going to live your life, go to the law. Don't see it as a way of righteousness or a way of works righteousness, but see it as a way to life. Definitely see it in Christ as the way to live the fullest life in Christ. And then finally, the sanctuary. What does that point to? Oh, this is a good one. What happened on the top of the mercy seat? In the Holy of Holies. Blood. A high priest would shed that blood, a day of atonement once a year to remind the people annually of their sins and their need of grace, their need of forgiveness, their need of repentance. And there was mercy. And where were the angels situated? You ready? There were two cherubim, and they were looking at each other, and they were looking down. And that's the way back into Eden. The two cherubim that guarded the way to Eden with flaming swords was there showing that the way open to paradise was through blood. As you come through the angels in the sanctuary, through blood, you found your way back to paradise. Go west, young man. Go west, young lady. Find paradise in the Holy of Holies. And then what were the angels looking down at? The law. It's told us over and over the law to show its permanence, even though the covenant was not permanent. The covenant was passing away. The ark itself would not be useful for long, but the law was permanent. And that's why it was set in the ark, to show that one had to come through blood and fulfill the law. And so the sanctuary is now the throne of grace at God's right hand. Oh, praise the Lord. Amen. Christ is ready and willing at God's right hand to receive you and to give you mercy in your time of need. Isn't that wonderful? That whatever you need today for life and godliness, you have a mediator at God's right hand. Yes, ma'am. Uh-huh. Yep. It comes from a word that means holy. Yep. Yep. The sanctuary was the holy place. And there was a most holy place part of it. Yes, ma'am. And then that's translated through Latin into English as sanctuary. And we get sanctification. We get sanctified. All kinds of good words from that. Thank you. So let's go back to Abraham. You ready? Let's go back to the initial promise and then we'll close. You ready? So how does Christ fulfill this? The seed of Abraham is home. Christ. And the land is where? Where's the land? No, no, now. New heavens and new earth. And who is there right now, ready to greet us through the Spirit? Christ. Christ makes the way to the new heavens and new earth. And the blessing to all is found in what? justification and sanctification in Christ. Union with Jesus Christ. Union with Christ. Through the gospel, by the way. But justification and sanctification as a summary of union with Christ is the gospel. You understand that, right? So we could say gospel, all right? Gospel to the ends of the earth. One story, beloved, one story that ends so wonderfully, so consummately, so beautifully in the Lord's beloved Son. I'm going to end with Hebrews 4, all right, to encourage us. After this class, what you could do that might be helpful for you is go and read very slowly and carefully, the book of Hebrews, and you'll see all of these things coming to pass. You'll see a son, a mediator son who's greater than Moses. You'll see Christ who gives us our Sabbath rest, the Sabbath being the symbol of the Mosaic covenant. You'll see a high priest who lives by the power of an indestructible life, who's of the order of not Aaron and the Levites, but of the order of Melchizedek, who lives forever. that you'll see a new covenant that's more glorious because it's the shed blood of the Son of God. And then you'll see a hall of faith of all those in the Old Testament in a time of promise that looked forward to God's promises, who were not merely part of the theocracy, but part of God's elect who believed and trusted them as Father Abraham trusted God's promises. And then you have the climax in chapter 12, we as a people have not come to Mount Sinai. We've come to Mount Zion. So let me close with two scriptures. You ready? First is the throne of grace where the sanctuary is located in heaven now. Hebrews 4.16, let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, beloved, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need. And then listen to Hebrews 12. So you need grace today? For whatever your need, Christ is waiting at his right hand. So we're told in chapter 12 of Hebrews, you have come to Mount Zion to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem. All right. That's the land. That's the heavenly land. That's where the land pointed to. And any worship service you go to is coming to the land. You're blessed in the land. Now, get this in you so that every worship service, you're all excited that what's going to happen is I get to go to the worship service where heaven itself is intersecting on earth through Christ. And listen to what it says, the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, to innumerable angels in festal gathering, to the assembly of the firstborn who are already enrolled in heaven. Verse 24, to Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant. And verse 25, listen to this, see that you do not refuse him who is speaking. You see, it's ongoing. It's present tense. The one who is speaking from God's right hand on the throne of grace, he speaks through preaching. He speaks to his people in worship. If they did not escape when they refused him who warned them on earth, much less will we escape if we reject him who warns from heaven. And then it says, verse 28, let us be grateful for receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, and thus let us offer to God acceptable worship with reverence and awe, for our God is a consuming fire. All right. It all comes together, doesn't it? It all comes together. Wonderful way that you can now read Hebrews by God's grace, aren't they? Beautiful treasures of scripture, that's all they are. And they all point to Christ. And it goes back to that wonderful thing that Jesus says, it's starting with Moses and the prophets and the writings that he showed to them how all the old covenant spoke of him. And he said that when we search the scriptures, it's not just learned about, it's finding him for that life. Now we got a little break. Take a deep breath. Enjoy yourself. You got a little work to do, but not too much. It's all fun. And it's preparatory for next time. And we'll do David to the birth of Christ next time, and then start cycle three. So it's a lot of exciting things coming. And what else? Do you have any questions? All right. I hope you'll leave here with at least this one thing, that you'll understand that you're loved by God, and that he truly is interested in making a people for himself through Christ, and being with you, and never leaving you, nor forsaking you, and of giving you all of the blessings that Christ has earned, all the blessings he's inherited, making you a co-heir, and of blessing you and your family and the world through you. And that's how you should look at your life. You're very significant. If you have the name of Yahweh upon you, and you do if you're a believer, if you have the Holy Spirit, you're the very temple of God. And as the temple of God, the family of God, you live out by grace the law of God. And as you live out that law, people notice something's different about you, and they'll see God's character, and they'll see his will. And you will please our Savior. What do we work for? Well done, my good and faithful servant. That's what. What do we work for? Well done, my good and faithful servant. Enter into the joy of your master. That's what we work for. Let's pray. Our Father and our God, we're grateful for all of your blessings and your love, and we thank you for the way that the Lord Jesus has secured our salvation. We thank you that he is the great seed of Abraham to whom the promises were all made. Thank you that he was the true Israelite, the true vine. He's the one from which all life flows for believers. And we thank you that He lives at your right hand on the throne of grace, ready to save sinners, and has inaugurated the new heavens and new earth that have already dawned in a new humanity in Him. And we thank you that We await the consummation. We await the second appearing. We say, O come, O come, Emmanuel, and ransom captive Israel who mourns in lonely exile here until the Son of God appear. Rejoice, rejoice. And so we thank you that you're God with us. In Jesus' name, amen. All right, thank you for coming, and we'll do more next time.