MOSES AND THE ISRAELITES CROSSING OVER THE RED SEA
DEMONSTRATION #3 THE ISRAELITES
GOD’S RIGHTEOUSNESS and THE LAW
There are 613 Mizvots that encompass the whole of the LAW (LAW OF MOSES – ordinances and statutes) in the Old Testament. They are recapitulated and “written in stone” in the 10 COMMANDMENTS (GOD’S DIVINE COSMIC LAW) which were given to the ISRAELITES at SINAI as a COVENANT that was stored in the “ARK” which was called the “ARK OF THE COVENANT”. More information regarding the LAW will be in the Blog, GOD’S DIVINE COSMIC LAW.
A COVENANT is a SPIRITUAL LEGAL CONTRACT between GOD and HIS people. I will use the SINAITIC COVENANT which was given at MT SINAI as an example of a COVENANT and as a part of this DEMONSTRATION regarding UNBELIEF.
There is also another Blog, GOD and CHRIST in the COVENANTS, which discusses other COVENANTS from the Old & New Testaments with focus on the COVENANT of REDEMPTION and the COVENANT OF GRACE.
THE SINAITIC COVENANT
GOD is the first party of the COVENANT with ISRAEL. ISRAEL was the second party. This particular COVENANT was the “COVENANT OF WORKS” which dictated that GOD, as the first party PROMISED HE would be ISRAEL’S GOD and would perform as their BENEFACTOR and SHIELD, as delineated in the Old Testament, and would provide for all of their needs, land; food; shelter; animals; and their protection; etc, as long as they, the ISRAELITES as the second party, OBEYED his COMMANDMENTS.
The caveat was Do-Keep the Commandments and LIVE or Don’t keep the commandments – Disobey and DIE. DISOBEDIENCE severed the COVENANT and the PENALTY was DEATH. The COVENANT is a (SPIRITUAL LEGAL transaction so the people had to agree to the COVENANT which they did).
Exo 24:3 And Moses came and told the people all the words of the LORD, and all the judgments: and all the people answered with one voice, and said, All the words which the LORD hath said will we do.
An element of the COVENANT was the PROMISED LAND, CANAAN which GOD COVENANTED with ABRAHAM, ISSAC, and JACOB, and his progeny, the ISRAELITES. HE liberated the ISRAELITES from EGYPT which was the beginning of the FULFILLMENT of the “SINAI COVENANT”.
The strength of the COVENANT’S, first party – GOD, was based on GOD’S SUPREMACY; SOVEREIGNTY; POWER; ABILITY TO PERFORM; HIS SINCERITY; HIS RIGHTEOUSNESS; VIRTUE; TRUTH; FAITHFULNESS; and HIS JUSTICE.
The strength of the COVENANT’S second party – the ISRAELITES, was based on OBEDIENCE; FAITH; BELIEF; CONFIDENCE; TRUST; HOPE; DEPENDENCE, and ASSURANCE in GOD and their RELIANCE on GOD.
GOD liberated the ISRAELITES from EGYPT after displaying numerous stupendous “MIRACLES”. It was as much a benefit for the ISRAELITES to inspire their FAITH; HOPE; and DEPENDENCE as it was a pestilence to EGYPT.
Heb_3:19 So we see that they could not enter in because of unbelief.
Prior to endeavoring to enter the PROMISED LAND, they sent several scouts to search out the bounty of the land and to form an assessment on the best way to proceed with the “takeover”. However, when the time came to embark into their new land the people were afraid to proceed. A few of the scouts had said that they could not overthrow the people who lived there because they were too large and they were well organized as an army.
Eventually they refused to go forward. It was only when GOD told them to return into the DESERT that they changed their minds. At that point it was too late. They had already SINNED in UNBELIEF. The PENALTY was DEATH. Forty years of aimless wandering and finally DEATH was the result for the unbelievers. The ISRAELITES could not go into the PROMISED LAND until all of the men of that generation were dead. Only two of the original group went into the Promised Land forty (40) years later, Joshua and Caleb who believed in GOD and had remained FAITHFUL.
The ISRAELITES had a COVENANT with GOD. Their possession of the PROMISED LAND was not premised on their ability or their armament. GOD had just recently liberated them from a country, that had held them as slaves for over 400 years, with only two men as ambassadors, to speak on his behalf. When they were in Egypt GOD only required their FAITH and OBEDIENCE to affect their DELIVERANCE from BONDAGE.
They had the same minimal requirements in this situation as well. But because of their LACK of FAITH and their UNBELIEF God turned them back. They stayed in the DESERT until all of the UNBELIEVERS had been removed, “cut off from the people”. The consequence and the penalty for their SIN of UNBELIEF was DEATH.
The years roaming in the desert strengthened the FAITH of the new generations and they grew hardy and trained into an efficient army. The next attempt to enter the PROMISED LAND was successful as they carried the ARK OF THE COVENANT into battle during the war as a defense and a guarantee of victory.
All of the COVENANTS in the BIBLE are “contracts” between GOD and HIS people. We will discuss two very important COVENANTS that resolved the problem of SIN in the Blog, GOD & CHRIST IN THE COVENANTS.
There will be more information about other COVENANTS in the Blog(s) – GOD AND CHRIST IN THE COVENANTS and GOD’S DIVINE COSMIC LAW.
QUESTIONS? USE FORM BELOW.
C2 YOUR SPIRIT 