God Makes a Covenant with Israel

September 12, 2010

Background Scripture: Exodus 20
Lesson Passage: Exodus 20:1 – 11

There were three basic forms of covenants or contracts between two or more parties during the time that God delivered Israel out of Egypt. A covenant could be a mutual agreement between equal parties. A covenant could be an agreement between unequal parties with conditions imposed on the inferior party by the superior party. The third and perhaps the least common covenant was an agreement between a superior party and an inferior party where the superior party self-imposes conditions on himself and places no conditions on the inferior party. In our lesson today, God, the superior party, imposes conditions on himself and Israel but he allows Israel to consider the terms of the agreement and then ratify the covenant if they agreed with its terms and conditions.

God entered into a contractual agreement with Israel. That very concept is worth some serious introspection on the part of any religious-minded person. God is the supreme example of a superior party whether one reaches that conclusion through philosophy, definition, or divine revelation. Speaking of God in a contractual relationship with people is a mind bending concept. It is much easier to think of God as distant and indifferent to the needs and affairs of the human experience than to consider him as interested and engaged in the same. Reasons such as these make God’s revelation of himself to mankind intriguing. When one considers God’s revelation of himself as being both all powerful as well as all holy, then the contrast between God’s character and that of humanity becomes starkly obvious. Again, this makes the idea of a divine-human contract seem rather unlikely. But that is exactly what God offered Israel in today’s bible passage. God offered to be their protector and provider in exchange for their loyal obedience to following after holiness. God desired Israel’s character to be even as his own, holy. Israel did not have to determine what was holy and what was not. God provided the terms of holiness to them. God gave clear stipulations as to what was required of Israel to come into and remain in right standing with him. In exchange for their loving obedience, God would give them whatever their hearts desired that was in keeping with holiness. Although God is clearly superior, the covenant he established with Israel was similar to a covenant between equal parties where they both agreed on the terms and conditions. In our lesson today, God outlined some basic terms and conditions of the Sinai Covenant with a clear description of holy living or holiness on the part of Israel. This was a fundamental requirement of the covenant—holy living. This manner of living would bring Israel into right standing or righteousness with God. God, through Moses, described the law of righteousness. This description was put in a covenant that God made with Israel.


Robert C. Hudson
August 31, 2010