LESSON 39
GRACE MANIFESTED-THE COVENANT RENEWED
By E. L. Bynum, Pastor
Memory Verse: Ex. 34:14 Lesson: Ex. 34:1-35
1. God promised the covenant. Ex. 19:5-6. Israel agreed to accept it. Ex. 19:8
2. The covenant was ratified by blood. Ex. 24:3-8
3. Israel broke the by accepting the golden calf as their god. Ex. 32:19
4. God could have sent fiery judgment upon Israel for what they had done, but in grace he extends to them mercy. This God has manifested time after time in dealing with His people. Rom. 5:20, Moreover the law entered, that the offence might abound. But where sin abounded, grace did much more abound.
5. In our lesson today, the covenant was renewed. Ex. 34
6. The renewed covenant (tables of the law) were placed in the ark of the covenant. Deut. 10:5, And I turned myself and came down from the mount, and put the tables in the ark which I had made; and there they be, as the LORD commanded me.
7. The ark was a type of Christ, and he had the law in His heart.
I. THE VISION OF GOD AND THE COVENANT RENEWED. v.1-17
A. Moses Commanded by God, to Hew the Tables of Stone. v. 1-4
1. The first tables hewn by God. v. 1. Ex. 32:16
2. Moses to hew the stones, God would do the writing. v. 1
3. Moses instructed to come upon the mount. v. 2
a. The law was given on Mount Sinai. Ex. 19:2-3
b. The law was broken at Mount Sinai. Ex. 32:1-2
c. The law was satisfied on the mount (Calvary). Luke 23:33
d. The Lawgiver will return on the mount (Mount of Olives). Zech. 4:4, And his feet shall stand in that day upon the mount of Olives, which is before Jerusalem on the east, and the mount of Olives shall cleave in the midst thereof toward the east and toward the west, and there shall be a very great valley; and half of the mountain shall remove toward the north, and half of it toward the south.
4. Man and beast prohibited from approaching the mount. v. 3
5. Moses’ obedience. v . 4
B. The Promise Fulfilled In The Vision. v. 5-9
1. The Lord descended as He promised. v. 5. Ex. 33:19-23
2. The proclamation of His name. v. 5-6. His name is Jehovah. In verse 6, He is called “The Lord God” which is “Jehovah El” the self existent one.
3. The seven attributes of God exercised in governing His people. v. 6-7. These principles still abide.
a. Mercy is the fount from which all of His blessings flow. v. 6. II Sam. 24:14, And David said unto Gad, I am in a great strait: let us fall now into the hand of the LORD; for his mercies are great: and let me not fall into the hand of man. I Kings 3:6, And Solomon said, Thou hast shewed unto thy servant David my father great mercy, according as he walked before thee in truth, and in righteousness, and in uprightness of heart with thee; and thou hast kept for him this great kindness, that thou hast given him a son to sit on his throne, as it is this day. I Kings 8:23, And he said, LORD God of Israel, there is no God like thee, in heaven above, or on earth beneath, who keepest covenant and mercy with thy servants that walk before thee with all their heart. Jer. 3:12, Go and proclaim these words toward the north, and say, Return, thou backsliding Israel, saith the LORD; and I will not cause mine anger to fall upon you: for I am merciful, saith the LORD, and I will not keep anger for ever. Lam. 3 :22-23, It is of the LORD’S mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not. They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness.
b. Grace is God’s unmerited favor. v. 6. Psa. 86:14-15; Eph. 2:8-9, For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast.
c. Longsuffering characterizes God’s dealings with His people. v . 6. Num. 14:18. Psa. 145:8, The LORD is gracious, and full of compassion; slow to anger, and of great mercy. Neh. 9:18-19, Yea, when they had made them a molten calf, and said, This is thy God that brought thee up out of Egypt, and had wrought great provocations; Yet thou in thy manifold mercies forsookest them not in the wilderness…. Matt. 23:37,O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not!
d. He is abundant in goodness. v. 6. This word is elsewhere translated lovingkindness. Psa. 36:7, How excellent is thy lovingkindness, O God! therefore the children of men put their trust under the shadow of thy wings. Jer. 9:23-24, Thus saith the LORD, Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, neither let the mighty man glory in his might, let not the rich man glory in his riches: But let him that glorieth glory in this, that he understandeth and knoweth me, that I am the LORD which exercise lovingkindness, judgment, and righteousness, in the earth: for in these things I delight, saith the LORD.
e. He is abundant in truth. v. 6. II Sam. 2:6, And now the LORD shew kindness and truth unto you: and I also will requite you this kindness, because ye have done this thing. Psa. 108:4, For thy mercy is great above the heavens: and thy truth reacheth unto the clouds.
f. Forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin. v. 7. Psa.78:35-38, And they remembered that God was their rock, and the high God their redeemer. Nevertheless they did flatter him with their mouth, and they lied unto him with their tongues. For their heart was not right with him, neither were they stedfast in his covenant. But he, being full of compassion, forgave their iniquity, and destroyed them not: yea, many a time turned he his anger away, and did not stir up all his wrath. Jer.31:34, And they shall teach no more every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, Know the LORD: for they shall all know me, from the least of them unto the greatest of them, saith the LORD: for I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.
g. God does judge sin. v. 7
4. Moses bows and worships. v. 8
5. Moses bows in intercession. v. 9
C. The Covenant Renewed. v. 10-17
By sinful action Israel had broken as this covenant are but shadows of the eternal covenant that God made with Christ before the foundation of the world. Eph. 1:3-4, Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ: According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love. II Tim. 1:9, Who hath saved us, and called us with an holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began. Titus 1:2, In hope of eternal life, which God, that cannot lie, promised before the world began. Heb. 13:20, Now the God of peace, that brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant.
1. God’s covenant. v. 10
2. God’s miracles. v. 10; Josh. 3:16-17, That the waters which came down from above stood and rose up upon an heap very far from the city Adam, that is beside Zaretan: and those that came down toward the sea of the plain, even the salt sea, failed, and were cut off: and the people passed over right against Jericho. And the priests that bare the ark of the covenant of the LORD stood firm on dry ground in the midst of Jordan, and all the Israelites passed over on dry ground, until all the people were passed clean over Jordan. Josh. 6:20, So the people shouted when the priests blew with the trumpets: and it came to pass, when the people heard the sound of the trumpet, and the people shouted with a great shout, that the wall fell down flat, so that the people went up into the city, every man straight before him, and they took the city.
3. God’s promises. v. 11
4. God’s prohibitions. v. 12
5. Israel’s proving. v. 13
6. God’s name is jealous. v. 14
7. Israel’s danger. v. 15-17
II. THE SABBATHS AND THE LAW. v. 18-35
A. The Feasts, The Sabbaths And Various Laws. v. 18-26
1. The unleavened bread a type of our sinless Saviour. v. 18
2. The firstborn of the clean animals a type of Christ, God’s firstborn son. v . 19
3. The firstborn of the unclean is a type of sinful man who has to be redeemed with a lamb. v. 20. So we had to be redeemed with a lamb. John 1:29, The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.
4. The Sabbath to be kept. v. 21
5. The feasts are to be kept. v. 22-23
6. God’s protection assured. v. 24
7. The sacrifices were to be free of leaven. v. 25. Leaven is a type of sin, and sin cannot be offered, even in type, in the cleansing of sin.
8. The firstfruits belonged to the Lord. v. 26
B. The Writing On The Mount. v. 27-28
1. Moses wrote judicial, ceremonial, and the injunctions. v. 27
2. He wrote the ten commandments on the stone. v. 28. Deut. 4:13, And he declared unto you his covenant, which he commanded you to perform, even ten commandments; and he wrote them upon two tables of stone. Deut. 10:4, And he wrote on the tables, according to the first writing, the ten commandments, which the LORD spake unto you in the mount out of the midst of the fire in the day of the assembly: and the LORD gave them unto me.
3. His fasting a type of Christ. Matt.4:1-2, Then was Jesus led up of the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil. And when he had fasted forty days and forty nights, he was afterward an hungred.
C. The Shining Face Of Moses. v. 29-35
The interpretation of this experience is found in II Cor. 3:1-18. The “ministration of death” (the law) caused Moses face to shine, even so the “ministration of the spirit” (v. 8); and the “ministration of righteousness” (v. 9) should shew forth the glory of God through His New Testament (covenant) of truth.
—by E. L. Bynum
STUDY QUESTIONS
1 .Who hewed the stones for the first and the second tables of law?
2. Name the seven attributes of God exercised in governing His people.
3. Why and how was the firstborn of the ass redeemed?
4. What is the meaning of the shining face of Moses?