A friend in college posted these words on her dorm-room wall: “Happy is the woman who wants what she has.” It’s true. Contentment does not lie in gaining more, but in cultivating gratitude for what we already have. Another friend posed the question, “What if we awoke tomorrow with only what we thanked God for today?” To crave what we lack makes us bitter and sullen. It builds a wall between us and the God who has given us so much.
And that’s it. Those are God’s Top Ten. The stipulations of the covenant—the source or seed of all the rest of his instructions at Sinai.
These first words the Israelites hear directly from Yahweh make quite an impression on them. To put it lightly, they are intimidated. “When the people saw the thunder and lightning and heard the trumpet and saw the mountain in smoke, they trembled with fear” (Exodus 20:18). Given the drama of Yahweh’s appearance, the people are glad to have Moses as a mediator. They insist, “Speak to us yourself and we will listen. But do not have God speak to us or we will die” (Exodus 20:19).
Moses reassures them in an odd way. First he says, “Do not be afraid” (Exodus 20:20). But he follows this immediately by letting them know that their fear is part of God’s goal: “God has come to test you, so that the fear of God will be with you to keep you from sinning” (Exodus 20:20). So which is right? To fear or not to fear?
In his commentary on Exodus, Peter Enns paraphrases it this way: “Do not be afraid. God is giving you a taste of himself so that this memory will stick with you to keep you from sinning.”11 In other words, you can trust the God who has thundered on the mountain. He is not out to get you. Yes, he’s calling you to a high standard of behavior. He expects a lot of you. But he wants you to succeed at covenant faithfulness. He’s for you. That’s why he’s letting you see how awesome he is.
If anything, we learn in Exodus 20 that the law is not an end in itself. It is Israel’s means of knowing Yahweh, and of living out their vocation in the world. When Moses climbs back up the mountain, God gives him a much longer list of instructions. We quickly discover that the Ten Commandments are not the final word.
DIGGING DEEPER
Daniel I. Block. How I Love Your Torah, O LORD!: Studies in the Book of Deuteronomy. Eugene, OR: Cascade, 2011. Chapters 2 and 3.
Daniel I. Block. The Gospel According to Moses: Theological and Ethical Reflections on the Book of Deuteronomy. Eugene, OR: Cascade, 2012. Chapters 4, 5, and 8.
Carmen Joy Imes. Bearing YHWH’s Name at Sinai: A Reexamination of the Name Command of the Decalogue. BBRSup 19. University Park, PA: Eisenbrauns, 2018.
Michael Harrison Kibbe. Godly Fear or Ungodly Failure?: Hebrews 12 and the Sinai Theophanies. ZNTW 216. Berlin: de Gruyter, 2016.
*Jan Milič Lochman. Signposts to Freedom: The Ten Commandments and Christian Ethics. Translated by David Lewis. Eugene, OR: Wipf & Stock, 2006.
*Sandra L. Richter. The Epic of Eden: A Christian Entry into the Old Testament. Downers Grove, IL: IVP Academic, 2008.
Related video from The Bible Project: “Law.”
4
NOW WHAT?
Appointed for Service
FROM NOW ON: THE NEED
FOR ONGOING GUIDANCE
So much has already happened—the rescue from slavery in Egypt, care for Israel in the wilderness, Yahweh’s self-revelation at Sinai, and his invitation for Israel to be his treasured possession, representing him among the nations. In chapter three, we explored the Ten Commandments, discovering that they are central to the covenant relationship between Yahweh and those who bear his name. But what about all the other laws that follow? And how does the tabernacle fit into this picture?
On their own, the Ten Commandments are incomplete. Many areas of life remain untouched. A long list of other instructions from God at Sinai stretches from Exodus 20:22 to Exodus 23:19. Scholars often refer to these three chapters as the “Covenant Code” or “Book of the Covenant.” The instructions flesh out what covenant faithfulness looks like in a host of areas: proper worship, fair employment practices, reasonable penalties in case of injury, penalties for theft or loss of someone’s property, responsibility toward the community’s most vulnerable members, proper conduct in a lawsuit, celebration of holy festivals.
But what’s most striking to me about these chapters is what comes next. Lest the Israelites assume they’ve heard everything they need to know, Yahweh promises to continue to guide them as they leave the mountain:
See, I am sending an angel ahead of you to guard you along the way and to bring you to the place I have prepared. Pay attention to him and listen to what he says. Do not rebel against him; he will not forgive your rebellion, since my Name is in him. (Exodus 23:20-21)
The angel who functions as Yahweh’s authorized deputy, bearing Yahweh’s name, meets important needs in four areas (Exodus 23:20-23): (1) protection on their journey; (2) direction to the promised land; (3) ongoing instruction; and (4) leadership in battle. We’re told very little about the angel after this passage, so it’s impossible to know exactly how this worked in practice, but the point is clear: The law is not the be all and end all for Israel. It does not replace ongoing guidance. They are not “set” now that they know what God expects. Real life is messy. They will continue to have questions, and Yahweh anticipates their need for his direction.
The law is not the be all and end all for Israel.
We’re offered a few glimpses of what this might have looked like in the months that followed. Leviticus 24:10-23 recounts a fight between two men in which one cursed Yahweh. This should have carried an obvious penalty, but the elders were not sure what to do because the man was only half Israelite. They needed clarification. Do the laws at Sinai apply to non-Israelites or half-Israelites? We’re told, “They put him in custody until the will of the LORD should be made clear to them” (Leviticus 24:12). Moses inquired of Yahweh and received clear instructions they could apply to any future case involving a non-Israelite as part of the covenant community: “You are to have the same law for the foreigner and the native-born” (Leviticus 24:22). That settled it.
I remember my first real job in high school. I worked at a Christian bookstore, initially in the office filing invoices, then on the floor ringing up sales. As you’d expect, I first went through orientation. Martin, the store manager, gave me a tour of the store, introducing me to each of the employees, and showing me how product was organized. I learned how to keep track of my hours, where to turn in my timecard, what my responsibilities entailed, and how the computers worked. But that orientation was not the last I saw of Martin. Each day when I reported to work, my first task was to find him. Martin had a clipboard with a legal pad and a pen on a string. He called it his “To Tell” list. On the left-hand side of the page was a list of things he needed “to tell” every employee. Across the top were our names, each of us with our own column. The result was a grid. I would arrive, find Martin, and ask him what he had “to tell” me. He would check his chart to see what he told me last and pick up from there, checking off each item under my name as he did so. “The new shipment of Mother’s Day gifts arrived from Thomas Nelson. They’re on display to the left of the front door.” Check. “Inventory is next Thursday evening from seven to ten. Can you be here?” Check. “If anyone asks about the new Gaither Vocal Band album, it’s on backorder.” Check. And so it would go. Martin was a great boss. Part of his success, I think, is that he made sure we all had access to the information we needed to succeed. He was available for the duration of the job. When he was away, he appointed someone else to stand in as manager and tell us what we needed to know.
Of course, God is much more than a boss to Israel. The relationship is more intimate, more permanent, and more significant than any working relationship. However, if we stick with the illustration, Sinai was Israel’s orientation. They learned about their God, their identity, and their role. Yahweh’s expectations were outlined in detail. But, like a job orientation, the law was not enough on its own. Sinai was just the beginning of
a long-term working relationship that promised far more than a static list of instructions, as valuable as those were. As Israel faced future challenges, they would need further instruction. And as Israel’s context changed, sometimes God’s instructions changed, too.1
Their relationship with Yahweh was just beginning. The next step, now that they knew his expectations, was to make it official.
SEALING THE DEAL: THE COVENANT RATIFIED
The Sinai instructions sketch the boundaries of the covenant Yahweh initiated with Israel. Technically speaking, this is not a new covenant. Yahweh had sealed the deal with Abram in Genesis 15, promising a vast tract of land for his descendants. Now Yahweh was taking action to fulfill that commitment, outlining the particular stipulations that flesh out what it means to “walk before me faithfully and be blameless” (Genesis 17:1). People often assume that this is a different covenant, but Yahweh directly indicates his purpose in rescuing Israel. He’s fulfilling the oath he swore to Abraham and repeated to Isaac and Jacob. No new promise is made here. We simply have a new generation that needs to be aware of the declaration God made and what’s entailed if they want to benefit from it. Before Israel’s arrival at Sinai, Abram’s descendants had only been sojourners, living among other peoples in Canaan and Egypt. As God calls his people out of Egypt, he remembers his covenant again, “I will bring you to the land I swore with uplifted hand to give to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob. I will give it to you as a possession. I am the LORD” (Exodus 6:8).
The book of Deuteronomy sets the Sinai instructions in the context of a sermon, Moses’ last words before they enter the land God promised them. While Deuteronomy is not itself a treaty document, it bears some similarity with other ancient Near Eastern treaties. Like Hittite treaties, Deuteronomy’s recital of the covenant includes a title (1:1-5); a historical prologue (1:6–4:49); a list of stipulations (chapters 5–26); instructions for depositing the document in the temple (31:9-13); description of the ceremony (chapter 27); a list of witnesses (31:26); and blessings and curses (chapter 28).2 In spite of these similarities, a few differences between Israel’s covenant and ancient Near Eastern treaties stand out. International treaties typically regulate behavior between nations. A greater king (called the suzerain) would make a treaty with a lesser king (called the vassal). In a suzerain-vassal treaty, the suzerain called all the shots, usually in exchange for his military protection of the vassal. Do not make alliances with other nations. Do not attack our allies. Do not fail to send your required tribute. For the Israelites, a different dynamic is in play.
In this case, instead of a “greater king,” the suzerain is a deity. God is the great king. His treaty partner is a nation with no king. In effect, each individual Israelite functions as a covenant partner.3 Therefore, the obligations of the treaty, or covenant, pertain to interpersonal, rather than international, relations. Do not murder because your neighbor is also my vassal, whom I have pledged to protect. Do not worship other gods because that would constitute disloyalty to the suzerain, the equivalent of making alliances with another nation. Do not bear his name in vain because you have been appointed as Yahweh’s vassal, charged to represent him among the nations. Do not steal because Yahweh is committed to protecting your neighbor from marauders. Stealing puts you at odds with him.
Figure 4.1. Comparison of ancient Near Eastern suzerain-vassal treaty and Yahweh’s covenant with Israel
The Israelite covenant has an interpersonal, rather than international, focus because each household has been drawn into relationship with Yahweh and enjoys his protection. Figure 4.1 attempts to illustrate these differences.
Israel’s response to the Ten Commandments and the Book of the Covenant is unanimous. “When Moses went and told the people all the LORD’s words and laws, they responded with one voice, ‘Everything the LORD has said we will do’” (Exodus 24:3). Accordingly, Moses takes steps to ratify the covenant (24:4):
He writes down Yahweh’s instructions as a witness to future generations.
He builds an altar for animal sacrifice to underscore the seriousness of the agreement.
He sets up twelve pillars, representing the twelve tribes as party to the covenant.
The entire rite of passage is loaded with significance. A burnt offering cleanses the community of sin. A fellowship offering restores communication with Yahweh. Half of the blood from those offerings is splashed on the altar. Moses then reads the Book of the Covenant to the people. Again, they respond, “We will do everything the LORD has said; we will obey” (Exodus 24:7). Moses sprinkles them with the rest of the blood. We are likely to be more grossed out by this picture than impressed. We can easily get caught up in how foreign this seems and lose sight of the symbolic significance of this action. Blood is an important symbol of life and of purity. The blood spiritually cleanses the people, sealing the covenant, and publicly signifying their position as covenant members. It may also remind them of the blood of the Passover lamb painted over their doorposts in Egypt to invoke God’s protection, as the roasted meat would remind them of their last meal in a foreign land.4
The blood spiritually cleanses the people, sealing the covenant, and publicly signifying their position as covenant members.
If we have in mind a typical ancient Near Eastern treaty, the sprinkling of blood on the entire population should strike us as very profound. Treaties made between kingdoms would have had scarcely anything to do with the general population and would have little effect on them, other than a tax hike so that tribute could be paid. But every Israelite is a covenant member. Everyone is responsible to ensure the covenant is kept. And therefore everyone is sprinkled with blood.
In fact, blood is not normally sprinkled on people as part of the sacrificial system. The exception is the ordination of the priests, who have blood splattered on them during the ceremony (Leviticus 8:30). Thus, the sprinkled blood at this ratification ceremony reinforces Israel’s priestly vocation. The Israelites constitute an entire kingdom made up of priests, a nation set apart, Yahweh’s segullah.
That this covenant is ratified outside the land is also significant because all twelve tribes start on a level playing field. No tribe gets to serve as host to this important moment.5
After the ratification, Moses brings the elders partway up the mountain to eat a covenant meal in Yahweh’s presence. Moses ascends the rest of the way himself to receive the two stone tablets and the tabernacle instructions, delegating authority to Aaron and Hur in his absence. If Yahweh is to be their God, preparations must be made that will facilitate his dwelling among them. But it doesn’t take long for Israel to fail at keeping their end of the bargain. By the time Moses returns, the community is courting chaos.
SHATTERED: THE COVENANT BROKEN
While Moses is gone, the Israelites get restless. As hours stretch into days and days stretch into weeks with no sign of Moses’ return from the mountain, people become uneasy. He has disappeared up the mountain, and his god is therefore inaccessible. A leadership vacuum yawns. Israel’s lessons in the wilderness are recent, but fading. They want something tangible to rely on. They want a god they can see and a leader present to assist them. No matter that they had agreed not to make images of any god; they pitch their idea to Aaron: “Come, make us gods who will go before us” (Exodus 32:1).
It’s hard to imagine how Aaron can justify his compliance with the people’s request. Of all people, he should know better. Moses, when he later arrives on the scene, wonders the same thing: “What did these people do to you, that you led them into such great sin?” (Exodus 32:21). Perhaps in his mind, he is not making an image of another god, but an image of Yahweh’s mode of transportation. In surrounding cultures, some worshiped a deity in the form of a calf or bull and others imagined their deity riding a bull. Maybe Aaron is trying to strike a delicate compromise between the commands of Yahweh and the demands of the people. However, I have already suggested that worshiping other gods or making an image are both violations of the same command. Eithe
r way, Aaron is out of bounds. After shaping the calf from gold the people supplied, Aaron says nothing. His silence is the occasion for the people’s announcement: “These are your gods, Israel, who brought you up out of Egypt” (Exodus 32:4). Aaron’s immediate response is to build an altar and announce a festival to Yahweh. Is this his attempt at damage control, a sleight of hand to turn them back to proper worship?
In any case, it doesn’t work. The people present offerings on the altar, but also “indulge in revelry” (Exodus 32:6), an indication that the festival turned into a wild party.6 Yahweh is not fooled by their show of piety. His statement to Moses, who is still on the mountain, is almost comical: “Go down, because your people, whom you brought up out of Egypt, have become corrupt” (Exodus 32:7). Can you detect the disassociation? Now they are Moses’ people. Whatever Aaron’s intentions, Yahweh interprets the golden calf in no uncertain terms as an idol to which the people bowed down. He calls them “stiff-necked,” or intractably stubborn, and announces his plan to destroy them and make Moses into a great nation. God is ready to start from scratch.
Moses turns down this once-in-all-of-history opportunity. Instead, he turns things right around, saying, “Why should your anger burn against your people, whom you brought out of Egypt with great power and a mighty hand?” (Exodus 32:11). He clings to what is true: these are Yahweh’s people, and therefore Yahweh’s reputation is on the line. He addresses God as naturally as if he is in a conversation with a colleague: “Why should the Egyptians say, ‘It was with evil intent that he brought them out, to kill them in the mountains and to wipe them off the face of the earth’?” (Exodus 32:12). Moses can just imagine the headlines back in Egypt: “Escaped Slaves Slaughtered by Yahweh!” The implications of this news would be far worse than the frustration of Israel’s momentary rebellion. The nations would get the wrong impression about what sort of God Yahweh really is. After all, Yahweh swore by himself to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob that he would make Israel into a great nation and give them land. Although he is right to be angry, to destroy them now would be a negation of his own character, a breaking of his word. For Moses, no personal glory could possibly outweigh these disastrous results.
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