TEXT: Exodus 19:1-20:21

SUBJECT: Christ in the Old Testament #7: Sinai

Today, with God’s blessing, we’ll proceed in our study of Christ in the Old Testament. Last time we saw Him as the Provider. When Israel cried for something to eat and drink, He became "The Bread of Heaven" and "The Water of Life". Those who took Him into their mouths got a real but short-lived blessing. But those who took Him into their souls got a blessing that will never end.

Have you partaken of Christ? If not, you’re hungry for Him—everyone is. You’re trying to fill up your soul with junk food. But it won’t do the job. Like cotton candy, it fills you up for an hour, but leaves you hungrier than ever. You’re starving for Christ—whether you know it or not. The Gospel interrogates you,

But that’s not all it does. It also invites you to a Feast,

Why be satisfied with bad food when you can have something good? You can have Christ free of charge. Take Him by faith. Right now.

That was Christ in the Wilderness. Now we see Him again, a few weeks later, at the foot of Mount Sinai.

Mount Sinai is the place where Christ came to Moses in the Burning Bush. Now He’s back to reveal Himself to the nation. He does it with a display of power and majesty.

But that’s not how He first reveals Himself to His People. Before He tells them what He is, He tells them what He is to them,

He is their Savior. He saved them by destroying their masters in Egypt, by carrying them like a mother bird does her young, and by bringing them into His Presence.

Before He tells them what to do for Him, He tells them what He’s already done for them,

This means their obedience would not win God’s favor. They already had it. It means they mustn’t serve Him as they did their masters in Egypt, but eagerly from a heart bursting with gratitude.

The idea carries on throughout the Bible. Psalm 116:12 and Romans 12:1,

In short, "God loves a cheerful giver". And we have every reason to serve Him with joy! It’s not "Grudging or of necessity".

We often think of the Lord—first in Majesty then in Mercy. But, in fact, it’s the other way around. He comes to us first in Mercy and only then in Majesty. How could He do otherwise? Without His Mercy, His Majesty would kill us all!

But before He comes in Judgment, He comes in Grace.

After reminding Israel of what He has done for them, He reminds them of who He is. We often think of God as a pussycat—warm, soft, and cuddly. He’s none of the above. He’s a Lion—big, strong, loud, and terrifying!

That’s how He presents Himself at Mount Sinai. With His coming, the earth quakes, lightning flashes, thunder booms, and smoke fills the air. Everyone is sickened with fear.

Then it gets scarier. A Voice speaks, but it’s not human. It sounds like the blast of a trumpet. It calls to the whole People, but they’re so petrified that they can’t listen. They tell Moses, "You go up and talk to Him".

He’s as scared as everyone else. But he makes the fearful climb. And there, on the peak of Mount Sinai, Moses sees the Lord in some of His glory. Not all of it, no! He couldn’t look on the Lord’s face and live. But shielded by a rock, he got a peek of the Lord and the sight was so radiant, that his face glowed in the aftermath.

Now, I don’t mean the radiance of good health or of pregnancy or of a great tan, but I mean it shone like a floodlight! The glory of Christ was so great that even reflected in the face of Moses it terrified the People.

At Mount Sinai, The Lord proved that the plagues on Egypt and parting the Red Sea were not flukes. That His power and glory were infinite!

Regarding the Law, the Majesty of God implies:

1. He has every right to issue commands.
2. He can bless the obedient and punish the disobedient.

The Lord did not come to Mount Sinai just to pass the time of day. He came to give the Law that is summarized in the Ten Commandments.

The Ten Commandments have been looked at differently by Christians. Although every believer knows they came from God and bound Israel, not everyone has agreed on what place they occupy in the life of the believer under the New Covenant.

I can’t get into all the issues at the moment, but let me quote the Reformed theologian O. Palmer Robertson. In his book, The Christ of the Covenants, he makes two good points:

In other words, the Law is not unique to Moses. It was important before he took it down the mountain and still is. This is standard fare for Reformed Theology. But what follows isn’t so common.

This means—although the Ten Commandments are the Law of God, they’re not God’s only or final law! He said a lot to Moses, but not everything.

What is the Law for? Many people think it’s for making us unhappy. As though the Lord got a big kick out of saying, "Touch not, taste not, handle not". Breaking the Law will make you unhappy; so will suffering its punishment. But the Law itself? It makes no one miserable. If admired and obeyed, it would make you downright hilarious,

More thoughtful people have identified other purposes for the Law, such as: To show us the character of God, to show us His will for our lives, to convict us when we sin, to train us in holiness, and to bring us to faith in Christ. These are all true.

My wife said that the Law was meant to keep Israel together and separate so they could produce the Messiah. Excellent point! First rate thinking! It’s precisely what Paul was getting at in Galatians 3-4.

But there’s another purpose. It’s not often mentioned, but it should be because it’s the most important. According to Matthew 11:13,

In other words, the law not only told Israel "what to do now", but also "what would happen in the future". It didn’t just command and threaten, it "prophesied" or looked forward to Something Better.

What was that?

Think about it: The Law of Moses was good and true, but it wasn’t complete. It revealed the Mind of God, but not all it it. Someone worthier than Moses must bring down the fullness of God’s Law.

Who is that? Jesus Christ.

Moses promised He would come, Deuteronomy 18:15,

He did. His friends said, "This is truly the Prophet who was to come into the world". They were right, of course. Even His enemies admitted it, "Never a man spoke as this Man speaks".

Jesus Christ is God’s Final Word. What Moses did for Israel in part, the Lord does for us—in full. He shows us God’s character and His will for our lives.

Theologically, this means you’ve got to interpret the Old Testament in light of the New—and not the other way around. You don’t look for the sun in the light of a match. No! You look for a match in the light of the sun. In the same way, you don’t study the cross in light of the Passover, you study the Passover in light of the cross.

If you want to find out what the Old Testament means—what it really means—read it in the light of Christ.

Practically, it means you’ve got to study the Word of Christ, believe the Word of Christ, and obey the Word of Christ. For, if you think sinners got in trouble for disobeying Moses, you ain’t seen nothing yet! Hebrews 12:25 warns,