The Law

1446 BC

Books of Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers & Deuteronomy

~ Before the giving of the Law on Mount Sinai, the Israelites had moved campsite seven times, and God had provided manna from heaven and water from a rock! (Ex. 16:14–15; 17:1–7)

At Mount Sinai, God invited Moses (and Aaron, Nadab, Abihu, and the Seventy Elders at one point) to climb the mountain to meet with Him. God appeared in His glory upon Mt. Sinai. Here, Moses received God’s holy laws for Israel. These laws separated the people of Israel from all other nations on Earth. God stipulated promises about keeping and forsaking the Law. Until the time of Jesus, these laws for worship, sacrifices, and relationship with God and others formed the culture of Israel.

~ After the giving of the Law, Israel became characterized by complaining against God. When presented with the report about the Promised Land, they chose to believe that their enemies there were more powerful than the God who delivered them from Pharaoh’s army. They accused the Lord of bringing them into the wilderness so they would fall by the sword. With one accord, they decided to choose another leader and go back to Egypt. God swore that not one of them would see the Promised Land.

Significance

• Without the Law, we would have no comprehension of the holiness of God or the extent of His grace in the one perfect sacrifice—Jesus, crucified for the sins of every person who would receive Him.
• Jesus summed up the Law and the Prophets with these commands: “And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength." (Mark 12:30, Deut. 6:5, Lev. 19:18).
• Jesus declared that He came not to abolish the Law but to fulfill it (Matt. 5:17).
• Such a beautiful promise—God will write His laws on the hearts of His people (2 Cor. 3:3).