We are still looking at God’s plan to redeem man from the satanic nature and the covenants He made with man. In our last teaching, we looked at the Abrahamic Covenant.

Today we will look at the Mosaic Covenant, also known as the Law and the Old Covenant.

Understanding these covenants gives us a good foundation and helps us to understand the New Testament in which we operate.

Recall that Joseph, the great-grandson of Abraham, was sold into slavery in Egypt by his brothers. He rose to power to become the second in command in the whole of Egypt, and he had devised a plan to take all the descendants of Jacob, his father, to Egypt to escape famine.

Recall also that after so many years, the Egyptians began to maltreat the Israelites and to afflict them with hard labour. When the Israelites cried out to God, according to Exodus 2:23, God remembered His covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. God never forgets His promises.

So God set out to deliver them from their Egyptian taskmasters by showing the Egyptians that He is the Almighty God. Recall the numerous miracles He performed in the process—He instructed them to place the blood of a lamb on their doors, and the angel of destruction passed over them while the first sons of all Egyptian families were killed. He delivered them from the pursuing Egyptians by separating the Red Sea into two.

Two months after their deliverance from Egypt, the Israelites got to the wilderness of Sinai and camped at Mount Sinai.

Moses went up to appear before God, and God gave him a message for His people:

“You yourselves have seen what I did to Egypt, and how I carried you on eagles’ wings and brought you to myself. Now if you obey me fully and keep my covenant, then out of all nations you will be my treasured possession. Although the whole earth is mine, you will be for me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation. These are the words you are to speak to the Israelites.”
Exodus 19:4-6

The people all responded together, “We will do everything the Lord has said.”
Exodus 19:8

They expressed confidence in themselves. They felt they had whatever it would take to do everything God demanded. God noted their self-confidence.

In addition to the Ten Commandments, the Lord gave the Israelites other regulations to govern their moral, social, and religious lives. All these commandments and regulations are detailed in the books of Exodus, Leviticus, and part of Numbers.

The Mosaic Covenant required Israel to meticulously observe all these regulations.

Recall that the Abrahamic Covenant was unconditional. It depended solely on God’s faithfulness and Abraham’s absolute faith in God.

The Law of Moses, or the Old Covenant, on the other hand, was conditional. It was based on performance. They would be blessed if they obeyed. They would be cursed if they disobeyed.

That covenant was not dependent on God’s faithfulness. It was not dependent on the people’s trust in the goodness and faithfulness of God. It was dependent on their ability to keep all 613 regulations of the Mosaic Law. And the Israelites boldly and arrogantly pronounced, “We will do everything the Lord has said!”