The Mosaic Covenant (MC)
The Mosaic Covenant (MC) was designed to have a heavily intertwined relationship with the Abrahamic Covenant (AC). As explained by Professor Robert Letham, “The two operated together from the time of Moses until the coming of Christ. They exemplified antithetical principles; unilateral royal grants and a principle of inheritance by works.” (2013, 146) Essentially, while seeming to oppose each other, the MC actually complements the AC.
God promised to make Abraham a father of many nations (Gen 17:3), along with an everlasting covenant with his son’s people (Israel); this covenant, however was not rendered null and void with the introduction of the MC, rather it introduced new blessings upon God’s people if they were to obey his commandments, …show more content…
The commandments played an integral role in the founding of the MC as it created the framework for which the Israelites were to follow. For this reason, the Ten commandments were to be treated as the document that represented the Mosaic Covenant and were placed within the Ark of the Covenant. The Ark was to be portable, along with a tabernacle which could be disassembled and reassembled where needed. This decision ordered by God was to not only reflect the ANE treatment of traditional covenants, but to trump them. While the ANE placed their document within their religious sites to signify the presence of their god in the agreement, the fact that God Himself decreed the commandments to be locked away was a sign that this covenant was one unlike any other; this covenant was not just between men, but between God and an entire people. This decision was also made in part to represent the nature of the covenant in terms that the Israelites and other Ancient Near Eastern tribes would …show more content…
This declaration is again found in Deuteronomy 14:2, “For you are a holy people to the Lord your God, and the Lord has chosen you to be a people for Himself, a special treasure above all the people who are on the face of the earth.” (NKJV) Both of these verses exemplify the commitment God had made to give special attention to the Israelites. Additionally, Exodus states that His people will be an example of God to the nations while remaining separate from the rest of the
God promised to make Abraham a father of many nations (Gen 17:3), along with an everlasting covenant with his son’s people (Israel); this covenant, however was not rendered null and void with the introduction of the MC, rather it introduced new blessings upon God’s people if they were to obey his commandments, …show more content…
The commandments played an integral role in the founding of the MC as it created the framework for which the Israelites were to follow. For this reason, the Ten commandments were to be treated as the document that represented the Mosaic Covenant and were placed within the Ark of the Covenant. The Ark was to be portable, along with a tabernacle which could be disassembled and reassembled where needed. This decision ordered by God was to not only reflect the ANE treatment of traditional covenants, but to trump them. While the ANE placed their document within their religious sites to signify the presence of their god in the agreement, the fact that God Himself decreed the commandments to be locked away was a sign that this covenant was one unlike any other; this covenant was not just between men, but between God and an entire people. This decision was also made in part to represent the nature of the covenant in terms that the Israelites and other Ancient Near Eastern tribes would …show more content…
This declaration is again found in Deuteronomy 14:2, “For you are a holy people to the Lord your God, and the Lord has chosen you to be a people for Himself, a special treasure above all the people who are on the face of the earth.” (NKJV) Both of these verses exemplify the commitment God had made to give special attention to the Israelites. Additionally, Exodus states that His people will be an example of God to the nations while remaining separate from the rest of the