God declared His desire for His people, yet the Israelites in the desert agreed to another covenant that came alongside the Abrahamic covenant of grace that they had been under for hundreds of years. They agreed to the covenant of law which would be based on their own faithfulness and goodness, not the goodness of God. They were birds in a cage that wouldn’t fly out when the door was opened for them. They wanted to have it their way, and with that came a system that was against them/ hostile to them/ contrary to them and led to wrath, condemnation, and death.1 They boasted:
All that the Lord has commanded us, we will do. (Exodus 19:8)2
When the Mosaic law was given to the children of Israel, God expressed Himself to His people in an unprecedented manner. In Hebrews 12, the writer describes what happened on that day when God gave the law at Mount Sinai:
For you have not come to the mountain that may be touched and that burned with fire, and to blackness and darkness and tempest, and the sound of a trumpet and the voice of words, so that those who heard it begged that the word should not be spoken to them anymore. for they could not endure what was commanded: “And if so much as a beast touches the mountain, it shall be stoned or shot with an arrow.” And so terrifying was the sight that Moses said, “I am exceedingly afraid and trembling.” (Hebrews 12:18-21)
Mount Sinai is the mountain that represents the Old Covenant. We have not come to that mountain! If we touch that mountain of law, we’ll be pummeled with satan’s fiery darts of condemnation. The people who heard the commandments were so terrified that they begged that they not be spoken. Moses himself was “exceedingly afraid!”
No more could the people come near God. No more would they be carried on eagles’ wings.
“And Moses alone shall come near the Lord, but they shall not come near; nor shall the people go up with him.” (Exodus 24:2)
Never before had God appeared to His people in this way. With the law came a terror that kept the people far from God. When they boasted in their own ability to do all that the Lord commanded, counting on their own righteousness, God backed away. All of a sudden God had changed the way He related to His people. From Egypt to Mount Sinai God had been close to them. At that time when they sinned, He showered them with grace, showing them His heart: “Where sin abounds, grace superabounds.”3 However, after the law was given, no human being except the high priest could approach God because no one in their own righteousness measured up to His glory.
However, the command “they shall not come near” has been totally reversed this side of the cross.
…let us DRAW NEAR with a true heart in full assurance of faith… (Hebrews 10:22, emphasis mine)
…the law made nothing perfect; on the other hand, there is the bringing in of a BETTER hope, through which we DRAW NEAR to God. (Hebrews 7:19, emphasis mine)
We haven’t come to Mount Sinai. We’ve come to the mountain of the Lord into the heavenly realms with Him!
But you have come [past tense] to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, to an innumerable company of angels, to the general assembly and church of the firstborn who are registered in heaven, to God the Judge of all, to the spirits of just men made perfect, to Jesus the Mediator of the new covenant… (Hebrews 12:22-24, brackets mine)
Today you and I are in the presence of the Judge Himself. How much more security could we possibly need?! We are eternally safe and accepted. We have come to the spirits of just men made perfect. Why? Because we are just men made perfect! And we have come to Jesus Himself, our High Priest and Mediator of a new covenant in His very own blood.
(from pages 181-183 of Unveiling Jesus)
Want more from Tricia Gunn? Check out excerpts from the Unveiling Jesus 20-part series!
Unveiling Jesus, by Tricia Gunn, is a verse by verse study of the pure gospel of grace. It’s an amazing journey of love, identity, and freedom in Christ.
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1Colossians 2:14
2All scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the Holy Bible, New King James Version. Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission.
3Romans 5:20
