A Heart to Know Him

I had to drop it down a little bit. When I was last with you, we began a series of sermons looking at the covenants that God has entered into man, into with man, since our very beginning, our existence in the Garden of Eden. I'd like to redefine covenant very quickly, just to kind of set the frame again of what we'll be covering. Basically, a covenant is an agreement between two parties to fulfill obligations made to one another. It contains the terms each party must fulfill for that agreement to be and remain valid.

Each covenant was based on a statement similar to, if you will do this, I will do that. And we know that as we looked at those covenants, we looked at the covenant in the last sermon that God entered into with Adam, and then into with Noah, and then into with Abraham. One of the unique aspects of these covenants that God entered into with mankind that differs from the contracts or agreements we make in life today is that often when we make an agreement, we initiate that often on our side towards another person wanting to have a contract, wanting to have an agreement.

The uniqueness of these contracts that we see, these covenants that God entered into with mankind, is that He was the one who always came to man, saying, will you enter into this covenant with me?

Mankind has never gone to God and said, hey, God, how about we make a deal together? How about we make an agreement that has never occurred in the history of mankind's interactions with our God? It's always been God reaching out in His grace and His goodness towards mankind for our good.

The last sermon, we went through a few foundational aspects. I want to quickly go through those again just as a reminder, because these are critical to understand as we build upon these covenants and what God is doing. We know that all Scripture is given by inspiration of God and that God's Word makes us complete. We are equipped for life and for continuing this walk in righteousness towards our God. That's from 2 Timothy 3, verse 16 and 17. Another foundational Scripture and aspect is Jesus did not come to destroy the law or the prophets, but to fulfill.

And of course, that word fulfill means to fill to the brim, to magnify, to fill all the way to the very top. And so Jesus did not do away with the law, nor with the law itself nailed to the cross. It's another error that is sometimes taught in different churches, that the law itself was nailed to the cross. It was the requirements of the law, which was the death penalty.

That's what was nailed to the cross, not the law itself. And the third foundational aspect that we dove into was why did Jesus come to the earth? He was not to do away with a burdensome law that could not be followed. He came to safe sinners, to seek and to save that which was lost, and to redeem us to God. And we then looked at several passages that back that up again from God's word that makes us very clear. The covenants of God serve as a backbone to the entirety of Scripture and reveals aspects of God's plan for humanity in each contract, each covenant that He entered into with mankind.

This runs from the beginning, the very beginning, in the book of Genesis, all the way through the end of the book, that we see this continual plan that God is working to redeem mankind to Himself, to create a family, to have children, spiritual children. This theme runs all the way through, and this theme touches in every single covenant that God has entered into with mankind. They are not some worn-out, old agreements, but rather they are covenants of hope and promise.

We talked a lot about that hope and that promise, and we're going to build on that again today. For this sermon, we'll look at the next covenant that God entered into with man. The old covenant is often what we refer to it as. It's also referred to as the Mosaic covenant, the covenant with Israel, or the Sinai covenant. We'll see that used interchangeably in a lot of different writings and a lot of different speakers. The books containing God's instructions to Israel, the Pentateuch, became Israel's ancient Israel's supreme religious and legal code.

They contain not only the guidelines, laws, and procedures by which its citizens were to be judged, but also the rituals and ceremonies that represented, symbolically, the kind of relationship God wanted them to have with him. So, today, we'll explore what is referred to as the old covenant, or the covenant God entered into with Israel at Mount Sinai. One of the important things that we started to dive into last week, and this theme is going to continue to carry through all of these discussions and sermons, and it's the core of what God is doing in the lives of humanity.

God has always been about our heart. 100%. And this is the struggle that Israel dealt with as they lost their way in Egypt's pagan society. You can put in your notes, as a reminder, Deuteronomy 5 and verse 29. We read through that. If you're reading through the Bible program in the book of Deuteronomy, as we did this past week, you would have read through this yesterday. Deuteronomy 5.29, Know that they had such a heart in them that they would fear me and always keep all my commandments, that it might be well with them and with their children forever, that they would have such a heart.

I think in a lot of times, as we read through the Exodus account or Deuteronomy or through Israel's account, I think many times I have missed how important the matter of the heart is. I think many... I know in... you know how it is. As you prepare a sermon, you pour a lot more energy into trying to figure out how are we going to teach this?

How is God going to allow his inspiration to come in and guide me down a path to expound on the words properly? And God always brings the light anytime we dive into his word, a deeper understanding, a deeper revelation. It's the beauty of God's word. And I think so many times when I'd look back at ancient Israel, I'd look back at their fallacies, I'd look back at where they fell short. I focused so much on the physical aspects, right? It was a physical nation made up of physical people with a physical law, and they had these physical aspects that they were asked by God to do, and they physically broke so many of his laws.

And there's such... to me, often when I think back in how I've read through the Pentateuch, read through ancient Israel, it was as a physical nation that failed in the physical. But when we see what God was wanting them to do, it was a spiritual level that was always underneath the scene. It was a heart matter. It wasn't so much about the physical. God gives us laws, and he gave Israel laws, and they were to keep them, and there were physical aspects about it. Don't get me wrong.

But God was always focused on the heart. He has never not been focused on the heart. I mean, we know that as New Covenant Christians, as ones saved by Jesus Christ's sacrifice and his blood, that God wants us to follow him from the heart. The commandments are no longer written on tablets of stone. They're written on our hearts.

We know this, but God wanted a heartfelt relationship with Israel. He always has, and he always has wanted this with mankind. At the time of the Sinai Covenant, the Messiah had not yet come. So eternal life was not offered to the people as it is to you and me today through this covenant. Now, there were a few unique people who were given and gifted God's Spirit in the Old Covenant, but the vast majority of Israel never received that gift.

It was not made available to them as it is to you and me today. Exodus 19, and that's where we'll open our Bibles, if you'll go to Exodus 19 with me. This passage opens up in a similar place to where the Bible reading program has us in Deuteronomy as well. Exodus 19, and we'll start reading in verse 4. It opens up, this chapter does, with Moses and the Israelites arriving in the Sinai wilderness and camping near Mount Sinai. And Moses went up to God in verse 3, and the Lord began to give him instructions, which he was to then relay on to the Israelites. And so we're going to jump in here in Exodus 19 in chapter 4, where he says, you have seen what I did to the Egyptians and how I bore you on eagle's wings and brought you to myself. Now therefore, if you will indeed obey my voice and keep my covenant, then you shall be a special treasure to me above all people, and for all the earth is mine. And you shall be to me a kingdom of priests and of a holy nation, and these are the words which you shall speak to the children of Israel. So Moses came and called for the elders of the people and laid before them all these words which the Lord commanded him. Then all the people answered together and said, all that the Lord has spoken, we will do.

I think in many of the times that I've shared this passage or other pastors have shared, I've heard sermons on this, this is where the story deviates, right? And then they start going down that path of everything they didn't do, right? That Israel broke, that Israel didn't follow, and we get down into the physical aspects again.

But Israel told God themselves that they would do everything that he had spoken.

We're going to do this. We're going to go forward. We're going to follow it.

So Moses, it says, brought back the words of the people to the Lord.

And the Lord said to Moses, Behold, I come to you in the thick cloud that the people may hear when I speak. And so God is set in the stage that he is going to talk to his people that just said that they'll do everything that he has asked them to do.

He says that the people may hear when I speak with you and believe you forever. So Moses told the words of the people to the Lord. Then the Lord said to Moses, Go to the people and consecrate them today and tomorrow and let them wash their clothes and let them be ready for the third day for in the third day, the Lord will come down upon Mount Sinai in the sight of all the people. If you have a King James version that you're reading from today, it says sanctify in verse 10. Go to the people and sanctify them, which means to prepare or dedicate or make to be holy or to be separate.

God needed them to be holy because he was about to come and personally interact with them in a way that they had not seen before. They had to get their stuff together, right? To wash themselves, to be ready, and then the third day he was going to come and to speak with them.

We know if we're not going to read through Exodus 20, but we know Exodus 20 is another one of those passages that Mr. Cook referenced where the Ten Commandments are listed. And God himself verbalized these Ten Commandments to Israel. Talk about having people shaking in their boots.

I've never had God talk to me with thunders and lightnings in this type of vocalized way.

I can't imagine the magnitude. I mean, we've seen that maybe displayed in movies or in other ideas, but the way that he was going to come and to personally interact with his people to show them who he was, but also to set that expectation of what they were to do. They said they would follow. They said they would obey. Okay, here it comes. This is what you have to do. I think about, you know, how often I'll go and visualize, like, what if we were there? What if I was there? And you know me, I'm a sound guy. You see me running around losing my mind on the hallway day setting up sound. I think through these things. I think through where to voice speakers, how much cable am I going to need? All these different things to make sure that the voice goes out clear. God didn't need all that, but yet for this multitude of people, this huge number of people, God was going to make sure that nobody was missing a word. There was nobody at the back of the group of Israel saying, can you hear what he's saying? I'm not totally making it out. Like, I got a couple of those words. He was going to clearly articulate his expectations for his people so that they were without excuse. They didn't just hear it from Moses, and some might have said, well, maybe Moses didn't get the translation right. Maybe he missed a few words. It's like that telephone game, right? You pass that message along, it changes as the further goes.

No, God was going to talk to his people himself, and he spoke in a way that no one missed a word, and there would not be a single question about what he expected of his people. Let's skip through that part of Exodus, but let's go of Exodus 20, but let's look at Exodus 20 and verse 18 at the conclusion of God talking with his people. What was their reaction?

Exodus 20 verse 18, now all the people witnessed the thunderings, the lightning flashes, the sound of the trumpet and the mountain smoking, and then when the people saw it, they trembled and stood afar off. Then they said to Moses, you speak with us, and we will hear, but let not God speak with us, lest we die. Another tie into the Deuteronomy reading program that references part in the early books that we just read, or early chapters that we just read this week. Verse 20, and Moses said to the people, do not fear, for God has come to test you, and that his fear may be before you, so that you may not sin. God wanted to reach their hearts, but thunderings and lightning flashes will only do so much, right? There's only so much that the physical can accomplish, and it's not that God made a mistake in presenting himself this way. The problem, again, was with Israel's heart. Let's look a few chapters forward, Exodus chapter 24, but as we move to Exodus 24, let's consider some of the things in these next chapters. After God gave the Ten Commandments, God then gave laws concerning violence, laws concerning animals. In chapter 21, he gets into responsibilities for properties. He gets into the Sabbath and the annual feasts, and then we get up to chapter 24, Exodus 24, and verse 3. And it says, so Moses came and told the people all the words of the Lord and all the judgments, and all the people answered with one voice and said all the words which the Lord has said we will do. Again, repeating this thought, this messaging back to God, saying we will follow.

And Moses wrote all the words of the Lord, and he rose early in the morning, and he built an altar at the foot of the mountain and the twelve pillars, according to the twelve tribes of Israel. Then he sent young men of the children of Israel who offered burnt offerings and sacrificed peace offerings of oxen to the Lord. And Moses took half of the blood, and he put it in the basins, and half the blood he sprinkled on the altar. Then he took notice the book of the covenant, and he read it in the hearing of the people, and they said all that the Lord has said we will do and be obedient. Third time they repeated this similar statement. And Moses took the blood, sprinkled it on the people, and said this is the blood of the covenant which the Lord has made with you according to all of these words. And so there was a shedding of blood again, as we saw in the previous covenants. We see a shedding of blood in this covenant, and we know there is a shedding of blood in the new covenant that we are under today. So there was this considerable shedding of blood that continued to have happened as God entered into covenants with his people. So we see that God in his greatness, his goodness and faithfulness remembered and followed through with the promises he made to Abraham. That he would have an innumerable nation, that he would pour out his promises and his blessings upon his people, which their father would be Abraham. But what we don't see in this covenant at Mount Sinai is any promise of eternal life. Make sure you note that. Keep this in mind as we continue with this study, that there is no promise of eternal life listed in this covenant that God made at Mount Sinai. There's physical promises, physical blessings, but no promise of eternal life. We see in the rest of Exodus in the book of the Pentateuch, the laws and statutes and judgments that God amends, to the original commandments that God's people like Noah, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob all followed as they walked with God. But God through Moses offers a warning that they think that they not think his blessings are a result of their own righteousness in following God's commands. Let's jump to Deuteronomy chapter 9.

One of the things I didn't realize putting this together, these series, was that the Home Office was going to ask us to read through the book of Deuteronomy, but it fits beautifully with what we've been looking at, what we're going to continue to look at today, and as we go forward.

So we're going to read through some of probably next week's Bible reading today, but just note the connection and the tie-in. I hope it'll come out more powerfully as we read this again this coming week. Deuteronomy 9 and verse 1. God gives us warning to his people because as he gives them physical laws, physical things that they are to do, there's a tendency in our weakness of heart to think that if we dot our i's, cross our t's, then we become righteous before God.

And he's saying, be careful with this train of thought. Notice verse 1. Deuteronomy 9 verse 1, Here, O Israel, you are to cross over the Jordan today and to go into dispossessed nations greater and mightier than yourself. City's great and fortified up to heaven. Do not think, verse 4, I'm skipping to verse 4, do not think in your heart after the Lord your God has cast them out before you, saying, Because of my righteousness, the Lord has brought me in to possess this land.

But it is because of the wickedness of these nations that the Lord is driving them out from before you. It is not because of your righteousness or the uprightness of your heart that you go in to possess their land, but because of the wickedness of these nations that the Lord your God drives them out from before you. And that notice, he may fulfill the word which the Lord swore to your fathers to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Remember, when we looked at the one of the covenants that God entered into with Abraham, and there was a ceremony with the splitting of the animals where the animals were cut into two pieces and laid down on either side except for the birds.

And then, then God, his spirit, walked through the midst of those animals to confirm that covenant that he was making with with Abraham. And what was unique, and just I know not everybody online, maybe not everyone here heard that message, but what was unique in that is that and the understanding that what was occurring in society at that time was this is a way that people would signify the contract or the agreement that they're making with another person.

They would, two people, would come together. They would make a deal. They would split an animal in half, thus spilling its blood on the ground. And then they would walk between the two pieces, and they would do this publicly so that everyone who saw it would recognize that symbolically they're saying, and probably truthfully, that if I don't hold up my part of this contract, this deal with this other person, may the same thing happen to me.

May my blood be spilled on the ground. And so they're saying it's more than a handshake. This is life or death. But with Abraham and those animals laying there, Abraham did not walk amongst these two sides of the animals. God's spirit did. God signified himself through walking through that, that he would make this contract. He would hold his part of the deal to the very end. And thus, we see this playing out before our eyes here, as Israel's about to possess the Promised Land. And this is why God is doing it. Not because Israel was righteous as a people, but because God does not break his promises.

And that's what he's saying here again, that he may, in verse 5, he may fulfill the Word which the Lord swore to your fathers to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Verse 6, therefore understand that the Lord your God is not giving you this good land to possess because of your righteousness, for you are a stiff-necked people. You are a stubborn people.

Then he says, remember, do not forget, because that's what they kept falling back into, right? They kept forgetting what God had told them to do. He says, remember, do not forget how you provoked the Lord your God to wrath in the wilderness.

From the day that you departed from the land of Egypt until you came to this place, you have been rebellious against the Lord. And then flip forward to chapter 10, Deuteronomy 10, verse 12. He says, and now, Israel, what does the Lord your God require of you but to fear the Lord your God, to walk in all his ways, and to love him, to serve the Lord your God with all of your heart and with all of your soul, and to keep the commandments of the Lord, and his statutes which I command you today.

Why? Because therefore you are good. I command you today for your good. And then verse 16 says, therefore, circumcise the foreskin of your heart and be stiffed, stiff-necked, no longer.

This is the intent that God has always had for his people, to walk with them from a heart that wants to obey. It has never been about the physical being the supreme importance to God. It's always been about the heart. Like, follow me because I love you and I care about you. Follow me because you see that what I'm giving you is for your good. Last week, Laura and I were talking about this message and the concepts and, you know, every analogy falls short and I was trying to think up. We were trying to think up an analogy would work and just naturally it just came. God provides it so often. I couldn't help but think of like a child on a bike with training wheels on the bike crane. As parents who've bought our kids bikes, I never had training wheels. My brother got them, so he must have been the more important one to my parents. They just pushed me down the hill and said, figure out how to ride your bike. I was three years older than Troy and so I should have known. I should be able to pick it up faster. But often parents will put training wheels on our kids' bikes, right? It's not because we don't love them or that we don't believe they're going to ever figure this out, but we do it as a guide, as a help, right? Because we want them to learn how to ride a bike. We want them to internalize within their heart how to find balance, how to steer a bike. As the old adage goes, you never forget how to ride a bike, right? It's a life lesson. It's one of those things you always can do for the rest of your life once you learn how to do it. Why? Because you've internalized how to ride a bike. And so we put training wheels on a bike so that God so that we can learn how to and our children can learn how to ride a bike and hopefully not wreck. Why? Because we know there's laws of nature all around us. Gravity being one of them. You fall off a bike, you're going to hit the ground hard, you're going to get hurt. And so we're trying to protect our children from doing that because these laws are permanent. These laws are all around us.

But then our goal is not to leave the training wheels on forever, right? We don't want to send our 16-year-old out to ride his bike with his buddies with training wheels still on his bike.

There comes a point where the training wheels have to come off and it's like you're riding a bike now.

And it doesn't mean that you still don't wreck occasionally, right? You still don't bang up your bike, you bang up your knees and elbows, but you continue to learn, you get back on the bike, and you continue to ride. But there's not a point to where, okay, we take them off when they're five and they learn how to ride a bike, and then at age 20 they're about to go out and experience the world or whatever, and we're like, well, we've got to get your training wheels back on the bike. No, because they've internalized how to ride the bike. They don't need the training wheels anymore. They don't need these guard rails. They don't need this protection. We just read in Deuteronomy 10 and 12 or Deuteronomy chapter 10 verse 12 and 13 that God wanted them to internalize His way of life.

He wanted them to follow Him from the heart, to see that this way is a better way to go, that this will lead to a happier, more peaceful life. So just walk with me. God is inviting them.

Follow me. Listen to what I've told you to do, because this is for your good.

In Deuteronomy 10 and verse 16, which we read, is also one of those passages I think sometimes we kind of skip over when thinking about all the physical aspects of the Old Covenant, physical nation, physical people, physical sacrifices. God wanted them to circumcise their heart and to not be stiff-necked any longer. He wanted them to internalize this way of life in their heart.

There is no question that God is about the heart. He always has been, and He always will be.

I want to continue in the book of Deuteronomy, but we're going to jump to the end. Deuteronomy chapter 30, because there's another heart passage in this book. I think many times when we cross into other circles of Christianity or we talk to other people and they ask about the Old Covenant or the New Covenant or the Old Testament or the New Testament, there's a focus often on why do you do the things that you do.

And it's important that we understand that God knows us better than we know ourselves.

There's a way of operating, a way of following Him that He's given us, but it always comes back to being heartfelt. Deuteronomy chapter 30 and in verse 1, the leading right up to this, God has in chapter 28 just laid out the promises of blessings and cursings. And so He says, walk in this way because there's a way that's going to be better, a way that's going to bring curses. Notice what He says here. Deuteronomy 30 verse 1, He says, Now it shall come to pass when all these things come upon you, the blessings and the curse for which I have set before you, and you call them to mind among the nations where the Lord your God drives you. And you return to the Lord your God and obey His voice according to all that I command you today and you and your children with you, all your heart with with all your heart and with all your soul. But notice what how He transitions here that the Lord your God will bring you back from captivity and have compassion on you and gather you again from the nations where the Lord your God has scattered you. It seems like a weird insert right here, right? Because they haven't even crossed into the across the Jordan River yet. They haven't even inherited the Promised Land. They haven't even dispossessed the people that are living there. And God's already saying, you're going to go into captivity? It seems like a weird insert that God is reminding Israel, but it's an important one that they needed to know because He's foreshadowing what's going to come.

Why? Because God knows us better than we know ourselves. He knew they were for a time going to follow His laws and His teachings. They were going to reap His blessings, but then as they grew fat on the land, as we see in Scripture, they were going to start to walk according to their own ways. They were going to start to bring in the gods and the pagan worship of the nations around them. They were going to start to forget who was their God and why they were given this wonderful place to live. It wasn't because of their righteousness. And they were going to forget these things. And God is saying, you're going to go down a path because you're bent on walking away from me because you don't have this heart. Notice verse 4, and if any of you are driven out to the furthest parts of heaven, and from there the Lord your God will gather you, and from there He will bring you. So He's promising this message of redemption that runs through Scripture, this message of hope that is part of every single covenant God has entered into. He's reminding them again, I will bring you back. I will re-establish you. Verse 5, then the Lord your God will bring you to the land which your Father has possessed, and you shall possess it. He will prosper you and multiply you more than your Father's. And again, verse 6, getting back to the heart, and the Lord your God will circumcise your heart and the heart of your descendants to love the Lord your God with all of your heart and with all of your soul that you may live. How many passages, how many scriptures over these last few sermons have we seen that God wants the heart? That is His focus. Again, I think just how many times I've read through these accounts, how many times I've read through the story of Israel, I often, my mind, would go and focus on the physical parts, right? The physical nation, physical people, physical laws, physical sacrifices, and I think many times I missed how many passages are through the Pentateuch. This law that God gave to Israel is talking about the heart, because this has always been His focus. It's not just New Covenant where a lot of people like to go and say, well, Jesus died for our sins, and our hearts are changed, and we have a spirit. God has always been focused on the heart and wanting people to walk with Him with that type of heart.

There's absolutely no question what was God's hope and intent for mankind from the very beginning at the Garden of Eden. He has always been about the heart, and He always will be. But He had a plan already lined up because He knew we had a heart problem. The circumcision of the heart is the plan for eternal life that God gives the foreshadow of, but with this foreshadow, eternal life is still not a promise. It's still not a guarantee that was attached to this old covenant. Again, physical blessings, yes. A physical nation, yes. A physical walk with God, absolutely. But eternal life was not guaranteed through this old covenant. Continuing on in Deuteronomy 30 verse 15, He says, See, I have set before you today life and good, death and evil, and that I command you today to love the Lord your God, to walk in His ways, and to keep His commandments, His statutes, and His judgments, that you may live and multiply, and the Lord your God will bless you in the land which you go to possess. Verse 19, He says, I call heaven and earth as a witness today against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing. Therefore, choose life that both you and your descendants may live, that you may love the Lord your God, that you may obey His voice, and that you may cling to Him, for He is your life and the length of your days, and that you may dwell in the land which the Lord swore to your fathers to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob to give them. The Sinai covenant sealed a unique relationship between the Israelites and God. The benefit of that relationship were for their own good, available to them only if they did their part by following His instructions. This covenant would include physical blessings of prosperity, of strength, of abundance, safety, and security, but again, no promise of eternal life. Even with God giving a good and right system of governance for His people, the vast majority of their time, they struggle to follow God, hence why we desperately need God's Spirit. Even with the Israelites being given everything they needed to be a blessed nation, they just wouldn't follow God the way that He instructed. With all of this in mind, I'd like to move to the New Testament into the book of Galatians. We're going to look at the very beginning of this book and then move into chapter 3, but Galatians 1 and verse 6. In the book of Galatians, the apostle Paul is dealing with a heart issue, not too un-similar to what we see at the beginning of our Bibles. The heart issue existed because many of the Jewish converts to Christianity are wanting to hold the Gentiles, those coming into the truth of the faith of Jesus Christ. They wanted to hold them to rules and regulations of the Old Covenant. So Paul works to explain the purpose of the law under the Old Covenant here in Galatians. Notice right at the very beginning, Paul spells out why he's writing this letter. Galatians 1 verse 6, he says, I marvel that you are turning away so soon from Him who has called you in the grace of Christ to a different gospel, which is not another, but there are some who trouble you and want to pervert the gospel of Christ. The Jameson Fossum Brown commentary on speaking on the different gospel of which they want to pervert as a true gospel says this, though acknowledging Christ, they insisted on circumcision and Jewish ordinances and professed to rest on the authority of other apostles, namely Peter and James.

But Paul recognizes no gospel save the pure gospel. And so there's this question, what should we do? Should this be part of the New Covenant? Should this be part of our walk with Christ?

Let's next go to Galatians 3 and see the connection to what we've been reading in the books of Exodus and Deuteronomy. Galatians 3 and verse 16.

And we're going to go through this kind of in a slow fashion because we've got to pull out many aspects here and build upon them. It says, Now to Abraham and his seed, notice capital S, where the promises made, he does not say, And to seeds, as in plural, as of many, but as to one, and to your seed, who is Christ. And this I say that the law, which was 430 years later, cannot annul the covenant that was confirmed before by God in Christ, that it should make the promise of no effect. Paul is here referencing to the time between Abraham and Israel's exodus from Egypt, 430 years. And he's saying that it cannot annul the covenant that was confirmed before by God in Christ, that it should make the promise of eternal life of no effect. Notice verse 18. For if the inheritance is of the law, it is no longer of promise, but God gave it to Abraham by promise. So we can see here that the perfect keeping of the law, if that was even possible for mankind, could not provide the inheritance to be sons and daughters of God. It was through His grace that He entered into a covenant with Abraham, and God remained faithful from the original covenant with Adam. Remember, we looked at that Latin word protoevangelium, which means the first gospel, or the first good news. It goes all the way back to Adam. Remember when Adam sinned, Adam and Eve sinned, they ate of the wrong tree, and the penalty was death. At that exact moment, there was no hope in their minds, there was no direction forward, because the only direction was death, eternal death. But God, before the foundations of the world, established and put into effect a plan to redeem all of humanity back to Himself. We know that. And that plan is that in this instance of pointing to who is responsible being Satan the devil for deceiving and for lying, that that protoevangelium came forth, this first gospel, this first good news, that God has a plan to reconcile humanity to Himself. And through the covenant with Abraham, that God Himself, He Himself, would provide redemption for His people.

Ultimately, through the line of Abraham, Jesus Christ would eventually be born of Mary and would become the Savior of the world. Going on in Galatians 3 and verse 19, Paul says, So what purpose, then, does the law serve? It was added because of transgressions, till the seed should come, to whom the promise was made, and it was appointed through angels by the hand of a mediator. There's a lot to unpack in this verse, so hang in there with me a little bit.

First, what was added to the law that Paul speaks of? What was added to the law? Because Paul obviously says something was added to the law. What was added? Was it the Ten Commandments? Was that what was added to the law at Mount Sinai? It's not, because they were already in effect prior to the Israelites arriving at Mount Sinai. They had just forgotten their way, and God wanted to make sure that He Himself verbalized these commandments. So there is no doubt.

We looked at how, remembering one of the previous sermons, when we looked at the Ten Commandments given before Mount Sinai, we saw that the Sabbath, as Mr. Cook mentioned as well, the Sabbath was in place all the way back to the Garden of Eden, a day of rest when God rested.

We know that in Exodus 16, prior to the giving of the commandments, the Sabbath is referenced again when God gave them manna and said, on six days you gather the manna, but on the seventh day you don't.

So we know that this is prior to that. We know that Abel knew he shouldn't kill his brother.

We know that lying was wrong. We know that Abraham lied about Sarah being his wife. Yeah, Sarah being his sister. Thank you. You guys know your Bibles, and that's why you always make me nervous getting up here, because if I go astray, you're going to fix it. But I want you to.

His sister, he lied about it. He knew it was wrong. God didn't say it was okay. We know all these Ten Commandments were listed. So what purpose then does it all serve? It was added. What was added?

We know that Abraham obeyed, in Genesis 26 verse 5, Abraham obeyed my voice and kept my charge, my commandments, my statutes, and my laws. So because we know that God's laws were already in place, additional instructions were added to the original law of God, and they were added. Why?

Because of Israel's transgression of God's permanent law. Another way to look at this might be to say temporary law was added because permanent law was violated. So temporary things like wearing tassels were added to the law. The moral law, how to interact with one another, had to be added. The Levitical law was added because Israel would need priests to serve in the physical tabernacle and temple, and there would be a high priest with a specific temporary responsibility until our great high priest, Jesus Christ, would come and redeem his people. The sacrificial system was also added in. Let's quickly jump to Jeremiah 7 in verse 1. We're going to come back to Galatians, so if you want to hold your finger here, we're coming back. But Jeremiah 7 in verse 1. There's another aspect to draw from this passage.

Jeremiah 7 in verse 1.

Keep this in mind as we consider the sacrificial system that was added in. Jeremiah 7 in verse 1. It says of the word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord, saying, Stand in the gate of the Lord's house and proclaim there this word, and say, Hear the word of the Lord, all you of Judah, who enter in at these gates to worship the Lord. And then he begins to outline all of their transgressions, everything that they're not doing, that they should be doing to follow God. And then verse 22, he says, For I did not speak to your fathers or command them in the day that I brought them out of the land of Egypt concerning burnt offerings or sacrifices. But this is what I commanded them, saying, Obey my voice, and I will be your God, and you shall be my people, and walk in all the ways that I have commanded you, that it may be well with you. So God implemented the sacrificial system because they would not heed and obey his voice. That was not his plan from the beginning. It was not his intent, but when they went astray, when they wouldn't follow with his heart, he said, Okay, here comes the training wheels. Here comes some additional aspects I'm going to add in because you have to understand what you're doing. Because your heart is not sensitive, it's not soft, I have to show you what sin costs. Because ultimately, we knew it would cost, and God knew, and we now know it would cost our Savior's life, right? And so the sacrificial system had to come in. But God is saying there again, verse 22, For I did not speak to your fathers or command them in the day that I brought them out of the land of Egypt concerning burnt offerings and sacrifices because it wasn't my plan. I didn't want to have to get to that point, but you needed those training wheels. Verse 24, He says, Yet they did not obey or incline their ear, but they followed the counsels and the dictates of their evil hearts, and notice went backward and not forward. They had to have additional physical aspects added in because they went backward.

And God was not going to let them just keep going backwards and backwards and backwards.

It's kind of like having a little kid on a bike with no training wheels, and they just keep wrecking and wrecking, and you just see them damage their body more and more. They hurt themselves more and more. And out of His grace and compassion, He goes, I want you to stop hurting yourself.

So bring these other items alongside so you can understand the significance of what I'm trying to teach you, what I'm trying to show you, so that you can walk with the heart that I want you to have.

It's part of that eternal plan, that first gospel, that first good news of God redeeming and bringing along His people. So we see that these things were added would be in effect until the seed would come. Remember, going back to Galatians, where were we? Galatians 3 verse 19. Let's go back there.

Actually, let's hold on for a second, because you have that in your notes. Galatians 3 verse 19. I'll read this again. What purpose then do the gospel serve? It was added because of transgressions, comma, till the seed should come to whom the promise was made. This reference to the seed is a reference to Genesis 22. Let's quickly go there before we get back to Galatians. Genesis 22 in verse 16. I know this is a very technical. I apologize last message, kind of, because I know this is a technical one. I know this is kind of almost lecture style, getting into this, but it is so important that we understand what God is doing from the very beginning through each of the covenants, what was established in these covenants, what carries forward, and what we continue to do under the new covenant, which we'll get into in another Sabbath. But Genesis 22 verse 16, it's Paul's referencing and tying back into this passage here, this promise to Abraham. Genesis 22 verse 16, and said, this is God, and by myself I have sworn, says the Lord, because you have done this thing and have not withheld your son, your only son. This is where Abraham was about to sacrifice Isaac to kill Isaac. He says, because you have not withheld this, the promised son, he says, blessings, I will bless you and multiply, I will multiply your descendants as the stars of the heaven, as the sand, which is on the seashore, and your descendants shall possess the gate of their enemy. And it was in your seed, all the nations of the earth shall be blessed, because you have obeyed my voice. Eventually, Jesus Christ would come through the descendants of Abraham, and all the world, all the earth, would be blessed. So this Sinai covenant was designed to cover in principle every major aspect of national life in ancient Israel, to find a system of governance for a nation whose citizens, except for a few selected leaders, did not have God's Spirit. But let's jump back into Galatians, chapter 3 and verse 20, because there's more here that we have to unpack. Galatians 3 verse 20 says, now Paul says, now a mediator does not mediate for one only, but God is one. Is the law then against the promises of God? Certainly not. For if there had been a law given which would have given life, if there had been a law which, a law given which could have given life, truly righteousness would have been by the law. But with that, we still know that Abraham, who was righteous before God, kept the commandments, kept the statutes, kept the laws of God. And Genesis 15 verse 6 says, and he believed in the Lord, and he accounted it to him for righteousness. So we know that Abraham was accounted to righteousness because of his belief, his faith in God. This is what allowed him to be righteous before God. And this is a tie-in back to that from here in Galatians 3 and verse 21. But let's jump up a little bit. Galatians 3 and verse 5, I purposely skipped over that to tie it back in here, because notice what Paul says in Galatians 3 and verse 5. Therefore, he who supplied the Spirit to you and works miracles among you, he does he do it by the works of the law or by the hearing of faith. Just as Abraham believed God and it was accounted to him for righteousness, therefore know that only those who are of faith are sons of Abraham. And the Scripture foreseen that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel to Abraham beforehand, saying, and you all the nations shall be blessed, so then those who are of faith are blessed with believing in Abraham.

It gets back to the heart again, right? Abraham followed and obeyed God because of his heart. But nowhere does it say that Abraham didn't follow God's laws, his statutes, that holy law that we continue to follow today. But it was through his faith, through his belief, that it was accounted him to righteousness. I'm going to repeat Galatians 3 verse 21 again, and then we're going to continue on. It says, so is the law then against the promises of God? Is the law against what what Abraham did in his own life? Certainly not. For if there had been a law given which could have given life, truly righteousness would have been by the law.

But the scripture has confined under all sin that the promise by faith in Jesus Christ might be given to those who believe. But before faith came, we were kept under guard by the law, kept for the faith which would afterward be revealed. So what was the purpose of this additional law that came alongside the permanent law? Verse 24. Therefore, the law was our tutor to bring us to Christ that we might be justified by faith.

All of the things included with the old covenant was to help the Israelites grow and understand more deeply of how God wanted a heartfelt relationship with them. Again, the tutor, a helper, a teacher, was brought alongside. That's what the law served to teach. It was the training wheels to the bike so that when they wouldn't wreck it as often and that then they would learn how to, with the balance that the training wheels provide, to internalize what it means to walk with God, what it means to ride a bike and to learn balance and to learn how to steer and to learn how fast you should go or how to brake. That was the purpose of this law. It was as a tutor to bring us to Christ. But again, we don't leave the wheels or the training wheels permanently on the bike for the rest of their life. There were certain aspects that were changed. This is what it served as a shadow of what Jesus Christ himself would come and magnify. This is what is so beautiful about the book of Hebrews. We're not going to have time to get into that today, maybe in a future message. But Hebrews helps us understand how Jesus Christ is superior to these aspects that God brought alongside of the law and the old covenant. We had physical animal sacrifices, but Jesus' sacrifice is superior. We have a human high priest, but Jesus is superior as our eternal high priest. We had limited promises, but through the acceptance of Jesus as mediator, better or superior promises are given. We had limited access to God, but now there's unlimited access through Jesus, again superior. There was a limited number of people who had access to God's promises, but it is now all available because Jesus died for all, again superior, that everyone would have the opportunity of eternal life. Continuing in verse 25 of Galatians 3, he says, But after faith has come, we are no longer under a tutor. For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus, for as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female. For you are all one in Christ Jesus, and if you are Christ, then you are Abraham's seed and heirs according to the promise. As we begin to wrap up, an important note we need to acknowledge is the Sinai covenant was not a failure of a covenant. God was not blindsided by Israel's failures, he anticipated them. From the beginning covenant made with Adam, God revealed hints of a better solution to the sinfulness of mankind that could be made available only through the coming Messiah. These hints, in the form of various ceremonies, symbols, and rituals, are woven throughout the instructions given under the Sinai covenant. This covenant accomplished precisely what God intended it to accomplish. As our closing scripture, let's look at Romans 3 and verse 9.

Notice what Paul observed of mankind and verbalized in written form for us here. Romans 3 and verse 9.

Paul says, What then? Are we better than they? Not at all. For we have previously charged both Jews and Greeks that they are all under sin. As it is written, there is none righteous, no, not one. There is none who understands, there is none who seek after God. They have all turned aside, they have together become unprofitable. There is none who does good, no, not one. We all, sadly, fall short.

We fall short even with God's Spirit, even with the spiritual promises of eternal life. We continue at times to fall short because, again, we are working daily and having this heart transplanted to a softer heart to continue to give more of our heart to God, because He's always been about the heart. The Sinai covenant is not the complete final model for a relationship with God. Though it contained many permanent eternal principles, many of its figurative benefits, instructive as they were, represented only symbolically the far better benefits included in the New Covenant relationship with God that was established later by Jesus Christ, the promised Messiah. A future revision of that covenant, particularly in those features linked to the death and mission of the coming Messiah, was promised. God announced through His prophets that with this better covenant He would put His laws in the mind of humanity and He would write them on their hearts. He promised to provide at the individual level direct access to Him.

He promised a covenant that would be written on the heart. And I hope that in the next time I'm with you we can dive into that next covenant as we continue through the series. Again, I know this is a lot to take in. This is a lot of technical aspects, but I hope as we continue to work through this we see this serves as a backbone of what God is doing, especially with the Holy Days coming up and what they picture as well, that we see God's plan for all of humanity woven throughout His Scripture from the very beginning of sin entering into mankind when Adam and Eve fell short of the standard that God placed all the way to the end when God will redeem His people and all the people of the world. It's a beautiful theme that He has woven through here, and so thank you for working and staying with me as we went through this. I didn't see anybody. I don't think it up and leave and put out a blanket on the floor and start taking a nap or anything. That's for later, right? But I appreciate your attention to this, and I appreciate you walking with me through this, because it really does bring to life more beautifully the promises of God and what He is doing in all of humanity.