This morning we continue our series “Grace that is Simply Amazing” by continuing to look at The Law given under Moses vs. the Grace provided by Jesus. Two days ago I showed you scripture after scripture where the nation of Israel murmured and complained. But instead of getting angry and allowing the people to reap a bad harvest from bad seed, the Lord, by His Grace, blessed the people richly. Every fresh complaint from the people was met with a fresh outpour of Grace from God. They did nothing right, but God blessed them richly anyway. It was obvious that God was operating by Grace. During the time of complaining not one Israelite died or even got sick. God blessed them, shielded them, protected them and led them by Grace. He led them with a cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night. Not because the people were earning anything, but only because of God’s Grace.
Everything seemed to change in Exodus 19. In verse 6 the Lord said to Moses, “And you will be my kingdom of priests, my holy nation.’ This is the message you must give to the people of Israel.” Notice that the Lord wanted an entire kingdom of priests, not just one tribe of priests, like He ultimately got from the Israelites. He wanted every Israelite to have direct contact with Him and to intercede for the world. Moses shared what God said with the people and their response is found in verse 8. Verse 8 says, “And all the people responded together, “We will do everything the LORD has commanded.” So Moses brought the people’s answer back to the LORD.” At first glance there does not seem to be anything wrong with their response, but the Hebrew connotation highlights an emphasis on the word “We.” It was as if the people were saying, “Okay, WE are ready to do everything the LORD commands us to do. WE have not really being doing anything yet, but WE are ready to do it now. Put it on US. WE are ready. Judge US according to what WE do.” The problem with that is that they had not done anything but complain to this point. They had not earned or deserved any of what God had done for them, and here they were ready to rely on human effort, where they had only been relying on God’s Grace.
After Exodus 19:8 it seems like the nation of Israel was dealing with a different God. He immediately distanced Himself from them. He told them that if they even touched the mountain where He was meeting with Moses, they would die. He told the people to sanctify themselves for three days and to wash their clothes in order to get ready to hear from Him. God had not required ANYTHING from the people prior to this, but once there was a SHIFT to HUMAN EFFORT it seems like the rules changed. In the next chapter the Lord spoke the 10 Commandments and He then continued on for three more chapters of rules and regulations.
In Exodus 24:3 the Bible says, “Then Moses went down to the people and repeated all the instructions and regulations the LORD had given him.” Once again, all the people answered with one voice, “We will do everything the LORD has commanded.” There is that word “WE” again. The Lord then proceeded to give eight more chapters of rules and regulations before He wrote His Law on tablets of stone in chapter 32 and we learned yesterday that the day Moses came down with the tablets 3,000 died because they violated what God had said. This is certainly not the same agreement Abraham lived under, nor the agreement that was in place prior to Exodus 20. In Exodus 19 there was a shift and it was a shift FROM GRACE to HUMAN EFFORT.
So what does this mean to you today? A few quick things.
1. Prior the Law of Moses God blessed Abraham and all those who followed by Grace and they accessed God’s Grace through the vehicle of faith.
2. Once the Law of Moses was in place God blessed people in accordance with human effort. If they did good, God released good. If they did bad, God withheld His protection and they were susceptible to the enemy.
3. The Law of Moses was designed to show mankind that we are not good enough to ever be righteous on our own. Once that realization set in, mankind would then rely on God to save them from their sin.
4. The Law is perfect, but we are flawed. No human (outside of Jesus) has ever fulfilled the Law.
5. Jesus came to fulfill the Law. We are not perfect, but Jesus was perfect for us.
6. Once Jesus died, was buried and resurrected from the dead, He made a way for us to get back under Grace. Jesus redeemed us from the curse of the Law. When we accept Jesus as our Lord we are redeemed from the Law and we get to embrace Grace again.
7. Like Abraham, who was made righteous simply because he believed God, we too are made righteous when we believe. We now we get enjoy all God’s gives us by Grace and we are to access God’s Grace through faith.
Closing Confession: Father, I thank You for helping me to understand Your Grace. Before the Law was given You freely blessed Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph and Moses by Grace. They did not earn anything and You blessed them richly. Not because they were good, but because You are good. Under the Law there was shift to human effort. Under the Law You dealt with mankind according to how good we were. Under the Law you required us to live by a certain set of rules and regulations. The law was designed to get man to the end of himself and to show mankind that we need a Savior. You sent that Savior and His name is Jesus. Under the Law I would be condemned, because I have not been perfect. I have violated Your Commandments time and time again. But Jesus was perfect for me. Jesus redeemed me from the curse of the Law. I am now in Christ and Christ is in me. I am not perfect, but I am forgiven. Like Abraham, I am righteous by faith. Not by works, but by faith. I now receive everything You freely give me by Grace and I access Your Grace through faith! This way I am able to become the man/woman You have called me to be. I declare this by faith. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
This is Today’s Word! Apply it and Prosper.
