LECTURE 4

GOD COMMANDED US A LAW

Mosaic Covenant between God and Israel, Ten Commandments, OT Law Codes, of tabernacle,
priesthood, and sacrifice in the OT priestly code, the death of Christ to the Day of Atonement in
the OT

Mosaic Covenant, a large body of statutes and laws. Ex.18:16. Israelites were expected to obey
the law if God’s promises of deliverance and prosperity were to be fulfilled. Disobedience was
punishable by scattering them to distant places. Repentance would bring them back.
Circumcision of the heart was more meaningful than the circumcision of the flesh. This meant an
inward spiritual relationship between God and Israel and not just an outward relationship based
on appearance or outward behavior

BIBLICAL LAW CODES

FUNDAMENTAL LAW - Ten Commandments (The Tables of the Law)

The Ten Commandments were written on two tablets. all the commandments are in absolute or
apodictic form. They command without option of “either” or “or”

The 1st and 10th commandments are called “bracket commandments.” They express two
fundamental principles.

- The principle of whole hearted worship

- The principle of corrupted heart full of personal desires.

Commandments 1 - 3: Reverence for God

You shall have no other gods before me

You shall not make idols

You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain

It mainly highlighted the aspects of Worship, Idolatry, blasphemy respectively.

Commandment 4 - Reverence For The Sabbath

Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy

This was God’s resting Day (the Sabbath). It is a reminder that humankind has the freedom and
peace as a goal of their creation

Commandment 5 - Reverence For Parents

Honour your father and mother

Reverence for parents was more of a religious than a social obligation. It was similar to that of
honoring God himself. It is the only commandment with earthly promise

Commandment 6 - Protection Of Life

You shall not murder

Murder. This was meant to protect life during the peaceful times

War. Scriptures seem to regard killing during war a special case. It was killing of enemy in
defensive action

Commandment 7 - Protection Of Marriage And Family

You shall not commit adultery

Adultery and divorce

Commandment 8 - Protection Of Property

You shall not steal

Stealing is possession of property illegally

Commandment 9 - Protection Of Justice

You shall not bear false witness against your neighbour

God’s people are called to execute justice in the human community.

Commandment 10 - Protection From Evil Desire

You shall not covet

The heart is deceitful. It pretends to accommodate good desires where as deep inside it is
different. Human desires prohibit them from sincere worship of GOD. Evil desires tend to
control the heart’s focus and concentration

RELIGIOUS, MORAL AND CIVIL LAWS

- Covenant Code

- Holiness Code

- Deuteronomic Code

PURITY LAWS - Priestly Code

THE MOSAIC LAWS

God’s law is given for the whole person; body, spirit and soul. To be lived daily. shows how
religious a person’s life should be lived. Israelites had no distinction between religious, family
and civil practices, customs or laws

To them there was no secular state. The covenant community was a theocracy, i.e It revealed
was ruled by God’s revealed law under the guidance of priests, elders, and judges

ADMINISTERING THE LAW

JUSTICE AT THE GATE

- It was at the gates of a city that the people of the Middle East went for legal business,
conversation, bargaining, and news. Gates were where people met to hear an important
announcement (2Chron.32:6; Jer.7:2; 17:19-27) or the reading of the law

Law was administered in family or the village by elders.

Priests and prophets settled more complex cases

The Character of a just and a godly/holy society

A crime must be punished. The idea that “an eye for an eye” (exodus 21:24) is a primitive and
barbaric form of vengeance. The rule that “the punishment should fit the crime” is at the heart of
our whole legal system.

Violations of the Ten Commandments carried the death penalty

Secret sins resulted in being “cut off” from the covenant by God either physically or spiritually

Care for others

This was through putting in place Purity Laws

HOLINESS IN THE BOOK OF LEVITICUS

Food laws- “Kosher” good to eat.

Leprosy- leprosy was symbolic of the impending danger of sin and infirmity in the covenant
community

Sexual purity- was demanded of all marriages as prescribed in Genesis 2:24

A KINGDOM OF PRIESTS - LAWS OF GOD’S SANCTUARY

Ex. 25

Priesthood In Israel

The high priest, dressed according to the instructions in Exodus Ch 28

They were counsellors

Teachers and interpreters of the law

Ministers of the altar- overseeing the sacrifices.

The Tabernacle (The Tent of Meeting)

Why the Tabernacle?

Worship

Sacrifices

SACRIFICES

Animal sacrifice was a practice common to the patriarchs and the Canaanites. The Mosaic law
regulated the practice within the Sinai covenant community. The Leviticus code described the
following kinds of sacrifices;

The whole Burnt offering Lev.1-2 (see Bible Dict. p.882 Zondervan 1987

The Peace offering Lev. 3;

The Sin offering Lev.4; p.881

The Guilt offering Lev. 5:14-25; p.882

Why Sacrifices?

Act of worship

Act of atonement

Relating The Day of Atonement to the Death of Jesus Christ.

What did the Day of Atonement mean? What about the Death of Jesus Christ?

The blood of animals was not sufficient enough to take away sins (Heb.10:4)

A more superior sacrifice replaced that of animals and that was Jesus Christ

Christ a perfect sacrifice

He is also the high priest you go to directly

It should be noted that Christ is the fulfilment of the OT sacrificial system.

Ex. 25, This passage above shows the glory of God as it settled on Mt. Sinai

Ch.25 God gives Moses guidelines in relation to offerings received from the Israelites.
Lecture 5

CONSUMMATING THE COVENANT (From promise to marriage)

Marriage images are used to help us understand the relationship between God and his people of
Israel. Time comes when promises mature into realities. Engagement has a time when it ceases
and marriage takes place. God’s people had been living under promises, but time has come to
inherit the promised land, and God to claim as his people and be, their God

With this said, this lecture seeks to bring out the following;

FIVE “test questions” in the wilderness of Israel’s readiness to follow God

Comparison between the initial proposal of God in Mt Sinai and its restatement in the Book of
Deuteronomy.

Identifying on the map of Palestine FOUR topographical strips in Canaan, FOUR areas of the
trans-Jordan, and FOUR tribal areas, each with a chief city.

Explaining the difference between covenant renewal in the OT and the new covenant in Christ.

The Sinai Ideal- Num.1-10

At Mt. Sinai God gave the commandments (we may regard them as norms whether
religious/traditional, more like ideal expectations) through Moses. These were the ideal
expectations of God from the Israelites.

The Wilderness Reality- Num. 11-21

The question about the ideal expectations is “how often do we fulfill such obligations.” The
reality always comes out when situations cannot hold. When there is testing, human nature
comes out in full. There are points where even when we knew our boundaries so well, we still
went against these expectations, we all have such moments.

FIVE “test questions” in the wilderness of Israel’s readiness to follow God

Will God Feed His People?

Will God Heal His People?

Will God Speak through One Supreme Prophet?

Will God Forgive through One Supreme Priest?

Will God Renew His People after Sin?

The Wedding Covenant the New Generation of Israel (Restatement by Moses)

The courtship period is coming to an end, in Deuteronomy God makes his final proposal
accompanied by warnings and caution as Israel enters the land of promise. A new generation
prepares to enter the land. The duty of elders is always to remind the young generation what
surround their history.

Witnesses of the Covenant

In our traditional Africa, we have an experience of having witnesses to treaties: the gods. In the
case of Israel’s covenant, the people themselves were witnesses and were compelled to keep
God’s word.

Walking in the Way

Following the law is a way of life. It is essentially an education from childhood. Cultures and
traditions have always valued the wise ways of old to be handed over to the young ones. This is
relatable to continuous renewal (even after settling Israel marked periodic renewal ceremonies
(see Josh. 24) and passing over of the rule from the old to the young ones, teaching them the way
of life and a fact that according to scriptures, obedience of the law was non-negotiable for the
people of Israelites

Consequences of the Covenant

Moses warns Israel of the dreadful consequences of refusing to listen to the voice of the Lord.

Repentance the means of restoration, a way of redeeming (cleansing) themselves, getting back to
the right track, back to God because he is the deliverer, he had promised to be with them, their
God.

The Living Voice of Moses

Deuteronomy consists of addresses given by Moses, much of what is relevant to God’s people
through the ages and can be said to be the living voices of Moses.

Moses’ Last Will and Testament

A Will is a Seal or word left behind by the deceased for blessings or curses based on obedience
of outlined laws/norms (Deut.32,33)
SETTING UP A HOME (Josh.3)
Miracle at the Jordan River
Crossing on dry river bed. Piling 12 stones for the 12 tribes of Israel at the river bed to remember
what God did for them.
Spiritual Warfare at Jericho And Ai
Ai was the next destination on the route of conquest because of its strategic location. Its fall, like
that of Jericho, was critical to the conquering of the whole land. Ai was smaller than Jericho, but
its capture was critical because it gave Israel control of the key highway that stretched through
the central highlands from north to south.
Sending the spies. Rahab saves the spies. God fights for the Israelites to take over Jericho. Ai
though smaller than Jericho, proved hard to conquer because of Israel’s sin and disobedience.
The battles of Israel were not just wars or religious warfare; they were theocratic wars. God
directly controlled over Israel, and the destruction was God's direct order.
New Covenant in The Death of Christ
The whole of the old Covenant overshadows the New covenant in Jesus Christ. Christ is the
mediator of the new covenant. Christ is the perfect high priest. His blood is sufficient and final
for man’s salvation. Christ was both the high priest and the sacrifice
Lecture 6
Leadership in Crisis

This lecture points out the following;

Similarities and differences Canaanite and Israelite religion

Description of the elements of the cycles of sin in the Book of Judges

Lists four Judges and summarizes their strengths and weaknesses

Identifies five kinds of outcasts in Israel and describes their hope for redemption

Comparison between the character of Saul and the young David

Similarities and differences Canaanite and Israelite religion

Similarities

• Outdoor shrines- high places

• Temples

• Animal sacrifices

• Pillars

Differences

Canaanite religion
-Use of idols

-Sacred prostitution

-Child sacrifice

-Ancestor worship

The center of Canaanite religion was fertility, and the chief gods and goddesses were personified
forces of life and death. Understood the “high gods” to be immortal beings distinct from idols.
Canaanite religion was Syncretistic (the blending of many religions, cultures, or concepts)
Problem with Israelites

By adopting Canaanite religion, Israel lost the trust in the activity of a transcendent God

Israel’s covenant demanded strict conformity to the morality of the Ten Commandments.

In reality many Israelites were Yahwists in name but Canaanites in practice

Description of the elements of the cycles of sin in the Book of Judges

The books of Joshua and Judges we see Israel living from light to darkness. The book of Judges
brings about a slow but sure succession into anarchy. By the end of Judges, we see rape,
mutilation and bloodshed. As the spirit of the Lord ceases to come, the people were abandoned;
“everyone did what was right in his own eyes.” (Judges 21:25)

Sin by Israel (idolatry) - Punishment by the Lord (oppression by foreigners) - Outcry to the Lord
by Israel - Deliverance by the Lord (through a Judge) - Peace for Israel (usually 40 years)

Four Judges, summaries, their strengths and weaknesses (Failed Leadership - The Judges)

The major Judges of Israel were Ehud, Deborah, Jephthah, Samson, Othniel, Shamgar, Gideon,
Tola, Jair, Ibzan, Elon, and Abdon, these are mainly found in the book o Judges. Eli the priest
and Samuel the prophet are found in the book of 1 Samuel.

None of the Judges was filled with the spirit of wisdom as Joshua was (Deut.34:9)

They did not keep the Law as their constant guide, they followed their own impulses, they
brought temporary periods of peace and they became tragic figures

As the spirit of the Lord ceases to come, the people were abandoned; “everyone did what was
right in his own eyes.” (Judges 21:25)

EHUD

He was a man off direct action, a frontline leader

He used a perceived weakness (left-handedness) to do a great work for God

He led a revolt against Moabite domination and gave Israel 80 years of peace.

Lessons Learnt from Ehud

Some conditions call for radical action

God responds to the cry of repentance

God is ready to use our unique qualities to accomplish his work.

DEBORAH

She was the fourth and only female judge of Israel

She had special abilities as a mediator, advisor, and counselor

As a leader, she was able to plan, direct, and delegate

She had prophetic power

She was a writer of songs

Lessons learnt from Deborah

God chooses leaders by his standards, not ours

Wise leaders choose good helpers

Deborah was not a self-exalting leader for success realized (Judges.5)

Half-Hearted Heroes

Jephthah - A Foolish Vow

He was son of Gilead of a prostitute mother

His father had other sons by his official wife

However, he was bitter over the treatment he received from his brothers

When they grew up, they chased Jephthah off the land not to inherit their father’s property
saying he was a son of a prostitute.
Israel at the same time was attacked by the Ammonites

Elders of Gilead requested him from the land of Tob to become their commander against the
Ammonites

He agreed on condition that when they won, he becomes their ruler. (Judges. 11:7-9)

He was a brilliant military strategist who negotiated peace before fighting

Jephthah was controlled by God’s spirit

He is listed in the Hall of Faith- Heb.11:32-34

He soon had a band of worthless gang following him and he became powerful

The Foolish Vow

Jephthah tried to avoid war with the Ammonite King, but the king could not take the advice.

Jephthah vowed to offer as sacrifice anything that meets him first from his house if God
delivered the Ammonites into Israel’s hands

He had one child, a daughter and eventually she was the first to meet him

Lessons learnt from Jephthah

A person’s background does not prevent God from working powerfully in his or her life.

Don’t make a rash and foolish vow/decision/plan, it will be costly

SAMSON

He was dedicated to God from birth as a Nazirite

He was known for his deeds of strengths

He is among the Hall of Faith- Heb 11:32-34

He freed Israel from Philistine oppression

He was a Judge of Israel

Weakness and Mistakes

He made a vow and violated God’s laws on many occasions

He was controlled and betrayed by his sensuality (body) He had women in Timnah, Sorek and
Gaza

He confided in the wrong people

He used his gifts and abilities unwisely

Lessons learnt from Samson

Great strength in one area of life does not make up for great weakness in other areas.

God’s presence does not overwhelm a person’s will

God can use a person of faith in spite of his or her mistakes

Perverted Priesthood

In Judges 17-21, we read of devastating stories of two Levites where:

One makes an idol

Another serves his concubine for rape and provokes civil war

The failure of godly judges and clergy escalates the end of judges

Leadership in Transition.

Eli as a priest and Judge of Israel

He judged Israel for 40 yrs

He assured Hannah of God’s blessings.

He mentored Samuel, the greatest judge of Israel.

His Weakness

Failed to discipline and correct his sons when they sinned

Instead of taking decisive action, he reacted to situations.

He regarded the Ark of the Lord as historical object to be cherished rather than a symbol of
God’s presence with Israel.

Lessons Learnt from Elia

Parents need to discipline their children responsibly.

Life demands action more than simply reacting.

Past victories cannot substitute for present trust

Kingship in Israel

God through Samuel warned the Israelites the advantages and disadvantages of the king they
requested for.

All along God had led the people of Israel, but now they were rejecting him

Our weaknesses can lead to people’s rejection of God

Samuel and Saul

Saul son of Kish was the first King of Israel.

Although he had natural gifts to make him a good king, he did not obey God and his priest.

He made false claims against God’s instructions, and he lost his for favor for another man God
chose.

Identification of five kinds of outcasts in Israel and describes their hope for redemption
(Objective 3: OUTCASTS IN ISRAEL)

The poor

Barren women

Widows and orphans

Sojourners

Slaves
Faith in the Book of Ruth

Naomi an Israelite, wife to Elimelech and Ruth’s mother-in-law

Had two sons: Mahlon and Kilion

They were Ephrathites from Bethlehem. Famine moved them to Moab.

The two sons married two Moabite women: Orpah and Ruth

Elimelech and his two sons died leaving Naomi and her daughters in law widows.

Orpah and Ruth were left childless each

When Naomi learnt that God had blessed her land with food, she decided to go back to her
people, compelling her daughters in law to go back to their people.

Ruth refused and went back with her to Judah.

RUTH

She was surrounded by a lot of faith all her life.

God at the end rewarded her by getting a close relative to her deceased husband named BOAZ,
who married her.

She became the mother of Obed, the great grandfather of Jesus Christ the greatest Judge and
King of Israel.