Essentials Of The Faith / Sunday Morning Sermon Series / Exodus

Exodus 21-23 08/01/04

Title:  ‘Covenant Grace’                                                                                                                                                                      Text: Ex. 21-23             

Introduction: Have you ever made a commitment, said you would do something and then just blew it off? Rationalizing it away, you think it really wasn’t that important, not important enough to take your time away from something else that came up that you really wanted to do. I am talking about breaking promises, not keeping your word. Aren’t you glad God never does that? Break his word, renege on his promises? We have read scripture this morning that has reminded us that God is a promise keeping God.

When God makes a promise to his people, it is called a covenant. God has made many covenants with his people throughout time which are recorded in Scripture. They can be organized into two categories/groups Old Covenant and New Covenant.

In the Old Covenant: Everything coming from me, nothing from God. This means that we are responsible to keep the rules, if we do we are blessed, if we don’t we are punished.

In the New Covenant: Nothing coming from me, everything from God. This means God alone is responsible to keep the rules so there can only be blessing to his people because God is a promise keeping God.

Background: Our text this morning is chapters 21-23 of Exodus. Israel is just starting out as a nation and God is making a covenant with them. As we will see this is part of the Old Covenant because the people had to keep the requirements of the Covenant if they were to be blessed. It was an IF-THEN agreement. IF the people do what God says, THEN God will bless them.

But…because I said it’s Old Covenant I don’t want you to blow it off as unimportant or not relevant to your life today. Listen closely and you will find that what God tells these ancient Israelites, he continues to tell us today. Tell us what? How to live in covenant relationship with God and with one another.

Transition: Let’s step back in time and discover what God said was necessary for living in a covenant community of grace.

I. Our Part of the Covenant (Ex. 21-23:19)

Ex. 21:1-23 19 is a description of the covenant requirements the people were expected to follow
if they were to experience the blessings of God. What are God’s requirements for living in a covenant community?

•    Ex. 21:1-11 Describes Laws Regarding Servants

    Israel had been slaves in Egypt. God didn’t want them to forget how harshly they were treated. And these laws regulate the fair treatment of any slaves the Israelites may have. Specifically, slaves were to be given adequate food, shelter and clothing. And after 6 years of service, they were to be set free. However a freed slave could choose to stay as a slave in that home. It was a free choice. Since women could be sold as concubines (a second wife) this law required they be treated as a daughter and properly cared for.

    Bottom line? God was saying, regardless of social standing we are to treat one another with respect.
   
A part of the Old Covenant but still relevant today.

•    Ex. 21:12-36  Describes Laws Regarding Personal Injury

    This is where we get ‘an eye for an eye’. God is saying that there should be equitable compensation for sinful deeds against one another. That punishment should match, but not exceed the seriousness of the crime. Four sinful actions resulted in the death penalty: premeditated murder, physical violence against your parents, kidnapping and verbal abuse of your parents.

    OK, we can certainly understand premeditated murder and kidnapping, but abuse (whether physical or verbal) to your parents? Without the New Covenant we would see a lot less children around…well, perhaps we wouldn’t be around either.

    But, I am sure some of you children are thinking to yourself, isn’t that punishment not fitting the crime? Not really. Studies have shown that most criminals had childhoods where they were abusive to their parents. There is a strong connection between abusing/disrespecting your parents and crime in later life.

    You see, God places great importance on home life and family. Parents are to be protected and children are to be controlled. Parents, this means you are not to treat your children like they are your friends. Children need boundaries, discipline, limits and a no tolerance rule to abuse or disrespect of any kind.  Children, this means you are to respect your parents: not talk back or blow them off because the pattern could be set for your life and you may end up upsetting the wrong person and that could have serious consequences. But perhaps the greatest reason to show respect to your parents is because God demands it.

    Parent and children, God has placed great importance on the home..treat each other like it is important to you too.

A part of the Old Covenant but still relevant today.

•    Ex. 22:1-15  Describes Laws Regarding Personal Property

    One phrase sums up this section. ‘You broke it, you bought it.’ This section of the covenant is about making restitution for loss due to theft, irresponsibility or neglect. Remember, we already learned in the study of the 10 Commandments that God gives us the right of personal ownership of stuff. With this is the right to protect our stuff and also to be compensated if someone takes or breaks our stuff.

    Note: If you borrow something from someone, you are responsible for it’s safe keeping. Loose it or break it and you must compensate the owner for their loss.

A part of the Old Covenant but still relevant today.

•    Ex. 22:16-31   Describes Laws Regarding Social Responsibilities

    It used to be if a man got a woman pregnant he would marry her. God takes it a step further. Have sex with a woman and you have to marry her…no getting out of it. I bet the sexual activities of teens would significantly decrease if they knew they had to marry the person they had sex with. What God is telling us is that there is no such thing as ‘casual sex’. There are always consequences to sexual relations outside of marriage…always.

    Specifically, God is saying that a woman’s virginity is her guarantee that she will not be treated cheaply. The truth is too many women and young girls give their virginity away just to be liked by someone, to fit into a particular crowd or to fulfill some desire they are not getting met anywhere else…only to find pain instead of satisfaction.

    Unmarried women, young ladies…don’t cheapen what God values so very highly. Stay sexually pure until marriage and give your husband the priceless gift… of yourself.

A part of the Old Covenant but still relevant today

•    Ex. 23:1-9  Describes Laws Regarding Justice and Mercy

    This is where we get the idea that justice is blind. It shouldn’t matter if someone is rich, poor, comes from a dysfunctional home or has been oppressed by society..a crime is a crime and justice demands equitable punishment.
   
    But, mercy is also part of covenantal life and is displayed when you show kindness to those who may be your enemy or someone you may not particularly like. Mercy is withholding punishment from those who deserve it.

A part of the Old Covenant but still relevant today

•    Ex. 23:10-13  Describes Laws Regarding the Sabbath

    Isn’t this a part of the big 10? Yes. But because we are so apt to forget or just plain refuse to observe the Sabbath, God restates it here as necessary to life in a covenant community. Sabbath Keeping is simply taking a break for spiritual/physical refreshment and renewal. To say ‘I can’t take a break’ is really masking an ‘I won’t take a break’. When this is your practice, the whole covenant community suffers.

A part of the Old Covenant but still relevant today

•    Ex. 23:14-19  Describes Laws Regarding Holy Days

    Israel was to honor or keep three annual feasts
        -Feast of Unleavened Bread
        -Feast of Weeks
        -Feast of Ingathering

The point was to remind the Israelites through the observance of these feasts not only what God had done for them, but what he had promised to do. Each Sunday we gather to be reminded of the same thing and to celebrate God’s goodness to us.

A part of the Old Covenant but still relevant today

Transition: It is easy to see that what God requires for community life is really just common sense. Don’t you agree? When we do what he says, the covenant community will be a place we will want to be a part of. And when people outside the covenant community see us relating to one another with respect and love, they will want to join us.

OK. Since there are two parts to Old Covenant promises, what’s God’s part?

II. God’s Part of the Covenant (Ex. 23:20-33)

•    Protection: Against your enemies
•    Instruction: On how to live godly lives
•    Victory: Over personal battles
•    Health: When you eat and live in a godly way, you will not only be healthier, but you will live longer.
•    Prosperity: God will give you not only what you need, but when your will is God’s will, he will give you the desires of your heart.

Notice vss 29-30. God says he will not do this all at once..it will be gradual, as much as you can take at one time…so be patient.

Conclusion
God is telling the Israelite community that they needed to be different than those around them, because they were called to be God’s representative to the world.

To do this, they needed to learn how to relate to one another in a godly way, in a covenantal way…to live as a covenant community where they are to reflect God’s grace because God has been so gracious to them.

We also are a covenant community bound together by One Spirit. We are One Body, with One Purpose…to honor God by living in community for the glory of Jesus Christ in the power of the Holy Spirit.

We can keep the Old Covenant because we are part of the New Covenant…a covenant based not on our works or abilities but on God’s grace and forgiveness.

Let’s make it our goal to be a covenant community of grace.