In the Bible, God made 5 covenants with humanity. I challenge you to memorize them because it will help you remember a simple outline of the Bible and God's plan to rescue humanity. The 5 covenants are the covenants of: 1) Noah, 2) Abraham, 3) Moses, 4) David, and 5) Jesus.
Today we will explore God’s covenant with Israel through Moses, but first let's do a pop quiz as an overview of the biblical story leading up to the Mosaic covenant You'll find the answers in the pictures at the end of this blog.
Abraham’s son was: A. Tom B. David C. Isaac D. Israel
A. Joseph B. Judah C. Benjamin D. Joshua
17 “Celebrate this Festival of Unleavened Bread, for it will remind you that I brought your forces out of the land of Egypt on this very day. This festival will be a permanent law for you; celebrate this day from generation to generation.
24 “Remember, these instructions
are a permanent law that you and your descendants must observe forever. 25 When
you enter the land the Lord has promised to give you, you will
continue to observe this ceremony. 26 Then your
children will ask, ‘What does this ceremony mean?’ 27 And
you will reply, ‘It is the Passover sacrifice to the Lord, for he passed
over the houses of the Israelites in Egypt. And though he struck the Egyptians,
he spared our families.’” When Moses had finished speaking, all the people
bowed down to the ground and worshiped.
As we remember the 5 covenants God made with people as part of His grand rescue plan to save the world from sin, we come to the covenant God made with Israel through Moses. This should be a familiar story. God saved Israel through a series of 10 plagues, culminating in the death of every first-born son in Egypt that was not sheltered in a house whose doorpost was painted with the blood of a sacrificial lamb.
Afterward,
God commanded Israel to observe the Passover feast every year to remember their
deliverance from Egypt establishing them as His chosen people. The Passover was both a celebration of
freedom and a reminder of Israel’s covenant relationship with God—a commitment
that would require obedience, holiness, and faithfulness.
The
Passover is rich with covenant elements that point to God’s commitment and
Israel’s role as His chosen people. There
are promises and obligations: God promised to delivered Israel from
slavery in Egypt (and He did) and His promised to bless them, protect them, and
provide for them. If Israel was
faithful, God would take care of them in every way. Israel’s obligation was to obey God, live
righteously, and worship Him alone. The
people of Israel were to be God’s holy priests—representing God to the whole
world.
The celebration
of Passover every year was one of the signs of God’s covenant. The
blood of the Passover lamb on the doorposts was a sign that distinguished
Israel from Egypt, marking them as God’s protected people. And every year Israel celebrated the Passover
meal, it reminded them of their covenant with God as well witnessing to their non-Israelites
neighbors.
Additionally,
the many unique and (to us) odd ritual laws God gave Israel testified to non-Israelites
that Israel was different. No
pork (in a world of subsistence farming…) Circumcision…
Israel’s
covenant included blessings and curses. If Israel was obedient, God would
bless them. If they neglected their
call, they would be cut off from God’s favor and protection.
A
summary of the covenant between God and Israel was written down on two stone
tablets (the ten Commandments). The tablets were kept in the Ark of the Covenant—which
represented God’s throne on earth. The Ark, with the tablets inside, were kept
in the most holy place—first in the Tabernacle and later in the Temple in
Jerusalem. The full covenant was written
down in the Torah scrolls (the Law of Moses).
The full covenant was read publicly at least every seven years during
the Feast of Tabernacles (Sukkot). This practice reminded the people of God’s
laws and renewed their commitment to the covenant.
God said of Israel, “...you will be my treasured possession...a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.” (Exodus 19:5-6). God didn’t just save Israel for Israel’s sake—He called them to be a light to the nations, a witness to His power, faithfulness, and love. Their covenant relationship came with a mission: they were chosen, not to be exclusive, but to represent God’s holiness, justice, and mercy to the world.
And we find again and again, God welcomed foreign people into the Kingdom of Israel as long as they were willing to give up their false God’s and worship the God of Israel alone. Among these were Ruth (a Moabite), Rahab (a Canaanite prostitute), Uriah (a Hittite), Caleb (a Kenezzite), and Naaman (an Aramean). There was even Egyptians who left Egypt with the Israeltes, adopting the practices of Israel and living among them as God’s chosen people (Exodus 12:38).
God’s plan has always been for the whole world, but He started with one people—the Israelites. As Christians, we recognize that the ancient covenant with Israel points toward the church’s mission today. While modern Israel is a nation with its own history and politics, it is not the same as biblical Israel. The Church now serves as God’s chosen people in a spiritual sense, called to be a “royal priesthood” and a “holy nation”.Listen to 1 Peter 2:9 – Speaking to Christians, Peter said, “You are royal priests, a holy nation, God’s very own possession. As a result, you can show others the goodness of God, for he called you out of the darkness into his wonderful light.”
Christians
are not confined to just one country. We
are spread throughout the whole world.
There are Christians in America and in Pakistan, Africa, Guatemala, North
& South Korea, China, Russia and Ukraine.
And like yeast in a loaf of dough, Christians are sometimes hidden or
seem insignificant, but we make all the difference when we are faithful to our
covenant to follow Christ and live as salt and light in a dark and unsavory
world.
Just as
ancient Israel was set apart, the Church is called to live in a way that honors
God and draws others to Him, embodying the love, forgiveness, and justice that
Christ demonstrated.
The Passover was a reminder that Israel’s identity was grounded in God’s deliverance, not in their own efforts or accomplishments. Each year, they remembered the cost of their freedom and God’s ongoing commitment.
When Jesus
gathered His disciples for the Last Supper, He celebrated Passover, but He gave
it new meaning. He presented Himself as the Passover lamb, whose blood would
bring deliverance—not just from physical slavery but from sin and death. This New Covenant, sealed by Jesus’
sacrifice, fulfills and surpasses the covenant through Moses. For Christians, Communion becomes the sign of
this covenant, replacing Passover as our way of remembering God’s deliverance.
For Christians,
remembering our identity in Christ helps us stay grounded. We are called to
live in a way that reflects the reality of our deliverance from sin and death,
continually reminding us that we belong to God.
As we come to the Lord’s table today, we remember that we are part of a covenant sealed by Christ’s blood. Communion isn’t just a ritual; it’s a reminder that Christians have been delivered, chosen, and called to live as God’s people in this world.
In
Communion, we remember Christ’s sacrifice and the deliverance He brings,
committing ourselves once again to live as His covenant people—a people who
love, serve, and witness to His goodness.
Just as
God called Israel to remember their deliverance from Egypt, He calls us to
remember our deliverance in Christ. As we celebrate Communion, we declare that
we belong to God, saved by His grace, called to live in holiness and love. And we also remember our commitment to follow
Jesus—to be His royal ambassadors, to share His love with the world, to call
people to repent of their sin, and to offer the Good News of Christ’s
forgiveness and salvation to all who do.
So, let us
come with grateful hearts today, remembering that God has brought us out of
darkness into His marvelous light. Through the New Covenant in Christ, we are
His holy, chosen people.
