Troublesome Topic: God’s Introduction to His Covenant

The Israelites did not know Him very well yet, but they could rejoice in the fact that He had chosen them as His own; they were privileged, they were favored! They had seen some of His power, they had experienced His mercy and grace, but from a human standpoint His identity was still a bit obscure. Other nations had gods for different aspects of their lives, but this god simply claimed to be God in an all-encompassing way. The important thing was that He claimed to be their God.

We should strive to communicate the way God did, rather than the way Suppiluliumas did. We should be confident of who we are, and not threatened by what anyone does or does not think of us. If there is a need for us to have our identity spruced up, then there is something wrong. When we communicate with people through the internet who don’t know us in person, we should refrain from creating false or fanciful identities for ourselves. If we are following God in total submission to His will then our identity is wrapped up in that relationship with Him. That’s all there is, but that is enough. Other things like family, and other responsibilities fall naturally under our relationship with God because He gives them their proper place if we are willing to give Him His proper place.

In the same breath as His identity, God states the basis of the covenant with Israel – I am the one “who brought you out of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.” This was the accomplishment on which this covenant was based and the reason why the Israelites should be willing and happy to submit to His covenant. While other kings established covenants based on threats of annihilation, this covenant was based on the fact that He had chosen them when they were the most insignificant of all people groups (Dt 7:7). They had no identity, no power, no national pride, and no purpose worth living for other than life itself. Through the covenant He had given them an identity, the people of God. He had filled them with purpose, to be His royal priests, the instruments through which He would work good for all creation. His power, demonstrated to be far greater than that of the gods of Egypt, was now working on their behalf.

This terminology, “I brought you out of Egypt,” expresses the basis for the covenant relationship with the descendants of Abraham as a group. It is repeated many times throughout the Old Testament. I cannot begin to express adequately how huge the exodus from Egypt was for the people of Israel. If you begin to look for them, you will notice references to it seasoning all of God’s dealings with Israel up to the time of Christ. For instance, the Psalms frequently celebrate the way He brought them out of Egypt to their own land. This is because it was the foundation on which that covenant was built. It was God’s way of reminding His people of the reasons why they should strive to abide by this covenant.

The next lesson in all three versions of the study of Covenants is: The Conditions of God’s Covenant with Israel