The Law of Moses

Thank you, Blake, for leading our singing today, and thank you for being here this morning. We’ve got some visitors. We’re good to see you, and we are glad that everyone is here today. Well, this morning we’re going to continue a series of lessons on the Bible. And so we’ve been looking at the Bible, just thinking about it.

You know, we had, what is the purpose of the Bible, and then we talked about the first four books of the New Testament, the Gospel accounts, and now this morning, we’re going to talk about the Law of Moses. And we’re just going to overview the first five books of the Old Testament and thinking about the Bible.

And we’re going to start with just looking at the first verse of each one of these books. And the one that’s probably most familiar to you is Genesis 1 and verse 1. In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. Probably a verse that everyone should and could memorize. Very easy to remember. Even our little children can remember that verse. Great verse in the Bible.

Exodus 1-1 talks about the children of Israel who came out of Egypt and who they were. And then Leviticus 1 and verse 1, the Lord called to Moses and spoke to him from the tabernacle of meeting. In Numbers 1 and verse 1, the Lord spoke to Moses in the wilderness of Sinai. There, Deuteronomy 1-1, the words which Moses spoke to all Israel.

And so each one of these verses tells us a little something about these first five books of the Bible. Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy. Sometimes we refer to these books as the law of Moses, and Jesus refers to them as the law. But they can also be referred to by kind of a big fancy word, the Pentateuch, which just means the five books. And Jewish people refer to them as the Torah, which is the Hebrew word for law.

And so, any of these representations that you may hear, Law of Moses, Pentateuch, Torah, they all refer to the first five books of the Bible that we just listed a moment ago. In Exodus 34, 27 through 28, we see that Moses was instrumental in writing these first five books of the Bible.

The Lord said to Moses, Write these words, for according to the tenor of these words, I have made a covenant with you and with Israel. So he was there with the Lord forty days and forty nights. He neither ate bread nor drank water, and he wrote on the tablets the words of the covenant, the Ten Commandments.

So, the words of the covenant, the covenant that God made with Israel, that’s basically what is going on here in these first five books of the Bible. And so, as we think about these five books, I hope to introduce them to you this morning, and I hope everybody will become more familiar with these first five books of the Bible, the Law of Moses.

Well, let’s start with Genesis. And this is the first book of the Bible, and it means origin or beginnings. The book of Genesis has 32,046 words in it, and its time span is from the beginning of creation until about 1700 BC.

And so we have the Book of Beginnings, if you will. And the Book of Beginnings talks about many things that begin. The creation of the heavens, earth, water, land, plants, animals, the sun, the moon, the stars, and mankind. So we have the creation accounts.

We have the stories of the first sins of Adam and Eve, and then of Cain and Abel. We have the first catastrophe in the book of Genesis, which is the great flood. We see the beginnings of the first nations in the book of Genesis, and also the beginning of the family of Israel with the call of Abraham.

The purpose of Genesis is to explain to the children of Israel where everything came from and how Israel became God’s covenant people, how their culture originated, and to give some historical precedence for the law of Moses. And the book also explains to the children of Israel how they got down into Egypt, and they were there for a long time, and why it was that God wanted to bring them out of bondage.

So what is in the book of Genesis? The basic stories that are in the book of Genesis are the creation, the propagation of peoples, the genealogy of Adam and Eve, The first discoverers, people who discovered music and how to work with metal and artificers of different kinds, the account of the flood, the Tower of Babel, and then, of course, the call of Abraham and Isaac and Jacob, and then finally, the book ends with the story of Joseph.

So there’s a lot of good information in the book of Genesis that helps us to understand how things came to be, and why God has a relationship with people today. And here’s another question I want us to ask about these books, and the question is, what do they say about God?

And so, the book of Genesis tells us that God is the one and only creator, that He does not tolerate sin, and He is a just God and a righteous God. It tells us that He wants a covenant relationship with mankind and that He worked in order to bring that about.

It also says that He will bless those who have faith in Him and we see this particularly in the story of Joseph. So Genesis is a great book, but let’s move on to the book of Exodus. This is the second book of the Bible and the word Exodus means the way out.

Exodus has 25,957 words in it, and it begins around 1440 BC. The way out, the way out of what? Out of bondage, out of Egypt, out of captivity, and so the way out is what the book of Exodus is about.

The book of escape, if you will, coming out of the terrible situation they were in Egypt. Well, what is in Exodus? Well, we get the Revelation of God’s name in Exodus to Moses there in chapter 3, and it is Yahweh. We see that Moses is a great mediator for his people in the book of Exodus.

We have, in the first chapters of Exodus, the ten plagues that God used in order to persuade Pharaoh to let his people go. We have the story of the Passover in the book of Exodus, chapters 14 and 15. We have the escape through the Red Sea from Pharaoh’s army. There is the giving of the law or the Ten Commandments in Exodus chapter 20. And finally, the book of Exodus ends up with the building of the tabernacle, a place where God’s people can come to be with Him and to worship Him.

What is the purpose of the book of Exodus? It is to identify Israel as a holy nation and as God’s covenant people. Exodus 19 and verses 5 and 6 is key for the book of Exodus. Now, therefore, if you will indeed obey my voice and keep my covenant, God says, then you shall be a special treasure to me above all people, for all the earth is mine, and you shall be to me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.

These are the words which you shall speak to the children of Israel. So God wanted a relationship with mankind, and He started that relationship with Abraham and then continued it through Isaac and Jacob, and now that relationship grows to the nation of Israel, is what the Bible is telling us.

What does the book of Exodus say about God? First of all, that His name is Yahweh. I am that I am is the translation there from Exodus chapter 3. We understand that in the book of Exodus it talks about God being powerful and that how mankind cannot stand against Him.

Remember those 10 plagues and how God brought them on the nation of Egypt to persuade Pharaoh to let his people go. God is powerful, and He can accomplish His will in opposition to mankind, but that He wants mankind’s obedience for their benefit, and that’s why He gives us those 10 commandments in Exodus chapter 20. That’s for us and our benefit.

We read that God does not accept compromise. You know, when the children of Israel decided that they were going to build a golden calf there in Exodus chapter 32, God did not tolerate that. He’s not going to compromise. He’s not going to share His glory with others.

And Exodus 40 and the accomplishing of the building of the tabernacle teaches us that God wants to dwell with His people. So many great lessons about God in the book of Exodus. Well, let’s move on to the book of Leviticus. And you may be wondering, well, what in the world does the word Leviticus mean? Well, the word Leviticus means pertaining to the Levites. Okay, that clears things up, right? Well, who were the Levites? Maybe you would like to know that. Well, they were the family of Levi, who was a son of Jacob.

And Jacob, of course, was also named Israel. So there were 12 sons of Jacob that became the nation of Israel. One of them was named Levi. And God chose the family of Levi to minister to the tabernacle and be involved in priestly service.

And so priests came from the family of Levi, and particularly from the family of Aaron. And Aaron was the first high priest. And it was his family, according to Leviticus 8 and Exodus 29, verse 9, that were supposed to be the priests for the tabernacle.

And so, the book of Leviticus is pertaining to the Levites. Now, what are these priestly duties? And what do the Levites do in service to God? So, a whole book written about those things. Leviticus has 18,852 words in it, and it was written somewhere around 1440 BC.

What is in Leviticus? First of all, there is the Revelation of the sacrificial system of worship with the burnt offerings, grain offerings, peace offerings, the sin offering, the guilt offering, all kinds of offerings that are going on. You also have the enumeration of the feast days and the yearly calendar that they were to observe as revealed in Leviticus. It talks about the Sabbath and how to observe it, the seventh day of the week.

It talks about the Passover and the Feast of Firstfruits, the Feast of Weeks, the Feast of Trumpets, the Day of Atonement, and the Feast of Tabernacles, all different feasts that were held in regard to service to God. The purpose of Leviticus is to reveal the holiness of God and to instruct the people to holy living. And there are many verses in Leviticus that talk about God’s holiness. And we’re just going to look at those real quick here. There’s several.

First one is Leviticus 11, 44 and 45, for I am the Lord your God. You shall therefore consecrate yourselves, and you shall be holy, for I am holy. For I am the Lord who brings you up out of the land of Egypt to be your God. You shall therefore be holy, for I am holy.

Leviticus 19, 2, speak to all the congregation of the children of Israel and say to them, you shall be holy, for I the Lord your God am holy. Leviticus 20 and verse 7, “…consecrate yourselves, therefore, and be holy, for I am the Lord your God.” Leviticus 20 and verse 26, “…and you shall be holy to me, for I, the Lord, am holy, and have separated you from the peoples, that you should be mine. Therefore you shall consecrate Him, for He offers the bread of your God. He shall be holy to you.”

For I, the Lord who sanctify you, am holy. Leviticus 21 and verse 8. So a lot of talk about holiness in the book of Leviticus and sanctification and separation and consecration. And this is talking about how Israel would be God’s special people, not only in word, but also in deed. And that’s why holiness is so emphasized in the book of Leviticus.

What does it say about God? Well, we just noticed one thing, that God is holy. What else does it say? That we need to worship God according to His will. Leviticus 10, verses 1 through 3, 12 tells the story of Nadab and Abihu who offered strange fire to God, and as a result, they died. God is serious about worship.

It also teaches us that God will not tolerate sin, and that there must be a sacrifice for sin, as we read of in those first seven chapters. And then there needs to be mediation for sin, and that’s the function of the priesthood that we read about in chapters 8 through 10.

It also teaches us that God will forgive and that He will atone for man’s sins. So we have the Day of Atonement, Leviticus 16. It teaches us that God wants mankind to be moral. And there’s all kinds of laws in Leviticus about what pertains to Israel, like what they can eat and how they’re supposed to act and how they’re supposed to conduct themselves within families And many specific laws regulating their behavior so that they will be moral in their behavior.

And Leviticus tells us that God wants to dwell with His people. Leviticus 26, verse 12 says, I will walk among you and be your God, and you shall be my people. And so we have some great teachings about God in the book of Leviticus. Now, what about the book of Numbers? And you may say, well, I know that word, Leviticus I didn’t know, but Numbers I know. That’s the things that we count with, right? Numbers. Well, it’s about numbering the people, counting the people.

And so there’s two censuses that are taken in the book of Numbers that we’ll talk about. But it has 25,048 words in it. It was written about 1440 BC. That should be 1440 to 1400 BC. So this is the period of wanderings of 40 years of Israel in the wilderness, and there’s three main sections, periods, to the book of Numbers.

First of all, when they prepare to depart from Sinai, and that’s chapters 1 through chapter 10, verse 10. There is their journey from Sinai to Kadesh, in chapter 10, verses 11 through 20, verse 21. And then there’s their journey from Kadesh to the plains of Moab, chapter 20, verses 22 through chapter 36.

And so it’s about numbering the people. What is the purpose of numbers? To show man’s unfaithfulness and God’s faithfulness. So in the book of Numbers, God numbers the people twice. And it’s a record of the history of the wanderings of Israel. Why they wandered in the wilderness for 40 years. Why did they do that? And it’s also preparation, teaches us about God’s preparation for their entering into the land of Canaan.

Now, there were two censuses taken. In Numbers 146, we have that first number, 603,550. And then Numbers 2651, the second number, 601,730. Now, think about this for a minute. Because what happens in the book of Numbers? They rebel against God. They say, we can’t go into the land and take the land because it’s filled with giants and we’re just grasshoppers in their sight.

And so God says, because you did this, you know, everyone who’s 20 years and older is going to perish in the wilderness. And so God was preparing His people to take that land of Canaan. Everyone who was 20 years and older didn’t qualify to do that.

And so they had to go. And that’s what He says here in Numbers 14, 29 through 30. And so the numbering shows us that God is faithful, even though He pronounced that those who are 20 years old and upward wouldn’t enter the land.

550 before that point, but then afterward, you see, God took care of them and made it so that they would still be a nation by having their number be approximately the same as it was, just a few thousand short of what it was before. And so they maintained their numbers, even though many of them die in the wilderness.

Well, what is in the book of Numbers? Well, first of all, the first point, Israel is shown to be unfaithful to God. There’s a lot of grumbling in the book of Numbers. There’s the insubordination of Aaron and Miriam. There’s the account of the failure of the twelve spies, chapters 13 and 14.

There’s the rebellion of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram in chapters 16 and 17. There’s more grumbling, chapter 21. And then there’s idolatry and fornication in chapter 25. And so Israel is shown to be unfaithful, but God is shown to be faithful.

How is He faithful? He preserves their numbers. He guides them with the cloud by day and the fire by night. He provides food. He defeats their enemies. He raises up the bronze serpent so that they can be saved from the snakes. He selects Joshua to succeed Moses, provides cities of refuge, and ultimately brings them into the land of Canaan. And so God is faithful to His people.

What does it say about God? That He loves His people and will be faithful to them. Again, that He will not tolerate compromise, even in His leaders. You remember Moses and the story in Numbers 20, verses 1 through 13, God telling Moses to speak to the rock. And instead, what did Moses do? He struck the rock. And because of that, God told Moses, you can’t enter the land of Canaan.

He gives a way for reconciliation, though. And we see that while God doesn’t compromise, He does reconcile. And God wants man to trust and be faithful to Him. All right, finally this morning, let’s take a look at the book of Deuteronomy, the fifth book of the Old Testament, and see what it’s all about.

Now, here’s another one of them strange names, right? Deuteronomy. What in the world does that mean? Well, it’s simply a word that means second law. Deuteronomy. Deuteronomy. Second law. That’s what it means. It’s got 23,008 words in it. It was written about 1400 BC, right before the children of Israel go into the land of Canaan.

Moses speaks the words in the book of Deuteronomy in a series of speeches to Israel, and it’s in essence a reiteration and application of the law of Moses. And so there’s a series of speeches in Deuteronomy. The first speech is in chapters 1 through 4, verse 43.

The second speech begins in chapter 4, verse 44, and goes through chapter 28. The third speech is in chapters 29 through 30, and the last words are in 31 through 34. Basically, what these speeches do is exhort people to keep the Ten Commandments and then explain what those Ten Commandments are.

And so the first commandment is discussed in chapter 6 through 11, the second in chapter 12, the third in 13 and 14, the fourth in 14 through 16, the fifth in 16 through 18, and the sixth in 19 through 21, the seventh in 22 and 23, the eighth in 23 through, I got that wrong, it’s supposed to be 24, and then the ninth in 24, and the tenth in 24 through 26.

And so if you want to know what the Ten Commandments are and what they mean, just read the book of Deuteronomy, and it’ll give you a lot of good information about the Ten Commandments. And then there’s a series of curses and blessings in the book of Deuteronomy, and that’s chapters 27 through 28.

What does the book of Deuteronomy tell us about God? That God understands that teaching is generational. He taught them 40 years ago when He brought them out of Egypt, and now He’s teaching them again 40 years later. That God wants His people to know His law. That God sets forth both blessings for faithfulness and cursings for disobedience.

And that God gives mankind the tools to be faithful and obedient to Him. And so that’s the law of Moses in a nutshell and the first five books of the Old Testament. And so this series on the Bible, we’re talking about different aspects of the Bible. That’s the Pentateuch or the law or the Torah, if you will.

And today, under the new covenant, we’re dealing with the old covenant here, but today under the new covenant of Jesus Christ, we are not under the law of Moses anymore. Now, some of the same moral teachings apply to us, but under the new covenant of Christ, Jesus Christ is the person that we seek to follow and to imitate within our lives.

And Jesus brings a different system of worship because He’s our High Priest now. And all Christians are priests under the New Testament. And so, there’s the shadows of the old law and the realities of the new covenant. And those things go together.

Romans chapter 12 and verse 4 says, “…the things that were written in old times were written for our learning, that we, through patience and comfort of the Scriptures, might have hope.” Why do we study about those things under the old law? So we can learn and so that we can have hope. There’s a lot of good things to think about in relationship to God.

One of the points of emphasis that hasn’t changed from the Old Covenant to the New is that God is holy and those scriptures that we looked at about the holiness of God are repeated in the New Covenant. Be holy for I am holy, God says. How do we become holy today? Through Jesus Christ, hearing His word and believing it, repenting of our sin, confessing Him as Lord and being baptized for the remission of sins.

We are separated from sin and from the world, and we’re raised to walk in a new life, a holy life. Be holy, for God is holy. Maybe this morning you need to have a new holy life before God. We’d be happy to help you with that. Or maybe you need prayer for better holiness in your life.

And so if you have a need today, you can come right now and make that known, while together we stand and while we sing.

End of transcript. Thank you for reading along!