When they first came out of Egypt, the children of Israel were pretty pleased...
They were singing songs, praising God, 32 and generally feeling pretty good about things.

But it wasn't long before their attitude started going downhill...

First, the people"murmured against Moses" when they got thirsty. 33
God heard and provided for them. 34
Then the people "murmured against Moses" again, when they got hungry. 35
And once again God heard and provided for them. 36

Since Moses was acting as God's appointed representative, when the people "murmured" (or 'complained') about him, they were really complaining about God. Sadly, even after all that God has done to deliver them from Egypt, the people of Israel really have very little faith in Him.

But in spite of their lack of trust, God continues to nurse the people along, and even has Moses make them an amazing offer ---

Exodus 19:5-8 "Now therefore, if you will indeed obey My voice and keep My covenant, then You shall be a special treasure to Me above all people; for all the earth is mine. (v.6) 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". (v.7) "So Moses came and called for the elders of the people, and laid before them all these words which the Lord commanded him. (v.8) Then all the people answered together and said, 'All that the Lord has spoken we will do.' So Moses brought back the words of the people to the Lord".

Here, we see that God offers to make Israel a "kingdom of priests and a holy nation"...

Exodus 19:8 records the fact that Israel accepted this offer.

All Israel needs to do is just "obey" God's voice and "keep his covenant".

But what will it take to "keep His covenant"?
Just what exactly, is God's standard of 'obedience'?

This would seem to be an important question, because as stated In Deuteronomy 8:1, Israel's possession of the 'promised land' (which represents the 'priestly kingdom', as you will see) is contingent upon their obedience.

The standard of obedience is soon defined when God calls Moses up to the top of Mount Sinai for a meeting... When Moses comes down from the mountain, he brings the 'standard' back with him in the form of some "stone tablets", upon which are written ten 'commandments'. 37 For the original list of these commandments, you can look at Exodus 20:1-17. My summary of them follows ---

These commandments formed the basis for what would eventually become known as "the Law". Throughout the years, these original commandments have been expanded upon by the Jewish people, and currently "the Law" consists of some 613 laws overall.

For our purposes at the moment though, the main point is simply that the original 10 commandments represent the 'standard of obedience' that will be required in order to gain "everlasting possession" of the 'promised land'.

If Israel is able to truly obey these commandments, they are guaranteed possession of the physical 'promised land' of Canaan
(and also the 'priestly relationship with God' that the promised land represents).

As our story continues however,
it quickly becomes apparent that Israel's commitment to God is not what it should be...
Before Moses even got back from the mountain with the stone tablets ---

Exodus 32:1-4 "...when the people saw that Moses delayed coming down from the mountain, the people gathered together unto Aaron, and said to him, 'Come, make us gods that shall go before us; for as for this Moses, the man who brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him.' (v.2) And Aaron said to them, 'Break off the golden earrings which are in the ears of your wives, your sons, and your daughters, and bring them to me.' (v.3) So all the people broke off the golden earrings which were in their ears, and gave them to Aaron. (v.4) And he received the gold from their hand, and he fashioned it with an engraving tool, and made a molded calf. Then they said, 'This is your god, O Israel, that brought you out of the land of Egypt!'"

Although Israel has just agreed to "obey " God's voice and "keep His covenant", the above passage shows that they aren't even able to remain faithful while Moses is up on the mountain with God.

As you can imagine, this did not thrill God, and this event results in the people being required to make a personal choice... After being given the chance to choose between God and idolatry, 38 a 'separation' was then enforced. 39

It is worth noting here, that although the Jewish people were first 'collectively set free' from slavery (in Egypt), an 'individual commitment' to God is now required. This same principle of 'collective deliverance' and then 'individual choice' will be seen again a little later.

In any case, Israel's current rebellion here in our story, would seem to indicate that even after having been 'separated' from 'slavery to sin' (as represented by their 'separation' from Egypt), there is still something within them that renders them incapable of a committed relationship with God.

So..... doesn't all this sound a bit familiar?
Doesn't it resemble the story of Noah and his family?

As seen previously, when Noah and his family were 'separated' from the world of sin and given a fresh start, sin blossomed again. Ultimately, this was because they had only been 'outwardly' (or 'physically') separated from sin (by the flood). Unfortunately, the spiritual root of sin remained within them 'inwardly'.

And now we see something very similar here in the case of Israel's separation from Egypt... Once again, it would appear that God's people have only been 'outwardly' (or 'physically') 'separated' from the place of 'slavery to sin' (as represented by Egypt). Israel's actions while Moses is up on the mountain clearly suggest that they still carry the spiritual root of slavery (to sin) within them inwardly.

So, what's the point of this?
Why would God put Israel through this experience,
just to repeat the same point that was made previously with the story of Noah?

Because... there is one very important difference between the two stories ---

With the story of Noah, God made it quite clear that 'death' would be involved in 'separating' Noah and his family from the sin which surrounded them. But... it is important to note that when 'death' (or 'separation') came, Noah and his family did not experience death personally.

This has now changed ---

In our current story of Israel's 'separation' from Egypt, God has now shown that when 'death' (or 'separation') comes, it will also come to God's chosen people.

This time, when 'death' comes to the 'world of sin', it comes to the households of the Israelites as well... This time, God's people are spared only through the fact that a substitute (the 'Passover lamb') dies in their place. The survival of each Jewish family depends upon their making personal use of the substitute that God provides.

As you can see, God is continuing to use the symbolism within the sequence of biblical stories
to communicate additional details regarding His rescue plan.

Since our current story shows that Israel is still 'inwardly' (or 'spiritually') 'enslaved by sin'
(as proven by their inability to remain committed to God),
two things seem obvious ---

	The 'Passover lamb' back in Egypt was not enough to truly set Israel free from 'spiritual slavery'.
	The true means of freedom from 'spiritual slavery' must therefore lie ahead.

As we wrap up this chapter, it is probably worth pointing out that God knew quite well that Israel was not capable of obeying the Law. And that's why the book of Exodus, chapters 25-31, documents that right along with the giving of the Law, God also gave detailed instructions regarding a "tabernacle" and a "priesthood".

As you will see next,
God is going to use the tabernacle and the priesthood to create a virtual 'roadmap'...
This 'roadmap' will be used to reveal many more details of His rescue plan.

                                                                                                                
                                                                                                           NEXT CHAPTER

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