Chapter VI.

From Sinai to Kadesh.

Ex. 20-Num. 14

Mount Sinai.  There are differences of opinion concerning the location of this mountain.  It is sometimes called Horeb (Ex. 3:1; 17:6. etc.).  All the Old Testament references to it clearly indicate that it was in the vicinity of Edom and connect it with Mt.  Seir (Deut. 33:3; Judg. 5:4-5).  Several points have been put forward as the probable site, but there can not now be any certainty as to the exact location.  All the evidence both of the scripture and of the discoveries of archaeologists seem to point to one of the southwestern spurs of Mt.  Seir as the sacred mountain.  The differences of opinion as to location do not affect the historical reality of the mountain nor the certainty that at its base there took place the most important event in the history of the Hebrew people.

The Sinaitic Covenant.  At the foot of Sinai and in the midst of grandly impressive manifestations of Jehovah, Israel entered into solemn covenant relations with Him.  It was a covenant of blood and was the most sacred and inviolable ceremony known to the ancient peoples.  Half of the blood was sprinkled on the alter and half upon the people, thus signifying that all had consented to the terms of the covenant.  In this covenant Israel is obligated to loyalty, service and worship, while Jehovah is to continue to protect and deliver them.  This covenant is commonly called “The Law of Moses.”  All the rest of the Old Testament is a development of this fundamental law and shows the application of it in the experience of Israel.

The Purpose of the Mosaic Law.  It should be observed that the rewards and punishments of this law were mainly confined to this life.  Instead of leading them to believe that outward obedience to it would bring personal salvation and, therefore, instead of superseding the plan of salvation through a redeemer, that had been announced to Adam and Eve, and confirmed in the covenant with Abraham, it pointed to the Savior.  The sacrifices foreshadowed the substitution of the Lamb of God as a means of their deliverance for sin and its punishment.

There are probably two purposes in promulgating this law. (1) To preserve the Israelites as a separate and peculiar people.  To the weld the scattered fugitives from Egypt into a nation, distinct from other nations, required laws that would make them different in customs, religion and government. (2) A second purpose was to provide additional spiritual light, that they might know the way of salvation more perfectly.

The Several Parts of the Law.  On the whole the law contains three parts. (1) The Law of Duty.  This is given in the form of ten commandments (Ex. ch. 20) and relates to individual obligations, (a) The first four define one’s obligations to God. (b) The fifth defines our relation to parents, (c) The last five define our relation to the other members of society.  These ten words define religion in terms of life and deed as well as worship.  They reach the very highest standard and, in the last command, trace crime back to the motive even to the thought in the mind of man.  They point out duties arising out of the unchangeable distinctions of right and wrong.