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Old Testament Overview - The Mosaic Covenant
THE MOSAIC COVENANT
Terms: Conditional (Exod. 19:4-6; Deut. 5:32, 33, 28:1-2, 15)
1. Dependent on Israel's obedience
2. Describes God's requirements that must be met before He will fulfill His promise to Israel
3. A covenant of works
Promises: Israel's obedience will result in . . .
1. Israel becoming a nation separated unto God (a kingdom of priests,
Exod. 19:4-6) (a holy nation, Deut. 7:6)
2. Blessings (Exod. 15:26; 23:20-32; Lev. 26:3-13; Deut. 7:6-24, 28:1-14)
Disobedience results in curses (Lev. 26:14-43; Deut. 28:15-68)
Purposes: to lead Israel and us to Christ
1. To expose man's sinfulness (Gal. 3:19; Rom. 5:20, 7:5, 7, 8:7)
2. To produce death (Rom. 5:20-21, 7:5) (so we can see our need for God's grace and Christ's life)
3. To watch over us until we are made new in Christ (Gal. 3:23-25)
Results: It humbles us.
1. It shows us that we cannot handle a covenant that is dependent in any way on our holiness. (Deut. 5:27-29; Isa. 64:6; Jer. 17:9; Rom. 3;10-23)
2. It shows that we need a new covenant. (Jer. 31:33-34; Ezek. 36:24-28)
(The old covenant is a picture of how God would through a new covenant reunite Himself with man—it reveals also our total inability to accomplish this ourselves.)
The Mosaic Covenant compared to the Abrahamic Covenant
1. It is a different covenant than the Abrahamic Covenant. (Deut. 5:2-3)
2. The Abrahamic Covenant is unconditional. (It did not depend on the obedience of the Israelites.) (The Mosaic Covenant is conditional on Israel's obedience.) (Gal. 3:15-18)
3. Mosaic Covenant—a covenant of works (God's holy requirements cannot be ignored.)
4. Abrahamic Covenant—a covenant of promise (No requirements are mentioned; God will unconditionally bless Israel.)
5. The Mosaic Covenant did not replace the Abrahamic Covenant. (Gal. 3:17-19)
6. The Mosaic Covenant can be interrupted by disobedience (Deut. 28:15); the Abrahamic Covenant cannot be interrupted. (Lev. 26:42, 44-45; Micah 7:18-20)
