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Lesson 8 The Covenant at Sinai

(Exodus 19-20, Romans 3 & 6)
English
Year: 
2025
Quarter: 
3
Lesson Number: 
8

                                          Lesson 8 The Covenant at Sinai

                  (Exodus 19-20, Romans 3 & 6)

    

Copr. 2025, Bruce N. Cameron, J.D.  Scripture quotations are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Suggested answers are found within parentheses. If you normally receive this lesson by e-mail, but it is lost one week, you can find it by clicking on this link: http://www.GoBible.org. Pray for the guidance of the Holy Spirit as you study.

 

Introduction: Think about the Lord’s Prayer. What is the first point of the prayer? It is to give glory to God. What is the next point? It is that God should return soon, but in the meantime His will should be done on earth as it is in heaven. Is this a pattern of the exodus from Egypt so far? God’s great glory is shown over the Egyptians. Then the people travel to Mount Sinai to learn about God’s will and how it should be done on earth. Let’s dive in and learn about the will of God for His people!

 

  1.    The Orientation Meeting

 

    1.    Read Exodus 19:1-2. How long did it take for the Hebrews to arrive at the foot of Mount Sinai? (Two months. The JFB commentary calculates 50 days. That links it to the Feast of Pentecost.)

 

      1.    Why go there? (It is not on the route to Canaan. God has something different in mind than just making the journey directly to the promised land.)

 

    1.    Read Exodus 19:3-6. What promise does God give to the Hebrews? (If they obey, they will be His treasured possession.)

 

      1.    What kind of obedience does God require? (“Obey Me fully.”)

 

      1.    What do you think it means to be God’s “treasured possession?”)

 

      1.    Where is Moses for this conversation? (He is on the mountain with God!)

 

    1.    Read Exodus 19:7-8. How do the Hebrews respond? (They agree to do everything God requires.)

 

      1.    Does this response seem credible to you?

 

  1.   Preparing for Instructions

 

    1.    Read Exodus 19:9 and Exodus 19:12-13. How does Moses differ from the rest of the people? (God is going to speak only with him. If any of the other people approach or touch the mountain they must die.)

 

      1.    How would you view Moses if you were one of the Hebrews?

 

    1.    Read Exodus 19:14-18. Why do you think God took this approach with the people? They had to be consecrated and then they trembled.

 

      1.    Why do you think Jesus came to us in a much different way?

 

      1.    How should we approach people with God’s message today? (We know that all except two of those terrified people died in the desert. They never entered the promised land. That suggests this approach could use further consideration. My concern is that today we fail to adequately promote the glory, power, and danger of God.)   

 

      1.    Think back to Exodus 19:5 where God promises the people will be His “treasured” possession. Would you want such a powerful being on your side?

 

  1.      Ten Commandments

 

    1.    Read Exodus 20:1-7. How would you summarize these commandments? (Read Matthew 22:36-38.)

 

    1.    Read Exodus 20:8-11. Is this commandment about loving God or loving ourselves? (Read Mark 2:27-28 to see how the Lord of the Sabbath understands it.)

 

    1.    Read Exodus 20:12-17. How would you summarize these commandments? (Read Matthew 22:39-40.)

 

      1.    Notice that Exodus 20 lists the Ten Commandments as commands, but Jesus calls them acts of love in Matthew 22:36-40. How would you reconcile these two descriptions?

 

    1.    Read Deuteronomy 4:1-2 and Deuteronomy 12:32. Can you explain the logic of this instruction about the Ten Commandments? (Anyone who adds to God’s law or subtracts from the law puts himself in the position of God.)

 

      1.    What do you most commonly observe, people adding commands or saying that some commands do not apply to us?

 

      1.    I listened to a small part of a sermon where the preacher seemed to argue that the church let down the younger generation by limiting them by applying the law. Is the law a limitation? If so, how is it fair to refer to it as expressing love? (Read James 2:12. James refers to the law as something that gives us freedom. That is how I view God’s commands.)

 

    1.    Read Exodus 32:1-4. Compare Exodus 19:7-8 and Exodus 20:3-5. How do you explain this? Are these people brain damaged?

 

  1.   Ten Commandments for the Brain Damaged

 

    1.    Read Romans 3:9-12. What is the state of humanity? (We are all “worthless” when it comes to obeying the law.)

 

    1.    Read Romans 3:19-20. What is the purpose of the Ten Commandments? (“Through the law comes knowledge of sin.” Romans tells us that we are all bad people in terms of God’s law. We cannot be justified by the law because of this. That means the reason for the law is not to justify us, but rather to educate us about sin.)

 

      1.    Why would we want to be educated about sin? (To avoid it. Sin makes our life worse.)

 

    1.    Read Romans 3:21-24. How are we justified? (“Through faith in Jesus.” It is a gift from Jesus to us.)

 

      1.    When Romans 3:22 says, “there is no distinction” what does that mean? (It means that whether you think you are very obedient, or you think you are a great sinner, there is only one way to be saved and that is by the gift of grace from Jesus.)

 

      1.    Let’s step back a minute and consider Deuteronomy 4:1-2. Is Paul, the writer of Romans, subtracting from the law? (No. He is explaining the purpose of the law.)

 

    1.    Read Romans 3:27. What boasting is referred to here? (Read Romans 3:28. Boasting about keeping the law. How can a person boast about earning salvation when it is a gift given to all who believe in Jesus?)

 

  1.    Overthrowing the Law

 

    1.    Read Romans 3:31. Does righteousness by faith alone “overthrow the law?” (Romans answers, “By no means.”)

 

      1.    If you answered, “By no means,” do you think this is an easy question to answer? That the answer is not really debatable? (This suggests the answer is clear and without question.)

 

      1.    Do you think the answer is without question? If you are not saved by keeping the law, why keep it? Why regard it?

 

    1.    Read Romans 6:15-17. What does the law do for us if we attempt to keep it? (Verse 17 tells us that we become “obedient from the heart.” Knowing that Jesus died painfully to fulfill our obligation to the law should change our attitude toward the law.)

 

    1.    Read Romans 6:21-23. What does sin do for us when we let it into our life? (It gives us death. The point of the law is to make our lives better.)

 

      1.    The snippet of a sermon I referred to above reflects the attitude of many. They teach that we should tell young people that, for example, sexual immorality is not a problem, they can sleep with anyone they want. If the church taught “love is love,” then young people would remain in the church. They would not feel they were unwanted.  Is this true? (This is a terrible lie. There are two fundamental truths. First, we are saved by grace and not by obedience to the law. Second, obedience to the law shows love to ourselves and to others. Sin wreaks your life. You become a slave to it. Sin makes you pay with your life.)

 

    1.    Read Romans 1:32. What should we do with religious leaders who teach that practicing sin reflects the will of God? (The language, “give approval to those who practice them” is a reference to the sins discussed previous to this verse. These teachers are part of a cult of death. We must stand against them.)

 

    1.    Friend, God has very good news for you! You are saved by grace. It is a free gift to all who accept the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus on their behalf. You can give up the impossible struggle to perfectly obey the law to earn heaven. At the same time, Jesus perfectly kept the law on our behalf because it is important. Walking in accordance with the law makes our life better and more beautiful. The law is a gift to direct the path of our life. Will you share this good news with others? Why not commit to this right now?

 

  1.   Next week: Living the Law.