Okay we now begin our study of Exodus, one of the most exciting books in the Torah.
While Genesis is considered to be the Book of Beginnings relating to us the story of how the universe and mankind began, Exodus is also a book of beginnings.
It’s about the beginning of a nation of people called Israel who God specifically chose and separated from all other people groups in the world.
In Exodus we will witness the seminal event of God giving His people His Law.
These holy precepts and commands will finally establish Israel as a normal nation on both civil and political levels.
In addition, many of the religious festivals and traditions we celebrate in modern day Judaism like Passover have their origins in Exodus.
Now one of the most important things you need to know is that in the Book of Exodus we will be introduced to a new covenant.
Does that surprise you?
The vast majority of Christian teaching is based on the false idea that the Bible has been divided into two main parts known as the Old Testament and the New Testament.
It is then taught that God’s original set of laws in the Old Testament were replaced by a new and superior covenant we now call the New Testament.
As a result, the attitude of many gentile churches towards the Old Testament is that it is unimportant.
It is pooh-poohed as just ancient history, a book fit for only hardcore scholars and those in academia but not crucial to the edification of a modern-day believer.
Nothing could be further from the truth.
I remind you that the only Bible Yeshua, his disciples and the Apostle Paul knew of was the Old Testament.
In fact, many spiritual principles that we assume began in the New Testament actually have their origins in the Old Testament, and that even includes the Gospel.
The simple truth of the matter is we’ve really got to do away with the words “Old” and “New” when referring to our Bibles.
We don’t have an Old Book and a New Book.
We only have ONE unified Word of God.
Understand that the new covenant Moses received from the Lord on Mount Sinai did NOT replace the older covenant given to Abraham.
It was a stand-alone distinct covenant with a different purpose than the Abrahamic covenant.
Having said that, although these two covenants are different, they are tightly interwoven.
Just as the floor is the foundation of a house, so is Abraham’s covenant the foundation for the New Covenant that will be given to Moses.
Now one fundamental difference between the two is that Moses’ covenant was CONDITIONAL.
It was a bilateral covenant.
In other words, in order for the Mosaic covenant to to be fulfilled, man had to do his part and God had to do his part.
On the other hand, the covenant that God made to the patriarchs Abraham, Isaac, Jacob was UNCONDITIONAL.
It was all on God.
There was nothing man could do to undo it.
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