Sunday Worship Service October 8, 2017 Rev. YoungMin Kim Old Covenant vs. New Covenant (1) I used to entice my son to do something or to be improved by providing proper rewards. For example, if he had a crucial exam the next week, I enticed him saying, If you have a perfect score on the exam, I will give you a $20 Lego set as a reward. As he grew, he preferred cash rather than Legos. I used to say, If you do something, I will give you something. Or, If you do not something, I will not give you something or I will take something from you. It has effectively worked for a short period of time, but without realizing his own purposes why he should study, it could never be consistent motivation. God gave conditions to the Israelites and promised incomparable rewards if they preserved the conditions. It seemed to have worked effectively, but after only a short period, they broke the conditions and promise with God. They did not know who they really were and why they were supposed to preserve the covenants. (2) According to the lectionary today, we read Exodus 20:1-4 and 12-17. Today s passage is well known as the Ten Commandments. After two months since the Israelites escaped from Egypt, they reached the wilderness of Sinai. God called Moses from the mountain, so Moses went up to the mountain. God said to Moses, Now therefore, if you obey my voice and keep my covenant, you shall be my treasured possession out of all the people. Indeed, the whole earth is mine, but you shall be for me a priestly kingdom and a holy nation. These are the words that you shall speak to the Israelites (19:5-6). 1
When he delivered God s words to the Israelites, they responded, saying, Everything that the Lord has spoken we will do (19:8). By God suggesting a condition and reward and the Israelites agreeing, a covenant was established between God and the Israelites. We call this, the Old Covenant or the Conditional Covenant. What was the reason that God established the covenant with the Israelites? And why so we call it the old or conditional covenant? (3) I have seen many second generation Korean-Americans who are Americanized in language, culture, lifestyle, and even mindset completely Americanized within just one generation. After Joseph died, his numerous descendants became Egyptian slaves for hundreds of years. During this period, the Israel descendants were completely Egyptianized in language, culture, lifestyle, mindset, and religion. Even though they became free from Egypt, Egyptian influences still remained in their lives. Thus, God gave specific guidelines to take off Egyptian clothes and to become the people of God. From the Ten Commandments, we can recognize that the first four commandments are related to God. We can assume that generations following the Exodus had many different gods, made idols, bowed down and worshiped them, and misused the name of God frequently. Thus, God commanded, You shall have no other gods before me (20:3); You shall not make for yourself an idol (v.4); You shall not bow down to them or worship them (v.5); and You shall not make wrongful use of the name of the LORD your God (v.7). The fifth to the tenth commandments are related to people. By now, we can presume why God commanded the following: Honor your father and your mother (v.12); You shall not murder (v.13); You shall not commit adultery (v.14); You shall not steal (v.15); You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor (v.16); and You shall not covet your neighbor s house (v.17). I believe that 2
these specific commandments were to take off Egyptian clothes and to become the people of God. They forced the Israelites to live differently from their previous lives in Egypt. This was in order to live holy as God s chosen people. God s intention was perfect; however, the Israelites were imperfect. God patiently endured, but the Israelites frequently broke the covenant and sinned against God following the Exodus. Thus, God decided to destroy the old covenant and make a new covenant. (4) In Jeremiah 31:31-32, God said, I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah. It will not be like the covenant that I made with their ancestors when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt. The purpose of the covenant is the same. That is to know His people, I will be their God, and they shall be my people (Jer. 31:33). We come to know God, not by performing God s commandments, but by Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ came to earth to establish the new covenant. And through His crucifixion on the cross and by the price of His blood, the new covenant was finally fulfilled between God and His people both Jews and Gentiles. The covenant has no conditions. It is freely given to all because God so loved the world that He gave His only Son. This is the grace of God. Here are some differences between the old covenant (or the conditional covenant) and the new covenant (or the unconditional covenant). The old covenant was engraved on stone tablets, but the new covenant was put within us and written on our hearts. The old covenant was made first with the nation of Israel, but the new covenant is made not only with the houses of Israel and Judah, but also ultimately with all mankind. Under the old covenant, people s sin was atoned by the blood of animals and it was imperfect atonement, so that they had to perform the atonement ritual every year 3
with animals blood. But under the new covenant, people s sin was atoned by the blood of Jesus Christ. It was perfect atonement, so that we don t have to perform the atonement ritual every year. This is the power of Christ s blood. (5) We live under the new covenant. Through the new covenant, we are able to become children of God. If so, just as the first covenant was destroyed, do you think we don t need to consider and follow the Ten Commandments given to the Israelites in the wilderness about 3,500 years ago? Our Lord Jesus Christ capsulized the Ten Commandments and suggested two commandments in this way, You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the greatest and first commandment (Matthew 22:37-38). And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself (v. 39). The first four commandments in the old, conditional covenant are summarized as Love the Lord Your God with all your heart, soul, and mind in the manner of the new, unconditional covenant. And the other six commandments in the old, conditional covenant are summarized as Love your neighbor as yourself in the manner of the new, unconditional covenant. The Ten Commandments were eventually the commandments of practicing love love to God and love to neighbors. How can we love our God? Let us start with preserving the Lord s Day with our hearts, souls, and minds. Let us attend worship service at Nokesville UMC and other churches on Sundays, the Lord s Day if you are out of town. Worshiping God with our songs and prayers is a way to glorify God and to express our love to God. How can we love our 4
neighbors as ourselves? Let us love our family first, and expand our love to our church members, to our community, and to the world. Amen! 5