Bible Readings — Bible Questions Answered

The Old or First Covenant

When was the old covenant made? BR-ASI9 268.15

“Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day when I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt; because they continued not in My covenant, and I regarded them not, saith the Lord.” Hebrews 8:9. (See Exodus 19:3-8.) BR-ASI9 268.16

What proposition did He submit to them? BR-ASI9 268.17

“Now therefore, if ye will obey My voice indeed, and keep My covenant, then ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto Me above all people: for all the earth is Mine: and ye shall be unto Me a kingdom of priests, and an holy nation.” Exodus 19:5, 6. BR-ASI9 268.18

What response did the people make to this proposition? BR-ASI9 269.1

“And all the people answered together, and said, All that the Lord hath spoken we will do.” Exodus 19:8. BR-ASI9 269.2

What covenant obligation was imposed upon Israel? BR-ASI9 269.3

“Now therefore, if ye will obey My voice indeed, and keep My covenant.” Exodus 19:5, first part. BR-ASI9 269.4

Upon what was this covenant with God based? BR-ASI9 269.5

“He declared unto you His covenant, which He commanded you to perform, even ten commandments; and He wrote them upon two tables of stone.” Deuteronomy 4:13. BR-ASI9 269.6

Note.—Both the old covenant and the new covenant are based upon the Ten Commandments. In proposing a covenant with Israel, God said: “If ye will obey My voice indeed, and keep My covenant.” Exodus 19:5. (See Exodus 24:8.) Obedience to the Ten Commandments was the condition under the old covenant upon which God made certain promises to the people. Obedience to the same ten precepts is likewise the basis of the new covenant, for the Lord declares: “This is the covenant that I will make . . . after those days, saith the Lord; I will put My laws into their mind, and write them in their hearts: and I will be to them a God, and they shall be to Me a people.” Hebrews 8:10. Thus “the law is a paragraph in a Covenant of Grace.”—Stewart M. Robinson in The Presbyterian, July 28, 1932, p. 10. Under the gospel the new covenant can be entered into only when there is a knowledge of God’s law, and heartfelt obedience thereto. BR-ASI9 269.7

After the law had been proclaimed from Sinai, what did the people again say? BR-ASI9 269.8

“And all the people answered with one voice, and said, All the words which the Lord hath said will we do.” Exodus 24:3. BR-ASI9 269.9

How was this covenant then confirmed and dedicated? BR-ASI9 269.10

“He sent young men of the children of Israel, which offered burnt offerings, and sacrificed peace offerings of oxen unto the Lord. And Moses took half of the blood, and put it in basons; and half of the blood he sprinkled on the altar. And he took the book of the covenant, and read in the audience of the people: and they said, All that the Lord hath said will we do, and be obedient. And Moses took the blood, and sprinkled it on the people, and said, Behold the blood of the covenant which the Lord hath made with you concerning all these words.” Exodus 24:5-8. BR-ASI9 269.11

How does Paul describe this ratification of the covenant? BR-ASI9 269.12

“For when Moses had spoken every precept to all the people according to the law, he took the blood of calves and of goats, with water, and scarlet wool, and hyssop, and sprinkled both the book, and all the people, saying, This is the blood of the testament which God hath enjoined unto you.” Hebrews 9:19, 20. BR-ASI9 269.13

Note.—We here have the account of the making of the first, or old, covenant. God promised to make them His peculiar people on condition that they would keep His commandments. Again they promised to obey. The agreement was then ratified, or sealed, with blood. BR-ASI9 270.1

Less than forty days after making this covenant, while Moses tarried on the mount, what did Israel say to Aaron? BR-ASI9 270.2

“Up, make us gods, which shall go before us; for as for this Moses, the man that brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we wot not what is become of him.” Exodus 32:1. BR-ASI9 270.3

When Moses came down from Sinai, what did he see? BR-ASI9 270.4

“He saw the calf, and the dancing: and Moses’ anger waxed hot, and he cast the tables out of his hands, and brake them beneath the mount.” Exodus 32:19. BR-ASI9 270.5

Note.—The great object and secret of the old covenant is revealed here. The people did not realize the weakness and sinfulness of their own hearts, or their need of divine grace and help to keep the law; and so, in their ignorance, they readily pledged obedience. But almost immediately they began to commit idolatry, and thus to break the law of God, or the very conditions laid down as their part of the covenant. In themselves the conditions were good; but in their own strength the people were unable to fulfill them. The great object of the old covenant therefore was to teach the people their weakness, and their inability to keep the law without God’s help. This covenant was designed to lead them to Christ, and to show that there is no salvation for anyone while trusting in self. Only in Christ is there remission of sins or power to keep from sinning. BR-ASI9 270.6