Journey through the Bible 3 – The Mosaic Age Introduced

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Journey through the Bible 3 – The Mosaic Age Introduced

Sermon by  Thomas Thornhill Jr


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JOURNEY THROUGH THE BIBLE (3)

We have started a study going through the Bible.  In this ongoing study we will notice events, people and other important information related to our hope of eternal life and how to better understand the Bible.  In our first lesson we introduced 17 periods of Bible history.  In our last lesson, we introduced the patriarchal age and noted some lessons from it.  Today, we introduce the Mosaic age.  Our next lesson will notice the Christian age, that we are still under today.  We will then begin a more detailed examination of various events beginning with creation.

 

  1. Facts about the Mosaic age
    1. It is named after Moses because he was given the law by God on Mt. Sinai, Exodus 20ff. Even in the time of Christ, the law was attributed to him (Acts 13:39, 1 Corinthians 9:9, Hebrews 10:28, etc.).
    2. Biblically, this is the largest portion of the Bible. It begins in Exodus 20 and concludes at Acts 2.  This age includes the events that unfolded in the life of Jesus (though the New Testament was written for Christians and to convert others to Christ and His church).
    3. It dates from approximately 1500 BC (Moses) – to ~30 AD with the beginning of the kingdom/church in Acts 2. It consists of a period approximately 1500 years in length.
  2. Key events and people in this age
    1. Of the 17 time periods, this age contains the most. The patriarchal age contained 5 periods, the Mosaic age contains 10 periods, and the Christian age contains 2 periods.
    2. Clearly, it begins with Moses – who in many ways is a type of Christ. A law is given, and a people are established including a land.
    3. Joshua, also a type of Christ, leads Israel into its Promised Land. They inherit the land which is divided into 12 parcels based upon the 12 tribes (the 12 sons of Israel (Jacob)).
    4. David, a king after God’s own heart (though not perfect) would have his throne established which would become the throne of Christ.
    5. The written prophets and other prophets come on the scene as God interacts with His people and seeks to preserve them and bring them to repentance when they are unfaithful to Him.
    6. Jesus is born, lives and goes to the cross. It is important that we understand this as it invalidates “the thief on the cross” argument for “faith only”.
  3. Understanding the Mosaic age for today
    1. This age is in answer to the promise to Abraham – Genesis 12:1-3. Recall that God gave Abraham a 3 part promise – people, land and seed promise.  Both the people and land promise were fulfilled during the Mosaic age –
      1. People promise – they were a great nation – Deuteronomy 4:7-8
      2. The land promise – Joshua 21:43-45
      3. NOTE: The land was given by promise, unconditionally. BUT, keep it involved conditions (Deuteronomy 28,, 30, etc.)
    2. The law of Moses was for THAT nation only
      1. Exodus 31:16-17 – the Sabbath was for the children of Israel forever.
      2. Exodus 24:7-8 – it was a covenant between Israel and the LORD.
      3. Deuteronomy 5:1-3 – the covenant was with them, not their fathers (the patriarchs) – those who received “the ten commandments” at Mt. Sinai (Exodus 20:1-17)
    3. What was its purpose?
      1. To bring us to Christ – Galatians 3:19-25 clearly establishes this. It was added because of transgressions, until Christ came.  It was a “schoolmaster” to bring Jews to Christ (and the rest of us as we learn).
      2. It helped to identify what is sin and what is holiness. Romans 3:20, 7:7, 13, etc.
      3. BUT, there was a problem – it did NOT take away sins ultimately. Hebrews 10:1-4.  Every year another sacrifice was needed until Christ came into the world.
      4. It set apart a people to bring Christ into the world –
        1. Galatians 4:4 notes that Jesus was born under the law.
        2. Romans 15:8 – Now I say that Jesus Christ has become a servant to the circumcision for the truth of God, to confirm the promises made to the fathers,…
        3. Note: One of the things established under the LOM was the importance of lineage. The lineage anticipating the Messiah was important and kept.  That is why in both Matthew and Luke present lineages of Jesus.
    4. We MUST understand that we are not under the LOM today –
      1. It was fulfilled in Jesus coming and dying on the cross – Matthew 5:17-18, Colossians 2:14.
      2. That is a major point in the book of Hebrews –
        1. Which speaks of the need for a new covenant and how Jesus fulfilled that new covenant – Hebrews 8:7-13 – fault in the first covenant (it was inadequate – did not remove sins of all mankind);
        2. Hebrews 9:16ff – the new testament went into force when Jesus died on the cross.
      3. Neither are the Jews – Acts 15:11 – the conclusion of Peter and the apostles, IF Jews wanted to be saved, they needed the same thing as the Gentiles.
      4. The New Covenant fulfills what was inadequate under the OLD – it is available to all – Galatians 3:27, Ephesians 2:11-17 further develops this.
      5. The point to understand is that we are now under the New Testament today. God never intended the LOM to be the final law.  Consider Galatians 2:21, I do not set aside the grace of God; for if righteousness comes through the law, then Christ died in vain.
  4. Lessons from this age
    1. We learn many valuable lessons even though we are not under this law – Romans 15:4, cf. 1 Corinthians 10:11, etc. We learn about God – He keeps His promises.  Promises made through Abraham are kept in spite of their continued rebellion and rejection of Him.  We learn about holiness.  We learn about righteous living.  The proverbs are invaluable instruction about how to live in peace with others and yourself.
    2. God is able to fulfill His plans – you see the seed promise to Abraham unfold over time with more refined details as time goes on, leading up to its completion. Galatians 4:4, Ephesians 1:10 speak of the dispensation of the fullness of the times – a reference to the timeframe of Jesus.  Consider the next point.
    3. We have reasons to believe in God – There are numerous apologetic arguments for the God of the Bible and Jesus that are developed in the Mosaic age.
      1. Prophecies – we are not speaking of generalities and enigmatic prophecies. We are talking about plain prophecies that showed God is fulfilling His plans and the Bible is His word.  Isaiah even makes that argument – Isaiah 42:9, Behold, the former things have come to pass, And new things I declare; Before they spring forth I tell you of them.”  See also Isaiah 41:21-23.  This is followed by a very specific prophecy that did not take place until; ~150+ years later – naming Cyrus (Isaiah 44:28-45:1)  There are also a multitude of prophecies about Jesus, some so specific that skeptics of scripture have to fabricate extreme theories to explain them (e.g. the gospels are much later, and made up as legend, at times by Jewish scholars who READ INTO Christ whatever they could find in the Old Testament.
      2. Type-anti-type – another powerful example where instructions from God under the LOM were fulfilled spiritually and ultimately in Jesus.
      3. Events and miracles confirmed archaeologically – in recent decades, more and more of the people, places and things in the Bible have been confirmed for accuracy.
      4. We find so much of this under the LOM. I am convinced it was a major premise behind the LOM.  When Jesus came, there was NO denying who He was to the honest seeker.
    4. God knows how to communicate to us – via prophets, etc.
      1. During the time of the Law of Moses, we know that God can get His message across. He did it in various ways, but mainly through prophets – both oral and written.
      2. While God does not communicate today via prophets, we do have the completed word of God – Jude 3, 2 Peter 1:3, 2 Timothy 3:16-17, etc. Consider: If God was able to say everything that was needed under the LOM, is He able to give US a law that is age lasting – good even today.

And thus we are introduced to the Mosaic age.  It is one of the three dispensations of God’s time for this earth.  As we have seen in this lesson, we NEED to know what is taught within.  Even though we are no longer under this age, it gives us insight and understanding into the Christian age we are now living in.  Is the Old Testament part of your study?  Think about it!

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