Exodus: Birth of a Nation 5

Law and Covenant

Chapters 31:12 - 40:38

The Sabbath was an appointed day of rest and worship. It was a memorial of the seventh day of creation, when God rested from his work. The observance of the Sabbath was included in the Ten Commandments, and was a sign between God and his people Israel (Genesis 2:2-3; Exodus 20:8-11; 31:17). It pictured a future reality — sharing in the rest of God through faith in Christ (Hebrews 4).

The bronze figure is of Apis, the bull-god of Memphis, in lower Egypt. It may be that the cult of this and other sacred bulls in Egypt influenced the Israelites in their decision to worship a golden calf (Exodus 32:2-4). The only other biblical example of this type of idolatry is when King Jeroboam installed two golden calves in his new sanctuaries (1 Kings 12:28-30).

Sadly, only six weeks after making a solemn pledge of obedience to God, the children of Israel demanded a replica of one of the gods of ancient Egypt. The impatience of the people was matched by the weakness of Aaron, the high priest. Not only did he preside over the making of the calf, but he also identified it with the true God of Israel!

Moses’ indignation is understandable. In breaking the tablets of stone, he dramatically proclaimed Israel’s breaking of the covenant. Only his intervention saved the people from annihilation. Nevertheless, God punished them for their sin (verses 25-28).

God’s punishment brought results. The Israelites discarded their personal idols. Moses, though, was still concerned. He wanted to ensure that God had restored favor to his people, so he asked for a bigger sign than in the past. Moses was permitted to see a glimpse of God’s glory (verses 18-23).

God renewed his covenant by engraving the law on a new set of stone tablets. This renewal of the covenant gave additional guidelines resulting from Israel’s worship of the golden calf, as well as warnings about the coming temptations of the Canaanite religion. For example, the Israelites were not to follow the Canaanite practice of cooking a young goat in its mother’s milk (verse 26). God also reiterated the Sabbath and three annual festivals (verses 18-22).

These chapters explain how the instructions God gave earlier (Exodus 25 – 31) were to be carried out. The people contributed gifts to the tabernacle. In fact, their response was so enthusiastic and generous that Moses asked them to stop giving.

This illustrates an important spiritual principle that you will often see as you study the Bible. Giving should always be done willingly and proportionate to one’s blessings (2 Corinthians 9:7). The act of giving imitates God’s grace to us. As Jesus told his disciples, "Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also" (Matthew 6:21).

When the tabernacle was finished, God filled it with his glory. In the New Testament, God "tabernacled" among his people in the form of Jesus Christ and they witnessed his glory (John 1:14).