L esson 7 *May 8–14

(page 56 of Standard Edition)

Covenant at Sinai

Sabbath Afternoon
Read for This Week’s Study: Deut. 1:29–31; Hos. 11:1; Rev.
5:9; Deut. 29:10–13; Exod. 19:5, 6; Rom. 6:1, 2; Rev. 14:12; Rom. 10:3.

Memory Text: “ ‘You have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how
I bore you on eagles’ wings and brought you to myself’ ” (Exodus 19:4,
RSV).

A
little boy, one of seven children, met with an accident and was taken
to the hospital. In his home there was seldom enough of anything.
He never had more than just a part of a glass of milk. If the glass
was full, it was shared by two of the children, and whoever drank first had to
be careful not to drink too far. After the little fellow was made comfortable
in the hospital, the nurse brought him a large glass of milk. He looked at it
longingly for a moment and then, with the memory of privations at home,
asked, ‘How deep shall I drink?’ The nurse, with her eyes shining and a lump
in her throat, said, ‘Drink it all, child, drink it all!’ ”—H.M.S. Richards, “Free
Grace,” Voice of Prophecy News, June 1950, p. 4.
Like this boy, it was the privilege of ancient Israel, as it is our own, to
drink deeply from the wells of salvation. Israel’s deliverance from centu-
ries of slavery and oppression was a marvelous exhibition of divine grace.
Likewise, divine grace is involved in our own emancipation from sin.

The Week at a Glance: What imagery did the Lord use to

describe His relationship with Israel? In what ways do the stories of the
Exodus and Sinai parallel personal salvation? What was the role of the
law in the Sinai covenant?

* Study this week’s lesson to prepare for Sabbath, May 15.

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 S unday May 9
(page 57 of Standard Edition)

On Eagles’ Wings
As a people, Israel had been immersed in Egyptian paganism for
many long, hard centuries, an experience that no doubt dimmed their
knowledge of God, His will, and His goodness.
How could the Lord win them back to Himself?
For starters, He would demonstrate the genuineness of His love for
Israel, and He did this through His mighty acts of deliverance. He would
begin to woo the nation into a loving response to His covenant proposal.
At Sinai, God first reminded the nation of His gracious acts in their behalf.

What two illustrations describe the manner in which the Lord brought
Israel from Egypt to Sinai?

Exod. 19:4, Deut. 32:10–12

Deut. 1:29–31, Hos. 11:1

What would these illustrations teach Israel (and us) about the nature
of God’s attitude toward His people?

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These illustrations indicate that our God is very much aware of our
helplessness. Read Psalm 103:13, 14. In both the figures of the eagle
and the parent carrying his child we sense God’s concern for our well-
being. Tender, supportive, protective, encouraging, He desires to bring
us to full maturity.
“The eagle was known for its unusual devotions to its young. It too
lived on mountain tops. In teaching its young to fly it carried them upon
its back to those great heights that overlook the plains of Sinai, then it
dropped them down into the depths. If the baby was still too young and
too bewildered to fly, father-eagle would swoop down beneath it, catch
it on his back, and fly up again with it to the eyrie on the crags above.
And that, says the divine voice, is ‘how I brought you out of Egypt
to myself.’  ”—George A. F. Knight, Theology of Narration (Grand
Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1976), p. 128.

Contrast God’s interest in us with our interest in one another. How

should His concern for us affect our concern for others?

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Based on your personal experience, what illustrations can you

think of to describe God’s unselfish interest in us? Make up a few
images on your own, from your own experiences; draw also from
whatever culture you live in. Share them with the class.
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 M onday May 10
(page 58 of Standard Edition)

The Pattern of Salvation

“ ‘Say therefore to the people of Israel, “I am the Lord, and I
will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians, and I
will deliver you from their bondage, and I will redeem you with an
outstretched arm and with great acts of judgment, and I will take
you for my people, and I will be your God; and you shall know that
I am the Lord your God, who has brought you out from under the
burdens of the Egyptians” ’ ” (Exod. 6:6, 7, RSV).

Look at the above verses: What principle do we see in them, as before,

regarding the role of God toward humanity in the covenant rela-
tionship? (Focus on how often the word I appears in those verses.)
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The deliverance of Israel from Egyptian slavery and the deliverance of

Noah and his family from the Flood are the two prominent salvific events
in the writings of Moses. Both provide insights into the science of salva-
tion. But it is the Exodus event in particular that provides the basic pattern.
When God says to Israel (through Moses), “I will redeem you”
(Exod. 6:6, emphasis supplied), He literally says, “I will act as the kins-
man redeemer,” or go’el.
“The word redeem in verse 6 [of Exodus 6] refers to a member of a
family buying back or ransoming another member of the family, especially
when that member was in slavery for debt or about to go into slavery.
Israel apparently had no earthly relative to redeem her, but God was now
Israel’s relative, her kinsman redeemer.”—Bernard L. Ramm, His Way Out
(Glendale, CA: Regal Books Division, G/L Publications, 1974), p. 50.

How do you understand the idea of God’s “ransoming,” or buying back, His
people from slavery? What was the price that had to be paid? What does
that tell us about our worth? (See Mark 10:45, 1 Tim. 2:6, and Rev. 5:9.)
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In Exodus 3:8 God says that He has “come down” to rescue Israel.
This is a common Hebrew verb for God’s interaction with humanity.
God is in heaven, and we are on earth, and only as God “comes down” to
earth can He redeem us. In the truest sense of the idea, only when Jesus
came down, lived, suffered, died, and was resurrected for us could we be
redeemed. “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us” (John 1:14,
RSV) is another way of saying that God came down in order to save us.

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 T uesday May 11
(page 59 of Standard Edition)

The Sinai Covenant

The book of Exodus draws the reader’s attention to three major
events. Like three mountains, the Exodus itself, the establishment of
the covenant, and the building of the tabernacle sanctuary rise above
the foothills of lesser happenings. The establishment of the covenant,
recorded in Exodus 19 through 24, was the Mount Everest of the three.
A brief outline of Exodus 19 through 24 shows the sequence and the
relationship of events.

Even if you do not have the time to look up all the verses listed below,
focus on the sequence of events:
1. Israel’s arrival and encampment at Sinai after being delivered by
the Lord (Exod. 19:1, 2)
2. God’s proposal of a covenant with Israel (Exod. 19:3–6)
3. Israel’s response in acceptance of the covenant (Exod. 19:7, 8)
4. Preparations for formally receiving the covenant (Exod. 19:9–25)
5. Proclamation of the Ten Commandments (Exod. 20:1–17)
6. Moses as covenant mediator (Exod. 20:18–21)
7. Covenant principles spelled out (Exod. 20:22–23:22)
8. Ratification of the covenant (Exod. 24:1–18)

This covenant plays a vital role in the plan of salvation. It is the

fourth covenant listed in the Bible (preceded by the ones with Adam,
Noah, and Abraham), and in it God reveals Himself more fully than
before, particularly as the entire sanctuary ritual is established. Thus,
the sanctuary becomes the means by which He shows the people the
plan of salvation that they were to reveal to the world.
Though the Lord had redeemed Israel from the bondage of Egypt,
He wanted them to understand that redemption had a greater, more
significant meaning than merely freedom from physical bondage.
He wanted to redeem them from sin, the ultimate slavery, and this
could happen only through the sacrifice of the Messiah, as taught
in the types and symbols of the sanctuary service. It is no wonder,
then, that not long after they were redeemed from bondage and
given the law, the Israelites were instructed to build the sanctuary
and establish its services, for in these things God revealed to them
the plan of redemption—which is the true meaning and purpose
of the covenant. For the covenant is nothing if not a covenant of
salvation that the Lord offers to fallen humanity. That is what it
was in Eden, and that is what it was at Sinai.

Why was a covenant between God and the people of Israel a

necessity? (See Deut. 29:10–13; notice, again, the relational aspect
of the covenant.)

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 W ednesday May 12
(page 60 of Standard Edition)

God and Israel

“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. These are the words which thou shalt
speak unto the children of Israel” (Exod. 19:5, 6).

In these verses the Lord was proposing His covenant with the chil-
dren of Israel. Though in one sense the Lord had called them, that call-
ing was not automatically bestowed upon them without their choice.
They had to cooperate. Even their deliverance from Egypt involved
their cooperation: if they had not done what the Lord had said (such as
putting the blood on the doorposts), they would not have been deliv-
ered. It was that simple.
Here, too, the Lord does not say to them, “Whether you like it or
don’t like it, you will be a peculiar treasure unto Me and a nation of
priests.” That is not how it works, and that is not what the text says.

Read Exodus 19:5, 6, quoted above. How do you understand what the
Lord is saying in the context of salvation by faith? Does the com-
mand included there to obey the Lord somehow nullify the concept
of salvation by grace? How do the following texts help you to under-
stand the answer? Rom. 3:19–24; Rom. 6:1, 2; Rom. 7:7; Rev. 14:12.
_____________________________________________________

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“We do not earn salvation by our obedience; for salvation is the

free gift of God, to be received by faith. But obedience is the fruit of
faith.”—Ellen G. White, Steps to Christ, p. 61.

Think of what the Lord was willing to do for the nation of Israel: not
only did He miraculously deliver them from Egyptian bondage, but He
also wanted to make them His own treasured possession, a nation of
priests. Basing their relationship with Him upon His salvation (both tem-
poral, as from Egyptian slavery, and eternal), the Lord sought to elevate
them to a spiritual, intellectual, and moral level that would make them the
wonder of the ancient world, all for the purpose of using them to preach
the gospel to the nations. All they had to do, in response, was obey.

In what ways should our personal, one-on-one experience with

the Lord reflect that same principle we see here in today’s study?

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 T hursday May 13
(page 61 of Standard Edition)

Promises, Promises . . . (Exod. 19:8)

At first sight, all seems well. The Lord delivers His people, offers
them the covenant promises, and they agree: they will do all that the
Lord asks them to do. It is a deal “made in heaven,” right?

Read the following texts. What insight do they give us regarding

Israel’s response to the covenant?

Rom. 9:31, 32

Rom. 10:3

Heb. 4:1, 2

Whatever God asks us to do, our relationship with Him must be

founded upon faith. Faith provides the basis upon which works follow.
Works, in and of themselves, no matter how purely motived, no matter
how sincere, no matter how numerous, can’t make us acceptable in the
sight of a holy God. They could not do it either in Israel’s time, and they
cannot in our time, as well.

If, however, the Bible again and again stresses works, why can’t works
make us acceptable in God’s sight? (See Isa. 53:6; Isa. 64:6; Rom. 3:23.)

Unfortunately, the Hebrew people believed that their obedience

became the means of their salvation, not the result of salvation. They
sought righteousness in their obedience to the law, not the righteous-
ness of God, which comes by faith. The Sinai covenant—though
coming with a much more detailed set of instructions and law—was
designed a covenant of grace as much as all the preceding covenants,
as well. This grace, freely bestowed, brings about a change of heart that
leads to obedience. The problem, of course, was not their attempt to
obey (the covenant demanded that they obey); the problem was the kind
of “obedience” they rendered, which wasn’t really obedience at all, as
the subsequent history of the nation showed.

Read carefully Romans 10:3, particularly the last part. What

point is Paul making there? What happens to people who seek to
establish their own righteousness? Why does that attempt inevi­
tably lead to sin, unrighteousness, and rebellion? Look at our
own lives. Are we not in danger of doing the same thing?

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 F riday May 14
(page 62 of Standard Edition)

Further Thought: Read Ellen G. White, “The Exodus,” pp. 281–290;

“From the Red Sea to Sinai,” pp. 291–302; “The Law Given to Israel,” pp.
303–314, in Patriarchs and Prophets.

“The spirit of bondage is engendered by seeking to live in accor-

dance with legal religion, through striving to fulfill the claims of the
law in our own strength. There is hope for us only as we come under
the Abrahamic covenant, which is the covenant of grace by faith in
Christ Jesus. The gospel preached to Abraham, through which he had
hope, was the same gospel that is preached to us today, through which
we have hope. Abraham looked unto Jesus, who is also the Author and
the Finisher of our faith.”—Ellen G. White Comments, The SDA Bible
Commentary, vol. 6, p. 1077.
“During the bondage in Egypt many of the Israelites had, to a great
extent, lost the knowledge of God’s law, and had mingled its precepts
with heathen customs and traditions. God brought them to Sinai,
and there with His own voice declared His law.”—Ellen G. White,
Patriarchs and Prophets, p. 334.

Discussion Questions:
 In what ways was the covenant relationship designed to main-
tain Israel’s physical and spiritual freedoms? (See Lev. 26:3–13;
compare Deut. 28:1–15.)

 Read again Exodus 19:5, 6. Notice that the Lord makes this
statement: “All the earth is mine.” Why would He say that, par-
ticularly in this context, one of seeking to establish a covenant with
these people? How does our understanding of the Sabbath, and
what it means, fit in here?

 We understand that we are forgiven our sins only through

God’s grace. How do we understand the role of God’s grace in
enabling us to live a life of faith and obedience?

Summary: The covenant God formed with Israel at Sinai was a covenant
of grace. Having given abundant evidence of His gracious love and care
by an extraordinary deliverance from Egyptian slavery, God invited the
nation into a covenant with Him that would maintain and promote their
freedoms. Although Israel responded in the affirmative, they lacked a true
faith motivated by love. Their later history indicates that, for the most part,
they failed to understand the true nature of the covenant and corrupted it
into a salvation-by-works system. We need not follow Israel’s failure and
ignore the marvelous grace that has been extended to sinners.

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i n s i d e
Story
“Let’s Go to Church!”
By Andrew McChesney, Adventist Mission
Something curious happened once Dr. Hernando Díaz began working
at the Seventh-day Adventist clinic on the campus of Colombia Adventist
University in Medellin, Colombia. He couldn’t stop praising God.
Hernando had long been a Christian, but he had never loved God so
much. When no one would hire him as a physician, the Adventist Medical
Center offered him a flexible schedule that allowed him to spend as much
time as he needed with his critically ill two-year-old son, Samuel.
His love for God overflowed. He prayed with every patient who con-
sented. He told everyone who would listen that God had miraculously saved
his son’s life and marvelously provided him with the job at the clinic. He
invited people to the university church, where he and his family regularly
worshiped on Sabbath, even though they weren’t Adventists.
One Sabbath after his baptism, Hernando stopped at a red light as he
was driving the family to church. A street vendor approached the car hold-
ing packs of chewing gum for sale. The sight was typical in Medellin, but
Hernando had an unusual response. When he rolled down the window, the
street vendor eagerly came up to him, hoping to make a sale. Hernando
didn’t mention the chewing gum at all. “Let’s go to church!” he said.
The street vendor didn’t hesitate. “Let’s go!” he said.
Hernando could tell from the street vendor’s accent that he was from
Venezuela. Thousands of Venezuelans have crossed the border into neigh-
boring Colombia to look for work amid an economic crisis at home.
Hernando shared his personal testimony with the street vendor as they
traveled to the university church.
The next Sabbath, the Venezuelan man returned to church with his own
family. He and his family never missed a Sabbath. He now cooks and sells
food on the street outside the Adventist Medical Center, using a food cart
donated by church members. He and his family are taking baptismal classes.
Hernando is praying that the family will give their hearts to Jesus, joining
the six other people who have been baptized through his efforts.
Hernando said it isn’t difficult to lead people to Jesus. He follows the
instructions that Jesus gave to the formerly demon-possessed man: “Go
home to your friends, and tell them what great things
the Lord has done for you, and how He has had com-
passion on you” (Mark 5:19, NKJV).
“I haven’t stopped glorifying God with my personal
testimony,” Hernando said. “It has touched many hearts.”
This quarter’s Thirteenth Sabbath Offering will help open a
missionary training center at Colombia Adventist University.

Provided by the General Conference Office of Adventist Mission, which uses Sabbath School
92 mission offerings to spread the gospel worldwide. Read new stories daily at AdventistMission.org.
 teachers comments

Study Focus: Exodus 19:4, RSV

Part I: Overview
After having lived among the Egyptians, whose religion taught that salva-
tion was purchased by the works of human hands, Israel lost sight of who
God truly was. They believed that their obedience to God was their salva-
tion and that redemption arose from their own merit, not in their personal
relationship with God.

Part II: Commentary

“When an eagle wants to teach its little ones to fly . . . , it prods one of the
little eaglets and with its beak, noses it out of the nest. The eaglet starts
to fall, and the great eagle flies underneath, puts its wing out, catches the
little one on its back and flies a mile into the air.
“When you can hardly see the eagle as a point in the sky, it turns
sideways, and down falls the little eaglet, which goes fluttering maybe a
thousand feet.
“Meanwhile, the eagle circles around the eaglet and underneath it, the
eagle catches the eaglet on its wings and carries the eaglet up in the air
again. After dishing the eaglet out again and letting it go, the eaglet comes
down farther and farther—sometimes within a hundred feet of the ground.
“Again the great eagle catches the little one on its back and up they go
another mile. Little by little the eaglet will learn how to fly. The eagle knows
when the eaglet is tired; it spoons the eaglet into the nest, noses out the next
one and starts off again.”—Paul Lee Tan, Encyclopedia of 15,000 Illustrations
(Dallas, TX: Bible Communications, Inc., 1998), pp. 3050, 3051.
On Eagles’ Wings
With His sharp talons of grace, the Mountain Eagle of eternity prodded
the Hebrew eaglet from the haughty nest of Egyptian oppression. At the
Red Sea, the eaglet plummeted into panic when it heard the desert floor
thunder with the ensuing chariot wheels of injustice. As the eaglet’s faith
fluttered, it beheld two massive, gaping water walls that rose in glorious
attention, saluting the majestic Eagle’s omnipotence. Between the lucid
water walls, a dry highway had been carved out in supernatural fashion,
pointing the trembling eaglet to safe passage.
The Pattern of Salvation
Just as the Hebrew expression go’el in Exodus 6:6 revealed Christ as

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Israel’s Redeemer-Kinsman, there are four Greek New Testament terms

that expand upon how Christ is our Redeemer-Kinsman: “There are four
different words used to denote ‘redemption’ in the Greek New Testament:
agoridzo, exagoridzo, lutroo, and apolutrosis. . . .
“The first word for ‘redemption’ [agoridzo] tells us that Jesus Christ
came to earth to locate us in our depravity and to personally inspect our
slavery to Satan.
“The second word for ‘redemption’ (exagoridzo) declares that Jesus
came not only to inspect our condition but to permanently remove us from
Satan’s power.
“The third word for ‘redemption’ (lutroo) tells us that Jesus was so
dedicated to delivering us from Satan’s dominion that He was willing to
pay the ransom price of His own blood. . . .
“The fourth word for ‘redemption’ (apolutrosis) tells us that, in addi-
tion to permanently setting us free from Satan’s hold, Jesus restored us to
the position of ‘sons of God.’ Now we are fully restored and made joint-
heirs with Jesus Christ Himself (Romans 8:17).”—Rick Renner, Dressed
to Kill: A Biblical Approach to Spiritual Warfare and Armor (Tulsa, OK:
Teach All Nations, 2007), pp. 81, 98, 99. (Study 1 Cor. 6:20; Gal. 3:13;
Gal. 4:4, 5; Eph. 1:7; Titus 2:14; 1 Pet. 1:18, 19; Rev. 5:9; and Rev. 7:14.)
The Sinai Covenant
In the Sinai covenant (see Exod. 19:5, 6), there were three pivotal ele-
ments, or points, that Yahweh revealed as He addressed ancient Israel rela-
tive to His ordained will for them. The first element of this covenant was
God’s expressed desire to make the Hebrew nation a treasured possession.
“In contrast to other types of possessions, namely, those that could not be
moved, such as real estate, Israel became, through God’s love and affec-
tion, His moveable treasure.”—Gerhard M. Hasel and Michael G. Hasel,
The Promise: God’s Everlasting Covenant, p. 65.
The second point in this covenant was that Yahweh designed to make
Israel a kingdom of priests. In other words: “Each Israelite, in one way or
another, was to function as God’s priestly agent to bring blessings to the
nations of the entire world and to minister to their needs.”—Gerhard M.
Hasel and Michael G. Hasel, The Promise: God’s Everlasting Covenant,
p. 66. The third point in this covenant focused on Yahweh’s design for
Israel to be made a sanctified nation. In essence, the Israel of the cove­
nant of grace was to become a sacred entity. Having already known that
ancient Israel would soon break its covenant agreement (see Exod. 19:7,
8), Yahweh initiated the Sinai covenant. Why? (Study Exodus 32.)
God and Israel
“And now if you will surely listen to My voice, and will keep My cove­
nant, you shall become a special treasure to Me above the nations, for all
the earth is Mine. And you shall become a kingdom of priests for Me,

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 teachers comments

a holy nation. These are the words which you shall speak to the sons of
Israel.”—The Interlinear Hebrew-English Old Testament, vol. 1, p. 192.
(See Exodus 19:5, 6.) “The Gospel is the Law unfolded, nothing more nor
less. . . . The Law points to Christ; Christ points to the Law. The Gospel
calls men to repentance. Repentance of what?—Of sin. And what is sin?—
It is the transgression of the Law. Therefore the Gospel calls men . . . back
to obedience to the Law of God.”—Ellen G. White, “The Law and the
Gospel,” The Signs of the Times, Feb. 25, 1897.
Promises, Promises . . .
“Should faith and works purchase the gift of salvation for anyone, then the
Creator is under obligation to the creature. Here is an opportunity for false-
hood to be accepted as truth.”—Ellen G. White, Faith and Works, p. 20.
Here is another way to express this truth: it is not faith and works; it
is not faith or works. It is a faith that works. We reveal our faith by our
works; in fact, works can and do strengthen faith.

Part III: Life Application

For Reflection: During the last week of 1999, salon.com ran a story
titled “The Hall of Shame.” It was about the ten most dishonorable sports
figures of that year. The list included offenders ranging from someone
who was arrested for murder to another person who had been caught
with drugs. These were men who had entered into a contract with their
teams and fans. They began their careers with the best of intentions: to
play well, live honorably, and prove worthy of the signatures on their
contracts.
Before one enters into a contract with anyone, it is important to know
that person’s character. What is it about God’s character that makes us feel
comfortable about entering into a covenant relationship with Him? Do you
think He first looks at our characters before entering into relationships
with us? Explain.

1. In most partnerships, the benefits to both parties are equal.

However, when a holy God enters into a partnership with a sinful
human, the relationship begins terribly imbalanced—God brings
so much more to the partnership than we ever could. How is it
possible to be subject to Him yet have the privilege of being in a
partnership with Him? Explain.

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2. Before you sign a contract, you should read all the demands and the
fine print. But when God makes a covenant, He is very clear. There
is no fine print or reading between the lines. His words are a series
of definitives: “I will, I will, I will . . .” (for example, see Exod. 6:6,
7). In response, what will you bring into the partnership? If you
were in God’s shoes, how comfortable would you be about entering
a partnership with someone like you?

3. Contracts are customized to suit the parties concerned, the type of

businesses involved, et cetera. In what ways has God customized His
covenant with you? How do you show appreciation for the “allow-
ances” He has made in the event you break your contract? How
does God’s role as your Friend affect His role as your Partner? Is
there a conflict between the two roles? Explain. God recognizes our
frailty (see Ps. 103:13, 14). Does this mean that God excuses sin(s)?
We know that God forgives sin(s). How is this different?

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4. The idea of God coming down to our human level is most obvi-
ous in the New Testament, and people often assume that God was
remote and unapproachable in the Old Testament. Why is this
conception inaccurate?

5. Many of the instructions given to Israel after the Exodus may

seem irrelevant and outmoded to the modern person, and it is
clear that at least some of them do not directly apply today. How
do you think the regulations and rituals given after the Exodus
functioned in teaching the lessons God wanted the Israelites to
know? How do we know which might still apply to us today?

6. Many commentators on the Bible regard Israel’s collective prom-

ise to obey God (see Exod. 19:8) as boastful and misguided. If
so, why? Can you think of other responses that might have been
more appropriate? What distinguishes true obedience from false
or misguided obedience?

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