Grace Evangelical-Lutheran: Exodus 19,1-6. 10. Trinity

Monday, August 9, 2021

Exodus 19,1-6. 10. Trinity

Exodus 19,1-6 4321

10. Trinitatis 053

Cyriacus, Largus and Smaragdus, Martyrs, 303

8. August 2021

1. O Almighty and Everlasting God, who by Your Holy Spirit hast revealed unto us the gospel of Your Son, Jesus Christ: We beseech You so to quicken our hearts so that we may sincerely receive Your Word, and not make light of it, or hear it without fruit, but that we may fear You and daily grow in faith in Your mercy, and finally obtain eternal salvation. Amen. (Veit Dietrich)

2. »On the third new moon [Three months] after the sons of Israel had gone out of the land of Egypt, on that day they came into the wilderness of Sinai. They set out from Rephidim and came into the wilderness of Sinai, and they encamped in the wilderness. There Israel encamped before the mountain, while Moses went up to God. Yahweh called to him out of the mountain, saying: „Thus you shall say to the house of Jacob, and tell the sons of Israel: ‘You yourselves have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I bore you on eagles’ wings and brought you to myself. Now therefore, if you will indeed obey My voice and keep My covenant, you shall be My treasured possession among all peoples, for all the earth is Mine; and you shall be to Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.’ These are the words that you shall speak to the people of Israel.“«

3. In Genesis 15, Yahweh chose Abraham and promised him that his descendants would be His chosen people. This promise was taught to each succeeding generation from Abraham to Moses. In Exodus 19, Yahweh Himself speaks to Israel and tells them: I am your God, and you are My people. He recounts for them the great act of deliverance from Egypt that He had 3 months earlier performed with mighty deeds. He gives them His covenant: You, O Israel, are My treasured possession among all peoples. Yahweh unfolds this covenant in greater detail in the pages of Exodus, Leviticus and Deuteronomy.

4. To keep Yahweh’s covenant is to ground oneself upon the 10 Commandments. „Especially to fend off suspicions of Old Testament “legalism,” it is of utmost importance to underscore the fact that grammatically the Decalogue is in indicative, not imperative form. (The negative is lo’, not ’al). These are statements of what the believer who has experienced God’s grace will voluntarily do, not commands of what he must do to deserve or earn God’s love. They represent the parameters or boundaries of God’s kingship, beyond which the believer will not stray, but within which he is essentially free to respond joyfully and voluntarily, as illustrated by the rest of the “laws” or “codes” of the Old Testament“ (Hummel 74 ¶ 3). Yahweh’s covenant is meant to shape Israel’s life in the Promised Land.

5. Of these Commandments, the 1. Commandment is always first and foremost (Raabe 63). For Israel, Yahweh is the God who brought them out of slavery and gave them Canaan. For Christians, Yahweh is the God who was crucified and risen for them to open up the kingdom of heaven. God will never break His covenant, but there was always the possibility that Israel could and would walk away from Yahweh. The history of the Old Testament shows how often and how easily Israel broke covenant with Yahweh; and there were consequences: famine across the land, idolatrous overlords and even exile from the land. When Jesus called His people to receive Him as the Messiah and the Son of Man, the chief priests, scribes and principal men refused His plea. So the Lord sent the Romans to conquer Jerusalem and scatter the people once again, and Jesus exhorts His Church to repent, lest He likewise come against her like a thief (Revelation 3,3). He also reminds us: »Those whom I love, I reprove and discipline, so be zealous and repent« (Revelation 3,19).

6. Just as the 10 Commandments were also indicative statements of how Israel who had experienced Yahweh’s grace in the Exodus will voluntarily do those Commandments, so also are these Commandments indicative statements of how Christians who have experience Christ’s grace shown to us on the cross and given to us in the Word and Sacraments will voluntarily do those same Commandments. The Holy Spirit uses the gospel to help us keep the 10 Commandments (Raabe 179). These Commandments teach us God’s holy will, which Christians delight in and want to keep, and they reveal our sin (Raabe 184). They do both at the same time, never one without the other (Raabe 184).

7. The Ten Commandments, therefore, deserve our full-time attention. As God’s holy people we fear, love, and trust in God above all things. We treat His Name with respect and worship Him on Sunday mornings. We honor, obey and love our parents, teachers, civil rulers and every one who has authority over us in the world. We help our neighbors in time of need. We treat our neighbor’s spouse with respect. We help our neighbors improve and protect their property and possessions. We speak kindly and lovingly to and about our neighbors. We are of help to our neighbors when they need assistance with their property and possessions.

8. We remember that Jesus is God with us. He is our redeemer from sin, death and the Devil. He is our Exodus from the bondage of our trespasses. He is God’s Eternal Covenant with us. God has promised to forgive the sins of the world through Christ. We believe that in Christ God has personally forgiven all of our sins. In Christian faith we say: For God so loved me that He gave His Only Son so that believing in Him I shall not perish but I have eternal life. Christ is our Savior not only for our justification by faith so that our sins are forgiven, but flowing from that justification we are made holy as His people. Christ’s merits are applied to us. As He is Faithful Israel, so we are faithful Israel solely on account of Christ. We are transformed by the Holy Spirit to be little christs. And when Christ returns we will no longer be His faithful Israel by faith, but we will be faithful Israel by sight, for Christ will make us that in both body and soul, forever and ever. Amen.

9. Let us pray. O Lord, our God; we cry out day and night to send us the Holy Spirit, so that we are repentant of our sinfulness and rejoicing in Christ mercy upon us. Amen.

To God alone be the Glory

Gode ealdore sy se cyneþrymm

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All Scriptural quotations are translations done by The Rev. Peter A. Bauernfeind using the Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia, 4. Edition © 1990 by the Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft, Stuttgart, and the Novum Testamentum Graece, Nestle-Aland 28. Revised Edition © 2012 by Deutsch Bibelgesellschaft, Stuttgart.

Grace Evangelical-Lutheran

Grace Evangelical Lutheran Church

Monday, August 9, 2021

Exodus 19,1-6. 10. Trinity

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