Chapter 31: The New Tablets
Q1 - What other people did God promise to make a great nation of their descendants? What makes the lineage through Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob so special?
A1 - God promised to make a great nation of Ishmael, Abraham’s son by Hagar, his wife’s handmaiden. At the time God changed Abram’s name to Abraham in Genesis 17, He also established His covenant of circumcision with him. When God told him he would have a child by his wife Sarah, Abraham laughed and told God in verse 18 (NIV): ‘“If only Ishmael might live under your blessing!’” God told him He would establish an everlasting covenant with Isaac and his descendants. As for Ishmael, God promised to bless him also, to make him fruitful and greatly increase his numbers. He would become the father of twelve rulers, and God would make him into a great nation. The names of Ishmael’s twelve sons who became tribal rulers are given in Genesis 25:12–18.
When Isaac’s wife, Rebekah, became pregnant with twins, they jostled within her womb such that she inquired of the Lord in Genesis 25:22 (NIV), “‘Why is this happening to me?’” God told her that two nations, two different peoples, were within her womb. Although Jacob would be the one through whose lineage God’s promise to Abraham would be fulfilled, Esau’s descendants would also become a nation. The account of Esau’s many descendants is given in Genesis 36.
Of course, God promised to make a great nation of Abram. In Genesis 12:1–9, God called him to leave his country, his people, and his father’s household and go to the land He would show him, the land of Canaan. God promised to bless him and make him into a great nation. He would bless those who blessed him and curse those who cursed him. He also promised that all nations on earth would be blessed through him. God went on to make a formal covenant with Abram in Genesis 15 and explained the events that would occur before his descendants would be able to come back to Canaan.
God renewed His promise to Abraham’s son, Isaac, in Genesis 26:1–5. He told him his offspring would be as numerous as the stars in the sky and that He would give these lands to them. Through his offspring, all nations of the earth would be blessed because Abraham obeyed God and kept His commands.
In Genesis 35:9–13, God changed the name of Isaac’s son, Jacob, to Israel. He told him to be fruitful and increase in number, which he did by having twelve sons. God went on to tell Israel that a nation and a community of nations as well as kings would come from him. He told him the land that He had promised to Abraham and Isaac He was also promising to Israel and to his descendants after him.
In Exodus 19:4–6, God promised the Israelites that if they would obey Him and keep His covenant, then out of all the nations, they would be his treasured possession, a kingdom of priests, and a holy nation. In Exodus 29:44–46, God stated He would dwell among the Israelites and be their God.
In Exodus 34:10, when God displayed His glory to Moses, He declared He was making a covenant with Moses and the Israelites. He would do wonders never before done in any nation in all the world. If they would obey His commands, He would drive out the inhabitants of Canaan from before the Israelites. Then in verse 27, He told Moses He would make His covenant with Moses and Israel in accordance with the words He told him to write on the tablets—the Ten Commandments.
You can tell from the many promises and covenants God made with Abraham and then with his descendants that they were a special people to God. God didn’t just make His promise one time; He renewed it on down the line to Isaac and to Jacob. Then, with the Israelite people, He made a covenant with them in the Ten Commandments, the foundational elements of the Law.
It would be through the lineage of the Israelite people that the Messiah would enter the world. Jesus Christ would be the ultimate fulfillment of the promise God had made to Abraham so long ago, that through him all peoples of the world would be blessed. Of the many blessings that came because of Jesus and His life on this earth, the greatest of all would be the hope of eternal salvation for all who believe on His Name and obey His teachings.
Q2 - God listed some of His characteristics when proclaiming His name to Moses. Discuss the meaning of these characteristics. How did they come into play during His dealings with the Israelites? See Nahum 1:1–8 for a further description of God’s characteristics.
A2 - In revealing Himself to Moses in Exodus 34:6–7 (ESV), God proclaimed His name and listed His attributes. “‘The Lord, the Lord, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness, keeping steadfast love for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, but who will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children and the children's children, to the third and the fourth generation.’”
God displayed all these characteristics in dealing with the Israelites. Although He showed His mercy and love over and over and forgave them on numerous occasions, He did not give them a blanket pass. He is also a God of justice, and there were instances where He punished them severely.
After their egregious sinning with the golden calf, Moses ascended back up the mountain to ask God’s forgiveness for the people. He told God that if He would not forgive them, to blot out his name from God’s book. God replied in Exodus 32:33 (ESV): ‘“Whoever has sinned against me, I will blot out of my book.’” In this instance, God forgave them but caused a plague to come upon them (Exodus 32:35).
Other scriptures also tell us that God holds each person individually responsible. Deuteronomy 24:16 (NIV) states: “Parents are not to be put to death for their children, nor children put to death for their parents; each will die for their own sin.” This concept of individual responsibility is found in both the Old and New Testaments (see Jeremiah 31:30, Ezekiel 18:20, 2 Corinthians 5:10).
While each person is responsible before God for his or her own sins, the poor decisions of their parents or other ancestors can sometimes impact the lives of their descendants for generations to come. A prime example occurred in Numbers 14 when the Israelites refused to enter the Promised Land and even talked of stoning Caleb and Joshua for encouraging them to do so. God condemned all the people to wander in the wilderness for forty years until the generation responsible had died off.
Although the children and grandchildren of those condemned may not have sinned, they still had to spend years of their lives wandering in the wilderness as they waited for their elders to die. You can probably think of many examples in today’s world of how the choices and actions of parents have caused their problems to be handed down to their children and perhaps grandchildren. On the positive side, when parents act with foresight and wisdom, they can greatly enrich the lives of their children and future generations.
Q3 - Have you ever met someone whose joy in the Lord was evident from the way they spoke and acted? How can Christians live so as to reflect God’s glory? Discuss Ephesians 4:17–32.
A3 - When Moses would spend time in God’s presence, his face became radiant such that he covered his head with a veil to keep from frightening the Israelites (see Exodus 34:29–32). His face physically reflected the glory of God. The Apostle Paul talked about that veil in 2 Corinthians 3:12–18. The Law hinted of greater things to come, but the reality was always shrouded, as if with a veil. Only when Christ came was that veil taken away. For those who turn to Him, He makes clear the way of salvation.
When we look to the Lord, we, too, reflect His glory—not physically as Moses did, but rather we do so spiritually. Paul went on to say in 2 Corinthians 3:18 (NLT): “So all of us who have had that veil removed can see and reflect the glory of the Lord. And the Lord—who is the Spirit—makes us more and more like him as we are changed into his glorious image.”
Isn’t it amazing to think that we can reflect the glory of God? And it’s not a dull reflection. Other Bible versions liken it to that of a mirror. Here is verse 18 in the New King James Version: “But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord.” So, not only are we reflecting His image, we are also being transformed into it!
All of this occurs by the lives we life. Paul gives us a blueprint for Christian living in Ephesians 4:17–32. He instructs us to put off our old, corrupt ways and to put on a new attitude. In verse 24 (ESV) he tells us to: “… put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.”
Paul goes on to include other attributes of Christian living in his list:
Put off falsehood and speak truthfully (v. 25).
Control your anger so as not to give the devil a foothold in your life (v. 26–27).
Do not steal; instead, work with your own hands doing something useful so you will have something to share with those in need (v. 28).
Watch your speech and only say things that help build others up according to their needs; try to benefit those who listen to you (v. 29).
Do not grieve the Holy Spirit (do things which go against God’s Word) (v. 30).
Get rid of bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, and every form of malice (v. 31).
Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you (v. 32).