Then the LORD said to Moses, “Write down these words, for in accordance with these words I have made a covenant with you and with Israel.” Exodus 34:27.
Today your LORD (יהוה) God (אלהים) says:
When My people sojourned in Egypt they were in Covenant with Me as the descendants of Abraham. I reaffirmed the Covenant I made with Abraham with both Isaac and Jacob as a promise to Abraham and his descendants.
Now there was a famine in the land, besides the previous famine that had occurred in the days of Abraham. So Isaac went to Gerar, to Abimelech king of the Philistines. The Lord appeared to him and said, “Do not go down to Egypt; stay in the land of which I shall tell you. Sojourn in this land and I will be with you and bless you, for to you and to your descendants I will give all these lands, and I will establish the oath which I swore to your father Abraham. I will multiply your descendants as the stars of heaven, and will give your [d]descendants all these lands; and by your descendants all the nations of the earth shall be blessed; because Abraham obeyed Me and kept My charge, My commandments, My statutes and My laws.” Genesis 26:1-5.
And later at Beersheba, I again appeared to Isaac and assured him, “I am the God of your father Abraham; do not fear, for I am with you. I will bless you, and multiply your descendants, for the sake of My servant Abraham.” Genesis 26:24.
For the sake of Abraham, My friend and Covenant partner. Abraham honored Me and those who honor Me, I honor as well. Jesus only desired to live for My glory, not His own, but I glorified Him and gave Him the Name above every other Name so that at His Name everything and everyone must bow. The best path to honor and glory is to give honor and glory where it is due. I do not permit another to receive My glory who is acting against Me. Satan seeks worship and covenant with you, and he dangles wealth and greatness of your own for doing this as he did to Jesus, but that is a lie. He is not seeking to exult and give you glory but to steal the glory away that is due to Me for himself.
But when you seek My glory, My glory shines on you.
“Arise, shine; for your light has come, and the glory of the LORD has risen upon you. For behold, darkness will cover the earth and deep darkness the peoples; but the LORD will rise upon you and His glory will appear upon you.” Isaiah 60:1-2.
Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven. Matthew 5:16.
The eye is the lamp of your body; when your eye is clear, your whole body also is full of light; but when it is bad, your body also is full of darkness. Then watch out that the light in you is not darkness. If therefore your whole body is full of light, with no dark part in it, it will be wholly illumined, as when the lamp illumines you with its rays.” Luke 11:34-36.
And I reaffirmed the Covenant made with Abraham with Isaac’s son Jacob as well. I appeared to him in a dream on Mt. Moriah in Beth-el.
“I am the LORD, the God of your father Abraham and the God of Isaac; the land on which you lie, I will give it to you and to your descendants. Your descendants will also be like the dust of the earth, and you will spread out to the west and to the east and to the north and to the south; and in you and in your descendants shall all the families of the earth be blessed. Behold, I am with you and will keep you wherever you go, and will bring you back to this land; for I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you.” Genesis 28:13-15.
And from the burning bush on Mt. Sinai (Horeb), I introduced Myself to Moses by the Covenant he and the descendants of Abraham had with Me. “I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.” Exodus 3:6.
I then gave Moses the most precious treasure of all. I revealed to him My covenant Name by which only those in Covenant with Me could know and be able to say.
“Thus you shall say to the sons of Israel, ‘The LORD, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you.’ This is My Name forever, and this is My memorial Name to all generations.” Exodus 3:15.
This is My Name for those who know Me. It is translated as LORD in English, all in capitals but there is greater meaning here. It is made of four Hebrew letters, yod (י), hei (ה), vav (ו), and hei (ה), and it is three tenses of the verb “to be” combined. Hayah, Hoveh, and Yiyeh. It means I AM, I was, and I will be. I see and can be in the past, the present and the future all at once in the Spirit, for eternity is outside of time as you know it. All are alive for Me.
But that the dead are raised, even Moses showed, in the passage about the burning bush, where he calls the Lord the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. Now He is not the God of the dead but of the living; for all live to Him. Luke 20:37-38.
It is a continuum, a flow. It is like the number line, no beginning and no end, no end of negative numbers (the past) and no end of positive numbers (the future), and anywhere you put your pointer becomes the “now” point.
And if you look at the letters in My Name “LORD,” you will have more revelation. In Hebrew each letter has a pictograph and each letter represents a number for in Hebrew numbers are expressed as letters. The first letter in My Covenant name is a “yod” and the meaning of the word “yod” is “hand” and the pictograph is an open hand. My Hand represents My power
His splendor covers the heavens, and the earth is full of His praise. His radiance is like the sunlight; He has rays flashing from His hand, and there is the hiding of His power. Habakkuk 3:3-4.
The letter “yod” is the number 10. The tithe which is from the work of your hands or from what flows into your hands is one-tenth, one of every ten. There are also ten fingers on your hands.
The next letter of My Name is “hei,” it is the letter that represents grace and revelation. It is depicted as a man worshipping in awe with arms raised or as an open window. The letter “hei” is the number 5. Which is the number of grace. That is why there were five porticoes in Bethesda, which means “House of Grace.”
The next letter is “vav” which is number 6, and that is the number of man, for you were made on the sixth day, and its pictograph is a large nail or peg.
The final letter of My Name is another hei. Grace upon grace.
Do now look at the picture My Name creates: An open hand (yod), grace (hei), a nail (vav) and more grace (hei). Do you see? An open hand of grace is nailed and then there is more grace.
For of His fullness we have all received, and grace upon grace. For the Law was given through Moses; grace and truth were realized through Jesus Christ. No one has seen God at any time; the only begotten God who is in the bosom of the Father, He has explained Him. John 1:6-8.
In the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus you see My Covenant Name explained. And I gave Him My Name.
Therefore I make known to you that no one speaking by the Spirit of God says, “Jesus is accursed”; and no one can say, “Jesus is Lord,” except by the Holy Spirit. 1 Corinthians 12:3.
And later I take My Covenant Name, LORD, and give Moses names that are signed in that Name.
The LORD your healer, the LORD your provider, the LORD your righteousness, the LORD your peace, the LORD your Shepherd, the LORD your deliverer, the LORD your strength, the LORD your refuge, the LORD your fortress, the LORD your redeemer, the LORD your salvation. Yeshuah is the Hebrew word meaning salvation and that is the Name I gave Jesus. In Hebrew “Jesus” is “Yeshuah.” Jesus reveals all My Names in His life and ministry on earth and in glory. All My covenant promises are “yes” to you when you are in covenant with Him. And it is all summed up in Salvation in every situation, spiritual, emotional, and physical.
So you see Jesus being born and fulfilling for you the Covenant I gave to Moses. But let Me go to that Covenant now.
As I said, the Covenant under which My people called upon Me to rescue them out of the slavery of Egypt was the Covenant I made to Abraham and that was the promise of being given the entire land I promised Abraham to give his descendants where he lived as a sojourner during his earthly pilgrimage—a beautiful, lush land flowing with milk and honey filled with fruit trees, vineyards, and underground wells. A land My eyes were upon from the beginning to the end of the year to send it rain in due season and abundant produce. And all was for them.
And the Covenant of Abraham had promises of increase and blessing in their own lives and the lives of their children and their children’s children.
But even though these were descendants of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, they did not know Me. They had lived in Egypt now for over four hundred years and once Joseph and his brothers and the first generation had died, they lived among a large nation that did not know Me and had no covenant with Me. My people had no written Word to refer to as yet, though Joseph had codified the Hebrew aleph bet and they were a literate people with an amazing aleph bet of only 22 letters that formed all words. This was very unique compared to the Egyptian hieroglyphics which involved thousands of characters. And they worshipped the gods of Egypt besides still referring to Me. They adopted Egypt’s thoughts and ways. But when they were in the dire straits of slavery and their baby boys were being killed, they remembered the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. They cried to Me and I was again authorized to come in to work justice and redemption for My people with outstretched arm and all My host.
I had to introduce Myself to them as I had to Abraham. But their hearts were not open to Me as he had been because they did not seek a personal relationship with Me, just benefits. But I wanted them not just to see My works but to know My ways.
So it began, the training up of a nation of what at that time were like babies in the understanding of holy and spiritual things. They were all at the level of walking in the flesh and used to idols. But I was about to form a mighty nation out of them. I wanted to dwell among them, lead them, teach them, and show them who they were in Me: a royal priesthood, a holy nation, conquerors, and a people set apart as My own special treasure.
And for this purpose, I told Moses that when he had brought My people out of Egypt amid signs and wonders as no one had ever seen before, he was to bring them to the mountain where I first spoke to him to introduce Myself as the One who is, who is, and is to come. And at that mountain they would worship for I would reveal Myself to them in cloud, fire, and glory. And all would see My glory and hear My voice. All, from the least to the greatest.
And I brought them out of Egypt under the blood of the Passover lamb, rich and healed so that they could build Me a glorious tabernacle where I would dwell with them on the journey and teach them who I was by My Word.
There were too many of My people at that point that did not know Me, so I had the plan, My Word would become a written Word that they could put always before their eyes and meditate on day and night. And I was the first one to start writing it, with My own finger on two sapphire stone tablets on Mt. Sinai, the mountain where I had revealed My Name to Moses.
My people needed to be mentored. They had not reached the faith of Abraham. They needed milk and not solid food. And they had to learn how to live together with one mind and one heart as a nation of honor.
But before faith came, we were kept in custody under the law, being shut up to the faith which was later to be revealed. Therefore the Law has become our tutor to lead us to Christ, so that we may be justified by faith. Galatians 3:23-24.
It was time to make a new Covenant with the descendants of Abraham as My people whom I redeemed from slavery and was bringing to the promised land with Moses as their leader. I was about to form My people into a great nation to be a light to all the nations and share My Word with the world. Moses explained this to the people:
“See, I have taught you statutes and judgments just as the LORD my God commanded me, that you should do thus in the land where you are entering to possess it. So keep and do them, for that is your wisdom and your understanding in the sight of the peoples who will hear all these statutes and say, ‘Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people.’ For what great nation is there that has a god so near to it as is the Lord our God whenever we call on Him? Or what great nation is there that has statutes and judgments as righteous as this whole law which I am setting before you today? Deuteronomy 4:5-8.
My Covenant with Abraham was to a man and God. When He was but one I called him. It was a personal relationship that now I seek with each one of you, but the Covenant I made with Moses as leader and the people of Israel as a nation was a Covenant that had all the laws, statues, order and regulation to run a nation of not just one household but many diverse households and over two million people who did not know My ways.
It was a Covenant of governance where I set up all branches of government with detailed rules that worked particular assignments so that all functioned smoothly as a whole. I was lawgiver, judge, and King. I set up the judicial system from judges over small groups to appeals to higher officials that were similar to district courts and courts of appeal up to the supreme court where Moses decided the larger and weightier questions.
I set up the laws of worship and sacrifice and the offices of ministry from the High Priest to the Levite who cleaned the holy place and the utensils used for sacrifice.
This Covenant and its laws took over two million people across the desert not in chaos but in perfect order around and following My ark of the covenant where I spoke to Moses the laws concerning the people. I had the exact order of how the twelve tribes set up their camps around the tabernacle and the exact order in which they took down camp and marched forth. I had the trumpet signals on silver trumpets that I designed to give calls to move or to stay, to come to convocations and be called to festivals or to rise for battle.
I had a law for every crime and its proper judgment, even to harming or stealing another’s ox or donkey. I had laws for marriage and for families and children, I had dietary laws to keep the people healthy and strong. I had laws for if mold was found in a home and how to clean it out so it did not grow and spread.
And all these laws were based on only ten commandments that dealt with how they were to treat Me and each other.
I had agricultural laws for resting the fields and rotating crops so that maximum production would be obtained. I had their whole religious and secular calendars set out with appointed times that had hidden within them the plan of salvation from the beginning to the end of time.
I set up the anointing of priests, prophets, and kings. I had everything in perfect order, even the allotments to the tribes in the promised land and the cities of refuge.
Very few people truly understand the glory, beauty, intricacy, planning, details, skill, talents, assignments, just laws that addressed all aspects of life, and the organization and order of the Covenant I made with Moses and the people after I brought them out of Egypt at Mt. Sinai. I gave Moses all the laws for basic daily living, hygiene, families, restitution and justice, and so much more along with the plans for the tabernacle which was the center of their lives and journey as later the temple would be the center of all that went on in the promised land in the sense of how they treated My Word, worship, offerings, tithes and sacrifices determined the success and strength, prosperity and peace, of all the people and the nation.
My Covenant with Abraham was based on My performing the promises and Abraham having the faith to receive them and obey My voice. I swore that Covenant with Myself by solemn oath.
The Covenant I made on Mt. Sinai was one of mutual commitment between Me and all the people to not only receive the land I promised Abraham but how to run it as an orderly and prosperous nation where all would know Me and walk with Me. I would be their God and they would be My people. I would bless them, protect them, heal them, prosper them, give them victory over their enemies, and give them homes, lands, cities, and vineyards and a land flowing with milk and honey. I would fight their enemies and give them victory. They would be My special treasure, a light to then nations, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, and a people set apart. Their part was to keep My commandments, statutes, and Words. They were to listen and do what I told them willingly. They were to grow up and act as a righteous people set apart from the evil of the worldly.
Moses went up to God, and the LORD called to him from 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 then, if you will indeed obey My voice and keep My covenant, then you shall be My own possession among all the 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 sons of Israel.” So Moses came and called the elders of the people, and set before them all these words which the LORD had commanded him. All the people answered together and said, “All that the LORD has spoken we will do!” And Moses brought back the words of the people to the LORD. The LORD said to Moses, “Behold, I will come to you in a thick cloud, so that the people may hear when I speak with you and may also believe in you forever.” Then Moses told the words of the people to the LORD. Exodus 19:3-9.
I entrusted My Words, My statutes, and My Commandments. I gave them the Torah by downloading it to Moses. “Torah” (תּוֹרָה) is a Hebrew word that you translate as “law,” but it actually means instruction that makes you successful. Torah refers to the first five books of the Bible.
This book of the Torah shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it; for then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have success. Joshua 1:8.
“Torah” is from the root word, yarah (יָרָה) which means to shoot as an archer with an arrow, to throw, to flow as with water or rain, or to point out as a teacher to the correct answer. It carries the meaning of shooting an arrow to hit the mark perfectly ever time.
I entrusted My Word to Moses and the people and they took the preservation and recording of it very seriously from that day until now. Their scribes copy the scrolls as a sacred task that must be done exactly to match the original text. If they make one error the entire scroll is discarded and begun all over again.
They were to teach My Words to their children and their children’s children and keep it always before their eyes and in their mouths.
And I promised as they spoke and obeyed them, I would perform the Words and give them days of Heaven on earth. Their part was to obey My Words fully and never turn to other gods. They were never to make images of idols or bow down to them. They were to be loyal to Me as the one true LORD and God and to keep My Covenant with them. They were to run a nation with Me as their King, lawgiver and judge with laws that fostered prosperity and perfect peace.
If they obeyed there were awesome blessings guaranteed.
“Now it shall be, if you diligently hear and obey the LORD your God, being careful to do all His commandments which I command you today, the LORD your God will set you high above all the nations of the earth. All these blessings will come upon you and overtake you if you obey the LORD your God: Blessed shall you be in the city, and blessed shall you be in the country. Blessed shall be the offspring of your body and the produce of your ground and the offspring of your beasts, the increase of your herd and the young of your flock. Blessed shall be your basket and your kneading bowl. Blessed shall you be when you come in, and blessed shall you be when you go out. The LORD shall cause your enemies who rise up against you to be defeated before you; they will come out against you one way and will flee before you seven ways. 8 The Lord will command the blessing upon you in your barns and in all that you put your hand to, and He will bless you in the land which the LORD your God gives you. The LORD will establish you as a holy people to Himself, as He swore to you, if you keep the commandments of the LORD your God and walk in His ways. So all the peoples of the earth will see that you are called by the name of the LORD, and they will be afraid of you. The LORD will make you abound in prosperity, in the offspring of your body and in the offspring of your beast and in the produce of your ground, in the land which the LORD swore to your fathers to give you. The LORD will open for you His good storehouse, the heavens, to give rain to your land in its season and to bless all the work of your hand; and you shall lend to many nations, but you shall not borrow. The LORD will make you the head and not the tail, and you only will be above, and you will not be underneath, if you listen to the commandments of the LORD your God, which I charge you today, to observe them carefully, and do not turn aside from any of the words which I command you today, to the right or to the left, to go after other gods to serve them. Deuteronomy 28:1-14.
If they broke My Covenant there were consequences of the curse—sickness, poverty, defeat, and death. It was a serious thing to break My Covenant and turn to other gods. I likened it to adultery, for I was a husband to them. Breaking covenant was lawlessness. It was rebellion to a perfect system of governance where each person honored Me and their fellow citizens.
And the Covenant was sealed in blood—the sacrifices of the burnt offering and peace offering initiated it and Moses poured the blood on the altar and sprinkled it on the people. And I commanded for the protection of My people from the wrath falling upon their sins, the sacrifice of the unblemished lamb as a burnt offering, with unleavened bread, and a hin of wine, every morning and every evening I commanded to be continued every day. And the Passover meal was the memorial of this Covenant which began with the blood of the Passover lamb.
And with this Covenant I gave amazing shadows and types of Christ to lead the people towards the coming of the Messiah so they would be prepared when He came to rule and reign from David’s throne forever as King of kings and Lord of lords.
I gave them the tabernacle, the bronze altar, the sacrifices of the burnt offering, the grain offering, the peace offering, the sin offering, and the guilt offering. Five sacrifices of the law which is the number of grace and are all fulfilled in Christ to not just cover your unintentional sins with the blood of goats, bulls, lambs, and rams but to completely cleanse away by a perfect propitiation all sins as if they had never been for they were all taken on by Jesus. And every detail of the furnishings and plan of the tabernacle as I gave it to Moses was your tutor to being set free in Christ. The Levitical priesthood, the garments of the priests, the ephod and breast piece of the High Priest all showed you the attributes of Christ as your great High Priest and each of you as His priest sons.
Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth. To Him who loves us and released us from our sins by His blood— and He has made us to be a kingdom, priests to His God and Father—to Him be the glory and the dominion forever and ever. Amen. Revelation 1:5-6.
But My people did not understand. I had them all come to Mt. Sinai and I came down in fire, cloud, thunder, and trumpet blast and unlike Moses who was enthralled by the glory and caught up in wonder and awe, they ran off and told Moses to talk with Me while they went about their own lives and share it with them later. And they promptly went and broke the first commandment they had just heard Me speak from the mountain and built an idol as they had known in Egypt and starting a drunken party filled with immorality.
And yet I instituted that Covenant with great glory and preceded it with the wondrous signs of their deliverance from Egypt as I showed them how I would fight for them against their enemies and rescue them from injustice to be a just and holy people unlike any other nation there had yet been upon the earth or ever would be again. A nation all My own where My law, My Torah, was the law of the land.
But they continually wandered from Me and broke My Covenant and worshipped idols and enslaved, cheated, and killed one another, until they were conquered by the pagan nations around them whose idols they had served, even in My temple.
But I had many prophets, priests, judges, kings, and servants of Mine under this Covenant who did great deeds of excellence, ruled nations, prophesied, brought justice, provision, prosperity and peace. And miraculously returned from their exile to build My house again and institute the morning and evening sacrifice of the unblemished lamb, the unleavened bread, and the hin of wine, and the singing of psalms before Me.
But when the fullness of the time came, I sent forth My Son, born of a woman, born under the Law, so that He might redeem those who were under the Law, that you might receive the adoption as sons. And He would institute the New Covenant that brought the Abrahamic and Mosaic Covenants together as one and then built upon those with better promises including the promise of the Spirit by faith. And now to those of you who enter the New and everlasting Covenant with Christ I send forth the Spirit into your hearts, crying, “Abba! Father!” Therefore you are no longer a slave, but a son; and if a son, then My heir and a joint heir with Christ. Beautiful is your inheritance.
I love you. There is so much more to learn about My Covenants with Abraham and Moses. My covenant with Moses and the people is filled with beautiful, intricate, and very meaningful things that reveal the secrets of the Messiah and of what My ways and laws are all about. But the most important thing to know is that all is fulfilled and you are made perfect in your New Covenant with Christ. And that is the one that we will begin to explore next. But you will never understand the New Covenant without understanding the Old upon which it stands and goes further with even better promises!