Articles
Common Sense Bible Study (2)
When God established His covenant with Israel, there was no doubt about what was expected of them. God miraculously delivered them from Egyptian bondage, brought them to Mt. Sinai and graphically revealed the details of His covenant with them (Ex 20:2ff). The audience was specified: “Thus you shall say to the children of Israel”; “Speak to the children of Israel” (20:22; 25:2). Even a superficial reading clearly establishes that God issued express laws, statutes and conditional blessings to the descendants of Abraham who had been held hostage in Egypt.
But imbedded within that covenant were obvious indications that took it beyond that generation of Israelites only. First, terms like “forever” (Ex 12:24; 27:21; etc.) and “throughout your generations” (Ex 12:17; 16:32; etc.) are used to indicate perpetuity of the laws. Secondly, the law included such features as a perpetual priesthood, inheritance restrictions, annual cycles (including the 50-year Jubilee) – things that encompassed future generations. Exhortations were given to instruct children of the laws (cf. Ex 12:26-27; 13:14; Dt 6:6-9). Also, God blatantly tied His blessing of Israel with the ongoing faith of future generations of Israelites (cf. Dt. 28-30, passages not fulfilled until hundreds of years later).
There are two specific points to take away from this:
1) There are direct commands issued in the Scriptures that do not apply to everyone. Some commands are limited by the specific circumstances of the instruction and audience. It would be a mistake to apply to Gentiles what was said to Abraham’s genetic descendants, for God indicated that it was limited to a certain race and for certain purposes and duration. Likewise, under the new covenant, it would be a mistake to apply instructions given to apostles or others that are circumstance-specific.
2) God did not gather early Christians en masse and deliver the bulk of the new covenant all at once. Initial oral teaching was gradually supple-mented and replaced by written documents that express God’s will for all future generations of believers. Discerning readers will search for clues among the gospels, history (Acts) and epistles that differentiate time-dated material from eternal principles. This is not unusual, for it is the way we sift the mountains of information that comes to us daily. Just because it is “in the Bible” doesn’t mean it has universal application.
