The Sinai Covenant: God’s La Dolce Vita

The Sinai Covenant:  God’s La Dolce Vita

By Rev. Lonnie C. Crowe

Once again we return to the important subject of covenants.  Once again we must keep in mind that God relates to His people through covenants.  A covenant is greater than a promise.  It is a bonding. A covenant is a bond in which each of those involved in the matter say, “Everything I have is yours.”  Covenant is total commitment.  In covenant with God, even though we are not totally committed to Him, He is totally committed to us.  

God’s covenant given on Mount Sinai, as with all His covenants and prophetic words, has a message for the time when it was established, a message for the Church today and a message for the future. 

The Sinai covenant is important because it pictures the ministry and sacrifice of Jesus and Israel’s role in bringing that message to the world.This particular covenant is a conditional covenant made between God and the nation of Israel at Mount Sinai (Exodus 19-24).  

The Sinai Covenant is different from the Abrahamic Covenant and the New Covenant in Jesus Christ.  Those covenants are unconditional.  However, the blessings of the Sinai covenant are poured out when Israel is obedient to the Lord.  One message of the covenant is that while God’s love is unconditional, His blessings are conditional.  Blessings come with obedience.

This is not a message of salvation by works.  We are saved by grace through faith.  Even that faith is not our own.  It is a gift from God.  (Ephesians 2:8).  It is a message that when we live the life God has prescribed, we will be blessed.  

In Romans 8, Paul describes the unconditional love of God.  ^“For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 8:38-39 NKJV).  No matter who we are, where we are, what we believe or don’t believe, we are each one radically loved by God. 

God is good. Therefore, His commandments are good. He is for us and not against us.  The purpose of God’s commandments is to lead us into lives that are productive and peaceful, into lives that are abundant.  “The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly” (John 10:10 NKJV).

In the light of God’s love for us and His desire for our lives to be abundant, God spoke to the nation of Israel and speaks to believers today, “Now it shall come to pass, if you diligently obey the voice of the LORD your God, to observe carefully all His commandments which I command you today, that the LORD your God will set you high above all nations of the earth. And all these blessings shall come upon you and overtake you, because you obey the voice of the LORD your God: Blessed shall you be in the city, and blessed shall you be in the country. Blessed shall be the fruit of your body, the produce of your ground and the increase of your herds, the increase of your cattle and the offspring of your flocks. 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” (Deuteronomy 28:1-6 NKJV).

Likewise, the Lord spoke, "But it shall come to pass, if you do not obey the voice of the LORD your God, to observe carefully all His commandments and His statutes which I command you today, that all these curses will come upon you and overtake you: Cursed shall you be in the city, and cursed shall you be in the country.  Cursed shall be your basket and your kneading bowl. Cursed shall be the fruit of your body and the produce of your land, the increase of your cattle and the offspring of your flocks. Cursed shall you be when you come in, and cursed shall you be when you go out” (Deuteronomy 28:15-19 NKJV).

If following the commandments brings a productive life, then not following the commandments will bring an unproductive life.  It all depends on the choices we make in life.  Even if God did not exist, the Biblical lifestyle is still the most productive, joyful and stress free lifestyle. When we live and move and have our being in Him, blessings overtake us.  

In the next few post, we will more closely examine the road to an abundant life in Him. We will rejoice in the La Dolce Vita of walking with the Lord.