Benefit of the Covenant with Moses (1)

The covenant God made with Moses on Mt Sinai marked a big authority shift on earth. Everyone was affected.

God
God regained some of the authority on earth that was lost when Adam and Eve sinned.

The Mosaic covenant gave God authority over the land of Canaan. The Israelites were free to reject his authority at any time but the consequences were different. The covenant with Adam and Eve was unconditional, which gave humans absolute authority on earth. If they chose to rebel against God, they could shut him out and he would lose his authority on the earth.

The covenant with Moses was conditional. It offered similar blessings, but human authority was significantly constrained. Under this covenant, the Israelites could still reject God’s authority, but they could not shut him out of the land. Rather, the covenant specified that if they rebelled against God, they would be ejected from the land instead of him.

But if your heart turns away and you are not obedient, you will not live long in the land you are crossing the Jordan to enter and possess (Deut 30:17-18).

Under the covenant with Adam and Eve, God could be exiled from the earth. Under the covenant with Moses, the Israelites could be exiled, but God’s authority in the land would remain.

The covenant gave God a place on earth under his authority where his will could be done. For the first time in history, he had authority over a piece of land where he was free to operate, and humans could not push him out.

God had worked away for more than 2000 years to get this foothold of authority on earth. He gained authority over a small land situated in the middle of some powerful empires. This was not perfect. He could not be certain that his people would obey him. He knew they would rebel, but he could deal with that.

With land and a people, God could start some serious work on earth. His goal was to expand out into the rest of the earth. The Promised Land would be a beachhead from which he could launch his redeeming work to the world.