Sinai

The covenant God made with the Israelites at Mt Sinai is both one of the most important and most controversially interpreted concepts of the Bible. While having much continuity with Abraham's covenant I believe that the Sinai covenant must be considered very distinct from it. I had been working on a series of studies on Biblical Theology, and chose these two passages to show what I consider the essence of Sinai. These probably aren't the best passages, but I think they are good representatives of the covenant.

The first comes from the middle of Exodus, exactly two months after God brought the Israelites out of Egypt.

Then Moses climbed the mountain to appear before God. Yahweh called to him from the mountain and said, “Give these instructions to the family of Jacob; announce it to the descendants of Israel: ‘You have seen what I did to the Egyptians. You know how I carried you on eagles’ wings and brought you to myself. Now if you will obey me and keep my covenant, you will be my own special treasure from among all the peoples on earth; for all the earth belongs to me. And you will be my kingdom of priests, my holy nation.’ This is the message you must give to the people of Israel.”

So Moses returned from the mountain and called together the elders of the people and told them everything Yahweh had commanded him. And all the people responded together, “We will do everything Yahweh has commanded.” So Moses brought the people’s answer back to Yahweh.

(Exodus 19:3-8, NLT)

God's salvation of the people is entirely an act of mercy and grace, but at the same time Israel's special status is contingent on their obedience. This is their choice though, one which the people accept. Very soon in chapter 20 God gives them the Ten Commandments, a short expression of what the people had promised to obey, the first of which is to worship no other God than Yahweh. At the beginning of the Israelite nation the people bound themselves to worship God alone and obey his instructions. Andrew Brown recently gave a definition of "covenant" as being "a binding agreement/contract between two parties that defines the conditions of their relationship." Under such a definition the Sinai agreement is most definitely a covenant, where Israel becomes Yahweh's special people and Yahweh their sole god.

I think the Bible suggests that it would have been possible for them to reject God's covenant at that time, though I won't speculate on what the consequences would have been. But the people did accept God's covenant, and the Bible then goes on in many places to explain what the consequences would be if they ever broke it. One short passage I chose was this one from Deuteronomy, from shortly before the Israelites entered Canaan:

In the future, when you have children and grandchildren and have lived in the land a long time, do not corrupt yourselves by making idols of any kind. This is evil in the sight of Yahweh your God and will arouse his anger. Today I call on heaven and earth as witnesses against you. If you break my covenant, you will quickly disappear from the land you are crossing the Jordan to occupy. You will live there only a short time; then you will be utterly destroyed. For Yahweh will scatter you among the nations, where only a few of you will survive. There, in a foreign land, you will worship idols made from wood and stone—gods that neither see nor hear nor eat nor smell.

But from there you will search again for Yahweh your God. And if you search for him with all your heart and soul, you will find him. In the distant future, when you are suffering all these things, you will finally return to Yahweh your God and listen to what he tells you. For Yahweh your God is a merciful God; he will not abandon you or destroy you or forget the solemn covenant he made with your ancestors.

(Deuteronomy 4:25-31, NLT)

Although breaking any of God's instructions and laws was serious, there were contingencies: the sacrificial system. But idolatry is different, for it goes against the entire basis of the covenant itself. If Israel breaks the covenant by choosing other gods, then Yahweh will in effect revoke their special status, displacing them from the land. If the people want idols God will let them have them, but without his blessings.

But in an amazing act of grace, God promises to forgive them if they repent and search for him again. I do not think that the 'solemn covenant of their ancestors' refers to the Sinai covenant from just a generation before, but to Abraham's of several hundred years before. Despite their sin, there is hope for those who still desire God.

It's bigger than Phinehas!

“Phinehas son of Eleazar and grandson of Aaron the priest has turned my anger away from the Israelites by being as zealous among them as I was. So I stopped destroying all Israel as I had intended to do in my zealous anger. Now tell him that I am making my special covenant of peace with him. In this covenant, I give him and his descendants a permanent right to the priesthood, for in his zeal for me, his God, he purified the people of Israel, making them right with me.”

(Numbers 25:11-13, NLT)

I'm a rather big fan of Phinehas. He's a real man's man. He spears this dude and then God gives him this covenant! I personally use Phinehas as a bit of a litmus test, to see how comprehensive some frameworks and interpretations of scripture are. He seriously confuses Hebrews for example. Very few people know of or have studied Phinehas, and even fewer seem to have been able to fit him nicely into their frameworks for the whole Bible.

But I think I've decided that it's actually a lot bigger than Phinehas alone. I've found many hints throughout the Bible that seem to indicate some kind of special relationship with Levi or Aaron's descendants, and possibly even a covenant relationship before Phinehas. I do not think this is just part of the Sinai covenant, as its permanency contrasts strongly with Sinai's conditionality. I really don't know what to make of all this, and it seems no one else does either, as I've never seen all of these passages linked together.

Do you have any ideas, or know of other passages that would seem to be part of this?

Dress Aaron with the sacred garments and anoint him, consecrating him to serve me as a priest. Then present his sons and dress them in their tunics. Anoint them as you did their father, so they may also serve me as priests. With their anointing, Aaron’s descendants are set apart for the priesthood forever, from generation to generation.

(Exodus 40:13-15, NLT)

Only the priests, Aaron’s descendants, are allowed to blow the trumpets. This is a permanent law for you, to be observed from generation to generation.

(Numbers 10:8, NLT)

Yahweh gave these further instructions to Aaron: “I myself have put you in charge of all the holy offerings that are brought to me by the people of Israel. I have given all these consecrated offerings to you and your sons as your permanent share.
...
Yes, I am giving you all these holy offerings that the people of Israel bring to Yahweh. They are for you and your sons and daughters, to be eaten as your permanent share. This is an eternal and unbreakable covenant [Lit. a covenant of salt] between Yahweh and you, and it also applies to your descendants.”

(Numbers 18:8,19, NLT)

For this is what Yahweh says: David will have a descendant sitting on the throne of Israel forever. And there will always be Levitical priests to offer burnt offerings and grain offerings and sacrifices to me.

(Jeremiah 33:17-18, NLT)

“Then at last you will know it was I who sent you this warning so that my covenant with the Levites can continue,” says Yahweh of Heaven’s Armies.

“The purpose of my covenant with the Levites was to bring life and peace, and that is what I gave them. This required reverence from them, and they greatly revered me and stood in awe of my name.”

(Malachi 2:4-5, NLT)