But I do want to read the chapter, so we'll begin in verse 1 of Exodus chapter 20. And God spoke all these words, saying, I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. You shall have no other gods before me. You shall not make for yourself a carved image, any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. You shall not bow down to them nor serve them, for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children to the third and fourth generations of those who hate me, but showing mercy to thousands, to those who love me and keep my commandments. You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain, for the Lord will not hold him guiltless who takes his name in vain. Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord your God. In it you shall do no work, you nor your son, nor your daughter, nor your male servant, nor your female servant, nor your cattle, nor your stranger who is within your gates. For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea and all that is in them, and rested the seventh day. Therefore, the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and hallowed it. Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long upon the land which the Lord your God is giving you. You shall not murder, you shall not commit adultery, you shall not steal, you shall not bear false witness against your neighbor, you shall not covet your neighbor's house, you shall not covet your neighbor's wife, nor his male servant, nor his female servant, nor his ox, nor his donkey, nor anything that is your neighbor's. Now all the people witnessed the thunderings, the lightning flashes, the sound of the trumpet, and the mountains smoking. And when the people saw it, they trembled and stood afar off. Then they said to Moses, You speak with us, and we will hear. But let not God speak with us, lest we die. And Moses said to the people, Do not fear, for God has come to test you, and that His fear may be before you, so that you may not sin. So the people stood afar off, but Moses drew near the thick darkness where God was. Then the Lord said to Moses, Thus you shall say to the children of Israel, You have seen that I have talked with you from heaven. You shall not make anything to be with me. Gods of silver or gods of gold you shall not make for yourselves. An altar of earth you shall make for me, and you shall sacrifice on it your burnt offerings and your peace offerings, your sheep and your oxen. In every place where I record my name, I will come to you and I will bless you. And if you make me an altar of stone, you shall not build it of hewn stone. For if you use your tool on it, you have profaned it. Nor shall you go up by steps to my altar, that your nakedness may not be exposed on it. Amen. Remember the three sections in the book that we have outlined in a most simple fashion. The book deals with deliverance. You see that in chapters one to 18, God delivers Israel out of bondage in Egypt. The second section is demand. God commands his people how they're supposed to function in chapters 19 to 24. And then the last emphasis is on dwelling. So chapters 25 to 40 we have instruction for and then the actual construction of the tabernacle such that God dwells in the midst of his people. Now the time at Sinai is very significant. One man named Dempster in a very excellent book on the Hebrew canon. He says Israel stays at Sinai for 11 months in real time and 57 chapters in narrative time. This is important given the fact that 68 chapters precede Sinai and 59 chapters follow it. Sinai is central to the Torah. So they spend a considerable amount of time there, and they are getting commanded, they're getting instructed, they're getting the laws that will regulate them in their civil polity, life in the land, and the way that they are to relate to God Most High. So we've looked at all of the Ten Commandments. I want to look at the section from verses 18 to 26 tonight, but first I want us to turn over to Deuteronomy chapter 5. After the giving of the law there, there's one more verse in verse 22 that sort of summarizes some aspects concerning the law. So I want to look first at the conclusion in Deuteronomy, secondly the reaction by Israel back to Exodus 20, verses 18 to 21, and then finally the law of the altar in verses 22 to 26. But if you look at chapter 5, In the book of Deuteronomy, again, it's the giving of the law. Second law is what Deuteronomy means. Doesn't mean second law like a new one, but the wilderness generation has died. It's a new generation poised on the, are in the plains of Moab, poised on entering into the promised land. So this is a rehearsal of the law, a rehearsal of the Ten Commandments, and then a multitude of other laws following. But notice in chapter 5 at verse 22, It says, these words the Lord spoke to all your assembly in the mountain, from the midst of the fire, the cloud, and the thick darkness with a loud voice. And he added no more. And he wrote them on two tablets of stone and gave them to me. So I want to look at the features of the Decalogue and then the uniqueness of the Decalogue as we see it here in verse 22. Notice in the first place, the divine origin of the law. These words the Lord spoke to all your assembly. Very often, and even the Bible does this, it refers to the law as the law of Moses. The Lord Jesus makes that reference. But ultimately, it's Moses as mediator, it's Moses as intermediary, the law originates with God Most High. He is the one who reveals it, it carries His authority, it carries His power. Secondly, you see that absolute authority of the law. He spoke it to all your assembly. That is an exercise of God's authority in that he addresses the entirety of Israel. And then as well, you see the comprehensive character of the law. these words the Lord spoke to all your assembly in the mountain from the midst of the fire the cloud and the thick darkness with a loud voice and then notice and he added no more now that's speaking specifically of the moral law it's not speaking of the entirety of the canon because obviously there's a lot more to come after deuteronomy 5 verse 22 but in terms of the moral law Remember, you have a three-fold division of the law. You have the ceremonial law, you have the judicial law, and then you have the moral law. The moral law is trans-covenantal. It's binding on all men everywhere. It doesn't matter your race, doesn't matter your nationality, doesn't matter whether you're religious or not. All men everywhere are under the authority of God's holy law. And then as well, this statement, he added no more, not only underscores the sufficiency and completeness of the moral law of God, but it also demonstrates its finality. He doesn't have to continue to add to it because it's a wonderful and excellent representation or revelation of what God is about. God does not want us to engage in idolatry, or blasphemy, or Sabbath-breaking, or insubordination, or murder, adultery, theft, lies, or covetousness. It is a comprehensive code that carries divine authority. Now, in terms of the uniqueness of the law, you see that throughout the Old Testament as well. Typically, when we see that picture of Moses holding the two tablets of the law, I think we have it in our minds that the first sort of four commandments are on one of the tablets, and the last six are on the other tablet. Well, I don't think that's the way we're supposed to understand the two tablets of the law. It's different than the two tables of the law. There are two tables, our duty toward God and our duty toward man. But in terms of the physical tablets themselves, probably each tablet contained all ten words. And it was probably the case that one tablet belonged to, represented the people of Israel, and the other belonged to, represented Yahweh. It was a covenantal agreement. These were the covenantal documents. They were deposited in the Ark of the Covenant. And so with reference to those two tablets of the law, they were deposited in the Ark of the Covenant. Now with reference to the moral law of God, you see in the Pentateuch, or in the law, you see this constant statement that God wrote with his own finger the moral law of God. You can turn to Exodus chapter 24. Exodus chapter 24. This underscores the uniqueness of the moral law. Not that the ceremonial and judicial are not unique, they are in their own way. But of the threefold division, the one that binds us today is the moral law of God. The judicial law passed with the Commonwealth of Israel. However, the general equity of those laws are binding upon us today. In terms of the ceremonial law, that was fulfilled by our Lord Jesus Christ, and thus, it's abrogated in terms of our commitment to keeping the ceremonial law. There is no commitment on our part now to keep the ceremonial law of Moses. The Lord Christ fulfilled that, so you can eat lobster. That's not the only reason why he fulfilled that, but you certainly can. Notice in Exodus 24, 12, then the Lord said to Moses, come up to me on the mountain and be there and I will give you tablets of stone and the law and commandments which I have written that you may teach them. Same emphasis in chapter 31. 31 verse 18. And when he had made an end of speaking with him on Mount Sinai, he gave Moses two tablets of the testimony, tablets of stone written with the finger of God." So again, those copies represented the parties involved in the covenant, covenant documents deposited into the Ark of the Covenant for safekeeping. And then over in 34, 1, again, same sort of an emphasis on the uniqueness of the law. And the Lord said to Moses, cut two tablets of stone like the first ones, and I will write on these tablets the words that were on the first tablets, which you broke. 31, 28. So he was there with the Lord forty days and forty nights, he neither ate bread nor drank water, and he wrote on the tablets the words of the covenant, the Ten Commandments. So you see again, it is unique in terms of the law code. Turn over to Deuteronomy 4. Deuteronomy chapter 4 at verse 13, so he declared to you his covenant which he commanded you to perform, the Ten Commandments, and he wrote them on two tablets of stone. Deuteronomy chapter 9, Deuteronomy chapter 9 specifically at verse 10, then the Lord delivered to me two tablets of stone written with the finger of God. and then in chapter 10 at verse 4. And he wrote on the tablets, according to the first writing, the Ten Commandments, which the Lord had spoken. So again, several passages underscoring the uniqueness of the moral law. Not that the ceremonial and judicial was not unique, not that it was not special, but the unique feature about the moral law, as I said, it's trans-covenantal. Whether you're in the Old Covenant or the New Covenant, it's the same law of God that applies to the people of God, the same moral law. You see that in Jeremiah 31, the promise of the New Covenant. God says He will write His law upon their hearts. Now, there was no need for Jeremiah to parse that statement out, because everybody would know what law he was talking about in terms of being written on the heart. You get to the Sermon on the Mount, and what does Jesus say concerning moral law? Do not think that I came to destroy the law. I did not come to destroy it, but to fulfill it. Now, specifically, He is dealing with the moral law. And with reference to the uniqueness, we then conclude that the law is permanent. The fulfillment of the ceremonial law by Jesus Christ is admitted by all. The expiration of the judicial law by the end of the theocratic nation of Israel is recognized in the Reformed confessions. Again, general equity binding upon the people of God today. but the perpetuity of the moral law of God is seen throughout Scripture. You see, for instance, when Paul wants to define love in Romans chapter 13, he doesn't just say, you know, go home and sit in your room and think about what it is to love one another. He points to the second table of the Decalogue as a concrete expression of what it means to fulfill the law, to love your neighbor as yourself. It means don't murder him, it means don't commit adultery with his wife, it means don't steal from him, don't lie about him, and don't covet his stuff. It's a pretty simple, concrete way to express what it means to love one another. Our Confession of Faith in chapter 19 makes this statement in paragraph 5 concerning the moral law. The moral law doth forever bind all, as well justified persons as others, to the obedience thereof, and that not only in regard of the matter contained in it, but also in respect of the authority of God the Creator who gave it. Neither doth Christ in the gospel any way dissolve, but much strengthen this obligation. That is a good, reformed understanding of the abiding validity of the moral law of God. And it's most crucial that we get that. That differentiates us from the dispensationalists. The dispensationalists does not affirm chapter 19, paragraph 5. He does not affirm the moral law as given on Sinai as binding and perpetual for us today. He says that that law was for the Jew as Jew. It may make an appearance in a future millennial kingdom, but it's not what governs or regulates the church of the Lord Jesus Christ in this new covenant era. So he is wrong. The Reformed confessions are correct at this particular point. So I just wanted to look at that in Deuteronomy 5. I've always thought verse 22 is a great sort of summary statement concerning the law with reference to its divine origin, its absolute authority, its comprehensive character, and the finality of it. Now going back to the passage in Exodus, we come to the reaction by Israel in verses 18 to 21. So it's been a pretty splendid sight that they've seen. God's majesty displayed. Going back to chapter 19, you see already the sorts of things that they were witnessing, that they were viewing. Go back to chapter 19, specifically at verse 16. It says, Then it came to pass on the third day in the morning that there were thunderings and lightnings and a thick cloud on the mountain, and the sound of the trumpet was very loud, so that all the people who were in the camp trembled. And Moses brought the people out of the camp to meet with God, and they stood at the foot of the mountain. Now Mount Sinai was completely in smoke because the Lord descended upon it in fire. Its smoke ascended like the smoke of a furnace, and the whole mountain quaked greatly. And when the blast of the trumpet sounded long and became louder and louder, Moses spoke, and God answered him by voice. Then the Lord came down upon Mount Sinai, on the top of the mountain. And the Lord called Moses to the top of the mountain, and Moses went up. And the Lord said to Moses, Go down and warn the people, lest they break through to gaze at the Lord, and many of them perish. Also let the priests who come near the Lord consecrate themselves, lest the Lord break out against them. But Moses said to the Lord, The people cannot come up to Mount Sinai, for you warned us, saying, Set bounds around the mountain and consecrate it." So going back to chapter 20, notice in the first place the response of the Israelites. Verse 18 rehearses what they saw. And it repeats in summary fashion. Now all the people witnessed the thunderings, the lightning, the lightning flashes, the sound of the trumpet. And then it goes on to indicate what they experienced. When they saw this, there was fear in their hearts. And that's what the end of verse 18 and all of verse 19 indicates. It says, when the people saw it, they trembled and stood afar off. Then they said to Moses, you speak with us and we will hear, but let not God speak with us lest we die. So the people tremble and stand far off. There's no need for a boundary at this point. There's no need for a fence. There's no need for a wall because they're sufficiently terrified and they're not going to approach Yahweh of Israel. The reason for that is because they understand now something of his absolute holiness. They should have had some of that inkling already, but now they see it all too clearly. As well, standing in the holiness of God will typically result in one's appreciation for their own unholiness. Remember that instance in Isaiah chapter 6 when he rehearses his call to the prophetic ministry in the year that King Uzziah died. He saw the Lord lofty and exalted, the train of his robe filled the entirety of the temple. The angels cried, Holy, holy, holy is Yahweh of hosts. The whole earth is filled with his glory. What does Isaiah say when he sees that? He says, Woe is me, for I am undone. I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell amongst a people of unclean lips. Why? Mine eyes have seen the glory of the Lord God of hosts. So when we come into the presence of a holy God, that manifests or demonstrates to us our own unholiness. At the end of Ezekiel in chapter 1, after he gets the vision of God's war chariot as it's a mobile sort of an expression of God's ability to be with His people even though they're no longer in the land of Israel, what does Ezekiel do? He falls down like a dead man having seen this vision. John on the island of Patmos receives or has the same sort of reaction when he sees the glorified Christ, according to Revelation 1.17, he falls down like a dead man. So when you either hear these charismatics say, oh yeah, you know, I was shaving and Jesus appeared to me and nothing happened, you didn't fall down. I think it was Jack Hayford, he was shaving and he said that Jesus appeared to him while he was shaving and MacArthur asked him, so what did you do? Well, I guess he kept on shaving. Well, you wouldn't keep on shaving. You'd fall down like a dead man, the way that Ezekiel did, the way that Isaiah bemoans in terms of his own sinfulness, the way that John the seer does, and the way that Israel responds here. And when the people saw it, they trembled and stood afar off. Notice, then they said to Moses, you speak with us and we will hear, but let not God speak with us, lest we die. What does God's holiness and their own unholiness teach them? It teaches them the need for a mediator. We cannot bear to look upon God in His blazing glory. We need somebody to mediate that glory to us because we are a sinful people. We need somebody to stand between us, and Moses functions somewhat in that capacity. Notice when you get down to verse 22. Then the Lord said to Moses, Thus you shall say to the children of Israel. Moses does function in a mediatorial capacity, because the children of Israel are unholy. God is holy, they recognize this, and they cry out for a mediator. John Gill says, but let not God speak with us lest we die. Pray to Him that He would not speak immediately, but by a mediator, which they now saw the need of, that there was no drawing nigh to God, nor hearing, nor receiving anything from Him without one. that his law as it came from him to them sinful creatures was a killing letter, and the ministration of condemnation and death, and injected such terror into their minds that if it was continued, they must die under it." You get a glimpse of this in the book of Hebrews, Hebrews chapter 12, when the apostle makes that contrast between Sinai and Zion. In Hebrews 12 at verse 18, for you have not come to the mountain that may be touched and that burned with fire and to blackness and darkness and tempest and the sound of a trumpet and the voice of words so that those who heard it begged that the word should not be spoken to them anymore. For they could not endure what was commanded. And if so much as a beast touches the mountain, it shall be stoned or shot with an arrow. And so terrifying was the sight that Moses said, I am exceedingly afraid and trembling. But you have come to Mount Zion, and to the City of the Living God, and the heavenly Jerusalem, to an innumerable company of angels, to the General Assembly and Church of the Firstborn, who are registered in heaven, to God the Judge of all, to the spirits of just men made perfect, to Jesus the Mediator of the New Covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling that speaks better things than that of Abel. It's one of the main emphases throughout the book of Hebrews. The main emphases, or one of the main emphases, is the superiority of the New Covenant over the Old Covenant. Why? Because Jews were being tempted to go back to Old Covenant religion and ways. And the Apostle is saying, don't do that. The New Covenant is a better Governing founded on better promises that affords a better hope and in this particular contrast you've not come to sign I but you've rather come to Zion you've come to the church of the firstborn You've come to that blessed fount wherein is is grace and mercy now going back to Exodus chapter 20 We see their response the people are fearful now in light of that response Moses gives them in current instruction in verses 20 and 21 In the first place, he tells them, do not fear. Now, if you look carefully at verse 20, he says, don't fear because God's fear has come before you. He's using the word fear with two different senses. So Moses said to the people, do not fear. So there's a fear in the presence of God that is condemned. But then there is a fear in the presence of God that is condoned or commended. Now the type of fear that he prohibits them from is do not fear in the sense of a slavish fear, the kind of fear that sends someone running from God. Remember in the garden when Adam and Eve sinned, they run from God. The biblical fear of God, the right and proper fear of God, is that fear which provokes us to run to God to seek refuge in Him. And so Moses cautions them with this standoffish attitude not to engage it. In other words, there may be some fearful things and it may be a terrifying sight, but don't fear. So, don't fear. He's not brought you to this place simply to cut your throat and throw you in a ditch. Don't fear Him in that particular manner. So, it's a good prohibition, a good caution, and one that was absolutely necessary for the people at this particular time. Now, the reason that He gives this is specified in the remaining part of the verse. So Moses said to the people, do not fear, for God has come to test you, and that His fear may be before you, so that you may not sin. So if the first kind of fear is what we would call a slavish fear, the second kind of fear is called a filial fear. It's the sort of fear that sees God as God, that reveres God as God, that respects Him as God. So the type of fear here is that spoken of in the prophet Jeremiah. You can turn there. Jeremiah chapter 32. Jeremiah chapter 32. I'm pretty much convinced this is probably the passage, or at least a passage, that John Newton had in his mind when he wrote, Amazing Grace, how sweet the sound that saved a wretch like me. Because in the second stanza, he writes, "'Twas grace that taught my heart to fear." That's not a slavish fear. Rather, it is a filial fear. Now, notice in Jeremiah 32. It's the promise of the New Covenant, beginning in verse 36. Now, therefore, thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, concerning this city of which you say it, shall be delivered into the hand of the king of Babylon by the sword, by the famine, and by the pestilence. Behold, I will gather them out of all countries where I have driven them in my anger, in my fury, and in great wrath. I will bring them back to this place, and I will cause them to dwell safely. They shall be my people, and I will be their God. Then I will give them one heart and one way, that they may fear me forever for the good of them and their children after them. And I will make an everlasting covenant with them. that I will not turn away from doing them good, but I will put my fear in their hearts so that they will not depart from me. Yes, I will rejoice over them to do them good, and I will assuredly plant them in this land with all my heart and with all my soul. He says, I will put my fear in their hearts so that they will not depart from me. So that fear is a good fear. It keeps one, it restrains one from departing from the Lord. So going back to Exodus 20, verse 20, the two types of fear here. Don't fear in that slavish sense wherein you run from God and fear that he's only out to get you, but rather fear him in a manner that is consistent with his majesty, with his holiness, and with his glory. John Gill says, not a slavish fear of death, of wrath, and damnation before dehorted from, that's actually a word. Dehorted means a previous sort of a warning or caution. He goes on to say, but a reverence of the divine majesty and awe of his greatness and glory, a serious regard to his commands delivered in so grand a manner and a carefulness to offend him by disobeying that. That's the kind of fear that's in view in verse 20. So don't fear with the slavish type wherein you run away from God, but rather God has come to test you and that his fear may be before you. Now notice how it continues, so that you may not sin. So it's absolutely crucial that we have this filial fear of God as a means by which that sinfulness in us is checked and hopefully restrained. Matthew Poole comments, he says, God's fear is properly in man's heart. But here the sense seems to be this, that this fear, i.e. his dreadful manifestation of his majesty and justice, may be now and ever before your eyes and in your memories as an effectual preservative from sin. So it shouldn't surprise us at the end of Romans chapter 3 in verse 18, after putting together all of those statements from the Old Testament concerning the sinfulness of man, he caps it off with 3.18 saying, there is no fear of God before their eyes. That's sort of the apex of man's rebellion against the living and the true God. John Flavel says, this fear of God is a gracious habit or principle planted by God in the soul, whereby the soul is kept under and holy awe of the eye of God. And from thence it is inclined to perform and do what pleases him, and to shun and avoid whatsoever he forbids and hates. It is planted in the soul as a permanent and fixed habit. To fear man is natural, but to fear God is wholly supernatural. And if we understand this connection properly, it may not be the case that we need five strategies on how to deal with our sin. Now, it probably wouldn't hurt us to have five strategies on how to deal with our sin, but it might also be a wonderful strategy to have a proper understanding of who God is. When we understand that He's infinite, eternal, and unchangeable in His being, wisdom, power, holiness, justice, goodness, and truth, perhaps some of that will percolate in our minds and hearts so that we will not sin against Him. So the understanding of who God is isn't only beneficial for the comfort of the heart, but it's also beneficial for the restraint of the sinful heart. And hopefully when we have a view of God, the way that the Israelites saw him at Sinai, it'll go a long way to helping us with reference to our walk before God. And then notice their response to Moses after this instruction. Verse 21, So the people stood afar off, but Moses drew near the thick darkness where God was. So Moses is going to go back. Moses wants more of the presence of God. The people here, rather, stand far off. I'm not sure that's a negative commentary at this point. It's simply a factual report concerning where they're at. They've seen God, they've seen the glory, they've seen the pomp, they've seen the show, they've seen the majesty as well. And one more observation from the Deuteronomy 5 passage. You can turn there. Deuteronomy chapter 5 verse 22 again. Notice what the passage says. These words the Lord spoke to all your assembly in the mountain from the midst of the fire, the cloud and the thick darkness with a loud voice and he added no more. And he wrote them on two tablets of stone and gave them to me. Now going back to Exodus chapter 20. Exodus chapter 20, look at what it says specifically in verse 22 by way of repetition. Then the Lord said to Moses, so everything from chapter 5 in Deuteronomy in terms of the divine origin of the law, absolute authority of the law, comprehensive character of the law, but notice in terms of the origin, verse 22. Then the Lord said to Moses, thus you shall say to the children of Israel, you have seen that I have talked with you from heaven. Now, Sinai was the gathering place. Sinai was a sanctuary. Sinai was a temple. But God is not at Sinai. He manifests His glory. He manifests His presence there. But where is God? God is in heaven. See, later on in redemptive history, the children of Israel are going to come to battle with pagans and various persons who have gods in the valleys, and they have gods in the hills, and they have gods for, you know, fertility. They have gods for a whole host of things. The God of heaven and earth is unique. The God of heaven and earth is not a localized deity. He doesn't live on the top of Mount Sinai. He's not the God that dwells at Sinai. He speaks from heaven to the people of Israel on earth, though Sinai is the place where, at least physically, he represents himself in their midst through cloud and fire. So when we come back to this particular section, it is intriguing that we now move to the law of the altar. It seems a bit out of place. So you've got the end of the Decalogue, and then in chapter 21, beginning in verse 1, we're going to get into the judicial law. How does the Ten Commandments, those general principles, how do we apply those general principles in the land which the Lord our God is giving us? Well, that's what chapters 21 to 23 is going to take up in exhaustive detail. We're going to deal with a lot of interesting things as we move through this particular section of Scripture. But before we get to that judicial law, notice the emphasis on the altar. So there is this reminder in verse 22. We've got the mediatorial office of Moses functional now. Then the Lord said to Moses, Thus you shall say to the children of Israel, You have seen that I have talked with you from heaven. Now, as well, we have a prohibition in verses 23 to 26. The first is general in nature, but it does reflect the concern of this brief section. Notice in verse 23, You shall not make anything to be with me. Gods of silver or gods of gold you shall not make for yourselves. Go back to the first part of the chapter. Notice in verse 3, you shall have no other gods before me. Now, typically we can understand that as before God. So it's not that you have yourself, your lusts, your desires, your gold, your whatever, and then God as sort of a capstone to your already happy life. But we can also understand this as, you shall have no other gods besides me. It's a call for, you know, solidarity to the living and true God. There's no sort of competitors there. And then if you look specifically at verse 23, you shall not make anything to be with me. So no before, no besides, and no with. Now, brethren, as we move forward, not only in the Pentateuch, but in subsequent history, we will find that more often than not, Israel's sin was not, we're going to completely reject Yahweh, and we're going to give ourselves wholly to Baal. That's usually not what it was. It was usually syncretism. Syncretism is when we mingle a bit of this and a bit of that, and we have sort of this conglomerate. So they probably didn't ever just outright, I'm sure there were times, repudiate Yahweh. But they would add to their pantheon. They would have Yahweh for certain things. They would have Baal for certain things. They'd have Asherah for certain things. And so God says, don't do that. None before me, none besides me, and certainly none with me." It's not the case that God needs a helper God. He doesn't need an assistant. He doesn't need anybody to do His bidding for Him. And so He reiterates the first and second commandment. He combines them here, essentially, in verse 23. You shall not make anything to be with me, gods of silver or gods of gold, you shall not make for yourselves. And then in verses 24 to 26, we have protocols for the altar. Protocols for the altar. And again, it seems like odd placement, unless we understand the breakdown of the book. We've got deliverance, we've got demand, and we've got dwelling. This is foreshadowing something that is going to fare large in the rest of the book. Worship is central in Israel's life. Not just their religious life, but in their political life as well. They were a theocratic nation. They were governed directly by God. They had responsibilities to their lord, to their king, to their master, and part of that responsibility was worship, and it was sacrifice. So when we look at this brief sort of interlude, the people respond to the giving of the law at Sinai, just before we get to the detailed legislation that's going to govern life in the land, let's just get this on the table in terms of worship. Now, some have seen here a bit of a contradiction with, say, Deuteronomy chapter 12. If you look specifically at verse 24, about the end of the verse, "...in every place where I record my name, I will come to you, and I will bless you." Some commentators say, well, that conflicts with the emphasis in Deuteronomy 12 with reference to a central sanctuary. Deuteronomy 12 is not for a while. They're going to worship God, and they're going to need an altar. They're going to need a place where they can bring their service unto the Lord Most High. So in terms of this emphasis, the emphasis is upon worship. Now there have been altars in Genesis. We see godly men, the patriarchs build altars there. Turn back to Exodus chapter 17. You see an altar before this law concerning protocols for the altar. But if you notice in Exodus 17 at verse 15, There's going to be an altar built at the end of this section. Turn to chapter 24. So 21 to 23 is detailed legislation governing life in the land. It is the application or rather the opening up of the general principles of the Ten Commandments and applying them to various situations that they will face in their lives in the land. And so chapter 24 is the ratification of the Old Covenant. You know, Jesus does this in Matthew chapter 26. He inaugurates the New Covenant in His blood. There is a consistent link here. They ratified the Old Covenant in blood as well. So you can't kind of miss that. The writer to the Hebrews makes much of this. The First Covenant was not ratified without blood, neither is the Second Covenant or the New Covenant. It's ratified by blood, just like this Old Covenant was. So in chapter 24, Israel affirms, they confirm, they swear fealty to the sovereign, saying, all that he has commanded we will do. Now we know that does not work out. We know that they fail miserably. We know by the time they get to chapter 32, they're dancing around a golden calf and predicating of it the ability to have brought them out of the land of Egypt. But at the response, or at the end of this giving of the law, they then ratify the covenant. And if you look at 24, 3, Moses came and told the people all the words of the Lord and all the judgments. And all the people answered with one voice and said, all the words which the Lord has said we will do. And Moses wrote all the words of the Lord. And he rose early in the morning and built an altar at the foot of the mountain and twelve pillars according to the twelve tribes of Israel. Then he sent young men of the children of Israel, who offered burnt offerings and sacrificed peace offerings of oxen to the Lord. And Moses took half the blood and put it in basins, and half the blood he sprinkled on the altar. Then he took the book of the covenant and read it in the hearing of the people. And they said, All that the Lord has said we will do, and be obedient." This is why I say that this was a covenant of words. God gave them laws, they swore their fidelity, and they ratified the covenant. Notice in verse 8, Moses took the blood, sprinkled it on the people, and said, this is the blood of the covenant which the Lord has made with you according to all these words. And then in chapter 27, there's instruction given in terms of the altar for the tabernacle. So the altar is a significant piece of equipment in Israel's religious life. The altar is central because the altar shows that without the shedding of blood there is no remission. The altar shows that we don't just wander into the presence of a holy God. The altar demands substitution. The altar demands atonement. The altar highlights the absolute sovereignty and holiness of God and the sinfulness of man. So going back to this law of the altar in chapter 20, we notice in verse 24, an altar of earth you shall make for me. You shall sacrifice on it your burnt offerings and your peace offerings, your sheep and your oxen. In every place where I record my name, I will come to you and I will bless you. And if you make me an altar of stone, you shall not build it of hewn stone. For if you use your tool on it, you have profaned it. Nor shall you go up by steps to my altar, that your nakedness may not be exposed on it." So there is, in the first place, a need for simplicity. You're not supposed to, you know, construct this elaborate sort of thing. You're supposed to build something that is functional and gets the job done. As well, I think in this built-in is the further prohibition against idolatry. If they make something splendid, if they make something glorious, guess what they're going to do? They're going to be enamored with how splendid and glorious they've made something. And then, of course, the need for modesty. That's that last emphasis there. If you make me an altar of stone, I'm sorry, nor shall you go up by steps to my altar that your nakedness may not be exposed on it. Now, later, in terms of the priestly garments, they would wear britches so that such things would not be the case. But you can see this. There is this this emphasis on holiness. Now holiness is not always moral purity, it certainly contains that thought, but there's a separateness or a set-apartness. And so this altar is set apart as that means by which Israel comes to a holy God. Unholy man comes to holy God through the shedding of blood, and that by a substitute. So that's why I think this is in this particular section. It not only foreshadows what's going to be a huge emphasis in the latter part of the book, But these people are going to worship. These people are going to glorify. These people are going to adore. So God gives them instructions for the altar. Remember, after the Babylonian captivity, they go back to the land of Judah. What's the first thing they build? They build an altar. They know that. They've been taught that. God's holy. We're not. The way that we approach that, God is through a bloody knife and a smoking altar. Now, in conclusion, we ought to appreciate in the passage the majesty of the lawgiver. The fact that God reveals himself to his people in this particular manner underscores that majesty, but it also underscores the fact that he is with us. He is God for us, and he is a God that does give us his word. And I love what one commentator, Christopher Wright, makes the observation. I hope I wrote it down. Oh, he says, the point of Sinai was that God could not be seen, but could be heard. He was invisible, but not inaudible. And I think that's a great emphasis. The glory of God is seen, not because they saw Him. Obviously, the lightning and the thunder and all that sort of thing demonstrates that majesty, but it's that voice of the Lord that thunders. As well, with reference to the law, we need to remember that threefold division. It is the Ten Commandments, it is the moral law of God that is perpetual, that is trans-covenantal, that binds all men everywhere at all times. And then the proper fear of God. I'm gonna quote Jerry Bridges here. He's got a book called The Joy of Fearing God, and I think that he sort of captures it well. He says, reverence in recognition of his infinite worth and dignity, admiration of His glorious attributes, and amazement at His infinite love. I think that's a good way to describe the fear of God, that second fear that you see in verse 20. Do not fear in that slavish way, for God has come to test you, and that His fear, that filial fear, may be before you, so that you may not sin. reverence and recognition of his infinite worth and dignity, admiration of his glorious attributes, and amazement at his infinite love. I think that's a good way to sort of capture the fear of God in a practical way. Well, I'll close in prayer, and then if there's any questions, we can take those. Father, we thank you. for this revelation of the law of God at Sinai. Thank you, Father, for the fact that our blessed Savior has kept this law perfectly. All that Israel swears to do in chapter 24, they do not do. But Jesus, the true Israel, does it. He does it successfully, he does it completely, and he does it such that we have that righteousness imputed to us and received by faith alone. Thank you as well for the shedding of his blood, for the remission of sins, the forgiveness that we have in and through Him. And God, help us to walk in a manner that is consistent with Your law and Your gospel. And we pray through Jesus Christ our Lord.