In addition to the promise to be with Moses, God established a covenant with the Israelites through Moses. This is sometimes called the Mosaic covenant even though it is a covenant with all the people of Israel.
In Exodus 19:2b–6 we read, “There Israel encamped before the mountain, while Moses went up to God. The LORD called to him out of the mountain, saying, ‘Thus you shall say to the house of Jacob, and tell the people of Israel: “You yourselves have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I bore you on eagles’ wings and brought you to myself. Now therefore, if you will indeed obey my voice and keep my covenant, you shall be my treasured possession among all peoples, for all the earth is mine; and you shall be to me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.” These are the words that you shall speak to the people of Israel.’”
The way Israel was to keep God’s covenant was to follow the rules and laws set up for them. These rules and laws were to show them the requirements for nearness to God and help them to be a blessing to others.
The Israelites made a promise to God: “Moses came and told the people all the words of the LORD and all the rules. And all the people answered with one voice and said, ‘All the words that the LORD has spoken we will do’” (Exodus 24:3).
Whereas the Abrahamic covenant was unilateral, the Mosaic covenant was bilateral. By using an if/then statement, there was an expectation of both parties to keep the covenant. If one broke the covenant, then the other party was not responsible to hold up their end of the covenant.
God spelled out the covenant generally through the Ten Commandments (Exodus 20:1–21) and in detail in the rest of Exodus as well as Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy (the Pentateuch or Torah). Anyone who reads these rules might think, Okay, I’ve got my marching order; all I have to do is stick to them. The problem with that thinking is, well, we’re human. And that means we are not perfect. And neither were the Israelites.
These commandments were a way forward in life, in nearness to God, and toward being a nation that carried out the love, mercy, and goodness of God. God always leads toward life, and just because we are not perfect doesn’t mean that God is not at work in and through us.
Even as God’s goodness and mercy shows up no matter our performance or perfection, we are still hard on ourselves when we see our own mistakes.
It was painful for Moses to have his sin brought before him when he killed an Egyptian. It is also painful for us when we have our sin brought before us. Yet we have a choice when we see ourselves. We can run and hide, or we can turn to God.
And even if we run and hide, God still comes running after us. He came after Moses. He’ll come after you. The question is, will we hear and receive his voice when he calls?
In the past I would shame and guilt myself after I sinned and would drown in sadness and anxiety which caused me to doubt God truth in my life.
Today after I sin I acknowledge my mistake and ask for his mercy and forgiveness so that I can process with clarity and give myself grace, I believe I am forgiven and I remind myself of God TRUTH that his has made me wonderfully imperfect and perfect in all of HIS WAYS! which allows me to continue to walk intentional in my purpose like Moses did.
When I know I am doing something wrong, I run away from God and my Christian friends. They never judge me, but in my heart I know I am sinning, and I cannot face them. I eventually come around and when I do fess up, I feel better because then God can forgive and heal me and my friends can support me.
When I sin and fall short of perfection, I can be really hard on myself. Sometimes I’ll feel like I’m not worthy enough to talk to God or deepen my relationship with Him. It’s in those moments that I have to remind myself of His grace and that He doesn’t want me to stay stuck in that place. He wants me to move forward with His life-giving grace and mercy.
I at first make excuses but the God convicts and I get on my knees to pray when I listened to Gods Holy Spirit in me
I relate to so much of what each of you said. I tend to go down the path of, how long will he put up with my mistakes. I know that that’s not truth, but I always tend to head down that path. I’m beginning to realize in the moment that’s not of God and pray and change my way of thinking to a God thought instead.
Usually, I tend to hide from God’s presence. I feel ashamed and, I tend to isolate myself.
It’s like how in the world could I have missed this one….
I do not ever doubt God’s call for me. Yet I just abstain from the word and my prayer life when I fall short, kind of like an out of sight-out of mind type deal. Which makes no sense, the Lord is omnipresent. Who am I kidding?
Yes it does. I typically know immediately after I’ve done womething wrong that what it was indeed wrong and shame washes over me. I usually doubt my own nature as well.
When I sin I typically ask forgiveness for it and seek God’s strength to not do it again. The only call I have is to follow Him. So, no it does not cause me to doubt that call.
I fall short of perfection when I sin
Ignore my conscience
Carry on as if nothing happened
Example ….being impatient with my husband
Ignore God’s covenant to be kind and gentle
I fall short of the glory of God