Preparing to Read Mark · Unit 06 of 16
Becoming God’s people
Bible reading: Exodus 19–40 and Leviticus (selected passages)
In the previous stage, we saw God rescue the Israelites from slavery in Egypt and lead them to Mount Sinai. The story now moves from “leaving Egypt” to another question: How will these rescued people become a people who truly belong to God?
1. God Makes a Covenant with Israel at Mount Sinai
After the Israelites arrive at Mount Sinai, God explains the meaning of this relationship through Moses.
“You have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I carried you as an eagle carries its young on its wings, bringing you to myself. Now, if you truly listen to my voice and keep my covenant, you will be my own people among all peoples, for the whole earth is mine. You will belong to me as a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.”
— Exodus 19:4–6
Here again we see a very important order: God first rescues the Israelites from Egypt, then makes a covenant with them. The law is not a condition by which they can purchase rescue. It tells people who have already been rescued how they are to live from now on.
Rescue comes first; the law comes afterward. The Israelites do not leave Egypt by earning their way out through law-keeping.
2. What Is a Covenant?
“Covenant” is an extremely important biblical concept. For now, we can understand it as a formal relationship involving promises and responsibilities. God takes the initiative in establishing a relationship with Israel, and Israel is to be faithful to him and live in the way he gives them.
A covenant, then, includes more than rules. It also includes an identity: God will be their God, and they will be his people.
We have already seen God make a covenant with Abraham. Now, at Sinai, God establishes a fuller covenant way of life with Abraham’s descendants—the people of Israel.
3. The Ten Commandments: A Core Starting Point of the Law
At Sinai, God gives the Ten Commandments. They are not the whole law, but they are among its most important commands for Israel’s covenant life with God.
“I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of Egypt, the place of slavery. You must have no other gods besides me.”
— Exodus 20:2–3
We can begin by remembering the Ten Commandments in simple terms:
- Worship God alone; have no other gods.
- Do not make idols for yourselves to worship.
- Do not misuse God’s name.
- Remember the Sabbath and set it apart as holy.
- Honor your father and mother.
- Do not murder.
- Do not commit adultery.
- Do not steal.
- Do not give false testimony against someone.
- Do not covet what belongs to others.
The earlier commands mainly concern how people worship God; the later ones deal extensively with relationships between people. This also shows that biblical faith is not limited to worshiping God through religious ceremonies. It includes how we treat others in daily life.
4. The Law Contains More Than Ten Commands
After the Ten Commandments, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy record many additional laws. They concern different parts of Israelite life, including:
- How to worship God and avoid idol worship.
- Family, property, and relationships.
- How to deal with wrongdoing, injury, and compensation.
- How to treat the poor, resident foreigners, and vulnerable people.
- The Sabbath and various festivals.
- Food, cleanness, and uncleanness.
- Priests, the tabernacle, and sacrifices.
These laws were first given to ancient Israel as a covenant community. When we later read the New Testament, therefore, we must not detach every Old Testament law from its original setting and directly treat it as an identical rule for everyone in every era.
5. Why Is the Sabbath So Important?
The fourth of the Ten Commandments concerns the Sabbath. For the Israelites, it is more than “one day off each week.” It is an important part of their covenant life with God.
“Remember the Sabbath and keep it holy. Work for six days and complete your tasks, but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the LORD your God.”
— Exodus 20:8–10
The Sabbath reminds the Israelites that work and production do not wholly determine their lives. It also reminds them that God is their Creator and Rescuer.
Keep the Sabbath in mind. In Mark, Jesus and the Pharisees repeatedly dispute matters concerning the Sabbath.
6. What Do “Holy” and “Clean” Mean?
The words “holy,” “clean,” and “unclean” appear frequently in the law. First-time Bible readers can easily assume that “unclean” simply means dirty or sinful, but these are not exactly the same.
In Israel’s ritual system, contact with a dead body, certain diseases, bodily discharges, or other circumstances could make a person temporarily “unclean.” This status affected whether the person could take part in certain acts of worship, but did not necessarily mean that they had done something morally wrong.
“I am the LORD your God. You must therefore be holy, because I am holy.”
— Leviticus 11:44
These practices continually remind the Israelites in daily life that they are a people set apart, belonging to God.
“Uncleanness” does not necessarily equal “sin.” This distinction matters when reading about the man with leprosy, the woman with continual bleeding, and the disputes over cleanness in Mark.
7. The Tabernacle: A Sign That God Dwells among His People
God not only gives the law, but also commands the Israelites to build a “tabernacle.” It is a portable place of worship and an important center of Israel’s worship before the temple in Jerusalem exists.
“They are also to make a sanctuary for me, so that I may dwell among them.”
— Exodus 25:8
The tabernacle’s chief significance is not how magnificent it looks. It shows that the God who rescued Israel is willing to dwell among his people.
After Israel settles in the land, the temple in Jerusalem gradually takes over the tabernacle’s functions. Understanding the tabernacle will therefore help us understand the temple later.
8. What Do Priests Do?
God appoints priests to oversee worship, sacrifices, and related rituals in the tabernacle. Moses’ older brother Aaron and his descendants hold an important priestly office.
“From among the Israelites, bring your brother Aaron and his sons Nadab, Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar near to you, so that they may serve me as priests.”
— Exodus 28:1
Priests are not another kind of god, nor do they replace God. They are people appointed to serve within Israel’s system of worship, responsible for matters involving the tabernacle, sacrifices, and purification.
In Jesus’ time, the priesthood still exists and is closely connected with the temple in Jerusalem.
9. Why Offer Sacrifices?
Leviticus records several kinds of offerings and ways of presenting them. Not every sacrifice is solely about “receiving forgiveness after sinning.” Some also concern thanksgiving, worship, fellowship, and dedication.
Yet sin and atonement are indeed important parts of the sacrificial system.
“The life of a living creature is in its blood. I have given you this blood to make atonement for your lives on the altar. Because blood contains life, it can make atonement.”
— Leviticus 17:11
For beginners, it is enough to remember that “sin, atonement, offerings, and priests” are closely connected within Israel’s worship. These terms appear again in the New Testament, where they help people understand Jesus’ death.
10. The Israelites Soon Break the Covenant
Even after witnessing the Exodus and receiving God’s words at Sinai, the Israelites soon fail. While Moses remains on the mountain for a long time, the people make a golden calf and worship it.
“They have quickly turned away from the path I commanded them to follow. They have cast a calf for themselves, bowed before it, and offered sacrifices to it, saying, ‘Israel, this is the god who brought you out of Egypt.’”
— Exodus 32:8
This reveals a problem that will recur: God has rescued the people and given them the law, but their hearts do not automatically become completely faithful as a result.
Yet God does not immediately end his relationship with the people. Moses intercedes for them, and God once again reveals his character.
“The LORD, the LORD: a God of compassion and grace, slow to anger, abundant in steadfast love and faithfulness.”
— Exodus 34:6
11. Key Points from This Stage
- God first rescues Israel from Egypt, then makes a covenant with them at Sinai and gives them the law.
- A covenant is a relationship involving promises and responsibilities: God is their God, and they are his people.
- The Ten Commandments are an important core of the law, but the law of Moses also covers worship, social life, festivals, cleanness, justice, and many other areas.
- The Sabbath, cleanness and uncleanness, priests, and sacrifices will all appear again when we read Mark.
- The tabernacle symbolizes God dwelling among his people; the temple in Jerusalem later takes over important functions of worship.
- Even with the law, the Israelites continue to sin, showing that humanity’s problem is more than a lack of rules.
12. Where Does the Biblical Story Go Next?
The Israelites have become God’s covenant people, but they have not yet entered the land he promised Abraham’s descendants. Next, they must learn to trust God in the wilderness. Their unbelief and rebellion will also make the journey longer than they originally imagined.
Will a people who have already been rescued and given the law really follow God faithfully?