When we get to the Mosaic Covenant, we find Moses and the children of Israel in the wilderness preparing to solidify their place as God’s chosen people through whom He will bless the world and bring salvation to many. But for all their declarations of “we will be faithful” God knows that in only moments they will return to false god worship (a golden calf)[1], and to whining and complaining that they were better off in slavery. And these are to be God’s people?
Now there is no doubt that God routinely punishes Israel for their disobedience, even killing off a whole generation before they reach the Promised Land because of their wickedness and lack of trust. Yet God is gracious and continues to preserve His plan and promise. Not a one of them deserved this mercy, yet God poured it on them. Notice the language of the text as Israel finally enters the Promised Land:
I gave you a land on which you had not labored and cities that you had not built, and you dwell in them. You eat the fruit of the vineyards and olive orchards that you did not plant. (Joshua 24:13)
God gave out of His overflowing mercy that which Israel had no claim to. God is faithful when humanity is unfaithful.
The story continues with failed kingships and failed dynasties. The Davidic Covenant rings of God’s longsuffering and patience. For when God made a covenant with David he already knew the kind of man David would be. Yes he would be hailed as a man after God’s own heart, but there was a time when this mighty King was an adulterer and murderer. The royal and divinely appointed King seduced one of his soldier’s wives and then, after she was found to be pregnant, had her husband killed in battle. He does it slyly and in secret. He does it in such a way as to make himself look like a hero by taking in this poor widow. He is a sick man with a sick heart, and yet God says, “Your throne shall be established forever” (2 Samuel 7:16b). As a ruler David does many great things, likewise does his son Solomon.
Solomon starts out with great success. He does all that his father had instructed him to do on his deathbed: (1) Keep God’s covenants and (2) Eliminate your enemies (1 Kings 2:1-6). But despite his being the wisest man alive Solomon soon stumbles head long into folly. He not only marries hundreds of wives, but he marries women from Egypt. God had expressly said that Israel was never to return to Egypt. The result is that these women, who worship all sorts of false gods, lead Solomon’s heart away from God (1 Kings 11:1-4). In the ESV it says three different times that Solomon’s heart was turned away from the Lord, and then it proceeds to speak of this event in more general language saying, “His heart was not wholly true,” “He did not wholly follow the Lord.” This is the sad state of affairs that resulted, and still God does not abandon His people even after they follow their seduced leader into idolatry.
[1] John Oswalt has very thoroughly argued that golden calf worship in Exodus 32 reflects the calf worship of ancient Egypt and that by their choice of idols Israel is revealing their hearts are still very much tied to their time in Egypt. See “The Golden Calves and the Egyptian Concept of Deity.” Evangelical Quaterly. 45.1 (Jan.-March, 1973). 13-20.
Pastor Dave Online 