I Got the Law and the Law… Was Grace!
Last week I made the case that the word redemption could perhaps summarize the entire Bible in a single word. And there might not be a better book than Exodus to demonstrate it.
Exodus begins with the darkness of slavery and suffering. God’s chosen people are in bondage in Egypt, and they have been there for over four hundred years. It may seem like God has forgotten, maybe even forsaken, his people, but Exodus makes it very clear that he has not done so and never will.
The redemptive story is powerfully picked up here because what we learn in Exodus is that God is willing to unleash his mighty power to rescue and redeem his people. The unleashing of the plagues in Egypt and the rescue of Israel out of slavery foreshadow what God is going to do through all the rest of the redemptive story.
Exodus teaches us that God will harness the forces of nature, control the events of human history, control the rise and fall of kings and princes, and move the story by his power so that at just the right moment the Redeemer will come and deliver us. He will deliver us from the ultimate slavery—not a national slavery to a cruel nation, but slavery to sin, the one slavery that wealth, power, politics, education, or government cannot break.
The drama of slavery, suffering, and divine freeing power pictures for us the redeeming power of God, who does unthinkable, magnificent things—not because his people have earned his favor but because he loves them.
But there is another important theme in Exodus: God’s law. It is important for us to understand the place of God’s law, since we will encounter this law in our study of Scripture.
Here’s perhaps the most important thing to consider: God gives his law after he has redeemed his people from Egypt.
This sequence is described in Exodus 19, when Israel is encamped at the base of Mount Sinai. This tells us that the law was never designed as a means for God’s people to achieve his acceptance. Now liberated from their slavery, they are already objects of his rescuing grace.
And as a sign of his grace, he gives them his law. Not the other way around.
God’s law is not a way of achieving the grace of his acceptance. God’s law is a gift of grace to people upon whom he has already placed his love.
Exodus 19 is also where I conclude my 52-part 5-Minute Bible Study on the book of Exodus. If you want to study the first 19 chapters with me and better understand redemption and God’s law, I encourage you to explore the free study.
You can get all the episodes for free at PaulTripp.com/Exodus, on our YouTube playlist, or on the PTM 5-Minute Bible Study Podcast channel on Apple and Spotify.
No human being could ever stand under the burden of God’s law. If God’s law was a means of our achieving God’s favor, we would all be damned. But through his law, God now works to restore his rescued people to worship and life according to his original creational purpose.
It’s humbling to admit that we, like the children of Israel, have no power or ability whatsoever to earn our way into eternal communion with God. It is humbling to know that our most righteous moments fall woefully short of his holy standard. It is humbling to confess that we have no hope apart from his grace.
But it is wonderful to remember that Jesus perfectly kept the law as our substitute and that, by grace, in him we stand before God righteous and accepted by him forever. What we could not earn, Jesus earned for us.
Exodus powerfully presents to us the fact that God’s grace is not just for our rescue but also for our restoration. Each one of us needs both aspects of God’s redeeming grace.
Join me on this 5-Minute Bible Study journey through the first 19 chapters of Exodus and celebrate redemption, law, and grace!
A Prayer for Today: Lord, thank you for the law. Through it, you’ve given me instruction, guidance, care, love, and grace. But God, I admit that I’m tempted to use the law as a means of gaining your acceptance. It is a regular temptation of mine to trust in my own ability to earn my place in your Kingdom, but help me to remember that your law was given after your gift of redemption. I don’t need to earn your favor because I already have it in your Son, Jesus. May I live in your grace, and as a result, cherish your law. In Jesus’ name, amen.
Discussion Prompt for Children
1. What does it mean to earn something? Why do you think we usually feel great about ourselves after we’ve worked to earn a reward of some kind?
2. Do you think you have to work to earn my love? Do human beings need to work to earn the love of God?
3. If we can’t earn God’s love, how do we know that God loves us?
4. Why do you think God gave his people the law of how to live after he rescued them from slavery? Why is the order so important in the Exodus story (redemption first, law afterwards)?
Reflection Questions
1. What’s the first thing that comes to your mind when you hear “God’s law”? Why do you think the law can be such a burden to so many people?
2. Describe in your own words the significance of God giving his children the law after he rescues them from slavery in Egypt. Why is the gift of God’s law a sign of his grace?
3. In the past, how have you tried to use the law of God to achieve the acceptance of his grace? Even though that can come naturally to most people, why is it biblically foolish to try and earn his grace by attempting to follow the law?
4. If you cannot earn God’s acceptance, but Jesus did on your behalf, where does that put you in relation to Christ himself? Have you ever said ‘yes’ to his redemptive work on your behalf? If you have, take some time right now to thank him for all that he’s done for you in his life, death, resurrection, and ascension. If you haven’t said ‘yes’ to him, why don’t you pause right now and ask him to forgive you of your sin and stand in the gap for you so that you might be rescued, redeemed, and brought into a personal relationship with your Creator?