This week on Things Unseen we've been turning our minds to the important biblical theme

of God's covenant. And yesterday we were reflecting on the Sineatic Covenant, the covenant

that God made with Moses. And I was trying to stress how important it is to see that

that Sineatic Covenant reflects the covenant of grace. And to avoid the drastic mistake

of thinking that the covenant with Moses and the Old Testament with it teaches us that

we're saved by works. As Paul points out, the love God was given centuries after God's

covenant with Abraham. It didn't annul that covenant of grace, but was given within

its context. But then when we actually read the small print of the Mosaic Law, it does

all seem to focus on what we do. There are so many details, and to be honest, it looks

as though there are so many restrictions. So many don't do these things, but do these

things. It can all sound so legal, so much law and commandment, so many instructions about

sacrifices and offerings. Sometimes people get the impression that pleasing God must

have been very hard work. And so the idea that the Mosaic Covenant, the Sineatic Covenant,

seems mainly to be about good works. I think perhaps too easily persistent people's minds

and also then in their hearts. And that can be a problem not only for understanding the

Old Testament, but an even greater problem for how we think about God himself. Is that

what he's really like behind it all? Constantly scrutinizing us with a multitude of do's and

don'ts and mainly don'ts. Well, you know what my answer is going to be, I'm sure. It's

not like that. But how is it not like that? Well, this is a huge subject, and I can only

give a brief answer here. But I think everything becomes clearer if we remember just a couple of

things. First, have you ever noticed that the only part of the law that was placed in the

Ark of the Covenant, in the holiest place, was the tablets with the ten commandments on them?

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