Hello Friends!
Welcome back to part five of The Seven Dispensations: Man's Failure & God's Grace.
The Holy Scriptures divide time – the entire period from the creation of Adam and Eve in the book of Genesis to the "new heaven and a new earth" promised to all believers in the book of Revelation – into seven unequal periods, usually titled dispensations (see Ephesians 3:2). These periods are also referred to as “ages” (see Ephesians 2:7). They are also referred to as “days” as in "day of the Lord".
Welcome back to part five of The Seven Dispensations: Man's Failure & God's Grace.
The Holy Scriptures divide time – the entire period from the creation of Adam and Eve in the book of Genesis to the "new heaven and a new earth" promised to all believers in the book of Revelation – into seven unequal periods, usually titled dispensations (see Ephesians 3:2). These periods are also referred to as “ages” (see Ephesians 2:7). They are also referred to as “days” as in "day of the Lord".
This week we will investigate the fifth
Dispensation known as LAW…
The Seven Dispensations: #5 – Man Under the
Law
LAW
Again the grace of God came to the help of
helpless man and redeemed the chosen people out of the hand of the oppressor.
In the wilderness of Sinai, He proposed to them the covenant of the law.
Instead of humbly pleading for a continued relation of grace, they
presumptuously answered: "All that the Lord hath spoken we will
do." The history of Israel in the wilderness and in the land is one
long record of flagrant, persistent violation of the law, and at last, after
multiplied warnings, God closed the testing of man by law in judgment: first
Israel, then Judah, were driven out of the land into a dispersion which still
continues. A feeble remnant returned under Ezra and Nehemiah, of which, in due
time, Christ came "Born of a woman - made under the law." Both
Jews and Gentiles conspired to crucify Him.
Summary Principle:
Now we know that whatever the
law says, it says to those who are under the law, that every mouth may be
stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God. Therefore by the deeds
of the law no flesh will be justified in His sight, for by the law is the
knowledge of sin – Romans 3:19-20
Opening Event – Israel promises to
keep the Law:
In the third month after the
children of Israel had gone out of the land of Egypt, on the same day, they
came to the Wilderness of Sinai. For they had departed from Rephidim, had come
to the Wilderness of Sinai, and camped in the wilderness. So Israel camped
there before the mountain. And Moses went up to God, and the Lord called to him from the mountain,
saying, “Thus you shall say to the house of Jacob, and tell the children of
Israel: ‘You 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, then you shall be a special treasure to Me above
all people; for all the earth is Mine. And you shall be to Me a kingdom of
priests and a holy nation.’ These are the words which you shall speak to the
children of Israel.” So Moses came and called for the elders of the people, and
laid before them all these words which the Lord
commanded him. Then all the people answered together and said, “All that the Lord has spoken we will do.” So Moses
brought back the words of the people to the Lord
– Exodus 19:1-8
Man’s Responsibility – Believe & Obey:
~ Blessings
Therefore you shall keep the
commandment, the statutes, and the judgments which I command you today, to
observe them. “Then it shall come to pass, because you listen to these
judgments, and keep and do them, that the Lord
your God will keep with you the covenant and the mercy which He swore to your
fathers. And He will love you and bless you and multiply you; He will also
bless the fruit of your womb and the fruit of your land, your grain and your
new wine and your oil, the increase of your cattle and the offspring of your
flock, in the land of which He swore to your fathers to give you. You shall be
blessed above all peoples; there shall not be a male or female barren among you
or among your livestock. And the Lord
will take away from you all sickness, and will afflict you with none of the
terrible diseases of Egypt which you have known, but will lay them on all those
who hate you – Deuteronomy 7:11-15
~ Cursings
Beware that you do not forget
the Lord your God by not keeping
His commandments, His judgments, and His statutes which I command you today,
lest—when you have eaten and are full, and have built beautiful houses and
dwell in them; and when your herds and your flocks multiply, and your silver
and your gold are multiplied, and all that you have is multiplied; when your
heart is lifted up, and you forget the Lord
your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage;
who led you through that great and terrible wilderness, in which were fiery
serpents and scorpions and thirsty land where there was no water; who brought
water for you out of the flinty rock; who fed you in the wilderness with manna,
which your fathers did not know, that He might humble you and that He might
test you, to do you good in the end - then you say in your heart, ‘My power and
the might of my hand have gained me this wealth.’ And you shall remember the Lord your God, for it is He who gives
you power to get wealth, that He may establish His covenant which He swore to
your fathers, as it is this day. Then it shall be, if you by any means forget
the Lord your God, and follow
other gods, and serve them and worship them, I testify against you this day
that you shall surely perish. As the nations which the Lord destroys before you, so you shall perish, because you
would not be obedient to the voice of the Lord
your God – Deuteronomy 8:11-20
Man’s Failure – Law broken
repeatedly:
Now when the people saw that
Moses delayed coming down from the mountain, the people gathered together to
Aaron, and said to him, “Come, make us gods that shall go before us; for as for
this Moses, the man who brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we do not know
what has become of him.” And Aaron said to them, “Break off the golden earrings
which are in the ears of your wives, your sons, and your daughters, and bring
them to me.” So all the people broke off the golden earrings which were in
their ears, and brought them to Aaron. And he received the gold from their
hand, and he fashioned it with an engraving tool, and made a molded calf. Then
they said, “This is your god, O Israel, that brought you out of the land of
Egypt!” So when Aaron saw it, he built an altar before it. And Aaron made a
proclamation and said, “Tomorrow is a feast to the Lord.” Then they rose early on the next day, offered burnt
offerings, and brought peace offerings; and the people sat down to eat and
drink, and rose up to play. And the Lord
said to Moses, “Go, get down! For your people whom you brought out of the land
of Egypt have corrupted themselves. They have turned aside quickly out of the
way which I commanded them. They have made themselves a molded calf, and worshiped
it and sacrificed to it, and said, ‘This is your god, O Israel, that brought
you out of the land of Egypt!’” – Exodus 32:1-8
In those days there was no king
in Israel; everyone did what was right in his own eyes – Judges
21:25
When they envied Moses in the
camp, and Aaron the saint of the Lord,
the earth opened up and swallowed Dathan, and covered the faction of Abiram. A
fire was kindled in their company; the flame burned up the wicked. They made a
calf in Horeb, and worshiped the molded image. Thus they changed their glory
into the image of an ox that eats grass. They forgot God their Savior, who had
done great things in Egypt, wondrous works in the land of Ham, awesome things
by the Red Sea. Therefore He said that He would destroy them, had not Moses His
chosen one stood before Him in the breach, to turn away His wrath, lest He
destroy them. Then they despised the pleasant land; they did not believe His
word, but complained in their tents, and did not heed the voice of the Lord. Therefore He raised His hand in an
oath against them, to overthrow them in the wilderness, to overthrow their
descendants among the nations, and to scatter them in the lands. They joined
themselves also to Baal of Peor, and ate sacrifices made to the dead. Thus they
provoked Him to anger with their deeds, and the plague broke out among them.
Then Phinehas stood up and intervened, and the plague was stopped. And that was
accounted to him for righteousness to all generations forevermore. They angered
Him also at the waters of strife, so that it went ill with Moses on account of
them; because they rebelled against His Spirit, so that he spoke rashly with
his lips. They did not destroy the peoples, concerning whom the Lord had commanded them, but they
mingled with the Gentiles and learned their works; they served their idols,
which became a snare to them. They even sacrificed their sons and their
daughters to demons, and shed innocent blood, the blood of their sons and
daughters, whom they sacrificed to the idols of Canaan; and the land was
polluted with blood. Thus they were defiled by their own works, and played the
harlot by their own deeds. Therefore the wrath of the Lord was kindled against His people, so that He abhorred His
own inheritance. And He gave them into the hand of the Gentiles, and those who
hated them ruled over them. Their enemies also oppressed them, and they were
brought into subjection under their hand. Many times He delivered them; but
they rebelled in their counsel, and were brought low for their iniquity.
Nevertheless He regarded their affliction, when He heard their cry; and for
their sake He remembered His covenant, and relented according to the multitude
of His mercies. He also made them to be pitied by all those who carried them
away captive. Save us, O Lord our
God. and gather us from among the Gentiles, to give thanks to Your holy name,
to triumph in Your praise. Blessed be the Lord
God of Israel from everlasting to everlasting! And let all the people say,
“Amen!” Praise the Lord! – Psalm
106:16-48
Man’s Tendency – Away from God:
And I prayed to the Lord my God, and made confession, and
said, “O Lord, great and awesome God, who keeps His covenant and mercy with
those who love Him, and with those who keep His commandments, we have sinned
and committed iniquity, we have done wickedly and rebelled, even by departing
from Your precepts and Your judgments. Neither have we heeded Your servants the
prophets, who spoke in Your name to our kings and our princes, to our fathers
and all the people of the land. O Lord, righteousness belongs to You, but to us
shame of face, as it is this day—to the men of Judah, to the inhabitants of
Jerusalem and all Israel, those near and those far off in all the countries to
which You have driven them, because of the unfaithfulness which they have
committed against You. “O Lord, to us belongs shame of face, to our kings, our
princes, and our fathers, because we have sinned against You. To the Lord our
God belong mercy and forgiveness, though we have rebelled against Him. We have
not obeyed the voice of the Lord
our God, to walk in His laws, which He set before us by His servants the
prophets. Yes, all Israel has transgressed Your law, and has departed so as not
to obey Your voice; therefore the curse and the oath written in the Law of
Moses the servant of God have been poured out on us, because we have sinned
against Him. And He has confirmed His words, which He spoke against us and
against our judges who judged us, by bringing upon us a great disaster; for
under the whole heaven such has never been done as what has been done to
Jerusalem. As it is written in the Law of Moses, all this disaster has come
upon us; yet we have not made our prayer before the Lord our God, that we might turn from our iniquities and
understand Your truth. Therefore the Lord
has kept the disaster in mind, and brought it upon us; for the Lord our God is righteous in all the
works which He does, though we have not obeyed His voice. And now, O Lord our
God, who brought Your people out of the land of Egypt with a mighty hand, and
made Yourself a name, as it is this day—we have sinned, we have done wickedly!
O Lord, according to all Your righteousness, I pray, let Your anger and Your
fury be turned away from Your city Jerusalem, Your holy mountain; because for
our sins, and for the iniquities of our fathers, Jerusalem and Your people are
a reproach to all those around us – Daniel 9:4-16
Closing Event – Judgment ~ Bondage
in Egypt:
~ Israel captive in
Assyria
In the twelfth year of Ahaz king
of Judah, Hoshea the son of Elah became king of Israel in Samaria, and he
reigned nine years. And he did evil in the sight of the Lord, but not as the kings of Israel who were before him.
Shalmaneser king of Assyria came up against him; and Hoshea became his vassal,
and paid him tribute money. And the king of Assyria uncovered a conspiracy by
Hoshea; for he had sent messengers to So, king of Egypt, and brought no tribute
to the king of Assyria, as he had done year by year. Therefore the king of
Assyria shut him up, and bound him in prison. Now the king of Assyria went
throughout all the land, and went up to Samaria and besieged it for three
years. In the ninth year of Hoshea, the king of Assyria took Samaria and
carried Israel away to Assyria, and placed them in Halah and by the Habor, the
River of Gozan, and in the cities of the Medes. For so it was that the children
of Israel had sinned against the Lord
their God, who had brought them up out of the land of Egypt, from under the
hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt; and they had feared other gods, and had walked
in the statutes of the nations whom the Lord
had cast out from before the children of Israel, and of the kings of Israel,
which they had made. Also the children of Israel secretly did against the Lord their God things that were not
right, and they built for themselves high places in all their cities, from
watchtower to fortified city. They set up for themselves sacred pillars and
wooden images on every high hill and under every green tree. There they burned
incense on all the high places, like the nations whom the Lord had carried away before them; and
they did wicked things to provoke the Lord
to anger, for they served idols, of which the Lord
had said to them, “You shall not do this thing.” Yet the Lord testified against Israel and
against Judah, by all of His prophets, every seer, saying, “Turn from your evil
ways, and keep My commandments and My statutes, according to all the law which
I commanded your fathers, and which I sent to you by My servants the prophets.”
Nevertheless they would not hear, but stiffened their necks, like the necks of
their fathers, who did not believe in the Lord
their God. And they rejected His statutes and His covenant that He had made
with their fathers, and His testimonies which He had testified against them;
they followed idols, became idolaters, and went after the nations who were all
around them, concerning whom the Lord
had charged them that they should not do like them. So they left all the
commandments of the Lord their
God, made for themselves a molded image and two calves, made a wooden image and
worshiped all the host of heaven, and served Baal. And they caused their sons
and daughters to pass through the fire, practiced witchcraft and soothsaying,
and sold themselves to do evil in the sight of the Lord, to provoke Him to anger. Therefore the Lord was very angry with Israel, and
removed them from His sight; there was none left but the tribe of Judah alone –
2 Kings 17:1-18
~ Judah captive in
Babylon
Now it came to pass in the
ninth year of his reign, in the tenth month, on the tenth day of the month,
that Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and all his army came against Jerusalem and
encamped against it; and they built a siege wall against it all around. So the
city was besieged until the eleventh year of King Zedekiah. By the ninth day of
the fourth month the famine had become so severe in the city that there was no
food for the people of the land. Then the city wall was broken through, and all
the men of war fled at night by way of the gate between two walls, which was by
the king’s garden, even though the Chaldeans were still encamped all around
against the city. And the king went by way of the plain. But the army of the
Chaldeans pursued the king, and they overtook him in the plains of Jericho. All
his army was scattered from him. So they took the king and brought him up to
the king of Babylon at Riblah, and they pronounced judgment on him. Then they
killed the sons of Zedekiah before his eyes, put out the eyes of Zedekiah,
bound him with bronze fetters, and took him to Babylon. And in the fifth month,
on the seventh day of the month (which was the nineteenth year of King
Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon), Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard, a
servant of the king of Babylon, came to Jerusalem. He burned the house of the Lord and the king’s house; all the
houses of Jerusalem, that is, all the houses of the great, he burned with fire.
And all the army of the Chaldeans who were with the captain of the guard broke
down the walls of Jerusalem all around. Then Nebuzaradan the captain of the
guard carried away captive the rest of the people who remained in the city and
the defectors who had deserted to the king of Babylon, with the rest of the
multitude – 2 Kings 25:1-11
~ Jerusalem destroyed
O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the one
who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her! How often I wanted
to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings,
but you were not willing! See! Your house is left to you desolate; for I say to
you, you shall see Me no more till you say, ‘Blessed is He who comes in the
name of the Lord!’– Matthew
23:37-39
Personal Salvation – By Grace through Faith ~ the blood of the
Lamb:
Speak to all the congregation
of Israel, saying: ‘On the tenth of this month every man shall take for himself
a lamb, according to the house of his father, a lamb for a household– Exodus
12:3
For the life of the flesh is in
the blood, and I have given it to you upon the altar to make atonement for your
souls; for it is the blood that makes atonement for the soul – Leviticus
17:11
For when Moses had spoken every
precept to all the people according to the law, he took the blood of calves and
goats, with water, scarlet wool, and hyssop, and sprinkled both the book itself
and all the people, saying, “This is the blood of the covenant which God has
commanded you.”Then likewise he sprinkled with blood both the tabernacle and
all the vessels of the ministry. And according to the law almost all things are
purified with blood, and without shedding of blood there is no remission– Hebrews
9:19-22
But when the fullness of the
time had come, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under
the law, to redeem those who were under the law, that we might receive the
adoption as sons – Galatians 4:4-5
Examples of believers:
~ Moses
By faith Moses, when he was
born, was hidden three months by his parents, because they saw he was a
beautiful child; and they were not afraid of the king’s command. By faith
Moses, when he became of age, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s
daughter, choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God than to
enjoy the passing pleasures of sin, esteeming the reproach of Christ greater
riches than the treasures in Egypt; for he looked to the reward. By faith he
forsook Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king; for he endured as seeing Him
who is invisible. By faith he kept the Passover and the sprinkling of blood,
lest he who destroyed the firstborn should touch them. By faith they passed
through the Red Sea as by dry land, whereas the Egyptians, attempting to do so,
were drowned. By faith the walls of Jericho fell down after they were encircled
for seven days. By faith the harlot Rahab did not perish with those who did not
believe, when she had received the spies with peace. And what more shall I say?
For the time would fail me to tell of Gideon and Barak and Samson and Jephthah,
also of David and Samuel and the prophets: who through faith subdued kingdoms,
worked righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, quenched
the violence of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, out of weakness were made
strong, became valiant in battle, turned to flight the armies of the aliens.
Women received their dead raised to life again. Others were tortured, not
accepting deliverance, that they might obtain a better resurrection. Still
others had trial of mockings and scourgings, yes, and of chains and
imprisonment. They were stoned, they were sawn in two, were tempted, were slain
with the sword. They wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins, being
destitute, afflicted, tormented—of whom the world was not worthy. They wandered
in deserts and mountains, in dens and caves of the earth. And all these, having
obtained a good testimony through faith, did not receive the promise, God
having provided something better for us, that they should not be made perfect
apart from us– Hebrews 11:23-40
~ David
But to him who does not work
but believes on Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is accounted for
righteousness, just as David also describes the blessedness of the man to whom
God imputes righteousness apart from works: “Blessed are those whose lawless
deeds are forgiven, and whose sins are covered; blessed is the man to whom the
Lord shall not impute sin – Romans
4:5-8
~ Summary
For as many as are of the works
of the law are under the curse; for it is written "Cursed is everyone who
does not continue in all things which are written in the book of the law, to do
them." But that no one is justified by the law in the sight of God is
evident, for “the just shall live by faith.”Yet the law is not of faith, but
“the man who does them shall live by them." Christ has redeemed us from
the curse of the law, having become a curse for us (for it is written, “Cursed
is everyone who hangs on a tree”), that the blessing of Abraham might come upon
the Gentiles in Christ Jesus, that we might receive the promise of the Spirit
through faith. Brethren, I speak in the manner of men: Though it is only a
man’s covenant, yet if it is confirmed, no one annuls or adds to it. Now to
Abraham and his Seed were the promises made. He does not say, “And to seeds,”
as of many, but as of one, “And to your Seed," who is Christ. And this I
say, that the law, which was four hundred and thirty years later, cannot annul
the covenant that was confirmed before by God in Christ, that it should make
the promise of no effect. For if the inheritance is of the law, it is no longer
of promise; but God gave it to Abraham by promise. What purpose then does the
law serve? It was added because of transgressions, till the Seed should come to
whom the promise was made; and it was appointed through angels by the hand of a
mediator – Galatians 3:10-19
Thank you for reading! Don’t miss next week’s edition as we investigate Dispensation #6 – GRACE…
May the Lord Jesus Christ continue to bless you with His perfect
love, mercy and grace!
Keep looking up and sharing the Gospel while there is still time… Hallelujah
and Maranatha – come quickly Lord Jesus!
Blessings!
Shane <><
