OLD TESTAMENT SALVATION  

Under Mosaic Law

One must consider the nation and the individual when discussing Old Testament salvation under the Mosaic Law. The nation of Israel has a unique promise, a convenant from God, that no other nation has or ever will have. They have an unconditional guarantee from God that the nation will continue forever, and finally possess the land which God has promised them.

I. The Abramic Covenant with the Nation of Israel

 

• Genesis 17:7

  And I will establish my covenant between me and thee and thy seed after thee in their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be a God unto thee, and to thy seed after thee.
  8 And I will give unto thee, and to thy seed after thee, the land wherein thou art a stranger, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession; and I will be their God.

 

• Psa 105:8

  He hath remembered his covenant for ever, the word which he commanded to a thousand generations.
  9 Which covenant he made with Abraham, and his oath unto Isaac;
  10 And confirmed the same unto Jacob for a law, and to Israel for an everlasting covenant:
  11 Saying, Unto thee will I give the land of Canaan, the lot of your inheritance:

This promise is given to the nation of Israel. When the promise was made God did not reveal his timetable, but the fact that it was indisputably believed is most obvious. God’s promise to the nation is repeated and mentioned many times by God himself and by those who are waiting for the fulfillment. Each successive generation looks toward God and waits.

 

A. God’s Blessings for Obedience

Even though the covenant is unconditional it is not a license for Israel to do as they wish. During the "wait" there were commandments which had to be kept. If they were broken there were temporal, earthly, consequences for that generation of the nation. This was laid down for them in Leviticus 26.

 

• Leviticus 26:3

  If ye walk in my statutes, and keep my commandments, and do them;
  4 Then I will give you rain in due season...

The next verses go on to say that an obedient nation could expect bountiful harvests, peace from the elements, victory over enemies, growth as a nation, and the presence of God among them.

 

B. God’s Punishment for Disobedience

Disobedience, however, had its own set of consequences.

 

• Leviticus 26:14

  But if ye will not hearken unto me, and will not do all these commandments;
  16 I also will do this unto you; I will even appoint over you terror...

 

• Leviticus 26:28

  Then will walk contrary unto you also in fury; and I, even I, will chastise you seven times for your sins.

In the case of national disobedience God promised disease; defeat by enemies; stolen crops; powerlessness; fruitless harvests; attack by wild animals; wars ending in death, captivity, and dispersion; destroyed cities; cannibalism; and more. Even so, a repentant generation could regain God’s favor.

II. National Repentance for Sin

National repentance was possible only through the priesthood. They represented the people before God, offering sacrifices and praying on their behalf. They were the only ones authorized to approach God to ask forgiveness for the nation. God was very specific concerning the details of these rituals. The elders spoke for the nation (when required) and the priests performed the necessary procedures.

 

A. Confession of Sin

 

• Leviticus 26:40

  If they shall confess their iniquity, and the iniquity of their fathers, with their trespass which they trespassed against me, and that also they have walked contrary unto me;
  41 And that I also have walked contrary unto them...
  42 Then will I remember my covenant with Jacob...

Confession, of course, was only the first step to their regaining God’s blessing. His second requirement was blood sacrifice.

 

B. Blood Sacrifice, a Foreshadow of the Cross

 

• Leviticus 17:11

  For the life of the flesh is in the blood: and I have given it to you upon the altar to make an atonement for your souls: for it is the blood that maketh an atonement for the soul.

The blood temporarily appeased God and had to be offered again and again.

 

• Leviticus 4:13

  And if the whole congregation of Israel sin through ignorance...
  15 And the elders of the congregation shall lay their hands upon the head of the bullock before the LORD: and the bullock shall be killed before the LORD.
  20 ...and the priest shall make an atonement for them, and it shall be forgiven them.

But while it brought forgiveness it could not provide redemption.

 

• Hebrews 10:11

  And every priest standeth daily ministering and offering oftentimes the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins:

The day of atonement (Leviticus 16) was an "everlasting statute" prescribed by God to make a yearly atonement for the sins of the children of Israel.

 

• Leviticus 16:30

  For on that day shall the priest make an atonement for you, to cleanse you, that ye may be clean from all your sins before the LORD.

National repentance and offerings were a continuous occurrence when Israel was together as a nation. When the nation sinned and did not ask forgiveness, God’s punishment was often the scattering of the national unit into dispersion. When the nation was reunited it had to offer the prescribed sacrifices to gain forgiveness. Of course, the blood of bulls and goats was a foreshadowing of the blood of Christ, which would be shed "once for all" to redeem Israel.

 

• Hebrews 10:12

  But this man, after he had offered one sacrifice for sins for ever, sat down on the right hand of God;

It must be remembered that in order for sacrifices to be made the nation had to be functioning as such, with the Levitical priesthood, in order, following precisely the commandments of the Lord. They were the only ones permitted to offer the sacrifices. For example, if ninety-nine percent of the people in the United States agreed in wanting to enact a particular new national law, it couldn’t be done if the U.S. Congress was disbanded. Only the Congress has the legal right to make new laws that will affect the nation, regardless of what the individuals want. Thus, if everything wasn’t in order, there could be no national atonement for Israel. This was true again and again when God scattered the nation as one of its penalties for disobedience. But it also must be remembered that God’s covenant with the nation was unconditional. The promise that he made ensured the continuation of the nation even if many generations suffered because of disobedience to his commandments. The Old Testament is the story of Israel’s history as it vacillates between obedience and disobedience to God.

III. Individual Accountability under Mosaic Law during National Unity

While the nation of Israel was "eternally secure" because of God’s covenant, the individuals within the nation were not. Each person was responsible for his own standing with God. The list of commandments found in Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy were the rules which individuals were required to follow if they wanted to be right with God. They had the faith to believe that God would keep his promise to them if they did what he required.

The individual who obeyed the statues was said to "live in them."

 

• Leviticus 18:5

  Ye shall therefore keep my statutes, and my judgments: which if a man do, he shall live in them: I am the LORD.

 

• Ezekiel 20:11

  And I gave them my statutes, and showed them my judgments, which if a man do, he shall even live in them.

 

• Romans 10:5

  For Moses describeth the righteousness which is of the law, That the man which doeth those things shall live by them.

 

• Galatians 3:12

  And the law is not of faith: but, The man that doeth them shall live in them.

These last two Pauline verses show that this was "spiritual" life (howbeit only temporary until Christ came.) Individual spiritual life was "in" the law. Those who didn’t keep it were not "saved."

 

• Psa 119:155

  Salvation is far from the wicked: for they seek not thy statutes.

The promises God made to individuals were similar to those made to the nation.

 

• Deuteronomy 11:26

  Behold, I set before you this day a blessing and a curse;
  27 A blessing, if ye obey the commandments of the LORD your God, which I command you this day:
  28 And a curse, if ye will not obey the commandments of the LORD your God...

 

A. God’s Blessing for Obedience

Those who strove not to sin were blessed by God not only with salvation but also with temporal, earthly blessings.

 

• Psalm 24:4

  He that hath clean hands, and a pure heart; who hath not lifted up his soul unto vanity, nor sworn deceitfully.
  5 He shall receive the blessing from the LORD, and righteousness from the God of his salvation.

 

• Psalm 18:20

  The LORD rewarded me according to my righteousness; according to the cleanness of my hands hath he recompensed me.
  21 For I have kept the ways of the LORD, and have not wickedly departed from my God.
  22 For all his judgments were before me, and I did not put away his statutes from me.
  23 I was also upright before him, and I kept myself from mine iniquity.
  24 Therefore hath the LORD recompensed me according to my righteousness, according to the cleanness of my hands in his eyesight.

For the individual who sinned and then brought the required sacrifice there was still blessing.

 

• Psalm 32:1

  Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered.

 

• Ezekiel 18:21

  But if the wicked will turn from all his sins that he hath committed, and keep all my statutes, and do that which is lawful and right, he shall surely live, he shall not die.
  22 All his transgressions that he hath committed, they shall not be mentioned unto him: in his righteousness that he hath done he shall live.

The "life" and "death" metioned here are not physical only. It is very obvious that "physically" wicked people continued to "physically" live. The life and death here are spiritual, similar to what was said by God about Adam.

 

• Genesis 2:17

  But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.

God said that Adam would "die" in the day he ate, and he did die spiritually on that day, and he began to die physically as well. The life that was earned by individual Jews who kept the commandments was spiritual life. The death that was earned by individuals who did not keep the commandments was sometimes immediate physical death but always eventual spiritual death in hell if they did not get right.

 

B. God’s Punishment for Disobedience

The nation received temporal, earthly punishment for disobedience, but the individual’s eternal destiny was in jeopardy when he was disobedient. On this side of the cross a sinner must deal with God personally and directly; but under the Mosaic Law the individual, as the nation, had to rely on the priesthood to perform the prescribed requirements. He could not personally offer a blood sacrifice. That made salvation much less secure when the nation was scattered, because the individual did not have access to the prescribed formula for forgiveness that was laid down in the Law. This reminds me of the Roman Catholic Church which teaches that forgiveness is obtainable only through their priesthood. The rules of most cults and false religions have roots in some kind of Bible truth.

Under Mosaic Law an individual sinned when he broke a commandment.

 

• Leviticus 5:17

  And if a soul sin, and commit any of these things which are forbidden to be done by the commandments of the LORD...

While all sins are breaking of God’s commandments, there were two "kinds" of commandments that the individual could break. He could commit a sin for which the Lord had prescribed a particular blood sacrifice, or he could commit a sin for which there was no prescribed blood sacrifice.

IV. Individual Repentance in a United Nation

Numbers 5 reveals the three requirements for an individual to regain his standing with God after he has sinned breaking the first kind of commandment.

 

• Numbers 5:6

  Speak unto the children of Israel, When a man or woman shall commit any sin that men commit, to do a trespass against the LORD, and that person be guilty;

 

A. Confession of Sin

Just as it is with the nation of Israel, the first thing an individual sinner must do is acknowledge and confess his sin.

 

• Numbers 5:7a

  Then they shall confess their sin which they have done:...

 

B. Restitution of Property

Secondly, if the sin was against another person or people then restitution had to be made depending on what the Lord had prescribed in the law.

 

• Numbers 5:7b ...and he shall recompense his trespass with the principal thereof, and add unto it the fifth part thereof, and give it unto him against whom he hath trespassed.

If there was no one else to receive the restitution then it was given to the priest.

 

• Numbers 5:8a

  But if the man have no kinsman to recompense the trespass unto, let the trespass be recompensed unto the LORD, even to the priest;...

 

C. Blood Sacrifice, a Foreshadow of the Cross

The priest was also given the ram with which to offer the required blood sacrifice for the atonement of the sin.

 

• Numbers 5:8b

  ...beside the ram of the atonement, whereby an atonement shall be made for him.

Just as the national sacrifices foreshadowed Christ’s redemption of the nation, so do the individual sacrifices foreshadow the salvation for all those who would believe thereafter.

V. Individual Accountability under Mosaic Law during Dispersion

Now during times of national dispersion the individual Jew who wanted to remain right with God and keep his personal salvation had no access to the mandated remedies if he sinned. God himself, therefore, judged each individual during those times using similar requirements.

 

A. Confession of Sin

First of all, again, sin must be acknowledged and confessed.

 

• Psalm 32:5

  I acknowledged my sin unto thee, and mine iniquity have I not hid. I said, I will confess my transgressions unto the LORD; and thou forgavest the iniquity of my sin. Selah.

 

• Proverbs 28:13

  He that covereth his sins shall not prosper: but whoso confesseth and forsaketh them shall have mercy.

 

B. Restitution of Property

And, of course, restitution had to be made. It was the "righteous" thing to do whether the nation was a functioning as a unit or not. It was a "do unto others" effort so that the Lord would recompense the individual accordingly. The priesthood was not necessary for this requirement because restitution was between the individuals involved.

 

• II Samuel 22:21

  The LORD rewarded me according to my righteousness: according to the cleanness of my hands hath he recompensed me.

 

• Proverbs 12:14

  A man shall be satisfied with good by the fruit of his mouth: and the recompense of a man's hands shall be rendered unto him.

 

C. Forgiveness According to Heart Condition

King Solomon foresaw the time, or just realized from previous history, that Israel would fall into apostasy again and be scattered. When he prayed his prayer of dedication for the temple in I Kings 8, he reiterated God’s promises to the nation and asked the Lord to heal Israel when it prayed and got right. He also recognized the plight of the individual sinner during times of dispersion, understanding that there was no way for an individual to make the required blood sacrifice for personal sins.

 

• I Kings 8:38

  What prayer and supplication soever be made by any man, or by all thy people Israel, which shall know every man the plague of his own heart, and spread forth his hands toward this house:
  39 Then hear thou in heaven thy dwelling place, and forgive, and do, and give to every man according to his ways, whose heart thou knowest; (for thou, even thou only, knowest the hearts of all the children of men;)

In his prayer he recognized that God alone knows the heart of an individual. A mere man cannot know another man’s thoughts, intentions, or motivations as God can. Solomon asked in this prayer that God forgive individuals who acknowledged and confessed their sins, even in a time of dispersion when no blood sacrifice was available. (Those who were worthy, whose hearts only God knew). I somehow doubt that this was an original request, but was probably another reiteration of what Solomon already knew was God’s method of operation. Then if the nation once again became right with God the individual’s sins for which he had been unable to offer sacrifices could be covered on the day of atonement.

 

• Leviticus 16:30

  For on that day shall the priest make an atonement for you, to cleanse you, that ye may be clean from all your sins before he LORD.

It must be remembered that the blood of these animal sacrifices was only a temporary solution. Old Testament saints did not go to heaven. They went to Abraham’s Bosom to wait for the permanently effectual blood of the Lord Jesus Christ to be shed. It is only through his blood that irrevocable forgiveness and redemption can be found.

 

D. Observing the Passover

Even though the Passover was to be observed as a national memorial feast it was initially implemented for individuals.

 

• Exodus 12:3

  Speak ye unto all the congregation of Israel, saying, In the tenth day of this month they shall take to them every man a lamb, according to the house of their fathers, a lamb for an house:

 

• Exodus 12:13

  And the blood shall be to you for a token upon the houses where ye are: and when I see the blood, I will pass over you, and the plague shall not be upon you to destroy you, when I smite the land of Egypt.

Every man was to kill his own lamb for his own household so that the blood on the door would "save" his own firstborn. There were no Levites or priests required for this. The feast of unleavened bread which followed was observed within individual households.

In Numbers additional instructions are given which shed even more light on this.

 

• Numbers 9:10

  Speak unto the children of Israel, saying, If any man of you or of your posterity shall be unclean by reason of a dead body, or be in a journey afar off, yet he shall keep the passover unto the LORD.
  11 The fourteenth day of the second month at even they shall keep it, and eat it with unleavened bread and bitter herbs.

Even Jews who were unclean or physically far away were to observe the Passover. Since it was an individual observance that did not require national unity nor the priesthood the Passover could be observed by individual Jews even during the dispersion. This would be a indication of there heart condition and faith in God during a time when blood sacrifices could not be made.

During national unity a person who failed to keep this memorial feast was cut off to to bear his own sin.

 

• Numbers 9:13

  But the man that is clean, and is not in a journey, and forbeareth to keep the passover, even the same soul shall be cut off from among his people: because he brought not the offering of the LORD in his appointed season, that man shall bear his sin.

Even a "stranger" could keep the Passover, showing "in type" that the "blood of the lamb" was for whosoever will.

 

• Numbers 9:14

  And if a stranger shall sojourn among you, and will keep the passover unto the LORD; according to the ordinance of the passover, and according to the manner thereof, so shall he do: ye shall have one ordinance, both for the stranger, and for him that was born in the land.

VI. Getting Right Examples - The Nation and the Individual

II Chronicles 29-30 gives us a Bible example of Israel as the nation and its individuals getting right with God after wicked King Ahab.

 

• I Kings 16:30

  And Ahab the son of Omri did evil in the sight of the LORD above all that were before him.

Hezekiah was twenty five years old when he became the next king, and he did right.

 

• II Chronicles 29:2

  And he did that which was right in the sight of the LORD, according to all that David his father had done.

I do not think that it is unreasonable to assume that Hezekiah did not assent to Ahab’s wickedness and that he tried to keep his heart right with God even during that time of apostasy. When he became king he immediately began to unto the damage and wickedness for which Ahab had been responsible. There had been no sacrifices made during Ahab’s reign (v7) and Hezekiah ordered the priests to sanctifiy themselves and the house of the Lord to be repaired so that the sacrifices could be reinstituted.

When this was done sacrifices were made for the nation and for individuals.

 

• II Chronicles 29:31

  Then Hezekiah answered and said, Now ye have consecrated yourselves unto the LORD, come near and bring sacrifices and thank offerings into the house of the LORD. And the congregation brought in sacrifices and thank offerings; and as many as were of a free heart burnt offerings.

Further, Hezekiah wrote letters to the surrounding Jews to come to Jerusalem to keep the Passover as a national memorial feast. Some came and some would not.

 

• IIChronicles 30:10

  So the posts passed from city to city through the country of Ephraim and Manasseh even unto Zebulun: but they laughed them to scorn, and mocked them.
  11 Nevertheless divers of Asher and Manasseh and of Zebulun humbled themselves, and came to Jerusalem.

These two chapters in Chronicles give us examples of individuals who stayed right with God during a time of apostasy and also of individuals who got right after the time of apostasy was over. They also show the procedure for how the nation could regain its favor with God. As stated before, the procedure to get right always required blood sacrifices because under the Law "without the shedding of blood is no remission."

VII. Losing Personal Salvation under Mosaic Law

Individual Old Testament salvation under Mosaic law was not an automatic, eternal possession. Individuals could and did lose their salvation. Unlike salvation today, during the Church Age, salvation under the law was earned by those who obeyed the commandments. An individual could lose his salvation in one of three ways.

 

1.) He could refuse to offer the prescribed sacrifices (when the nation was unified).

2.) He could refuse to acknowledge and confess his sin (with an honest heart, during the dispersion).

3.) He could commit a sin for which the Lord provided no blood sacrifice.

The commission of this last kind of sin damned a person to hell without recourse and effected the nation as a whole intil the matter was resolved. I hear protests from some readers but please read the scripture and believe its words. A New Testament verse gives light on this subject.

 

• Hebrews 9:22

  And almost all things are by the law purged with blood; and without shedding of blood is no remission.

The last phrase of the verse says that there is no remission, no forgiveness, unless there has been a blood sacrifice under the Law. For the nation that meant that when they dispersed and cried out to God for forgiveness (and really meant it) that he would allow them victory over their oppression so that they could reinstate the law and make the necessary blood sacrifices to atone for their sins. This happened over and over again, and the blood sacrifices were absolutely required for the nation to get right.

For the individual Jew who was trying to stay right with God during national unity this meant that he was required to offer the appropriate blood sacrifice in order to have forgiveness. This was a requirement. It had to be done in order to earn forgiveness. If the prescribed sacrifice wasn’t offered there was no forgiveness because "without shedding of blood is no remission."

 

A. Refusal to Offer the Prescribed Sacrifice during National Unity

 

• Numbers 15:30

  But the soul that doeth ought presumptuously, whether he be born in the land, or a stranger, the same reproacheth the LORD; and that soul shall be cut off from among his people.
  31 Because he hath despised the word of the LORD, and hath broken his commandment, that soul shall utterly be cut off; his iniquity shall be upon him.

This person deliberately and presumptuously scoffed God’s commandments. He refused to offer the prescribed sacrifices for his sin. Today, a person does not go to hell because he is a sinner. He goes to hell because he refuses to accept God’s way of forgiveness, the Lord Jesus Christ. It was similar for the Jews. For sacrificable sins, guilt continued until the sacrifice was made.

 

• Leviticus 4:27

  And if any one of the common people sin through ignorance, while he doeth somewhat against any of the commandments of the LORD concerning things which ought not to be done, and be guilty;
  29 And he shall lay his hand upon the head of the sin offering, and slay the sin offering in the place of the burnt offering.
  30 And the priest shall take of the blood thereof with his finger, and put it upon the horns of the altar of burnt offering, and shall pour out all the blood thereof at the bottom of the altar.
  31......and the priest shall make an atonement for him, and it shall be forgiven him.

For those who did not sacrifice his "soul shall be cut off; his iniquity shall be upon him." Those phrases are used again and again in the Old Testament, but it is in the New Testament that the definition is easily understood.

 

• Ezekiel 3:20

  Again, When a righteous man doth turn from his righteousness, and commit iniquity... he shall die in his sin, and his righteousness which he hath done shall not be remembered...

 

• John 8:24 I said therefore unto you, that ye shall die in your sins: for if ye believe not that I am he, ye shall die in your sins.

 

• Ephesians 2:5

  Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;)

There is no doubt. A person whose soul has been "cut off" or who has his "iniquity on him" or who "dies in his sin" will go to hell. Sin had to be forgiven either through the prescribed Mosaic formula at that time or by belief in the Lord Jesus Christ, now.

 

B. Refusal to Confess during Dispersion

Individual Jews had no excuse even when the nation was dispersed. They knew God’s commandments. Still, many let their own hearts deceive them into believing that God wasn’t keeping track.

 

• Judges 17:6

  In those days there was no king in Israel, but every man did that which was right in his own eyes.

 

• Proverbs 21:2

  Every way of a man is right in his own eyes: but the LORD pondereth the hearts.

Doing what was right "in his own eyes" precluded doing what was right according to God’s commandments. Even though the priesthood was not available to perform the blood sacrifices, they still had to do the best they could. If they did not, they took the chance of dieing in their sins before Israel was reunited and the sacrifices reinstated. Those people who didn’t confess their sins or try to stay right with God during those trying times had their iniquity still upon them.

 

C. Committing an Unforgivable Sin

Just the title of this section has already got some readers defensive. But as I asked before, please just believe what that scriptures say. Now we need to look at the other half of a verse that has already been mentioned.

 

• Hebrews 9:22

  And almost all things are by the law purged with blood; and without shedding of blood is no remission.

The first half of this verse says that "almost all things are by the law purged with blood." This means that for some things even the blood of bulls and goats could not secure forgiveness.

 

1.) Hophni and Phinehas

One such specific example is given in I Samuel concerning Eli’s sons.

• I Samuel 2:12

  Now the sons of Eli were sons of Belial; they knew not the LORD.
  13 And the priests' custom with the people was, that, when any man offered sacrifice, the priest's servant came, while the flesh was in seething, with a fleshhook of three teeth in his hand;
  14 And he struck it into the pan, or kettle, or caldron, or pot; all that the fleshhook brought up the priest took for himself. So they did in Shiloh, unto all the Israelites that came thither.
  15 Also before they burnt the fat, the priest's servant came, and said to the man that sacrificed, Give flesh to roast for the priest; for he will not have sodden flesh of thee, but raw.
  16 And if any man said unto him, Let them not fail to burn the fat presently, and then take as much as thy soul desireth; then he would answer him, Nay; but thou shalt give it me now: and if not, I will take it by force.
  17 Wherefore the sin of the young men was very great before the LORD: for men abhorred the offering of the LORD.

This doesn’t seem like much of a sin to us today but it was "very great" to the Lord. The priests were special people and should have been an example to the people in obedience to God’s laws. This was not their only sin.

 

• I Samuel 2:22

  Now Eli was very old, and heard all that his sons did unto all Israel; and how they lay with the women that assembled at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation.

These sound just like the "vestal virgins" of paganism that were available to service the carnal lusts of the priests. Eli’s sons were accurately names "sons of Belial." So for these sins there were no prescribed blood sacrifices and therefore no forgiveness.

 

• I Samuel 3:14

  And therefore I have sworn unto the house of Eli, that the iniquity of Eli's house shall not be purged with sacrifice nor offering for ever.

The penalty for these sins was death and in this case the Lord allowed the Philistines to carry out the sentence.

 

• I Samuel 4:11

  And the ark of God was taken; and the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, were slain.

 

2.) The Ten Commandments

Now each of the Ten Commandments, in certain degrees, are included in those sins for which there was no blood sacrifice available.

First & Second Commandments

 

Exodus 20:3
Thou shalt have no other gods before me.

Exodus 20:4
Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth:

When either fo these commandments were broken by an individual the penalty waas physical death and eternal hell.

 

• Exodus 22:20

  He that sacrificeth unto any god, save unto the LORD only, he shall be utterly destroyed.

 

• Deuteronomy 17:2

  If there be found among you, within any of thy gates which the LORD thy God giveth thee, man or woman, that hath wrought wickedness in the sight of the LORD thy God, in transgressing his covenant,
  3 And hath gone and served other gods, and worshipped them...
  5 Then shalt thou bring forth that man or that woman......
  and shalt stone them with stones, till they die.

 

• Deuteronomy 27:15

  Cursed be the man that maketh any graven or molten image, an abomination unto the LORD...

Jehu destroyed idolaters in II Kings 10. He proclaimed a sacrifice for Baal and insisted that every Baal worshipper come. While they were in the house of Baal he ordered them all to be killed. These Israelite Baal worshippers died in their sins and went to hell.

Third Commandment

 

Exodus 20:7
Thou shalt not take the name of the LORD thy God in vain; for the LORD will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain.

This sin would not have been difficult for a faithful Jew to keep. But once it was broken there was no prescribed sacrifice. It was unforgivable.

 

• Leviticus 24:15

  And thou shalt speak unto the children of Israel, saying, Whosoever curseth his God shall bear his sin.
  16 And he that blasphemeth the name of the LORD, he shall surely be put to death, and all the congregation shall certainly stone him...

In Leviticus 24 a man is condemned to death by stoning for cursing the Lord. There was no possible blood atonement so there was no forgiveness. He went to hell.

Fourth Commandment

 

Exodus 20:8
Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy.

Of all the unforgivable sins, this one may be the hardest for us to understand. This one requires more faith in God because the "wickedness" of it is not clearly seen. It is more ceremonial in nature. But that may be the very point. God wants obedience even when the reason is not obvious. He wanted those Jews and us today to believe and do what he says even if we don’t understand.

One more proof that keeping this commandment was a heart and faith matter had to do with the fact that there were acceptions to the commandment which God himself allowed.

 

• Luke 13:15

  The Lord then answered him, and said, Thou hypocrite, doth not each one of you on the sabbath loose his ox or his ass from the stall, and lead him away to watering?
  16 And ought not this woman, being a daughter of Abraham, whom Satan hath bound, lo, these eighteen years, be loosed from this bond on the sabbath day?

The heart of the man was judged by what he did even on the Sabbath.

 

• Deuteronomy 22:4

  Thou shalt not see thy brother's ass or his ox fall down by the way, and hide thyself from them: thou shalt surely help him to lift them up again.

Now if that heast was selfish or just disobedient then the penalty was carried out.

 

• Exodus 31:14

  Ye shall keep the sabbath therefore; for it is holy unto you: every one that defileth it shall surely be put to death: for whosoever doeth any work therein, that soul shall be cut off from among his people.

In Numbers 15 a man is stoned for gathering sticks on the Sabbath. This seems extreme to us today but one must remember that this was disobedience to a direct order from God. It was an easy commandment to keep and the penalty for disobedience was known. This man failed to heed or believe God when compliance would have been simple.

Fifth Commandment

 

Exodus 20:12
Honour thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee.

Once more, death and hell for breaking this commandment is hard for us to fathom. But remember that God established the family even before he established the Church, and the honoring of one’s father and mother was not defined so that a child had to be sinlessly perfect. The family is the human foundation for all social order and once the foundation has crumbled there is nothing to hold up the rest, as is clearly shown by the condtion of our own nation.

 

• Psalm 11:3

  If the foundations be destroyed, what can the righteous do?

This fifth commandment is also called the first commandment with promise because an obedient child was promised that his "days may be long upon the land." Rebelliousness was something very severe, however, and it carried the most severe penalty.

 

• Deuteronomy 27:16

  Cursed be he that setteth light by his father or his mother. And all the people shall say, Amen.

In Deuteronomy 21 a rebellious son is stoned because of the testimony of his parents.

Sixth Commandment

 

Exodus 20:13
Thou shalt not kill.

Modernists and liberals try to "use" this Bible commandment to their own advantage to say that the death penalty for certain crimes is against God. Jesus himself, however, defined this commandment as murder and not a legal execution, when he was asked which commandments needed to be kept in order to have eteranl life.

 

• Matthew 19:18

  He saith unto him, Which? Jesus said, Thou shalt do no murder......

So then under the Law a murderer was to be put to death.

 

• Deuteronomy 19:11

  But if any man hate his neighbour, and lie in wait for him, and rise up against him, and smite him mortally that he die, and fleeth into one of these cities:
  12 Then the elders of his city shall send and fetch him thence, and deliver him into the hand of the avenger of blood, that he may die.
  13 Thine eye shall not pity him, but thou shalt put away the guilt of innocent blood from Israel, that it may go well with thee.

In II Samuel a murder and its consequences is described.

 

• II Samuel 4:5

  And the sons of Rimmon the Beerothite, Rechab and Baanah, went, and came about the heat of the day to the house of Ishbosheth, who lay on a bed at noon.
  6 ......and they smote him under the fifth rib: and Rechab and Baanah his brother escaped.
  7 For when they came into the house, he lay on his bed in his bedchamber, and they smote him, and slew him, and beheaded him, and took his head, and gat them away through the plain all night.
  8 And they brought the head of Ishbosheth unto David to Hebron, and said...the LORD hath avenged my lord the king this day of Saul, and of his seed.
  9 And David answered......
  11 ......when wicked men have slain a righteous person in his own house upon his bed? shall I not therefore now require his blood of your hand, and take you away from the earth?
  12 And David commanded his young men, and they slew them, and cut off their hands and their feet, and hanged them up over the pool in Hebron.

Seventh Commandment

 

Exodus 20:14
Thou shalt not commit adultery.

Many people in our country do not think this is even as sin, let alone one which deserves the death penalty. But in Old Testament Israel this would not have been a difficult commandment to keep, especially since the consequences were known. As with any sin, however, the sinner always thinks that he will be the exception to get away with it.

 

• Psalm 10:11

  He hath said in his heart, God hath forgotten: he hideth his face; he will never see it.
  13 Wherefore doth the wicked contemn God? he hath said in his heart, Thou wilt not require it.

The law is very clear and adultery requires death.

 

• Deuteronomy 22:22

  If a man be found lying with a woman married to an husband, then they shall both of them die, both the man that lay with the woman, and the woman: so shalt thou put away evil from Israel.

In Numbers 25 Zimri and Cozbi flaunt their immoral behavior in front of the entire congregation. Phinehas, the priest, kills them both and is commended by the Lord.

Eighth Commandment

 

Exodus 20:15
Thou shalt not steal.

Stealing had degrees to it. The penalties for different kinds of theft were described in the Law.

 

• Exodus 21:16

  And he that stealeth a man, and selleth him, or if he be found in his hand, he shall surely be put to death.

 

• Exodus 22:1

  If a man shall steal an ox, or a sheep, and kill it, or sell it; he shall restore five oxen for an ox, and four sheep for a sheep.

For petty theft there was restitution and additional payment; for kidnapping, however, the penalty was death.

Ninth Commandment

 

Exodus 20:16
Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour.

The first example concerns a lie which gains the liar some kind of material advantage. In order to receive forgiveness for this particular sin the liar must confess, restore with interest whatever he gained by his lie, and then make the appropriate blood sacrifice. Those are the steps for all forgivable sins.

 

• Leviticus 6:3

  Or have found that which was lost, and lieth concerning it, and sweareth falsely; in any of all these that a man doeth, sinning therein:
  4 Then it shall be, because he hath sinned, and is guilty, that he shall restore that...thing which he hath deceitfully gotten...
  5 Or all that about which he hath sworn falsely; he shall even restore it in the principal, and shall add the fifth part more thereto, and give it unto him to whom it appertaineth, in the day of his trespass offering.
  6 And he shall bring his trespass offering unto the LORD, a ram without blemish out of the flock, with thy estimation, for a trespass offering, unto the priest:
  7 And the priest shall make an atonement for him before the LORD: and it shall be forgiven him for any thing of all that he hath done in trespassing therein.

The second kind of lie was much more serious. The example given says that the liar is to receive the punishment that he thought to inflict upon the person he was lying against. This could mean death in many instances.

 

• Deuteronomy 19:16

  If a false witness rise up against any man to testify against him that which is wrong;
  17 Then both the men, between whom the controversy is, shall stand before the LORD, before the priests and the judges, which shall be in those days;
  18 And the judges shall make diligent inquisition: and, behold, if the witness be a false witness, and hath testified falsely against his brother;
  19 Then shall ye do unto him, as he had thought to have done unto his brother: so shalt thou put the evil away from among you.

Naboth was lied about in I Kings 21. That lie led to his death so under the law the liars are worthy of death themselves.

Tenth Commandment

 

Exodus 20:17
Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's house, thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor any thing that is thy neighbour's.

There are several examples concerning this commandment. Naboth was lied about because of this sin. The liar’s sin was lying but it was Jezebel who put things in motion because of the covetousness of Ahab.

Perhaps the most famous story of covetousness is that of Achan in the book of Joshua. This story shows exactly how an individual Jew under Mosaic Law could lose his personal salvation. In Achan’s case he disobeyed a commandment of God and a direct order from Joshua.

 

• Numbers 15:30

  But the soul that doeth ought presumptuously, whether he be born in the land, or a stranger, the same reproacheth the LORD; and that soul shall be cut off from among his people.
  31 Because he hath despised the word of the LORD, and hath broken his commandment, that soul shall utterly be cut off; his iniquity shall be upon him.

 

• Job 4:7

  Remember, I pray thee, who ever perished, being innocent? or where were the righteous cut off?

He acted upon the covetousness in his heart and took the accursed thing. Until that time he had been righteous in the eyes of the law. Because there was no blood sacrifice for this particular sin, Achan lost his salvation!

 

• Ezekiel 18:26

  When a righteous man turneth away from his righteousness, and committeth iniquity, and dieth in them; for his iniquity that he hath done shall he die.

His name had been in the book of life and the Lord blotted it out.

 

• Exodus 32:33

  And the LORD said unto Moses, Whosoever hath sinned against me, him will I blot out of my book.

 

• Psalm 69:28

  Let them be blotted out of the book of the living, and not be written with the righteous.

Now where there was a sacrifice for a particular sin, it was required to be made before the Lord would forgive the sinner. If he did not meet the requirement and make the sacrifice he was not forgiven. Without the shedding of blood is no remission or forgiveness.

 

• Ezekiel 33:12

  Therefore, thou son of man, say unto the children of thy people, The righteousness of the righteous shall not deliver him in the day of his transgression: as for the wickedness of the wicked, he shall not fall thereby in the day that he turneth from his wickedness; neither shall the righteous be able to live for his righteousness in the day that he sinneth.
  15 If the wicked restore the pledge, give again that he had robbed, walk in the statutes of life, without committing iniquity; he shall surely live, he shall not die.

* * *

RIGHTEOUSNESS UNDER THE MOSAIC LAW

There was personal righteousness under the Mosaic Law, and it was the responsibility of the individual to keep himself right with God. This righteousness was determined by whether or not an individual kept the commandments.

 

• Deuteronomy 6:25

  And it shall be our righteousness, if we observe to do all these commandments before the LORD our God, as he hath commanded us.

 

• Romans 10:5

  For Moses describeth the righteousness which is of the law, That the man which doeth those things shall live by them.

Zacharias, Elisabeth, and Paul all had this Old Testament righteousness.

 

• Luke 1:6

  And they were both righteous before God, walking in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blameless.

 

• Philippians 3:6

  Concerning zeal, persecuting the church; touching the righteousness which is in the law, blameless.

If he kept the commandments there was no sin imputed to him. Imputed righteousness does not mean that a person is sinless. It just means that he has done what God required so that he might receive that imputation. Under the Mosaic Law Israelites kept the commandments. Today a person has to believe on Christ to have imputed righteousness. He is sinless. Those who have trusted him have his righteousness credited to their own accounts. Practically, however, all Christians still sin.

 

• Romans 4:22

  And therefore it was imputed to him for righteousness.
  23 Now it was not written for his sake alone, that it was imputed to him;
  24 But for us also, to whom it shall be imputed, if we believe on him that raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead;

The righteousness given by the Law was not the same as the righteousness that is freely given when one trusts Christ as his personal Savior.

 

• Philippians 3:9

  And be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith:

We have a hard time understanding how anyone could be righteous outside of those in Christ, but God’s standards for defining righteousness change in different dispensations. Under the Mosaic Law it was defined by commandment keeping. Today it is defined by being in Christ.

* * *

NATIONAL ACCOUNTABILITY FOR

INDIVIDUAL UNFORGIVABLE SINS

There was no guarantee of eternal life under the law because it depended upon the conduct of the individual. As mentioned before the nation of Israel was and is eternally secure. They have an unconditional promise, but the individual within the nation had to keep the commandments.

 

• Deuteronomy 29:18

  Lest there should be among you man, or woman, or family, or tribe, whose heart turneth away this day from the LORD our God, to go and serve the gods of these nations; lest there should be among you a root that beareth gall and wormwood;
  20 The LORD will not spare him, but then the anger of the LORD and his jealousy shall smoke against that man, and all the curses that are written in this book shall lie upon him, and the LORD shall blot out his name from under heaven.

Achan’s sin effected not only himself and his family but the entire nation as well.

 

• Joshua 7:1

  But the children of Israel committed a trespass in the accursed thing: for Achan, the son of Carmi, the son of Zabdi, the son of Zerah, of the tribe of Judah, took of the accursed thing: and the anger of the LORD was kindled against the children of Israel.

In this example and others it shows that the Lord held the nation responsible when an individual within the nation committed one of the sins for which there is no blood sacrifice. It was then the responsibility of the nation to "put away" that sin from them. This was done by killing the guilty party. All "unforgivable" sins were punishable by death. Achan was stoned.

 

• Joshua 7:10

  And the LORD said unto Joshua, Get thee up; wherefore liest thou thus upon thy face?
  11 Israel hath sinned, and they have also transgressed my covenant which I commanded them: for they have even taken of the accursed thing, and have also stolen, and dissembled also, and they have put it even among their own stuff.
  25 And Joshua said, Why hast thou troubled us? the LORD shall trouble thee this day. And all Israel stoned him with stones, and burned them with fire, after they had stoned them with stones.
  26 And they raised over him a great heap of stones unto this day. So the LORD turned from the fierceness of his anger. Wherefore the name of that place was called, The valley of Achor, unto this day.

"Unforgivable" sins committed by individuals had to be dealt with or the nation itself would be in jeopardy of God’s anger. In Achan’s case the nation was defeated by the small town of Ai until Achan was stoned so the nation could be forgiven.

The unforgivable sin of murder was punished by death as well.

 

• Numbers 35:30

  Whoso killeth any person, the murderer shall be put to death by the mouth of witnesses......
  33 So ye shall not pollute the land wherein ye are: for blood it defileth the land: and the land cannot be cleansed of the blood that is shed therein, but by the blood of him that shed it.

The blood of the murderer cleansed the land.

In the case of an unsolved murder God gave another remedy which is found in Deuteronomy 21:1-9. The elders of the city, with the priests present, were to behead a heifer in a "rough valley" and wash their hands over it declaring their innocence.

 

• Deuteronomy 21:8

  Be merciful, O LORD, unto thy people Israel, whom thou hast redeemed, and lay not innocent blood unto thy people of Israel's charge. And the blood shall be forgiven them.
  9 So shalt thou put away the guilt of innocent blood from among you, when thou shalt do that which is right in the sight of the LORD.

This may be the very procedure used to lift the blood guilt of the crucifixion from the generation of the present nation of Israel. Pilate himself may have been aware of this passage of scripture. Of course, his washing was in vain.

 

• Matthew 27:24

  When Pilate saw that he could prevail nothing, but that rather a tumult was made, he took water, and washed his hands before the multitude, saying, I am innocent of the blood of this just person: see ye to it.

The nation put itself under the ultimate curse by allowing the unjust murder of Christ.

 

• Matthew 27:25

  Then answered all the people, and said, His blood be on us, and on our children.

That blood guilt remains to this day and God’s wrath on Israel can easily be reviewed by the modern history of the nation. Once the veil of the temple was rent at the crucifixion there were no more animal sacrifices that would gain forgiveness for forgivable sins. The last "national" sin was the murder of their Messiah.

* * *

THE DAVIDIC COVENANT

To complicate the matter of Old Testament salvation there is one glaring exception to all the rules. David and his children are given a special dispensation by God. We call this Davidic Covenant : "the sure mercies of David." Nathan first explained it to David in II Samuel 7:12-16. The first part of this covenant promised that God would establish David’s kingdom forever and that there would always be a king from his line for the throne. The last king, of course, will be the Lord Jesus Christ, who will return soon to finally sit on the throne of David.

The second part of the covenant is a "type" of Church Age eternal security. One dictionary defines "mercy" as "the act or instance of forgiving." Neither David nor any of his children could lose their individual salvation because of this promise. The covenant is best explained in Psalm 89.

 

• Psalm 89:3

  I have made a covenant with my chosen, I have sworn unto David my servant,
  4 Thy seed will I establish for ever, and build up thy throne to all generations. Selah.
  26 He shall cry unto me, Thou art my father, my God, and the rock of my salvation.
  28 My mercy will I keep for him for evermore, and my covenant shall stand fast with him.
  29 His seed also will I make to endure for ever, and his throne as the days of heaven.
  30 If his children forsake my law, and walk not in my judgments;
  31 If they break my statutes, and keep not my commandments;
  32 Then will I visit their transgression with the rod, and their iniquity with stripes.
  33 Nevertheless my lovingkindness will I not utterly take from him, nor suffer my faithfulness to fail.
  34 My covenant will I not break, nor alter the thing that is gone out of my lips.
  35 Once have I sworn by my holiness that I will not lie unto David.

This promise of individual eternal security is a type of the eternal security that a Church Age believer has today. According to Paul’s doctrine a Christian who sins will be chastised by the Lord but can never lose his salvation. David and his offspring also have this promise under the Mosaic Law. But they were only a few who were given this promise compared to all the individuals of the nation.

David himself, as an adulterer and murderer, benefits from this special covenant. Under the law either of these sins demanded death as David surely knew. He knew that the Law provided no animal sacrifices that would gain him forgiveness.

 

• Psalm 51:16

  For thou desirest not sacrifice; else would I give it: thou delightest not in burnt offering.

That was why David feared losing God’s Spirit. God would have taken the Spirit from him permanently for those offenses, had it not been for the covenant. He felt so guilty after Nathan had confronted him about Bathsheba and the murder of Uriah that he doubted God’s promise of "sure mercies" and he asked God not to cast him out or take the Holy Spirit from him.

 

• Psalm 51:11

  Cast me not away from thy presence; and take not thy holy spirit from me.

But God does not lie. David received his "sure mercies" and was forgiven.

 

• II Samuel 12:13

  And David said unto Nathan, I have sinned against the LORD. And Nathan said unto David, The LORD also hath put away thy sin; thou shalt not die.

Notice how Nathan stated that the penalty for David’s sins was death.

Another example of God keeping his covenant with David’s offspring is found in II Chronicles.

 

• II Chronicles 21:5

  Jehoram was thirty and two years old when he began to reign, and he reigned eight years in Jerusalem.
  6 And he walked in the way of the kings of Israel, like as did the house of Ahab: for he had the daughter of Ahab to wife: and he wrought that which was evil in the eyes of the LORD.
  7 Howbeit the LORD would not destroy the house of David, because of the covenant that he had made with David, and as he promised to give a light to him and to his sons for ever.

The Lord punished the entire nation for the wickedness of its king. That may seem unfair to us, but remember that each individual was responsible for his own eternal destiny. Many individuals died because of the king’s wickedness, but that was physical death only. The final abode of the soul always rested in the hands of the individual.

This, of course, is also true for salvation today. David’s sure mercies" are now available to us in the Lord Jesus Christ. It was even prophesied in the Old Testament.

 

• Isaiah 55:3

  Incline your ear, and come unto me: hear, and your soul shall live; and I will make an everlasting covenant with you, even the sure mercies of David.

 

• Acts 13:33

  God hath fulfilled the same unto us their children, in that he hath raised up Jesus again; as it is also written in the second psalm, Thou art my Son, this day have I begotten thee.
  34 And as concerning that he raised him up from the dead, now no more to return to corruption, he said on this wise, I will give you the sure mercies of David.

Samuel’s parting words to David show another parallet to Church Age Christianity.

 

• II Samuel 12:14

  Howbeit, because by this deed thou hast given great occasion to the enemies of the LORD to blaspheme, the child also that is born unto thee shall surely die.

A sinning Christian gives the lost world an opportunity to disparage Christ and his believers, and he will also reap what he sows.

CONCLUSION

Individual salvation under Old Testament Mosaic law was earned by obeying the commandments and offering the appropriate sacrifices. When that was done an individual was "saved." If that same individual failed to obey a commandment and/or offer the appropriate sacrifice that individual lost his salvation. He could, however, get right with God at a later time and regain God’s favor with obedience and restitution. If an individual committed an unforgivable sin he had no recourse. There was no avenue of forgiveness and he went to hell.