PASTOR DELE OLUBI
In our continuation of our discourse on the Priesthood, we will recall that the stones on which God wrote the Ten Commandments was also called the Testimony:
And thou shalt put the mercy seat above upon the ark; and in the ark thou shalt put the testimony that I shall give thee. And there I will meet with thee, and I will commune with thee from above the mercy seat, from between the two cherubims which are upon the ark of the testimony, of all things which I will give thee in commandment unto the children of Israel.
[biblegateway passage=”Exodus 25:21-22″ display=”Exodus 25:21-22″]
And we see David speaking about keeping the testimony from His mouth ([biblegateway passage=”Psalm 119:88″ display=”Psalm 119:88″]).
The word testament is synonym to a Will. A Will is written when the testator is alive and until the testator is dead the Will does not come into effect.
A testimony is therefore an evidence, record or a token that backs up a fact or an event. It is an assertion offering firsthand authentication of a fact.
[biblegateway passage=”Exodus 16:34″ display=”Exodus 16:34″]
When God had a covenant with the children of Israel, he backed it up with a testimony.
God who does not need anyone to exist, wants to reveal to man His eternal nature. Creation is a type of testimony to his eternal power but there are things within God that only Himself can reveal. Such things have not come into the heart of any man. So God testifies about Himself. God’s testimony is supposed to become your testimony as we progress in our faith walk in this life.
The testimony of natural man cannot define God. There are natural testimonies that men have about God but those testimonies cannot transcend this age. These testimonies include our various experiences that we have as we go through life’s challenges. They cannot endure beyond this life.
[biblegateway passage=”Romans 1:20″ display=”Romans 1:20″]; [biblegateway passage=”1 Peter 1:4-18″ display=”1 Peter 1:4-18″]
God was not dealing with Israel as He did with other nations. God had to give Israel a higher testimony about Himself. It was the fulcrum for every activity that took place in the wilderness. Nothing was done outside of that testimony. God was using their experiences to reinforce His testimony among them.
[biblegateway passage=”Exodus 19:16-25″ display=”Exodus 19:16-25″]; [biblegateway passage=”Exodus 24:3-12″ display=”Exodus 24:3-12″];
God is precise and consistent and when God wanted to reveal himself to the children of Israel, He came in a set of instructions, written in stones. The stones wrought mysteriously things among the people.
No wonder Jordan had to skip at the appearance of those stones. God chose to write on stones and not on paper and He wrote on it with His finger. The testament regulated everything on earth, especially the way Israel lived their lives. The testament was very powerful that no one could fight it.
[biblegateway passage=”Exodus 31:18″ display=”Exodus 31:18″]; [biblegateway passage=”Exodus 32:15″ display=”Exodus 32:15″]; [biblegateway passage=”Exodus 40:21″ display=”Exodus 40:21″]; [biblegateway passage=”Hebrews 9:15″ display=”Hebrews 9:15″]; [biblegateway passage=”1 John 5:11″ display=”1 John 5:11″]
From the above scriptural references, we noted that the word testament is more of covenant. What God wanted to actually give to man was life but the sin in man got it corrupted. Those commandments are the way of life.
God is the one who supplies the energy to fulfill the law and the law of the Lord also includes that which the Holy Ghost reveals continuously to man as we keep walking by his leading.