The Covenant Confirmed

Story:  The Covenant Confirmed

Passage: Exodus 24

Characters:  God, Israel, Israel’s leaders

Summary:    God has Moses and Israel’s leaders come close to the mountain and He shows Himself to them.  Moses reads the law to the nation and they commit to follow it.  Moses goes up the mountain into the presence of God. 

  

Notes:  God requested that Moses, Aaron, Nadab, and Abihu along with seventy elders come up to the Lord to worship Him.  This is a pivotal moment in Israel’s history and God wanted to make His covenant with all the leadership of Israel.  These were to be the leaders of Israel over the coming years.  Before they approached the mountain, Moses read the law to the people of Israel.  The people answered in unity that they would do everything the Lord told them to do.  Moses wrote down the law and then set up an altar and twelve pillars.  This represented the twelve tribes of Israel under the leadership of God.  Moses had young men sacrifice oxen to the Lord and half of the blood was poured on the altar.  Blood is hugely significant in the covenant we make with God.  This is because blood represents life.  Our covenant with God is one of sacrificing our life and accepting His life.  Moses once again read the words of the law to the people of Israel and once again they promised to obey.  Moses threw the other half of the blood on the people and declared it the blood of the covenant the Lord made with Israel.  Then Moses and the leaders of Israel went up and saw God standing on a clear sapphire floor.  God spared them and let them see this vision of Him.  The passage says they beheld God, and ate and drank.  This was not a purely spiritual experience; there was a physical aspect to it as well.  Moses was summoned up the mountain by God to receive the stone tablets with the law.  Moses and Joshua approached the mountain.  Apparently, Joshua was allowed to accompany Moses.  This is rthe first we hear of Joshua in the Bible.  Joshua was not one of Israel’s leaders at this point, he was Moses’ assistant.  When Moses left, he put Aaron and Hur in charge.  I don’t know who Hur was, but obviously Moses respected his wisdom and leadership.  Moses entered the mountain and waited.  He waited six days and on the seventh day, God called Him into the cloud.  The glory of the Lord is described as a devouring fire on top of the mountain.  Moses was in the presence of God for forty days and nights. 

Questions:  What did Moses eat for forty days?  Did the people think he had died?  Why was Joshua allowed to accompany Moses?  Why did God require blood for the covenant?

Lessons:   This is a huge moment.  This is possibly Israel’s highest point.  They are given the law and they respond positively.  They make a covenant with God and their leaders see God.  This is a moment where God comes down to Earth and meets His bride, Israel.  His holiness and glory required that His primary interaction with Israel was through a priest.  Today, we have the Holy Spirit dwelling in us and sometimes this very personal connection to the God of the universe makes us forget that holiness and power and we take our relationship with God for granted.  We need to remember that God is holy and powerful and we are only able to connect with Him through the blood of the new covenant shed by the perfect Lamb of God.