Mosaic Covenant
Ratified through Blood
Revealed “God of the Covenant”
Revelation Given on Mount Sinai
DBF Sunday Sermon, 1/18/03, Exodus 24
You know that not that long ago it could be heard and many really believed that a “mans word was his bond”.
When two men came to an agreement on something then it was taken and acted upon.
I haven’t heard that term used very much since I left Louisiana as an eighteen year old boy, and I’m not sure if it is being used there now.
I do know that on a daily basis one can read in almost any national paper were people are suing one another for breaches in agreements, including Louisiana.
COVENANT
In modern times we define a host of relations by contracts. These are usually for goods or services and for hard cash. The contract, formal or informal, helps to specify failure in these relationships. The Lord did not establish a contract with Israel or with the church. He created a covenant. There is a difference. Contacts are broken when one of the parties fails to keep his promise. If, let us say, a patient fails to keep an appointment with a doctor, the doctor is not obligated to call the house and inquire, "Where were you? Why didn’t you show up for your appointment?" He simply goes on to his next patient and has his appointment secretary take note of the patient who failed to keep the appointment. The patient may find it harder the next time to see the doctor. He broke an informal contract.
According to the Bible, however, the Lord asks: "Can a mother forget the baby at her breast and have no compassion on the child she has borne? Though she may forget, I will not forget you!" (Isaiah 49:15)
The Bible indicates the covenant is more like the ties of a parent to her child than it is a doctor’s appointment. If a child fails to show up for dinner, the parent’s obligation, unlike the doctor’s, isn’t canceled. The parent finds out where the child is and makes sure he’s cared for. One member’s failure does not destroy the relationship. A covenant puts no conditions on faithfulness. It is the unconditional commitment to love and serve. Bruce Shelley.
This has been God’s way since the Adamic Covenant, through the Abrahamic Covenant, the Noahic Covenant and in every Covenant HE has made with us.
Let us look at what is required to ratify or complete the Covenant, the God of the Covenant, and the Revelation location as presented in Exodus Chapter 24.
Ratified through Blood
Exodus 24:1-8 (KJV)
And he said unto Moses, Come up unto the Lord, thou, and Aaron, Nadab, and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel; and worship ye afar off. [2] And Moses alone shall come near the Lord: but they shall not come nigh; neither shall the people go up with him.
[3] And Moses came and told the people all the words of the Lord, and all the judgments: and all the people answered with one voice, and said, All the words which the Lord hath said will we do. [4] And Moses wrote all the words of the Lord, and rose up early in the morning, and builded an altar under the hill, and twelve pillars, according to the twelve tribes of Israel. [5] And he sent young men of the children of Israel, which offered burnt offerings, and sacrificed peace offerings of oxen unto the Lord. [6] And Moses took half of the blood, and put it in basons; and half of the blood he sprinkled on the altar. [7] And he took the book of the covenant, and read in the audience of the people: and they said, All that the Lord hath said will we do, and be obedient. [8] And Moses took the blood, and sprinkled it on the people, and said, Behold the blood of the covenant, which the Lord hath made with you concerning all these words.
And he said unto Moses, Come up unto the Lord, thou, and Aaron, Nadab, and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel; and worship ye afar off. [2] And Moses alone shall come near the Lord: but they shall not come nigh; neither shall the people go up with him…Moses is told how to draw nigh to God, do you follow when told to do so also?
Hebrews 7:19 (KJV)
For the law made nothing perfect, but the bringing in of a better hope did; by the which we draw nigh unto God.
Hebrews 10:22 (KJV)
Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water.
What a blessed invitation is given to Moses, Aaron, Nadab, Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel this day. We on the other hand are given this option daily and continually, do you take it or do you take it for granted.
That seventy is one of God’s chosen numbers is seen in the following ways:
weeks, years, persons, and things
Seventy Elders Appointed…Numbers 11:16
Seventy Years Of Captivity…Jeremiah 25:11
Seventy Weeks Referred To By Daniel…Daniel 9:24
Seventy Times Of Forgiveness…Matthew 18:22
Seventy Disciples Sent Forth…Luke 10:1.
Then God makes a distinction by stating that Moses alone will come near the Lord. This was a special privilege afforded to very few people prior to the “Good News” brought by Jesus Christ. Moses will be given the laws concerning the nation of Israel’s contact with God shortly, Jesus’ death brought about a rending or ripping of the Curtain that separated the “Holy of Holies” from the world and maintained the separation between man and God. Through Jesus’ precious blood, all who have called upon HIS blessed name or able to come directly into the presence of and experience God in their lives and walk daily with God.
Do you truly take advantage of this “GREAT” blessing that you are afforded daily and continually?
[3] And Moses came and told the people all the words of the Lord, and all the judgments: and all the people answered with one voice, and said, All the words which the Lord hath said will we do. [4] And Moses wrote all the words of the Lord, and rose up early in the morning, and builded an altar under the hill, and twelve pillars, according to the twelve tribes of Israel. [5] And he sent young men of the children of Israel, which offered burnt offerings, and sacrificed peace offerings of oxen unto the Lord. [6] And Moses took half of the blood, and put it in basons; and half of the blood he sprinkled on the altar. [7] And he took the book of the covenant, and read in the audience of the people: and they said, All that the Lord hath said will we do, and be obedient. [8] And Moses took the blood, and sprinkled it on the people, and said, Behold the blood of the covenant, which the Lord hath made with you concerning all these words.
Those who have heard, have a responsibility to teach what we have learned. If we do not, how will others around us know?
What are we to teach? All the words of the Lord...Nothing more, nothing less.
Moses next builds an alter that includes a reference to the twelve tribes of Israel.
Do we remember that we are more than a single Christian, a single Church, a single Religious denomination, all together comprising the Church of Christ the very “Bride” of Christ?
Then Moses takes blood and sprinkles half of the blood on the alter and the other half in basins he sprinkles on the people after reading the word of the Lord and the people stating they would follow the covenant.
Wow, All that the Lord said will we do…of course we know the rest of the story…or we are working on knowing the rest of the story…they failed just as we occasionally fail. Just as they were washed in the blood of animals we are washed in the blood of the only perfect sacrifice, one that is perfect in all ways, the blood of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, this is what allows us to continue our sanctification process of becoming more and more Christ like in our daily walk…Amen.
Behold, it is the blood that ratified the covenants from the beginning of time, and the perfect sacrifice has been given and keeps giving of it’s perfection if you choose to draw near.
Revealed “God of the Covenant”
Exodus 24:9-11 (KJV)
Then went up Moses, and Aaron, Nadab, and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel: [10] And they saw the God of Israel: and there was under his feet as it were a paved work of a sapphire stone, and as it were the body of heaven in his clearness. [11] And upon the nobles of the children of Israel he laid not his hand: also they saw God, and did eat and drink.
They saw the God of Israel “Oh my…what a sight to see…I can’t wait in glory to see.”a
The seventy elders, who were representatives of the whole congregation, were chosen to witness the manifestation of God, that they might be satisfied of the truth of the revelation which HE had made of himself and of HIS will; and on this occasion it was necessary that the people also should be favored with a sight of the glory of God; see Exodus 20:18. Thus the certainty of the revelation was established by many witnesses, and by those especially of the most competent kind.
A paved work of a sapphire stone—Or sapphire brick-work. Sapphire is a precious stone of a fine blue color, next in hardness to the diamond. The ruby is considered of the same genus; so the topaz: therefore we cannot say that the sapphire is only of a blue color; it is blue, red, or yellow, as it may be called sapphire, ruby, or topaz; and some of them are blue or green, according to the light in which they are held; and some white. If we suppose that these different kinds of sapphires are intended, how glorious must a pavement be, constituted of polished stones of this sort, perfectly transparent, with a heavenly splendor poured out upon them! The red, the blue, the green, and the yellow, arranged by the wisdom of God, into the most beautiful representations, and the whole body of heaven in its clearness shining upon them, must have made a glorious appearance.
And though the feet are here mentioned, this can only be understood of the sapphirine basis or pavement, on which this celestial and indescribable glory of the Lord appeared. There is a similar description of the glory of the Lord in the Book of Revelation, Revelation 4:3: “And he who sat [upon the throne] was to look upon like a jasper and a sardine stone; and there was a rainbow round about the throne, in sight like unto an emerald.” In neither of these appearances was there any similitude or likeness of any thing in heaven, earth, or sea. Thus God took care to preserve them from all incentives to idolatry, while he gave them the fullest proofs of his being. (Adam Clarke Commentary)
Upon the nobles of—Israel he laid not his hand—This laying on of the hand has been variously explained.
1. He did not conceal himself from the nobles of Israel by covering them with his hand, as he did Moses, Exodus 33:22.
2. He did not endue any of the nobles, i.e., the seventy elders, with the gift of prophecy; for so laying on of the hand has been understood.
3. He did not slay any of them; none of them received any injury; which is certainly one meaning of the phrase: see Nehemiah 13:21; Psalm 55:20. Also they saw God, i.e., although they had this discovery of his majesty, yet they did eat and drink, i.e., were preserved alive and unhurt.
Perhaps the eating and drinking here may refer to the peace-offerings on which they feasted, and the libations that were then offered on the ratification of the covenant. But they rejoiced the more because they had been so highly favored, and were still permitted to live; for it was generally apprehended that God never showed his glory in this signal manner but for the purpose of manifesting his justice; and therefore it appeared a strange thing that these should have seen God as it were face to face, and yet live.
It was a mystery to them, and what a mystery we are blessed with daily when we walk in a manner that is pleasing to God, that HE might open up all things to us that we might see HIS mighty hand at work around us…Amen.
Do you know and recognize the God of our Covenant this day?
Revelation Given on Mount Sinai
Exodus 24:12-18 (KJV)
And the Lord said unto Moses, Come up to me into the mount, and be there: and I will give thee tables of stone, and a law, and commandments which I have written; that thou mayest teach them. [13] And Moses rose up, and his minister Joshua: and Moses went up into the mount of God. [14] And he said unto the elders, Tarry ye here for us, until we come again unto you: and, behold, Aaron and Hur are with you: if any man have any matters to do, let him come unto them. [15] And Moses went up into the mount, and a cloud covered the mount. [16] And the glory of the Lord abode upon mount Sinai, and the cloud covered it six days: and the seventh day he called unto Moses out of the midst of the cloud. [17] And the sight of the glory of the Lord was like devouring fire on the top of the mount in the eyes of the children of Israel. [18] And Moses went into the midst of the cloud, and gat him up into the mount: and Moses was in the mount forty days and forty nights.
Yes, God called Moses to HIMSELF alone. God also calls each and every one of us to HIM alone. HE says “Be ye holy for I the LORD your God am Holy.”
Are you living a life that shows your separation unto God in a manner that would bring glory and honor to God?
Are you teaching the things that God has revealed to you? If not how will they know?
When God calls you do you do as Moses and “Go”?
It had to be scary, Moses had to wonder, and may have had some apprehension, yet when God called Moses went. This I feel is something that is sadly lacking in our Churches today. We have been so secularly influenced that even pastors respond more often to their benefits than to the “call” given in their lives.
It amazes me that so many churches are unmanned, while so many others have two and three pastors. Are the benefits that great? If they aren’t God’s benefits, what good will they amount too?
Then Moses tells the elders to tarry there until they return. We know that this didn’t happen because God sends Moses down to deal with an emergency, one of disbelief and deception so close to the very presence of God.
Isn’t it amazing that so many people who come into the very presence of God could be led astray so quickly. We studied Friday night about the testing of God. Unlike the tests we are used to in this world that we take and never think twice about after we have passed them, God’s tests, God’s refinement are ongoing making us in HIS eyes like the sapphires and rubies…a very precious sight to HIM.
Are you ready to be tested and tried in the sanctification process of becoming more Christ like for God?
Maybe you feel that you are unworthy?
Maybe you feel that the things you have done would not allow you to draw near to our Heavenly Father?
Maybe your family is in turmoil?
Maybe your children are running amuck?
God is able to bring HIS grace in each and every one of these situations if you will only turn to HIM.
How can I do this you ask?
We must start by admitting to God that we are a sinner.
9What then? Are we better than they? No, in no wise: for we have before proved both Jews and Gentiles, that they are all under sin; 10As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one:
Once we admit to God that we are a sinner we should believe that Jesus is God’s only son and ask HIM into our hearts.
John 3:
15That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life. 16For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
In so doing God calls us to turn from our evil ways, the way of our past and commit our lives to HIM to change us daily into someone who shares HIS character and HIS appearance—this can only be done by us giving our sinful tendencies and ourselves fully to HIM to change us…to make us a “New Creation” in HIM.
If you seek to come to God today, accept Christ or recommit your life to be fully under him, we ask you to come forward at this time.
We would also ask you to give us any prayer requests that you have at this time, so that we may be blessed to pray for you and to seek God’s good and perfect will in your life as you continue to strive for the light in Christ Jesus, Our Lord.
Closing Prayer.
