EXODUS 24 Lesson # 21
Commitment Before Almighty God
I. Greetings:
II. Introduction:
Q In your estimation what is the key part of a wedding ceremony?
An = Let them answer with anything. However, eventually they should see that the saying of “I do” is very important.
Q What is the difference between a marriage relationship and dating or casual relationship?
An = It begins a committed, permanent relationship.
Q What would a ceremony look like if we got married to God?
Q What would be a key or necessary part of such a ceremony?
An = Would there not need to be “vows” or a public saying of “I do”?
Q How do you say “I do” to God?
An = Romans 10:9, Matthew 10:32-33.
Note: What chapter 24 is going to do is show us Israel getting formally married to the Lord.
III. The Ceremony: The Word, Blood, and Communion. Exodus 24:1-11.
A. The Call to Come Higher. Exodus 24:1-2
>>>> Have someone read Exodus 24:1-2.
Q Where is Moses called to “come up to”?
An = The call is to Moses is to “come up” to the Lord. God calls leadership to step up, to move up higher and to bring the eldership with them. God call leadership in the church to “come up” to Him, and we are to bring the other leaders of a group “up” with us.
Q If we as leaders draw closer, will our relationship with God will become flippant or familiar?
An = God will not be familiar, He is still to be worshipped at a distance. This aspect of the fear of God is essential for the leadership to have.
Q Who was to go even further, even nearer?
An = Often key leaders want their organizations or their influence to grow. However, God wishes for His key leaders to draw nearer to Him if he is to properly instruct God’s people. Before Moses goes up though, he does something with the people.
Note: God calls His leaders especially near to Him, but He never leaves His people out, (perhaps because they are the reason we are called near in the first place).
B. The Covenant Ceremony with the People. Exodus 24:3-8.
>>>> Have someone read Exodus 24:3.
Q What is the first thing Moses does with the people in verse 3?
An = He reads the Words of the Lord to the people. He reads Exodus 20-23 and reminds the people of what is involved with getting into relationship to God. In other words, Moses reads them the fine, small print of the contract. God does not have hidden agendas. He will tell the truth to you.
Q What are the people saying in verse 3?
An = They are saying “I do”. Notice the people pledge themselves knowingly to the contract. That is why in a human marriage the pastor or priest reads the obligations and duties of marriage and what it entails before the bride and groom say “I do”.
>>>> Have someone read Exodus 24:4
Q What does Moses do here?
An = He does two things: first he writes down the Words of the Lord and then prepares for a sacrifice, a ceremony. The altar represents God and the twelve pillars represent Israel. Then He makes an extensive sacrifice.
>>>> Have someone read Exodus 24:5-7.
Q What does Moses do with half of the blood he collects?
An = With half of the blood Moses sprinkles the altar. This is very significant! We will return to this later.
Q What does Moses read for the second time?
An = Moses again reads the Words of the Covenant or the promises and obligations of the Agreement.
Q What do the people do for the second time in 24:7?
An = Again the people swear allegiance to the Words of the Lord (24:3, 7). See also, 19:8. >> Have someone read Exodus 19:8.
>>>> Have someone read Exodus 24:8.
Q Where does the second half of the blood go according to verse 8?
An = It goes on the people. Moses calls it the “blood of the covenant”. It seals an agreement for that is what a covenant is: an agreement. Two things result from this:
1) The people are washed clean from their sins. Blood atones for sin. Turn with me to Hebrews 9:18. >>>> Have someone read Hebrews 9:18-22. You Re-read 9:22.
Q What does this remind you of?
An = It is the shed blood of Jesus Christ shed for us for our sins. When God accepts us into His covenant we do not earn it we chose it and receive forgiveness of sin.
2) The blood also makes very solemn their vows to obey His Word. He has showed us what He wants of us and then we are to swear to keep His Words. Our vows are sealed in His blood. Our obligations to Christ are not to be taken lightly, they are confirmed in Christ’s blood.
Q Is this too harsh? Do we have to be so scary about “obeying” God and His Word? Is it not true that God just loves us?
An = Perhaps it would help you to understand this if we return to our dominant metaphor of marriage between a man and a women. What if after the ceremony one of the partners said, well: “that was fun, what a great ceremony, you looked great dear and the food and the presents were great, but I have to go now I have a date with my boyfriend or mistress.”
Q What would be wrong with that picture?
Q Are they really married in the true sense or did they really understand commitment?
Q Do not some people say: “No I am saved by grace but there are no obligations on my part? I can treat God’s Word anyway I please?”
Q Must there be serious commitment on both sides for a relationship to be valid?
An = Certainly this is true in marriage. In our relationship to God He certainly is committed and He desires that of us, on our part, as well.
Q The bonding has taken place, the people to God, but who else has bound Himself?
An = God has bond Himself to Israel.
>>>> Have someone read Exodus 24:9-10.
Q What did the elders see?
An = They saw God (this is said twice in 24:10 and 11), but this description of what they saw is interesting. Their description is dominated by vagueness. They only describe the platform under His feet and it only “like” a pavement made of sapphire”. All descriptions of God in the Old Testament partake of this vagueness. What men are allowed to see is always limited, or as Matthew Henry tells us, our descriptions of God are all from below Him and never adequate (Henry, p. 99).
>>>> Have someone read Exodus 24:11
Q What did not happen?
An = They do not die.
Q When you read this what do you think about “not dying”?
Q What did they do at the end of verse 11?
An = They have drawn near to God, and they ate a meal with God. They eat and drink in the very presence of God. In other words, they take communion. To be sure it is dangerous, but true communion with God always is….
Note: By the way the people had communion too, in that they ate peace offerings and peace offering are much like our communion as well. It was not just the leaders who communed with God.
IV. Going Further Up and Nearer. Exodus 24:12-18.
Note: Verses 9-11 were to compliance of God’s call in 24:1-2. Now God calls again.
>>>> Have someone read Exodus 24:12-14.
Q Who does Moses take with him?
An = Joshua.
Q What is the purpose of going “further up”?
An = To hear from the Lord, to get instructions for the benefit of the people.
Q Why does Moses leave Aaron and Hur in the camp?
An = Moses sets up how to deal with legal decisions in his absence. Moses wants to provide order and justice in his absence.
>>>> Have someone read Exodus 24:15-18.
Q How do the people see the Mt?
An = They see the mountain as topped with consuming fire. The Bible constantly tells us that God desires fellowship with Him but it also constantly reminds who it is that we are communing with: the Almighty, the uncontestable, unmitigated source of all power, the Lord of all the Earth, the Lord of Glory.
Q How long did Moses have to wait for going up further?
An = Six days.
Q What does that mean?
An = If you are in a leadership position at times you will have to tarry in prayer. You will have to wait. If, as a parent, which is an ordained leadership position from God, you seek to draw closer to God, you will have to wait, at times, before the communication begins. If we will wait then He will call us higher.
V. Application:
Note: If you are discouraged today and you are a serious Christian, let me encourage you with two thoughts from our chapter.
A. First concerns the opening and closing. God has called the leaders “to come up to Himself”. God would like to reveal more of Himself and therefore to His people through the leaders. God may be wanting to give our leaders even more and therefore give, in a richer way, to His people.
Q How do leaders do that?
An = In some ways that is something that only you can answer. To me that would mean different things at different times. For me right now it means to take more time to read the Bible alone and pray for those I love at longer stretches of time.
B. Second, If you are discouraged, let me remind you of what it means to be in covenant with the Lord of Glory. We are bound to Him and we are the Lord’s consecrated ones, we are washed from our sins by His blood, and we have committed ourselves to obeying Him.
In addition, we need to realize that the Lord of Glory is bound to us. We are the apple of His eye. He has plans for us. Let me remind you that part of what Moses read to the Israelites was more than mere rules and obligations for their actions, it also contained promises:
>>>> Read Exodus 23:20-22.
Note: He will be with us to guide us, to fight for us, even when we do not feel anything, and we feel discouraged and defeated.
>>>> Read Isaiah 43:1-3