Exodus 24:1-11 - The Prerequisite for Fellowship with God
Exodus 24:1-11 - The Prerequisite for Fellowship with God
Read Exodus 24:1-11.
Introduction⤒🔗
The Book of Exodus comes to a climax with the people of Israel gathered together in the presence of the LORD at the foot of Mt. Sinai, the mountain of God. The LORD has brought Israel out of Egypt in order to bring them to His holy mountain, intending for them to there enter into a covenant of peace and blessing with the LORD their God. As the LORD describes it through the prophet Jeremiah (Jer. 2:1-2), He wooed Israel out into the wilderness in order to make His proposal of covenantal commitment to her. In that passage of Jeremiah, the LORD reminds His people that out of love for Him, they willing accompanied Him into the wilderness of Sinai.
Now in Exodus 24, the people of God are made to understand the terms of the covenant that the LORD their God is graciously offering to them. (We shall also have to look into the New Testament in order to understand how those terms are realized and fulfilled.) Just as He has pledged Himself to be wholly committed to them, so they must be wholly committed to Him.
Here in Exodus 24, the LORD is teaching the people of Israel that the prerequisite for fellowship with Himself is the sacrifice of wholehearted devotion to Him. A sacrifice that He by His grace has provided for us in the person of His Son the Lord Jesus Christ and that He by His grace achieves within us by uniting us to Christ in His death and resurrection.
If you want to live in fellowship with God, you must recognize and accept the required sacrifice offered by Christ, trusting in His sacrificial death on your behalf and by faith being united to Him in His sacrificial death and in His resurrection life.
To Live in Fellowship with God, You Must Depend upon Christ’s Sacrificial Death←⤒🔗
As Exodus twenty-four opens, we find the LORD extending an invitation to the people of Israel to come into His presence for worship and fellowship. Moses, Aaron and seventy elders of Israel, (as the representatives of the whole nation), are invited to ascend the mountain of God to worship the LORD and be received by Him (Ex. 24:1). At the conclusion of this passage (Ex. 24:9-11), we find Moses, Aaron and the seventy elders actually coming into the presence of the LORD. They saw the God of Israel in His glory: under His feet there was bright sapphire and the very clearness of heaven itself. God did not lay His hand upon them; on the contrary, they beheld God and held fellowship with Him: the testimony that they are in covenantal fellowship with Him.
Between the opening of this passage, (with the divine invitation to approach God), and the conclusion, (where they actually experience life in covenantal fellowship with God), there is described for us the covenant that made this communion with God possible. The scenario of the covenant nation, in the person of their representatives, holding communion with God in His very presence suggests that the Mosaic Covenant was essentially a covenant of grace, for how could the covenant people attain the situation described in Exodus 24:9-11 by means of a covenant of works? But in order to either confirm or refute our initial thesis, we need to consider more carefully the events that composed the making of the covenant, especially the significance of the shed blood sprinkled upon the altar and upon the people.
Verse three of chapter twenty-four relates that Moses “came and told the people all the words of the LORD and all the ordinances.” Upon hearing the recitation of the words and ordinances of the LORD, which would be the content of Exodus 20:22-23:33, the people respond by declaring, “All the words that the LORD has spoken, we will do.” According to the O.T. commentators, C.F. Keil and Franz Delitzsch, this interaction between the LORD and His people constitutes the preparation for concluding the covenant.1 The people are expressing their desire and their willingness to be in covenant with the LORD.
Early the next morning, Moses built an altar at the base of the mountain, (i.e. in God’s presence), and twelve pillars, representing the twelve tribes of Israel (vs. 4b). He then instructed the young men, who had been previously chosen, to now offer burnt offerings and sacrifice peace offerings to the LORD (vs. 5). As we learn from the Book of Leviticus (1:2-17; 6:8-13), the burnt offering symbolized complete devotion and dedication to the LORD on the part of the worshiper. When David declares to Araunah, “...neither will I offer burnt offerings unto the LORD my God that cost me nothing” (2 Sam. 24:24), he is revealing a true understanding of the significance of the burnt offering: to offer burnt offerings that cost the worshiper nothing is an oxymoron. The burnt offering costs the worshiper everything, it is the testimony of his complete devotion to the LORD his God, which is the summary of the whole law: “You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your might” (Deut. 6:5).
Moses then took the blood of these sacrificed animals and sprinkled half of it on the altar (vs. 6). Thereupon, the people reaffirmed their acceptance of the covenant: “They responded, We will do all that the LORD has spoken; we will be obedient” (vs. 7b). Moses now took the rest of the blood and sprinkled it upon the people, declaring, “This is the blood of the covenant that the LORD has made with you in accordance with all these words” (vs. 7-8).
When we understand the significance of the sprinkling of the blood of the burnt offering, (first upon the altar and then upon the people), we come to see that the obligation of the covenant, consisting in the whole-hearted devotion of the people to the LORD their God, is fulfilled in the people’s giving up of themselves in confident surrender to the LORD their God by an act of faith.
The Old Testament commentators, Keil & Delitzsch, provide the best explanation of the meaning of the sprinkled blood. We quote them as follows:
The only reason for dividing the sacrificial blood into two parts was the fact that the blood sprinkled upon the altar could not be taken off again and sprinkled upon the people. The two halves of the blood are to be regarded as one blood: first sprinkled upon the altar, then sprinkled upon the people. In the blood sprinkled upon the altar, the natural life of the people is portrayed as being given up to God. Then, by means of the blood being sprinkled pon the people, what is being portrayed is that same life being restored to the people as a life renewed by the grace of God.2
Now we are in a position to understand the significance of the order of events as they occurred at the foot of Mt. Sinai. First, the people consent to accept the LORD’s terms of the covenant. But notice that they are not required to fulfill those terms in reliance upon their own strength. On the contrary, what immediate happens next is the sprinkling of the blood upon the altar. In light of Keil & Delitzsch’s interpretation, this is actually an act of faith whereby the people surrendered themselves in trust to the LORD their God. The repeating of the same words (vs. 7), preceding the sprinkling of the blood upon the people, as previously spoken (vs. 3), accompanying the sprinkling of the blood upon the altar, indicates that the two events are to be seen as actually constituting one event in two parts: the surrendering of the life unto the LORD and the receiving of it back as a life spiritually renewed by God.
In New Testament terms, what is being portrayed at Mt. Sinai is the believer’s union with Christ in His death, (depicted by the blood sprinkled upon the altar), and in His resurrection life, (depicted by the remainder of the blood sprinkled upon the people). Hence, the second affirmation, (the words recorded in vs. 7), should be seen as portraying the peoples’ intention of offering unto the LORD the life of obedience as a new creation, which is signified by the sprinkling of the blood upon the people, which, in turn, typologically portrays the believer’s renewal by virtue of his union with Christ in His resurrection life (Rom. 6:4), a life lived unto God (Rom. 6:10-11).
We must appreciate the fact that the Mosaic Covenant (as it is called) made at Mt. Sinai was a provisional covenant. That is to say, it was not a final end in itself for the people of God; rather, it pointed forward to the ultimate fulfillment of the covenant of grace accomplished by the redeeming work of Jesus the Messiah. Because the Mosaic Covenant was provisional, it could not provide what it depicted, namely, the complete surrender of one’s life unto the LORD, with the consequent result of receiving new spiritual life from the LORD.
So, it should not be surprising that in Exodus 32 we read of Israel’s breaking of the covenant by their making the golden calf and worshiping it as a substitute for the LORD Himself. As a result of their breaking the covenant, we read of the LORD renouncing Israel,
7The LORD said to Moses, Go down, because your people, whom you brought up out of the land of Egypt, have corrupted themselves. 8They have been quick to depart from the way I commanded them... 9The LORD said to Moses, I have observed these people, they are an obstinate people. 10Now, therefore, leave me alone so that my anger may burn hot against them and that I may consume them. Then I will make you into a great nation. Ex. 32:7-10
Such would have been the tragic state of affairs had it not been for Moses’ intercession:
11But Moses earnestly implored the LORD his God, saying, LORD, why does your anger burn hot against your people, whom you brought up out of Egypt with great power and a mighty hand?... 12Turn from your fierce anger and do not bring disaster upon your people. 13Remember Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, your servants, to whom you swore by your own self, and said to them, ‘I will multiply your descendants like the stars of the heavens, and all this land of which I have spoken I will give to your descendants, and they shall inherit it forever. 14So the LORD relented and did not bring upon his people the disaster he had threatened. Ex. 32:11-14
30The next day Moses said to the people, You have committed a great sin. But now I will go up to the LORD; perhaps I can make atonement for your sin. 31So Moses went back to the LORD and said, Oh, what a great sin these people have committed! They have made themselves gods of gold. 32But now, please forgive their sin, but if not, then blot me out of the book you have written. Ex. 32:30-32
The LORD spared the people—by Moses’ act of intercession—and in the course of time promised to establish a new covenant with them:
31The time is coming, declares the LORD, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah. 32It will not be like the covenant I made with their forefathers when I took them by the hand to lead them out of Egypt; because they broke my covenant, though I was a husband to them, declares the LORD. 33This is the covenant I will make with the house of Israel after that time, declares the LORD. I will put my law in their minds and write it on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people. 34No longer will a man teach his neighbor, or a man his brother, saying, ‘Know the LORD,’ because they will all know me, from the least of them to the greatest, declares the LORD, for I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more. Jer. 31:31-34
The New Covenant (foretold in Jeremiah 31) does not replace the Mt. Sinai covenant as something of an altogether different nature. On the contrary, the New Covenant replaced the Mt. Sinai Covenant in the sense that the Sinai Covenant was provisional and the New Covenant contains the promised substance and fulfillment of the Sinai covenant.
At the time He instituted the Lord’s Supper, Jesus distributed the cup of wine and spoke these words, “This is my blood of the covenant, that is poured out for many’” (Mk. 14:24).
Jesus’ shed blood was fulfilling the demands of the old covenant. He offered His blood (His life) unto God the Father as a sacrifice of complete obedience, (which was the requirement of the covenant). At the same time, He offered His blood unto God as a sacrifice of atonement, bearing the punishment of disobedience that His people deserved. As was foretold by the prophet Isaiah:
5...he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment was laid upon him for our peace, and by his wounds we are healed. 6We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; but the LORD has laid upon him the iniquity of us all. Isa. 53:5-6
Jesus’ shed blood not only fulfilled the requirements of the old covenant, it was at the same time establishing the new covenant that had been foretold by the prophet Jeremiah. Referring to the night Christ instituted the Lord’s Supper, the Apostle Paul writes, “After supper [Jesus offered] the cup, saying, ‘This cup is the new covenant in my blood. When ever you drink it, do this in memory of me’” (1 Cor. 11:25).
The new covenant, just like the old, requires the shedding of blood: representing the offering up of the life unto God in devotion and commitment to Him. The Lord Jesus Christ is the one true “burnt offering” of which all the Old Testament burnt offerings were representative. He is the One who is wholly devoted unto God with a life of active obedience and a death of passive obedience to the Father’s will. At the same time, the Lord Jesus Christ is the one true sin offering: Christ’s death on the cross is the one and only payment for sin acceptable to God.
To live in fellowship with God, you must depend on Christ’s sacrificial death; which death fulfilled and fulfills the demands of the covenant.
To Live in Fellowship with God, You Must Be Joined to Christ in His Sacrificial Death←⤒🔗
In the old covenant ratified at Mr. Sinai, the people of Israel had provisionally surrendered their lives unto the LORD, (as symbolized by the sprinkling of the blood upon the altar). The New Testament informs us that what was provisionally accomplished by means of the Old Testament sacrifices is ultimately accomplished by means of the death and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ and the believer’s union with Christ in His death and resurrection:
20I have been crucified with Christ: it is no longer I who live, but Christ living in me; and the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God who loved me and gave himself for me. Gal. 2:20
As Galatians 2:20 indicates, truly depending upon Christ’s sacrificial death also involves being spiritually joined to Christ in His death (and subsequent resurrection), which are in fact two inseparable dimensions of one great spiritual experience; namely, true saving faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.
To live in fellowship with God, you must join Christ in His sacrificial death. By way of illustration: Suppose you live on the tenth floor of a high-rise apartment building. One day there is a fire in your apartment. The fireman climbs up the extension ladder and reaches the balcony of your apartment. On your behalf, he enters the apartment to rescue your possessions. You passively trust him to do so. Then he takes you personally into his arms and carries you down the ladder to safety, now you are exercising an active faith by entrusting yourself to the care of the fireman. You both trust the fireman to rescue your possessions and entrust yourself to him to rescue you.
Likewise, true saving faith in the Lord Jesus Christ involves these two inseparable dimensions: 1) passively trusting in Christ and the payment He made for your sins upon the cross of Calvary, and 2) actively entrusting yourself to Him, so that by virtue of your spiritual participation in His death and resurrection your old sinful nature may be put to death and you may be raised to new life, sharing in the resurrection life of the Lord Jesus Christ.
When you put your faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, trusting in Him and His substitutionary atonement and entrusting yourself completely to Christ alone for salvation, you discover not only that He died in your place at Calvary, but that He has received your very soul into His death and resurrection life.
Conclusion←⤒🔗
At the foot of Mt. Sinai, the LORD made it emphatically clear to the people of Israel that the prerequisite for fellowship with Him is nothing less than the offering up of unreserved devotion to Him: the offering up of our life and soul to Him.
But it is impossible for us to make that necessary sacrifice by ourselves: it can only happen by virtue of the sacrifice of Christ. If you want to live in fellowship with God, you must recognize and accept the required sacrifice offered by Christ: ever depending on His sacrificial death and once-for-all being joined with Him in His sacrificial death, and, subsequently, partaking with Him in His resurrection life.
Don’t try to make that sacrifice by yourself, (seeking by your own efforts to put your own sinful will to death and live a life that is perfectly devoted to God). But don’t shrink back from that required sacrifice, (by seeking to withhold yourself and your will from Christ). Look to Christ in true faith: trusting in His sacrificial death on your behalf for the forgiveness of your sins, and at the same time entrusting yourself into His hands to become spiritually joined to Him in His death and resurrection life, a life with a new orientation, one that is devoted unto God.
Note: For a fuller discussion of the Mosaic Covenant and the way it is handled by the Apostle Paul in the New Testament, the reader is referred to the Appendix that accompanies this present Bible study.
Discussion Questions←⤒🔗
1. What invitation does the LORD extend to Moses and the representatives of the people of Israel? See Ex. 24:1 What scene is described in Exodus 24:9-11? As a Christian, this scene is a prophetic foretaste of what blessing you are yet to experience in its full measure? See Rev. 22:3-4.
1Then he said to Moses, Come up to the LORD—you and Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, and seventy elders of Israel—and worship at a distance. Ex. 24:1
9Then Moses and Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, and seventy elders of Israel went up [the mountain], 10and they saw the God of Israel. Under his feet there was something like a pavement made of sapphire stones, as clear as the sky. 11He did not lay his hand upon the leaders of the children of Israel; they saw God, and they ate and drank [before him]. Ex. 24:9-11
3There shall no longer be any curse. The throne of God and of the Lamb shall be there, and his servants shall serve him. 4They shall see his face, and his name [shall be written] on their foreheads. Rev. 22:3-4
2. Between the invitation extended to Moses and the elders (Ex. 24:1) and the fellowship described in Exodus 24:9-11, the people enter into a covenant with the LORD. What sacrifice are they required to offer (see Ex. 24:5), and what is the significance of this particular offering? Note Lev. 1:9b; note, also, Deut. 6:5 As Christians, is this not what the Lord requires of us? Note 2 Cor. 5:15.
5Then [Moses] sent young Israelite men who offered burnt offerings and sacrificed bulls as peace offerings to the LORD. Ex. 24:5
9b...the priest shall burn all of it on the altar, as a burnt offering, an offering made by fire, of a sweet savor unto the LORD. Lev. 1:9b
5You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your might. Deut. 6:5
15...[Christ] died for all, so that they that live should no longer live unto themselves, but unto him who died for their sakes and rose again. 2 Cor. 5:15
3. What does Moses do with half of the shed blood of the burnt offering? See Ex. 24:6 What does this represent? See 1 Cor. 6:19b-20; note, also, Gal. 2:20 Is this true of you, have you given your life to Christ?
6Moses took half of the blood and put it into bowls, and the other half he sprinkled on the altar. Ex. 24 :6
19You do not belong to yourself; 20you were bought with a price. Therefore, glorify God with your body. 1 Cor. 6:19-20
20I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ living in me; and the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God who loved me and gave himself for me. Gal. 2:20
4. What does Moses then do with the remaining half of the blood? See Ex. 24:8 What does this represent? See Ezek. 36:26; also note 2 Cor. 5:17 Is this true of you, have you received new spiritual from God in Christ?
8Moses took the blood, sprinkled it on the people, and said, “This is the blood of the covenant that the LORD has made with you...Ex. 24:8
26I will also give you a new heart, and I will put within you a new spirit; and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you a heart of flesh. Ezek. 36:26
17...if any man is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old things are passed away; behold, they have become new.2 Cor. 5:17
5. The covenant-making ceremony at Mt. Sinai represented the people offering their heart to the LORD and receiving back new spiritual life from Him. How is this accomplished from the Christian? Note, again, Gal. 2:20; see, also, Rom. 6:3b-4 Have you personally experienced this spiritual union with Christ in His death and resurrection, a union that results from putting your faith in Christ?
20I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ living in me; and the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God who loved me and gave himself for me. Gal. 2:20
3...all we who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death...4...so that just as Christ was raised from the dead...so we also might walk in newness of life. Rom. 6:3-4
Note: The “baptism” of which the Apostle Paul is speaking is the spiritual baptism administered by the Holy Spirit (“by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body” [1 Cor. 12:13a]) by which we are old sinful nature is put to death and we are regenerated into new life in Christ our Savior.
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