Verse for the Day, 24 September 2014.

Exodus 24:1-11, “Then he said to Moses, "Come up to the LORD, you and Aaron, Nadab, and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel, and worship from afar.  (2)  Moses alone shall come near to the LORD, but the others shall not come near, and the people shall not come up with him."  (3)  Moses came and told the people all the words of the LORD and all the rules. And all the people answered with one voice and said, "All the words that the LORD has spoken we will do."  (4)  And Moses wrote down all the words of the LORD. He rose early in the morning and built an altar at the foot of the mountain, and twelve pillars, according to the twelve tribes of Israel.  (5)  And he sent young men of the people of Israel, who offered burnt offerings and sacrificed peace offerings of oxen to the LORD.  (6)  And Moses took half of the blood and put it in basins, and half of the blood he threw against the altar.  (7)  Then he took the Book of the Covenant and read it in the hearing of the people. And they said, "All that the LORD has spoken we will do, and we will be obedient."  (8)  And Moses took the blood and threw it on the people and said, "Behold the blood of the covenant that the LORD has made with you in accordance with all these words."  (9)  Then Moses and Aaron, Nadab, and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel went up,  (10)  and they saw the God of Israel. There was under his feet as it were a pavement of sapphire stone, like the very heaven for clearness.  (11)  And he did not lay his hand on the chief men of the people of Israel; they beheld God, and ate and drank.”

Chapter 24 of Exodus is a point of great importance in the history of Israel, for it records the day on which they formally entered into a covenant with God. The process starts with the covenant being stated, Moses reading in the hearing of all the people, the words that had been given to him by God. The people of Israel respond with one voice, stating that they will abide by, obey all these words and commit themselves to the keeping of this covenant. After they voice their commitment, they approach the LORD to worship Him and to proclaim before God the covenant and their commitment to keeping the covenant with God. As a symbol of their commitment, an altar with twelve pillars, one for each tribe, is built and they offer up a number of sacrifices. The blood of these animals is the divided between the basins and the altar, half of the blood is offered up to God, and the other half thrown onto the people. Why all this blood? The blood is to symbolise a number of points. Firstly, that this covenant, is a covenant of blood, in other words it is not a covenant they should enter into lightly, they need to understand that God is not to be trifled with and the consequences for breaking this covenant with God are severe, even deadly, as this generation would discover.  Secondly, it is to demonstrate the holiness of God, and the sinfulness of the people. Their relationship with God will be one whereby it will always be necessary for them to approach God with sacrifices, sacrifices for their sin and sacrifices for worship. God will respond to their repentance and thanksgiving, to their obedience to the covenant, by remaining faithful to them and blessing them.

What follows after this is quite remarkable, God calls up Moses, Aaron, Nadab, Abihu and the seventy elders of Israel. Verse 10 states is very plainly, although it is far from plain or simple, “they saw the God of Israel.” How incredible! They saw the God of Israel! What a moment, what a sight this must have been, to see a glimpse of God and His glory. We know that it is only a glimpse, as the description we are given is that of His feet and the pavement below His feet. But what is the purpose of this? Why did God call them up, why are we told they ate and drank? This is all part of the covenant making process, the two parties of the covenant not only making a commitment to each other in word and by means of a symbol, but they also share a meal together, in an act of unity, of peace and again of their commitment to this covenant. God in His grace, mercy and love, permits these men to come into His presence, see a glimpse of His glory, and remain in His presence long enough to have a meal together, all without them being consumed by the splendour God’s glory and holiness. It is a truly beautiful picture, a perfect and holy God, meeting and eating with sinful men, all so that He might display His glory, holiness, love, mercy and favour to them, pledging His unfailing commitment and enduring faithfulness to them. What makes this all the more remarkable is the God enters into this covenant knowing what is to come. He knows that Aaron will in just a matter of days build the golden calf, and Nadab and Abihu will offer up strange incense. He knows that the seventy elders will conspire against Him, refusing to enter into the promise land. God knows they will break their covenant with Him, even after all that He has done for them and shown them. Why then does God enter into the covenant in them first place? God enters into this covenant so that His purposes might stand and His plan of redemption might come to pass. This is the way that God had sovereignly decreed and planned for it to take place. Therefore God’s favour, mercy, grace, love and faithfulness is not just for Israel’s benefit, it is for the benefit of all mankind. How grateful we should be towards God that He entered into this covenant with Israel, so that our salvation might come to pass.

We should rejoice in reading this passage, for it is a picture of our salvation. We enter into a covenant with God through the shed blood of Jesus Christ. Christ offered up His blood to the Father as a sacrifice for sin, and He washed us with His blood so as to cleanse us from sin. The result is that we who believe in Jesus Christ have now entered into a covenant with God, Christ enters it on our behalf, with God the Father. Therefore this covenant is unbreakable, for it depends not on us, but on God the Son and God the Father, and is sealed by God the Spirit. What joy we have today knowing that we will one day see God, and not just His feet! We will see Him in all His glory and splendour, and we shall eat with Him. Furthermore, we will not have to then leave His presence, we shall remain in His presence, walking, talking and eating with God for all eternity.

All-glorious and majestic God, we give thanks to You today for the great favour that You have bestowed upon us, through the work of Your salvation. How we rejoice in the covenant we have through Christ, one that is steadfast and certain. Thank you that we have the blessed hope of knowing that one day our faith shall be sight and we shall see You as You are. May we walk and live in this joy today, so that others might see it, ask after it and receive it from Your gracious hand. Amen.