The Covenant Sealed

Series on ExodusVII. The Confirmation of God’s People

B. Ratification of the Covenant, Text: 24

Title: The Covenant Sealed

Introduction

Our text in this study deals with the ratification of the God’s covenant with Israel. We should note that this is the same covenant that Jesus is talking about in the inauguration of the Lord’s Supper when He says This cup is the blood of the new covenant. God’s covenant to save his people comes in stages. There are two basic divisions, the old form and the new form. It is all part of the covenant of grace, that is, God’s saving a sinful people. We may contrast the old form with the new in many ways but we should not think that this is a different covenant. The Bible says God made the covenant of grace or promise with Abraham and that it is fulfilled in Jesus Christ. The scene in our text is the giving of the law. Paul clearly states in Galatians 3:16-19 that the giving of the law does not change the covenant of grace, The promises were spoken to Abraham and to his seed. The Scripture does not say “and to seeds,” meaning many people, but “and to your seed,” meaning one person, who is Christ. What I mean is this: The law, introduced 430 years later, does not set aside the covenant previously established by God and thus do away with the promise. For if the inheritance depends on the law, then it no longer depends on a promise; but God in his grace gave it to Abraham through a promise. What, then, was the purpose of the law? It was added because of transgressions until the Seed to whom the promise referred had come. The law was put into effect through angels by a mediator. The law is added, and therefore it is part of that covenant. Consequently we have here in this passage the anticipation of the Lord’s Supper which we celebrate on this occasion. It is a covenant sealed and celebrated. We are going to look at 4 things to help us better understand our place at the Lord’s Table: the oath, the offering, the observance, the obedience.

I The Oath

A covenant involves an oath. Indeed the word sacrament which we use to describe the ordinances of the covenant, baptism and the lord’s supper is the Latin word for oath. You see this in our text. First, verse 3 Moses tells the people all that God has said and the people respond with one voice, everything the Lord has said we will do. Then we note in verse 4 that Moses writes down all that God has said. Further on in verse 7 Moses takes the book of the covenant, that is, what he has written down, and he reads it to the people and they respond again, When Moses went and told the people all the LORD’s words and laws, they responded with one voice, “Everything the LORD has said we will do.” Moses then wrote down everything the LORD had said… Then he took the Book of the Covenant and read it to the people. They responded, “We will do everything the LORD has said; we will obey.” This is just before he sprinkles the people with the blood of the sacrifices. The significance of this is that the people cannot be signed and sealed by the blood of the covenant until they have given their oath to serve the Lord. In a covenant made between men the terms are mutually agreed on. This is not the case with God’s covenant. He alone sets the terms, and it is up to the people to accept it. The motivation for accepting it is in the fact that God has delivered them, but no covenant exists without stipulations or requirements including the covenant of grace. The people cried out to be delivered from Egyptian bondage. God heard their cry and delivered them. The consequences are that they are now to serve Him as he says, and they must promise to do that. We should think of the lord’s table this way. It is not a one way street. we are committing ourselves to obey when we participate in the sign and seal of the covenant.

II The Offering

There are two parts to the offering, and two parts to the sprinkling of the blood of the offering. These correspond to the two parties God and his people. The two-fold offering is a whole burnt offering and peace or fellowship offerings as recorded in verses 4-6, He got up early the next morning and built an altar at the foot of the mountain and set up twelve stone pillars representing the twelve tribes of Israel. Then he sent young Israelite men, and they offered burnt offerings and sacrificed young bulls as fellowship offerings to the LORD. Moses took half of the blood and put it in bowls, and the other half he sprinkled on the altar. The whole burnt offering symbolizes God’s part and is a picture of his grace. God gives himself completely to his people. Jesus gave himself completely on the cross of Calvary. Paul says, II Corinthians 5:21, He who knew no sin was made sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in him. You see the people are not realistic in their promise to do all the Lord has said. They will fail miserably, but God will not forsake them. The offering which represents the people is a peace offering. This is different from the sin offerings of which the people never ate. The people ate of the peace offerings and they represent the fact that we cannot save ourselves, God does that, and we can only partake of the benefits of what he has done. The blood of the offerings is sprinkled first on the altar as we read in verses 4-6. Again, like the whole burnt offering this is to show that without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sin, so Jesus shed his blood to atone for our sins. This is why it is poured on the altar to make atonement. But half of the blood is reserved in bowls and after the people have renewed their oath the blood is sprinkled on them. This is a picture of the cleansing power of the blood and the author of Hebrews says in Hebrews 9:16-22, When Moses had proclaimed every commandment of the law to all the people, he took the blood of calves, together with water, scarlet wool and branches of hyssop, and sprinkled the scroll and all the people. He said, “This is the blood of the covenant, which God has commanded you to keep.” In the same way, he sprinkled with the blood both the tabernacle and everything used in its ceremonies. In fact, the law requires that nearly everything be cleansed with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness. Everything had to be cleansed by blood because no thing and no person was pure enough to serve God apart from this. As we come to the Lord’s table we must recognize that our oath of loyalty and service is only acceptable because of the offering of Christ. The supper reminds us both of the whole burnt offering of Christ’s sacrifice and the peace offering which the worshipers ate. The blood of Christ was poured out before God for us, but is also sprinkled symbolically upon us cleansing us for his service.

III The Observance

In Verses 9-11 we see an actual picture of the supper as Moses and the elders eat in the presence of God, Moses and Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, and the seventy elders of Israel went up and saw the God of Israel. Under his feet was something like a pavement made of sapphire, clear as the sky itself. But God did not raise his hand against these leaders of the Israelites; they saw God, and they ate and drank. They see the God of Israel as he chooses to reveal himself to them in a theophany. God is a spirit. And they eat. a picture of perfect fellowship with their God. A meal is the ultimate indication of peace and friendship. Here the difference between the old form and the new form of the covenant becomes more apparent. Only the prophet, Moses, priests, Aaron and his sons. and kings or elders of the people enjoy this scene. And then in verse 12 Moses alone comes very close and the Shekinah or could of God’s presence envelops him. By contrast we all come to the table of the Lord now and celebrate the close communion with our God. Hebrews 4:16 reminds us, Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need. What a privilege is ours, and how little we sometimes appreciate it. God truly gives himself to his people in the covenant.

IV The Obedience

We must note that afterwards there is business as usual, as we read in verses 13 and 14, Moses went up on the mountain of God. He said to the elders, “Wait here for us until we come back to you. Aaron and Hur are with you, and anyone involved in a dispute can go to them.” The work goes on for Moses and the people. The whole enterprise of serving God follows. The supper is not an end in itself, but a means to an end.