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Exodus 24 English Standard Version (ESV)
The Covenant Confirmed
1 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.
12 The Lord said to Moses, “Come up to me on the mountain and wait there, that I may give you the tablets of stone, with the law and the commandment, which I have written for their instruction.” 13 So Moses rose with his assistant Joshua, and Moses went up into the mountain of God. 14 And he said to the elders, “Wait here for us until we return to you. And behold, Aaron and Hur are with you. Whoever has a dispute, let him go to them.”
15 Then Moses went up on the mountain, and the cloud covered the mountain. 16 The glory of the Lord dwelt on Mount Sinai, and the cloud covered it six days. And on the seventh day he called to Moses out of the midst of the cloud. 17 Now the appearance of the glory of the Lord was like a devouring fire on the top of the mountain in the sight of the people of Israel. 18 Moses entered the cloud and went up on the mountain. And Moses was on the mountain forty days and forty nights.
REFLECTION
Read through the whole chapter twice.
Moses carefully explained what God expected of people who would live in personal relationship with Him (Ex 20-23; 24:3). The Israelite people committed themselves to keep God’s commands, and were then fully responsible for their acts.
God invited His people into a covenant relationship. But He wanted to make sure that the Israelites understood just what life with Him would involve.
It’s true that people can put their trust in Christ without a deep understanding of the Gospel or of the Bible. But unless we go on to learn all God’s words, we will fall short of knowing God more fully and living the lives God desires to bless us with. As we come to know and understand the character of God, we will also be more sensitive to the work of the Holy Spirit guiding us through our daily decisions and obstacles.
PRAYER
How well do you know and love God’s Word? How well do you understand God’s desire of your commitment to Him? Thank God for His Bible. Thank God for the Listening to God project and ask the Spirit for the perseverance you need to do it every day in order to increase your knowledge, love and obedience of God and His Word.
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Exodus 23 English Standard Version (ESV)
Conquest of Canaan Promised
20 “Behold, I send an angel before you to guard you on the way and to bring you to the place that I have prepared.21 Pay careful attention to him and obey his voice; do not rebel against him, for he will not pardon your transgression, for my name is in him.
22 “But if you carefully obey his voice and do all that I say, then I will be an enemy to your enemies and an adversary to your adversaries.
23 “When my angel goes before you and brings you to the Amorites and the Hittites and the Perizzites and the Canaanites, the Hivites and the Jebusites, and I blot them out, 24 you shall not bow down to their gods nor serve them, nor do as they do, but you shall utterly overthrow them and break their pillars in pieces. 25 You shall serve the Lord your God, and he will bless your bread and your water, and I will take sickness away from among you. 26 None shall miscarry or be barren in your land; I will fulfill the number of your days. 27 I will send my terror before you and will throw into confusion all the people against whom you shall come, and I will make all your enemies turn their backs to you. 28 And I will send hornets before you, which shall drive out the Hivites, the Canaanites, and the Hittites from before you. 29 I will not drive them out from before you in one year, lest the land become desolate and the wild beasts multiply against you. 30 Little by little I will drive them out from before you, until you have increased and possess the land. 31 And I will set your border from the Red Sea to the Sea of the Philistines, and from the wilderness to the Euphrates, for I will give the inhabitants of the land into your hand, and you shall drive them out before you.32 You shall make no covenant with them and their gods.33 They shall not dwell in your land, lest they make you sin against me; for if you serve their gods, it will surely be a snare to you.”
REFLECTION
If time allows, read the whole chapter. Then read this passage slowly once more.
How does the emphasis on worship fit into these chapters on law? Very simply, worship is not simply going to church and singing hymns. Worship is putting our faith into practice by loving God and following His commandments.
When God gave Moses these laws to share with Israel, He identified them with worship and with success. God promises to provide the Israelites with abundant food, pure water, and bodily health when they worship him, needs that are physical. When we put God first and honor Him with obedience, God provides what we need and we grow towards the person God created us to be.
Jesus told the Samaritan woman that “God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth” (John 4:24). Examine the reasons why you worship God and the spirit in which you worship. Are they at odds with each other? If so, what actions could you take to bring them into harmony?
PRAYER
Do you worship because you desire to receive abundance in life? Do you worship God simply and authentically? If not, ask God to show you what to do so that your worship may be pleasing to HIm.
