Reflections
Exodus - Chapter 24
Entered: October 02, 2006
Moses read the commands and ordinances of the Lord and the people responded "with a single voice" saying, "We will do everything that the LORD has commanded." Following worship, God then told Moses to go up on the mountain so He could give him the stone tablets with the law written on them. It all seems to be a very tidy arrangement. One might complain that it is a bit restrictive with all the ordinances and commandments, but then one must take into consideration that this is not just about being obedient to arbitrary commands. The commands that are given direct the people in how to live in a way that will give them a good life. It is all for their good. True, this is also a test of Israel's obedience. Israel must keep these ordinances if God is to take care of them. But it is like going to the doctor. If a person is not going to follow the directions of the doctor to keep them healthy, why should the doctor bother with them? We are all rather foolish. Many people accept that there is a God but don't want to have anything to do with Him. This is not only foolish but illogical. If there is a God who exists and who has created the universe and that is in it, doesn't it make sense that the One who has given us life should also know best how to live that life? Doesn't it figure that we should want to follow one who is so great? It should, but so many people don't bother to really think it through.
Entered: March 26, 2012
Moses had been given the ordinances on which His covenant with Israel was to be based, including the ten commandments. Now it was time for the people to agree to the covenant. God described how the agreement ceremony was to take place which Moses delivered to the people and to which they agreed.
After Moses wrote everything the Lord said to him on scrolls, the ceremony began. An altar was built with 12 pillars representing the 12 tribes of Israel. Fellowship offerings were made to the Lord on the altar and blood sprinkled on the altar. Then the covenant scroll was read to the people and they responded by saying, "We will do and obey everything that the LORD has commanded." Following their verbal agreement to the covenant, the people were sprinkled with blood.
The concluding event in the agreement ceremony involved Moses ascending the mountain, taking with him Aaron, Aaron's two sons, and 70 of Israel's elders. There they all "saw the God of Israel," a very privileged occurance, one people do not normally survive. But "God did not harm the Israelite nobles; they saw Him, and they ate and drank." (24:11) This meal in the presence of God was the final act of the agreement ceremony.
Having agreed to the covenant, the Israelite nation was born. But God wasn't finished instructing this new nation. He again summoned Moses to go up the mountain to meet with Him. This time God would give Moses the ten commandments on stone tablets and would give instructions for the proper way in which to worship Him. Moses would spend 40 day and nights on the mountain on this occasion which called for the appointment of a temporary leader of the people. Aaron became the appointed temporary leader and was left behind to fulfill this role. Moses then took with him his new assistant, Joshua, and went up the mountain.