“SEALED BY BLOOD AND BOUND BY COVENANT” Exodus Chapter 24

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                                                            LESSON ON  

                                            Exodus Chapter 24-It's 18 verses.

  Chapter 24 in the book of Exodus, and it begins to show us some things that really form the foundation of what we have today as well as regarding our relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ and to God our Father through him. 

OUTLINE: 

1. God is near, yet holy and approached according to His order

2. Covenant requires a responsive people

3. Covenant relationship is established through sacrifice and blood

4. God grants covenant fellowship without compromising His holiness

5. God’s word and presence govern covenant life


1. God is near, yet holy and approached according to His order

verses 1 to 2.


:"It tells us this. God is near, yet holy, and approached according to his order. That's number one, right? God is near, yet holy, and approached according to his order. You can't just run up in God's presence without him giving you an invitation or providing a way for you to get to him, all right? And I'm speaking in Old Testament terms . "

   Chapter 24 is also getting the people of God prepared for the tabernacle. Before the tabernacle is built, before worship is set up and institutionalized, God has to make sure that the people who are going to come into what will be his house are prepared to present themselves in his presence. 

  There's something that our forefathers used to do, something that my grandparents and great-great-grandparents used to do.  They took time to get ready for Sunday on Saturday. It was Sunday eve, if you will. They made sure that everything that needed to be done, would be done on the day before I'm supposed to be worshiping. People in the 21st century are losing it. They're losing out on what God's expectations are. He expects me to worship him consistently. God expects me as a saved individual to show up in church, not only when I feel like it, I owe God. unless I'm incapacitated, unless I'm out of town or I have to work, it's expected that I go to the Lord's house, amen, and come together for corporate worship with other saved individuals to hear God's word.


2. Covenant requires a responsive people:

verse 3

   There can't be covenant agreement unless the people respond. Chapter 24 brings together the sacrifice, the reading of God's words, the people's public commitment, the sprinkling of blood and Moses' ascent into God's glory. The chapter shows that access to God rest on his covenant provision and that covenant life requires wholehearted obedience. 

 All of the laws, the law and the judgments were laid out, And those were laid out so that the people might know how they must present themselves in fellowship with the holy God. God is not going to compromise his holiness by allowing unrighteous people or unwashed people or unsprinkled people, if you will, to come in his presence. And so chapter 4 functions as a ratification of the covenant laws given in Exodus chapters 20 through chapter 23.

 They heard God's word and they promised obedience. Now I like to say this, I think they really, in their heart, I believe, I want to believe that they really wanted to be obedient. Humans who love God want to be obedient, But as Paul writes in the New Testament, there's a struggle going on in me, there's a war going on in me. When I would do good, evil is always present. Jesus talks about the heart of man, how it's deceitful and dark and wicked, right? So when people say that humans are generally good, that is not biblically correct because there is none good but God. 


3. Covenant relationship is established through sacrifice and blood:

verses 4 to 8 

 A Covenant relationship is established through sacrifice and blood. If there is no sacrifice and there is no blood, there is no covenant ". You and I still today have no relationship with God the Father except through the blood. Somebody said the blood still works. What can wash away my sin? Nothing but the blood of Jesus. What can make me again? Nothing but the blood of Jesus. Oh, precious is that flow that makes me white as snow.

  God grants covenant fellowship without compromising his holiness. They could come but so far, but had to stop where God said stop. The only one that God allows to come with him or come to him is Moses. The old Testament and everything that's going on here shows you how privileged we are, how blessed we are in the new Testament to be able to approach God directly. I can go to God directly in prayer. 

 They couldn't go behind the veil. You and I can go behind the veil because from Calvary's cross, God ripped the veil from top to bottom at bottom to give us open access because of the blood of the lamb of God, the sacrifice that Jesus made.


4. God grants covenant fellowship without compromising His holiness

Verses nine through 11, the fourth theme.

    Exodus chapter 24 presents the covenant between the Lord and Israel as a solemn communal act of worship, obedience, and divine fellowship. Going all the way back to Genesis chapter one, right? And reading through to chapter three, we find that God has always wanted fellowship with his creation humans.

   God grants covenant relationship, or rather covenant fellowship, without compromising his holiness. God will never compromise his holiness for anyone. And being godly people, we too should never compromise our holiness for anyone I was reading somewhere where it says, it asked a question, do we know that God actually wants our friendship? He wants to be our friend. Jesus said to his disciples, you're no longer servants, but friends.  The reason we have the scriptures is to help us build relationship with God through Jesus Christ. 

  The chapter begins carefully with carefully defined boundaries, right? Aaron, Nadab, Abihu and the 70 elders may come near and worship from a distance while Moses alone is permitted to draw nearer to the Lord. This does not portray God as distant in the sense of being indifferent. Rather, it reveals his holiness. Sinful people, get this now, cannot casually enter the presence of the Holy God. Access is granted, but it is granted on God's terms. 


5. God’s word and presence govern covenant life

  The final verses 12 through 18, the fifth theme. God's word and presence govern covenant life. The emphasis is on divine majesty, purity, and heavenly splendor. Remarkably, God does not lay his hand upon these leaders. They see God and they eat and drink. This is covenant fellowship. A meal in the ancient world expressed peace, welcome, shared relationship, and loyalty.   The fact that eating is going on here is significant A meal.... in the ancient world... expressed four things, peace, welcome, shared relationship, and loyalty. 

  Here, the leaders of Israel participate in a sacred meal in God's presence. The scene reveals that the goal of sacrifice is not sacrifice itself....The goal of sacrifice is not sacrifice itself. The goal is restored communion with God, right? God's covenant aims not only to forgive a people, but to dwell among them and share fellowship with them. This anticipates the Lord's in which believers share a covenant meal centered on Christ's sacrificial death. It also anticipates the final biblical image of salvation, the wedding feast of the Lamb, where redeemed people enjoy complete and unbroken fellowship with God..

  The new Testament presents righteousness before God as a gift of grace received through faith, not as an achievement earned through human works. Paul said, shall no flesh be saved. We're saved by grace. Listen, Romans three 28. Therefore, we conclude that a man is justified by faith without deeds of the law. Come on, all my Torah people, all my people going back to Torah. Listen to the word of God. Hear the Holy Scriptures. Hear what the Lord says. Come out of that darkness. 

  Why are people trying to go back to Torah? They have been blinded, hoodwinked, bamboozled by the devil who caught them questioning whether or not Jesus was enough. We need to understand today that Jesus paid it all. I want to suggest again that Jesus is enough. He has always been enough. He will always be enough. We don't need a lamb anymore. We don't need a dietary laws anymore. Amen. Jesus paid it all. Not some of it. He paid it all. The New Testament presents righteousness before God again as a gift of grace, saved by grace through faith. It is the gift of God.


Lesson taught by - Rev. Dr.Torrence Robinson Pastor of Gethsemane Missionary Baptist Church

SSligh blog moderator/

Link to full video lesson 

https://www.facebook.com/torrence.robinson/videos/3591982517644664

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