In this lesson, we will be studying portions of Exodus 19-24. Let us begin with a brief introduction to this passage as it can help us understand how God makes a covenant with us and how we are to worship him.
From our previous lesson we can also address certain important questions: Where did we come from? We came from God, yet by sin became children of Adam and slaves of the devil. Nevertheless, by Christ’s death and resurrection received in faith, we come from Christ who makes us new. Who are we? Children of the living God by adoption in Christ and members of a body called to be a blessing for the world. Where are we now? We are still in the midst of a world of corruption, sin, and death, but even so, we are in Christ who rules the world at the right hand of God. Where are we going? We are going to follow the path that Christ has given us with our eyes on heaven as our final resting place. What must we do? Repent, believe, and become bearers of the blessing that God intends for the whole of humanity.
In previous lessons, we learned that God commanded Adam not to eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Both Adam and Eve ate of the tree and were driven out of Eden and condemned to die. Their relationships with God, each other, and the land were seriously damaged, and both became subject to the power of the evil one. In order to redeem the human race, God chose a man, Abraham, and promised that through him and his descendents God would bless the human race. In this lesson, we will begin to learn how God made Abraham's descendents a mighty nation, and how, through them, he established his Kingdom by which he would bless the world.
In obedience to God's command in Genesis 12:1-3, Abraham left his country, his people, and his father's house and went to the land that God had promised. Once there, Abraham had a son, Isaac, who had a son, Jacob (also named Israel), who in turn had twelve sons. These twelve sons became the ancestors of twelve tribes, often called the people of Israel. This was the great nation promised to Abraham. Because of a famine, Jacob and his twelve sons went down into the land of Egypt. All of this is narrated in the book of Genesis. After living in Egypt for some time, the descendents of Jacob were enslaved by the Egyptians. This enslavement is described in the first chapter of the second book of the Bible, Exodus.
Then God chose a man, Moses, protected him in childhood, and commanded him to lead the people out of Egypt and into the land promised to his ancestor, Abraham. God, by mighty plagues against the Egyptians and under the leadership of Moses, led the people out of Egypt and into the desert. The final plague was the death of the Egyptian firstborn. Although the people of Israel were as sinful as the Egyptians, the death of their firstborn was averted by the sacrifice of a lamb slain in their stead. This was the Passover Lamb. We studied this in the lessons on forgiveness.
Once God had delivered his people from Egypt, they wandered in the desert until they came to Mount Sinai. There God made a covenant with them. This covenant is described in Exodus 19-24 and was composed of three principle parts. First, there was an announcement of the good things that God has done to protect and bless his people. Second, God gave his law, his commands for the life of his people. Once these commands were given, the people committed themselves to keep covenant with God by obeying his commands. That was the heart of the covenant, a mutual commitment in which God promised to protect and bless his people, and his people committed themselves to be obedient to his commands. Finally, the covenant was sealed by the shedding of blood and the eating of a meal in the presence of God.
As God made a covenant with the people, they worshipped him. Worship entailed proclaiming God’s mighty deeds in behalf of the people, receiving the laws of the covenant, and promising to keep these covenant laws, and finally, worshipping God by sacrifice and eating a meal in the presence of God. As we shall see when we come to the work of Jesus, the primary worship service of Christians, the Holy Eucharist, is a covenant renewal service celebrated each Sunday.
As previously mentioned, the first part of a covenant is an announcement of God's saving acts. The eighteen chapters that lead up to Exodus 19-24 describe God's saving acts, how God delivered his people from slavery. These saving acts are the first part of the covenant. Now, let us consider two specific passages. As we study these passages, let us always remember that we are studying how we, as followers of Jesus, will worship God.
Exodus 19:16-20:2
Read Exodus 19:16-20:2 aloud, at least twice, and then notice the following points.
1. After the people prepared themselves for two days, God descended upon the mountain and the people met God. In worship, we meet God. This is very, very important. He speaks and he appears.
2. The presence of God was so utterly holy, terrible, and awe-inspiring, that only Moses could go up the mountain to meet God at close quarters. This is because sinners cannot enter into God's presence and live. We are barred from his presence in the same way that Adam and Eve could not return to Eden to be with God. God, however, has made a way back to him in Jesus Christ.
3. Moses told the people the words of God, verse 25, for the people themselves could not bear to hear God speak directly to them.
4. In 20:1-2, God began to speak. He began by announcing his saving deeds which was the first part of the covenant. The verses do not say to whom God is speaking, but as other verses show, God gave his commands to Moses who then spoke them to the people.
5. After announcing his saving deeds, God gave his laws to the people, beginning with the Ten Commandments. These laws are found in Exodus 20:3-23:33. This is the second part of the covenant, the giving of the law. We will not be investigating these laws at this time, in part, because we have already studied the Ten Commandments. In would, however, be good for the reader to read these laws. Two comments about them are in order.
First, the laws were given in the context of an escape from oppression, bondage, and hard labor. As a result, the laws reflect God’s desire that his people, especially the poor and the vulnerable, such persons as widows, orphans, and aliens, be protected by the law. This is one of the characteristics of Old Testament law, the protection of the weak from oppression by the strong, the poor from the exploitation of the powerful. This same emphasis can be found in the teaching and works of Jesus.
Second, the laws were enforced by penalties, such things as fines or even death, and further, God himself enforced the laws. Exodus 22:22-24 is typical in this regard. If the people oppress the widow and orphan, God will kill them with sword, making their wives widows and their children orphans. Under the New Covenant of Christ, God sent his Son to suffer the penalty of death for our disobedience. It needs to be understood that the revelation in Scripture is progressive, culminating in Christ where the character of God is fully revealed.
Exodus 24:1-11
Read Exodus 24:1-11 aloud, at least twice, and notice the following points.
1. God invited Moses, Aaron, Nadab, Abihu, and seventy of the elders to come up the mountain to worship him.
2. God made a covenant with all the people. In this covenant, Moses read from the Book of the Covenant. The people proclaimed they would obey. The Holy Bible is our Book of the Covenant. This book describes God's saving acts, the first part of the covenant, as well as his commands. We obey God as we obey Scripture. For this reason, when we worship God, we read Scripture and hear it interpreted in sermons.
As we shall see later in greater detail, followers of Jesus make a covenant with God when they are baptized. Further, once baptized, the Holy Eucharist is a renewal of our baptismal covenant. It is a covenant renewal service. It begins with the Word of God in which believers promise to obey God, and this covenant is sealed by the blood of Christ which is the Holy Communion.
3. The covenant God made with Moses and the people was sealed by the shedding of blood, the blood of the sacrificed animals. Because of sin, the people were not acceptable to God, but the animals died in the place of the people. The people and God were bound together in covenant, made solemn and binding by the shedding of blood and with half of it sprinkled on the people and the other half upon the altar. The altar represented the presence of God with his people. Jesus Christ is the one who was sacrificed for us, and his blood binds us together with each other and with God. Just before he died, Jesus told his disciples, "This cup that is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood (Luke 22:20). The shedding of Christ's blood is celebrated in the Holy Eucharist.
4. Moses, Aaron, Nadab, Abihu, and seventy of the elders went up the mountain where they ate and drank in the presence of God. Even though they were sinners, God did not harm them. Through Jesus, everyone, not just a few, can enter into God's presence without harm. In fact, through Jesus, we receive the very life of God by eating and drinking in his presence. This also happens in the Holy Eucharist.
5. Moses and the elders saw God. "There was under his feet as it were a pavement of sapphire stone, like the very heaven for clearness." They did not see God as we see physical objects. Rather, they became aware of his awesome majesty, beyond the sapphire blue of the sky, as it were. In the Eucharist, it is possible to see God, not directly, but indirectly as light. No one can see God directly, for God is the "King of kings and Lord of lords, who alone has immortality, who dwells in unapproachable light, whom no one has ever seen or can see. To him be honor and eternal dominion" (I Timothy 6:15-16). This is very, very important, for nothing is as wonderful as hearing and catching a glimpse of the living God.
We may summarize these points as follows:
1. God speaks and appears in worship. Above all, God speaks by the reading of the Book of the Covenant which is the Holy Bible. For this reason, it is very important to read the Holy Bible in worship.
2. A primary way of worshipping God is through the making of a covenant in baptism and its renewal in the Holy Eucharist.
3. This covenant is composed of three parts -- the proclaiming of God's acts and commands, mutual commitments between God and the people, and finally, the sealing of the covenant by a sacrifice and eating of a meal.
4. All Christians are set right with God by Christ's sacrifice on the cross, and therefore, all can enter into the presence of God in worship. This means we can see and hear God in worship.
Questions for Discussion
1. When you worship, do you listen to the readings from Scripture and the sermon as if God were speaking to you? Has God ever spoken to you in worship in ways that changed your life? Were you obedient to his commands?
2. Many people believe in baptizing infants, and we shall discuss this in future lessons. If you have been baptized, did you know you were making a covenant with God? Are you aware you are making a covenant with God as you worship him in the Holy Eucharist?
3. Are you keeping covenant with God? If God was willing to send his Son to die for us, how important is the covenant to God and to us?
4. Remembering that Jesus was willing to die to seal this covenant, how then should we live to keep covenant?
5. Have you ever seen God in worship, or perceived the glory of God, or sensed his presence in the midst of his people?
6. How, in light of what we have learned in this lesson, would you answer these questions: Where did we come from? Who are we? Where are we now? Where are we going? What must we do?
Let us end this lesson with a prayer.
O great and glorious God, we thank you that you keep covenant with us through the blood of your Son Jesus Christ the Lord. Thank you that you never let us go, always protecting and guiding us. Help us to be faithful to your covenant, always walking before you in holiness and righteousness all our days. Through the merits of Jesus Christ, the mighty Savior, we pray. Amen.
Please do not forget to be good to each other, to care for one another, to meet each other's needs, pray for each other, sustain each other, and all for the glory of God.
The Rev. Robert J. Sanders, Ph.D.
February, 2013
