Revelation and Response
Exodus 24: 1 – 11.
Introduction.
Why do you come to church on Sunday mornings? I suppose there are several reasons.
Some people come to church, because they are in the habit of coming to church. Maybe you have come to church for the past five years of your life, and it is your habit. Of course, some of us have come to church longer than five years—ten, twenty, forty, or even eighty years. Long habits are hard to break.
Some people come to church for Bible study. We know that the Bible is God’s word to us. Therefore, you are involved in Sunday School to hear God’s word and apply it to your life. And in the Baptist tradition, the Bible is an important part of the worship service. We read the Bible and we interpret the Bible in all of our gatherings.
Some people come to church to worship God. In our tradition, public worship includes singing songs, hymns and spiritual songs; praying together; reading and interpreting the Bible; and two church ordinances—baptism and the Lord’s Supper.
Every aspect of our worship can be described as a “dialog” with God. God reveals himself, and we respond. God reveals himself as our savior, and we respond by singing our reverence for God as well as our joy for what God has done for us. Prayer is a response to God. God reveals himself as our provider, and we respond by placing all our needs in God’s hands. The offering is our response to God. God reveals himself as the source of all good gifts—including our finances, and we respond by giving a portion of our income back to God who first gave to us.
In Exodus 24, we see a picture of worship as dialog of revelation and response. God revealed himself as savior by rescuing his people from slavery in
I have already pointed out the relationship between Grace and Law in the Book of Exodus. Grace came before the Law. God redeemed his people then gave them the Law. Therefore, the Law is what God expects from redeemed people. It is not the prerequisite for redemption. Grace comes before the Law.
Since Grace comes before the Law, we can also say that the Law is a gift from God. When God gave his Law, he revealed something about his character. When God gave his Law, he answered all questions about how redeemed people are supposed to live. We don’t have to wonder what God expects from us. God told us. We don’t have to grope around in darkness to figure out life on our own. God told us how we are supposed to live as his redeemed people.
It is also important to note that the Law describes worship. God told us who we are supposed to worship. God told us how we are supposed to worship. Worship is an important part of obedience. In fact, we should not separate worship and obedience. Worship is one way we demonstrate our obedience. Worship is something redeemed people do.
Read Exodus 24: 1 – 11.
1 Then he said to Moses, "Come up to the LORD, you and Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel. You are to worship at a distance,
2 but Moses alone is to approach the LORD; the others must not come near. And the people may not come up with him."
3 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."
4 Moses then wrote down everything the LORD had said. 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.
5 Then he sent young Israelite men, and they offered burnt offerings and sacrificed young bulls as fellowship offerings to the LORD.
6 Moses took half of the blood and put it in bowls, and the other half he sprinkled on the altar.
7 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."
8 Moses then took the blood, sprinkled it on the people and said, "This is the blood of the covenant that the LORD has made with you in accordance with all these words."
9 Moses and Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, and the seventy elders of Israel went up
10 and saw the God of Israel. Under his feet was something like a pavement made of sapphire, clear as the sky itself.
11 But God did not raise his hand against these leaders of the Israelites; they saw God, and they ate and drank.
(NIV)
According to verse 3, Moses told the people all of the LORD’s “words and laws.” The significance of the phrase “words and laws” probably comes from Exodus 20: 1 and Exodus 21: 1.
In Exodus 20, we read the Ten Commandments. Exodus 20: 1 introduced the Ten Commandments by saying, “And God spoke all these words.”
In Exodus 21 – 23, we read the application of the Ten Commandments. God took individual commandments and showed his people how they were to be applied—or lived out—in the day-to-day life of
This leads me to believe that Moses has just read the entire law to the people. He read God’s direct commandments and God’s case law application of those commandments.
This is important because we recognize God as the source of both the commandments and the case laws. God’s Law reveals the character of God. It shows his love for his people. It shows his nature as the God who saved them. It demonstrates his holiness by demanding that God’s redeemed people will live out the same kind of holiness.
The Law tells us that God wants our lives to be lived in a spiritual context, not separating the sacred from the secular. It tells us that God’s word addresses every aspect of our lives, everything from our worship to our every day relationships with family. It tells us that God expects his people to be distinct from the rest of the world, to be holy as God himself is holy—set apart to be used in God’s service.
When God revealed himself to his people, they respond in worship. The first thing they do is to answer enthusiastically, “Everything the LORD has said we will do.”
Sacrifice / Shedding of Blood.
The people’s response leads Moses to build altars and offer sacrifices. Verse 5 describes two different types of sacrifices—burnt offerings and fellowship offerings.
We ought to note how costly these sacrifices were. They were very costly for the Israelites, because they sacrificed young bulls from their herds. The sacrifices were costly to the bulls, because it cost them their lives.
After sacrificing the bulls on the altars, Moses divided the blood in half. He placed half of the blood on the altar as an offering to God and sprinkled half of the blood on the people. This demonstrates the two functions of the two different types of offerings. The blood on the altar was offered to God as atonement for the sins of the people. The blood on the people was to make them right in God’s sight.
Through the shedding of blood, the people received two gifts from God. First, they received forgiveness of sins. Second, they received fellowship / relationship with God.
Shedding of blood is an important concept throughout the entire Bible. In the Old Testament, we read about an elaborate sacrificial system. Certain sins require certain sacrifices. In different contexts, God asked his people to sacrifice different animals—doves, lambs, goats, bulls, etc… In the New Testament, there is no mention of animal sacrifice. This is because the crucifixion of Jesus was the final—once and for all—sacrifice for our sins.
The New Testament Book of Hebrews goes to great lengths to demonstrate the supremacy of Jesus and how the crucifixion took the place of the Old Testament sacrificial system. In fact, Hebrews 9 interprets Exodus 24 for us in light of the crucifixion.
Hebrews 9: 19 – 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 (NIV).”
The Book of Hebrews tells us that the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus has accomplished once and for all everything the animal sacrifices accomplished. Through the crucifixion and resurrection, we can have forgiveness of sin and fellowship with God.
Relationship / Seeing God.
After Moses offered sacrifices, we read a remarkable thing in verses 9 and 10. Four men went up
Exodus 24: 9 – 10, “Moses and Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, and the seventy elders of
We know who Moses is, because he has been one of the central characters throughout the Book of Exodus. We know who Aaron is, because he is Moses’ brother whom God sent to help Moses. But, who are Nadab and Abihu? They are Aaron’s sons who were mentioned in Aaron’s genealogy in Exodus 6. As descendants of Aaron, they are also priests. But, perhaps more importantly, they got to see God in Exodus 24.
Moses and the priests got to see God, because of the effectiveness of the sacrifices. Their sins were forgiven, and they were made right in God’s eyes.
Since we believe that Jesus has already fulfilled the sacrificial system through his crucifixion and resurrection, does this mean it is possible for you and me to see God? YES.
John 14: 5 – 10, “Thomas said to him, "Lord, we don't know where you are going, so how can we know the way?" Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you really knew me, you would know my Father as well. From now on, you do know him and have seen him." Philip said, "Lord, show us the Father and that will be enough for us." Jesus answered: "Don't you know me, Philip, even after I have been among you such a long time? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, 'Show us the Father'? Don't you believe that I am in the Father, and that the Father is in me? The words I say to you are not just my own. Rather, it is the Father, living in me, who is doing his work (NIV).”
1 John 4: 7 – 12, “Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us (NIV).”
There are two ways we can see God.
First, we see God through Jesus. He is one with God. He speaks the word of God. He lived the character of God by fulfilling all of God’s words and laws.
Second, we see God through the love of God’s people. When God’s people love each other, God is real and visible in our world.
I know you can probably relate to this. You are not feeling very close to God, because you are facing a difficult time in your life. Maybe you were experiencing doubts. Or, maybe you were suffering through health problems or the death of someone you love. Then, unexpectedly, you get a contact from a Christian friend. They pray for you and demonstrate the love of God. All of a sudden, God is real and present.
Some people think the best way to make God real for other people is to engage in theological debate or to boycott. That’s not what 1 John says. First John tells us that God becomes real and visible through our love.
Covenant / Eating and Drinking.
Exodus 24 is about worship and demonstrates how worship is a dialog with God. God reveals himself. God’s people respond.
Moses read the words and laws to the people. The people responded with a commitment to obey God and by offering sacrifices.
God allowed Moses, Aaron, Nadab and Abihu to see God. When they saw God, they responded by eating and drinking.
Exodus 24: 9 – 11, “Moses and Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, and the seventy elders of
In the Old Testament, it was common for people to confirm a covenant between two parties by sharing a meal together. We see this in Exodus 18, when Moses and Jethro met. But, it was also a common way to confirm a covenant between God and his people. We see this in the story of the Passover. The people sacrificed a lamb, painted the blood of the lamb on their doorposts, and ate a meal together.
We see the same kind of imagery in the New Testament. For example, this is the meaning of the Last Supper Jesus shared with his disciples.
On one hand, we believe Jesus’ Last Supper with his disciples was the Passover meal. We can recognize the symbolism and the connections between the Passover and the Last Supper. The Passover commemorates God’s salvation for his people in
On the other hand, Jesus instituted his Last Supper as something that was to continue until the day of his return.
Luke 22: 14 – 16, “When the hour came, Jesus and his apostles reclined at the table. And he said to them, "I have eagerly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer. For I tell you, I will not eat it again until it finds fulfillment in the
Jesus’ words tell me that the Lord’s Supper is something that helps us look back at the past and forward to the future. We look back to the connection between Passover and the crucifixion of Jesus as the Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world. We look forward to a heavenly meal we will share together in the presence of Jesus.
Conclusion.
Revelation and response…
Worship is the response of the redeemed…
It is an act of obedience. We cannot separate our worship and obedience…
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