...worship God...for He is with you...

The Blood of the Covenant

“1 Then Yahweh said to Moses, ‘Come up to the Lord, you and Aaron, Nadab, and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel, and worship at a distance. 2 Moses alone shall come near 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 ordinances; 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 set up twelve pillars, corresponding to the twelve tribes of Israel. 5 He sent young men of the people of Israel, who offered burnt-offerings and sacrificed oxen as offerings of well-being to the Lord. 6 Moses took half of the blood and put it in basins, and half of the blood he dashed 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 Moses took the blood and dashed it on the people, and said, ‘See the blood of the covenant that the Lord has made with you in accordance with all these words.’

On the Mountain with God

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. Under his feet there was something like a pavement of sapphire stone, like the very heaven for clearness. 11 God did not lay his hand on the chief men of the people of Israel; also they beheld God, and they ate and drank” Exodus 24:1-11.

These verses begin the invitation from God to Moses to ascend Mount Sinai again, for the special purpose of ratifying the Covenant Code. God's holiness must still be protected; so only Moses, Aaron, Aaron's two oldest sons, and the seventy elders of Israel were allowed to form the ratification meal party, representing the rest of Israel through their leadership status. Everyone other than Moses in the leadership group was required to stay away from the most direct contact with the presence of Yahweh.

“After hearing the Covenant Code repeated to them by Moses just as he had heard it on the mountain, the people gave uniform assent to it, agreeing to keep it (v. 3). They did the same thing a second time, after Moses had written it down (v. 4) and then read it to them (v. 7). Thus they doubly confirmed the covenant with their vocal promise!

Dear friends, when God spoke to the people through Moses, their reaction was to worship God. Forever thereafter there has always been an indelible connection between God speaking to us and our worship of God. Worship is the way we respond to God who speaks to us and guides us in our life. 

WE WORSHIP GOD! 

So our weekly worship is our way of thanking God that we are never alone. God is always with us because God is protecting us and speaking to us in our lives.

So when Sunday pulls around, go worship God. Don’t postpone worshipping God, because God is ALWAYS with us! We are never alone! Never! So we owe it to God to worship Him and give Him thanks!

In prayer this day, then, thank God for never leaving you orphaned! Thank God that You are never alone. Ask God for His mercy, turn to Him in your prayer and worship Him! Give Him thanks! For that is the lesson of this incredible story in today’s text!

Lord Jesus Christ, Son of the Living God, have mercy on me a sinner.