Hello and welcome to today’s exciting Bible study on Exodus 24. In this chapter, we will read and study about Israel affirming their covenant with God Almighty. According to biblical scholars, the events of Exodus 24 occurred around 1446 B.C.
As usual, I encourage you to turn to Exodus 24 in your Bible. Kindly invite the Holy Spirit to guide you as you read and study Exodus 24. I mention this in all the Bible Studies because it is only through the Holy Spirit that we get fresh revelation and knowledge to understand the word of God. No one else can teach you better than the Holy Spirit Himself. I am using the New King James Version (NKJV) of the Bible, just in case you want to know.
In the Bible Study on Exodus 21,22, and 23 we read and learned about the various laws that God gave His people concerning justice, social responsibilities, and farm animal laws. In this bible study on Exodus 24, we will learn about the Israelites affirming God’s covenant and the events that took place at Mount Sinai.
Backstory on Exodus 21,22, and 23
In Exodus 21, 22, and 23, the Lord gave instructions about the various laws concerning the day-to-day life of the Israelites. He established laws concerning farm animals and personal injury, as well as laws regarding theft and procedures to judge among themselves. He also instructed them to observe the three annual feasts and warned them to obey the Angel of the Lord, who would pave the way for them in the wilderness to bring them to the promised land.
Now, without any further delay, let us study together and learn what is Exodus 24 about, shall we?
Exodus 24 Summary
The Lord commanded Moses to come up the mountain and instructed him to bring Aaron, Nadab, Abihu, and seventy elders of Israel to worship Him from afar. Only Moses was allowed to go near the Lord. When Moses conveyed the Lord’s instructions to the people, they willingly agreed and promised to do everything that the Lord asked of them.
Moses wrote down all the Lord’s words and built an altar at the foot of the mountain with twelve pillars corresponding to the twelve tribes of Israel. He sent young men to offer burnt offerings, and they sacrificed peace offerings of oxen to the Lord.
Moses took half of the blood of the oxen and put it in basins, and with the other half of the blood, he sprinkled the altar that he had just built for the Lord. He read everything in the Book of the Covenant to the people and they said that they would obey God. Moses then sprinkled the blood on the people, which is the Blood of the Covenant.
Moses went up the mountain with the people that God had instructed Him to bring along and they saw the God of Israel. Under His feet was a pavement made of sapphire stone and it was clear like the sky. They ate and drank in His presence.
The Lord commanded Moses to ascend to the top of the mountain so that He could give Him the tablets of stone and the law and the commandments which He had written. Moses in obedience took Joshua his assistant and went up the mountain. He told the elders to wait for them until they returned. Aaron and Hur were to solve any difficulty among them. Moses alone went up the mountain to meet God. The Glory of the Lord rested upon Mount Sinai and the cloud covered it for six days. On the seventh day, He called to Moses in the midst of the cloud. The glory of God was like a consuming fire to the Israelite’s sight. Moses was on the mountain for forty days and forty nights.
Exodus 24 Commentary
1. Exodus 24:6-8
Moses sprinkled the blood of the oxen on the altar. After reading the book of the Covenant, he sprinkled it on the people and said that it is the blood of the covenant.
We are in a blood covenant with God Almighty through the sprinkled blood of Jesus Christ. His sprinkled blood cleansed us and His blood still speaks from the mercy seat of God. Jesus Christ kept the law on our behalf because no man could keep the law perfectly.
2. Exodus 24:12-13
The Lord Himself wrote the Ten Commandments on the tablets of stone. This is no small thing. His handwriting was on the stone and it is a big deal. Moses’s assistant here was Joshua, who would later lead the children of Israel after Moses. It was natural to assume that Aaron would have been Moses’s assistant but he was not.
3. Exodus 24:16
The cloud covered the mountain for six days and no man went near the Lord. Only when the Lord summoned Moses on the seventh day, he went near the Lord. The six days and the seventh-day pattern repeats itself here from Genesis 1. God created the world in six days and rested on the seventh day.
4. Exodus 24:17-18
God is indeed a consuming fire and that is how people saw His glory on the mountain. The sight of His glory was like a consuming fire to the people. This is the visible Glory of the Lord also called as Shekinah glory. Moses was on the mountain for forty days and forty nights. Interestingly, these were the exact number of days that Jesus Christ fasted in the wilderness after He was baptized with the Holy Spirit.
Exodus 24 Lessons
What can we learn from Exodus 24?
1. The importance of the blood covenant
The oxen were offered as burnt and peace offerings to make peace with God, as we see from Exodus 24. When Jesus Christ came, His blood bridged the gap between us and God and made peace on our behalf with God. There is nothing that can defeat the blood of Jesus Christ. He was the perfect sacrifice once and for all. That is why no more animals need to be sacrificed. The atonement for our sins has been made once and for all by Jesus Christ.
We are now in a peaceful relationship with God and He is not angry with us and we are not separated from Him because our sins have been forgiven by the blood of Jesus Christ. However, it doesn’t apply to every human by default, you see. You have a part to play. You have free will and the choice to accept Jesus Christ’s sacrifice on the cross or reject it and therein lies your relationship with God.
2. God’s timing is perfect
God called Moses up to Him in His timing. Moses simply couldn’t go whenever he wanted and he couldn’t rush God. No man can rush God. God is not in a hurry. It is we who are impatient. He made Moses wait for six days before He called him.
Also, Moses trusted God completely. He didn’t falter or seek to return downhill to the people because God made him wait six days. God is always on time and He is always perfect.
Conclusion
This concludes the bible study on Exodus 24. I hope you enjoyed this free bible study and found it helpful in your Bible study journey. Feel free to share it with your friends and family. Also, share your thoughts and what the Holy Spirit has revealed to you about Exodus 24. If you have any questions or comments, please leave them below. I will get back to you as soon as I can.
Until next time!