YEAR 2, WEEK 4, Day 5, Friday, 24 January 2025

https://esv.literalword.com/?q=exodus+24

Observations from today’s readings and today’s S-WOD, Friday, 24 January 2025:

Exodus 24:7 — “All that the Lord has spoken we will do, and we will be obedient.”

The people had the same prideful overconfidence Peter had when he boldly proclaimed he would never fall away (Matthew 26:34). Three times the Israelites proclaimed their fidelity to the LORD, twice in this chapter and previously in Exodus 19:8, three being an important number of emphasis and totality. They proclaimed their total devotion but would totally fail, just as Peter would deny Jesus three times, and Jesus would later challenge Peter’s love three times (John 21), emphasizing our total depravity and total dependency on God’s mercy and grace. Jesus began His earthly ministry proclaiming “Blessed are the poor in spirit,” those who recognize their spiritual bankruptcy and seek from the LORD what they can’t provide for themselves and don’t deserve. A right relationship with the LORD starts with complete humility, repentance, and trust. Self-righteous pride in any form hinders our relationship with Him and leads to sin.

• Romans 12:3 — For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned.

Exodus 24:11 – And he did not lay his hand on the chief men of the people of Israel; they beheld God, and ate and drank.

“Corporate piety under the old covenant also included the covenant meal, the most important of which was eaten in Jerusalem at the Passover (Ex. 12)…. We will look at the idea of the covenant meal in general and the Lord’s Supper, which is the covenant meal of the New Testament church.

We speak of the covenant meal because food was an important part of covenant-making in the ancient Near East. Eating with other people was a significant event in ancient days, for only parties who were at peace could dine together. An illustration of this covenant meal and its attendant peace is seen in Genesis 31:51–54, where Laban and Jacob come to a truce and solemnize their pact with the breaking of bread.

Exodus 24:1–11 records an extraordinary covenant meal that is shared by the Lord and the elders of Israel. Having embraced God’s covenant, the elders of Israel are invited up on the mountain with Moses and the priests to see a vision of the Lord. We are not sure of what this vision actually entailed, but it was a glimpse of God’s glory, for the passage emphasizes what they saw at God’s feet, being unable to gaze at His face directly (vv. 9–10). It is likely that what the elders then ate in the presence of the Lord was the oxen of the peace offering (v. 5), burnt at the covenant-making ceremony (worshipers customarily ate the peace offering; see Lev. 3; 7:11–18).

In any case, that the meal was eaten at all demonstrates that God had made peace with these representatives of Israel and, therefore, the entire nation. Ordinarily, being in the divine presence would have resulted in the death of the sinner, for no unholy person can see the Lord’s face and live (Ex. 33:20). But when the Creator invites people into His presence, they are preserved, since it is His will to set them apart as holy and fit to stand before Him. He makes peace with His people before He calls them into His presence, so they need not fear destruction.

The peace with God that Israel enjoyed on the mountain lasted but a moment, and the history of the old covenant is one of war between the Lord and His unfaithful bride (Jer. 21:1–5; Hos. 1:2). A greater work would be done to secure eternal peace, commemorated by a greater meal that includes people from all nations (Isa. 25:6–8).” (Ligonier Ministries)

Exodus 24:13 – So Moses rose with his assistant Joshua, and Moses went up into the mountain of God.

Moses mentored his future replacement. How does his example apply to your life? Who are you preparing to proclaim the glory of God and the truth of the Gospel after you are long gone?

Exodus 24:16 – And on the seventh day he called to Moses out of the midst of the cloud.

God meets His servants on the Sabbath. How is your relationship with the LORD? Are you honoring the Sabbath?

Notice the essential elements of a relationship with the LORD demonstrated in Exodus 24:

1. God’s invitation. (Exodus 24:1)
2. Reverence for the LORD. (Exodus 24:2)
3. Preaching and hearing God’s word. (Exodus 24)
4. A desire and willingness to heed God’s word. (Exodus 24:3, 7)
5. God’s written word. (Exodus 24:4)
6. A blood sacrifice and the covering of the blood of the peace offering, which Jesus ultimately fulfills. (Exodus 24:5)
7. The revelation of the LORD. (Exodus 24:10)
8. Communion (intimate fellowship) with the LORD. (Exodus 24:11)
9. Sabbath with the LORD. (Exodus 16)
10. Remaining in the Presence of the LORD. (Exodus 24:18)

What do these ten essential elements look like in your life? What needs to change?

“Cross” Fit S-WOD (Spiritual Workout of the Day) – 24 January 2025: Today, build upon the essential elements of your relationship with the LORD, resting on that salvation you have received by grace through Jesus’ sacrifice, and receiving the conviction and empowerment of the Holy Spirit.