PBCC Small Group Study Notes

For June 3rd

Study Notes for Exodus 24:1-11

DARNING TO DRAW NEAR: A COMMUNITY THAT EATS WITH THE HOLY
Gerald Neufeld

Setting:
The passage this week is the conclusion to the set of instructions called the Book of the
Covenant (24:7) given to Moses by God on Mount Sinai (Ex 20:21). These instructions or laws
were given as part of a covenant between the LORD God and the people of Israel. In this conclusion, Moses presented the Book of the Covenant to the people who twice agree that they will
live by everything that is written in them. Moses then ratified the covenant by the sprinkling of
blood in a way that clearly foreshadows Jesus inauguration of the New Covenant through the
Lords Supper (Luke 22:20). After this, Moses and the leaders go up to see God and, miraculously, live despite seeing God. This story is the grand and glorious conclusion to the
covenant story. Sadly however, it did not take the leaders and the people long (less than 40
days) to reject God and worship idols (Ex. 34).
The requirement of the covenant was that the people agree to it and to keep it perfectly. It was
not good enough to only keep parts of it (Deut. 27:126; Gal. 3:10; James 2:10).
In this ratification of the covenant, two of the most ancient expressions of bonding between two
parties is recounted: eating together and establishing blood ties (Janzen, 324). Here God and the
leaders representing Israel are bonded together in covenant agreement.
God invites the Leaders (24:1-2)
The Book of the Covenant was given to Moses by God on Mount Sinai. Now God invites Aaron,
Nadab, Abihu and seventy other leaders to come and worship.
24:1

In the beginning of this verse God is speaking directly to Moses, giving Moses a personal invitation to pass on to the leaders to come up and worship him. They would
now be near God but still some distance away. The personal invitation went out to
Aaron and his two oldest sons Nadab and Abihu (Aaron had two other sons 6:23; 28:1,
Eleazar and Ithamar but they are not mentioned here.). Aaron and his sons are mentioned explicitly because they represent the future priesthood. Seventy other leaders,
representing all the people, were also included. These men may well be those who
Moses appointed after heeding Jethros advice ( Ex. 18:21-24). Mostly likely Joshua
would have been one of them.

The verse ends with God addressing Aaron and the elders warning them to stay at a
distance. There is a clear level of hierarchy: Moses, the elders and the people. However, what is amazing is that God had come down to meet with all the people (Bell, 1).
See also Exodus 19:16-19.

24:2

God permits only Moses to come close to him, the others must remain at a distance. So
the people are at the foot of the mountain, Aaron and the leaders are part-way up the
mountain and Moses is in Gods presence. It is worth noting the care with which God
orchestrated how humans were to approach him. Coming into Gods presence was not
to be done thoughtlessly or through casual curiosity (Recall Moses approach in Ex.
3:3-5). Gods holiness must be protected (See also Ex. 19:10-24). This sectioning or layered approach to God is later reflected in the Tabernacle and the Temple.
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PBCC Small Group Study Notes

For June 3rd

Confirmation Ceremony (24:3-8)

24:3-4a After receiving the personal invitation from God for himself and the leaders, Moses
rejoins the people and proclaims the Lords words and laws. The words likely
refer to the Ten Commandments (Ex. 20:1) and the laws to the Book of the Covenant
(including all of Ex. 20:22-23:33). If this is the case, then the people are hearing the Ten
Commandments again since they had already heard it directly from God (Ex. 20). In
any case, the people immediately respond to this proclamation with one voice agreeing to do everything the LORD has said. This is an almost identical repetition of their
commitment at the beginning of the Book of the Covenant (Ex. 19:8). However, as we
will see this simple commitment is not sufficient; the covenant needed to be ratified in
blood (v. 8).

It was important for Moses to write down the laws he had received (chapters 20-23) so
that they could be passed on from generation to generation. As Stuart states, Thus
regular reading and rereading of the written covenant at appointed times served to
keep it alive in the minds of the people as the basis for their life together with the one
true God (Deut. 31:11,17,19; Josh. 8:34; 2 Kings 23:2; Neh. 8:8,18) (Stuart, 553).

24:4b-6 The following morning Moses prepares the people for a special covenant ratification
and worship service. Five elements are involved including building a special altar
made of twelve stones representing each tribe (built to the specifications given in
20:24-26), animal sacrifice, use of blood, and the reading of the covenant laws. For the
sacrifices, Moses sends young Israelite men to prepare two types of offering: burnt offering and peace or fellowship offerings. It is interesting that Israelite men are used
rather than priests. At this time the priesthood had not yet been established moreover,
God viewed the entire nation as a nation of priests (Ex. 19:6). In the burnt offering the
entire animal was burnt as a gift to God. A burnt offering was made for atonement for
sin and to show devotion to God. In the peace or fellowship offering, the fat which
belonged to God was burnt entirely (See previous chapter 23:18b) and other parts of
the animal were eaten in a community meal as worship. This meal was a shared meal
between God and the worshipers celebrating fellowship with God.
24:7

The final and formal reading of the law took place at this special ceremony by Moses,
Gods representative. The peoples affirmation was an oath that bound them to obey
the entire law. They knew that this law came from their God since they state that it
was the LORD who gave it (Stuart, 555).

24:8

The blood from the offering was sprinkled half on the altar and half on the people.
The half that was sprinkled on the altar represented atonement (burnt offering) and
the half that was sprinkled on the people represented fellowship (Enns, 490). As Janzen states, God and people are thus united by blood bonds. (Janzen, 327). This
bond is more than establishing a relationship between the people and God. Such a relationship had already been established. The significance here is that God was commissioning Israel to be a priestly kingdom and a holy nation (Ex. 19:6) (Fretheim, 258).

The blood sprinkled on the people confirmed the fellowship between the people and
God. This is why it was called the blood of the covenant (Enns, 490). By this unique
and special ceremony, God, Moses and the people ratify the covenant through the
blood of the covenant. Jesus uses similar language when inaugurating the New
Covenant (See Luke 22:20).
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PBCC Small Group Study Notes

For June 3rd

Leaders and Moses see God (24:9-11)

24:9-11 After the covenant had been ratified in blood the elders were able to go up the mountain and see God. These are amazing verses! Gods invited representatives (cf. v. 1)
go up the mountain and there they see God. How is this possible and what did they
see? It is difficult to come to a complete understanding. What they seem to have seen
is something like pavement made of sapphire beneath Gods feet. We may then understand seeing as being in his presence but not looking directly at him. All they
were able to see was Gods feet and the pavement below. What is described here is the
indescribable (Bell, 2). However we understand its meaning it is clear that it was rare
and of the highest honor. This privilege given to them includes them surviving the
experience that would normally have meant death (Ex. 20:19; 19:21 and specifically Ex.
33:20).

But the privilege goes even further; they ate and drank with him. This is truly extraordinary. What we would have expected is that with such a close presence of God
they would have fallen down and worshiped! This is what Moses (Ex. 34:8), Isaiah (Isa.
6:5), and Ezekiel (Ex. 1:28) do when they are in the presence of God. As Bell states,
This is even more extraordinary than them seeing God. The meal that they enjoyed
was a fellowship meal in Gods presence, a meal which sealed the covenant in an even
more profound way than did the blood thrown upon the altar and upon the people.
(Bell, 2). In this event, eating is much more than just nourishment. It is a metaphor of
fellowship and worship at Gods bountiful protection and provision.

Today, Jesus invites us to a banquet to eat and fellowship with him. This banquet
symbolizes the Christs work in the ratification of the New Covenant and our fellowship with God. We, however, unlike the people who had to stay back and eat manna,
are also able, like the seventy-four elders, to eat in Gods presence (Heb. 12:18-24). And
ultimately, the banquet of the elders, and the Lords Supper, is a foreshadowing of the
great wedding supper of the LORD in which we will eat with God himself (Rev.
19:9-10,17).

References
Waldemar Janzen, Exodus, The Believers Church Bible Commentary, Ed., Elmer A. Martins and
Willard M. Swartley, Scottdale, Penn:Herald Press, 302
Douglas K. Stuart, Exodus, An Exegetical and Theological Exposition of Holy Scripture, The New
American Commentary, Nashville, Te:Broadman & Holman Publishers.
Terence E. Fretheim, Exodus, Interpretation - A Bible Commentary for Teaching and Preaching,
Louisville:John Knox Press, 1991.
Peter Enns, Exodus, the NIV Application Commentary, Grand Rapids:Zondervan Pub, 2000.
Bernard Bell, Feasting with God, PBCC Message Series: Spirituality of Daily Life,
<http://www.pbcc.org/sermons/bell/1186.pdf>, Catalog No. 1186, Nov 29th, 1998.