In Exodus 24 the Lord told 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, but Moses alone is to approach the Lord; the others must not come near. And the people may not come up with him.” v. 1-2. Moses then gets up the next morning and builds an altar and sets up 12 stone pillars to represent the 12 tribes of Israel and young bulls were offered as burnt offerings and sacrifices as fellowship offerings to the Lord. v. 4-5. 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.” Moses then took the blood and 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.” v. 7-8. Half the blood was sprinkled on the altar and half on the people.

I Googled What Covenant means in the Bible: A covenant is a relationship between two partners who make binding promises to each other and work together to reach a common goal. They’re often accompanied by oaths, signs, and ceremonies. Covenants define obligations and commitments, but they are different from a contract because they are relational and personal. I love that…relationship…binding promises…personal. God entered into a covenant with Israel and He meant to keep it. He is faithful. The people entered into a covenant with God and were they as faithful? Did they understand the importance signified by the blood?

I have read the Bible numerous times, but I confess, I don’t remember reading this: Moses and Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, and the seventy elders of Israel went up and saw the God of Israel. Under his feet was something like pavement made of lapis lazuli, as bright blue as the sky. But God did not raise his hand against these leaders of the Israelites; they saw God and they ate and drank. v. 9-11. Can you imagine? How wonderful would that have been? This deserves pause. How would you have felt had you experienced what these men experienced with God? How did God feel? This is important.

Moses later went up on the mountain and the people stayed a respectful distance. And the glory of the Lord settled on Mount Sinai. For six days the cloud covered the mountain, and on the seventh day the Lord called to Moses from within the cloud. To the Israelites the glory of the Lord looked like a consuming fire on top of the mountain. Then Moses entered the cloud as he went on up the mountain. And he stayed on the mountain forty days and forty nights. v. 15-18.

Did Israel understand the sprinkling of blood to seal the covenant they made with God…do we? But when Christ came as high priest of the good things that are now already here, he went through the greater and more perfect tabernacle that is not made with human hands, that is to say, is not a part of this creation. He did not enter by means of the blood of goats and calves; but he entered the Most Holy Place once for all by his own blood, thus obtaining eternal redemption. The blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a heifer sprinkled on those who are ceremonially unclean sanctify them so that they are outwardly clean. How much more, then, will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself unblemished to God, cleanse our consciences from acts that led to death, so that we may serve the living God! For this reason Christ is the mediator of a new covenant, that those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance – now that he has died as a ransom to set them free from the sins committed under the first covenant. Hebrews 9:11-15.

Can we understand the importance of this covenant God made? Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe, for our “God is a consuming fire.” (Deuteronomy 4:24) Hebrews 12:28-29.

How important is this covenant God made with us? For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. John 3:16-17.

Come up to the Lord. We’re no longer separated and worshiping from a distance. We are all of us welcomed into the love that the Father, Son and Holy Spirit share. We are His children, wonderfully and fearfully made Psalm 139:14. A relational, personal walk with God…a covenant of love.