Week 5: Blood of the Covenant at Sinai (Exodus 19:3–6 and 24:3–8)

The Big Idea

At Mount Sinai, God brings a rescued people into covenant with himself. He starts with what he has already done, then calls them to obey his voice, and the covenant is sealed with blood thrown on the altar and on the people. Grace comes first, and obedience is the response. Even so, the people's eager promise reminds us how much they will need God's faithfulness more than their own.

Before You Read

Israel has come out of Egypt, crossed the sea, and traveled through the wilderness to Mount Sinai. Here God gives his law, beginning with the Ten Commandments (Exodus 20). Scholars have noticed that the covenant at Sinai follows a shape similar to treaties great kings made with lesser peoples in that part of the world. Those treaties often included a preamble naming the king, a history of what the king had done for the people, the stipulations they were to keep, witnesses, and blessings and curses. Israel's covenant follows much of that pattern, but with a striking difference: the great King is not a conquering emperor demanding tribute. He is the God who just carried them out of slavery.

Read

Read Exodus 19:3–6, then 24:3–8. Read both slowly, twice, once aloud. As you read chapter 24, picture the scene: an altar, twelve pillars, basins of blood, and a whole nation standing at the foot of a mountain.

Observe

1. In 19:4, what three things does God remind the people he has done? Notice whether any of them depend on Israel.
2. What does God compare his care to in 19:4? What image does that create?
3. In 19:5, what condition does God set? What does he promise if they keep it?
4. List the three things God says Israel will be to him (19:5–6). What does he say about the whole earth?
5. In 24:3 and 24:7, what do the people say? How many times do they say it, and how unified are they?
6. List everything Moses does in 24:4–8, in order. What does he build, and why twelve?
7. What happens to the blood? Where does half of it go, and where does the other half go?
8. What does Moses read to the people before throwing the blood on them? What does he call the blood in verse 8?

A Word to Notice

Karat (kah-RAHT), to cut, shows up again in 24:8, where Moses speaks of the covenant the LORD has made with them. The word behind "made" is the same one from Genesis 15: God has cut this covenant. There, animals were divided and God passed between the pieces. Here, blood is divided into two parts, one thrown on the altar, likely standing for God's side, and one thrown on the people. The blood binds both parties into one covenant. This is not a casual handshake. It is a life-and-death commitment, and the people are physically marked by it. The phrase Moses uses here will be spoken again centuries later, in an upper room, by Jesus himself (see especially Matthew 26:28; Week 12).

Interpret

1. Why do you think God begins in 19:4 with what he has done, before he says anything about what Israel must do?Consider: This is the shape of biblical obedience. God does not say, "Obey, and I will rescue you." He says, "I have rescued you; now live as my people." Law is given to the redeemed, not as a ladder to redemption.

2. God says Israel will be a kingdom made up of priests, a nation set apart. What does that mean? Who would a priest be serving, and on whose behalf?Consider: Priests stand between God and others. Israel was called to represent God to the nations and to be set apart for him. Peter applies this language to believers in 1 Peter 2:9.

3. The people promise twice to do everything the LORD has said. Were they sincere? Read Exodus 32:1–8. What does that tell you about the limits of human promises?Consider: They likely meant every word. Yet within weeks, they were worshiping a golden calf. Sinai shows both the beauty of a people saying yes to God and the weakness of the human heart. That tension will drive us toward the new covenant.

4. Why blood? What might it have communicated to have the blood thrown on the altar and on the people?Consider: In Scripture, the life is in the blood (Leviticus 17:11). Blood seals the covenant as a matter of life and death, and joins God and people together in one bond. It also points ahead to a better sacrifice.

5. Cross-reference: Read Hebrews 9:18–22 and Luke 22:20. How does the New Testament look back on Exodus 24?Consider: Hebrews says even the first covenant was inaugurated with blood. Jesus deliberately echoes Moses' words when he speaks of the new covenant in his blood. Sinai is a picture that finds its fullest meaning in Christ.

Apply: Let the Text Read You

• God says he bore his people on eagles' wings and brought them to himself. Where have you been carried by God, maybe without realizing it at the time?
• The people said, "We will do," with full hearts. Have you ever made a sincere promise to God and then failed to keep it? How do you tend to deal with that failure?
• God called Israel his treasured possession while saying all the earth already belonged to him. What is it like to be chosen as treasure by someone who already owns everything?
• Does obedience feel to you more like earning God's favor or responding to it? What does this passage say to that?

Pray

LORD, you carried me before I ever promised you anything. Thank you that your covenant begins with your grace. I want to say yes to you with my whole life, but I know my promises are weak. Hold me by your faithfulness, and make me the kind of person who listens to your voice. Amen.

For Groups (optional)

• Discussion starter: Who are some people in your life who served you before they asked anything of you? How did that change the way you responded to them?
• Read 24:3–8 aloud dramatically, with one person as Moses and the whole group answering together as the people. Then talk about what it felt like to say those words.
• Spend time on Interpret question 3. Honesty about the gap between our promises and our faithfulness will set up the rest of the series.

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Scripture quotations are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.