Covenant Manifesto

Exodus 24:7-8 ESV

7 Then he took the Book of the Covenant and read it in the hearing of the people. And they said, “All that the Lord has spoken we will do, and we will be obedient.” 8 And Moses took the blood and threw it on the people and said, “Behold the blood of the covenant that the Lord has made with you in accordance with all these words.”

Ask anyone in the business world and they will tell you that when coming to an agreement with someone, it is always wise to have a contract drawn up.

Now, I’m sure that we are all aware of what a contract is, but just humor me for a moment while I remind you that a contract is a written or verbal agreement that is enforced by law. In other words, what a contract says is that what I say I am going to do, I am going to do, and if I don’t, there will be legal ramifications for my failure to do so.

And even more than that, there are many times, written into the contract that one signs, details of the possible consequences for failure to hold up your end of the deal. For example, there may be a clause written in the contract that states that if you fail to keep your end of the deal, you will be subject to a thousand dollar fine and thirty days in jail. And once you sign that contract, you are obligated to keep your end of the deal or face the already-spelled-out consequences.

And this practice has been utilized for ages, but it has not always used the same methods.

Indeed, what we call contracts today had the more solemn name of “covenant” in biblical times, and the way in which two parties would establish a covenant in biblical times was manifold. But my personal favorite covenant ceremony in biblical times consisted of when two tribes, two sets of peoples became one.

We catch a glimpse of what this kind of covenant-making ceremony consisted of when God made His covenant with Abraham back in Genesis, chapter 15.

There we see God promise to Abraham that his descendants will number the stars in the sky, and God then sealed His promise to Abraham by establishing a covenant with him.

At God’s command, Abraham brought to God a heifer, a female goat, a ram, a turtledove, and a young pigeon. After gathering the animals, Abraham cut them in half and laid each half over against one another. This, of course, would not only cause the carcasses of the animals to bleed but laying the halves over against one another would cause a steady stream of blood to flow down the ground that separated the carcasses.

Now, to us, this sounds like a strange way to establish an agreement, but this was the way in which virtually every covenant was established when two tribes or people groups would establish a covenant, especially in the days of the patriarchs.

After cutting the animals in half and laying the halves over against one another, the two tribal chiefs would stand at opposite ends of the animal halves with their own respective people on the sides in which they stood.

Then the terms of the covenant would be publicly read by the tribal representatives to the tribal chiefs and to the people in general.

Then after each one of the tribal chiefs verbally agreed to the covenant, they would begin the trek down the bloody flow in between the carcasses. And as they walked down the bloody flow, they would pronounce both blessings and curses.

They would say things like, “May this union of our tribes bring about prosperity and joy” and they would also say, “If any of us ever break or violate this covenant that we are now making, may what has befallen these animals befall us”.

Then the tribal leaders, by the time they had fully walked down the bloody flow, would be on the side of their opposing tribes, signifying that they were no longer two people, but one.

After this would was completed, the tribal leaders would typically cut themselves somewhere on their body with a deep cut. This would then produce a scar, which would ever remind them of the covenant that they had made.

Well, like we’ve been saying, God is here, in this 24thchapter of the book of Exodus, ratifying the covenant that He has made with the people, Israel. And this morning as we continue to exposit what we find in this narrative; we once again see this covenant beautifully re-enacted.

Step by step we see in our reading for today the same covenant-making process that was just spelled out. First, in the beginning of verse 7 in our reading, where it says:

Exodus 24:7a ESV

7a Then he took the Book of the Covenant and read it in the hearing of the people.

So, as we read in our reading from last week, the animals involved in this process have already been slain, sacrificed to God, and their blood shed.

Thus, with the animals slain, we now come again to Moses, who acts here as the representative, not only for the people, Israel, but also as God’s representative.

And as there would be one who would read the stipulations and the terms of the covenant in the ancient covenant making process of those days, so do we see here in our reading that Moses publicly reads the stipulations and terms of the covenant that is being established between God and the people, Israel.

These terms and stipulations of the covenant are called here, the Book of the Covenant. This Book of the Covenant, as we have already said in previous sermons, is indicative of the “words of the Lord”, what we know today as the Ten Commandments, found in Exodus, chapter 20, and “all the rules” consisting of the laws of God found at the end of Exodus, chapter 20 and extending through to the end of chapter 23.

In that section of sacred scripture, we find commands that God gives to the people. There we see that God promises vast blessings to abide upon the people when these commands are adhered to. And there we also see that God promises terrible curses to fall upon the people whenever they fail to adhere to the same commands.

And again, we see the response of the people, given to us in the second half of verse 7, where we read:

Exodus 24:7b ESV

7b And they said, “All that the Lord has spoken we will do, and we will be obedient.”

The response of the people had not changed. Back in verse 3 of this chapter, the people had said that all the words that the Lord has spoken, they will do. But here, the words “and we will be obedient” are added. This signifies that the people are declaring that they will not only do what God commands of them, but that they will do so obediently, not slavishly, but obediently, reckoning God as their rightful Master.

Indeed, the people had already said that they would do everything that God commands, but here is the covenant fully ratified. Thus, the words that are spoken here in our reading, bind the people by oath to obey the One Who had redeemed them from slavery in Egypt and Who was soon to deliver into their hands the land which He had promised to them centuries before through their ancestor, Abraham.

But even more, look closely at the words spoken here. “All that the Lord has spoken we will do”. Now, I mention this because it reveals that the people knew to Whom they were bound in this covenant.

It is the God Who rained plagues upon Egypt. It is the God Who brought the people, Israel out of Egypt with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm, with great deeds of terror, with signs and wonders. It is the God Who parted the Red Sea and delivered Israel on dry land. It is the God Who rained bread from heaven. The God Who caused water to shoot forth from the rock. It is the God of heaven and earth, the God of gods.

This was the God with Whom Israel was entering into covenant with. And as I said, the people knew that this was the case, they knew Who they were making covenant with.

Therefore, they knew that without a doubt, God, the One Whom they were making covenant with, would indeed keep His end of the deal. They knew that the word of God was as good as gold, and therefore, they knew that blessings were surely coming their way once they had obeyed Him.

But then again, they knew Whom they were making covenant with, and therefore, they knew He would also enforce the promised curses of the covenant if the people either willfully broke or ignored it.

Thus, knowing full well the covenant that they were making, and Who they were making this covenant with, the people bound themselves to keeping their end of the covenant.

Thus, just as the tribal chiefs would agree to the terms and conditions of the covenant, so has God agreed to the terms in making the terms, and so have the people, Israel agreed to the terms through their verbal acclamation.

Once this had been completed, we go on to read of that which occurs next, in verse 8 of our reading, where it says:

Exodus 24:8 ESV

8 And Moses took the blood and threw it on the people and said, “Behold the blood of the covenant that the Lord has made with you in accordance with all these words.”

Now, remember, when the tribal chiefs would ratify the covenant that they had verbally assented to, they would walk the length of the bloody trail that was produced by the animal carcass halves that laid over against one another. And as they did this, they would pronounce blessings and curses upon themselves; blessings for the maintenance of the covenant, and curses for the neglect of it.

Now, last week we had mentioned how Moses had taken half of the blood that was produced from the sacrifice that had been made and threw it against the altar, which represented God. In that act, we see God, walking the length of the bloody trail if you will. In doing this, God was declaring with 100% certainty that He will keep His end of the deal, He will most certainly fulfill His covenantal responsibilities.

The application of the blood to the altar was the declaration of God that He would indeed bless the people upon their obedience to His commands. And as I said, this was an absolute certainty, because the application of the blood to the altar also meant that God was declaring that if He fail to hold up His end of the deal, He will then be put to death, He will cease to be God. And as we all know, God cannot cease to be Himself. Thus, this was a certain guarantee of blessings for obedience.

And now here, in this portion of our reading, we see the people, Israel walk the bloody trail if you will, as Moses takes the blood that he had poured into the basins back in verse six, and he sprinkles it, probably upon the seventy elders mentioned back in verse one of this chapter, and proclaims “Behold the blood of the covenant that the Lord has made with you in accordance with all these words.”

The covenant had been verbally agreed upon, but now, the application of the blood has changed the people. It has brought them into a new realm if you will, absolutely altered their relation to God, as there are at least two purposes that this blood serves.

The first purpose that it serves is it sets the people apart for service to God. Back in Exodus, chapter 19, verses 5 and 6, we read the words of the Lord, where He said:

Exodus 19:5-6 ESV

… 5 if you will indeed obey my voice and keep my covenant, you shall be my treasured possession among all peoples, for all the earth is mine; 6 and you shall be to me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation…

And here in our reading we see the people being set apart for this very purpose; to be a kingdom of priests and a holy nation, commissioned to serve God.

But the application of the blood also serves as a testimony against those who would break the covenant. Those who would break the covenant were most certainly without excuse as they here publicly declare that if they do break the covenant, they should die the death that the slain animals upon the altar have died.

What this guarantees is the separation of the wheat from the tares. The separation of those who have been legitimately saved by God and those who have merely masqueraded as something that they are not. Indeed, it reveals the manifestation of the children of God from apostates.

Beloved, we today experience the fullness of what this blood represents. Christ Jesus, Who has shed His blood once for all time for the sins of His elect people has and will apply this blood to who it is meant to be applied to.

And while there will be many who erroneously claim this blood for themselves, who declare that they are saved people yet remain dead in their sins, those whom God intends to save will indeed be saved, and because He intends for them to be saved, He will keep them saved.

Beloved, may we who have truly come into covenant with God, ever worship Him and praise Him in that He was pleased to bring us into this eternal covenant.

Amen?