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Commentary Index | Return to PrayerRequest.com | DownloadPaul Kretzmann Commentary - Exodus 24:1 - 24:8
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Moses Summoned by God
v. 1. And he said unto Moses, Come up unto the Lord, thou and Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel; and worship ye afar off. The emphatic position of the word "Moses" in the Hebrew text shows that this command was given to Moses directly, not addressed to the people, as the Ten Commandments had been. Nadab and Abihu were sons of Aaron, and the seventy elders represented the people. In drawing near to the Lord these men were commanded to bow down, to worship, but only from a distance, Moses alone, as the prophet of Jehovah, being permitted to go to the top of the mountain.
v. 2. And Moses alone shall come near the Lord; but they shall not come nigh; neither shall the people go up with him. Both Aaron and his sons, representing the priests, and the seventy elders, the government representatives of the popular assembly, were excluded from the intimate privileges of the prophet of the Lord.
v. 3. And Moses, who had been in the darkness at the foot of the mountain, at some distance from the people, came and told the people all the words of the Lord, and all the judgments, all the ordinances recorded in the preceding Chapters; and all the people answered with one voice and said, All the words which the Lord hath said will we do. Under the influence of the awe-inspiring manifestation of Jehovah which they had witnessed they voiced their unanimous consent, their unconditional agreement.
v. 4. And Moses wrote all the words of the Lord, he recorded all the laws and ordinances which had been given till now, that none might be overlooked or forgotten, and rose up early in the morning, and builded an altar under the hill, at the foot of the mountain, and twelve pillars, according to the twelve tribes of Israel. The altar indicated the presence of Jehovah, while the twelve pillars symbolized the twelve tribes of Israel, representing their presence.
v. 5. And he sent young men of the children of Israel, chiefly because they possessed the necessary strength and agility to perform the work quickly, which offered burnt offerings, and sacrificed peace offerings of oxen unto the Lord, true offerings of salvation, which symbolized the gracious regard of the Lord for the people of His choice, the union effected by His mercy.
v. 6. And Moses took half of the blood, and put it in basins, saving it for a ceremony shortly to be performed; and half of the blood he sprinkled on the altar, he poured it out before the Lord with one swift movement.
v. 7. And he took the book of the covenant, and read in the audience of the people, as containing the terms of the covenant on God's side; it was called out with a loud voice, so all could hear. And they said, All that the Lord hath said will we do and be obedient; having had another opportunity to hear the ordinances, they willingly consented to all the terms.
v. 8. And Moses took the blood, which had been kept in the basins, and sprinkled it on the people, and said, Behold the blood of the covenant which the Lord hath made with you concerning all these words. The significance of this solemn ceremony was that the people, through the blood of the sacrifice as it was sprinkled upon them, were received into the full fellowship with God, just as the blood poured out at the altar signified the complete surrender of the people to God. But the surrender of the people in general, as they voiced their consent to the Lord's ordinances, preceded their obedience in particular, the order which is observed to this day. We Christians are brought into true fellowship with God, not by the sacrificial blood of mere animals, but through the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot.