In Exodus 19 the Lord invited Israel to enter covenant relationship with him, an invitation they willingly accepted: “All that the Lord has spoken we will do!” (19:8). In chapters 20–23 the Lord appeared in glory and proclaims the covenant stipulations. Now in 24:1–11 the covenant is confirmed after the Israelites reaffirm their willingness to enter into it by repeating their earlier statement: “All the words that the Lord has spoken we will do!” (24:3; cf. v. 7). This repetition ties chapters 19–24 together.573 The covenant invitation has been accepted and ratified.

As for the covenant ratification itself, this will require identifying an Israelite delegation (24:1–2), an affirmation from the people of their agreement to the covenant (vv. 3–8), and a meal sealing the relationship between the covenant parties (vv. 9–11). Emphases include the Israelites’ affirmation of obedience (vv. 3, 7), the Israelite delegation’s seeing God (vv. 10, 11), and the centrality of blood to this particular covenant (vv. 6–8).

As noted earlier, the Israelites are already in covenant relationship with the Lord by means of the Abrahamic covenant (cf. comment on 19:3–6 and esp. note 342). The Sinai covenant does not replace it as much as show how it applies to Israel as a nation. Yet the Sinai covenant is also a very real invitation for the Israelites to embrace their calling, as heirs of Abraham, to be a conduit of blessing to the nations, especially by being a kingdom of priests and a holy nation that embody and spread God’s kingdom on earth (19:4–6). The stipulations of the Sinai covenant explain what such a kingdom looks like; by ratifying it the Israelites commit to being such a kingdom.

  V.  Israel at Sinai: the Lord gives his covenant to Israel; the covenant is ratified (20:1–24:11) . . .

F.  The covenant is ratified (24:1–11)

1.  The Israelite delegation party and three zones of proximity to the Lord (24:1–2)

2.  The Israelites confirm their allegiance to their covenant Lord (24:3–8)

3.  The delegation party ratifies the covenant before the Lord (24:9–11)

What Is a Covenant, and What Are Its Implications?

See the Response section on 19:1–25, which goes into significant detail about the nature of the covenant and its implications. In keeping with those comments we can note especially the overlap here between the Lord’s status as covenant initiator (cf. comment on 24:3–8 [at v. 8]) and the importance of Israelite obedience (emphasized by the Israelites’ repeated promise of faithfulness in v. 3 and v. 7; for a further area of overlap see the last question below). What is new in this context is the centrality of the sacrificial blood to the Sinai covenant. This leads to a second question.

What Is the Significance of Blood?

As noted above, sacrificial blood has different functions in Israel. The sprinkling of the altar is associated with making atonement (cf. comment on 24:3–8 [at v. 6]), a deep need whenever sinful people come before a holy God. When placed on people, blood can also have a cleansing function (cf. v. 8), so there may be an element of cleansing and consecrating the Israelites for their covenantal role as a kingdom of priests and holy nation. What is most clear is that the blood is called the “blood of the covenant,” meaning it serves here as the covenant’s sign. Those marked with it are members of that covenant. For many of the Israelites this mark will remain on their clothing for years to come, a constant reminder of their covenant relationship with the Lord and all it entails.588

The NT uses the picture of the blood of the Sinai covenant to explain what Jesus has accomplished by giving his lifeblood on the cross. Just as the Sinai covenant was inaugurated with the sacrificial blood of animals, the new covenant has been inaugurated with the sacrificial blood of Jesus (cf. Luke 22:20; Heb. 9:15–28). Just as the shedding of that blood was followed by a covenantal meal, so Christians remember the shedding of Jesus’ blood by partaking of the covenantal meal of Communion.589 And just as the Israelites’ covenant responsibilities included being “a kingdom of priests and a holy nation,” so has Jesus in the new covenant rescued us to be the same (1 Pet. 2:9). In the Bible redemption is always a springboard to mission. God saves us that we may know him—and make him known.

As this passage draws to a close, there is a final curiosity: we are told two different times that the Israelite delegation sees God (Ex. 24:10, 11). This leads to the last question.

Why Does the Text Emphasize That the Israelite Delegation Sees God?

In a covenant between a greater king and a lesser king the primary obligation of the greater king was military protection (cf. note 350 in the Response section on 19:1–25, “What Does Relationship with the Lord Entail?”). In the Israelites’ case this becomes incredibly personal. Not only has the Lord already delivered them from the greatest military power of the day (Exodus 1–15), and not only will he continue to protect them when they enter the Promised Land (23:22–23, 27–30), but he will view them as a “treasured possession” (19:5), which refers elsewhere to a king’s treasure (1 Chron. 29:3; Eccles. 2:8), something to be safeguarded and valued to the utmost (cf. note 343 within comment on 19:3–6).

This passage gets at the same idea by way of emphasizing that the Israelite delegation was able to see God in his glory and partake of a meal before him. Ancient Near Eastern royal protocol helps to explain. As noted at Exodus 24:9–11, the delegation’s ability to see God’s glory without harm meant that he, as divine King, had welcomed them into his royal presence. As also noted there, by eating and drinking before him the delegation not only seals the covenant but does so in a way that pictures the covenant fellowship they now enjoy with the Lord. Certainly, they must be his faithful servants, but, if they can eat at the King’s table, they can know that the King himself has accepted them and will provide for their needs and protect them (cf. 2 Samuel 9).

This takes on special significance for the Christian, who, through Jesus, is able to come freely before the Lord as King. Indeed, because of Jesus we can “with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need” (Heb. 4:16; cf. Heb. 10:19–22). Mercy and grace in time of need flow from the throne of the heavenly King with whom we have covenant fellowship. What fears does this promise still? What anxieties does it calm? Because of Jesus, such things are freely ours. Lavishly ours. The King is with us! Let us no longer fear.Exodus 24:1–11

Overview ofExodus 24:12–31:18

Exodus 24:12–31:18

The next major section in Exodus introduces the tabernacle. It begins in 24:12 with the Lord’s stating his intent to give Moses the law on stone tablets and ends in 31:18 with his doing so.590 The flow of the entire section is very straightforward. The Lord summons Moses into his presence on Mount Sinai (24:12–18) and then makes a long speech describing the design of the tabernacle complex and related items (such as the uniforms the priests must wear when ministering; 25:1–30:38). The Lord then identifies two men, Bezalel and Oholiab, who will oversee the making of everything necessary for the sanctuary complex (31:1–11) and emphasizes the importance of keeping the Sabbath, which he identifies as the sign of the covenant between him and the Israelites (vv. 12–17). With this the speech ends and he gives the covenant tablets to Moses (v. 18).

The covenant is in fact an important thread that ties together this section of Exodus with its final two sections (chs. 32–34; 35–40).

(1)  24:12–31:18: In response to the covenant’s confirmation (24:1–11) the Lord commands the building of his palace-tent in Israel’s midst, where he will sit enthroned as covenant King over the ark containing the covenant tablets (25:16; 31:18). As just noted, this section ends with a command to keep the Sabbath, explicitly identified as the sign of the covenant (31:13, 16–17).

(2)  32:1–34:35: By building a golden calf Israel breaks the covenant, which Moses graphically portrays by shattering the covenant tablets (32:15–19). The rest of the section describes how the covenant is renewed through Moses’ intercession on the Israelites’ behalf and by the Lord’s graciously showing them his mercy and forgiveness (cf. esp. 34:1–28).

(3)  35:1–40:38: With the covenant reestablished this section begins with a renewed call for the Israelites to keep the covenant’s sign, the Sabbath (35:1–3; cf. 31:12–17). The rest of the section then describes the Israelites’ building and setting up the dwelling of their covenant King and finishes with the Lord’s descent in glory to his palace-tent in Israel’s midst (40:34–38). In this way the book concludes with the Israelites’ faithfully doing what their covenant King commands and the King’s coming himself to dwell in the midst of his covenant people.

As a result, one cannot think of the tabernacle without thinking of covenant. The tabernacle is a constant witness to the Israelites that their covenant King dwells among them, which should assure them that he will be faithful to his covenant promises to them and also remind them of their covenant obligations to him.

The tabernacle itself will be described in detail in the coming chapters, but a brief overview may be helpful here.591 Most broadly speaking it consists of a frame with four coverings and measures 45 feet (13.7 m) in length and 15 feet (4.6 m) in width and height. In terms of size this is not like a camping tent but more like a tent used today at festivals or outdoor receptions. More specifically speaking its frame is made of gold-covered acacia frames fastened together into a roofless rectangular box oriented lengthwise on an east-west axis. On the east of the rectangle is a screened entrance. The screen is made of blue, purple, and scarlet wool as well as fine linen—colors and materials fit for a king (cf. comment on 25:3–7). Inside the rectangle are two rooms. From the east the first room is known as the Holy Place and measures 30 feet (9.1 m) in length and 15 feet (4.6 m) in height and width. It contains an incense altar, a lamp, and a table, all made of gold or covered with gold, just as one might expect in a king’s palace. At the far end of the room is a veil made of the same materials as the screen, with cherubim woven into it, speaking to the heavenly nature of the dwelling and symbolically guarding the way into the second room behind it. That room is known as the Most Holy Place, measuring 15 feet (4.6 m) square and serving as the Lord’s throne room. It contains the ark of the covenant, a rectangular box overlaid with gold and with a solid golden lid. Four different coverings then go over the frame. The first is a series of curtains joined together that are likely to cover the top, back, and most of the sides of the frame. They are made similarly to the veil so that those standing in the tabernacle will see cherubim seemingly floating above them, an appropriate setting for the heavenly Lord’s dwelling. The second covering is a series of curtains joined together and made of woven goat’s hair, while the third and fourth coverings are made of animal skins, all of which will protect the tent from the elements. Outside the tent’s entrance is a basin and the altar of burnt offering, which stand in a courtyard marked out by joined curtains forming a rectangular wall measuring 150 feet (46 m) in length, 75 feet (23 m) in width, and 7.5 feet (2.3 m) in height. Like the tent, its entrance is to the east and covered by a screen made of the same royal materials (blue, purple, and scarlet wool and fine linen). In short, from the courtyard’s entrance to the very interior room of the tent royal and heavenly symbolism is very strong. This is the palace-tent of the King of heaven.

It may be noted briefly that many have questioned the historical plausibility of the construction of such a tent in the Mosaic period. Wellhausen argued that the tabernacle was invented at a far later period and based on the Jerusalem temple.592 This and similar approaches have not been uncommon in biblical studies.593 As modern understanding of the ancient Near East has grown, however, it has become clear that such a tent is completely in keeping with Egyptian construction techniques from even before the time of Moses.594 Indeed, based on his wide-ranging study of tents in the ancient Near East “Homan concludes that ‘the many [ancient Near Eastern] parallels to the Tabernacle in form and function support its historicity.’”595 This is not the same as proving the tabernacle’s historicity, but it does show that the biblical account of the tabernacle, including its time period, is completely plausible.

With regard to this section’s major themes four in particular may be noted. First, the Lord guides his people, be it through calling Moses once again up the mountain to give him instruction (24:12) or naming the tent of meeting as the future place where he will continue to give Moses revelation for the people (25:22). Second, the Lord desires to be near his people and have relationship with them, which are explicitly named as the goals of both redemption (29:46) and the building of the tent (25:8).596 Third, he will dwell in their midst as covenant King, as evidenced by the tent’s many royal associations as well as the larger context of the suzerain-vassal covenant he has just made with Israel.597 Finally, the Lord is holy, which the tabernacle itself communicates in numerous ways.598 Taken together, these themes underscore the Lord’s transcendence (he is a king who is holy) and his immanence (he desires to be among his people and guide them). He is unspeakably other and unbelievably personal. He moves his throne room from heaven to earth to be near those he has redeemed— those he cares for and protects as the very “apple of his eye” (Deut. 32:10).

As a final comment, it may be noted that this section presents certain challenges to the translator and interpreter—to the translator because many technical terms are used that are fairly rare and to the interpreter because a certain amount of knowledge is presumed of the reader. Both challenges are in fact expected amid technical instructions. For example, recipes often use technical language uncommon to everyday speech. Some cooks might know what “barding” is, but most people would need to be told that it means covering meat with slices of bacon. Moreover, recipes assume important pieces of knowledge, such as when they say to add two eggs without telling the cook to crack them and dispose of their shells! As it relates to these chapters, there will be times when we are left with some questions or uncertainty regarding various particulars of the tabernacle or the priests’ clothing. Fortunately, however, enough is clear to give a very helpful general understanding of what these items would have looked like and, as already suggested, an even clearer understanding of what they are meant to represent.Exodus 24:12–31:18

Exodus 24:12–25:9