Set anchor
The people of Israel came to Mount Sinai – the mountain of God. There, God regulated and clarified his relationship with this people. He made a covenant with Israel. This covenant has its roots in the past. In what God had already done good for the people. But by entering into this covenant, it has implications for the future relationship. The covenant was an anchor point in the discipleship of Israel and has much to say for the discipleship of Jesus.
God regulates & clarifies his relationship with Israel in the covenant
In our annual theme of discipleship, we are travelling with the people of Israel to the Promised Land. After some time, Israel came to Mount Sinai. God had met Moses, the leader of the Israelites, there and gave him the task of bringing the people here (Exodus 3:12). But Israel is not just any people. Their progenitor Abraham and his descendants were chosen by God. In the meantime, one family has become a large number of people. They have organised themselves into twelve tribes. God freed the people from Egypt, where they lived in slavery and were oppressed. However, the relationship between God and the people is not really clear. Moses is appointed as the leader, but the relationship with God is still very vaguely organised and structured. In the Bible, the majority of the five books of Moses follow, which are perceived as rather boring. This is because they are collections of laws, instructions for building the sanctuary or sacrificial rituals. Quite a few people who have set out to read through the Bible already come to a standstill here. But it is precisely this «boring» part that is of central importance. Today’s special focus is on the covenant in Exodus 24, which covers much more than just this chapter.
God led the Israelites from Egypt to this mountain. He led them through the sea. He gave them food and drink. He helped them against enemies. So the introductory words are as follows: «You have seen what I did to the Egyptians. I have brought you safely here to me, just as an eagle carries its young on its wings.» (Exodus 19:4 NLB). Here at this place, something like a stopover follows. The people rest here in this inhospitable place. It is precisely this place that becomes an anchor point for Israel. God has already spoken in this place before. So far, some things are clear. God loves this unruly people. He supports them and helps them. But what is God’s relationship with this people? It is a special relationship with God. «You shall be to me a kingdom of priests, a holy nation. […]» (Exodus 19:6 NLB). God chooses the covenant to organise this relationship. At that time, a covenant regulated the relationship between a great king and his vassals. A great king had several subjects, who in turn were ruled by individual people. These vassals were in a covenant relationship with their great king. The covenant that God makes with Israel is similar to that which was common in the 14th and 13th centuries. Through a covenant, a naturally non-existent relationship is established. Everything is clearly fixed by this covenant and it is accepted by a ceremonial oath. This again shows how ingeniously God writes his story. Because in order to conclude such a covenant, a certain amount of knowledge had to be available. As Moses grew up in the Egyptian royal court, he was educated and perfectly equipped for this task.
A covenant follows clear structures
Let us now immerse ourselves together in this covenant made at Sinai. «When Moses had told the people all the words and laws of the LORD, they answered him once.ütig: «We want to do everything the Lord has said.» Then Moses wrote down all the words of the Lord. Early the next morning, he erected an altar at the foot of the mountain. He set up twelve stone pillars around the altar, one for each tribe of Israel. He then instructed some young Israelites to offer burnt offerings to the LORD and to slaughter young bulls as peace offerings. Moses took the one Hähalf of the blood and poured it into some basins. With the other halfäHe sprinkled the altar in the second half. Then he took the Book of the Covenant and read it to the people. Again he declaredäthey said: «We will do all that the Lord has commanded. We will obey his commandments.» Moses sprinkled the people with the blood from the basins and said: «This blood seals the covenant that the LORD has made with you by giving you these laws» » (Exodus 24:3–8 NLB).
A covenant follows clear structures, which I would like to introduce to you. The first point is the historical categorisation. The first thing in a covenant is always the deed of the great king, in this case God, what he did for his subjects. It includes all the good things he has done. The justification from the past legitimises the covenant in the present and future. «Then God spoke these words: «I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of slavery in Ähas liberated Egypt» » (Exodus 20:1–2 NLB). Secondly, the so-called legal codes follow. A covenant contains instructions that the covenant partners must fulfil. These are very extensive and cover large parts of the five books of Moses. Thirdly, it was clearly regulated how and where the covenant document was kept. The covenant was read out from time to time so that the covenant partners were reminded. This was also done when the covenant was concluded. In the case of the Israelites, this meant «Put the stone tablets of the law that I will give you into the ark and then close it with the cover plate» (Exodus 25:21 NLB). The ark was later located in the sanctuary. The covenant thus became the basis of worship for the Israelites. Furthermore, a covenant must have witnesses for it to be valid. «Today I give you the choice between life and death, between blessing and curse. Heaven and earth are my witnesses. Choose life so that you and your descendants may live!» (Deuteronomy 30:19 NLB). At the end of a covenant agreement, there are threats of blessing and cursing. Compliance or non-compliance has consequences. On the one hand, this is positive. If the people are faithful to God, he will bless them. But also on the contrary. «But if you do not listen to me and do not obey my commandments, but break the covenant with me by disobeying my laws and despising my regulationsäand therefore did not obey all my commandments» (Leviticus 26:14–15 NLB). If the people do not abide by this, there are consequences.
In the text from Exodus 24, we have already read how the covenant was made. On the one side stands God. Symbolised here by the altar. Stone pillars are set up around it. A total of twelve for each tribe. The people stand around them. Now the altar is sprinkled with half of the blood. This shows that God is the one party to the covenant. Moses now reads the covenant to the Israelites. They reply: «[…] All that the Lord has commanded we will do. We want to obey his commandments» (Exodus 24:7 NLB). To confirm and emphasise this consent, the people are sprinkled with the remaining blood. «Then Moses took the blood and sprinkled it on the people, saying, «See, this is the blood of the covenant that the LORD has made with you because of all these words» » (Exodus 24:8 LUT). In Jewish tradition, a covenant is understood as a contract.
Consent to the covenant has consequences
The very well-known «10 commandments» fall within this context of the covenant. Unfortunately, however, the German term is somewhat misleading. The literal translation from the Hebrew, which means «ten words», is much more appropriate. Because how these are understood is also strongly linked to the name. The ten commandments are often understood as a moral code. The term is not exactly helpful here. According to this, a follower secures God’s favour by following these commandments. But this is misleading. For the basic prerequisite for Israel’s election is grace. God chose this people without any prerequisite. The ten words are therefore not a law either, because they are not clearly enough defined for this and the punishments for an offence are not mentioned. Rather, the ten words are instructions for a good life. All further instructions given to Moses are elaborations of these ten words. The ten words are the basic order of life for those whom God has redeemed from slavery. The introduction to these instructions is therefore also good news: «I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of slavery in Ähas liberated Egypt» (Exodus 20:2 NLB). The aim of the covenant, as well as the ten words, is that the people remain close to God.
Israel entered into this covenant voluntarily. It has consequences that were already announced by the threats of blessing and curse when the covenant was made. This is also evident in the further course of Israel’s history. God always acts within the framework of the covenant, even when he punishes the people.
Perhaps you are wondering why I am going into such detail here about something that happened so long ago. I am convinced that the making of the covenant at Sinai is also fundamental to our following Jesus today. The letter to the Hebrews provides a retrospective of this event. Blood was important in the making of the covenant, but also in later worship. «UltimatelyöWe can say that under the law almost everything was cleansed by the sprinkling of blood. Without the shedding of blood, there is no forgiveness of sins» (Hebrews 9:22 NLB). Sin means an action, thought, word, etc. that contradicts the requirements of the covenant. The blood of a sacrificial animal washed away these contradictions. God’s covenant with Israel was renewed a few times in the history of the people. Jesus Christ makes a new covenant. Again with blood. Instead of the blood of animals, he shed his own blood. In the old covenant, it was always necessary to offer a sacrifice if something contradicted the requirements of the covenant. But this is not the case in the new covenant. «Likewise, after the Lord’s Supper, he took the cup of wine and said: «This cup is the new covenant between God and you, sealed by my blood. Whenever you drink from it, do so in remembrance of me» » (1 Corinthians 11:25 NLB). The Lord’s Supper is a reminder that Jesus Christ has made a new covenant with God. While the old covenant was practically limited to the people of Israel, everyone is invited to the new covenant. It is an invitation to you to open your heart to Jesus. Like the people, we can only accept the covenant voluntarily. The instructions of the Bible are then also an order of life for us. God means well with us.
Until now, the sermons on the topic of discipleship have often been very pragmatic. But here we are also making a stopover. It is a stopover with an invitation to look back. What has Jesus done for you? Jesus has led and accompanied you this far. What are you grateful for? At the end of the sermon, I would like to invite you to place an anchor in Jesus Christ. For he made the covenant between God and us humans. It is important to look back at where you have come from and how many good things you have already experienced in order to continue following Jesus.
Possible questions for the small group
Read the Bible text: Exodus 24:3–8
- So far, we have heard several sermons about the people of Israel and their journey out of Egypt. What has particularly appealed to you?
- The people of Israel looked back and forward at the same time when the covenant was made. When you look back in your discipleship, where do you recognise God’s guidance? How does your past discipleship influence the future?
- As followers, we are guided by the instructions in the Bible. Which ones do you personally perceive as pressure rather than a positive way of life? Why is this the case?
- How would you describe the new covenant between God and people through Jesus Christ? How have you experienced Jesus so far? What are you grateful for?
