Exodus 24.1-11: A Sermon on Covenant Renewal

It will help to know that the service will be Holy Communion: Order 2 (Contemporary Language).

“And he did not lay his hand on the chief men of the people of Israel; they beheld God, and ate and drank.” – Exodus 24.11

At 11.30am on 29th May 1953, Sir Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay became the first climbers known to have reached the summit of Mount Everest, the highest point on earth. They received international acclaim; Hillary was knighted and Tenzing received the George Medal. Hillary described the top as a “symmetrical, beautiful snow cone summit”, but the view from the top was reported to be unspectacular: they were too high for good landscape and all below them looked flat and monotonous. Here we are, gathered in an old building to sing some songs written hundreds of years ago with a handful of instruments and a pipe organ, to listen to readings from a book which was completed nearly two thousand years ago, someone climbs up into a wooden box and preaches, then we go up to a table and eat a piece of bread and drink some wine. It all seems so small, insignificant, and irrelevant, just another private interest that some people indulge on a Sunday, like other people do sport or DIY. My hope and prayer is that we will see that our gathering for worship, and the gathering of Christians up and down the country and all over the world on Sunday, the Lord’s Day, to worship the one true God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, is the most significant thing that is happening today, indeed each week, it really does matter, it matters for the world and it is even more of a privilege and honour than to climb Mount Everest. The view from the top of the mountain we ascend, if only we have eyes to see it, is not at all flat or monotonous, but even more beautiful.

1. The purpose of worship is covenant renewal

At beginning of Exodus, God rescues the people of Israel from slavery in Egypt and leads them out through the wilderness to Mount Sinai, where they assemble. In chapter 19, God enters into a covenant with them. He tells them that has brought them to himself, summons them to be faithful to him and promises that they will be his treasured possession. In return, the people say, “All that the Lord has spoken we will do”. The best way to think of the covenant relationship between God and his people is as a marriage. In the marriage service, the bridegroom says, “I take thee to my wedded wife, to have and to hold” and he promises to “love and to cherish”. The bride in reply says, “I take thee to my wedded husband, to have and to hold” and she promises to “love, cherish and to obey”. The reason God enters into covenant with the people of Israel is to make them a kingdom of priests that all the peoples of world might come to know him and enjoy his blessing. In Exodus 24, God renews this covenant. It is not that it needs renewing because it has run out or ended, like one might need to renew a tax disc or the insurance or the TV licence. It is renewed in the sense of being confirmed and strengthened.

God invites Moses and his brother Aaron, and two of Aaron’s sons, Nadab and Abihu, and seventy of elders of Israel as representatives of the people to come up the mountain in order to worship him. However, before they go up, the people are gathered at the foot of the mountain, where God addresses his people through Moses. There are two parts here. “Moses came and told the people all the words of the LORD and all the rules. And all the people answered with one voice and said, “All the words that the LORD has spoken we will do”" (v. 3). Moses is talking about the Ten Commandments at beginning of chapter 20 and the instruction for life in the land that God had promised to them which comes afterwards. Moses writes the words of the Lord down and after building an altar to the Lord and pillars to represent people of Israel and offering some animal sacrifices, he then reads from Book of the Covenant. Again, in response, the people promise to obey God’s word: “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”" (v. 7). God made the covenant with his people so that they would be his priests to bring his blessing to the whole world; as he renews this covenant, he speaks to them in order that they might know how to live. And as they enjoy life in the land God has promised to them in this covenant relationship with him, having committed themselves to live in obedience to commands, the surrounding nations which look on will be attracted as they see how good and wise God’s ways are, and how near God is to his people. Moses takes the rest of the blood from the sacrifices and throws it over the people, and says that it is the blood of the covenant that the LORD has made with them. They have sinned, they have rebelled against God, they deserve his judgement, they are impure, they cannot coexist with a God of blazing purity. But as God sees the blood that has been sprinkled upon the people, he sees that the animals have been sacrificed, they have died in their place so their sins are forgiven, they are purified, and covenant relationship is possible between God and his people. The purpose of worship is covenant renewal.

In the New Testament, the Christian church is described in the same terms as the people of Israel and has the same covenant relationship and task. They are called ‘a people for his own possession’ and ‘a royal priesthood’. What happens in Christian worship is what happens in the worship described in Exodus 24. At the beginning of the service, we, like people of Israel, assembled at the foot of a mountain, a heavenly mountain, of which Mount Sinai was a picture or a shadow:

“You have not come to what may be touched, a blazing fire and darkness and gloom and a tempest and the sound of a trumpet and a voice whose words made the hearers beg that no further messages be spoken to them. For they could not ensure the order that was given, “If even a beast touches the mountain, it shall be stoned”. Indeed, so terrifying was the sight that Moses said, “I tremble with fear.” [This is all talking about Mount Sinai]. But you have come to Mount Zion.” – Hebrews 12.18-22

God’s commandments were read out earlier and we affirmed our commitment to them and our desire to keep them with one voice. We said, “Lord, have mercy upon us, and incline our hearts to keep this law,” and, “Lord, have mercy upon us, and write all these your laws in our hearts.”  We heard the words of the Lord which have been written down as the Bible – our book of the covenant, God’s revelation which now complete – was read in our hearing. In the sermon, that book is expounded. The Bible is the word that instructs us as a royal priesthood. It gives us instruction on how we are to bring every area of life under the rule of Jesus Christ. It teaches us of all that God has done to save us, supremely in sending his Son to die on a cross. As the church lives this out and holds out this message, the nations of the world will see and believe and hope in Christ as their saviour and come under his rule as their king and be transformed by him. Later, we will confess our sins to God and ask him to forgive us because Jesus shed his blood for us when he died on the cross. He is the fulfilment of the animal sacrifices in the Old Testament: they point forward to him and are a picture of his death for us on the cross, where suffered God’s wrath – his right settled anger against sin – in the place of sinful human beings, taking the punishment we deserve. When we have confessed our sins, we will hear the declaration of God’s forgiveness and receive comfort as we are assured of what Jesus has done for us. Just as Moses said of the blood of the sacrifices sprinkled on the people for their cleansing and forgiveness, “This is the blood of the covenant”, Jesus at the Last Supper took a cup of wine which symbolised the blood he would shed when he died the following day and said, “This is my blood of the new covenant.” The purpose of worship is covenant renewal.

This is why what we do when we meet together on a Sunday morning is such a privilege and matters so much for the world. It means we need to pay attention when the Bible is read and preached. It is not something we can just sit through; we need to listen hard and savour the Scripture readings and value robust preaching. We need to do that in order that we might obey God’s word fully and in all the details of life, and that we might be prepared to give an answer to any one who asks us for a reason for the hope that is in us, that we might be able to share with them the good news of the Lord Jesus Christ. Because it is as we do this that the transformation of the individuals we meet, our town, even our nation, will come about. We must do that: the whole point of doing what we do on a Sunday is that it might spill over into Monday and the rest of the week. The purpose of worship is covenant renewal – that’s the first reason what we do on a Sunday morning is such a privilege and is so significant for the whole world. As look at how this ceremony of covenant renewal ends, see:

2. The climax of worship is feasting in heaven

Finally, Moses and Aaron and Nadab and Abihu and the seventy elders ascend the mountain and it is as if they have ascended into heaven In Ezekiel 1, the prophet has a vision and he sees four extraordinary creatures and above them an expanse, like the sky, and above that the likeness of a throne in appearance like sapphire, and upon that throne, a likeness with a human appearance. He describes this as “the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the Lord”. So when in Exodus 24 they see under God’s feet a pavement of sapphire stone like the heaven for clearness, it is as if have ascended into heaven to the throne of God and they see him. We are not told in what way they see God but they see him. They were not struck down dead which is what should happen to them as sinful people entering the presence of a holy God. Purified and cleansed, they can eat and drink in his presence. The renewal of the covenant between God and his people ends in celebration. To pick up the wedding imagery, a man and woman exchange their vows, committing themselves to one another, and after ceremony, there is a reception, a feast to celebrate the marriage. The climax of worship is feasting in heaven.

In this episode, we read at beginning that the people as a whole could not come up the mountain, only Moses and Aaron, Nadab and Abihu and the people’s representatives, the seventy elders. Only Moses could come near; the others couldn’t – they had to worship from afar. Because of Jesus’ death on the cross, the way into God’s presence is open and we are all invited to draw near:

“Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus, by the new and living way that he opened for us through the curtain, that is, through his flesh, and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.” – Hebrews 10.19-23

When does that happen? The writer goes on to say, in v. 25, “Let us not give up meeting together.” This implies that it is when we meet together that this happens. God invites all baptised people to gather together – this is what the writer is referring to when he speaks of our bodies being washed with pure water – in order to ascend into heaven and draw near to God. We do so not physically, but in faith, having confessed and repented of our sins, trusting in Jesus’ death on the cross. We read earlier from Hebrews 12.18.22. Verse 22 continues:

“You have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to innumerable angels in [what?] festal gathering, and to the assembly of the firstborn who are enrolled in heaven, and to God, the judge of all, and to the spirits of the righteous made perfect, and to Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant.” – Hebrews 12.22-24

We go up God’s mountain and we ascend into heaven into the presence of God himself, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, with the angels and the souls of Christians who have died, and this gathering, this assembly is a feast. In the service, we are invited with these words: “You then who truly and earnestly repent of your sins… [who] intend to lead a new life following the commandments of God… draw near with faith and take this holy sacrament to your comfort.” After we have confessed our sins and forgiveness has been declared, we are bidden, “Lift up your hearts,” to which we reply, “We lift them to the Lord”. Then, “with angels and archangels, and with all the company of heaven, we proclaim [his] great and glorious name, for ever praising [him].” After that, we come humbly to God’s table and eat bread and drink wine. What a feast it is! When Jesus instituted the Lord’s Supper, he took bread and said, “This is my body which is given for you” and he took a cup of wine and said, “This is my blood which is shed for you”, and he meant it. St Paul said, “The cup of blessing that we bless, is it not a participation in the blood of Christ? The bread that we break, is it not a participation in the body of Christ?” When we receive the bread and wine, we receive Jesus Christ and all that he has to give us, pardon, cleansing, and spiritual life. That is what we pray for as we come to the Lord’s Table: “Grant us therefore, gracious Lord, so to eat the flesh of your dear Son Jesus Christ, and to drink his blood, that our sinful bodies may be made clean by his body, and our souls washed through his most precious blood, and that we may evermore dwell in him, and he in us.” There’s no magic here: the bread and the wine remain bread and wine all the way down; it is not that they just retain the appearance of bread and wine but underneath are transformed. We receive Christ by faith; we look beyond the bread and wine and see what they symbolise, what they stand for, so that as we eat and drink, we feed on Christ in our hearts. If the reading of the commandments and Scripture and our responses were like marriage vows, then think of this as the giving and receiving of rings. There is no magical property of the metal which joins two people together in marriage. As bridegroom puts the ring on the bride’s finger, he is binding himself to her and giving himself and all that he is and has to her: “With this ring I thee wed, with my body I thee worship, and with all my worldly goods I thee endow.” And as bride allows him to put the ring on her finger, she receives him. This is what is going on at the Lord’s Supper: as we are given bread and wine, Christ is giving himself to us, and as we eat the bread and drink the wine, we receive him and all that he is and has for us. The climax of worship is feasting in heaven.

This is a further reason why what we do on a Sunday morning is such a privilege and is so significant; the view from the top of the mountain we ascend in worship is beautiful indeed. That means we must make coming to church each Sunday a priority. It is very easy to become individualistic about our faith: we pray and read our Bible at home in our room on our own and we think that’s really all that matters. There is nothing wrong with those things, but our Christian life mustn’t consist only in them. If want to meet with God, draw near to him, and know him, then we need to go where he may be found, where he has told us we may meet him. The great Reformer Martin Luther had a delightful way of putting it: he said, “God meets us at trysting places.” Where we may meet with God is where his people gather. If you have drifted from the Christian faith or if you would not call yourself a Christian, do you see what you’re missing out on? Not to mention being part of the assembly enrolled in heaven, of the spirits of the righteous made perfect, when you die, and being raised from the dead to live in God’s renewed world when Christ returns? God wants you to confess your sins and repent of them – say sorry to God for the way you have put yourself at the centre of your life which is at the heart of sin, and turn away from living that way – and trust in Jesus Christ for your forgiveness and cleansing because of his death on the cross. If you do, you will know all this for yourself. We must also prepare ourselves before we come to church. If you were going to go to a wedding, you would get ready, especially if it is your own. Similarly before we come to church, we need to prepare. We need to take time to think about what it is that we are about to do, to pray about it, to put aside any distractions, to prepare our hearts. This also has implications for what we do corporately as a church. We really are missing out if we do not celebrate the Lord’s Supper in our main Sunday service each week. We will have gathered at the foot of the mountain and have readied ourselves for the climb, only to go home again. That decision is not mine to make, but I put it out there for you. Certainly you are missing out if there is a celebration of the Lord’s Supper and you have confessed your sins and are trusting in Christ, but you don’t come up; you are precisely who God invites to draw near to him and feast with him. You can do so confidently and joyfully because of what Christ has done. I will close with one final implication for us as a church. Services like this need to be preserved. There is great pressure to change in order to be relevant and attractive, to perhaps be more informal and spontaneous, but as we have seen what happens in the worship of Exodus 24 is what should be happening in Christian worship – covenant renewal. Exodus 24 provides a pattern for covenant renewal, a pattern which our liturgy follows.

Of all the things that people are doing this morning, what we are doing here is the most significant, it really does matter for the world, and it is even more of a privilege and honour than climbing Mount Everest. The purpose of worship is covenant renewal. The climax of worship is feasting in heaven.

In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.