Exodus 24 explained: The Covenant Sealed at Sinai

Invited up the mountain (vv. 1-2)

God calls Moses, his brother Aaron, Aaron's two oldest sons and seventy leaders to come up, but only to bow down from a distance. These layers of nearness show how holy God was felt to be: the people stay below, the leaders go partway, and only Moses goes close.

The people agree (vv. 3-4)

Moses tells the people the laws given in the previous chapters, and they answer together that they will do all of it. He then writes the words down so the terms of this binding agreement, called a covenant, are fixed and clear.

Altar and twelve pillars (vv. 4-6)

Moses builds an altar standing for God and sets up twelve stone pillars for the twelve tribes, so both sides of the agreement are represented. Young men offer young bulls as sacrifices, and Moses throws half the blood against the altar.

The blood of the covenant (vv. 7-8)

The written terms are read aloud, the people agree a second time, and the rest of the blood is sprinkled on them (some think on the pillars standing for them), sealing the pact on both sides. Christians read Jesus' words at his last meal about "my blood of the covenant" as deliberately echoing this moment.

Seeing God and eating (vv. 9-11)

The leaders see the God of Israel, though the text describes only what lay under his feet: a floor like deep blue gemstone, clear as the sky. Israelites believed seeing God could kill you, yet these leaders are unharmed and share a meal, probably from the sacrifices, marking the new bond.

Into the cloud (vv. 12-18)

God calls Moses higher to receive stone tablets of the law, so he leaves Aaron and Hur to settle disputes and climbs with his helper Joshua. For six days a cloud covers the peak while the LORD's glory looks like a blazing fire to the people below, and on the seventh day Moses enters the cloud and stays forty days and nights.

Key verse: Exodus 24:8

Something to think about

The people made their promise out loud, together, in a solemn ceremony; what difference, if any, does making a commitment in front of others make to whether it holds?