March 2001
Exodus Chapters 23-24
After God at Mt. Sinai directed, through Moses, the Ten Commandments and the first of His series of Old Testament laws, He informed the Israelites He would provide for them an "angel" to lead them to the promised land.
This was no "ordinary" angel. God placed great power and authority in this special angel to lead the Israelites.
"Behold, I send an angel before thee, to keep thee in the way, and to bring thee into the place which I have prepared."
The Lord instructed the people to "beware" and "obey" the angel because of the special power He delegated. God promised protection and guidance if the people obeyed. If the Israelites obeyed the voice of the angel and do all the Lord's instruction, "then I will be an enemy unto thine enemies, and an adversary unto thine adversaries." Exodus 23:22.
The Lord told the Israelites that He would protect them from their enemies in battle and allow them to overcome the enemies. He would provide them great military advantages and weapons of nature on their side. Exodus 23:27-30. The Lord would bless the Israelites, their food and water, and keep them from sickness. 23:25. The Lord promised great strategic and military strength to the Israelites in exchange for their keeping his word and obeying his commandments, and for not worshiping the gods of their enemies. He would drive the enemy from the promised land and give it to the Israelites. 23:29-33.
The Lord, beginning in the 24"' chapter of Exodus, instructed Moses to come back to Mt. Sinai, but to prepare all the Israelite elders to worship. Moses wrote down all the Lord's instructions and then built a worship altar. The people, hearing' all the Lord's instructions from Moses, promised they would do as the Lord commanded. Exodus 24:3.
Moses built an altar with twelve pillars, according to the twelve tribes of the Israelites. All the Israelite young men then made burnt offerings and peace offerings. Moses read to the people from the book he had prepared of the Lord's instructions. The people responded that "All that the Lord hath said will we do, and be obedient."
Then Moses "sealed" the commitment of the people to obey the Lord by sprinkling them with sacrificial blood at the altar. Exodus 24:8. This established the well-known "blood of the covenant" for the Israelites to keep their commitment to obey the Lord's instruction.
As we now know, the Israelites later failed to keep their conditional covenant of works, thus breaking their commitment to obey God's instructions. (In Jeremiah, we later learn that the Lord would reveal His unconditional covenant of grace, which is based on His forgiveness of sins, not based on the works of His chosen people, but
instead which would be provided through the atoning works of Christ. Jer. 31:31-34.)
Upon Mt. Sinai, the Lord stood upon a paved work of sapphire stone; there the Lord gave to .Moses certain "tables of stone" with His law and commandments inscribed thereon. Exodus 24:10-12. A cloud engulfed Mt. Sinai for six days representing the glory of the Lord. The people of Israel saw the glory of the Lord on Mt. Sinai as "like a devouring fire on the top of the mount".
Moses went up into the midst of the cloud and stayed for forty days and forty nights.
Next: God Instructs preparation of 'Ark of the Covenant' and the 'Mercy Seat'