Among the three assigned readings for this day is most certainly one of the most important portions of the Old Testament. The readings are Exodus 24:3-11 (the old covenant); Ephesians 4:1-7, 11-16 (one body, one Spirit) and John 6:1-15 (Feeding of the 5,000). From Exodus 24 the text we examine from a L&G viewpoint is verse 7b, “And they said, ‘All that the Lord has said we will do, and be obedient.’”
At first reading how can this statement of the people be criticized in that what the Lord has commanded they will do and be obedient? However, it can be compared to parents leaving their teenage children in charge of the house. The teenagers agree that they will take good care of the house and not do anything foolish. As soon as the parent’s car is out of sight, the phone calls go out to all other teenagers that they have a house for a whole weekend in which to party. Recall that soon after making this covenant with God, the people of Israel created a golden calf to worship.
You see, rather than demonstrate proper faith on the part of Israel, their response of being obedient shows instead their hubris and pride. For there is none who does good and does not sin. All have fallen short of the glory of God. Verse after verse shows the foolishness of every man-made created religion which imagines that a human being can earn salvation from God by obedience to His commands.
What Exodus 24 should be compared to is I Corinthians 11 which speaks of the new covenant instituted by Jesus at His last Supper. In both chapters blood is shed but only in I Corinthians 11 is God alone the One Who keeps the covenant. The difference between the Old Covenant of Exodus 24 and the New Covenant of I Cor. 11 is that the Old Covenant necessitated that man keep his side of the agreement whereas in the New Covenant, God alone makes and keeps the promises.
In fact, the New Covenant did not begin in the New Testament times. It first was heard of in Genesis 3 when God told the devil in the form of a serpent that the Messiah would come through the seed of Eve which would crush the head of the devil. The New Covenant was heard throughout the Old Testament times when God spoke to Abraham about the promised Nation which is the holy, Christian Church.
In fact, both covenants are found side by side throughout the Old Testament books. It is of some interest to note that the Bible never uses the phrases “Old Testament” or “New Testament” to refer to the 39 and 27 books respectively. Rather, the phrases refer to the two different covenants. Read the book of Hebrews which reveals that the covenant agreed to by man in Exodus 24 failed because it was based on the blood of animals rather than the blood of Christ. The Old Covenant was also based on the promises of sinful human beings who could not keep their side of the bargain.
The Old Covenant was a covenant of Law in the sense that obedience on the part of sinful human beings was necessary for the covenant to be fulfilled. The New Covenant or Testament is the only covenant of the Gospel because God alone makes, keeps and fulfills the promises of saving us in the work and sufferings of Jesus Christ. His resurrection from the dead is proof positive that the New Covenant replaces that old covenant which saved no one.
In fact, every Old Testament person who was saved was never saved on the basis of Exodus 24 but on the basis of believing the promises of the New Testament as found in Genesis 3, Genesis 12, Psalm 22, Psalm 23, Isaiah 53 and the list goes on and on and on. We today are saved the very same way in which Abraham was saved: “He believed and it was accounted to him as righteousness.”
Name:Tom Baker