Wednesday, October 11, 2017

Covenant

Thursday, October 12, 2017
Then Moses carefully wrote down all the Lord’s instructions.  Early the next morning Moses got up and built an altar at the foot of the mountain.  He also set up twelve pillars, one for each of the twelve tribes of Israel.  Then he sent some of the young Israelite men to present burnt offerings and to sacrifice bulls as peace offerings to the Lord.  Moses drained half the blood from these animals into basins.  The other half he splattered against the altar.  Then he took the Book of the Covenant and read it aloud to the people.  Again they all responded, “We will do everything the Lord has commanded.  We will obey.”  Then Moses took the blood from the basins and splattered it over the people, declaring, “Look, this blood confirms the covenant the Lord has made with you in giving you these instructions.”  
Exodus 24:4-8(NLT)
In fact, according to the law of Moses, nearly everything was purified with blood. For without the shedding of blood, there is no forgiveness.  
Hebrews 9:22(NLT)
Moses set up a sacrificial altar with twelve stones representing the twelve tribes of Israel.  The meaning couldn’t be clearer.  God had led the fledgling nation of former slaves to the point of crunch time.  It was time to make a decision about what direction their future would take. 
The altar was a place significant of forgiveness and new life.  If there was going to be an agreement, a choosing to obey God, it was going to be signed in the most fitting way…with the sacrifice of blood.  After multiple readings of the Book of the Covenant, God’s instructions on what their agreement would mean, the people said with one voice that they would do it all; they would obey!
The altar (representing God’s very presence with them) had been splattered with half the blood of a sacrificed animal, and when the people voluntarily agreed to enter this covenant, they too were splattered, virtually covered with the blood. 
Why this bloody ceremony?  The writer of the letter to the Hebrews in the New Testament made it clear – sin is a life and death thing; forgiveness requires blood.
Later, when Jesus would die on the cross, He was called the Lamb of God.  Jesus was our blood sacrifice, and it is His blood which covered the altar of a cross on Golgotha’s hill.  When we accept this great, grace-filled gift, the blood is also sprinkled over us as surely as it covered the Nation of Israel that day at the foot of the mountain.  That blood is God’s forgiveness washing over our sins; those sins are forever placed under the blood!
This is such a solemn thought.  The ceremony is solemn.  The meaning is unmistakable; our sins, transgressions, rebellion, stubbornness, greed, lust, envy…even murder is forgiven and pardoned by this sacrifice when we present ourselves just as the people did at the foot of the mountain that day. 
How did they present themselves?  It was an act of confession.  In effect, by participating in the sacrifice (they being sprinkled with actual blood, we in baptism) were promising fidelity to worship, serve and love only God.  We promise to turn our backs on sin and the rebelliousness which comes so naturally to us.
How great is this covenant?  Well, consider that the rest of the Bible (all 64 books) recounts how Israel, and later the church, didn’t follow through with keeping their promises.  All of them sinned; today all of us still sin.  The greatness of the covenant of God is that it surpasses the guilt of our past, present and future.  However well-intentioned and fervent our promises to obey, we often fail at keeping our promises.  But, forgiveness is a forever thing with God, and we are the beneficiaries of His incredible love.  He confirmed the covenant with Israel in blood knowing they would stray and rebel.  Jesus reaffirmed the New Covenant for us knowing we are no more faithful than Israel.  That is the mystery of this gift of God we call amazing grace!

For You Today

The next time you come to the Lord’s Table to celebrate His gift, picture in your mind the twelve stones surrounding the altar, and remember that, like Israel, you are a witness of Jesus’ loving act of blood forgiveness.  After the ceremony live like a witness.
You chew on that as you hit the Rocky Road…have a blessed day!
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[1] Title Image: By Alaexis (Own work), via Wikimedia Commons

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