Signed, Sealed and Delivered

SIGNED, SEALED AND DELIVERED

On April 16, 1988, I heard some semblance of these words: Marc, do you take Judith to be your lawfully wedded wife from this day forward - to have and to hold, in good times and bad, for richer or for poorer, in sickness and in health; will you love, honor, and cherish her for as long as you both shall live? And of course, I said “I do.” Then the pastor said: Judy, do you take Marc to be your lawfully wedded husband from this day forward - to have and to hold, in good times and bad, for richer or for poorer, in sickness and in health; will you love, honor, and cherish him for as long as you both shall live? And of course, Judy said “I do.”

Then I heard words to this effect: The wedding ring is a symbol of eternity. It is an outward sign of an inward and spiritual bond which unites two hearts in endless love. And now as a token of your love and of your deep desire to be forever united in heart and soul, you, Marc, may place a ring on the finger of your bride. Marc, please repeat after me: Judith, I give you this ring as a symbol of my love and faithfulness to you, with this ring, I thee wed and I put her ring on the appropriate finger. Then the pastor said to Judy: By the same token, Judith, you may place a ring on the finger of your groom and say: Marc, I give you this ring as a symbol of my love and faithfulness to you, with this ring, I thee wed and she put my ring on the appropriate finger.

Then after all that we heard these words: Marc, Judith, having proclaimed your love for, and commitment to one another in the sight of Almighty God and these witnesses, it is my pleasure to pronounce you, by the power vested in me by the state of Pennsylvania, husband and wife! You may now kiss the bride! And then the pastor said to the congregation: It is my great pleasure to present to you Mr. and Mrs. Marc Webb!

In our marriage ceremony, there was a Declaration of Intent, a Vow/Ring Exchange and a Pronouncement of legal and binding marriage. There was a signing, sealing and delivering of an intimate, covenantal relationship between Judy and myself that was done before witnesses and is to last for as long as we both shall live. This morning, we are in Exodus 14:1-11 and we will witness the signing, sealing and delivering of another intimate, covenantal relationship. This covenant relationship is between the children of Israel and Yahweh that will last forever. The covenant will be signed as the children of Israel confirm their declaration of intent to obey God’s Words and Laws. The covenant will be sealed as both the parties make vows literally with blood during a solemn ceremony initiated by Yahweh. And the covenant will be delivered as Yahweh makes the pronouncement by inviting the major representatives of the people to a sacred meal in His presence.

This same intimate, covenantal relationship is what God still wants with each one of us today. It is a covenant that is still signed by those who confirm they will follow God by obeying His Words and Laws found in the Bible. It is a covenant that is sealed and initiated by the blood of Jesus Christ shed on the cross once for all and remembered by us during the sacred sacrament of Communion. It is a covenant that is delivered as God invites us into a sanctifying relationship with himself which is a daily feasting on His word, a daily prayer time with Him, and a daily striving to become more like Jesus. All this brings us to our big idea this morning that God desires to be in an intimate, covenantal relationship with His people.

Let’s open in prayer as we dedicate this time to the Lord. Heavenly Father, pour out your Holy Spirit on us this morning and open our hearts and minds to what you want us to learn and share with others. May your Word be a light unto our paths, and it may lead us, guide us, correct us, rebuke us and train us in righteousness. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Our first point is Covenant Confirmed found in Exodus 24:1-3. Please follow along as I read those verses. This is what God’s Word says, “Then the Lord said to Moses, “Come up to the Lord, you and Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel. You are to worship at a distance, but Moses alone is to approach the Lord; the others must not come near. And the people may not come up with him.” When Moses went and told the people all the Lord’s words and laws, they responded with one voice, “Everything the Lord has said we will do.”

We have finally come to the end of the Book of the Covenant God gave to Moses which started back in Exodus 20:21. God had just given the Ten Words or Commandments to the Israelites, and they were terrified by the holiness of Yahweh and their sinfulness. They told Moses to speak to them and to not let Yahweh speak to them or they felt they would die. Moses tried to convince them not to be afraid but to have a reverent fear of the Lord which would keep them from sinning. Then as God’s mediator between himself and the people, Moses approached the thick darkness where God was on Mt. Sinai. And Moses has been there ever since through chapters 21-23. The Lord told Moses about idols and altars and gave him the Book of the Covenant which were laws that fleshed out the Ten Words. By obeying the Book of the Covenant, the people would be able to live better connected to Yahweh and to each other in the covenant community.

Now that the covenant had been given to Moses, it had to be ratified or adopted by both parties. First, it needed to be confirmed by the people. The Lord is still talking to Moses and instructs him to gather representatives of the Israelite people to “come up” to the Lord. These representatives were Moses, his brother Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, Aaron’s sons, and seventy of the elders of Israel. Moses would come up as God’s chosen mediator. Aaron, Nadab and Abihu would come up as the “priestly” representatives, and the seventy elders would come up as representatives of the whole Israelite community.

We see that there are divisions here among the people of Israel that we will also see later in the Tabernacle and the Temple. The Lord is setting them up now for what is to come. He is foreshadowing His intention to come and dwell in the midst of His people and the sacrificial system which must be in place to make that a reality. This is the beginning of the old covenant which will be abolished with the death and resurrection of Jesus as the new covenant is ushered in. This scene will be a worship service where Moses alone is allowed to approach the Lord, and Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, and the seventy elders, will be allowed to come and worship from a distance. The rest of the Israelite people will have to stay at the base of Mt. Sinai. By setting these boundaries God was teaching his people to honor his holiness.

After the Lord gave the Book of the Covenant and these instructions, Moses came down and told the people what the Lord had said. He recited the Ten Commandments to them again and the Book of the Covenant. The people responded, with one voice, all in one accord, saying, “everything the LORD has said we will do.” This was the second time they had agreed to the Lord’s terms. We saw the first time in Exodus 9:8, where they accepted the terms of the covenant before ever hearing what they were. This time they accepted the terms again after hearing it for themselves. By saying these words, they declared their intent to obey the Words and the Laws of the Lord, confirming the covenant with Him. When we consider our covenant relationship with the Lord, are we determined to obey the word of God? When we accept Jesus as our Lord and Savior, we are confirming that “We will do and obey everything that the Lord has commanded.” Are we passionately resolved to obey God no matter the circumstances, by His grace, and for His glory? As God’s people we have a responsibility to be obedient to Him and His Words and He will hold us accountable to our covenant relationship with Himself. That brings us to our first next step on the back of your communication card which is to Affirm my obedience to the Lord and His Words and be held accountable to His covenant with me.

That brings us to our second point this morning, Covenant Ceremony, found in Exodus 24:4-8. This is what God’s Word says, “Moses then wrote down everything the Lord had said. He got up early the next morning and built an altar at the foot of the mountain and set up twelve stone pillars representing the twelve tribes of Israel. Then he sent young Israelite men, and they offered burnt offerings and sacrificed young bulls as fellowship offerings to the Lord. Moses took half of the blood and put it in bowls, and the other half he splashed against the altar. Then he took the Book of the Covenant and read it to the people. They responded, “We will do everything the Lord has said; we will obey.” Moses then took the blood, sprinkled it on the people and said, “This is the blood of the covenant that the Lord has made with you in accordance with all these words.”

Once the people had reaffirmed that they would obey the covenant as spelled out by the Lord, Moses wrote it all down. This was the second time we are told that Moses wrote something down. This was a customary part of the covenant. It needed to be written down so it could not be changed and would not be forgotten by future generations. Writing the covenant down finalized it. The next morning Moses prepares for the covenant ceremony to take place. He gets up and builds an altar at the foot of Mt. Sinai. He then sets up twelve stone pillars. The altar would represent the Lord, and the stone pillars would represent the twelve tribes of Israel, in the covenant ceremony. The two parties of the covenant were represented in this way in order to seal the covenant. We can notice the way the Lord is teaching His people. In Exodus 23:24 they were told to tear down the Canaanite pillars used in pagan worship. But not all pillars were unlawful. God directed them to set up twelve pillars that were not to be worshiped but were to represent themselves in the sealing of the covenant. God taught them what was unlawful and then taught them what was lawful.

The first part of the covenant ceremony was the sacrifices. Moses sent young men to offer young bulls as burnt and fellowship offerings on the altar. The importance of the covenant ceremony can be seen in the sacrifice of young bulls as these were of greater value than sheep and goats. These young men would not have been priests because the Lord had not appointed Aaron and his sons to the priestly office yet. They were probably selected for this priestly task because of their strength. It would have taken many strong young men to wrangle and tie what would be a significant number of young bulls up onto the altar to be sacrificed for the people. The burnt offerings were offerings that were completely burnt up and given over to God. These offerings represented full atonement for sin, thanksgiving and a total dedication of themselves to the Lord. The fellowship offerings represented peace and fellowship with God and were served as a meal.

The second part of the covenant ceremony and a significant moment happens next. Moses took half the blood of the bulls and put it in bowls and the other half he sprinkled or splashed on the altar. This application of blood on the altar signified the Lord’s acceptance of the people’s sacrifices, their forgiveness and that He was one of the parties of the covenant. It also showed that this relationship that they were entering into was initiated by God and not by them. The third part of the covenant ceremony started as Moses read the BOC to them a second time. The people then reaffirmed their commitment to the Lord’s covenant a third time. The people affirmed their vows before the Lord who had redeemed them from slavery in Egypt and was bringing them to the Promised Land as he had promised Abraham. This repetition was necessary to teach the people the terms of the covenant and for the people to be fully informed and fully understand what they were entering into with the One, True and Living God. To live in fellowship with God, the people needed to affirm their complete obedience to the covenant terms he set forth. This time when they said “We will do everything the Lord has said” it was an emphatic acknowledgement that they knew that Yahweh was their covenant Lord and that they knew who would enforce the terms of the covenant if they were broken or ignored.

The fourth part of the covenant ceremony began after the people had again pledged their obedience. Moses took the blood and sprinkled it on the people. The people being the seventy elders who represented the entire covenant community of the Israelites. This symbolized that they were the other party in covenant with the Lord. You can imagine how the blood would be a reminder of the covenant they were making that day. The sacrifices of the bulls and the splashing of the blood would be memorable to the people. The blood would remain on their skin for days and on their clothing maybe for as long as their clothes lasted. Every time they looked at the blood on their skin or clothes, they would be reminded of the formal covenant they had made with Almighty God to which the Lord and themselves were bound to by oath. This reminds me of the wedding rings Judy, and I gave each other during our wedding vows. We wear them to remind us of the sacred covenant we are bound to “till death do us part.”

Then Moses said, “This is the blood of the covenant that the Lord has made with you in accordance with all these words.” With these words the covenant was sealed and both parties were swearing in blood that they would keep the covenant. It was a matter of life or death. If the people didn’t keep the covenant their blood or life could be required of them. Sealing this covenant between Himself and the Israelites in blood showed how serious the Lord was in demanding their obedience. We saw this same symbolism in the covenant God made with Abraham in Genesis 15. Both parties walked through a line of severed animals symbolizing if the covenant was broken, they deserved to be severed just like the sacrificed animals.

The Lord knew that the people could not completely obey His covenant so at the same time the blood was a sign of His mercy. It was the way for them to be reconciled to Himself when they sinned. Moses’ words, “This is the blood of the covenant” should cause us to remember Jesus and his sacrifice on the cross. Matthew 26:28 says, (Jesus is talking) “This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.” It is only by Jesus’s shed blood on the cross that we can enter into an intimate covenantal relationship with God (Big Idea). The only way to be saved, to be forgiven, to have a right relationship with God, and ultimately to get to Heaven, is by the blood of Jesus Christ. His blood must be applied directly to our sins. Hebrews 9:21-22 says that we must be “sprinkled with blood” because without the shedding of blood there can be no forgiveness of sins. And if our sins are not forgiven, we can’t be in relationship with God, we can’t draw near to Him. The only way to be in an intimate, covenantal relationship with the One True and Living God is to accept Jesus as your Lord and Savior and then you can enter in. Maybe you have never accepted Jesus as your Lord and Savior, and the Lord God of the universe is speaking to you right now. Maybe in your spirit right now you know that you need a relationship with Jesus. That feeling is so strong that you realize you need to make that decision this morning. That brings us to our second next step which is Accept Jesus as my Savior and enter into an intimate covenantal relationship with Him. ​​ 

That brings us to our third point, Covenant Meal, found in Exodus 24:9-11. This is what God’s Word says, “Moses and Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, and the seventy elders of Israel went up and saw the God of Israel. Under his feet was something like a pavement made of lapis lazuli, as bright blue as the sky. But God did not raise his hand against these leaders of the Israelites; they saw God, and they ate and drank.”

This has got to be one of the most spectacular scenes in all of God’s Word. We are told twice that the leaders of Israel, “saw” or “beheld” God and lived to tell about it. Currid writes, “The verb translated ‘beheld’ is not the normal Hebrew word meaning ‘to see.’ It is a stronger, more intense term.” These men fixed their gaze upon God. This was God in his grace and mercy giving Israel a glimpse of the intimate relationship they could have if they were obedient. Intimacy always was and is the goal of God’s covenant with His people.

Later in Exodus 33:20, God will tell Moses that “no one can see me and live” so we don’t know exactly what they saw. Moses, again in Exodus 33, was only allowed to see God’s “back” and that was it. Here it seems like they were allowed to see God’s feet because they tried to describe what was underneath. But this picture was not definitive as they saw “something like” pavement made of sapphire, clear as the sky. Sapphire, or as Ezekiel 1:26 calls it, “lapis lazuli”, describes the “throne room” of God in Ezekiel’s vision. “Clear as the sky itself” suggests there were no imperfections and “clear” literally means “cleansed.” It is possible that when they “saw” God they were bowed down, prostrate at His feet in worship. It is also possible that they were looking up at God from underneath and could only see his feet and what he was standing on. No matter the perspective, it could not be adequately described by Moses. It was the most spectacular thing any of them had ever seen or for some of them would ever see again. These leaders of God’s people were granted the extraordinary privilege of seeing God’s glory and majesty.

Moses and the elders started at a distance separated from God by their sin. God invited them into a covenant with himself, gave them His Word, atoned for their sin and brought them into His presence where they saw Him. Ryken says, “It was a foretaste of Heaven.” This is also the story of our salvation. We were separated from God by our sin, God atoned for our sin through the blood of his son Jesus Christ, the blood of the covenant and one day we will be welcomed into heaven, into his presence and we will see the Lord face-to-face. We are told a few more things in verse 11. First, God did not “raise His hand against the leaders of the Israelites.” “To raise his hand” meant to bring judgment on them. There would be no judgment meaning death, because God had cleansed and invited these men into His presence. So why did Moses mention this? I think God didn’t want His people to take his presence for granted. This was special permission given by Him for these specific representatives and He didn’t want later Israelites to believe that it was ok to approach without the proper preparation. Just like the covenant, this special presence of the Lord had to be initiated by Him.

Next, we see that these leaders were given another special privilege and one that I do not want us to miss this morning. It says they ate and drank with God. We don’t know what they ate and drank. Maybe it was the “fellowship” offering that was sacrificed earlier. Maybe it was bread and wine. Whatever it was, after the covenant was signed and sealed, they partook of a covenant meal which delivered the covenant to God’s people. It was common for those entering into a covenant together to share a meal. We see this with Isaac and Abimelech in Genesis 26:30 and with Jacob and Laban in Genesis 31:46. The theme of eating and drinking with God runs all the way through Scripture. Abraham welcomed a divine angel into his tent for dinner in Genesis 18. King David said that the Lord prepared a table for him in Psalm 23:5a. We see the covenant meal here in Exodus, in the NT with the Lord’s Supper and in our partaking of Holy Communion and one day we will share in “the wedding supper of the Lamb” as seen in Revelation 19:9. The act of breaking bread is symbolic of friendship and relationship. This eating and drinking with God demonstrated that they had fellowship with and were at peace with Him. It symbolized the intimate covenantal relationship that the Lord wanted with His people. It connected them to one another and was a powerful symbol of belonging. Yahweh was their God, and they were His people. The Bible often describes our relationship with God in terms of sharing a meal and these covenantal meals show us that God wants to be in an intimate covenantal relationship with us (Big Idea).

The power of a meal to bring people together is vividly portrayed in Babette’s Feast, a film set around a dinner table. In the film a master chef living as an exile from Paris in a small Danish fishing village spends her fortune preparing an elaborate feast. Although her guests are generally cantankerous and unkind, the feast forms the context for the restoration of old friendships, the rekindling of old loves, and the reconciliation of old enemies. Doesn’t that describe us? We as human beings are generally unkind and cantankerous at times especially without knowing Jesus and not having the Holy Spirit inside of us. We were enemies of God before we were saved and have been reconciled through the blood of the covenant, the blood of his son Jesus shed on the cross. And now as we are being sanctified, the Lord, Himself, invites us to sit down and eat and drink with him. He offers us this kind of intimate fellowship with himself.

Is this the kind of relationship that you have with God? Do you have such a close friendship with the Lord that it’s like sitting down to eat and drink with Him? As Christians, our relationship with the Lord can vary. It can be shallow going wide but never deep. It can be a relationship we try to manage on our own terms or think it depends on what we do and not on what God had done through Jesus. How tragic it is when God’s people settle for a lower level of relationship than what he wants with us. The God of the Universe is calling us to enter in His presence to eat and drink with Him. James 4:7-8 says this, “Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Come near to God and he will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. Let us be people who hunger and thirst for righteousness. Let us be people who strive to become more like Jesus every day. Let us strive to be holy as the Lord is holy. Let us be people who seek God and His table with our whole hearts and not settle for less of a relationship than He has called us to. That brings us to our third next step this morning which is to Seek the Lord with my whole heart and yearn for a full relationship with Him at His table.

As we wrap up this morning, it is this sitting at the table with Jesus, as a picture of our relationship with him, that excites me. Our relationship with Jesus is the most important relationship in our lives. This relationship takes dedication and work, as with a garden, it needs to be cultivated and tended, so that it will grow. If we only cultivate it on Sundays and Wednesdays, it will not be the full relationship we see in our passage this morning. It must be cultivated daily and it must go deep. It can’t be shallow if we are striving to live holy lives, set apart for God’s work in this world. So, I want you to think about, meditate and pray on your relationship with God this month. Think about the environment of your relationship with Jesus. Think about the table of your relationship. What does it look like? Is it full? Is it deep? Are you seeking after God with your whole heart? And we will come back to this picture in the near future.

As the praise team comes to lead us in a final song and the ushers prepare to collect the tithes and offerings, let’s pray: Dear Heavenly Father, your Word is living and eternal. Your Word says that Heaven and earth will pass away, but your words will not pass away. Lord, help us to be people of your Word. Lord, we want to affirm our obedience to you and your Word and be held accountable to your covenant with us. I pray that those who don’t know you will accept your son, Jesus as their Savior and enter into an intimate covenantal relationship with Him. And Lord I pray that we will all seek you with our whole hearts and yearn for a more intimate relationship with you where we linger with you at your table as you invite us to eat and drink with you. In Jesus’ name, Amen. ​​