Welcome to the “But first, Bible” daily devotional podcast with Dave Miers.
Today our readings are from Exodus 22-24 and Matthew 20:17-34.
Okay as we track with the narrative of Exodus, we have seen that God has now rescued his people from slavery in Egypt and in Exodus 19 he calls them to obey him and keep a covenant with him. A covenant is a relationship that God establishes with his people. As part of a covenant, God makes promises, and then God calls his people to remain faithful to Him.
In Exodus 20 God gives his people the Ten Commandments, laws that God is calling his rescued people to obey and help remain faithful to Him. And then in Exodus 21-23 God fleshes out a bunch of those laws with further details.
In Exodus 24 we have the confirmation of God’s covenant with Moses and the Israelites. God’s people commit to walk in obedience to the God who saved them.
Let me read a section from Exodus 24:3–8
[3] Moses came and told the people all the words of the LORD and all the rules. And all the people answered with one voice and said, “All the words that the LORD has spoken we will do.” [4] And Moses wrote down all the words of the LORD. He rose early in the morning and built an altar at the foot of the mountain, and twelve pillars, according to the twelve tribes of Israel. [5] And he sent young men of the people of Israel, who offered burnt offerings and sacrificed peace offerings of oxen to the LORD. [6] And Moses took half of the blood and put it in basins, and half of the blood he threw against the altar. [7] Then he took the Book of the Covenant and read it in the hearing of the people. And they said, “All that the LORD has spoken we will do, and we will be obedient.” [8] And Moses took the blood and threw it on the people and said, “Behold the blood of the covenant that the LORD has made with you in accordance with all these words.” (ESV)
If you are new to the Bible, some of these sections of the Old Testament feel like a very different world and difficult to understand their relevance. For me personally, one of the things I have found most helpful to understanding books like Exodus and Leviticus has been reading the New Testament book of Hebrews.
Hebrews was written to bunch of Christians with a Jewish heritage and the book of Hebrews again and again shows how Moses, the Law, and the Old Testament in general are like massive arrows pointing us forward to Jesus.
One of the things that we will see in the chapters to come in Exodus is how Israel fail to keep the covenant, and yet we see in places like Hebrews 8-9 how Jesus brings an even better covenant in his death and resurrection.
Here’s a snippet from Hebrews 9:18–22
[18] Therefore not even the first covenant was inaugurated without blood. [19] For when every commandment of the law had been declared by Moses to all the people, he took the blood of calves and goats, with water and scarlet wool and hyssop, and sprinkled both the book itself and all the people, [20] saying, “This is the blood of the covenant that God commanded for you.” [21] And in the same way he sprinkled with the blood both the tent and all the vessels used in worship. [22] Indeed, under the law almost everything is purified with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins. (ESV)
If you have a read of the rest of Hebrews 8-9 you will see exactly how Jesus’ blood brings forgiveness of sins. Let us all give thanks to God for his covenant with Moses and that it points forward to an even better covenant through Jesus and his blood.
Until tomorrow, keep trusting Jesus.