Exodus 24:4, commentary and pictures

Moses recorded in a book exactly what the Lord spoke to him in the mountain, writing at God's direction the additional judgments and statutes beyond the Ten Commandments. Early the next morning he erected an altar at the foot of the mountain with twelve pillars, one for each tribe, to represent Israel and witness their acceptance of the covenant. He then read what he had written to the people, received their united promise to obey, and sprinkled blood upon them to seal the agreement and set them apart as God's special people. That blood pointed to the cleansing of sin through the shedding of Jesus' blood. The detailed directions simplified the Ten Commandments and laid out duty to God and to others, and the pledge Israel made typifies the covenant every believer in Christ is to accept with wholehearted obedience.

Record, Altar and Pillars

While still in the mount Moses wrote all the words of the Lord in a book exactly as they had been spoken and dictated by the Son of God, Christ Himself, so that the people could refer to them afterward and would not misconstrue the words or misapply the requirements. What he thus wrote was not the Ten Commandments but the judgments and statutes spoken from God's mouth in addition to the decalogue, written at God's bidding while with Him in the mount. Those writings give minute, definite directions concerning duty to God, to one another, and to the stranger, simplifying and explaining the principles of the Ten Commandments and guarding the law engraved on the tables of stone. They guide dealings with one another and guard against injustice, and together with the Ten Commandments which they explain they stand as the foundation of the national law and set the conditions for the fulfillment of God's promises to Israel.

By making the people's duties clear these specific directions keep them from erring and draw them to strict obedience to the moral, holy law they are prone to transgress. The written words were preserved as God's commands, preserving both the commands they were bound to obey and the people's pledge to obey them, thus joining Israel's pledge to obey with God's promise of blessing to the obedient. Coming down from the mount, after receiving the laws and ordinances, Moses rose up early in the morning and in preparation for ratifying the covenant according to God's directions built an altar under the hill at the foot of the mountain. With it he set up twelve pillars according to the twelve tribes of Israel, one for each tribe, representing the tribes and testifying to their acceptance of the covenant.

Ratifying the Covenant Service

Coming down from the mount, Moses told the people all the words of the Lord and all the judgments, and all the people answered with one voice that all that the Lord had said they would do. He then wrote all the words of the Lord and rose up early in the morning and built an altar under the hill with twelve pillars according to the twelve tribes of Israel. In preparation he had young men offer burnt offerings and peace offerings of oxen, and he divided the blood, putting half in basins and half upon the altar. He took the book of the covenant and read it in the audience of the people, who renewed their promise to do all and be obedient, and he sprinkled the blood upon the people to seal the covenant and declare it the blood of the covenant which the Lord had made with them concerning all these words.

This writing and building, with offerings and reading and pledge and sprinkling, was a most solemn covenant service. By it the children of Israel were once more set apart as a peculiar people, a special people devoted to God. The covenant was confirmed through sacrifice and the sprinkling of blood. The sprinkled blood represented the shedding of the blood of Jesus, by which human beings are cleansed from sin.

The writing stands between the summons for Moses, Aaron, Nadab, Abihu, and seventy of the elders to come up and worship afar off with Moses alone coming near to the Lord, and the ascent in which they saw the God of Israel and ate and drank. Afterward Moses with his minister Joshua went up into the mount to receive tables of stone with the law and commandments to teach the people. Then followed directions for building the sanctuary and the pattern of the ark.

In this service Israel formally covenanted to accept Jehovah as their sovereign and were acknowledged as the chosen people of the Most High. After the wonders wrought in bringing them from Egypt, they could expect great blessings as they left Sinai with the prospect of speedily entering Canaan.

Covenant Obligation Today

Here the conditions of the covenant were plainly laid before the people, with the specifically defined particulars of the law stated in detail so they could understand what obedience required. The people unanimously agreed to fulfill every obligation, accepting every specifically defined requirement of the law. Their covenant typifies the covenant made between God and every believer in Jesus Christ, to be accepted with unanimous consent to obey every obligation.

The instruction God gave in the mount in Exodus 19-24 is to be obeyed, studied, and presented before the people now just as verily as by the children of Israel. This is to cause all contention to cease and to lead to loving as brethren with softened and subdued hearts. The Teacher who gave the directions on Mount Sinai is Christ Jesus, who afterward spoke in human flesh. Obeying those requirements would have made the Israelites practical Christians, happy in following God's ways rather than their natural inclinations.