Commentary - Exodus 24:3-8

Bird's-eye view

This passage in Exodus 24 is one of the most significant moments in the Old Testament. It is the formal ratification of the Mosaic Covenant, the moment when Israel is constituted as a holy nation, a peculiar people bound to Yahweh. Think of it as a great wedding ceremony at the foot of Mount Sinai. God has proposed, as it were, through the giving of the Ten Commandments and the accompanying judgments (the Book of the Covenant), and now the people give their formal consent. This is not a dry legal transaction; it is a solemn, blood-soaked ceremony that establishes a formal relationship between God and His people. The key elements are all here: the proclamation of the word, the unified consent of the people, the writing of the covenant, the building of an altar, the offering of sacrifices, and the climactic sprinkling of "the blood of the covenant." This event establishes the foundational terms of Israel's existence and serves as a profound type, a foreshadowing, of the New Covenant that would be ratified not by the blood of bulls, but by the precious blood of Jesus Christ Himself.

What we see here is the establishment of a national constitution, but it is a constitution given from Heaven. The people twice vow their unconditional obedience, a vow they will tragically break almost immediately. The blood, sprinkled on both the altar (representing God) and the people, visually seals the covenant, binding both parties together. It signifies both cleansing from sin, which makes fellowship possible, and a solemn oath, with the implication of a death penalty for breaking it. This ceremony is the high point of Israel's early history, the moment they are formally married to Yahweh, and it sets the stage for all their subsequent history of faithfulness and, more often, tragic unfaithfulness.

Outline

Context In Exodus

This passage comes immediately after God has delivered the Ten Words from the top of Sinai (Exodus 20) and a subsequent body of case law, often called "the Book of the Covenant" (Exodus 21-23). The people had been terrified by God's direct presence and had asked Moses to be their mediator. Now, Moses descends from the mountain and formally presents the terms of the covenant to the people. This ceremony in chapter 24 is the formal acceptance of those terms. It is the constitutional moment for the nation of Israel. Following this ratification, Moses will ascend the mountain again to receive the stone tablets and the instructions for the Tabernacle (Exodus 25-31), the place where God will dwell in their midst. The entire structure of Israel's national and religious life is being established in these central chapters of Exodus, and this ratification ceremony is the linchpin that holds it all together. It is the basis upon which God will dwell with them and the standard by which they will be judged.

Key Issues

The Wedding at Sinai

We must not read this as though it were the minutes from a city council meeting. This is high drama, a liturgical act of immense significance. The Bible frequently uses the metaphor of marriage to describe God's relationship with His people, and this is the wedding ceremony. Yahweh is the groom, and Israel is the bride. The Book of the Covenant contains the wedding vows. The people say, "I do." The blood is the sign of the covenant, a bond unto death. The peace offerings are part of the celebratory feast that follows.

This is a real, historical event, but it is also dripping with symbolism that points forward. The entire ceremony is a tangible gospel presentation. It shows that the only way for a holy God to enter into a binding relationship with a sinful people is through a mediator, through sacrifice, and through the shedding of blood. Israel's eager promises to obey are sincere in the moment, but they reveal a profound ignorance of their own hearts. They are like a young groom who has no idea how difficult marriage can be. Their subsequent failure, culminating in the golden calf incident just a few chapters later, demonstrates that this covenant, while good and holy, could not ultimately solve the problem of human sin. It pointed to the need for a better covenant, with a better mediator and a better sacrifice, which would not just demand obedience but would also provide the power to obey.

Verse by Verse Commentary

3 Then Moses came and recounted to the people all the words of Yahweh and all the judgments; and all the people answered with one voice and said, “All the words which Yahweh has spoken we will do!”

The first step in any covenant is the declaration of its terms. Moses, the faithful mediator, comes down from the mountain and lays it all out for the people. He doesn't summarize or paraphrase; he recounts "all the words" and "all the judgments." This is God's proposal. The people's response is immediate, unanimous, and absolute. They answer "with one voice," showing corporate solidarity. And their promise is sweeping: "All the words...we will do!" There are no negotiations, no requests for amendments. It is a total commitment. Of course, we who have the rest of the story know the tragic irony of this moment. Their promise is sincere, but it is made in the flesh. They are underestimating both the holiness of God's law and the sinfulness of their own hearts. Nevertheless, their formal, verbal assent is a necessary part of the process. They are entering this covenant with their eyes open, at least in principle.

4 And Moses wrote down all the words of Yahweh. Then he arose early in the morning and built an altar at the foot of the mountain with twelve pillars for the twelve tribes of Israel.

A verbal agreement is one thing, but a covenant requires a written record. So Moses, acting as God's secretary, writes down "all the words of Yahweh." This becomes the "Book of the Covenant." The word is fixed, objective, and permanent. Then, the preparations for the ceremony begin. Moses builds two representative structures. The altar at the foot of the mountain represents the presence of Yahweh, the one party to the covenant. The twelve pillars represent the other party: the twelve tribes of Israel in their entirety. This is not a covenant with a few individuals, but with the whole nation, corporately represented. The stage is set for a transaction between God and His people.

5 And he sent young men of the sons of Israel, and they offered burnt offerings and sacrificed young bulls as peace offerings to Yahweh.

Before the Aaronic priesthood is formally established, "young men" are deputized to act as priests for this occasion. They offer two kinds of sacrifices. The burnt offerings were wholly consumed on the altar, signifying total dedication and atonement for sin. The worshipper, represented by the animal, was symbolically yielding his entire life to God. The peace offerings were different. Part was burned to God, part was given to the priests, and part was eaten by the worshippers in a communal meal. This signified fellowship, peace, and communion between God and His people. So you have two essential movements here: first, atonement and consecration (the burnt offering), and second, communion and fellowship (the peace offering). You cannot have the second without the first. Sin must be dealt with before we can sit down at God's table.

6 And Moses took half of the blood and put it in basins, and the other half of the blood he sprinkled on the altar.

Here we come to the central element of the ceremony: the blood. The life of the animal is in the blood (Lev. 17:11), and that life has been given up as a substitute for the lives of the people. Moses divides the blood into two halves. The first half he throws against the altar. Since the altar represents God, this is Israel's life, through the blood of the substitute, being pledged to God. It is a solemn dedication. The blood on the altar signifies that the covenant is consecrated from God's side. The other half of the blood is held in reserve in basins, waiting for the final act of ratification.

7 Then he took the book of the covenant and read it in the hearing of the people; and they said, “All that Yahweh has spoken we will do, and we will be obedient!”

Before the final step, the word is brought forward again. Moses reads the entire Book of the Covenant aloud. This is to ensure there is no misunderstanding. They need to hear the terms one more time before the consequences are applied. For the second time, the people respond with a unanimous promise. This time they add a phrase: "we will do, and we will be obedient!" It's an emphatic doubling-down on their previous vow. They have heard the law, and they publicly and corporately bind themselves to keep it. The stage is set. The vows have been spoken twice. The sacrifice has been made. The blood is waiting.

8 So Moses took the blood and sprinkled it on the people and said, “Behold the blood of the covenant, which Yahweh has cut with you in accordance with all these words.”

This is the climactic moment. Moses takes the blood from the basins and sprinkles it on the people. Just as the altar was splattered with blood, now the people are. This visually and powerfully unites the two parties of the covenant in the shed blood of the sacrifice. They are now, quite literally, a blood-bound people. The blood signifies cleansing, but it also signifies the consequences of breaking the oath. To break this covenant is to incur a blood-guilt, to be worthy of death. Moses' words are momentous: "Behold the blood of the covenant." This is the phrase Jesus will pick up in the upper room (Matt. 26:28), but He will add a crucial word: "this is the blood of the new covenant." The ceremony at Sinai was a type, a shadow. It was powerful, but it was external. The blood of bulls was sprinkled on them. The blood of the new covenant, the blood of Christ, is applied internally, cleansing the conscience and writing the law on the heart. The covenant at Sinai was cut with them; the new covenant is cut for them by their perfect substitute. This moment in Exodus is glorious, but it points to an even greater glory to come.

Application

This passage forces us to confront the seriousness of approaching a holy God. Our relationship with Him is not a casual affair; it is a blood-bought, blood-sealed covenant. We live in an age that despises formal commitments and oaths, but God operates on the basis of covenant promises. This ceremony at Sinai reminds us that we cannot enter God's presence on our own terms. A sacrifice is required. Blood must be shed.

For the unbeliever, the message is plain: you stand outside the covenant of promise. You need a mediator, and you need the blood of a substitute to be applied to you. You cannot make promises to God that you are capable of keeping. Your only hope is to abandon your own efforts and trust in the one who made and kept the perfect promise on behalf of His people.

For the believer, this passage is a powerful reminder of what it cost to bring us into fellowship with God. We should never treat the "blood of the covenant" lightly. When we come to the Lord's Table, we are participating in a covenant renewal ceremony. We are remembering this new covenant sealed not with the blood of bulls, but with the blood of God's own Son. Unlike the Israelites, who rashly promised what they could not perform, our confidence is not in our obedience, but in Christ's. Our response should be one of profound gratitude, humility, and a deep-seated desire to walk in a manner worthy of such a great salvation. We have been sprinkled with a better blood, and so our commitment to "be obedient" flows not from a damnable self-confidence, but from a heart that has been cleansed and set free to serve the living God.