One of my favorite holidays is Thanksgiving. Every year we travel down to Houston to visit my extended family. My uncle has a long, wooden table that seats ten, but that’s never enough. So, he sets up plastic tables and folding chairs. Sometimes people spill into the living room or sit on the back porch to eat. It doesn’t matter how many people show up, there is always plenty of good food and conversation.
Not everyone there is a relative. There are some friends that we’ve welcomed into our clan over the years. So, the Friday after Thanksgiving most of us gather up again. We warm up the leftovers, play rousing games of dominoes, and enjoy catching up with those we don’t get to see often enough. We relive stories from the past and remember the loved ones we miss — grandparents, parents, aunts, uncles, and cousins who are no longer present to gather around the table. We talk about our hopes for the future.
These gatherings aren’t perfect, but everyone tries to be on their best behavior. There are always some awkward moments and some topics have to be given a wide berth, but I am incredibly grateful for these times together. There is nothing like sitting around a table with people you love to solidify your relationships and strengthen your bonds. To remind you, especially at Thanksgiving, of the things you have to be thankful for.
This has always been the case. God instituted festivals and feasts in the Jewish calendar to commemorate the past and look forward to the fulfillment of his promises in the future. Also in the days of the Old Testament, to eat and drink at someone’s table created a bond of mutual loyalty, and could be the culminating event in the making of a covenant. Today we’re going to consider the covenant God made with Israel in Exodus. Look for presence, peace, and provision in the making of this covenant.
Read
Exodus 24:1–12 (NIV)
24 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, 2 but Moses alone is to approach the Lord; the others must not come near. And the people may not come up with him.”
3 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.” 4 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. 5 Then he sent young Israelite men, and they offered burnt offerings and sacrificed young bulls as fellowship offerings to the Lord. 6 Moses took half of the blood and put it in bowls, and the other half he splashed against the altar. 7 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.”
8 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.”
9 Moses and Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, and the seventy elders of Israel went up 10 and saw the God of Israel. Under his feet was something like a pavement made of lapis lazuli, as bright blue as the sky. 11 But God did not raise his hand against these leaders of the Israelites; they saw God, and they ate and drank.
12 The Lord said to Moses, “Come up to me on the mountain and stay here, and I will give you the tablets of stone with the law and commandments I have written for their instruction.”
Where do you see presence, peace, and provision?
Reflect
From the beginning of Exodus on, God had been demonstrating both his provision and his presence. As they moved through the desert, the Lord guided the Israelites by a pillar of cloud during the day and of fire at night. He fed them with manna and quail, and quenched their thirst with water from a rock. God was present and sustained his people with abundant provision, just as he’d promised.
To commemorate their escape from Egypt, God called upon the Israelites to observe the Passover. They were to cook the meal they had prepared on the night God delivered them from Egypt, when the angel of death passed over them (Exodus 12). They were also to eat unleavened bread for seven more days to remember that in their haste to leave Egypt, there was no time for the bread to rise. Every year, during Passover and the Feast of Unleavened bread, they were to remember the Lord’s great rescue of his people and his steadfast, faithful love, and commitment.
The scene we read from Exodus 24 comes during the time when Moses and the people camped around Mount Sinai to receive God’s covenant word to his people. The laws given to Moses were to teach the people how to relate to their God and to each other. Following these commandments would bring peace to their relationships. It would set Israel apart and allow them to be a light to the surrounding nations, guiding them to the worship of the one, true God.
In entering into this covenant, the people had to agree to God’s terms. They had to obey. The twelve pillars showed that every tribe was present and in agreement. The blood of the sacrifices signified both cleansing and commitment. Moses and the elders represented the people before God and stood in his presence. The description given to us in verse 1o is stunning, they “saw the God of Israel. Under his feet was something like a pavement made of lapis lazuli, as bright blue as the sky.” Yet even though they were sinful humans in the immediate presence of holy God, they were allowed to live. They could have peace with God. Not only that, “they saw God, and they ate and drank.” Amazing!
In a sense, God prepared a table for the leaders of Israel and joined them at it. The Creator of the universe bound himself to these people. Knowing that in just a short time his people would make and worship a golden calf, God still comes to the table. Knowing they would break the covenant they had just agreed to, he dines with them anyway. Just like Jesus, who would one day celebrate the Passover with one who would betray him, one who would deny him, and others who would abandon him, God prepared a table that offered his presence, his peace, and his provision.
God offers mercy and grace in spite of humanity’s rebellion against his will and rejection of his peace and provision. He does the same for you and me today. God invites you to come to him, be welcomed at his table and fellowship with him. Take advantage of that invitation today.
Respond
What does God’s faithful, unbreakable commitment mean to you today. How can you rejoice in it right now? Spend some time praising God.
Passover reminded the Israelites of mighty acts of God from the past and his promises for the future. What are some of the mighty acts God has done in your life? How to they give you hope in his continued commitment to you in the future?
Before the Lord, reflect on his faithful love and commitment to you and the peace with God enjoy because of Christ’s sacrifice. Ask him to bring that peace into your other relationships.