Exodus 24 -- Covenant Ceremony

Exodus 24:1 Then He said to Moses, “Go up to the Lord, you and Aaron, Nadab, and Abihu, and 70 of Israel’s elders, and bow in worship at a distance. 2 Moses alone is to approach the Lord, but the others are not to approach, and the people are not to go up with him.”

Moses was the only one to approach.  When we read about the temple, we learn that their is one high priest that can enter the holy of holys.   Here Moses is acting as a high priest by being the one who can enter closest to God.

Exodus 24:3 Moses came and told the people all the commands of the Lord and all the ordinances. Then all the people responded with a single voice, “We will do everything that the Lord has commanded.” 4 And Moses wrote down all the words of the Lord. He rose early the next morning and set up an altar and 12 pillars for the 12 tribes of Israel at the base of the mountain. 5 Then he sent out young Israelite men, and they offered burnt offerings and sacrificed bulls as fellowship offerings to the Lord. 6 Moses took half the blood and set it in basins; the other half of the blood he sprinkled on the altar. 7 He then took the covenant scroll and read it aloud to the people. They responded, “We will do and obey everything that the Lord has commanded.”
8 Moses took the blood, sprinkled it on the people, and said, “This is the blood of the covenant that the Lord has made with you concerning all these words.”

Blood is used as a sign of this covenant.  This reminds me of the need of Christ's blood to atone for our sins.  We too needed the blood of something (in our case someone, Christ) to bind us to God.  It is through Christ's blood that we are able to draw near to God.

Exodus 24:9 Then Moses went up with Aaron, Nadab, and Abihu, and 70 of Israel’s elders, 10 and they saw the God of Israel. Beneath His feet was something like a pavement made of sapphire stone, as clear as the sky itself. 11 God did not harm the Israelite nobles; they saw Him, and they ate and drank.

Perhaps they saw the throne of God?  In Ezekiel, it is described as being sapphire stone:

Ezekiel 1:26 The shape of a throne with the appearance of sapphire stone was above the expanse. There was a form with the appearance of a human on the throne high above.

and

Ezekiel 10:1 Then I looked, and there above the expanse over the heads of the cherubim was something like sapphire stone resembling the shape of a throne that appeared above them.

Sapphire is also found in the foundation of the new Jerusalem. (Revelation 21:19) 

Exodus 24:12 The Lord said to Moses, “Come up to Me on the mountain and stay there so that I may give you the stone tablets with the law and commandments I have written for their instruction.” 13 So Moses arose with his assistant Joshua and went up the mountain of God. 14 He told the elders, “Wait here for us until we return to you. Aaron and Hur are here with you. Whoever has a dispute should go to them.” 15 When Moses went up the mountain, the cloud covered it. 16 The glory of the Lord settled on Mount Sinai, and the cloud covered it for six days. On the seventh day He called to Moses from the cloud. 17 The appearance of the Lord’s glory to the Israelites was like a consuming fire on the mountaintop. 18 Moses entered the cloud as he went up the mountain, and he remained on the mountain 40 days and 40 nights.

Forty days and nights, just like the rains of the flood.  I wonder if there is any significance to that?  

Exodus 20:7 -- Do Not Misuse the Name of the Lord

Exodus 20:7 Do not misuse the name of the Lord your God, because the Lord will not leave anyone unpunished who misuses His name.

We should not use the name of the Lord in a way that would bring dishonor to him.  We should not use his name unless we are addressing Him or telling someone about Him.  Passages in the Old Testament tells us to take our oaths in Him name.  

The Bible is filled with references telling the people to not misuse God's name, here are a few.

Leviticus 18:21 “You are not to make any of your children pass through the fire to Molech. Do not profane the name of your God; I am Yahweh."

Leviticus 19:12 You must not swear falsely by My name, profaning the name of your God; I am Yahweh.

These two verses are straight forward.  Do not profane the name of God.

Deuteronomy 18:19 I will hold accountable whoever does not listen to My words that he speaks in My name.20 But the prophet who dares to speak a message in My name that I have not commanded him to speak, or who speaks in the name of other gods—that prophet must die.’

Here, a punishment is given for those who profane or misuse the name of God, he must die.

Psalm 74:10 God, how long will the enemy mock?
Will the foe insult Your name forever?
11 Why do You hold back Your hand?
Stretch out Your right hand and destroy them!

The Psalmist is pleading with God to destroy those who insult the name of the Lord.

Proverbs 30:8 Keep falsehood and deceitful words far from me.
Give me neither poverty nor wealth;
feed me with the food I need.
9 Otherwise, I might have too much
and deny You, saying, “Who is the Lord?”
or I might have nothing and steal,
profaning the name of my God.

Here in Proverbs it suggest that having plenty or too little could cause someone to profane the name of God.  Having just what one needs can help keep one from doing so.

Ezekiel 20:39 “As for you, house of Israel, this is what the Lord God says: Go and serve your idols, each of you. But afterward you will surely listen to Me, and you will no longer defile My holy name with your gifts and idols.

Ezekiel is telling Israel that they are defiling the name of God by serving idols.  By rejecting God and raising our lives to another god profanes God's name because we are not seeing Him for being the Holy God he truly is.

Ezekiel 36:21 Then I had concern for My holy name, which the house of Israel profaned among the nations where they went.
22 “Therefore, say to the house of Israel: This is what the Lord God says: It is not for your sake that I will act, house of Israel, but for My holy name, which you profaned among the nations where you went. 23 I will honor the holiness of My great name, which has been profaned among the nations—the name you have profaned among them. The nations will know that I am Yahweh”—the declaration of the Lord God—“when I demonstrate My holiness through you in their sight. 

Romans 2:23 You who boast in the law, do you dishonor God by breaking the law? 24 For, as it is written: The name of God is blasphemed among the Gentiles because of you.

These two verses show that the name of God is defiled when those who proclaim His name do not act as though they follow God.  They confess with their lips but their actions are completely different.  Thus, those who see them out in the world get the wrong view of God, this His name is profaned.

1 Timothy 6:1 All who are under the yoke as slaves must regard their own masters to be worthy of all respect, so that God’s name and His teaching will not be blasphemed.

If you are subjected to following the rules or under the authority of another individual, no matter who they are, or how they act, you must show them respect so that your witness in Christ may be protected and that you will blaspheme the name of God.

Revelation 16:8 The fourth poured out his bowl on the sun. He was given the power to burn people with fire, 9 and people were burned by the intense heat. So they blasphemed the name of God, who had the power over these plagues, and they did not repent and give Him glory.

The people here experienced something horrible.  Instead of turning to God and repenting or even acknowledging the power of God to remove these horrible plagues, the people grumbled and complained that they were being burned.  Grumbling and complaining against God is another way to blaspheme His name.

There are many ways we can defile the name of our God.  It is more than spewing out a profanity.  It is a way of life.  If we have idols, if we grumble and complain against Him, if our actions do not match our speech concerning Him, if we deliberately sin, we are guilty of profaning the name of God.  God is all about His glory.  His name must be praised and exalted.  We must strive to do this every day by praising him and turning from our sins.

Do all good people go to heaven?

The simple answer, NO.  There is a lot in the Bible that supports this answer.   This post is in response to what the Pope said a few days ago.

This is what the Pope said:

"The Lord created us in His image and likeness, and we are the image of the Lord, and He does good and all of us have this commandment at heart: do good and do not do evil. All of us. ‘But, Father, this is not Catholic! He cannot do good.’ Yes, he can... "The Lord has redeemed all of us, all of us, with the Blood of Christ: all of us, not just Catholics. Everyone! ‘Father, the atheists?’ Even the atheists. Everyone!".. We must meet one another doing good. ‘But I don’t believe, Father, I am an atheist!’ But do good: we will meet one another there.”

Yes, we are created in the image and likeness of God.  God reveals this from the beginning when he told the angels "let us make man in our image."  We may have the commandment to do good and not evil, but that does not mean we do it.  We will never choose good because it is good.  There is always a selfish reasons, unless Christ is in it, we cannot do good.  Not pure good in the eyes of God.  We can do good in the eyes of man, but God's definition of good is different from ours.  God's definition of good is that which is perfect and complete.  When God created, he called his creation very good.  When it was created, it was perfect and complete.  When God calls something good, it means it is perfect.  There is no sinful desire or motive what so ever.  When we say something is good, we mean it is pleasing or beneficial to us somehow.  Someones actions may be good, but their motives behind those actions may not.

Romans 3:12 All have turned away;
all alike have become useless.
There is no one who does what is good,
not even one.

The Bible is clear, no one is good.  Not even one.  Not one single person, apart from Christ was ever good.

Responding to the leader of the Roman Catholic church's homily, Father James Martin, S.J. wrote in an email to The Huffington Post:
"Pope Francis is saying, more clearly than ever before, that Christ offered himself as a sacrifice for everyone. That's always been a Christian belief. You can find St. Paul saying in the First Letter to Timothy that Jesus gave himself as a "ransom for all." But rarely do you hear it said by Catholics so forcefully, and with such evident joy. And in this era of religious controversies, it's a timely reminder that God cannot be confined to our narrow categories."

My response to this:

Romans 3:23 For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. 24 They are justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus. 25 God presented Him as a propitiation through faith in His blood, to demonstrate His righteousness, because in His restraint God passed over the sins previously committed. 26 God presented Him to demonstrate His righteousness at the present time, so that He would be righteous and declare righteous the one who has faith in Jesus.

We are justified by His grace.  Jesus will declare righteous the one who has faith in Him.  Only those who have faith will be justified.  This verse is clear!  The atheist has no faith in God.  He is sinning by denying the one true God.  He is not justified through faith in Christ.  Yes, Christ's blood is enough for all, but not all are allowed to partake.  Only those who receive the grace of God and have faith in Christ will receive the redemptive blood of Christ.

1 Timothy 2:1 First of all, then, I urge that petitions, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for everyone, 2 for kings and all those who are in authority, so that we may lead a tranquil and quiet life in all godliness and dignity. 3 This is good, and it pleases God our Savior, 4 who wants everyone to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.
5 For there is one God
and one mediator between God and humanity,
Christ Jesus, Himself human,
6 who gave Himself—a ransom for all,
a testimony at the proper time.
7 For this I was appointed a herald, an apostle (I am telling the truth; I am not lying), and a teacher of the Gentiles in faith and truth.

I do agree with the statement that Christ's blood can redeem all people.  His blood was enough, but again, scripture is very clear.  Only those who believe in Christ will be redeemed. There is one God.  One mediator between God and man.  That is Christ.  Only Christ.  Only through Christ can we get to God.  Apart from Christ we cannot get to God.

"But do good: we will meet one another there."  There is so much wrong with this statement and it is really, probably, what is most controversial about what he said.  Even more so than saying a good atheist can get into heaven.  A good atheist is still a sinner because he still denies God and sin cannot be in the presence of God.  He abhors sin.  However, this notion that any good person can get to heaven or even be part of the earthly church is ridiculous.

James 1:25 But the one who looks intently into the perfect law of freedom and perseveres in it, and is not a forgetful hearer but one who does good works—this person will be blessed in what he does.

You might say, but wait a minute.  James here says we must do good works to be blessed.  Look closer.  Look intently in to the perfect law of freedom.  That is Christ.  Look at his laws and preserve them!  Out of this will flow good works.  A true believer and follower of Christ will not only hear the words of God and believe, but they will also preform good works out of their love for the Father.

Galatians 2:15 We who are Jews by birth and not “Gentile sinners” 16 know that no one is justified by the works of the law but by faith in Jesus Christ. And we have believed in Christ Jesus so that we might be justified by faith in Christ and not by the works of the law, because by the works of the law no human being will be justified. 17 But if we ourselves are also found to be “sinners” while seeking to be justified by Christ, is Christ then a promoter of sin? Absolutely not! 18 If I rebuild the system I tore down, I show myself to be a lawbreaker. 19 For through the law I have died to the law, so that I might live for God. I have been crucified with Christ 20 and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me. 21 I do not set aside the grace of God, for if righteousness comes through the law, then Christ died for nothing.

Well, looky here.  Good works do not save.  Doing good will not get you into heaven.  Obeying the law will not get you into heaven.  Only a faith and love in Christ will do!  If we say that someone can do good and get into heaven, then Christ's death was meaningless.  We would not need to send anyone to tell of Christ.  Christ would not mean a thing.  All we would have to do is say "Just do good and God will let you in."  Never mind the fact that you spit in his face daily and deny or even hate the very existence of God.  If  you do what is good in MAN'S eyes then you can get there, no problem.  The Bible preaches something totally different!  Man's opinion does not matter.  What matters is God's opinion.  If God sees you as you are, then you are wretched and wicked.  It does not matter what "good" in man's sight that you do.  It is still evil in the site of God.

"The heart is more deceitful than anything else" (Jeremiah 17:9) and "how can you speak good things when you are evil? For the mouth speaks from the overflow of the heart" (Matthew 12:34). "A good man produces good out of the good storeroom of his heart. An evil man produces evil out of the evil storeroom, for his mouth speaks from the overflow of the heart" (Luke 6:45).  Our hearts are deceitful.  Out of our hearts flows what is our inherent nature.  This is always evil, unless Christ has redeemed us.  We cannot save ourselves by doing good.  Our hearts will not allow it.

Ezekiel 11:19 And I will give them one heart and put a new spirit within them; I will remove their heart of stone from their bodies and give them a heart of flesh, 20 so they may follow My statutes, keep My ordinances, and practice them. Then they will be My people, and I will be their God. 21 But as for those whose hearts pursue their desire for detestable things and practices, I will bring their actions down on their own heads.” This is the declaration of the Lord God.

When we are born, we have a heart of stone.  It will remain a heart of stone until God turns it into a heart of flesh.  From this passage, man does nothing except in response to what God does.  We will follow his statutes, keep his ordinances and practice them ONLY because GOD has changed our hearts.  He changes our hearts so we can obey him.  Otherwise, we would remain wicked and evil.

Our own good works will not get us into heaven.  God makes it clear that we must follow Christ and believe and have faith in him in order to receive blessings through good works which will flow out of the new desires of our heart that are given to us by God when he turns our heart of stone into a heart of flesh.  We can do nothing on our own but wickedness.  Christ can save us.  But only Christ.  He is our hope.  He is our future. His death mattered because we can do nothing to improve our own wicked condition.  His death provided a way for us to be with God.  All people can be redeemed through his blood, but you must believe and have faith.  A faith that only comes from God and only bestowed by his grace and his mercy towards us.

Source:

The quotes were taking from the article:  Pope Francis Says Atheists Who Do Good Are Redeemed, Not Just Catholics