Today’s Reading:
Exodus 24:1-11
“And Moses took the blood, and sprinkled it on the people, and said, Behold the blood of the covenant, which the Lord has made with you concerning all these words.” (Exodus 24:8)
Moses took half of the blood and used it for one purpose and the other half for another. It is all the same blood, but the division has purpose and intent. He took one half of it and put it in basins. The word here for “sprinkle” is zaraq. It means “to scatter.” The only other two times it was used was during the plague of boils when Moses scattered the dust of the furnace towards the sky. Now it is first used in connection with sacrifices. However, in this verse, it is more appropriately translated as “splashed.” The amount of blood would be considerable and it would be poured out or splashed on the altar. According to the Bible, the life is in the blood. The blood being poured out signifies the death of the innocent animals in place of sinful man. They died in order to confirm the covenant. The blood of the sacrificial animals, standing in place of the people, is symbolic of a complete surrender of the people to God. It is as if, they have died and their life was being poured out in acceptance of God’s word.
“…surrender in general, in accordance with the conditions of grace, must precede obedience in particular, according to the law.” In other words, yielding comes before obedience. It is a picture realized in Ephesians 2:8- 9. “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast. Even the Old Testament shows that one comes to God with empty hands. It is not by deeds that one is saved. Rather, it is by grace and through faith. The people have done nothing yet to merit God’s grace except to assume that the blood of the covenant is sufficient to enact the covenant. Abraham discovered this –“And he believed in the Lord, and He accounted it to him for righteousness.”( Genesis 15:6). It is the seal of his righteousness. It is also the evangelical seal of our righteousness. And guess what, it is also sealed upon the Law of Moses itself. Even the Ten Commandments are introduced with this language – “I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.”( Exodus 20:1.) God redeems. We have no part in our salvation except to believe and receive. This is what Paul precisely states in Ephesians 1 –“In Him you also trusted, after you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation; in whom also, having believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, to the praise of His glory.”
Moses, acting as their mediator, splashes the blood of the animal on the earthen altar, thus signifying their yielding to God. All of it is picturing the future work of Christ for us – the altar, the blood, the grace through faith. Only after the blood is splashed on the altar are the words of the covenant read aloud… The poured out blood symbolised their death; the sprinkled blood denotes the renewal of life and thus the people’s transposition into the kingdom of God. The sins of the people are symbolically carried away and they are sanctified as the people of God. All of this only looks forward to the greater work of Christ. The half of the blood splashed on the altar looked forward to the satisfaction of God’s anger at our sin through the shed blood of Christ. The half sprinkled on the people looked forward to the purification of us through His blood (Hebrews 10:22) and the sanctification of the Spirit (1 Peter 1:2).
As we continue through the law, you’ll also learn that good works aren’t going to keep you saved. This is why God gave Israel a Day of Atonement. If you trust in your good works, then you’re probably not a saved person. What you need to do is to trust in God’s continued mercy, despite your many failings. If you have good works for the Lord, that’s a good thing, but they can never replace your wholehearted dependence on Christ. As the Bible says, “Let the one who boasts boast in the Lord.” And if you have never trusted in the grace of Christ to save you from the pit of hell, today would be a good day to get that settled with the Lord. Give your life to Jesus Christ today.
OLAJIDE OGUNFUWA
Prayer:
Every form of set-back associated with me is hereby cancelled and separated from me totally by the Blood of Jesus Christ.
Every covenant of failure and disappointment operating over my life is hereby nullified.
Every negative covenant or power located and positioned in my family to torment me, I overcome by the covenant in the blood of Jesus Christ.
Every power that capitalized on our carelessness as a nation to invade our land, oh God may we receive your intervention in Jesus name.
Every spirit covering the eyes of all our spiritual leaders from their primary responsibilities, destroy them in Jesus name.
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