Exodus 24:11
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Good evening church. If you've got a Bible let me invite you to have it open at Exodus chapter 24 and that's on page 65 of the church Bibles. A few years back there was an ad campaign displayed on the side of London's double-decker buses. It was a pretty simple campaign in bold font on a plain white background it simply read there's probably no God.
Now stop worrying and enjoy your life. I think for a lot of people that is essentially the mantra by which they live. You can't know for sure whether there is or isn't a God, so you might as well just forget about the whole thing and enjoy yourself. enjoy good food and drink, enjoy vacations, houses, cars, and whatever else you can squeeze out of the lemon that is life. I think as well that it's fair to say that that mentality is not exclusive to non-Christians.
I think there are a lot of Christians who perhaps just have a nagging sense in the back of their mind that maybe this whole God thing isn't true after all. And so maybe the best thing to do would just be to ditch it all and enjoy what you can out of life. But you know, behind that bus campaign is an assumption. And the assumption is basically this. Whether or not God exists, if he does, happiness has got nothing to do with him.
this evening I want to challenge that assumption in the passage we're looking at this evening I want us to see that contrary to that bus campaign there is a God and he has everything to do with our happiness and if you've got a bible have a look with me at verse 9 of exodus 24 It says, They beheld God and ate and drank.
I think the point of this passage is this. God saves us so that we can delight in him. So draw near through Christ. Got two points for us this evening. They basically followed that sentence. First, God saves us so that we can delight in him, and second, draw near through Christ. So let's dive into it. The context of this passage is that God has just saved the Israelites from slavery under the Egyptians.
He led them through the Red Sea to the foot of Mount Sinai, and there he famously gave Moses the law. And in the three chapters leading up to where we are here in Exodus 24, we see all these different rules and stipulations which are given to the people of Israel to instruct them how to live for him. And then here in chapter 24, the people enthusiastically pledge to live in obedience to God's law. And the covenant is sealed.
You know, if you've been reading along in this book so far, you might be excused for thinking that this whole thing is really not that great. Previously, the Israelites lived in Egypt and they were required to obey Pharaoh. And now, they are required to obey God. And at first blush, it might just seem like God has just transferred them from one form of slavery to another, as if God is some kind of cosmic leech who just wants to suck worship out of his people.
Of course, many people think about God like that today, a sort of narcissistic, self-obsessed tyrant in the sky who just feeds off the worship of his servants. But, you know, if that thought has ever crept into your mind, then this passage here blows it to smithereens. Because in these verses, we see God's purpose in saving the Israelites.
It is his purpose to draw them to himself and fill them with joy. Did you notice that comment at the start of verse 11? As these men ascended the mountain, it says they saw God, and then Moses adds, and he, that's God, did not lay his hand on the chief men of the people of Israel. You know, if you have any familiarity at all with the Old Testament, those words will be jarring.
Because all through the Old Testament, the consistent message is that an unholy people cannot dwell in the presence of a holy God and live. I don't know if you ever heard about the astronaut who devised a plan to fly a rocket to the sun. And one reporter enthusiastically questioned the astronaut and asked him, how exactly do you plan to penetrate the sun's devastating heat?
And the astronaut paused for a second and he said, well, we've thought about that and we've decided to go at night. The white hot holiness of God knows no night. When sinners enter his presence, they simply burn up. But look what happens here. These men ascend the mountain and they see God and rather than burning up, they dine at his table.
This is a phenomenal passage. And the reason why it works is because this is a pivotal moment in Israel's history. the covenant has just been made. The ink is still wet, as it were, and before they have a chance to break it, they enjoy the benefits of keeping it. This is God's purpose in the whole thing, to draw them to himself and delight them in him.
The key word here is covenant. what exactly is a covenant? A covenant is a formal relationship between two parties. In a sense, a covenant is a bit like a contract, except with one difference. Let me give you an example. I have a contract. I have a contract with Mint Mobile. And I bet you can guess who wrote that contract. It wasn't me. Mint Mobile wrote that contract. And here's why. They wrote that contract so that they can enter a relationship with me whilst protecting themselves from the potential liability I could be to them. That's what you do with a contract.
But think about a covenant. A covenant is not about protecting yourself from the person, it's about binding yourself to them. You know, elsewhere in the Old Testament, it refers to this episode as a marriage. Or just think about my marriage to the cat for a moment. I did not enter the marriage covenant with cat to protect myself from the potential liability she could be to me. In fact, it's the very opposite. Just think about those marriage vows. In richer, in poorer, in sickness and in health. On the day we got married, I was effectively saying, no matter how sick you get, even if I have to feed you and take you to the bathroom and wash you, and even if you don't remember who I am through the whole
thing. Because I love you so much, I am binding myself to you and I want all these people here to be witnesses of that fact. Friends, this is what God is doing to his people. He is binding himself to them and in his presence there is fullness of joy Amen There's only one thing that is required in a marriage it's faithfulness The trouble is if you read on in the story you see that Israel was not a faithful spouse.
In fact, you only have to flip over the page and you see how Israel, this bride, is basically unfaithful on their wedding night when they make for themselves a golden calf and worship it instead of God. And of course, in a marriage, somebody might be willing to forgive that once or twice or even many times, but there comes a point where if one spouse is so unfaithful consistently and deliberately, eventually that covenant just doesn't exist anymore.
It's broken. And actually that's what we see in the story of the Old Testament. This beautiful marriage covenant between God and Israel is broken. And the benefits evaporate. There's some pretty dark points in the Old Testament where we see this. And yet, because of God's love, in the darkness of Israel's night, he makes a promise that in place of the old covenant, he will make a new and better covenant, and this one cannot be broken.
Now in Luke's gospel, on the night before Jesus was crucified, he gave out a cup to his disciples and he said, this is the new covenant in my blood. And do you know what's really interesting about that episode? Is that unlike in Exodus 24, when the covenant is made and all the people pledge, we will obey. When Jesus says that, it's met with nothing but bewilderment.
Jesus' disciples don't pledge obedience. And you see, here's the point which Luke is making. The new covenant does not depend on Israel's faithfulness. It depends on Jesus' faithfulness. You know, there's a little feature in this text which is just sheer genius on Moses' part. Seven times in Exodus 24, the same verb is used.
It's the verb to go up. And you know, by including this verb seven times, Moses basically tips us off to how this is going to work. You see, the deal with the old covenant is it required them to go up. It was an uphill struggle to be with God. You know, in the book of Hebrews, which focuses not so much on the old but on the new covenant, a different verb is used seven times.
It's not the verb go up. It's the verb draw near. You see, the difference between the Old Covenant and the New Covenant is that in the Old Covenant, they had to go up to God. But in the New, God comes down to them in the person of Christ. He was the faithful covenant partner. He did everything that was required so that we can draw near to God.
The curtain is torn, the way is open, and we can go and be with him. This is our second point. Draw near to Christ. You know, there's another little detail in this text I just want to pick up on. Did you notice in verse 10 that the pavement under God's throne is described as sapphire? like the very heaven for clearness you know what we see here is no earthly picture in these verses it's like we peer through the keyhole of heaven and it just goes so quickly but just for a moment in these verses we see into heaven and we see this remarkable world where even the pavement is sapphire.
You know, in the months leading up to our engagement, Kat gave me some very unsubtle instructions about the kind of ring she might like. Kat's mom had a sapphire in her engagement ring. Kat's grandma had a sapphire in her engagement ring. And being a traditionalist, Kat was hoping for a sapphire in her engagement ring. Well, it won't surprise you that if you approach her after the service, you will see that she has a sapphire in her ring.
You know, that stone is the most valuable thing we own. It's valuable because it's sentimental. But it's also valuable, despite its very modest size, because it was expensive. Look at this picture of heaven, where even the concrete is sapphire. You know, here's what I think Moses is doing with this.
By the time we get to heaven, even the things which we hold most dearly in this life will just be like concrete slabs. And it's not that the sapphire will be any less beautiful. If anything, it will be more so. But it's what we have instead will be so much better. You know, in the rearview mirror of heaven, all of the trophies in this world will shrink down into little trinkets.
All of the treasures amassed in the palaces of this world will just be like Happy Meal plastic. There'll be nothing. Because we will dine with the High King. As the hymn writer beautifully put it, Turn your eyes upon Jesus, look full in his wonderful face, and the things of earth will grow strangely dim in the light of his glory and grace.
Friends, if that is the perspective we will have in heaven, why not start now? You know, maybe as you hear this, you're not a Christian. And if that's you, I want you to hear the invitation that Jesus gives in Revelation chapter 3. Jesus says, Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him and he with me.
Jesus has done all that is required to bring you to glory. as it were, the invitation, it's arrived in the mail. Will you go? The chief end of man, as the catechism says, is to glorify God and to enjoy Him forever. Through Christ, the way has been opened. Will you come? Let's pray.
Lord we thank you that this beautiful picture that we see in Exodus 24 is not a fairy tale but is something which has been brought within reach Lord I pray that there would be nobody in this room who would not be together around that table in heaven I pray this in Jesus name, Amen