Introduction: Do you have any new routines in your life? How
many times do you need to be told about a new procedure
before you are comfortable with it? God’s initial
conversations with Moses lead us to conclude that the
Hebrews did not know God at all. Or at least did not
distinguish between Him and other gods. Once God embarks on
setting His people free to go to the land He promised
Abraham, God repeatedly shows His power. This week we see a
new and much more subtle lesson that God is teaching. That
lesson, right in the midst of giving the Ten Commandments,
is a combination of righteousness by faith alone, the work
of the Holy Spirit, and the centrality of the Sabbath. Let’s
dive in and learn more!
I. The Covenant
A. Read Exodus 24:1-2. What purpose do the seventy
elders serve in these verses? (Read Numbers 11:16-17.
These elders were leaders who had been blessed
with the gift of the Holy Spirit. They had not
been given as much Spirit as Moses, but
nevertheless blessed.)
1. We are going to get into a deeper discussion
of the Holy Spirit later, but this is a good
point to ask whether it is typical that
religious leaders have a greater portion of
the Holy Spirit?
a. For what reason would some have greater
Holy Spirit power than others?
b. Is the amount of the Holy Spirit related
to how close they could come to God?
According to Exodus 24:2 Moses could come
“near,” the 70 elders “not near,” and the
rest could not enter the mountain at all?
(There is certainly a practical connection
between the extent to which we are filled
with the Holy Spirit and a closer
relationship with God.)
B. Read Exodus 24:3-4. We see again that the people
declare that they will obey “all the words.” Why
is Moses writing what the Hebrews have agreed to
do? (This reflects general legal rules that writing
makes an agreement more formal and easier to
enforce.)
C. Read Exodus 24:7-8. After writing down the words,
Moses reads them to the people and the people again
agree that they will be obedient. Why throw blood
on them after that? I can see it now, the people
agree and then they get blood thrown on them. I
might complain! (Let’s read the verses that I
skipped as we start our next section.)
II. The Passover Concept
A. Read Exodus 24:5-6. Why are the people making burnt
offerings? (This goes back to the time when sin
entered our world. Genesis 4 introduces the idea of
animal offerings to God which He accepts. God does
not accept an offering of fruit. See Genesis 4:1-5.
In Genesis 8:20-21 we see the first reference to
animal offerings being “burnt offerings” the smell
of which were “pleasing” to God.)
B. What is the connection between the written
covenant, the promise to obey, and the burnt
offerings? (God did not explain it to the people
then, but we know that the burnt offering
symbolizes Jesus’ sacrifice for our sins. God knew
the people were going to break their word (and
soon), and thus He inserts into the ceremony His
historic solution for the failure of Adam and Eve,
and their descendants, to obey God’s commands.)
C. Read Exodus 24:9-11. The 70 elders “see” God and
eat. Does the eating seem odd to you? Why would
they start eating on the mountain in the presence
of God? (Read Luke 22:19-20. All the elements of
the gospel are brought together here. The law, the
burnt offering, the blood, and the meal that
reflects all this: the Passover/Lord’s Supper
meal.)
1. God knew from the very beginning that the
people could not obey. In retrospect it is all
clear. So why did God ask the people to agree
to obey (three times!) when He knew they were
“lying?” (They did not think they were lying.
The point is that we are like the Hebrews. We
claim we can obey, but find ourselves
disobeying.)
III. Holy Spirit
A. Read Ezekiel 36:25-27 and John 3:5. Then review
Numbers 11:17. What concept is God introducing to
the Hebrews? (The power of the Holy Spirit to aid
them in keeping God’s law.)
1. When Ezekiel 36:27 says that God will “cause”
us to “walk in My statutes,” how should we
understand that? (Obedience is also a gift.)
B. Read Philippians 2:12-13. Is God giving us the
“will” to do the works that cause God pleasure?
C. Read Exodus 31:1-5. We generally think that the
purpose of the Holy Spirit is to help us with the
spiritual side of things. What does this teach us?
(The Holy Spirit will help us with our job. He will
improve our work skills if we ask. This is an
insight I learned some years ago and I can attest
that it works. In my legal work I will get an
impression that something I’ve done is not right.
I’ve missed something. This has been a huge help
and a great blessing.)
1. Do you see a relationship between the gift of
the Holy Spirit “causing” us to obey and the
gift of the Holy Spirit making us more
skillful, smart, and knowledgeable? (If you
look at Exodus 31:3 we see that the Holy
Spirit provides us with a cluster of blessings
that make us not simply more spiritual, but
more blessed humans.)
IV. The Sanctuary
A. Read Exodus 25:1-2 and Exodus 25:8-9. How does this
fit into our prior discussion of the law, the
sacrifice, and the Holy Spirit? (They all come
together in the sanctuary where God will live with
them.)
B. Read Exodus 25:18-22. In what context does God
place His testimony and His commandments? (The
“mercy seat” sits above them and God sits above the
mercy seat. The sanctuary and its contents
illustrate the relationship between God’s law and
His mercy. They illustrate righteousness by faith.)
V. The Sabbath
A. Read Exodus 31:12-13. When God says that “above
all” you should keep the Sabbath, what does He
mean? Is it the most important of all
commandments? Or should we look at the context that
God just laid out their work for creating the
sanctuary? In doing that work they should keep the
Sabbath?(It cannot be limited to the context of
building the sanctuary because it is a “sign
throughout your generations.”)
1. Notice that the Sabbath is a sign that God
sanctifies us. Is that different than God
declaring us righteous by faith?
B. Read Genesis 17:8-10 and Colossians 2:11-14. What
is the new sign of circumcision? And what does it
signify? (Colossians tells us that baptism is the
new circumcision, and it is a sign that God has
forgiven all our sins. Baptism is the acceptance
of righteousness by faith.)
C. Now look again at Exodus 31:13. How important is
the Sabbath? (It signifies that God continues His
work of making us holy. We are “washed” in baptism
and sanctified by the Sabbath.)
D. Read Hebrews 4:9-10. What works are we leaving
behind on the Sabbath? (The Sabbath reminds us that
God is the one who makes us righteous.)
1. Does this have anything to do with our jobs,
our regular work? (Absolutely. Resting on the
Sabbath shows our faith that we trust God to
provide for us even though we are not working
on Sabbath.)
2. Think back to our recent discussion of manna
and how a double-portion came on Friday and
none came on Sabbath. What is God doing with
the weekly rhythm of the people? (He is taking
it from being centered on service to the
Egyptians, to being centered on the weekly
celebration that God has freed them from
slavery.)
E. Read Mark 2:23-24 and Mark 2:27-28. Is there any
reason to believe that the Sabbath went the way of
circumcision? That it is no longer required?
(Circumcision simply took a new form. It became
baptism. The Sabbath is still focused on what God
has done for us. Why would you want to leave behind
this great blessing of rest and reminder that God
has saved us?)
F. Friend, will you look through the eyes of God and
see that what He has in mind for us is to rely on
Him completely? For everything? The Sabbath is the
weekly reminder of what God has been and is doing
for us. Will you accept this great benefit into
your life? Will you accept this rest? Why not start
this week?
VI. Next week: Apostasy and Intercession.
Copr. 2025, Bruce N. Cameron, J.D. Scripture quotations are
from the ESV Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard
Version ), copyright 2001 by Crossway, a publishing
ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All
rights reserved. Suggested answers are found within
parentheses. If you normally receive this lesson by e-mail,
but it is lost one week, you can find it by clicking on this
link: http://www.GoBible.org. Pray for the guidance of the
Holy Spirit as you study.
