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.

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