Enjoy His Company
In Exodus 24, God made a covenant agreement with Israel. He promised throughout the entire Old Testament, “If you will obey my words, I will be a God to you and you will be my people” (Jeremiah 7:23, NKJV). After Moses read the law to the people, they answered, “We understand and we will obey.”
This covenant had to be sealed—ratified and made valid—and that could happen only by sprinkling the blood upon it. Hebrews tells us that “[Moses] took the blood…and sprinkled both the book itself and all the people” (Hebrews 9:19).
The shed blood of the burnt offerings was contained in a basin. Moses took some of this blood and poured part of it by the altar; then he took a hyssop (plant), dipped it in the basin, and sprinkled some of the blood on the twelve pillars (representing the twelve tribes of Israel). Finally, Moses dipped the hyssop into the basin and sprinkled the blood on the people, which sealed the covenant.
It is clear that the sprinkling of the blood gave the Israelites full access to God with joy. On this occasion, it had nothing to do with forgiveness of sin but rather with communion. They were now sanctified, cleansed, and fit to be in God’s presence.
Moses and the seventy elders went up to the mountain to meet God, where the Lord appeared to them. These men saw a table spread before them, and scripture implies that with ease, comfort, and no fear of judgment, they sat in God’s presence and ate and drank with him: “But on the nobles of the children of Israel he did not lay his hand. So they saw God, and they ate and drank” (Exodus 24:11).
This is simply amazing. These men could eat and drink in the very presence of God, whereas shortly before, they had feared for their lives. The blood had been sprinkled, and they understood the safety, power and security in that. They had no fear!
Beloved, today we are in a new covenant with Jesus Christ, a covenant sealed by his own blood. When his precious blood is sprinkled on your soul, it is for the purpose of communion so that you can go boldly—with ease, without fear of judgment—into God’s presence. You are given access to him, with no sin condemning you, free to talk to God and enjoy his company.
