Home / Commentary / Exodus / Exodus Chapter 24
The elders of Israel are called to come before the LORD for worship. Moses recounts the LORD’s ordinances to the people, who repeat their promise to obey.
Moses and the elders are called to come before the LORD for worship. The covenant of the LORD is ratified.
The covenant between the LORD and His people Israel has now been ratified. The LORD summoned Moses to the top of the mountain to receive stone tablets and commandments from Him. Moses alone entered the cloud, a visible sign of the LORD’s presence and glory that covered the mountain. The Israelites saw His glory in the form of something like fire.
The book of Exodus is the second book of the Torah (“law”). It continues the story of Genesis concerning the migration of the family of Jacob (the Israelites) to Egypt (Genesis 50). It describes the commissioning of Moses and Aaron as God’s representatives on earth to accomplish God’s deliverance of His people from slavery in Egypt and lead them to the Promised Land (the land of Canaan). It also relates the miraculous deliverance from Egypt beginning with the plagues on Egypt and the crossing of the Red Sea. It then describes the journey to Mount Sinai and the establishment of the Mosaic covenant with the Israelites. The last part of the book involves the specifications and building of the tabernacle – the place where the Lord Himself dwelt amongst His people.
In the book of Exodus, the focus shifts to the deliverance of God’s people.
To many students of the book of Exodus, Exodus 24 is the climax of the book. The main topic in the chapter is Israel’s ratification of the covenant given by God to Moses in chapters 20 through 23. In a sense, the events in the first 23 chapters lead up to the Mosaic covenant ratification.
Chapter 24 can be outlined as follows:
The People Ratify the Covenant (24:1 – 11)
The People See a Display of the LORD’s Glory (24:12 – 18)