In order to understand this lesson, we must look at what is a “covenant”. It is considered that ‘covenant’ is derived from the Hebrew word “berith” which comes from a word meaning “fetter”, or “to bind”.  It also has elements of “cutting”, and in Obadiah it is translated “allied”. 

The word was one used for common relationships, but it has a distinct religious meaning when applied to the relationship between God and men.  As such there are two  shades of meaning, the first, the covenant proper, which can be defined as ‘a solemn mutual agreement’, an agreement which is voluntarily assumed, while the second involves something like a command, where there is “an obligation imposed by a superior upon an inferior”. 

This early Semitic idea of covenant would involve the concept of ‘blood brotherhood’, where a person was adopted into another clan, and/or in which two men became brothers by drinking each other's blood.  Of course, the religious aspect of the ceremonies was always there for each clan had their gods, and the gods were always interested in these covenants of blood. 

Later it appears that substitutes to the drinking of each other's blood arose, where there was sacrifice under the specific gods practice, the blood was sprinkled on the parties, and the parties involved together ate the sacrificial meal. 

When we look at the Old Testament we see specific modifications.  In Genesis 26:29 and 31:50-52 we note that:

-the terms are stated and agreed on,

-an oath was made. In fact, sometimes the term “oath” was used, in Ezekiel 17:13 it is used as equivalent to covenant,

-connected to the oath, a curse was invoked by each one upon himself in case one of the participants broke the agreement.  Sometimes the curse was not specifically stated but in the Deuteronomy 27:15-26 statement of covenant the idea is clear.

-the covenant was always formerly ratified by a solemn external act, with different ceremonies used in addition to or in replacement of the one of blood sharing previously mentioned.

-the matter of a sacrificial meal as in Genesis 31:54 with Laban is another feature.  So in Exodus 24:4-8 we note a sacrificial meal and a sprinkling of blood upon the two parties with the altar representing Yahweh.  We will look at this in detail later. 

In the case of God's covenant with Abraham recorded in Genesis 15:9-18 the ceremony carried out served the same purpose. There an animal was cut in two parts and the smoking furnace and flaming torch representing God, not Abraham, passed between the severed portions.  Jeremiah 34:18 refers to this custom.  Clearly here God is the one who made the promise, binding himself, this being “in effect a formal expression of the curse imprecating upon oneself the same, i.e., cutting in pieces, if one breaks the terms of the covenant”.  However some believe that this ceremony symbolized that both parties “were taken within the mystical life of the victim”.

-other non fundamental features such as setting up a stone or a heap of stone as in Genesis 31:45-46. 

The covenant is considered immutable. The superior party, God, always takes the initiative. The mutual agreement element varies in different cases. In some God makes promises, his subjects agree to do what he commanded, with the fulfillment of the promises dependent on their obedience.  There are blessings for obeying and penalties for disobeying.  The people might break the covenant, and then be required to renew their oath, but God in contrast does not break his promises. 

Several covenants are mentioned in Scripture.  Paul also speaks of the covenants, referring in Galatians 4:24-26 to one originating from Mount Sinai, and the other from Jerusalem. 

Covenants are very important for they contain God's guarantee to provide salvation for men even though men are unable to keep their side of any agreement. 

The covenant we study is the continual unfolding of God’s plan for man, what we see here will put the new covenant into proper perspective as it relates to us. 

Christ is the substance of the covenant and the mediator of it Heb_8:6; Heb_9:15; Heb_12:24.  We see throughout scripture several pertinent covenants made by God with Abraham Gen_15:7-18; Gen_17:2-14; Luk_1:72-75; Act_3:25; Gal_3:16;  Isaac Gen_17:19; Gen_17:21; Gen_26:3; Gen_26:4; Jacob Gen_28:13; Gen_28:14; 1Ch_16:16; 1Ch_16:17; Israel Exo_6:4; Act_3:25; and David 2Sa_23:5; Psa_89:3; Psa_89:4;  

At various times the covenant was renewed Jer_31:31-33; Rom_11:27; Heb_8:8-10; Heb_8:13.  However the covenant was ultimately fulfilled and confirmed in Christ Luk_1:68-79; Gal_3:17, and ratified by the blood of Christ Heb_9:11-14; Heb_9:16-23;  

It is important to note that this 19th chapter of Exodus is considered to be a “preamble” to the Commandments given by God to Israel.  It tells us how we should regard the Commandments and also tells us of the purpose of God's Commandments. 

The Commandments of God will mean very little or maybe nothing to us, if we do not understand who we are.  If believers are what this chapter tells us we are, especially in verses 5 and 6, (note these ideas are repeated in the New Testament as applying to Gentiles who are grafted into the original Olive tree) we must pay the utmost attention to these Commandments.   

This text we are studying very strongly implies that these Commandments which would be given to Moses in the succeeding chapters, are to be taken seriously in every age by every believer.  If we look at the laws given to Moses properly, particularly in view of chapter 19, we will see the attitude we should have toward the Law and the futile discussion of Law versus Grace.  We will have a proper attitude to the Commandments of God.

THE TEXT

Exodus 19

Verse 1.   A new episode in the life of the Moses and the Children of Israel had begun.  Moses had some trepidation about his abilities to do what God required, so God gave him a sign that would quell those fears. “And he said, Certainly I will be with thee; and this [shall be] a token unto thee, that I have sent thee: When thou hast brought forth the people out of Egypt, ye shall serve God upon this mountain.” (Ex 3:12).  

Here we see that God had fulfilled his promise to Moses, the sign that he would indeed bring his people to this mountain to worship Him, had come to pass. “In the third month, when the children of Israel were gone forth out of the land of Egypt, the same day came they [into] the wilderness of Sinai.” 

Note here that according to the time of their departure from Egypt and the arrival at Mount Sinai, marks the institution of the Feast of Weeks, the first Pentecost (fiftieth day after Passover).   

This third month is called Sivan, and is equivalent to the month of May.  Israel had apparently journeyed and camped in Rephidim where they had the infamous murmuring about water.  There they had fought with Amalek. Jethro had brought Moses’ wife and children to him and given him advice to improve his administrative arrangements.  Then Israel broke camp and journeyed to a new encampment before Mount Sinai. 

They had three months to learn how to trust God.  They had seen deliverance from Egypt, they had seen the Red Sea parted, Pharaoh’s army destroyed, the Pillar of fire and the Pillar of cloud following them by night and day respectively; they saw how God miraculously provided food and water for them and they had seen prayer bring them a marvelous victory over the Amalekites.

Verse 2.    This stay in this Wilderness was a most important event, for details of Israel's residence in the Wilderness of  Sinai occupies more than fifty-seven chapters in Scripture.

Moses had met God there at the “burning bush”, and now the entire nation would meet God and experience some of what Moses had experienced. 

Israel was right on schedule and was where God wanted them to be.  Israel would remain there for eleven months. 

Horeb and Sinai are two peaks of the same mountain, and as such the mountain is referred to by the names of these summits.  Sinai was on the east side of the mountain and border the wilderness of Sinai. 

Rephidim is located on the west side of the mountain; so the Children of Israel traveled around the mountain from the west going to the east side, where they made camp in the wilderness of Sinai.

Note that this was desert, not a place of luxury. God would have to miraculously look after Israel there for many months.           

Verse 3.   Having come to the mountain, the presence of God was in the thick cloud that covered the top of the mountain; possibly the same cloud that went before them on the journey. 

It was on the second day that Moses went up into the mountain, “…and the LORD called unto him out of the mountain...”.  It is not likely that Moses dared enter the presence of God before hearing the call.  Note that the people were not allowed to even touch the base of the mountain and the elders had to be consecrated before even going part way with him. 

Once in the presence of God, God gave Moses instructions on exactly what he should say to the people.  “Thus shalt thou say to the house of Jacob, and tell the children of Israel;” Note the dual designation, the house of Jacob and the children of Israel are the same people.  The language used is to remind the people of their humble beginning, just seventy souls went into Egypt and now a nation – the children of Israel stand before God. 

It is significant to note that God addressed Israel in the name of the most carnal and weakest of the patriarchs.  The reason might have been that the people were at this stage acting more like Jacob than Abraham or Isaac.  They had not started out as well as they should have.  God's message through Moses was aimed at  making Israel realize that he was a faithful God. 

Verse 4.   So God pointed out that they had seen his power. God was appealing to their own eyesight. He had clearly demonstrated his power in bringing them out of Egypt; preserving them from the plagues that afflicted the Egyptians and in a glorious display of his sovereign power over all creation, gave them clear passage through the Red Sea. Meanwhile the enemy was destroyed as they were swallowed up by the same waters that the Children of Israel had passed through. 

God brought them to himself to demonstrate his sovereign election of the nation; the purpose for which is noted in the following verses. 

The metaphor “bare you on eagles' wings…”  shows that God with power and love delivered and cared for his people.  He had taken them through an incredible trip.  They were never able to look after themselves, and could not have even defeated the Amalekites in their own power.  No kind of human organization in the ancient world could have carried that mass of people through the wilderness providing food and water for them, and protecting them the way that had been done.

The eagle is particularly noted for it strength and the manner in which it trains its young to fly; taking them upon its back and allowing them to fall, but never letting them hit the ground.  This God does, till we learn to fly. 

Though food, water, administrative organization, and protection from their enemies were great things, the greatest statement God made, which should have made them sing songs of praise, was the statement that the purpose of the journey was to meet the King, who was waiting at Mount Sinai for them. 

They had been brought to him.  He had gone through lot of trouble to bring them to this place.  He had something special to tell them.

“As an eagle stirreth up her nest, fluttereth over her young, spreadeth abroad her wings, taketh them, beareth them on her wings:”

Deu 32:11. 

“O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, [thou] that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under [her] wings…” Mat 23:37.   

This imagery is seen in the old and new Testaments, as related to the congregation of God and the Church.  To paraphrase one writer who says: the eagle of the old covenant more significantly represents the power of God in protecting his people; while the hen in the new Testament represents love and she gathers her young under her wings to protect them and in case at the cost her own life. 

God appealed to the eyesight of the people of Israel.  Now apply that idea to yourself.  Has it been easy for you to recognize and appreciate what God has done for you?  Has great things happened which did not even register because you were worried about protecting yourself and feeding yourself? 

These words of God should encourage us to recognize and praise God for what he has done for us.  Let us stop closing your eyes. 

Verse 5.   “Now therefore…”  Having recounted all that God had already done for them;  they being the recipients of such favor and all done on the Lord’s account, with no charge or obligation to them; they are now presented with a most extraordinary proposal. Some have called it a marriage proposal, in other words a covenant relationship, as well as the means to secure the perpetual blessings from this relationship.   

“If you will obey my voice indeed…” If they would continually submit in obedience to God’s word, obey his voice and sincerely devote themselves to God, they would be the benefactors of the blessings of the covenant.  Of course the blessings were contingent on keeping the covenant that God was about to make with them.  Let us not forget that there are unconditional as well as conditional elements in this proposal.  It was not as though God would allow them to go on sinning at all.  The promises to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, as well as to Joseph and the other sons of Jacob, always remain in the background. 

To make the covenant formal, it not only stipulated what God bound himself to, but would also consist of promises of good things to be done to them on his part, and of duties to be performed by them on their part. 

God invited the people to obey his voice now, not later, and this of course calls for a response. 

Let us understand that “keeping the covenant” means that one must enter into this covenant, and then they must remain in it.  This means that they were not to sin, not to do anything at all to break the relationship, and if they did make a slip, they were to do what God required to restore the relationship. 

This of course means that if we consider ourselves to be in covenant with God, the New Covenant being simply an expansion of the Old Covenant, we must persevere in our relationship with God, and depend on God's guarantee to enable us to persevere. 

God requires of us then to “hear” and “keep”.  Only then would they and us be the possession of God. 

Deuteronomy 7:6 and 26:18 reinforces these concepts.  In 2 Peter 2:9 the Apostle Peter makes sure to apply these verses to us. 

We should not expect to be God's possession and simply ignore what He said, turning to other gods.  Remember that in Matthew 25:44-46 we are warned that some will think that they are followers of God when they are not.  So the Apostle Paul warns us in  Corinthians 13:5  to examine ourselves to see if we are in the faith. In other words,’ the proof of the pudding is in eating’.  We have been offered a relationship to God, and we must take him up on this offer, hearing his voice, and keeping his covenant, each day falling deeper and deeper in love with him. 

Our status and identity is “God's possession”.  Our perseverance in the covenant is simply evidence that we have entered into it.  Let our behaviour show that we are in the covenant.  If we do not, it is likely a sign that we are not in the covenant, irrespective of what we might say or think. 

When God says he will make them a peculiar treasure, it means he has singled them out in a special fashion and will honor them in a special way through the service they would perform.  They were to be unique, a people of great value.  They were to be the jewels in God's treasure chest, the most valuable and precious thing that God has.  No wonder that God would send his dear and only Son to die for these precious “things” 

The whole earth belongs to God and is subjugated to his sovereignty, thus God declares his right to single them out for his purpose and his pleasure.

So brethren, please recognize that our identity is that we are the Lord’s special treasure. We must understand who we are, and that we motivate others to do what God wants. 

Verse 6.   Three titles were given to Israel, ‘peculiar treasure’, ‘kingdom of priests’ and ‘a holy nation’ and these defined the roles they would have, as long as they remained obedient to God’s word and kept the covenant.  Let us not forget though, that these ‘types’ are so powerful that they can be frightening.  God though does not ‘trash’ his treasures or throw them away.  Nobody does that with their special treasures.  Rather they take care of them, scrubbing them, sometimes quite hard, scraping the mud off them, a rather painful thing, polishing them so that they shine brightly. 

As a kingdom of priests, they would no longer serve as slaves as they did in Egypt, but would be elevated in to the highest call in the kingdom, performing their duties under the immediate direction of the king. 

Note the parallel between kingdom of priests, and a holy nation.  They both go together. 

They would no longer be subject to an earthly throne, but would become an independent commonwealth with it own laws; they would become a theocracy subject to the Most High God and His law. 

As a holy nation they were set apart from all others to preserve the true knowledge and worship of the Most High God, and for this they were specially consecrated.  As a nation they were to be a light to the world, having access to God through revelation that no pagan could ever have. 

Remember also that priests offer sacrifices.  Jesus offered his own body as a sacrifice to atone for our sins. 

So we are told in Romans 12:1 offer our bodies to the Lord as living sacrifices.  God wants us to keep our bodies beautiful, set aside, doing acceptable things, and  not abused, filled with unacceptable things, used to serve our own purposes. 

Priests are mediators, and we must go before God to plead for others.  This is a thrilling life into which God has brought us. Our covenant relationship with God allows us to live with compassion for the world, calling all men to salvation in Christ. 

The church as the body of Christ, that spiritual entity, also acts in this capacity having been delivered from the kingdom of darkness and into His light.  We are subject to his law and are bound to be an example to the world and deliver the glorious gospel of Jesus Christ.

“But ye [are] a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light:” 1Pe 2:9   

“…these are the words thou shalt speak unto the children of Israel:” What he would have them do, and they were bound to do in a way of duty to him, and what he in a way of grace would do for them, and they should behave toward God. 

The covenant leads to the laws of God.  The choice for Israel was to obey and be blessed or to disobey and to have a difficult life.  We had better not ignore this fact.

Exodus 24

Moses had received the words of the Lord for Israel and the stipulations of the covenant relationship had been spelled out.  The people had been told the words of God and they agreed to its terms. 

Now we have come to the final acts, the consummation of the relationship.  This is one of the most fascinating passages and it is absolutely unique. 

We now see what has to be done to ratify the Mosaic covenant, the covenant of God spelled out to the children of Abraham.  There is no other event like it up to that time.  The Covenant must be ratified, and once that is done focus is to be placed on the Tabernacle. 

So in this chapter God called Moses to come up to him, and he was told to bring the priests Aaron, Nadir, Abihu, and the seventy elders of Israel which represented the people, standing for the entire nation.  See Genesis 46:27; Exodus 1:5; 15:27. 

The people were not to come up on the mountain but to remain away from the Lord.  The leaders mentioned were allowed to come up the mountain but were to worship at a distance.  Moses alone would go close to God.  The details about what they saw is not a part of the lesson today but it makes interesting reading. 

Blood now has to be shed in the ratification process, and the sacrificial meal has to be celebrated.

Verse 3.   Moses, Aaron, his sons and seventy of the elders of Israel began to ascend the mountain, and although Moses alone was permitted to go all the way, the others experienced the presence of God in a way that few ever have.

“Then went up Moses, and Aaron, Nadab, and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel:   And they saw the God of Israel: and [there was] under his feet as it were a paved work of a sapphire stone, and as it were the body of heaven in [his] clearness.   And upon the nobles of the children of Israel he laid not his hand: also they saw God, and did eat and drink.” Ex 24:9-11 

Moses had not yet received the physical tablets of the law, but he had related to all the people God’s law and the conditions of the covenant as recorded in chapters 20-23.  These included civil, social and religious law.  The law covered every arena of man’s life; it was perfect, it was complete. 

The people listened to the law of God first delivered orally by Moses, and unanimously agreed to obey God and keep his covenant.  “All the words which the LORD hath said will we do.”  

They are here overconfident. They do not quite understand how God’s law is complete and searching. But they agree after thinking about the great things that God had done for them.

Verse 4.   Having related the law to the people from memory, Moses now writes the law down, that it may later and for all time be read by others. 

When the words come from God, they come through Moses. When the people make promises to God, they make it to Moses, who relays it to God. Moses is the Mediator, the middleman. 

Moses rose up early in the morning to build an altar near the base of the mountain, probably inside the boundary that the people were not to cross, and also to erect twelve pillars. As the altar was a symbol of the presence of Yahweh, so these twelve pillars represented the presence of the Twelve tribes with whom God was making the covenant. 

Note that when God calls on people or leaders to come near, the matter of sin comes up.  Anyone wanting a relationship with God cannot do so without the involvement of death. Hence the sacrificial system would play a prominent part until Messiah came. Here animals had to die and be offered to God as a substitute for the people.

 So Moses arises early, writes the words of God in a book, builds an altar to the Lord and the twelve pillars for Israel, and sprinkles the altar and pillars with blood. Moses can now say that this was the “blood of the covenant”. 

Note that the blood of bulls and goats cannot take away sin, and so the people have a distant relationship.  The leaders can come closer to God than the people, but the Mediator Moses comes the closest. 

For this situation to change, mankind will have to await the coming of the true Mediator, the man Jesus Christ, who stands in the middle, sheds his own blood, and brings men close to the Father through His blood.  Hence the importance of the teaching that the atoning blood of Jesus is indispensable in the New Covenant, and men cannot be saved unless the blood of the covenant shed by Jesus Christ saves them. 

Remember that the blood represents the outpouring of life, a life given for another.  Zechariah 9:11 points to the fact that it is because of the blood of the covenant, that people will be freed from the waterless pit.  The blood of Jesus' covenant is the foundation for everything we have in Christ.  It is amazing that now people do not want to hear about the indispensable position that the blood holds, and songs about the saving blood of Jesus have been eliminated from many hymn-books.

Verse 5.   Moses knew different, so young men were selected from among the tribes; they would also have been consecrated as were Moses, Aaron, his sons and the seventy elders. Their service was to prepare and make sacrifices on the altar that Moses made. 

It is debated who the young men refers to; some suggest the seventy elders, who we know were senior members in the congregation.  Others suggest that they were simply able, reputable young men, chosen out of the different tribes, for the purpose of killing, flaying, and offering the oxen mentioned here.  Up to this point it was the first born that was responsible for presenting sacrifices so it is reasonable that representatives would have been chosen for this task. 

‘which offered burnt offerings, and sacrificed peace offerings of oxen unto the Lord;’

They were chosen for this specific duty.  The sacrifices included those that were a sign of the people’s thankfulness.  Offering sacrifices was part of the prescribed procedure in making a covenant. 

All this was in preparation for worshiping God on the mountain and eating the covenant meal in the presence of God, completing the ratifying of the covenant. 

Note that not only burnt offerings were offered.  Those are offered for sins committed.  Peace offerings were also offered, so that God knew that the people were rejoicing in their relationship with him.

Verse 6.   The rites and rituals of ratifying the covenant hold significant meaning for the church today and most certainly display the serious nature and consequence in failing to keep the covenant.  All the covenants of God are linked together and included in God’s redemptive plan for man; and as such God’s covenant with Israel foreshadows the ultimate sacrifice in ratifying the new covenant. 

The book of Hebrews discusses this topic in detail; showing its significance to us today.

 “And to Jesus the mediator of the new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling, that speaketh better things than [that of] Abel.” Heb 12:24.   

“How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?” Heb 9:14.   

Half of the blood was collected and set aside in basins to be later sprinkled on the people while the remainder was used to cover the altar.

“Moreover he sprinkled with blood both the tabernacle, and all the vessels of the ministry.   And almost all things are by the law purged with blood; and without shedding of blood is no remission. [It was] therefore necessary that the patterns of things in the heavens should be purified with these; but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these.” Heb 9:21-23. 

Verse 7.   Moses then took the book of the Covenant, which contained all the words that God had spoken to him and told him to write down (Ex 24:4).  This consisted of the laws and judgments required of the people, and to which they had given their assent, and promised obedience. It included the promises made by the Lord of sending his angel before them to guide them in the way to Canaan, and to expel the Canaanites and put the Israelites in the possession.  So there were promises on both sides. 

Having already given them the Law orally from memory (Ex 24:3) Moses again had an audience with the people and opportunity to read what he had previously said.  Reinforcement of the covenant was important.  The people had time to ponder what Moses had told them, and they assented to all he said.  This time Moses read the word and again the people answered even more emphatically “all the Lord has said we will do and be obedient…” 

They certainly were confident.  We will see as we read how long they kept their side of the bargain.

Verse 8.   The next step in the making of the covenant was its ratification and this was accomplished by the sprinkling of blood on the people.   

The congregation covered a large portion of the wilderness at the base of the mountain; it is therefore unlikely that the blood was sprinkled of every individual, but rather the blood was sprinkled on the seventy elders or on the young men that offered the sacrifice or on the twelve pillars, these all represented the tribes.  But this is really conjecture.  It is possible that the sprinkling was much more extensive.

“For when Moses had spoken every precept to all the people according to the law, he took the blood of calves and of goats, with water, and scarlet wool, and hyssop, and sprinkled both the book, and all the people,” Heb 9:19.   

By inspiration Paul mentions the sprinkling of the book of the covenant, though it is omitted in Exodus 24:8.  We see then that the altar which represented God, was sprinkled with blood, as were the people and also the book that contain the promises and condition of the covenant.  Thus Moses explained what is being done “Behold the blood of the covenant...” 

 The blood of the covenant is of the utmost importance. The life is in the blood and some animal had to give up its life in order that a man might have life.  Indeed, all the sacrifices of the old covenant pointed to the supreme nature of the new covenant and particularly the blood of Christ that ratified it and hence provided eternal redemption..

“Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption [for us].” Heb 9:12.   

So then the new covenant is infinitely better. The content of God’s promise to the people is better. The ability of the people to commit to and maintain their obligation to be obedient and keep the law is now made easier by the possession of the Holy Spirit. A massive change has been made in the covenant, because it was ratified by the blood of Christ. 

“Do not think that I have come to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I have not come to destroy but to fulfill.” Mat 5:17   

“I am not come to destroy, but to fulfill--Not to subvert, abrogate, or annul, but to establish the law and the prophets--to unfold them, to embody them in living form, and to enshrine them in the reverence, affection, and character of men, am I come.” 

“And I say this, A covenant having been ratified by God in Christ, the Law (coming into being four hundred and thirty years after) does not annul the promise, so as to abolish it.” Gal 3:17   

“Rom 3:31  Do we then make the Law void through faith? Let it not be! But we establish the Law.” 

The warning to us is to ensure that we do not violate the Covenant. It was sealed at a far greater price than the covenant made at Sinai.

“Of how much sorer punishment, suppose ye, shall he be thought worthy, who hath trodden under foot the Son of God, and hath counted the blood of the covenant, wherewith he was sanctified, an unholy thing, and hath done despite unto the Spirit of grace?” Heb 10:29 

CONCLUSION

In all that we do as believers, we must remember that we are a covenant people.  We must learn that God has holy requirements and that there are things we must do before we come to him; in preparation for meeting God and things that we must do when we are in the presence of God.  

We must receive God's Word.  We must consider ourselves as being set apart, and so we must take the cleansing offered by God. We are guaranteed the enjoyment and blessing of the covenant, because our King whose law we follow, being subjects not of an earthly kingdom but a heavenly kingdom, is a covenant keeping God. 

Clearly, the occasion of God's giving of his Law at Sinai was a glorious one.  It was introduced in a blaze of glory, with a display of God's majesty and might, but with only relatively few being physically near to God.  

This Covenant and the accompanying Law was holy, righteous, good, and spiritual.  The New Covenant is better, because it was ratified by the blood of Jesus Christ. The new covenant did not replace the Law given at Sinai, in the sense of wiping it all away, but made the Law more meaningful. In this new covenant God gave His Son to die for us, so that we might have everlasting life.