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Did you know that “communion” or the Lord’s Supper has roots in Exodus? We miss so much of the necessity and beauty of Jesus’ ministry on our behalf because we do not know and appreciate the Old Testament. It’s exciting to learn, though, and I pray God continues to speak through His Word and deepen your walk with Him – during communion in your church and every day!

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Luke 22:20
Likewise He also took the cup after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in My blood, which is shed for you…” (NKJV)

Those words are probably familiar with anyone who has spent much time in churches where the Lord’s supper (communion) is celebrated. Sometimes, because we usually lack a solid understanding of the Old Testament (and the Old Covenant), we fail to really appreciate what Jesus was saying here. Let’s take a look.

In Exodus 19:5-6a, God makes a tremendous offer to Israel.  ‘Now therefore, if you will indeed obey My voice and keep My covenant, then you shall be a special treasure to Me above all people; for all the earth is Mine. And you shall be to Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.’ The people enthusiastically agree in verse 8: Then all the people answered together and said, “All that the Lord has spoken we will do.”

Much like a marriage, Israel is entering a unique covenant relationship with God. In fact, throughout Scripture God refers to Israel as a wife (usually an unfaithful one!) And like a marriage, this is a 2-sided covenant. Notice God’s stated condition: if you will indeed obey My voice and keep My covenant. Chapters 20-23 are a bit like a “preview” of the rest of the law before the covenant is officially ratified.

We will discuss more in future posts why the law was (and is) important. What we are going to focus on today is the three-part process of ratification, or official enactment, of the covenant in chapter 24. Please read this whole chapter on your own, as I will only be pulling out a few verses here.

**Part One: Blood**

Exodus 24:7-8 Then he took the Book of the Covenant and read in the hearing of the people. And they said, “All that the Lord has said we will do, and be obedient.” And Moses took the blood, sprinkled it on the people, and said, “This is the blood of the covenant which the Lord has made with you according to all these words.”

What is the deal with the blood??? In ancient times, if someone wanted to solemnly swear and oath and “cut covenant,” they would take some animals, cut them in two, and arrange them so that the two people who were forming a covenant would walk through the halves. Disgusting, but meaningful. The idea was: if I break my end of this agreement, may I be like these poor animals here. May this be like my blood.

[Check out Genesis 15 - that is exactly what God is doing with Abraham. Only... Abraham doesn't walk through! Only God does! His promises to Abraham were unconditional, because Abraham didn't have any conditions to fulfill in the covenant!!]

As Moses sprinkles the blood all over the people, this was a solemn thing. They understood what was happening: if I break my end of this 2-sided covenant, my blood is on my own head.

**Part Two: Meal**

Exodus 24:9-11 Then Moses went up, also 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 sapphire stone, and it was like the very heavens in its clarity. But on the nobles of the children of Israel He did not lay His hand. So they saw God, and they ate and drank.

This is definitely one of those passages that seems like should tell us more! But, apparently this is all we need to know. As they ratify the covenant, the leadership of Israel goes up the mountain and literally has a meal with God.

**Part Three: Writing**

Exodus 24:12 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Come up to Me on the mountain and be there; and I will give you tablets of stone, and the law and commandments which I have written, that you may teach them.”

This is pretty self-explanatory – God writes out the covenant on tablets of stone and instructs Moses to teach the people.

Now… what does this have to do with communion?? I know I’ve never heard a communion message from Exodus!! :) Let’s go through the 3-part process of ratification for the new covenant.

**Part One: Blood**

Luke 22:20 Likewise He also took the cup after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in My blood, which is shed for you.

Remember the Old Covenant? The blood was sprinkled on them, symbolizing their blood! You break this covenant, your blood is on your own head! What’s different now? It’s not my blood! It was Jesus’ blood shed for me!

**Part Two: Meal**

Luke 22:14-15 When the hour had come, He sat down, and the twelve apostles with Him. Then He said to them, “With fervent desire I have desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer; for I say to you, I will no longer eat of it until it is fulfilled in the kingdom of God.”

Another meal… again symbolizing the fellowship within a new covenant relationship.

**Part Three: Writing**

Hebrews 8:10 “For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the Lord: I will put My laws in their mind and write them on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people.”

The law isn’t on tablets anymore – it’s on our hearts and in our minds!

Thank you, Lord, for Jesus Christ! Thank you for promising Him way back in Genesis 3, and then faithfully revealing your plans, purposes, ways, and character throughout Scripture. Where would we be without His blood shed on our behalf? Our blood would be on our own heads, for we can never be holy as you are.

I Corinthians 6:9,11
Don’t you know that those who do wrong will have no share in the Kingdom of God? … but now your sins have been washed away, and you have been set apart for God. You have been made right with God because of what the Lord Jesus Christ and the Spirit of our God have done for you. (NLT)

Today’s flashback post is a topic that always amazes me – every time I study Exodus it makes me marvel at the amazing sovereignty of our God over everything. Everything. EVERYTHING!

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As we continue on through the book of Exodus, we will be skipping a lot of events in order to focus on some major lessons. Make sure you read Exodus in your own Bible! (again, www.biblegateway.com is a great resource).

In Exodus 4:31, we have the people’s response to the message that God indeed was still working. “And when they realized that the Lord had seen their misery and was deeply concerned for them, they all bowed their heads and worshiped.” (NLT)

He had not forgotten. He had not lost control. He had heard their cries. He is the I Am, the powerful promisekeeper.

Now, after this Moses goes in to see Pharaoh for the first time. His response was not quite as enthusiastic as the Israelites’.

“Is that so?” retorted Pharaoh. “And who is the Lord that I should listen to him and let Israel go? I don’t know the Lord, and I will not let Israel go.” (5:2, NLT)

“I do not know the Lord!” Indeed he did not. So, God will introduce Himself.

These plagues were not random acts of terrorism that God was inflicting on a people He didn’t like. There is a bigger picture going on here – a theological one. Think back to your 9th grade world history class, and as you sort through the cobwebs in your mind, try to remember everything you learned about ancient Egypt. Obviously, mummies, pyramids, and a sphinx probably come to mind. All of those things were very religious – Egypt was, in fact, a very “religious” place. They were devoted to a whole pantheon of gods from Ra (the sun god) down to the god of the Nile who brought fertility to the land. As God begins the series of plagues on Egypt, each seems to answer a god that Egypt worshipped. He uses what their “god” was supposedly in control of and used to bless them in order to destroy them. The message: There is only one God worthy of worship. He is the I Am. He is the King of kings and Lord of lords.

There is also a repetition throughout the account of the plagues that must be noticed. A continual refrain of “you shall know that I am the LORD” (or variations) beats throughout this story. Again, these plagues were not random – they are theological statements. Below I have highlighted a few plagues, the statements about God’s supremacy, and noted the Egyptian god probably being addressed. (the information about Egyptian gods was taken from “The Plagues and the Exodus” by Dr. David Livingston).

Nile turning to blood: 7:17-18 Now the Lord says, “You are going to find out that I am the Lord.” Look! I will hit the water of the Nile with this staff, and the river will turn to blood. The fish in it will die, and the river will stink. The Egyptians will not be able to drink any water from the Nile.’ ”

**Hapi, spirit of the Nile in flood and “giver of life to all men.”

Plague of frogs: 8:9-10 “You set the time!” Moses replied. “Tell me when you want me to pray for you, your officials, and your people. I will pray that you and your houses will be rid of the frogs. Then only the frogs in the Nile River will remain alive.” “Do it tomorrow,” Pharaoh said. “All right,” Moses replied, “it will be as you have said. Then you will know that no one is as powerful as the Lord our God…”

**The frog-headed goddess, Hekt, played a part in “creation.” Hers was one of the oldest fertility cults in Egypt. But she could not control the fertility of a these frogs!

Plague of hail: 9:14 I will send a plague that will really speak to you and your officials and all the Egyptian people. I will prove to you that there is no other God like me in all the earth. 9:16 But I have let you live for this reason—that you might see my power and that my fame might spread throughout the earth.

**The sky goddess Nut was the mother of the sun-god Ra. She was especially culpable in this plague in that she was supposed to protect the land from destructions which came down from heaven.

Death of the firstborn: 12:12 I will execute judgment against all the gods of Egypt, for I am the Lord!

**The last plague was not only against the supreme god of Egypt, Pharaoh himself, but also against the future pharaoh, his son, the very next god (Horus) of Egypt.

The last plague, the death of the firstborn, was obviously the most painful for the Egyptians. It also is one of the most powerful illustrations of salvation in the Old Testament for the Hebrews. If you have ever been to a large museum that houses Egyptian artifacts, you probably have seen the stone doorframes which were common in Egypt. Around the sides and top, hieroglyphs would be carved. These are basically the names of Egyptian gods that the people of the house were claiming as their gods and asking for protection. Anyone who believed God at this point was instructed to kill a lamb, smear the blood across the doorframes of their houses, putting their trust in God alone to save them.

In other words:

1. On their own they were facing death (Romans 3:23: For all have sinned; all fall short of God’s glorious standard.)
2. No other god could save them – the only marking visible on that door would be the blood (John 14:6: Jesus told him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me.)
3. They had to have a lamb die in their place (Romans 3:25: For God sent Jesus to take the punishment for our sins and to satisfy God’s anger against us. We are made right with God when we believe that Jesus shed his blood, sacrificing his life for us.)

It is the only way. We are marked for death by our own sin and rebellion against God. The Lamb of God, Jesus Christ, has died in our place and shed His blood for us. Our own efforts, the “gods” that we worship cannot save us: good works, humanitarianism, intelligence, the faith of our families, material wealth, etc. We must cover those things up with the blood of Christ, knowing that nothing else will save us. Only Him.

Because the Lamb died, I live.

I think it is fascinating to look at Jacob’s journey to personal faith – I believe that today’s subject matter is the first step to Jacob’s ultimate acceptance of God as His God. Wherever you are on the journey, I pray that you will recognize and accept God’s amazing offer of access to Him and a relationship with Him through Jesus Christ, the only Way.

In Genesis 28, we find Jacob on his way to Uncle Laban’s house in order to escape Esau’s murderous rage after the whole blessing deception scheme. He ends up laying down to sleep with his head on a rock and he has a dream.

Genesis 28:12-13 says, “Then he dreamed, and behold, a ladder was set up on the earth, and its top reached to heaven; and there the angels of God were ascending and descending on it. And behold, the Lord stood above it and said: “I am the Lord God of Abraham your father and the God of Isaac; the land on which you lie I will give to you and your descendants…”

God goes on to restate the promises, originally made to Abraham, specifically to Jacob – his descendants will be like the dust of the earth (nation), the land will be theirs (land), and through them all the families of the earth would be blessed (leader). Jacob wakes up, is afraid as he realizes he was in the presence of God Himself, and anoints the rock he was sleeping on.

We could have pages of discussion about this passage, but what we want to focus in upon is the dream itself. Remember the wording: a ladder was set up on the earth, and its top reached to heaven; and there the angels of God were ascending and descending on it. (28:12).

What’s the deal with the ladder reaching to heaven? Access to God. God is basically offering Jacob a personal relationship with Him – which is the only access to heaven.

How does Jacob respond to God’s offer? Check out 28:20-21.

Then Jacob made a vow, saying, “If God will be with me, and keep me in this way that I am going, and give me bread to eat and clothing to put on, so that I come back to my father’s house in peace, then the Lord shall be my God.

In other words: Ok, God. IF you are with me and bless me and give me everything I need or want and bring me back to my family, THEN you can have the privilege of being my God. Is this a genuine response of faith and gratitude for God’s amazing offer? I’m afraid not. And Jacob’s continuing deceitful, scheming character in the coming chapters will show us that he hasn’t changed at this point.

Now, keep all of that in mind and fast-forward to the New Testament. In John 1:51, Jesus says

“Most assuredly, I say to you, hereafter you shall see heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of Man.”

(The Son of Man is a title used for Christ). The wording Jesus used would not be lost on the men he was speaking to at this point- He was claiming to be Jacob’s ladder! He is the only point of access to the Father!

Through Christ, God has offered us an unbelievable gift – a way of access to Him! Unfortunately, our wayward hearts often respond similarly to Jacob’s: “If God will take care of me and keep me safe and keep me comfortable and give me everything I want, THEN He can be my God. [And if He allows me to experience pain or suffering or sickness or the results of my own bad choices or if He just does things I don't understand, all bets are off.]“

This isn’t a genuine relationship with God. It’s a weird way of trying to bargain with Him to get what we want. Jacob didn’t understand that the real treasure was knowing God. All those other things were just peripherals. Abraham messed up time and time again, but he understood this idea. God offered a unique relationship, and Abraham picked up and left everything behind in order to follow. That is saving faith. Oh, may our hearts respond with grateful, sincere faith when God offers us access to Him through Christ Jesus our Lord.

Michael Card, a well known Christian musician, has a CD of lullabies. One of the songs is entitled “Are you Dreaming Jacob’s Dream?” I love it because it encapsulates the meaning of this story in such a simple, yet profound way, and then sets it to a simple tune I sing to my babies!

Are you dreaming Jacob’s dream? Could that be why you’re smiling?
Could you not be a man like he, so wily and beguiling?
Do you see a ladder there, reaching up to heaven?
Do the angels fill the air? Could you reach out and touch them?
Jacob dreamed about Someone, a Way to heaven, God the Son.
And someday it’s my prayer for you that in your heart his dream comes true.

**For more reflections on the Old Testament with personal application, you might want to download a free Bible study ebook!**

…he’s got some issues!

Please remember as you read through the Bible that, as we discussed earlier, the people aren’t the point. God did not give us Abraham’s story in order to tell us how great of a guy Abe was. God gave us Abraham’s story to show us what a great God Abe had!

Now, Abram (his name hasn’t been changed to Abraham yet) starts out great. In Genesis 12:1, God tells him to leave his homeland, following that (vs. 2-3) with the land, nation, and leader promises that we’ve already discussed. In verse 4, what does Abram do? He left! He obeys immediately. Abram’s sincere faith was evidenced by his obedience to God’s command. Nice job, Abram. Now, let’s keep reading chapter 12…

Hmmm. Abram barely gets started on his journey and he’s teetered off our pedestal. In verses 11-20, we have Abram being afraid for his life because of Sarai’s beauty, lying to Pharaoh, and generally doing his best to mess things up!  God intervenes and brings Sarai back to him.

Now, skip to chapter 15 – God is restating and expanding the promise – the promised descendants would come from Abram’s own, biological children. That seemed pretty impossible at this point, but God makes it crystal clear that it will happen. Abram’s response? Vs. 6: “And Abram believed God; then God considered him righteous on account of his faith.” (TLB)

Abram was not a righteous guy on his own. God considered him righteous because of his faith in God’s promises.

Check this out:
ch. 16: Abram and Sarai’s big mess with Hagar. Bad move there, guys.
ch. 17: God clarifies his promises and says their son would come from Sarai herself. And Abram laughs.
ch. 18: Jesus appears in the flesh to Abraham and Sarah, and says their son would be born the next year. And Sarah laughs. And then lies [to Jesus himself].
ch. 20: Abraham lies and says Sarah is his sister (AGAIN!). God rescues her from Abimelech.

We’ll look at chapter 22 tomorrow, but note this point. Abraham was not a flawless, holy man. He made some terrible mistakes. But, he believed God. His belief is what caused God to look at him as righteous.

Romans 4:3-5 says, “For the Scriptures tell us Abraham believed God, and that is why God canceled his sins and declared him “not guilty.” But didn’t he earn his right to heaven by all the good things he did? No, for being saved is a gift; if a person could earn it by being good, then it wouldn’t be free—but it is! It is given to those who do not work for it. For God declares sinners to be good in his sight if they have faith in Christ to save them from God’s wrath.” (TLB)

No matter how “good” or “bad” we are, it is our faith in Jesus Christ that saves us. We can’t be good enough to earn heaven on our own. We can’t be bad enough that He can’t save us.

Romans 3:21-24 “But now God has shown us a different way to heaven—not by “being good enough” and trying to keep his laws, but by a new way (though not new, really, for the Scriptures told about it long ago). Now God says he will accept and acquit us—declare us “not guilty”—if we trust Jesus Christ to take away our sins. And we all can be saved in this same way, by coming to Christ, no matter who we are or what we have been like. Yes, all have sinned; all fall short of God’s glorious ideal; yet now God declares us “not guilty” of offending him if we trust in Jesus Christ, who in his kindness freely takes away our sins.” TLB

Amen and thank you, Lord!

**For more reflections on the Old Testament with personal application, you might want to download a free Bible study ebook!**