Take a moment to read the entire chapter of Exodus 24 before reading the devotional below.
Have you ever noticed things often seem better when you first sign up? We usually have some energy for a new project or idea, but as time moves along that enthusiasm fades. The Israelites just got more details from God on his plan for them than they have gotten in a while. New laws, new holidays, a sense of a new beginning. Finally, they can stop running — their freedom has been secured. There are still many steps to come in their journey, but they have a fresh sense of hope that God is leading the way.
In today’s chapter, the people make a covenant with God and they promise to do everything God has commanded. They are signing on the dotted line, and the seventy elders even get a chance to eat in God’s presence. Moses is then called by God to go up the mountain for a face-to-face encounter. Only Moses and Joshua are allowed to go, and Moses says some famous last words: “Wait for us until we come back.” (Spoiler alert: Moses takes too long and by chapter 32 — not even a month and a half later — the people have already broken their part of the deal with God.)
Here’s your freedom for today: God is faithful even when we are not. God entered into a covenant with his people — a spiritual and legal promise. He gave them laws, told them exactly how to handle all the types of situations they were facing, and told them he would go before them to conquer the Promised Land. He met with his people, ate with them, and allowed them into his presence. He did not do all of this because he thought they were going to be faithful to him. God knew that the people would not be able to hold up their end of the bargain. Yet he was willing to shake on it with them anyway. Why? Because his goal is to rescue his people. Step one of that mission was to help his people see they needed to be rescued. Through failure they will return to God again and again. Take a moment to connect with your complete dependence on God today — when we forget this we stray from his path for us.