Bible Time Ages 3 - 6
God makes a covenant with the people.

Thursday

Image courtesy of Sweet Publishing
Based on Exodus 24
After coming down from meeting with God on the mountain, Moses got up early the next morning. He built an altar at the foot of the mountain. He set up 12 stone pillars. They stood for the 12 tribes of Israel. Then he sent young Israelite men to sacrifice burnt offerings. They also sacrificed young bulls as friendship offerings to the Lord. Moses put half of the blood in bowls. He splashed the other half against the altar.
Then he took the Book of the Covenant and read it to the people. They answered, “We will do everything the Lord has told us to do. We will obey him.”
Then Moses took the blood and sprinkled it on the people. He said, “This is the blood that puts the covenant into effect. The Lord has made this covenant with you in keeping with all these words.”
What does this mean for me?
A “covenant” is an agreement between two people. Exodus 24 tells us that the Israelite people made a covenant or agreement with God. God gave them the Ten Commandments (read about it here).
If the Israelites agreed to obey the ten commandments that God gave them, God would make them a special people and bless them. He would keep them safe and give them a special land to live in.
The section of the Bible we call “The Old Testament” is all about the covenant that God made with the Israelite people.
Is the Old Covenant important to us? We are not required to obey the ten commandments in order to get God’s blessing in our lives. Now God blesses us because of our faith in Jesus. But all the instructions given in the ten commandments are good to obey. It hurts us and others when we steal or lie, for example. So, we should still obey the instructions in the ten commandments!
Read Romans 3:20 in the Bible!
No one will be considered right with God by obeying the law. Instead, the law makes us more aware of our sin.