Exodus 24:3-8 - Homiletics

Man's readiness to enter into covenant with God, and promise unlimited obedience.

In any covenant which God proposes to man, the advantages offered to him are so great, and the requirements made of him so manifestly "holy, just, and good," that it is almost impossible that he should calmly consider the terms and reject them. It is his natural instinct to exclaim—"All that the Lord hath said I will do, and be obedient." There are many reasons for this feeling, of which the following are some:—

I. THE CREATURE IS MORALLY BOUND TO OBEY ITS CREATOR . That which an intelligent agent has made belongs to him absolutely, and cannot resist his will without rebellion. Now, "it is God that has made us, and not we ourselves." We are his, whether we choose to obey him or no—his to punish or reward—to kill or make alive—to exalt to happiness or condemn to misery. We cannot resist his will without being self-condemned. The reasons which make disobedience to a father morally wrong tell with increased force if applied to God, who is far more truly than our father,—

1. The author of our existence;

2. The preserver of our life; and

3. The bestower upon us of favours and benefits which we cannot possibly repay.

II. MAN 'S BEST INTERESTS ARE PROMOTED BY A PERFECT OBEDIENCE . Every law ever imposed by God on man has been imposed for man's sake, and tends to his advantage. If a man were truly wise, he would lay down for himself as rules of conduct exactly those laws which are laid down for his guidance in Holy Scripture. The man whose obedience approaches nearest to perfection is the happiest. For every act of disobedience there is a natural penalty.

III. THE HIGHEST ASPIRATION OF MAN 'S NATURE IS TO DO GOD 'S WILL . Angels have no other desire but this. Man has a thousand desires, but, together with them, has an inward conviction that it is better for him to resist than to gratify the greater number. His passions draw him one way, his reason another, his affections, perhaps, a third. He has no unmixed satisfaction but in following the lead of the highest principle within him; and this principle is the love of God, which prompts him to make it the sole object of his life to please God by so acting as God would have him. Man, therefore, readily promises obedience—as of old at Sinai, so now at baptism and confirmation, or, again, after a sudden conversion; and, under the excitation of stirred feelings and an awakened conscience, imagines that he will keep to his brave resolve; but when the excitement is past, and the feelings have calmed down, and the tame, dull course of ordinary life is entered upon, then it is found not so easy to observe the promises made, and "do all that the Lord has said, and be obedient." The flagrant contrast between the conduct of the Israelites and their words is known to all. The contrast is, perhaps, less, but it is still great, between the pledges given by Christians and their acts. Performance ever lags far behind promise. "The spirit, indeed, is willing, but the flesh is weak." Temptations assail—Satan spreads his wiles—the lower nature turns traitor, and men fall away. Happy, if, while there is still time, they "return and repent, and do the first works," anti casting themselves upon Christ obtain pardon for their disobedience from the ever-merciful God.