Bible Study

Don't just take our word for it . . . take His! We would encourage you to spend time examining the following Scriptures that shaped this sermon:

Sermon Outline

• Three Lenten invitations from Exodus 24—
  • to remember our covenant with God (vv1–8)
  • to renew our communion in God (vv9–11)
  • to return to the cloud of God's presence (v12–18)

Sermon Questions

1. What is the difference between a contract and a covenant?
2. Can there be such a thing as "conditional love"?
3. What does it mean to be God's priestly people? (Compare Exodus 24:7 and 1 Peter 2:9).
4. In your gut, are you comforted or startled by God's scandalous welcome in verses 9–11?
5. Have you ever, or are you now, experiencing "divine darkness"? Turn off your screen and ask a Christian friend to pray for you, that you might experience a sense of God's nearness and unconditional welcome and love.
6. For personal reflection: meditate on these words from St. Gregory of Nyssa's Commentary on the Song of Songs: "The Bride is encompassed by a divine night, during which her Spouse approaches, but does not reveal Himself. But how can that which is invisible reveal itself in the night? By the fact that He gives the soul some sense of His presence, even while He eludes her clear apprehension, concealed as He is by the invisibility of His nature."

Resources Consulted

• Thomas Joseph White, Exodus
• Brevard Childs, Exodus: A Commentary
• Amy Peeler, "Desiring God: The Blood Of The Covenant In Exodus 24," BBR 23.2 (2013), 187–205
• J.B. Torrance, "The Unconditional Freeness of Grace"
• Michael Hundley, Yahweh among the Gods: The Divine in Genesis, Exodus, and the Ancient Near East
• Andrew Louth,The Origins of the Christian Mystical Tradition: From Plato to Denys (pp.78–94)
• To dig deeper, check out the two-part discussion on The Naked Bible Podcast.

Questions?

Do you have a question about today's sermon? Email Sam Fornecker (

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