“Moses wrote down all the words of Adonai. He rose early in the morning, built an altar at the base of the mountain and set upright twelve large stones to represent the twelve tribes of Israel.”-Exodus 24:4
We are continuing to look at the ratification process of the Mosaic Covenant.
This part of Scripture is just loaded with scenes that give us keen insight into the customs and mindset of the peoples of the ancient Middle East.
We’re told that Moses built an altar.
Understand that the purpose of an altar was NOT to serve as a monument.
It was a place where an animal was ritually slaughtered for a sacrifice to a god.
However, the actions Moses took next was for the purpose of establishing a monument.
He set up 12 stones to represent the 12 Tribes of Israel.
These are normally called “standing stones” and they were quite common in the ancient Middle East.
The scene then progresses to the next necessary and standard part of every Middle Eastern covenant: the ceremonial sacrifice.
The sacrificial animal was cut up into pieces that were placed around the altar.
What happened next was that the two covenanting parties would TOGETHER walk between the pieces of the cut-up animal.
We’re not told specifically that this is what occurred here, but it would have been unthinkable that it didn’t.
Recall we saw this same scene in Genesis when the Lord made a covenant with Abraham.
After the sun had set and there was thick darkness, a smoking fire pot and a flaming torch appeared, which passed between these animal parts. That day Adonai made a covenant with Avram: “I have given this land to your descendants — from the Vadi of Egypt to the great river, the Euphrates River”-Genesis 15:17-18
However, when the Lord made a covenant with Abraham, it was only the Lord Himself who passed between the animal parts because as I mentioned before, this was a uni-lateral or unconditional covenant.
Abraham was NOT under obligation to fulfill the conditions of this covenant, it was all on the Lord.
However, the Mosaic Covenant was not so, it was a bi-lateral covenant that put both parties under obligation to fulfill the covenant’s conditions.
Moving on, what happened next was some of the blood was captured in basins and sprinkled upon the people.
This signified that the people of Israel were now covered by the blood of the Mosaic Covenant.
It is actually from this ancient Middle Eastern ceremonial covenant-making ritual that we get the phrase “to cut a deal”.
Also, although we typically say the animals were “cut up into pieces”, the literal nuance from the Hebrew is that the sacrificial animal was “RIGHTLY DIVIDED“.
That’s right.
That common Christian saying “to rightly divide the word” was lifted completely out of context.
“Rightly dividing” was always about the proper ritual procedure in cutting up the sacrificial animal.
Originally, it has NOTHING to do with Bible interpretation.
OK! So how would that be used by the NT writer? Equally dividing the word in balance? Setting the word up so that people could walk clearly between the concepts in the word? Presenting the word so the spiritual and physical are balanced out? Let’s equaly divide this subject. What is the NT writer getting at, rather then what is he wrong about.
For example, the Complete Jewish Bible says “Do all you can to present yourself to God as someone worthy of his approval, as a worker with no need to be ashamed, because he deals straightforwardly with the Word of the Truth.”
G3718 ὀρθοτομέω orthotomeo (or-thot-om-eh’-o) v.
1. to make a straight cut
The Greek word appears to carry the meaning of “Being precise in cutting” or “Don’t cut crooked”. The wording is most likely and idiom which is hard to translate. I can see where the translators would assume it meant to divide, because of the cutting indicated in the original language. The idea of not cutting crooked or delivering a corrupt message.
I’m nobody but he’s how I have always taken this verse:
First, the law has not been abolished. The temple is destroyed and Christ is in the heavens serving as high priest (but not according to the Aaronic Covenant).
Second, “the Word” (the ancient sacred inspired Word of God made flesh) according to any author in the New Testament was not a NIV or the books in it.
Nevertheless, I do believe what we have, the final product is all inspired, including the NT as we know it today.
Third, we believers are- as it were- in a New Covenant, right? We are presenting ourselves as a living sacrifice, at least we probably should be. We do not do as instructed to earn salvation but because we do because we are servants and we understand Christs selfless love and commitment, we understand the gift, we have a helper, a heart of flesh, and even the law written on our hearts. We are walking in covenant as soon as we accept the free gift of salvation. Many don’t consider the cost of this walk unless they are told this but, for fear of them becoming confused and leaving the church, the covenant cutting and walk aspect of our salvation is set aside for a later time and later discussion.
Unfortunately some never stick around to hear it and grow, they believe they’ve been issued a get out of hell free ticket by reciting some magic words. Moreover many churches don’t include discipleship. If they do have discipleship follow up it typically doesn’t include what Messianic Believers teach but rather what Replacement Theology teachers teach (which usually just amounts to a bunch of greek type head knowledge where you can believe one thing but do another).
Lastly, from the garden, to the ark, to the tabernacle, to temple, to our bodies, and back to the garden…. one should understand how all this culminates into thinking of our bodies being a temple. Just how is the bride is getting prepared. This is the phase we are in, right?
If we are priest, as everyone seems to think they are, without actually ever understanding anything written in the Old Testament regarding their spiritual duties, then we need to know how to prepare a sacrifice. Someone once pointed out: All sacrifices are offerings but not all offerings are sacrifices. Do we as a people understand that? There were various types of offerings and sacrifices and they were all prepared with great care. Do we not see the symbolism in it all? We love analogy and symbolism and idioms but most don’t see temple language in the New Testament at all. Lev 1:12
Remember the Word will cut! How are you using the word to cut out your entrails? What are we cutting out and setting aside as we go through the sanctification process? What are you doing with the fat?
Are you keeping the covenant you are walking through? The pieces of animal set in columns that you walked through with someone you were by cutting a covenant (rightly dividing a covenant), and this meant that who ever breaks the covenant (not holding up ones half of the bargain) would be in danger of the same fate as the innocent animal.
Revelation of these things have been progressive and cumulative but salvation from the beginning has always been by grace through faith!
Hope that was helpful. Just a few things to consider.
Shalom. JH