(Ex 24:3-8)

 Exodus 24:3 Moses went and told the people all the words of the Lord and all the regulations. All the people answered together and said, "All the commands that the Lord has given, we will perform them!"

Exodus 24:4 Moses wrote down all the words of the Lord, then rose early in the morning and built an altar at the foot of the mountain, with twelve stelae for the twelve tribes of Israel.

Exodus 24:5 He instructed some of the young men among the Israelites to offer burnt offerings and to sacrifice heifers as communion sacrifices, to the Lord.

Exodus 24:6 Moses took half of the blood and put it in many basins and poured the other half on the altar.

Exodus 24:7 Then he took the book of the covenant and read it in the presence of the people. They said, "What the Lord has commanded, we will do and perform!"

Exodus 24:8 Then Moses took the blood and sprinkled it on the people, saying, "Here is the blood of the covenant, which the Lord has made with you on the basis of all these words!"

Moses is a figure of the faithful servant who reports to the people all the words of the Lord, without adding anything and taking nothing away. Man broke away from God because in Eden he judged his words; now he is allowed to draw near again to the extent that he allows himself to be judged by his words. What words does Moses relate to the people? These are the words of the Law, specifically the Ten Commandments. The people listen to the Law and commit themselves to obedience: "All the commands that the Lord has given, we will perform them. The Law is proclaimed, heard, lived in obedience.

He is part of the chosen people who together with the chosen people, with one voice, openly manifests his willingness to obey the commandments of the Lord. Whoever has reservations, even if he should keep them to himself, sits in the community abusively - and the falsity of his heart will soon be manifested. Israel had to listen not only to the "words", but also to the "norms" (v. 3). The rules are the concrete explication of the commandment. The commandment is invariable. The norm changes as history and circumstances change.

Moses writes down all the words of the Lord, so that nothing may be changed. And so that God's manifestation would not be forgotten, he built an altar at the foot of the mountain and also placed twelve inscriptions on it bearing the names of the twelve tribes of Israel. What God has said has value for all the children of Israel. Thus the altar is both a sign of God and of the people. God and the people are represented by the one sign. This is the purpose of the Covenant: to make God and the people one.

A sacrifice of communion to the Lord is offered by the young men of Israel at the command of Moses. The young man is a guarantee of a longer-term memory than the old man destined to die sooner. In the holocausts, the total consummation of the victim took place. This passed through the fire and was burnt to a crisp. In the communion sacrifice, however, only the fat part was burnt. The lean portion was eaten by those who offered the sacrifice.

The part of the blood of the sacrifices placed in the basins is for Israel; the other is poured on the altar for the Lord. Blood is life. There must now be only one life between God and his people. The visible sign of this oneness of life is the one blood that bathes God and the people. God is bathed in the blood that is poured on the altar. Since the blood is one, one is also the life. By sprinkling the altar with blood, God is ready to make himself one life with his people.

There is only one life if there is only one will. The will shall not be that of the people, but that of God. No one among the people will have his own particular will to impose on the other. Instead, all will let themselves be guided by a will that is above them, that transcends them all: the will of the Lord. The will of the Lord is contained in the book of the covenant that Moses reads in the presence of all the people. But reading and listening is not enough: there needs to be a promise of obedience from the whole community. It is not enough to read the book. It is not enough to know what the Lord says. It is not enough to know the will of God. One must make a public commitment to live according to God's will. 

Having read the book of the Law, all the people commit themselves to perform what they have heard. Without this commitment of listening and obedience the covenant can never be made. The blood is the sign of this unity, but unity is not in the rite of blood. Unity is in the will of the man who commits himself to live in the will of God.

"Then Moses took the blood and sprinkled it upon the people, saying, Behold the blood of the covenant, which the Lord has made with you on the basis of all these words!"

It is only after the reading of the word and the promise of obedience that the other half of the blood, that which was not shed on the altar for God, is sprinkled on the people. Thus the covenant between God and Israel is sealed: not just any way, but with blood, the symbol of life.

Moses reiterates that the covenant was concluded on the basis of the words heard, to which the people also committed themselves. Israel pledges to observe God's will, the Lord pledges to be the life of his people. As long as Israel remains in the word of its God, nothing can disturb Israel's path through time. As long as the Church remains in the word of Christ, nothing can disturb the Church's journey through time.   

 Argentino Quintavalle, author of the books 

- Revelation - exegetical commentary 

- The Apostle Paul and the Judaizers - Law or Gospel?

Jesus Christ true God and true Man in the Trinitarian mystery

The prophetic discourse of Jesus (Matthew 24-25)

All generations will call me blessed

 Catholics and Protestants compared - In defence of the faith

(Buyable on Amazon)