Blood oaths have been practiced throughout history, but this was a whole nation—and God!
At the start of Exodus 24, Moses is instructed to meet alone with the Lord, and afterwards he “wrote all the words of the Lord.” The next morning, he rose to the day of ratification, when the Lord God of heaven and earth and this fledgling nation would seal a covenant by blood. He “built an altar at the foot of the mountain, and twelve pillars according to the twelve tribes of Israel” (v 4). Then, at his instruction, certain “young men” were selected (for the priesthood had not yet been initiated). They “offered burnt offerings and sacrificed peace offerings” (v 5), and the blood, as at the Passover, was caught in basins. Half was sprinkled on the altar, for God’s side. Then, as the people gathered close, Moses “took the Book of the Covenant and read in the hearing of the people” (v 7). One can only assume the Lord handled the sound amplification for this. But as soon as Moses finished reading, the people responded, “All that the Lord has said we will do, and be obedient.” Now Moses took the rest of the blood and sprinkled it on the people as he intoned, “This is the blood of the covenant which the Lord has made with you according to all these words” (v 8). How solemn this all is! So can you imagine what the 11 disciples must have felt—who well knew this story concerning the birth of their nation—to hear the Lord Jesus say, as He instituted the Lord’s Supper, “This cup is the new covenant in My blood, which is shed for you” (Lk 22:20). But the blood that seals the New Covenant was not from animals; it was “the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot” (1 Pet 1:19)! Christian, shouldn’t this affect our loyalty to Him when we recall, “you are not your own? For you were bought at a price” (1 Cor 6:19-20)?