Mission

At the foot of Mount Sinai, Yahweh met the Israelites. And in Exodus 19, Yahweh proposed marriage. No, it wasn't entirely like the weddings we have today, but there's a reason "God created man in His own image ... male and female He created them (Gen 1:27). In Exodus 20, we find what's called the Shitre Erusin. Think of those like the "rules of engagement." Then, in Exodus 20:22–23:33, we find the Ketubah. In short, that's the promises of the Bridegroom, His promise to love, support, care for, and all the rest. In Exodus 24, we find the "I do's." And the storyline continues, right on through the golden calf (Israel's unfaithfulness) and construction of the tabernacle (how God would deal with it).

On the night Jesus was betrayed, all that happened at Sinai was being recapitulated and realized in the proposal of Jesus to His disciples, and the sacrifice He's willingly offer to make it all right. In other words, all Sinai had predicted was coming true. In the first covenant, Israel proved unfaithful (Ex 32). In this New Covenant, God would make faithful those who were not. What's more, our God would send the His Spirit to animate our lives, giving us a new heart, removing our hearts of stone and replacing it with hearts of flesh (Ez 36:26). And the result? God says, "I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will be careful to do My judgments" (Ez 36:37).