“Now therefore, if ye will obey My voice indeed, and keep My covenant.” Verse 5, first part.
8. What was the Lord's covenant which they were to keep as their part of this covenant?
“And He declared unto you His covenant, which He commanded you to perform, even ten commandments; and He wrote them upon two tables of stone.” Deut. 4:13.
Note.—The ten commandments were the “covenant” to which the Lord referred, when, in proposing to make a covenant with Israel, He said, “If ye will obey My voice indeed, and keep My covenant,” etc. Ex. 19:5. The ten commandments were termed God's covenant before the covenant was made with Israel: hence they cannot be the old covenant itself. They were not an agreement made, but something which God commanded them to perform, and promised blessings upon condition they were kept. Thus the ten commandments—God's covenant—became the basis of the covenant here made with Israel. The old covenant was made concerning the ten commandments; or, as stated in Ex. 24:8, “concerning all these words.” A covenant means a solemn pledge or promise based on conditions.
9. After the law had been proclaimed from Sinai, what did the people again say?
“And all the people answered with one voice, and said, All the words which the Lord hath said will we do.” Ex. 24:3.
10. That there might be no misunderstanding, what did Moses do?
“And Moses wrote all the words of the Lord, ... and he took the book of the covenant, and read in the audience of the people.” Verses 4-7.
11. What did the people once again promise to do?
“And they said, All that the Lord hath said will we do, and be obedient.” Verse 7.