Understanding Exodus 24:3 in Depth: We Will Obey

The People Agree to Follow God’s Plan

This moment comes right after God gave the Ten Commandments, and Moses was making sure the people understood all of God’s instructions for how to live as His chosen nation.

Moses told them everything the Lord had said, and the people responded together with one voice, 'All the words that the Lord has spoken we will do.' It was more than listening. It was their promise to follow God’s ways and join His covenant, an agreement in which He would bless and guide them if they remained faithful.

A Promise to Obey

The people’s response shows they were not merely hearing God’s laws. They were committing to live by them.

This promise to obey wasn’t about earning God’s favor, but about choosing to stay close to Him in relationship. They said, 'All the words that the Lord has spoken we will do,' which echoes how God wanted their hearts, not just their actions - something later prophets like Jeremiah would highlight when the people broke this promise, saying, 'I remember the devotion of your youth, how as a bride you loved me and followed me through the wilderness,' even though they later turned away.

The Covenant Confirmed and Its Fulfillment in Christ

The unified response of the people in Exodus 24:3 was not a one-time promise. It marked the beginning of a formal covenant relationship between God and Israel, sealed soon after with sacrifices and blood in verses 4 - 8.

Moses wrote down all the Lord’s words, built an altar, and sprinkled blood on the people, saying, 'Behold the blood of the covenant that the Lord has made with you in accordance with all these words' (Exodus 24:8). This moment set the stage for God’s later establishment of a new covenant through Jesus, whose blood would be shed for Israel and for all who believe. Jesus fulfilled the law by perfectly obeying it and offering Himself as the final sacrifice, completing the old covenant and pointing to a deeper, lasting relationship based on faith rather than rules.

So while Christians don’t follow the Old Testament law as a set of binding rules, we honor its purpose - showing us God’s holiness and our need for a Savior - now fulfilled in Christ, who said He came not to abolish the law but to complete it (Matthew 5:17).

Obedience Born from Love

This moment in Exodus 24:3 finds a deep echo in Jesus’ words in John 14:15, where He says, 'If you love me, keep my commands.'

Here, Jesus does not replace the idea of obedience but grounds it in relationship; our keeping of His commands flows from love rather than duty. Later, Revelation 22:14 reaffirms this, declaring, 'Blessed are those who do his commandments, that they may have the right to the tree of life, and may enter through the gates into the city.'

So the heart of the matter isn’t rule-following for its own sake, but a life shaped by love for God - today, that might look like choosing honesty at a cost, forgiving quickly, or serving quietly, not to earn favor, but because we trust and love the One who first loved us.

Application