May 21, 2025 - Exodus 34:10 -"God's Marvelous Everlasting Covenant"

Exodus 34:10

"And he said, Behold, I make a covenant: before all thy people I will do marvels, such as have not been done in all the earth, nor any nation: and all the people among which thou art shall see the work of the Lord: for it is a terrible thing that I will do with thee."

In Exodus 34, Moses ascends Mount Sinai a second time to receive anew the words of the covenant, following Israel’s grievous idolatry with the golden calf. The LORD, in sovereign mercy, does not utterly forsake His stiff-necked people. Instead, He declares, “Behold, I make a covenant” (Exodus 34:10). Here, God graciously promises to work wonders that will astonish all nations, renewing His purpose to glorify Himself in and through His chosen people. Yet this declaration is not only historical; it is also profoundly prophetic, directing our eyes to the everlasting covenant of grace established in Christ Jesus our LORD.

Israel had broken the covenant almost immediately after receiving it. Yet the LORD, rich in mercy, reveals His name to Moses, declaring, “The LORD, The LORD God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth” (Exodus 34:6). He renews the covenant—not because Israel proved faithful, but because He is faithful. The foundation of His covenant is not man’s merit, but His own sovereign will and purpose. These promised “marvels” prefigure the mighty acts of God in bringing His people into Canaan, subduing nations, and settling them in a land flowing with milk and honey. But the covenantal word in Exodus 34 reaches far beyond Canaan. The LORD declares that these wonders will be “such as have not been done in all the earth, nor in any nation” (Exodus 34:10). Their ultimate fulfillment is found in Christ.

What greater marvel has ever been wrought than the incarnation of the Son of God? “The Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us” (John 1:14). In Christ, God fulfilled His covenant to do “terrible things”—not in cruelty, but in awe-inspiring, holy deeds that evoke both fear and wonder. The cross stands as the greatest of these: the most fearful and the most gracious act of all. There, God “spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all” (Romans 8:32). There “mercy and truth are met together; righteousness and peace have kissed each other” (Psalm 85:10).

In Christ, the covenant is not merely renewed—it is fulfilled and eternally established. The marvels of God’s grace in Christ far surpass the Red Sea crossing, the manna from heaven, and the conquest of Canaan. They are “eternal redemption” (Hebrews 9:12). The LORD Jesus is “the mediator of a better covenant, which was established upon better promises” (Hebrews 8:6).

This is the covenant wherein God writes His law upon our hearts and remembers our sins no more (Hebrews 8:10–12). The LORD said, “All the people among which thou art shall see the work of the LORD” (Exodus 34:10). So it is with Christ. His redemptive work was not done in a corner. The marvels of grace shine to the ends of the earth. Luke quoting the prophet Isaiah declared, “All flesh shall see the salvation of God” (Luke 3:6). Christ crucified is the visible marvel of the invisible God. And in these last times, “every eye shall see him, and they also which pierced him” (Revelation 1:7). Though the world despised Him, the elect behold His glory—the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ (2 Corinthians 4:6). The work of the LORD in Christ is both terrible and beautiful: terrible in its judgment upon sin, beautiful in its salvation for sinners. His work is finished. His marvels endure forever.

Thus, Exodus 34:10 finds its true and final fulfillment in the person and redemptive work of the LORD Jesus Christ, who came to establish the New Covenant (Hebrews 8:6–13; Luke 22:20). Consider the key elements of this covenant fulfilled in Him:

1. “Behold, I make a covenant”

This anticipates the New Covenant that God would establish—not merely a renewal of the Sinai covenant, but a new and living way. In Christ, God makes a better covenant—not written upon tablets of stone, but upon the hearts of His elect (Jeremiah 31:31–34; 2 Corinthians 3:6). “This cup is the new testament in my blood, which is shed for you” (Luke 22:20). Christ fulfilled the law, satisfied divine justice, and obtained eternal redemption (Hebrews 9:12, 15).

2. “Before all thy people I will do marvels”

These “marvels” typify the miracles and signs of Christ’s earthly ministry (John 5:36; Acts 2:22). Above all was His resurrection, a marvel that ushered in the new creation (Ephesians 1:19–23). They said of Christ, “Never man spake like this man” (John 7:46); “We never saw it on this fashion” (Mark 2:12).

3 . “Such as have not been done in all the earth, nor in any nation”

This speaks of the unique, unparalleled nature of Christ’s redemptive work—doing what the law could not do (Romans 8:3). The Gospel of the Kingdom brought surpassing glory—exceeding even the glory of Sinai (2 Corinthians 3:7–11). This was the inauguration of Christ's Kingdom whereby the scriptures declare: “If any man be in Christ, he is a new creature” (2 Corinthians 5:17), in Him by electing grace, redeeming blood, and the effectual calling of the Spirit uniting them to Christ.

4. “All the people among which thou art shall see the work of the LORD”

This foreshadows the visible manifestation of God's power in Christ—His miracles, His passion, and the birth of the church through the Spirit (Acts 2). The cross and resurrection remain the central “work of the LORD” revealed to elected sinners (John 6:29; Acts 2:36). Though many saw the works and believed not (John 12:37–40), yet a remnant according to the election of grace, believed, and the Gospel began to go to the nations (Acts 1:8) by God's sovereign will and determination (Romans 1:16).

5. “It is a terrible thing that I will do with thee”

“Terrible” here refers to that which inspires reverence and holy fear. This points us directly to the cross, where God judged the sin of His elect completely in the Person of His Son. Christ crucified is the awe-filled wonder of grace: “Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows... Yet it pleased the LORD to bruise him” (Isaiah 53:4,10). There, judgment and mercy met—wrath satisfied, grace magnified (Psalm 85:10; Romans 3:25–26).

May we, like Moses, behold the covenant, not one written on stone, but one of grace and truth in Jesus Christ. Let us stand in awe of the marvels God has done in Christ—marvels that eclipse every wonder of old. And let us remember: it is all of sovereign grace, not of works, “according to his own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began” (2 Timothy 1:9).