seekeroftruth
Well-Known Member
Exodus 24:1 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Come up to the Lord, you and Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel. You are to worship at a distance, 2 but Moses alone is to approach the Lord; the others must not come near. And the people may not come up with him.”
3 When Moses went and told the people all the Lord’s words and laws, they responded with one voice, “Everything the Lord has said we will do.” 4 Moses then wrote down everything the Lord had said.
He got up early the next morning and built an altar at the foot of the mountain and set up twelve stone pillars representing the twelve tribes of Israel. 5 Then he sent young Israelite men, and they offered burnt offerings and sacrificed young bulls as fellowship offerings to the Lord. 6 Moses took half of the blood and put it in bowls, and the other half he splashed against the altar. 7 Then he took the Book of the Covenant and read it to the people. They responded, “We will do everything the Lord has said; we will obey.”
8 Moses then took the blood, sprinkled it on the people and said, “This is the blood of the covenant that the Lord has made with you in accordance with all these words.”
9 Moses and Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, and the seventy elders of Israel went up 10 and saw the God of Israel. Under his feet was something like a pavement made of lapis lazuli, as bright blue as the sky. 11 But God did not raise his hand against these leaders of the Israelites; they saw God, and they ate and drank.
12 The Lord said to Moses, “Come up to me on the mountain and stay here, and I will give you the tablets of stone with the law and commandments I have written for their instruction.”
13 Then Moses set out with Joshua his aide, and Moses went up on the mountain of God. 14 He said to the elders, “Wait here for us until we come back to you. Aaron and Hur are with you, and anyone involved in a dispute can go to them.”
15 When Moses went up on the mountain, the cloud covered it, 16 and the glory of the Lord settled on Mount Sinai. For six days the cloud covered the mountain, and on the seventh day the Lord called to Moses from within the cloud. 17 To the Israelites the glory of the Lord looked like a consuming fire on top of the mountain. 18 Then Moses entered the cloud as he went on up the mountain. And he stayed on the mountain forty days and forty nights.
Here's the link to the commentary I read.There are a few new characters in this chapter. Oh, we've seen some of them before but I think the sight of them here explains something.
Moses, Aaron, and Joshua are not strangers.
Moses and Aaron were brothers.
Joshua was the son of Nun, who is a descendant of Ephraim, Joseph's son.
Nadab and Abihu were the oldest sons of Aaron.
Hur was Miriam's husband. Miriam was the sister of Moses and Aaron.
It's a family affair. But then again, all the Israelites were family. The Seventy Elders were kin too!
Now on to that "footstool" God was resting at. Lapis lazuli is a nice deep blue stone. It's also a color of the bluest of skies. So, God was sitting in a deep blue sky, Moses, Aaron, Aron's sons, Miriam's husband, and seventy elders were below Him... and they ate and drank together.
Twice in these verses, everyone present told Moses to relay to God "We will do everything the Lord has said: We will obey". [Verse 3 and verse 7]
God let everyone see Him! [Verse 11]
Moses wrote what God said. Then God set the Ten Commandments in stone. [Verse 4 and then Verse 12]
Moses went up the mountain to talk to God some more while everyone else was to follow Aaron and Joshua back to the rest of the family. Remember... they promised to do everything God said.
God proved He was spectacular sitting in that deep blue sky while the committee ate and drank with Him. He didn't have to prove anything... but He did.
Then Moses was on the mountain, alone with God, for 40 days and 40 nights.
My Online Bible titled this chapter.
The Covenant Confirmed
:coffee"