By Chalcedony Williams
9 Then Moses went up with Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel, 10 and they saw the God of Israel; and under His feet there appeared to be a pavement of sapphire, as clear as the sky itself. 11 Yet He did not stretch out His hand against the nobles of the sons of Israel; and they saw God, and they ate and drank.
12 Now the Lord said to Moses, “Come up to Me on the mountain and remain there, and I will give you the stone tablets with the law and the commandment which I have written for their instruction.” 13 So Moses arose with Joshua his servant, and Moses went up to the mountain of God. 14 But to the elders he said, “Wait here for us until we return to you. And behold, Aaron and Hur are with you; whoever has a legal matter, let him approach them.” 15 Then Moses went up to the mountain, and the cloud covered the mountain. 16 The glory of the Lord rested on Mount Sinai, and the cloud covered it for six days; and on the seventh day He called to Moses from the midst of the cloud. 17 And to the eyes of the sons of Israel the appearance of the glory of the Lord was like a consuming fire on the mountain top. 18 Moses entered the midst of the cloud as he went up to the mountain; and Moses was on the mountain forty days and forty nights.
Exodus 24:9-18 (NASB 1995)
Remember we talked about God’s holiness and the fact that Israel had to consecrate themselves so that they could experience His presence? Even after three days of cleansing, Israel could only experience God from a distance, there was a boundary created around the mountain and no one was permitted to go up the mountain except Moses and even then, Moses could only approach on God’s invitation.
Yet in chapter 24 of Exodus, something awesome happens: God invites Moses and the representatives of Israel up the mountain, nearer to His presence. In verse 3, Moses comes down from the mountain and relays to Israel all of God’s instructions and regulations. Not only does he tell the people, but He writes it down in the Book of the Covenant and reads it aloud. On both occasions, the people respond with “we will do everything the Lord has commanded.”
Moses commands the people to present burnt offerings and peace offerings, he takes the blood and splattered half of it on the altar, which represented God. He then splattered the other half on the people. It seems a very gruesome, very odd thing to be a part of, but it has great significance. Whilst blood was a usual part of marking a covenant between parties, with God and Israel, blood was also a crucial part in atonement – life had to be given in order to release someone from the death penalty for sin. Once freed from the guilt and punishment of sin, Israel were free to enter into a covenant relationship with God, as long as they were willing to obey God and keep His commandments.
God confirms this covenant relationship by inviting Israel’s representatives to climb Mount Sinai. There they saw the “God of Israel”. We know from other scripture that they did not see God face to face, but what they did see was a beautiful display of
God’s presence as though they were seeing God Himself, surrounded by a sea of “brilliant blue lapis lazuli, as clear as the sky itself”, similar to the “sea of glass” before God’s throne as described in Revelation 4. The writer makes it clear to us that these men were not destroyed by God for being in His presence. Instead, God breaks bread with them, and they enjoy a covenant meal with God, a sign of peace between them and God.
The significance of this for us also must not be lost. Through Christ, who died for our sins, we have received forgiveness and have been invited into an eternal covenant with God, sealed by the blood of Jesus. We enter this covenant by faith, and we have peace with God (Romans 5:1, 2). We now have the presence of God in and among us. Just as Moses was invited to climb higher and deeper into God’s presence, we to can live in the glory of God now and the “hope of the glory of God,” to one day see Him and sup with Him face to face.
Ask – Why were the leaders of Israel permitted to climb Mount Sinai?
Seek – What does it mean to me to have the hope of the glory of God?
Knock – Thank God that He shed His blood so that we might have a relationship with Him. Ask Him to reignite our faith in Him so that we can enjoy the blessings of this covenant.
(Upper Photo by Kurt Cotoaga on Unsplash)
(InnerPhoto by Brad Barmore on Unsplash)
