Exodus 22:20-24:18
Dear RTB’ers,
As I noted to you yesterday, I incorrectly read and commented yesterday only through 22:19, not 23:19 according to our schedule. So I am beginning today with 22:20 and moving forward to the end of chapter 24.
Today’s modified reading covers four topics – first, many “Thou shalt not…” commands; second, a number of “liturgical” commands as to how the Israelites are to relate to God; third, an introduction to God’s hand in the Israelites’ conquest of the Promised Land; and fourth, the people affirming their covenant with God.
I was struck that God let Moses and 73 other men see Him: Then Moses and Aaron, Nadab, and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel went up, and they saw the God of Israel. … And He did not lay his hand on the chief men of the people of Israel; they beheld God, and ate and drank. (vv. 24:9-11) They saw God; He did not reach out against them; they beheld Him! I don’t remember ever reading this passage, or more correctly, processing it. When I think of Moses “seeing” God I think of the Burning Bush (Exodus 3) and the “cleft rock” encounter: Moses said, “Please show me your glory.” … But, He said, “you cannot see My face, for man shall not see Me and live.” And the LORD said, “Behold, there is a place by Me where you shall stand on the rock, and while My glory passes by I will put you in a cleft of the rock, and I will cover you with My hand until I have passed by. Then I will take away My hand, and you shall see My back, but My face shall not be seen.” (Exodus 33:18-23) So here in Exodus 24, Moses and 73 men see God, behold Him, but again, only His glory, not His face. What a sight that must have been! It calls to mind Peter, James, and John with Jesus when He is transfigured before them. GLORY!!
Blessings!
Wow. As soon as I read the verse Fred highlighted, I had to stop a minute and process: I did not remember that Moses and a company of leaders had seen God, and God did “not reach out against them.”
So there they are, eating and drinking, hanging out with Almighty God. But I am struck that in preparation for this scene, Moses had built an altar to the Lord, made sacrifices, and sprinkled the “blood of the covenant” on the altar and the people. Jesus has not yet shed his blood for us, but blood had to be shed to sanctify them.
Afterwards, God commanded Moses to come up on the mountain, and he was there in a cloud for forty days…