Exodus 24

Exodus 24:1

8. Ratification of the Covenant (24:1-8)24:1, 2 Moses was on Mount Sinai when God spoke to him the laws and ordinances contained in Exodus 20-23. Before Moses left the top of the mountain, God told him to return with Aaron and his two sons, Nadab and Abihu, and with seventy of the elders. However, only Moses was to draw near to the LORD; the others were to remain at a distance. Under law, distance must be maintained between the sinner and God. Under grace we have “boldness to enter the Holiest by the blood of Jesus” (Heb_10:19). Law says, “They shall not come near.” Grace says, “Let us draw near” (Heb_10:22). 24:3-8 Moses then descended to the people and delivered the law to them. They immediately agreed to keep it, little realizing their powerlessness to do so. To ratify this conditional covenant between God and Israel, Moses first built an altar with twelve pillars (for the twelve tribes of Israel). He then took . . . blood from the offerings and sprinkled . . . half . . . on the altar (representing God’s part in the covenant) and half on the people (signifying their determination to keep their part of the agreement).

Exodus 24:9

9. Revelation of God’s Glory (24:9-18)24:9-11 Following this, Moses and the others went back up on Mount Sinai, as instructed in verses 1 and 2. There they saw . . . God in His glory. Ordinarily, to see God would be sufficient to kill a person, but it was not so here. They were not destroyed; they saw God, and they ate and drank. In other words, they saw God and lived to eat the peace offering. There is a seeming paradox in the Bible with regard to the matter of seeing God. On the one hand, there are verses which indicate that it is impossible to see God (Exo_33:20; Joh_1:18; 1Jo_4:12). On the other hand, there are passages which speak of men seeing God, such as Gen_32:30; Exo_24:10; Exo_33:23. The explanation is that while God in His unveiled glory is a consuming fire which would vaporize anyone looking at Him, yet He can reveal Himself in the form of a man, an angel, or a glory cloud (Deu_5:24) which a person could see and still live. 24:12-18 A different ascent to Mount Sinai is apparently described here. This time Joshua accompanied Moses for part of the distance. In his absence, he delegated Aaron and Hur to serve as judges for the people. For six days Moses waited on the side of the mountain while the glory cloud covered the summit. Then, at God’s invitation, he climbed up to the top and entered the cloud, where he was to remain for the next forty days and forty nights. Forty is the number of testing or probation. Here the testing was for the people rather than for Moses. They failed the test by plunging into sin. Thus the Lord revealed through the law what was in the heart of man. The instructions Moses received during this time are recorded up to Exo_31:18.