Exodus 24
The Lord Ratifies the Covenant
1 But to Moses the Lord said, “Come up to the Lord, you and Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel, and worship from a distance.
Moses, Aaron, the two sons of Aaron, and the seventy elders were invited to worship at Mount Sinai.
2 Moses alone may come near the Lord, but the others must not come near, nor may the people go up with him.”
Moses would get an exclusive showing of the glory of God.
3 Moses came and told the people all the Lord’s words and all the decisions. All the people answered together, “We are willing to do all the words that the Lord has said,”
The subjects agreed to accept the terms of this peace treaty between God and man. The words were the Ten Commandments. The decisions were the ordinances, or the other 603 laws of the Mosaic Covenant.
4 and Moses wrote down all the words of the Lord. Early in the morning he built an altar at the foot of the mountain and arranged twelve standing stones – according to the twelve tribes of Israel.
Jehovah wrote down the Ten Commandments on stone tablets with his own finger. Moses wrote down the rest of the Law on papyrus scrolls.
5 He sent young Israelite men, and they offered burnt offerings and sacrificed young bulls for peace offerings to the Lord.
The young Israelite men were Levites. Man has sinned against God. To make peace with God, he must offer blood sacrifices of innocent and perfect lambs which point to Christ.
6 Moses took half of the blood and put it in bowls, and half of the blood he splashed on the altar.
Sin is so terrible in the eyes of God that innocent blood must be shed to atone for it.
7 He took the Book of the Covenant and read it aloud to the people, and they said, “We are willing to do and obey all that the Lord has spoken.”
Moses read chapters 20-23 of Exodus. The people all voiced in unison that they would obey the Law. However, their own human total depravity will not allow them to do so.
8 So Moses took the blood and splashed 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.”
The blood was splashed on the people. This was a messy sight. Sin is a terrible thing to God. The covenant was signed in blood. This blood covenant pointed to Christ.
9 Moses and Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, and the seventy elders of Israel went up,
Moses, Aaron, the two sons of Aaron, and the seventy elders climbed the mountain.
10 and they saw the God of Israel. Under his feet there was something like a pavement made of sapphire, clear like the sky itself.
No one can see God and live. Therefore, they saw the Shekinah Glory, which is the visible presence of God.
11 But he did not lay a hand on the leaders of the Israelites, so they saw God, and they ate and they drank.
God did not kill the leaders of Israel. The Shekinah Glory signed the contract.
12 The Lord said to Moses, “Come up to me to the mountain and remain there, and I will give you the stone tablets with the law and the commandments that I have written, so that you may teach them.”
Jehovah invited Moses to climb the mountain and accept the tablets of the Law.
13 So Moses set out with Joshua his attendant, and Moses went up the mountain of God.
This is the second mention of Joshua. He was an assistant to Moses. God was training Joshua to become the next leader of Israel.
14 He told the elders, “Wait for us in this place until we return to you. Here are Aaron and Hur with you. Whoever has any matters of dispute can approach them.”
Moses commanded the elders to wait at the foot of the mountain.
15 Moses went up the mountain, and the cloud covered the mountain.
The Shekinah Glory covered the mountain.
16 The glory of the Lord resided on Mount Sinai, and the cloud covered it for six days. On the seventh day he called to Moses from within the cloud.
The Shekinah Glory covered Mount Sinai for six days. The Shekinah Glory spoke directly to Moses in an audible voice. This was not Moses' own inner voice, as liberals like to claim.
17 Now the appearance of the glory of the Lord was like a devouring fire on the top of the mountain in plain view of the people.
The Shekinah Glory changed from a cloud covering to a consuming fire.
18Moses went into the cloud when he went up the mountain, and Moses was on the mountain forty days and forty nights.
This was the second climb of Moses. He was gone for forty days and forty nights. Moses received the tablets personally and directly from the Shekinah Glory.