Exodus 24: 1 – 18
Best Selling Ghost Writer
24 Now He said to Moses, “Come up to the LORD, you and Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel, and worship from afar. 2 And Moses alone shall come near the LORD, but they shall not come near; nor shall the people go up with him.” 3 So Moses came and told the people all the words of the LORD and all the judgments. And all the people answered with one voice and said, “All the words which the LORD has said we will do.” 4 And Moses wrote all the words of the LORD. And he rose early in the morning, and built an altar at the foot of the mountain, and twelve pillars according to the twelve tribes of Israel. 5 Then he sent young men of the children of Israel, who offered burnt offerings and sacrificed peace offerings of oxen to the LORD. 6 And Moses took half the blood and put it in basins, and half the blood he sprinkled on the altar. 7 Then he took the Book of the Covenant and read in the hearing of the people. And they said, “All that the LORD has said we will do, and be obedient.” 8 And Moses took the blood, sprinkled it on the people, and said, “This is the blood of the covenant which the LORD has made with you according to all these words.” 9 Then Moses went up, also Aaron, Nadab, and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel, 10 and they saw the God of Israel. And there was under His feet as it were a paved work of sapphire stone, and it was like the very heavens in its clarity. 11 But on the nobles of the children of Israel He did not lay His hand. So they saw God, and they ate and drank.12 Then the LORD said to Moses, “Come up to Me on the mountain and be there; and I will give you tablets of stone, and the law and commandments which I have written, that you may teach them.” 13 So Moses arose with his assistant Joshua, and Moses went up to the mountain of God. 14 And he said to the elders, “Wait here for us until we come back to you. Indeed, Aaron and Hur are with you. If any man has a difficulty, let him go to them.” 15 Then Moses went up into the mountain, and a cloud covered the mountain. 16 Now the glory of the LORD rested on Mount Sinai, and the cloud covered it six days. And on the seventh day He called to Moses out of the midst of the cloud. 17 The sight of the glory of the LORD was like a consuming fire on the top of the mountain in the eyes of the children of Israel. 18 So Moses went into the midst of the cloud and went up into the mountain. And Moses was on the mountain forty days and forty nights.
Have any one of you ever wanted to be a writer? If so then have you ever dreamt of being a bestselling author? Some secular books that I like to read are from Tom Clancy. I have enjoyed all the books associated with his name. You have his many books of Jack Ryan: Op-Center; Power Plays; Net Force; Splinter Cell; End War; Ghost Recon; and Jack Ryan, Jr. series.
However, most of these popular books were not written exclusively by Mr. Clancy. He had help from other talented co-authors or what we may call ‘ghost writers.’ They are individuals who are contracted to write a book for someone else. These men and women are just trying to get recognized in the writing industry. So a way to do this is by convincing bestselling authors that they can write for them part or all of their book series that the bestselling authors can sell under their own name. Ultimately, with their name appearing on a bestselling author’s cover the ghost writers will get the attention and future contracts on some of their other writings.
I find it quite interesting that these co-authors also use the title as ‘ghost writers’. Our Precious Holy Ghost being the ‘Greatest Author’ set about incorporating 40 humans to assist Him in writing the Best Book ever to have been written. It is The Bible. The first writing assistant He picked was Moses who penned 5 of our Holy Ghost’s books. Through His investment in giving Moses the best education available He dictated the first five books to him which are called the Pentateuch. I want you to keep an eye out in today’s scripture to catch our friend Moses jotting down some of the awesome words of God.
24 Now He said to Moses, “Come up to the LORD, you and Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel, and worship from afar. 2 And Moses alone shall come near the LORD, but they shall not come near; nor shall the people go up with him.”
This is the commencement of the covenant procedure, the call of the Lord for the people’s representatives to approach. It is then followed by the selection of the mediator who alone can approach the Overlord.
A group of ‘seventy of the elders of Israel’, as the people’s representatives, together with Moses, Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, were to ascend the lower mount so as to ‘worship afar off’. But they were not to go up higher. That was to be left for Moses alone. And the people were excluded altogether. This feasting before Yahweh would seal the covenant.
Nadab and Abihu were two sons of Aaron (28.1). Here they were given a huge privilege and were being prepared for great responsibility. But they would shortly sadly die before they had fulfilled themselves because they dealt lightly with sacred things (Leviticus 10.1-2). Great privilege brings great responsibility of many kinds.
The purpose of this event was as a ceremony at which Yahweh would receive the response of the people to His covenant and would seal it by handing over the official covenant documents. But before this could be done there were things that Moses had to do.
3 So Moses came and told the people all the words of the LORD and all the judgments. And all the people answered with one voice and said, “All the words which the LORD has said we will do.”
Moses called the people together for the explanation of the treaty. He declared to them Yahweh’s offer and detailed Yahweh’s requirements. Then the people ‘with one voice’ declared their acceptance. It was unanimous.
4 And Moses wrote all the words of the LORD. And he rose early in the morning, and built an altar at the foot of the mountain, and twelve pillars according to the twelve tribes of Israel. 5 Then he sent young men of the children of Israel, who offered burnt offerings and sacrificed peace offerings of oxen to the LORD. 6 And Moses took half the blood and put it in basins, and half the blood he sprinkled on the altar. 7 Then he took the Book of the Covenant and read in the hearing of the people. And they said, “All that the LORD has said we will do, and be obedient.” 8 And Moses took the blood, sprinkled it on the people, and said, “This is the blood of the covenant which the LORD has made with you according to all these words.”
Now that the covenant had been offered and accepted the official procedures had to be gone through. First it had to be put into writing (as most ancient covenants were) and then the covenant offerings were made prior to the blood of the covenant being presented to the Lord, seeking His acceptance of the covenant as written and commitment to it. Then the covenant, having been agreed by the Lord, was read to the people for their acceptance, after which the blood of the covenant was sprinkled on them and they confirmed their acceptance of it.
Moses may well have worked through the night writing out the covenant. Then he went about the solemn process of ratification. Then he erected twelve pillars to represent the whole people of Israel. Then he offered whole burnt offerings and sacrificed peace offerings of oxen. Then he applied the blood of the offerings, half to the altar and half to the people. It may be that the latter was mainly done by sprinkling it on the twelve pillars, which would seem to be their purpose, and then by a token sprinkling, but symbolically he was sprinkling the whole people.
‘He sent young men of the children of Israel.’ These were no doubt seen as representing Israel’s future. They acted under Moses’ instructions and there was at this stage no known limit as to who could offer sacrifices on behalf of the people. We may be sure that whatever requirements there were would be maintained. But it was Moses who took and applied the blood. Young men may have been used because they were strong and able to carry out their functions without difficulty. But we should note that the young men did not deal with the blood in its anointing function. That was Moses task as the priest of the people. The use of young men from among the people may have been in order to make the people feel very closely involved.
Moses ‘sprinkled it on the people.’ This applied the shed blood to the people, joining them in the covenant. It was ‘the blood of the covenant’. The blood sprinkled on the altar and the blood sprinkled on the people was to be seen as ‘one blood’. Both Yahweh and His people were now seen as conjoined in participation of the covenant. As ‘the blood of the covenant’ it probably signified both that death would result from gross disobedience to the covenant, and the application of the benefit of the covenant, in all its atoning aspects, to the people. It had also been sprinkled on the altar, joining Yahweh in the covenant, and purifying the altar. The pillars (verse 4) were also probably sprinkled as representing the whole of the people. They were the counterpart of the altar which was sprinkled representing Yahweh.
9 Then Moses went up, also Aaron, Nadab, and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel, 10 and they saw the God of Israel. And there was under His feet as it were a paved work of sapphire stone, and it was like the very heavens in its clarity. 11 But on the nobles of the children of Israel He did not lay His hand. So they saw God, and they ate and drank.
Following the covenant offer, sacrifice, and final acceptance was the covenant feast which sealed the whole ceremony. This was shared, as it were, between Yahweh and His people as represented by the elders (although noticeably Yahweh does not partake. There is no suggestion of God in human form). This was made possible because the blood had been shed, and the covenant had been sealed. Now His people could meet with Him as His covenant people.
The sealing of the covenant made a huge difference. The God of Israel now came down to meet them. There was a manifestation of God, probably in the same cloud and fire and smoke of 19.18; 23.17. No description is given and we dare not speculate further. But ‘under His feet’ was a vision of glorious blue which reminded them of sapphires and the glorious clear blue of the heavens. The fact that this is outlined and emphasized must suggest that His own presence was veiled (compare Isaiah 6.1-6 where Isaiah describes everything but Yahweh). They were allowed to see God and live. But it was not in His full glory for this was not even possible for Moses (33.22-23).
12 Then the LORD said to Moses, “Come up to Me on the mountain and be there; and I will give you tablets of stone, and the law and commandments which I have written, that you may teach them.”
‘And Yahweh said to Moses.’ In contrast with ‘He said to Moses’ (24.1) this indicates a new section in the narrative. In verse 14 the elders were now clearly in the camp. Thus this is after the elders have left the mount and returned to the camp.
Now that the covenant feast was over the solemn presentation of the covenant by the Lord, written by His own hand, would take place. Moses was called up to receive it solemnly from the hand of the Lord. ‘And be there’ suggests that he would be there for some time if you notice in the words -‘Come up to me into the Mount and be there.’
The tablets of stone contained the instruction and the commandment. God’s covenant both guides and commands that He personally wrote down on stone. We may possibly see here the distinction between the judgments (instruction) and the words (commandments) of Yahweh.
The tables of stone signified permanence. The writing of God stressed His personal involvement in the matter. They were written ‘with the finger of God’, that finger which had worked so powerfully in Egypt (8.19).
It was to be Moses’ solemn responsibility to ensure that the words and judgments of our Holy Father God Yahweh were made known to the people constantly.
13 So Moses arose with his assistant Joshua, and Moses went up to the mountain of God. 14 And he said to the elders, “Wait here for us until we come back to you. Indeed, Aaron and Hur are with you. If any man has a difficulty, let him go to them.” 15 Then Moses went up into the mountain, and a cloud covered the mountain.
In full obedience to his Lord Moses went up into the Mount taking with him Joshua, his ‘servant’. That Joshua does go is brought out in that Moses says ‘us’. Joshua has clearly been selected out to be groomed for the future. ‘The servant of Moses’ is now Joshua’s official and prestigious title.
Moses’ told the elders ‘You wait here.’ They were to wait at the bottom of the mountain and not go any higher. They were in fact to continue with their responsibility of judging the people, with Aaron and Hur designated as chief judges.
Moses did not know how long he would be and thus made provision for the judging of the people until he returned.
16 Now the glory of the LORD rested on Mount Sinai, and the cloud covered it six days. And on the seventh day He called to Moses out of the midst of the cloud. 17 The sight of the glory of the LORD was like a consuming fire on the top of the mountain in the eyes of the children of Israel. 18 So Moses went into the midst of the cloud and went up into the mountain. And Moses was on the mountain forty days and forty nights.
Moses did not go directly into the presence of Yahweh. He had to wait to be called. This period of waiting was probably in order to indicate that Moses had to be prepared before he could enter into God’s presence. Periods of waiting are often prescribed later as a part of the cleansing process. The waiting is for seven days. His cleansing is divinely perfect. Then he could be called and enter the cloud.
Can you just imagine being in the crowd watching all the glory of the Lord being displayed. In addition what was it like watch and Joshua up there with God.
We read ‘And Moses entered into the midst of the cloud and went up into the Mount.’ The ascent has taken place in stages; Going up with Joshua, and then leaving him at a lower spot and then going further up, and now the final ascent to come into the very presence of God.
Forty days and forty nights’ was regularly a significant period when men of God waited on God at special moments in history (Moses - Exodus 24.18; and Elijah - 1 Kings 19.8;). The mention of both days and nights shows the intensity of the experience. It was unceasing.
So Moses spent ‘forty days and forty nights’ with God. And Joshua was in the Mount with him. Here he would receive the tables of stone written with the finger of God, the final sealing of the covenant that Yahweh had made with His people. The Great Lord God will hand over to His people His version of the finalized covenant. He will then establish His throne (the Ark of the Covenant) and His dwelling-place (the Tabernacle), both portable, among them. Details of this are given in the next chapter.
What significance has this covenant ceremony for us? It reminds us that we too have entered into solemn covenant with God when we became Christians. We too are solemnly bound by the covenant in His blood, a covenant enunciated for us in Hebrews 8.7-13 which has replaced the old by adding to it and improving it, for the old had been marred by misinterpretation and misuse. For the old covenant had come to have a different meaning and significance because of its misinterpretation. Thus it had to be replaced by a better covenant.
