Journal Through the Bible: Week 14 Saturday

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Exodus 23:20-24:18

Then went up Moses, and Aaron, Nadab, and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel: And they saw the God of Israel: and there was under his feet as it were a paved work of a sapphire stone, and as it were the body of heaven in his clearness. And upon the nobles of the children of Israel he laid not his hand: also they saw God and did eat and drink.

Exodus 24:9-11

I find those to be some of the most awesome verses in the Bible! They saw their God and ate a meal in His presence!  :)

Does God make any promises in this passage?

• 23:20-23, 27-30 God promised to send an Angel to bring them into the place promised for them and that if they would obey this Angel's voice God would fight their battles for them and destroy the wicked nations that were living in the land by using weapons including fear of the Israelites and stinging insects like hornets
• 23:25-26,32-33 God promised that if they would only worship Him they would not lack for bread or water, health, a multitude of healthy livestock, or a long and full life
• 23:29-30 God promised not to make the land totally destitute of inhabitants all at once so that the wild animals would not overrun the area and threaten the Hebrews

Are there any references to Jesus?

• Jesus is that Angel sent to bring God's people into the appointed place promised to them. At that time He was leading the Hebrews to the land of Canaan. Jesus makes it clear in the New Testament that He is the One leading God's people - Christians - into the place He has prepared for them.
• The peace offering is symbolic of Jesus, the mediator between God and man. It was the blood of it sprinkled on the book of the covenant and the people that ratified the covenant between God and the descendants of Abraham. It is Jesus' blood that ratified the covenant that God made with all who would believe in Him. It is a blood-pact. When God looks upon me He sees the blood of Christ!
• The description of God given in this passage are repeated in the book of Revelation. He appears in bright light reminiscent of the rays of the whole light spectrum being refracted through a prism and forming a rainbow. This is not surprising since we are told that God is Light. The words used to describe the wondrous beauty of this pure light are woefully inadequate!

Are there any references to yet-future events?

• The nobles of Israel that saw their God and shared a meal reminds me of the coming Supper with our Savior that we read about in the Book of Revelation.
• The description of God here that is echoed in Revelation gives us just a glimpse of what our view of God will be like. I imagine that those who saw Him in this form, including the Apostle John many years after Moses, could barely scratch the surface when trying to describe Him and the magnificent jewel-like tones of color. It must have been like someone watching a black and white movie and having someone else with first-hand knowledge trying to describe just how beautiful the actors' lavish costumes really were.

Does God issue any commands?

• 23:21 God warned them to obey the Angel leading them to the land and not to provoke Him because such acts of disobedience would not be pardoned.
• 23:24-26 God warned them not to worship the gods they would find in the land
• 23:32-33 God warned them not to make any covenants with the inhabitants of the land
• 24:1-2 God invited Moses to come alone to the top of the mount but invited Aaron, Nadab, Abihu, and seventy of the representatives of the people to worship Him part of the way up the mountain