Exodus 24:7  And he took the book of the covenant, and read in the audience of the people: and they said, All that the LORD hath said will we do, and be obedient.
8  And Moses took the blood, and sprinkled it on the people, and said, Behold the blood of the covenant, which the LORD hath made with you concerning all these words.
9  Then went up Moses, and 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 a sapphire stone, and as it were the body of heaven in his clearness.
11  And upon the nobles of the children of Israel he laid not his hand: also they saw God, and did eat and drink.
12  And the LORD said unto Moses, Come up to me into the mount, and be there: and I will give thee tables of stone, and a law, and commandments which I have written; that thou mayest teach them.
13  And Moses rose up, and his minister Joshua: and Moses went up into the mount of God.
14  And he said unto the elders, Tarry ye here for us, until we come again unto you: and, behold, Aaron and Hur are with you: if any man have any matters to do, let him come unto them.
15  And Moses went up into the mount, and a cloud covered the mount.

Once again, God directed Moses to remind the people of the LORD’s commands. This time he read the words from the book of the covenant which he had just made. Moses showed the people there was now a written record of the things he had spoken to them earlier. No one would be able to argue that they did not know the law.
Once again the people promised to do all that the LORD had commanded. They added that they would be obedient. Words have meaning. The people were committing themselves to follow God’s law. The problem is that man is not capable of keeping God’s law unless his heart is first of all changed by God. That was the problem for the people. The majority did not want their hearts changed by God.
In verse 8 we see God further teaching the people the significance of the blood. In the Old Testament God chose certain animals and used their blood as a token of significance of His law. The blood was the seal that this covenant was given by God and accepted by the people. God referenced this in the book of Hebrews. The people were committed to obeying this law. Moses drew attention to the importance of what had just taken place here. The people needed to understand that their words were recorded and God would hold them to account on their promise. They could not get away with a flippant attitude toward God’s law. God has no idle words. He expects His people to understand they too cannot have idle words.
In verse 9 we read that Moses took Aaron, Nadab, Abihu, and the seventy elders with him. They saw the glory of God to a degree. They saw under His feet a paved work that looked like sapphire stone. God was giving them a vision of the body of heaven in his clearness. What these men saw may have been similar to what John was told to write in Revelation 4:6. We know that God told Moses that no man can see God and live. The Bible also tells us that God is Spirit. It is possible that what these men saw at that time was a “Christophany” which is a pre-incarnate view of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Whatever it was they saw, God showed them His glory. He was impressing upon them the importance of seeing His greatness. There is none like the true God. They had left the paganism of Egypt behind them. They needed to understand that there is none like the true God.
Today, we do not need a vision of these events. We have the finished, written Word of God. We can see the greatness and glory of God by faith in God.
In verse 11 we read that God did not punish these men for what they had seen. He showed the vision to them. Why would He then punish them for that? We read that the men were not overcome with fear of what they saw. They ate and they drank in the presence of the LORD. God gave them a peace in the midst of the holiness of this environment. God requires reverence of His people, but He also wants man to be able to function in the midst of that holiness. This was not party time, but rather a picture of the fellowship that God wants us to know in His presence.
In verse 12 we read that the LORD now invited Moses to come up closer to Him in the mount. God was about to give him the two tables with the law and the commandments written on them. It was God that had written these laws on those two tables. There was no question as to the accuracy of this law. It was written in stone because it could not be altered.
God’s Word is important for man. Many have disregarded God’s law and they have chosen to corrupt it. I listened to a false teacher complaining that too often we are preoccupied with things like which version of the Scriptures we will use. He suggested that this was a minor issue and that we should be coming together in unity. What he ignored is that with the many perversions we actually have a similar situation to the confounding of the languages in Genesis 11. The people could not communicate, and they scattered. That is what is happening with the perversions. People cannot communicate and thus we have the multiplicity of religions. They all claim to love the Lord and they claim to be walking in obedience with Him. However, they have rejected doctrine and thus there are only a few choice writings they use and the rest is ignored.
This same false teacher was trying to explain replacement theology but because of his ecumenism, he failed to be able to do so. He referenced Hitler in his discussion. Hitler believed in replacement theology. He was encouraged by the Catholics and the Muslims to believe that the “white race” was superior to the other people and that the Jews in particular needed to be wiped out. The Catholics believe that, because they claim the promises that were made to Israel have been transferred over to them. This is heresy, but they believe it. Today, Catholics use deception to try to suggest they are friends of the Jews, but they are not.
Moses was given the commandments written in stone for the purpose of teaching the people. He could not chisel some other words into those stones. He could not change any letters in those stones. These were written by God and Moses’ duty was to teach them.
God’s law is not complicated. It is to be taught in Its purity. Man needs to know the Truth. Most people today take great offence to the Truth. They are not interested in what God has to say. They want to manufacture their own truth. In fact, they not only want to, but they have manufactured their own truth.
We see in verse 13 that Moses took Joshua, his minister, with him as he went up into the mount. God was preparing Joshua for the future. He may not have known that at the time, but God knew what He was doing.
The elders needed to remain behind and wait. Waiting is important. Waiting on the LORD is never a waste of time. While waiting, God always has something important for us to do. Moses had already given commandments and a written law to the people. They could meditate upon that as they waited.
Moses reminded the people that Aaron and Hur would be there with the people. Hur had been mentioned earlier in Exodus 17. He had assisted Moses in the mount as the people fought against the Amalekites.
The people needed to be reminded of who was in charge. God appointed certain men, fallible men, but He chose them to be the ones they could go to with any questions they would have. Those men were accountable to God.
We need to understand that today as well. Any man that sets himself up as a spiritual leader should consider carefully what they are doing. False teachers are not respected by God. He will hold them accountable for what they teach. God still chooses and ordains His men for our time. He does not ordain women. God will also show those who are listening to Him, who His men are. God’s Word is the authority by which we can know who the true men of God are.
In verse 15 we see the special place that God provided for Moses. The rest of the people could not enter into this special place. It was only for God’s chosen man. We will see later on that some of the people were jealous of Moses’ special place with God. It did not go well with them to be jealous of God’s choice. God knew what He was doing.
We read here that the cloud covered the mount. This was a new experience for Moses, but he had been prepared for this by other events that God had already given him. God provided for this intimate relationship between Himself and Moses. It was special.
Later, God would provide the holiest place for His high priest to go into once a year. In the New Testament, He sent His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ as the fulfillment of all the typology that was in the Old Testament. Jesus Christ took Peter, James, and John up into the mount of the Transfiguration and a cloud covered them there. They were given a special privilege there. With that privilege came responsibility as well.
Today we, those who are truly born again, await the Lord’s return in the clouds. In the meantime we have His written Word. We do not need any special experience. There are people who claim they have had some special experience. The wise person will run from such claims. We have the written Word of God. Everything God wants us to know is found in that Word. He gives His Holy Spirit to all who are born again. He chooses His human leaders and calls them Pastors. They are to be humble servants of His who will teach His Word. Personal opinions don’t matter. People need to be taught the significance of believing the Word of God and holding that Word in a special place. His blessing is reserved for those who will honour Him.
Pastor Bartel