Exodus 24:9-18 - In the Presence of God
Notes
Transcript
9 Then Moses and Aaron, Nadab, and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel went up, 10 and they saw the God of Israel. There was under his feet as it were a pavement of sapphire stone, like the very heaven for clearness. 11 And he did not lay his hand on the chief men of the people of Israel; they beheld God, and ate and drank. 12 The Lord said to Moses, “Come up to me on the mountain and wait there, that I may give you the tablets of stone, with the law and the commandment, which I have written for their instruction.” 13 So Moses rose with his assistant Joshua, and Moses went up into the mountain of God. 14 And he said to the elders, “Wait here for us until we return to you. And behold, Aaron and Hur are with you. Whoever has a dispute, let him go to them.” 15 Then Moses went up on the mountain, and the cloud covered the mountain. 16 The glory of the Lord dwelt 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 Now the appearance of the glory of the Lord was like a devouring fire on the top of the mountain in the sight of the people of Israel. 18 Moses entered the cloud and went up on the mountain. And Moses was on the mountain forty days and forty nights.
Introduction
Introduction
A scene described by AW Pink as the “Old Testament Mount of Transfiguration.”
1 And after six days Jesus took with him Peter and James, and John his brother, and led them up a high mountain by themselves. 2 And he was transfigured before them, and his face shone like the sun, and his clothes became white as light. 3 And behold, there appeared to them Moses and Elijah, talking with him. 4 And Peter said to Jesus, “Lord, it is good that we are here. If you wish, I will make three tents here, one for you and one for Moses and one for Elijah.” 5 He was still speaking when, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them, and a voice from the cloud said, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to him.”
Similarities
Six days (16)
High mountain, cloud covering, voice from the cloud, reflection of God’s glory by central figure (radiate) , response of fear.
Seeing God (10)
Seeing God (10)
Exodus 24:10 “and they saw the God of Israel. There was under his feet as it were a pavement of sapphire stone, like the very heaven for clearness.”
lapis lazuli, a precious blue stone
No description of what they saw of God
What did Moses see?
In chapter 33 Moses asks to see God (as though he has not yet).
18 Moses said, “Please show me your glory.” 19 And he said, “I will make all my goodness pass before you and will proclaim before you my name ‘The Lord.’ And I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will show mercy on whom I will show mercy. 20 But,” he said, “you cannot see my face, for man shall not see me and live.” 21 And the Lord said, “Behold, there is a place by me where you shall stand on the rock, 22 and while my glory passes by I will put you in a cleft of the rock, and I will cover you with my hand until I have passed by. 23 Then I will take away my hand, and you shall see my back, but my face shall not be seen.”
A visible manifestation without seeing His full glory.
The form of Yahweh
Numbers 12:8 “With him I speak mouth to mouth, clearly, and not in riddles, and he beholds the form of the Lord. Why then were you not afraid to speak against my servant Moses?””
A Theophany
Christ? Yahweh is not used, rather Elohim (10, 11)
Or the glory of Yahweh (16, 17)
We cannot see God the Father, or touch Him.
Our senses cannot apprehend Him.
He is beyond us.
John 1:18 “No one has ever seen God; the only God, who is at the Father’s side, he has made him known.”
1 Tim 6:16 “who alone has immortality, who dwells in unapproachable light, whom no one has ever seen or can see. To him be honor and eternal dominion. Amen.”
1 John 4:12 “No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God abides in us and his love is perfected in us.”
Later they are not to make a carved image because they saw no form at this encounter.
Dt 4:15 “Therefore watch yourselves very carefully. Since you saw no form on the day that the Lord spoke to you at Horeb out of the midst of the fire,”
Moses saw by faith
Heb 11:27 “By faith he left Egypt, not being afraid of the anger of the king, for he endured as seeing him who is invisible.”
Feasting with God
Ex 24:11 “they beheld God, and ate and drank.”
Covenant meal
Mt 26:28 “for this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.”
Moses entered the cloud
Dwelt their in the midst of God’s glory 40 days
Fasting from food and water.
Moses experience transformed him
Exodus 34:29-30 “When Moses came down from Mount Sinai, with the two tablets of the testimony in his hand as he came down from the mountain, Moses did not know that the skin of his face shone because he had been talking with God. 30 Aaron and all the people of Israel saw Moses, and behold, the skin of his face shone, and they were afraid to come near him.”
He yearns for it again.
Exodus 33:18 “18 Moses said, “Please show me your glory.””
Joins Christ in the transfiguration.
Seeing Christ
Seeing Christ
We see God in Christ
John 1:18 “No one has ever seen God; the only God, who is at the Father’s side, he has made him known.”
John 14:9 “Jesus said to him, “Have I been with you so long, and you still do not know me, Philip? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’?”
New Testament understanding of our passage:
3 And you show that you are a letter from Christ delivered by us, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts. 4 Such is the confidence that we have through Christ toward God. 5 Not that we are sufficient in ourselves to claim anything as coming from us, but our sufficiency is from God, 6 who has made us sufficient to be ministers of a new covenant, not of the letter but of the Spirit. For the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life. 7 Now if the ministry of death, carved in letters on stone, came with such glory that the Israelites could not gaze at Moses’ face because of its glory, which was being brought to an end, 8 will not the ministry of the Spirit have even more glory? 9 For if there was glory in the ministry of condemnation, the ministry of righteousness must far exceed it in glory. 10 Indeed, in this case, what once had glory has come to have no glory at all, because of the glory that surpasses it. 11 For if what was being brought to an end came with glory, much more will what is permanent have glory. 12 Since we have such a hope, we are very bold, 13 not like Moses, who would put a veil over his face so that the Israelites might not gaze at the outcome of what was being brought to an end. 14 But their minds were hardened. For to this day, when they read the old covenant, that same veil remains unlifted, because only through Christ is it taken away. 15 Yes, to this day whenever Moses is read a veil lies over their hearts. 16 But when one turns to the Lord, the veil is removed. 17 Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. 18 And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit.
E. Dennett, “We approach boldly, and with delight gaze upon the glory, because every ray we behold in the face of Christ glorified is a proof of the fact that our sins are put away, and that redemption is accomplished”
Greater glory for us (8-9, 11)
Salvation is to have the veil removed and behold the glory of God (16)
As we look upon Christ we are being transformed into His image (18, sanctification)
One degree of glory - it was glory that the Israelites looked upon.
Glorification - a greater degree of glory.
This a work of the Spirit
Application
Application
Safe in the presence of God
Through the sacrifices.
Christians are safe in Christ.
Worship: To be transformed in the presence of God
To “see” the glory of God.
What does God’s presence look like today? In your life?
Entrance into the veil and communion with God through union with Christ
One day Christians will enter to his presence for all eternity.
1 John 3:2 “Beloved, we are God’s children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is.”
Feast:
Tim Chester writes:
Exodus for You Covenant Confirmation
This is salvation: to eat in the presence of God (as we also saw in Exodus 18:12). This is what we are looking forward to. At the Last Supper Jesus said, “I tell you, I will not eat it again until it finds fulfilment in the kingdom of God” (Luke 22:16). Salvation is described as a perpetual feast with God, and every time we celebrate communion, we look back to the shed blood of Christ, which reconciles us to God; and therefore we are able to look forward to the eternal meal which embodies that reconciliation, enjoyed in the full and glorious presence of God. We will not stand at a distance—we will sit with him.
Matt 8:11 “I tell you, many will come from east and west and recline at table with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven,”
Rev 19:9 “And the angel said to me, “Write this: Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb.”
1 Cor 2:9 “What no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man imagined, what God has prepared for those who love him”
God, today, is calling us into His presence through the blood of Christ.
There were many in Israel who never entered His presence.
There were a few who saw Him in His glory.
There was one who entered into the cloud.
Closing Hymn: 529 Love Divine, All Loves Excelling
Benediction: We all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another