LIFE SCRIPTS

9 Moses and Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, and the seventy elders of Israel went up 10 and saw the God of Israel. Under his feet was something like a pavement made of lapis lazuli, as bright blue as the sky. 11 But God did not raise his hand against these leaders of the Israelites; they saw God, and they ate and drank. 12 The Lord said to Moses, “Come up to me on the mountain and stay here, and I will give you the tablets of stone with the law and commandments I have written for their instruction.” 13 Then Moses set out with Joshua his aide, and Moses went up on the mountain of God. 14 He said to the elders, “Wait here for us until we come back to you. Aaron and Hur are with you, and anyone involved in a dispute can go to them.” 15 When Moses went up on the mountain, the cloud covered it, 16 and the glory of the Lord settled on Mount Sinai. For six days the cloud covered the mountain, and on the seventh day the Lord called to Moses from within the cloud. 17 To the Israelites the glory of the Lord looked like a consuming fire on top of the mountain. 18 Then Moses entered the cloud as he went on up the mountain. And he stayed on the mountain forty days and forty nights.
Exodus 24:9‭-‬18 NIV

https://bible.com/bible/111/exo.24.9-18.NIV.

How awesome is God’s presence. So much so that the description given is simply out of this world. The elders beheld an image of God’s presence. Possibly they didn’t see God but beheld His presence…possibly the layout around His throne. It was a time to appreciate the God they worshipped. A time to connect Him to a physical experience they could relate to. Perhaps this episode gave them greater faith in a God who seems far and detached from them. They could now speak of Him to the others and testify of their encounter with Him. Much in the same way we encounter Christ and never remain the same. So the elders ate and fellowshipped at the foot of the mountain as Moses called out his protégé, Joshua for ascension. He left Aaron and Hur, the same people who had held his hand upwards to allow Israel prevail against Amalek. The men who stood by his side and supported him. So as he approached God’s presence, a thick cloud enveloped him. All the elders could see were lightning flashes and possibly sparks. God’s presence wasn’t just real…it was terrifying. Moses stayed at the top of the mountain 40 day’s and 40 nights communing with God. As verse 12 states, God had called Moses to hand to him the tablet containing the ten commandments. The law God had given to His people was to be written down for their remembrance. Not just spoken but written. Writing gives clarity to what’s spoken. Writing the thoughts brought by the Holy Spirit as we read God’s word gives us clarity about what He expects us to do. As Moses encountered God up the mountain, the Israelites saw God’s glory in a spectacular way below the mountain.