EXODUS LESSON 42

     We will begin this lesson in Exodus 24:1 "And he said unto Moses,
Come up unto the LORD, thou, and Aaron, Nadab, and Abihu, and seventy
of the elders of Israel; and worship ye afar off."

     We see that God has allowed actually seventy-two, counting
Nadab and Abihu, to represent the twelve tribes of Israel. Moses and
Aaron were to stand above these seventy-two, and only Moses would be
allowed to go very close to the top of the mountain where God was.
This seventy and the two eldest sons of Aaron would be allowed to go
up this mountain, but not to the top. Seventy is 7 times 10. The
number ten has to do with world government, and seven has to do with
spiritual completeness. I believe this number was chosen to show that
they were like government heads to represent their group to God. the
two were allowed, because they were the next in line for priesthood
through Aaron.

     Exodus 24:2 "And Moses alone shall come near the LORD: but they
shall not come nigh; neither shall the people go up with him."

     This was very similar to the priest and their high priest. No one,
except the high priest would be allowed to go into the Holy of Holies.
The priest could go into the tabernacle, but not into the most holy
place. It was a very dangerous thing to get too close to the presence
of God. Moses (the most spiritual of this group) was the only one
allowed this close to God.

     Exodus 24:3  "And 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 hath said will we do."

     This was a detailed explanation of the commandments of the Lord.
Each was explained, so that all could understand. These people would be
without excuse, if they did not follow God's directions that He had
given them. they all agreed to walk in the ways of God. Notice they
promised to do all of the things God commanded. Remember, they had
heard the voice of God earlier, as well.

     Exodus 24:4 "And Moses wrote all the words of the LORD, and rose
up early in the morning, and builded an altar under the hill, and
twelve pillars, according to the twelve tribes of Israel."

     These "...twelve pillars..." were symbolic of the covenant with
the twelve tribes of Israel, These twelve pillars represented the
agreement with God and these twelve tribes. this was similar to all
covenants must be sealed with a sacrifice. the "...altar..." was for
the sacrifice. Covenants were sealed with the shedding of blood.

     Exodus 24:5 "And he sent young men of the children of Israel,
which offered burnt offerings, and sacrificed peace offerings of oxen
unto the LORD." Exodus 24:6 "And Moses took half of the blood, and put
[it] in basins; and half of the blood he sprinkled on the altar."

     This "sprinkling of the blood" was to seal the agreement between
God and the people. These young men were, probably, chosen for their
strength in catching and killing the animals for sacrifice. The "burnt
offering" symbolized total commitment to God. It was to be totally
burned up. the peace offering symbolized living in grace and peace.

     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."

     This "...book..." was the book of the law that Moses had written.
He read this aloud to the people, so they would completely understand.
They, of their own free will and accord, agreed to be obedient to God
and His law. they were without excuse, if they failed to do this.

     Exodus 24:8 "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."

     This "sprinkling of the blood" on the people was saying, that God
had accepted the covenant, and that these were His people, Even now with
Christians, the thing that saves us from Satan, is the covering of the
blood of Jesus. The thing that defeated Satan was the shed blood of the
Lamb, Jesus Christ.

     Exodus 24:9  "Then went up Moses, and Aaron, Nadab, and Abihu,
and seventy of the elders of Israel:" Exodus 24:10 "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."

     The sacrificial meal followed the sacrifice of the animals to God.
Moses, Aaron, Nadab, Abihu, and the seventy elders chosen of God did
as God said, and went up the mountain of God for the sacrificial meal.
As they were eating this meal, God revealed Himself to them.  His face,
probably, was not revealed, because you cannot look upon the face of
God and live. Exodus 33:20 "And he said, Thou canst not see my face:
for there shall no man see me, and live." I really believe what these
seventy-four people saw was a presence of God. There, perhaps, was
such a brightness around Him, that they really did not see His face.
This clearness allowed them to see His heavenly source.  A sapphire is
a blue stone.  It was as if He were standing in the heavenly. At any
rate, they were aware of His presence.

     Exodus 24:11 "And upon the nobles of the children of Israel he
laid not his hand: also they saw God, and did eat and drink."

     As we said before, this feast was the end of the sacrifice and
covenant. This was just saying, that God didn't kill the seventy-four
who saw His presence.

     Exodus 24:12  "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."

     Moses, undoubtedly, had gone back down the mountain after the
covenant feast with the seventy elders, Aaron, and his two sons.
Now, this was a different call for Moses to come up the mountain to meet
with God privately. God would give this written law to Moses, and Moses
was to come back and teach this law to the Children of Israel.  The Ten
Commandments (decalogue) were written in stone by God to show their
permanence. They were to endure from generation to generation.  These
laws were not made by man, but by God.

     Exodus 24:13 "And Moses rose up, and his minister Joshua: and
Moses went up into the mount of God."

     This was the first mention of Joshua as minister. this,
undoubtedly, meant that he was to help Moses. Moses obeyed the voice of
God, and went up the mountain to meet with God.

     Exodus 24:14 "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."

     Moses told the seventy elders, who represented the people, to wait
for him right there. Do not continue the journey, until he returned.
Moses left Aaron and Hur as the final word on decisions, until he returned.

     Exodus 24:15 "And Moses went up into the mount, and a cloud
covered the mount."

     God had been with them leading them in this very cloud on their
journey to the promised land. God was in the thick cloud to keep them
from seeing Him.

     Exodus 24:16 "And the glory of the LORD abode upon mount Sinai,
and the cloud covered it six days: and the seventh day he called unto
Moses out of the midst of the cloud."

     This "...six days..." here coincides with the six days in which
God created the earth. the seventh day was set aside as a day to
commune with God. this was just what happened here. This six days was
part of the forty days Moses fasted on This mountain. Moses left Joshua,
here, and went up by himself.

     Exodus 24:17 "And the sight of the glory of the LORD [was] like
devouring fire on the top of the mount in the eyes of the children of
Israel."

     This was saying, that all the people saw was a big fire and smoke
on the mountain top. As we have said before, God's appearance, many
times, is associated with fire. "For our God is a consuming fire."
Hebrews 12:29.

     Exodus 24:18 "And Moses went into the midst of the cloud, and gat
him up into the mount: and Moses was in the mount forty days and forty
nights."

     "Forty" means time of testing. Truly, this was a time of testing
for the children of Israel, and we will discover later on that they
failed the test. My own personal opinion about this time that Moses
spent in such close relation with God, was for God to fill Moses with the
information to write the first five books of the Bible, and to give him
all the commandments and ordinances. God, probably, explained their
usage in great detail, as well, to Moses. He also gave Moses the exact
plans for the building of the tabernacle in the wilderness. I personally believe that the reason Moses' head shone, when he came down the mountain
was because Moses had taken on the mind of Christ. God had filled his head
with knowledge of God. We will get into this further in another lesson.







































                          Exodus 42 Questions

1.  Who was Moses to bring with him on the mountain to worship afar
    off?
2.  Why does the author believe seventy elders were chosen?
3.  Why were Nadab and Abihu allowed to go?
4. Who alone was to come near the Lord?
5.  After God spoke with Moses, what did Moses tell the people?
6.  After God spoke with Moses, what did Moses tell the people?
7.  What did the people answer?
8.  What did Moses write?
9.  Why did he build twelve pillars?
10.  Who offered the burnt offerings?
11. What was the name of the other offering?
12. What did Moses do with half the blood?
13. What did the sprinkling of the blood indicate?
14. What did the burnt offering symbolize?
15. What did the peace offering symbolize?
16. Why did Moses read the book to the people?
17. What did Moses sprinkle on the people?
18. What did this symbolize?
19. What did verse 10 mean by "..they saw the God of Israel..."?
20. What makes the author believe they did not see His face?
21. What color is a sapphire?
22. Why did they eat and drink?
23. What did the Scripture "...and be there..." mean to Moses?
24. What would God give Moses on the mountain top?
25. Who was Moses' minister?
26. What instructions did Moses give the seventy elders?
27. Who was in charge while Moses was gone?
28. What covered the mount?
29. How many days did Moses wait on the mount until God called him
    into the cloud?
30. In the eyes of the children of Israel, what did the glory of God
    look like?
31. Quote Hebrews chapter 12 verse 29.
32. How many days was Moses in the mount?
33. What does this number symbolize?
34. Why does the author believe Moses talked to God for this long?