Exodus 24:1-18
24:1 Moses and Aaron, Aaron's two oldest sons, Nadab and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of the children of Israel are summoned by God to worship from afar. Nadab name meaning: generous, giving. Abihu name meaning: he is my father.
24:2 Moses himself is called up to further to come near God.
24:3 Moses follows God's instructions and passes them on to the people involved. This is how they answer: "All the words which the Lord has said we will do." How many times in your life, in your daily life, do you answer in the same way? The more times you answer that way, the more your life will abound.
24:4 Moses writes all the words the Lord gives him. He rises early in the morning, builds an altar from which to worship God at the base of the mountain, and constructs twelve pillars. Each pillar represents a tribe of the children of Israel/Jacob.
24:5-6 The altar is opened for people to come and worship and meditate on the Lord.
24:7 Moses reads the Book of the Covenant, filled with all of God's guidelines for living a compassionate life to all of the people. They respond: "All that the Lord has said we will do, and be obedient." They do not fear God, they trust Him. It is so easy for them to profess their obedience to Him because they know that He is good. Here is the blessed reward we receive from obeying Him:
Psalm 121
1 I lift up my eyes to the mountains—
where does my help come from?
2 My help comes from the Lord,
the Maker of heaven and earth.
3 He will not let your foot slip—
he who watches over you will not slumber;
4 indeed, he who watches over Israel
will neither slumber nor sleep.
5 The Lord watches over you—
the Lord is your shade at your right hand;
6 the sun will not harm you by day,
nor the moon by night.
7 The Lord will keep you from all harm—
he will watch over your life;
8 the Lord will watch over your coming and going both now and forevermore.
24:8 Moses makes official the covenant between God and the children of Israel regarding His commandments.
24:9-10 Moses, Aaron, Nadab, Abihu and the children of Israel climb the mountain and see God manifested before them. Our universal God is able to manifest in beautiful ways, here, under His feet is the view of the universe. That might be nearly impossible for us to understand. What we can garner from this verse is that our God is magnificent and present.
24:11 The elders of the children of Israel do not receive direct, personal communication with God as Moses does, but they were able to witness His presence. Our intimate relationship with God is a direct blessing of fully presenting ourselves to Him. It is a direct benefit of loving Him and enabled Him to fuel our souls with His own love.
24:12 Moses is directed by the God to climb the mountain and receive tablets of stone on which to write the law and commandments from God on... so that he may teach them. Receiving God's word is the first step, after that, we have this blessed opportunity and responsibility of putting it out into the world. Through our behavior and actions, words and thoughts.
24:13 Moses follows God's command and ascends with his assistant, Joshua.
24:14 Moses tells the elders to remain and wait for them to return. Aaaron and Hur remain with them as guides. Realize what a community of God is being created! In this chapter alone we have been introduced, albeit briefly, to Aaron's sons and this man named Hur. Moses is the figurehead but surrounded him is a community of believers, all walking toward the same God. Our God. Many generations later, we are walking with them, toward Him, too.
24:15 Moses arrives at the place God directed: a high place, a secluded place. The perfect conditions under which to receive the Will of God. Quiet. Nature. Peace. Solemnity. Space for reflection and contemplation.
24:16 Moses remains on Mount Sinai for six days before God releases Him. Six days of meditation and then, on the seventh, God calls Moses out of the cloud.
24:17 The presence of God is described by the children of Israel in this way: "The sight of the glory of the Lord was like a consuming fire on the top of the mountain." God's fire provides warmth for His children. Warmth and power and Light.
24:18 Moses walks back into the cloud, into the presence and instruction of God and remains for forty days and forty nights. Moses is carrying out an elemental piece of God's plan. He's establishing a covenant that will last until the culmination of the earth. God prepares Him. Allow Him to prepare you for your own purpose here.
