The Second Book of Moses, called Exodus
Exodus 24
Chapter XXIV · Vol. I, p. 335
1 Moses is called up into the mountain. 3 The people promise obedience. 4 Moses buildeth an altar, and twelve pillars. 6 He sprinkleth the blood of the covenant. 9 The glory of God appeareth. 14 Aaron and Hur have the charge of the people. 15 Moses goeth into the mount, where he continueth forty days and forty nights.
1 AND he said unto Moses, a Come up unto the LORD, thou, and Aaron, Nadab, and Abihu, and b seventy of the elders of Israel; and worship ye afar off.
a ch. 3.5; 19.9,24; 20.19;28. 1. Nu. 11.16,17, with Ge. 46.27.
b See ch. 1.5; 3.16;12.21;17.5; 18.12;19.7. Ge. 46.27. Nu. 11.25. De. 31.28.
2 And c Moses alone shall come near the LORD: but they shall not come nigh; neither shall the people go up with him.
c ver. 9,10,18. Nu. 12.8. De. 34.10. ch. 19.20. Ga. 3.19,20. 1 Ti. 2.5. Je. 30.21.
3 And Moses came and told the people alld the words of the LORD, and all the judgments: and all the people answered with one voice, and said, e All the words which the LORD hath said will we do.
d Eze. 3.17. Ac. 20.27. 1 Co. 4.2.
e ver. 7; ch. 19.8. De. 5.27. Mat. 19.16. Ac. 2.37. Ro. 10.2,3.
4 And Moses f wrote all the words of the LORD, and g rose up early in the morning, and buildedh an altar under the hill, and twelve pillars, according to the twelve tribes of Israel.
5 And he sent i young men of the children of Israel, which offered k burnt-offerings, and sacrificed peace-offerings of oxen unto the LORD.
i Priests, ch. 19.22, 24.
k Le. i. iii. Nu. 7.15, 17;xxviii.xxix.
6 And Moses l took half of the blood, and put it in basons; and half of the blood he sprinkled m on the altar.
l ch. 12.7, 22. Col. 1.20.
m ch. 29.16-20, 37. Le. 1.5, 11;3.2, 8;4.6. Mat. 23.19. He. 13.9. Re. 6.9.
7 And he took the book of the covenant, and read in the audience of the people: and they said, n All that the LORD hath said will we do, and be obedient.
n See ver. 3.
8 And Moses took the o blood, and sprinkled it on the people, and said, Behold p the blood of the covenant, which the LORD hath made with you concerning all these words.
o In the bason, ver. 6.
p He. 9.18-23; 13.20. Mat. 26.28. 1 Pe. 1.2. Ep. 1.7; 2.16. Col. 1.14. 1 Jn. 1.7;4.9,10;2.2.
10 And they saw the r 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.
r A token of his presence, Jn. 1.18. 1 Ti. 6.16. De. 4.15. Eze. 1.4-28;x. Jn. 1.14.
11 And upon the s nobles1 of the children of Israel he t laid not his hand: also u they saw God, and x did eat and drink.
s Elders, ver. 1,9.
1 The nobles of Israel were the fittest witnesses of the evidences of the divine mission of Moses, as, from their rank, they were least under his influence, and from their education, the most competent judges. God laid not his hand upon them now, though, had they so much as touched the mount formerly, ch. 19.12, they must have been put to death. But now they are safe, for now they have been called. The nobles are the typical representatives of those who are truly ennobled by being called to be 'sons of God.' Such a noble may be the poorest, who is yet rich in faith, and an heir of the kingdom of Jesus. And such a poor man may be the noblest who has learned, like the elders in the vision, Re. 4.10, to cast their crowns at the feet of the Lamb, and worship, not the world, but him that liveth for ever and ever.—C.
t Ne. 13.21. Ps. 55.20; 138.7.
u Ge. 32.30;16.13. ch. 33.20. De. 4.33. Ju. 13.23.
x Lu. 22.30. ver. 5. ch. 18.12.
12 And the LORD said unto Moses, Come up to me into the mount, and be there; and I y will give thee tables of stone, and a law, and commandments which I have written; that thou mayest teach them.
y Ps. 147.19,20. Ro. 9.4. ch. 31.18;32.16. De. 9.10. 2 Co. 3.3. Je. 31.33.
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.
16 And the b glory of the LORD abode upon mount Sinai, and the cloud covered it six days: and c the seventh day he called unto Moses out of the midst of the cloud.
17 And the sight of the glory of the LORD was like d devouring fire on the top of the mount, in the eyes of the children of Israel.
18 And Moses went into the midst of the cloud, and gat him up into the mount: and e Moses was in the mount forty days and forty nights.2
e ch. 34.28. De. 9.9, 18,25. 1 Ki. 19.8. Mat. 4.2. Ac. 1.3.
2 It is stated in ch. 34.25 that during the whole of this time Moses neither ate nor drank. The event was typical of our Lord's fast and sojourn in the wilderness.—P.
Notes
Ver. 4. The altar represented God the chief party in the covenant, and the twelve stony pillars the tribes of Israel, as having hard and stony hearts.
Ver. 6-8. The sprinkling of the blood on the altar, the book, the young men, the elders, and the pillars which represented the people, denoted the satisfaction of God's perfections, the fulfilment of the broken law, and the purification of men's consciences by the blood of Jesus. Hence, in ver. 9, 10, God, perhaps in human shape, appears as smiling on them; and they, with comfort and safety, feast in his presence.
Ver. 10. [Body of heaven in his clearness. It is only in the unclouded skies of the countries within or approaching the tropics, that the power of this expression can be fully appreciated. C.]
Ver. 12. [The ten commandments had already been spoken by the voice of Jehovah from Sinai; but no authentic copy of them had yet been given to Moses. It was for the purpose of giving him an authentic copy that the Lord now summoned Moses to the mount. P.]
Ver. 16. In these six days Moses is prepared to receive new commandments, as the people were in three days prepared for hearing the law.
Reflections.—One instance of fellowship with God insures and prepares for another more remarkable, while believers are allowed to come even to his seat—for this purpose his oracles are revealed and his ordinances dispensed to us. But how many rashly consent to God's word, and resolve on duty, who in the issue prove very unsteadfast! Let me then bless the Lord that our testament is made with all the true, however unworthy in themselves; and that it is a new testament in Christ's blood. His finished atonement hath glorified his Father's compassion to the highest; hath magnified the law; and pacifies and purges our conscience from dead works. By these means I am determined to receive his words into my heart as indeed the word of God, since I am allowed the clear and amiable displays of a reconciled God, while in his presence I feast on the flesh and blood of his Son. But behold, likewise, how my Redeemer, having fulfilled the law, and by himself purged away our sins, ascends into the hill of God, sits down on the right hand of the Majesty in the heavens, and thence, in due time, he will return without sin unto salvation.