And They Saw the God of Israel

For about five years or so now I have been making it a practice to read through the Bible each year. While reading through Exodus this month I came across something I had not really noticed before. In chapter 20, God gave Moses and the people the Ten Commandments. The people knew right then that, first of all, they were to have no other gods before the LORD God who brought them out of Egypt. Nor were they to make graven images to bow down and serve them. After hearing all the Ten Commandments, and seeing the thunderings and lighting flashes, the sound of the trumpet, and seeing the mountain smoking as God spoke to them, they trembled, stood afar off and said to Moses, “You speak with us, and we will hear; but let not God speak with us, lest we die.”

So, now the people have seen all the plagues God sent while they were still in Egypt when Pharaoh would not let them go, they saw the miraculous way He spared their firstborn sons when the blood of the lamb was placed on their doorposts, they saw the Red Sea open up before them and they walked through on dry land, they saw how God destroyed those from Pharaoh’s army who were following after them when the Red Sea came crashing down on them after the children of Israel had crossed over safely. They had also, at this point, seen the bitter waters turned sweet, manna from heaven, water from a rock, and victory from the Amalekites. And now they were seeing these manifestations on the mountain as God came down to give them the Law. And for several chapters it is recorded how God gave them His Law. Pretty amazing stuff so far.

Then we get to chapter 24. I’ve got to put quite a few verses here to get at the thing I noticed, so here is Exodus 24:1-11(the bold is my emphasis):

“Now He said to Moses, ‘Come up to the LORD, you and Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel, and worship from afar. And Moses alone shall come near the LORD, but they shall not come near; nor shall the people go up with him.’

So 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 has said we will do.’ And Moses wrote all the words of the LORD. And he rose early in the morning, and built an altar at the foot of the mountain, and twelve pillars according to the twelve tribes of Israel. Then he sent young men of the children of Israel, who offered burnt offerings and sacrificed peace offerings of oxen to the LORD. And Moses took half the blood and put it in basins, and half the blood he sprinkled on the altar. Then he took the Book of the Covenant and read in the hearing of the people. And they said, ‘all that the LORD has said we will do, and be obedient.’ And Moses took the blood, sprinkled it on the people, and said, ‘This is the blood of the covenant which the LORD has made with you according to all these words.’

Then Moses went up, also Aaron, Nadab, and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel, and they saw the God of Israel. And there was under His feet as it were a paved work of sapphire stone, and it was like the very heavens in its clarity. But on the nobles of the children of Israel He did not lay His hand. So they saw God, and they ate and drank.”

When I read this a couple of days ago, I did a double take. I don’t know how I have missed this, but, these men, the 70 elders and Aaron and Nadab and Abihu, SAW GOD. And they were not consumed instantly. Now, it only describes under His feet, so I wonder if maybe they only saw His feet or they were so full of awe that they couldn’t lift their eyes higher, but I suppose we shouldn’t speculate too much and just take what the Word says, but they saw God.

The reason I did a double take was that as soon as I read that, I thought, “Wait a minute. Did I sleep through the golden calf episode? Surely they wouldn’t have made an idol after seeing God, would they?” So, I flipped ahead a few chapters and saw that, no, I had not slept through the golden calf incident. It happens later. After they have seen God. Does that strike anyone else as just hard to get your brain around?

Here’s the thing. I get that the people had seen Moses go up on that mountain while those men came back down, and I get that they saw him go into that awesome, fearful, amazing glory cloud of God that was like a consuming fire, and I get that Moses was gone a long time – 40 days. So, I understand how the people could be getting antsy wondering if Moses had been consumed and if he were coming back.

But the amazing thing to me is that their first response was to build an idol. Their first response was to forsake God. Even if Moses had been consumed, they had still accepted the law that said that the LORD was their God. The elders of the people had seen God! They had heard that there was to be no bowing down to carved images and that the LORD was to be their God, they were to have no other. The people had agreed to this. And Aaron was right there with them, giving them what they asked for. He didn’t even argue with them, but went on to make it happen! And he had seen God! Was the culture of Egypt still so much a part of their thinking that there was no other response for them than to seek out other gods immediately?

Now, I know that the full plan of redemption had not yet been revealed to those people. I know that I am a benefactor of the fact that God willed to make known what are the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles: which is “Christ in you, the hope of glory!” (Colossians 1:27) My hope and faith and trust are in the righteousness of Christ and His blood shed for me on the cross, where He bore the penalty of my sin, and in His resurrection.

I cannot help thinking that some questions I find I must ask myself are these:

Where are my affections placed?

Do I seek to love the LORD my God with all my heart, with all my soul, with all my mind?

Is my thinking so clouded by the things the world values and the attitudes the world exalts that my love and desire for Jesus do not burn as hot as it should and my witness for Him is dimmed?

Is the culture I live in still so much a part of me that it infects my thinking and my first response?

How much of my thinking and how many of my decisions are based on the worldviews I’ve picked up along the way instead of informed by a worldview that seeks first God’s righteousness?

How many of my first responses to situations are not grounded in a firm understanding of who God is and in a firm understanding of His word?

How often is my fear in trusting His sovereignty rooted in a faulty understanding of who He is, a faulty understanding of His character?

Do I truly trust Him to be who has said He is in His word?

Do I know His word well enough that it informs my very thinking?

Am I hiding His word in my heart, that I might not sin against Him?

Since I am in Christ, I must set my mind on the things above, not on the things of this world. I must be transformed by the renewing of my mind and seek to offer my life a living sacrifice and not be conformed to this world. Because my eyes have graciously been opened to see the truth, I have been freed to walk in it. I must walk in it.

Oh, Lord Jesus, give me eyes to see where my own thinking is not in line with the plumb line of Your word. Thank You for giving us Your word. Thank You for a Bible to read and learn and study and know that through it I may know You and love You. Thank You for sending Your Holy Spirit to teach us and comfort us as we seek to honor Your word and obey You and delight in You alone. Let my first response always be to seek Your glory. To whom much is given, much will be required. I have been given so much, Lord, help me to be faithful to live a life worthy of Christ Jesus!