Exo 24:1-18  And the Sight of the Glory of the LORD was Like Devouring Fire

[Study Aired September 26, 2022]

Exo 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.
Exo 24:2  And Moses alone shall come near the LORD: but they shall not come nigh; neither shall the people go up with him.
Exo 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.
Exo 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.
Exo 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.
Exo 24:6  And Moses took half of the blood, and put it in basons; and half of the blood he sprinkled on the altar.
Exo 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.
Exo 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.
Exo 24:9  Then went up Moses, and Aaron, Nadab, and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel:
Exo 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.
Exo 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.
Exo 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.
Exo 24:13  And Moses rose up, and his minister Joshua: and Moses went up into the mount of God.
Exo 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.
Exo 24:15  And Moses went up into the mount, and a cloud covered the mount.
Exo 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.
Exo 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.
Exo 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.

Chapter 24 continues with the narration of the people of Israel’s encounter with the Lord at Mount Sinai. The chapter deals with the affirmation of the covenant the Lord made with them. It also shows us what the glory of the Lord is all about and how the glory of the Lord is hidden by the cloud. Our study today will therefore focus on the spiritual implication of the covenant the Lord made with the people of Israel. Through the sum of the Lord’s words, we shall come to understand what the cloud and the glory of the Lord signify.

Psa 119:160  The sum of your word is truth, and every one of your righteous rules endures forever. (ESV)

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

All the people mentioned here in these verses symbolize the elect. These verses show us the different phases of maturity as we walk with the Lord. As we can see, it was only Moses who could appear before the Lord. The rest of the people mentioned could only worship the Lord from afar. In the fullness of time, all these men mentioned also appeared before the Lord.

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

We all start our walk with the Lord from afar even though we have been earmarked as the Lord’s elect. That is why the Lord admonishes us to mature. To mature means getting to know Him intimately. This is exclusively reserved for the elect in this life. In the fullness of time, all humanity will also appear before the Lord and know Him. If we are to mature, then we need to have this mindset:

Php 3:15  Let those of us who are mature think this way, and if in anything you think otherwise, God will reveal that also to you.

This is the mindset of those who are eager to mature:

Php 3:12  Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect, but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own. 
Php 3:13  Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, 
Php 3:14  I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.

The next verse in Exodus 24:3 shows us the way to maturity as follows:

Exo 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.

It is all the words of the Lord spoken by Moses which bring us to maturity.  Here in verse 3, Moses represents the overseers who feed the church of God. Verse 3 is another way of saying the following:

Act 20:27  For I have not shunned to declare unto you all the counsel of God.
Act 20:28  Take heed therefore unto yourselves, and to all the flock, over the which the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers, to feed the church of God, which he hath purchased with his own blood.

What every joint supplies is what brings us to maturity.

Eph 4:11  And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers;
Eph 4:12  For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ: 
Eph 4:13  Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ: 
Eph 4:14  That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive;
Eph 4:15  But speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him in all things, which is the head, even Christ:
Eph 4:16  From whom the whole body fitly joined together and compacted by that which every joint supplieth, according to the effectual working in the measure of every part, maketh increase of the body unto the edifying of itself in love. 

In verse 3, we are further told that the Israelites reacted positively to the words of the Lord by saying wholeheartedly that they will do all that the Lord had told them. This situation is the same as the parable of the Sower in which the seed that fell on stony places represents those who receive the words with joy but when tribulation and persecution arise because of the word, they are offended.

Mat 13:20  But he that received the seed into stony places, the same is he that heareth the word, and anon with joy receiveth it;
Mat 13:21  Yet hath he not root in himself, but dureth for a while: for when tribulation or persecution ariseth because of the word, by and by he is offended.

So it is the judgment of the Lord in this life which makes the difference between those who will mature to see the Lord in this life and those who will not be able to do so in this age. We are chosen to see the Lord in this life through the furnace of affliction. That is why we are admonished to rejoice when we are going through all kinds of afflictions.

Isa 48:10  Behold, I have refined thee, but not with silver; I have chosen thee in the furnace of affliction.
Isa 48:11  For mine own sake, even for mine own sake, will I do it: for how should my name be polluted? and I will not give my glory unto another.

The Lord knows our frame that we are not capable of obeying His words except He works Himself into us through His judgment of our old man. This is the Lord’s reaction to the Israelites assertion of obeying all the words of the Lord:

Deu 5:28  And the LORD heard the voice of your words, when ye spake unto me; and the LORD said unto me, I have heard the voice of the words of this people, which they have spoken unto thee: they have well said all that they have spoken.
Deu 5:29  O that there were such an heart in them, that they would fear me, and keep all my commandments always, that it might be well with them, and with their children for ever!

Exo 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.

Moses writing all the words of the Lord is another way of saying that we are to mark the words of the Lord or give ear to all what He is saying through His elect and not ignore any. If we ignore any of the words of the Lord, we shall suffer loss.

Rev 22:18  For I testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book, If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book:
Rev 22:19  And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book.

“Early in the morning” used here in verse 4 symbolizes this age. It is early in the morning that the sun rises, and it is during this period that the Lord is gathering His laborers to work in His vineyard.

Mar 16:2  And very early in the morning the first day of the week, they came unto the sepulchre at the rising of the sun.

Mat 20:1  For the kingdom of heaven is like unto a man that is an householder, which went out early in the morning to hire labourers into his vineyard.

Mal 4:2  But unto you that fear my name shall the Sun of righteousness arise with healing in his wings; and ye shall go forth, and grow up as calves of the stall.

Moses rose up early in the morning to build an altar. This means that in this age, the Lord is calling us to build an altar for the Lord having twelve pillars. An altar is a place where we offer sacrifices to the Lord. Spiritually, the altar represents our hearts and minds. It is from our hearts and minds that we offer our bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to the Lord. Our hearts and minds are “built” on the foundations of the apostles and prophets signified here in verse 4 by the twelve pillars of the tribes of Israel.

Eph 2:20  And are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone; 
Eph 2:21  In whom all the building fitly framed together groweth unto an holy temple in the Lord: 
Eph 2:22  In whom ye also are builded together for an habitation of God through the Spirit. 

Rom 12:1  I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. 
Rom 12:2  And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.

Exo 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.

To understand the spiritual significance of the young men used by Moses to offer burnt offerings and sacrifices of peace offerings, we need to take a look at the following verses:

1Sa 21:2  And David said unto Ahimelech the priest, The king hath commanded me a business, and hath said unto me, Let no man know any thing of the business whereabout I send thee, and what I have commanded thee: and I have appointed my servants to such and such a place.
1Sa 21:3  Now therefore what is under thine hand? give me five loaves of bread in mine hand, or what there is present. 
1Sa 21:4  And the priest answered David, and said, There is no common bread under mine hand, but there is hallowed bread; if the young men have kept themselves at least from women. 
1Sa 21:5  And David answered the priest, and said unto him, Of a truth women have been kept from us about these three days, since I came out, and the vessels of the young men are holy, and the bread is in a manner common, yea, though it were sanctified this day in the vessel. 
1Sa 21:6  So the priest gave him hallowed bread: for there was no bread there but the shewbread, that was taken from before the LORD, to put hot bread in the day when it was taken away.

We can see from the above scriptures that on a positive note, young men signify those who have kept themselves from women and are able to eat hallowed bread or shewbread before the presence of the Lord. The women here are used in a negative context and therefore represent Babylon. So, the young men signify those who had come out of Babylon and are eating hallowed bread, which is the truth of the word of the Lord. This description of the young men means we are these young men who assisted Moses to offer sacrifices to the Lord. Moses here represents the elect, and so these young men represent what every joint supplies. It is through what every joint supplies that we are all able to offer our bodies as living sacrifices, holy and acceptable to the Lord.

Eph 4:16  From whom the whole body fitly joined together and compacted by that which every joint supplieth, according to the effectual working in the measure of every part, maketh increase of the body unto the edifying of itself in love.

Rom 12:1  I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. 
Rom 12:2  And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.

Exo 24:6  And Moses took half of the blood, and put it in basons; and half of the blood he sprinkled on the altar.
Exo 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.
Exo 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.

The blood used by Moses here is for the purpose of cleansing all the vessels that are used in offering sacrifices to the Lord. In verse 8, Moses also used blood to cleanse the people. These verses were what Paul was referring to in the Book of Hebrews as follows:

Heb 9:19  For when Moses had spoken every precept to all the people according to the law, he took the blood of calves and of goats, with water, and scarlet wool, and hyssop, and sprinkled both the book, and all the people,
Heb 9:20  Saying, This is the blood of the testament which God hath enjoined unto you. 
Heb 9:21  Moreover he sprinkled with blood both the tabernacle, and all the vessels of the ministry. 
Heb 9:22  And almost all things are by the law purged with blood; and without shedding of blood is no remission. 
Heb 9:23  It was therefore necessary that the patterns of things in the heavens should be purified with these; but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these. 
Heb 9:24  For Christ is not entered into the holy places made with hands, which are the figures of the true; but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us:

As we have seen, Jesus Christ has purified our heavens with His blood and to present us faultless before the Father. The Book of the Covenant signifies the words of the Lord. When we hear the words of the Lord, it tastes sweet in our mouths. That is to say, we enthusiastically respond positively to His words just like the people of Israel who said that they would be obedient to all that the word of the Lord says. However, when we face tribulation and persecution as a result of the word we have received, that is when the word becomes bitter in our bellies.

Rev 10:8  And the voice which I heard from heaven spake unto me again, and said, Go and take the little book which is open in the hand of the angel which standeth upon the sea and upon the earth.
Rev 10:9  And I went unto the angel, and said unto him, Give me the little book. And he said unto me, Take it, and eat it up; and it shall make thy belly bitter, but it shall be in thy mouth sweet as honey.
Rev 10:10  And I took the little book out of the angel’s hand, and ate it up; and it was in my mouth sweet as honey: and as soon as I had eaten it, my belly was bitter.

Exo 24:9  Then went up Moses, and Aaron, Nadab, and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel:

As we have indicated earlier, initially it was Moses who could appear before the Lord. Later, the other elect were also able to go up to meet the Lord.

Exo 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.

A simpler version of verse 10 is as follows:

Exo 24:10  and they saw the God of Israel. Beneath his feet was what looked like a pavement of sapphire, as blue as the sky. (GNB)

In the Bible, sapphire stone is likened to the throne of God as shown in the following verses:

Eze 10:1  Then I looked, and, behold, in the firmament that was above the head of the cherubims there appeared over them as it were a sapphire stone, as the appearance of the likeness of a throne.

Eze 1:26  And above the firmament that was over their heads was the likeness of a throne, as the appearance of a sapphire stone: and upon the likeness of the throne was the likeness as the appearance of a man above upon it.

According to Strong’s Dictionary, the word “paved” used in verse 10 means transparency or whiteness. What this means is that if we are to become overcomers to sit on thrones to judge the world, then we have to walk before the Lord blameless. This was what the Lord told Abraham when he responded to His call.

Gen 17:1  And when Abram was ninety years old and nine, the LORD appeared to Abram, and said unto him, I am the Almighty God; walk before me, and be thou perfect.
Gen 17:2  And I will make my covenant between me and thee, and will multiply thee exceedingly.

Once we start seeing Him as He is through His words, we begin to purify ourselves even as He is pure. Even though we speak this way, we know that this purification is not our work. The Lord, through His judgment of our old man, will purify us!!

1Jn 3:2  Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is.
1Jn 3:3  And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure.

“Beneath His feet” mentioned in verse 10 means that the Lord has already subdued all that opposes us such that we can sit on the throne with Him.

Exo 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. 

The nobles here represent the elect. The Lord not laying His hands on the elect means that anyone who has seen the Lord becomes alive instead of being dead spiritually. This was what happened to all those who saw the Lord – their lives were preserved. In other words, they became alive in Christ.

Gen 32:30  And Jacob called the name of the place Peniel: for I have seen God face to face, and my life is preserved.

In verse 11, the statement that “also they saw God, and did eat and drink” means that the more we see the Lord through His words, the more we are given to know more of the mysteries of the kingdom of God. That is another way of saying that the more we know His words, the more we shall be given. Even the little that others have, shall be given to us.

Mat 13:11  He answered and said unto them, Because it is given unto you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given. 
Mat 13:12  For whosoever hath, to him shall be given, and he shall have more abundance: but whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken away even that he hath.

Exo 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.

As we are aware, the tables of stone, the law and the commandment represent the laws of Moses which are to make us aware of our sinful state and our inability to do anything about it. This is all a necessary part of the process of growing spiritually in Christ.

Gal 3:24  Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith. 
Gal 3:25  But after that faith is come, we are no longer under a schoolmaster.
Gal 3:26  For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus.

The second part of verse 12 talks about teaching others. This verse, therefore, is also telling us that those who have been given the privilege of availing themselves to teach the Lord’s people (symbolized by Moses telling the people the words of the Lord) will be given to know more for the express purpose of teaching the Lord’s people.

Col 3:16  Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.

2Ti 2:1  Thou therefore, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus.
2Ti 2:2  And the things that thou hast heard of me among many witnesses, the same commit thou to faithful men, who shall be able to teach others also.

Exo 24:13  And Moses rose up, and his minister Joshua: and Moses went up into the mount of God.
Exo 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 had called some of the leaders of the people of Israel (Aaron and Hur) and had given them authority to take care of business while He remained on Mount Sinai. In these verses, Moses represents our Lord Jesus Christ who went on a long journey to receive a kingdom and told us, His elect, to occupy until He comes. It is obvious that this is a very important statement of the purposes of God’s Church on earth.

Luk 19:12  He said therefore, A certain nobleman went into a far country to receive for himself a kingdom, and to return. 
Luk 19:13  And he called his ten servants, and delivered them ten pounds, and said unto them, Occupy till I come.

To understand what it means to “occupy till I come”, let’s look at what Paul says of a steward.

1Co 4:1  Let a man so account of us, as of the ministers of Christ, and stewards of the mysteries of God.
1Co 4:2  Moreover it is required in stewards, that a man be found faithful.

A steward is meant to protect that which has been committed to him. Here Paul tells us that a man of God is to be looked upon by the church as a protector of the mysteries of the kingdom of God. That is what it means to occupy until the Lord comes. Spiritually, that is the role Moses committed to the leaders (Aaron and Hur) by saying that whoever has a dispute to settle can go to them. The Lord has committed His words to us, His elect, as the protector of the mysteries of the kingdom of God. When the foundations of the world were being laid, the Lord emphasized this role of the church as a protector of the mysteries of the kingdom of God very clear as follows:

Gen 3:24  So he drove out the man; and he placed at the east of the garden of Eden Cherubims, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to keep the way of the tree of life.

The Cherubims represent the elect, and we are to protect the way of the tree of life, which is Christ and His doctrines, through the flaming sword. The flaming sword is the tribulations and the persecutions which come as a result of the word we have received.

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

This verse reminds us of our Lord Jesus when He ascended, and a cloud hid Him from the sight of the disciples at Mount Olive. The cloud represents the elect, so what this means is that our Lord Jesus Christ can only be seen in this life through the elect.

Act 1:9  And when he had spoken these things, while they beheld, he was taken up; and a cloud received him out of their sight.

Exo 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.
Exo 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.

We need to know what the glory of the Lord signifies in order to understand verses 16 and 17. The following verses show us what the glory of the Lord means:

Num 14:10  But all the congregation bade stone them with stones. And the glory of the LORD appeared in the tabernacle of the congregation before all the children of Israel.
Num 14:11  And the LORD said unto Moses, How long will this people provoke me? and how long will it be ere they believe me, for all the signs which I have shewed among them?

Num 16:19  And Korah gathered all the congregation against them unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation: and the glory of the LORD appeared unto all the congregation. 
Num 16:20  And the LORD spake unto Moses and unto Aaron, saying,

Deu 5:24  And ye said, Behold, the LORD our God hath shewed us his glory and his greatness, and we have heard his voice out of the midst of the fire: we have seen this day that God doth talk with man, and he liveth.

We can see from these verses that any time the glory of the Lord appears, we see the Lord speaking. In Deuteronomy 5:24, additional information is given to qualify the glory of the Lord, and that is fire. Seeing His glory therefore means hearing the Lord’s voice out of the midst of the fire. This conclusion is affirmed in Exodus 24:16-17, where the sight of the glory of the Lord was likened to a devouring fire on the top of the Mount. So, in this age, those who are privileged to see the glory of the Lord are those who are hearing His words in the midst of the furnace of their affliction. I will therefore take this opportunity to tell our brothers and sisters scattered all over the world who are going through fiery trials that they should rejoice because it is through suffering that they can see the glory of the Lord!! When we are going through suffering, it is hard to rejoice, but afterwards it will yield the benefit of seeing the glory of the Lord!!

In verse 16, this glory of the Lord was covered by the cloud for six days. The number six represents mankind. What this means is that in this age (six days), you can only see the glory of the Lord through the elect. The seventh day is when we shall be called by the Lord to reign with Him.

Exo 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.

As we have indicated, Moses represents Christ, and the cloud represents the elect. In this age, Christ is hidden within the elect. Moses was on the Mount for forty days and forty nights. The number forty signifies the period of our lives when we come to know that we are sinners and that nothing good can come out of us except the Lord comes to our aid.

Psa 95:10  Forty years long was I grieved with this generation, and said, It is a people that do err in their heart, and they have not known my ways:

At the end of Moses’ time (forty days) on the Mount, he was given the two tables of stone. The two tables of stone together with the commandments serve as a witness to the fact that we are a people always erring unless the Lord intervenes on our behalf. Our failures are all designed by the Lord for our spiritual growth in Him.

Deu 9:11  And it came to pass at the end of forty days and forty nights, that the LORD gave me the two tables of stone, even the tables of the covenant.

May the Lord help us to come to see the glory of the Lord through the furnace of our affliction. Amen!!