Then he said to Moses, “Come up to the LORD, you and Aaron, Nadab, and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel, and worship at a distance. Moses alone shall come near the LORD; but the others shall not come near, and the people shall not come up with him.” Moses came and told the people all the words of the LORD and all the ordinances; and all the people answered with one voice, and said, “All the words that the LORD has spoken we will do.” And Moses wrote down all the words of the LORD. He rose early in the morning, and built an altar at the foot of the mountain, and set up twelve pillars, corresponding to the twelve tribes of Israel. He sent young men of the people of Israel, who offered burnt offerings and sacrificed oxen as offerings of well-being to the LORD. Moses took half of the blood and put it in basins, and half of the blood he dashed against the altar. Then he took the book of the covenant, and read it in the hearing of the people; and they said, “All that the LORD has spoken we will do, and we will be obedient.” Moses took the blood and dashed it on the people, and said, “See the blood of the covenant that the LORD has made with you in accordance with all these words.” Then Moses and Aaron, Nadab, and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel went up, and they saw the God of Israel. Under his feet there was something like a pavement of sapphire stone, like the very heaven for clearness. God did not lay his hand on the chief men of the people of Israel; also they beheld God, and they ate and drank. (Exodus 24:1-11, NRSV)
What would you do if you just got summonsed to be with God, and then you were with Him?
Moses and the elders went up the mountain to be with God, and to worship Him at a distance…
Moses then went to be with God, but before Moses went to be with God an interesting thing happens. And the picture here shows this somewhat. The text says they elders went up the mountain and they saw God! But God did not touch them…
Interesting because in other places in the Bible people can not see God, and Moses gets to see God’s backside, but not His front, because men can not look upon the face of God and live… So why do these elders get to see God?
And to me the astonishing thing comes next… They just sit down and have diner! Like nothing just happened!
They go on with their lives, even though they just saw God and were in His presence…
What would you do if you got to be in the presence of God?
Well everyday you are, and what do we do?
Maybe we should take the time to have a meal with Him, and see who He wants us to be.
aSacredRebel 