“Then [God] 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. Moses alone shall come near to the Lord, but the others shall not come near, and the people shall not come up with him.’ 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 twelve pillars, according to the twelve tribes of Israel. And he sent young men of the people of Israel, who offered burnt offerings and sacrificed peace offerings of oxen to the Lord. And Moses took half of the blood and put it in basins, and half of the blood he threw 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.’ And Moses took the blood and threw it on the people and said, ‘Behold the blood of the covenant that the Lord has made with you in accordance with all these words.’ ” (v1-2,4-8)
There are three major events in this chapter – the confirmation of the covenant between God and Israel, the seventy elders, Moses, Aaron, Nadab, and Abihu dining in the presence of God (partway up the mountain), and Moses and Joshua going to the top of the mountain to meet with God.
All three of these events are significant for different reasons. First, as odd as it may sound, there are peace offerings of bulls offered to God – half of the blood is thrown on the altar and half on the people. The custom, when “cutting a contract” was to split an animal (or bird if you were poor) in half, and the two parties would pass together between the two halves. In this case the animals are offered, the people agree to all of the commandments God gave them (as detailed over the last four chapters), and the covenant is made in blood between God and the people. It’s legally binding, and both parties are expected to hold up their end of the agreement.
The second event of the elders feasting partway up the mountain could be symbolic of many things, and may even be foreshadowing of the Marriage Supper of the Lamb (Rev 19:6-9). We know that Jesus ate with many people throughout His ministry and after his resurrection, so it isn’t surprising that God holds a feast for these leaders of the people. Communion through food and drink is common practice throughout scripture, and was also commonplace after the completion of contracts, so it fits the cultural and scriptural norm to ave a meal here.
The third event: “So Moses rose with his assistant Joshua, and Moses went up into the mountain of God. The glory of the Lord dwelt on Mount Sinai, and the cloud covered it six days. And on the seventh day he called to Moses out of the midst of the cloud. Now the appearance of the glory of the Lord was like a devouring fire on the top of the mountain in the sight of the people of Israel. Moses entered the cloud and went up on the mountain. And Moses was on the mountain forty days and forty nights.” (v13,16-18) Moses (and presumably Joshua) spend a total of 47 days on top of the mountain to receive the official stone tablets (Moses had written all of God’s words in a “book of the covenant” which he read to the people, but here God Himself is writing them down, making it even more official). Since it wouldn’t take God 40 days to make some stone tablets, I can only imagine the amazing conversations Moses is having with God during this time of one-on-one fellowship. Wow. Talk about a mountaintop experience.
These events are all amazing in their own way, and all extremely positive for Israel – the Almighty God is committing the fullness of His power to ensure the well-being of His people.
Father God, thank you for the outpouring of Your grace, mercy, and abundant blessing on Your people. Thank you for making covenants with us and entrusting us with such great responsibility. You honor and respect us so much. Father, we however must confess that we cannot uphold the covenant or fulfill these responsibilities without Your help – we are weak and unwise. Father please be our strength, wisdom and guide as we attempt to honor and obey You. This one-sided partnership is all about You and us glorifying You, for we cannot fulfill this without Your support. Thank you Father for the forgiveness available through Jesus, for we couldn’t even cleanse our own sin. Father we fully surrender to Your support, Your strength, Your cleansing, and humbly ask You to help us each and every moment of each and every day. All honor, glory and praise be to You, O Lord God Almighty.
~ Conqueror in Training