Exodus 24 commentary

A solemn covenant was made between God and Israel. Very solemn it was, typifying the covenant of grace between God and believers, through Christ. As soon as God separated to himself a peculiar people, he governed them by a written word, as he has done ever since. God's covenants and commands are so just in themselves, and so much for our good, that the more we think of them, and the more plainly and fully they are set before us, the more reason we may see to comply with them. The blood of the sacrifice was sprinkled on the altar, on the book, and on the people. Neither their persons, their moral obedience, nor religious services, would meet with acceptance from a holy God, except through the shedding and sprinkling’ of blood. Also the blessings granted unto them were all of mercy; and the Lord would deal with them in kindness. Thus the sinner, by faith in the blood of Christ, renders willing and acceptable obedience. (Ex 24:9-11)

The elders saw the God of Israel; they had some glimpse of his glory, though whatever they saw, it was something of which no image or picture could be made, yet enough to satisfy them that God was with them of a truth. Nothing is described but what was under his feet. The sapphires are the pavement under his feet; let us put all the wealth of this world under our feet, and not in our hearts. Thus the believer sees in the face of Jesus Christ, far clearer discoveries of the glorious justice and holiness of God, than ever he saw under terrifying convictions; and through the Saviour, holds communion with a holy God.

A cloud covered the mount six days; a token of God's special presence there. Moses was sure that he who called him up would protect him. Even those glorious attributes of God which are most terrible to the wicked, the saints with humble reverence rejoice in. And through faith in the atoning Sacrifice, we hope for greater honour than Moses ever enjoyed on earth. Now we see through a glass darkly, but when he shall appear, then face to face. This vision of God will continue with equal, if not increasing brightness of joy; not for a few days only, but through eternity.

1. Come up unto the Lord, thou, and Aaron, Nadab and Abihu. Before Moses erected the tabernacle and consecrated it by a solemn ceremony, it was necessary for him to fetch the Tables of the Covenant, which were a pledge of God’s favor; otherwise, if the ark had nothing in it, the sanctuary would have been in a manner empty. For this reason, he is commanded to go up into the mount, but not without a splendid train of companions, in order that an appropriate preparation might arouse their minds for a fit reception of this especial blessing. He is, therefore, commanded to take with him Aaron his brother, and Nadab and Abihu, together with seventy of the elders of the people. This was the number of witnesses selected to behold the glory of God. Before, however, they ascended the mount, a sacrifice was offered by the whole people, and the Book of the Law was read. Finally, Moses alone was received into the top of the mount, to bring from thence the Tables written by the hand of God.

Here, however, (See this subject further discussed on Numbers 11:16, infra.) arises a question respecting the seventy elders; for we shall see elsewhere that the seventy were not chosen till the people had departed from Mount Sinai; whereas mention is made of them here, before the promulgation of the Law, which seems to be by no means consistent. But this difficulty is removed, if we allow, what we gather from this passage, that, even before they came to Mount Sinai, each tribe had appointed its governors (praefectos), who would make up this number, since there were six of every tribe; but that when Moses afterwards desired to be relieved of his burdens, part of the government was transferred “A ceux, qui desia estoyent en degre d’honneur;” to those who were already honourably distinguished. — Fr. to these seventy persons, since this number was already sanctioned by custom and use. Certainly, since it is plainly stated that there were “Septante et deux;” seventy-two. — Fr. seventy from the very first, it is probable that this number of coadjutors was given to Moses in order to make as little change as possible. For we know that, when a custom has obtained, men are very unwilling to depart from it. But it might have also been that the desire and intention of the Israelites was thus to celebrate the memory of their origin; for seventy persons had gone down into Egypt with Jacob, and, in less than two hundred and twenty years after they went there, their race had increased to six hundred thousand, besides women and children. It is not, therefore, contrary to probability that seventy persons were appointed to preside over the whole people, in order that so marvelous a blessing of God might continue to be testified in all ages, as if to trace the commencement of their race up to its very source.

2. And Moses alone shall come near the Lord. Three gradations are here marked. A station is prescribed for the people, from whence they may “worship afar off;” the elders and the priests are appointed to be the companions of Moses, to come closer, and thus to be witnesses to the people of all the things which we shall afterwards see to be shewn them; whilst, as they were separated from the multitude, so finally Moses alone was received up into the higher glory; for he was caught up on high in the covering of the cloud. This “Ces trois estats;” these three estates. — Fr. distinction is marked in the words, “Moses alone shall come near...; but they shall not come nigh; neither shall the people go up.” Some translators render the verbs in the past tense; but improperly, in my opinion; for Moses is not yet relating what was done, but only what God had commanded, as is plain from the next verse, wherein also the modesty and humility of the people is commended, because they received with reverence a command which was not in itself very agreeable or likely to be approved. For, such is the ambition of men, that it might have appeared insulting that they should be set afar off and prohibited from approaching the mountain, like strangers and heathens. It is, therefore, an evidence of their pious reverence, that they should submit to be placed at a distance, and should be contented with a position apparently less honorable. And Moses more clearly expresses their promptitude to obey, when he reports their words, that they would do all that he had declared to them from the mouth of God.

4. And Moses “Had written.” — Lat. wrote all the words of the Lord. This parenthesis is opportunely inserted; for we shall see a little further on that the book was read before the people; but, in order to awaken greater attention, before the reading he built an altar and offered victims in the sight of all the people. Moreover, it must be observed that statues “Pillars.” — A V. “Some think that this altar was set upon twelve stones, such as Elias built, 1 Kings 18:31; and Joshua 4:20; in which places, however, the word used is אבנים, (abanim,) which signifieth stones, which were gathered together to make one altar or heap; but here the word is מצבה, (matsebah,) which is a pillar, so called a stando, because it standeth alone, and is erected and set up as a monument.” — Abridged from Willet in loco. See ante, vol. 2, p. 117, and note were erected near the altar according to the number of the tribes, that they might know that they were not kept afar off in token of rejection, but only that, conscious of their own unworthiness, they might humble themselves before God in fear and trembling; for, though they were removed to a considerable distance, still they were remembered before God, and thus He embraced them all, as it were, by means of these statues. What Moses, however, calls by this name, were not images bearing the shape of a man, but heaps of stones, which might be as monuments representing the twelve tribes; that they might know that they were by no means excluded from the sanctity of the altar.

5. And he sent young men of the children of Israel. He either means that they were the sacrificial attendants (victimarios,) by whose hands the victims were killed, or that some were chosen who might be active and strong to drag the oxen to the altar. The tribe of Levi was not yet consecrated; whereas the word used for “offering,” “Ce qui n’est attribuE qu’a ceux qui ont la charge speciale de sacrifier;” which is only applied to those who have the special charge of sacrificing. — Fr. is only applied to the priests, where a distinction is marked between the Levites and the rest of the people. The first meaning is, therefore, the most suitable.

We have stated elsewhere that the “Peace-offerings.” — A.V. Vide ante, vol. 2, pp. 139 and 333. sacrifices of prosperities were designed as acts of thanksgiving; and yet that they were not only expressions of gratitude, but also that prayers were mixed with them in supplication of good success. This offering, however, comprised in it a ratification of the Covenant, as appears immediately afterwards; for, in order to increase the sanctity and security of covenants, they have in all ages, and even “In all solemn leagues and covenants, they sacrificed to the gods by whom they swore, offering for the most part either a boar, ram, or goat; sometimes all three; sometimes bulls or lambs instead of any of them. Hence comes the phrase, ὄρκια τέμνειν; in Latin, ferire foedus, i e., to make a covenant.” — Potter’s Arch. Graeca., Book 2. ch. 6. For the same custom, as existing among the Romans, see Liv. 1. 24. Virg. Aen. 8. 641. amongst heathen nations, been accompanied with sacrifices. To this end Moses, the victims being slain, pours half the blood upon the altar, and keeps half in basins to sprinkle the people, that by this “Par tel sacrement.” — Fr. symbol the Covenant might be ratified, whereof he was the mediator and surety. Paul, in allusion to this custom, says, that he should rejoice, if he were “offered upon the sacrifice and service of their faith” whom he had gained for Christ, (Philippians 2:17;) and he uses the word σπένδεσθαι, which See C in loco. Calvin Soc. edit., p. 74, where, however, I question whether his statement on the word σπουδὰς is correct. is primarily applied to covenants. But the case of this sacrifice was peculiar; for God desired the Jews to be reminded of the one solid confirmation of the Covenant, which He made with them; as if He had openly shown that it would then only be ratified and effectual, when it should be sealed with blood. And this the Apostle (Hebrews 9:19) carefully takes into consideration, when he says, that after the Law had been declared, Moses “sprinkled both the book and all the people” with blood; for, although there is no express mention here made of the book, the Apostle does not unreasonably comprise it under the word “altar.” He also alludes to another kind of sacrifice, treated of in Numbers 19:5, and therefore mentions “the scarlet-wool and hyssop.” The sum is, that the blood was, as it were, the medium whereby the covenant was confirmed and established, since the altar, as the sacred seat of God, was bathed with half of it, and then the residue was sprinkled over the people. Hence we gather that the covenant of gratuitous adoption was made with the ancient people unto eternal salvation, since it was sealed with the blood of Christ in type and shadow. Now, if this doctrine hold good under the Law, much more must it occupy a place with us now; and hence, in order that God’s promises may always maintain their power and certainty, let this sealing be constantly kept before us; and let us remember that the blood of Christ has therefore once been shed, that it might engrave upon our hearts the covenant whereby we are called to the hope of the kingdom of heaven. For this reason Christ in the Holy Supper commends His blood as the seal of the New Covenant; nay, whenever we take the sacred books into our hands, the blood of Christ, ought to occur to our minds, as if the whole “Comme si le Loy, et les Prophetes, et l’Evangile en estoyent escrits;” as if the Law and the Prophets, and the Gospel were written with it. — Fr. of its sacred instruction were written therewith; for it is obvious that Christ compares with the figure the truth which was manifested in Himself; to which also the admonition of the Apostle, which I have just quoted, refers.

We must now carefully observe the course of the proceeding. First, Moses states that he read the book before the people; and then adds that the people themselves embraced the covenant proposed to them. Finally, he relates that when the people had professed their obedience, he sprinkled the blood, not without adding his testimony, and that in a loud voice. The context here shews us the true and genuine nature of the Sacraments, together with their correct and proper use; for unless doctrine precede them to be a connecting link between God and man, they will be empty and delusive signs, however honorable may be the encomiums passed on them. But inasmuch as mutual consent is required in all compacts, so, when God invites His people to receive grace, He stipulates that they should give Him the obedience of faith, so as to answer, Amen. Thus nothing can be more preposterous than the invention of dumb sacraments: such as those childish charms which the Papists hawk about as sacraments, without the word of God; whilst, at the same time, it must be added that the word, which gives life to the Sacraments, is not an obscure whisper, like that magical incantation of the Papists, when they blow on the bread and the cup, and which they call the consecration; but it is a clear and distinct voice which is addressed to men, and avails to beget faith in them. Thus Moses here speaks aloud to the people, and reminds them that God enters into covenant with him.

Now, although the profession here recorded might seem to be derived from too great confidence, when the people declare that they will do whatsoever God commands, still it contains nothing amiss or reprehensible; inasmuch as the faithful among them promised nothing, except in reliance on the help of God: and gratuitous reconciliation, if they should sin, was included in it. This was not indeed the proper office of the Law, to incline men’s hearts to the obedience of righteousness; as also under the Law there was no true and real expiation to wash away the guilt of sins; but the office of the Law was to lead men step by step to Christ, that they might seek of Him pardon and the Spirit of regeneration. It is, therefore, unquestionable that the elect of God embraced by faith the substance and truth of the shadows when they voluntarily offered themselves to keep the covenant of God.

9. Then went up Moses and Aaron, Nadab and Abihu. Thus it is that I connect the history: Moses, having finished reading the Law, and having sprinkled the blood, took with him the companions pointed out to him by God, and having left the people, went with these some way up the mountain. I have thought it well slightly to touch upon this, because some translators render the verb improperly in the pluperfect tense, as if he and the elders had already before “Devant que sacrifier;” before sacrificing. — Fr. been separated from the people; but this is very absurd, for it was necessary for him to remain in the plain, in order to address the people.

There the glory of God was beheld more closely by the elders, that they might afterwards relate to the people what they had seen, and that thus the thing, being proved by competent witnesses, might obtain undoubted credit. For this reason he says, that “they saw the God of Israel,” not in all His reality and greatness, but in accordance with the dispensation which He thought best, and which he accommodated to the capacity of man. The form of God is indeed nowhere described, but the pediment (basis) on which He stood was like a work of sapphire. Ainsworth, “A work of sapphire-brick. Heb., brick of sapphire: whereby is meant sapphire-stone, hewed like brick, wherewith the place under Him was paved. So also the Greek translateth it. Or, it may be Englished, of whiteness of sapphire, i.e., of white sapphire-stone: for brick hath the name in Hebrew of whiteness. The Chaldee translateth, under the throne of his glory was, as it were, a work of precious, stone.”

“The Hebrews, (says Willet, in loco,) whom Lyranus and Lippoman follow, — in that the pavement or brick-work was like sapphire, — understand the happy change which was now made for Israel: their servitude in making of brick was turned into glorious liberty, as if a floor should be paved with sapphire instead of brick!” The word לבנת, libnath, some translate stone, others whiteness, others brick. Whichever sense it is preferred to take it in, but little affects the main point in the matter; for the color of a sapphire was presented to them, to elevate their minds by its brightness above the world; and therefore it is immediately added, that its appearance was as of the clear and serene sky. By this symbol they were reminded that the glory of God is above all heavens; and since in His very footstool there is such exquisite and surpassing beauty, something still more sublime must be thought of Himself, and such as would ravish all our senses with admiration. Thus the throne of God was shewn to Ezekiel “as the appearance of a sapphire-stone.” (Ezekiel 1:26; 10:1.)

Finally, on the footstool Infinite Majesty appeared, such as to strike the elders with astonishment, so that they might humble themselves with greater reverence before the incomprehensible glory of God.

11. And upon the nobles of the children of Israel. These words, as it seems to me, are violently distorted by those So Aben-Ezra, in Willet; and Faigius and S. Munster in Poole. Boothroyal says, “This phrase evidently means, ‘He slew them not;’ compare Genesis 22:12; and 37:22; Nehemiah 12:21; Esther 2:21; Psalm 55:20.” who expound them, that the elders were not made participators of the prophetic gift, or that the virtue of God did not extend to them; for these clauses are to be taken connectedly thus: although they saw God, His hand was not laid upon them but they ate and drank. Hence we may gather that God’s paternal favor towards them is pointed out in that He spared them; for we must bear in mind what is said elsewhere, “There shall no man see my face and live.” (Exodus 33:20.) Thus, amongst the ancients, this was a kind of proverbial expression: We shall die, because we have seen God. So Jacob, in commendation of God’s grace, says, “I have seen God face to face, and my life is preserved.” (Genesis 32:30.) For if the mountains melt at the sight of Him, what must needs happen to a mortal man, than whom there is nothing more frail or feeble? Herein, then, does God’s incomparable lenity betray itself, when, in manifesting Himself to His elect, He does not altogether absorb and reduce them to nothing; especially when some special vision is presented to them. In sum, therefore, Moses shews us that it was a miracle that the rulers of Israel remained safe and sound, although the terrible majesty of God had appeared to them. Now, this was the case, because they had not rashly thrust themselves forward, but had come near at the call of God. Hence we learn that our boldness never exceeds its due bounds, nor can be condemned as presumption, when it is founded on the command of God; whilst worse than any pride or self-confidence is timidity, which, under pretense of modesty, leads us to distrust the word of God. If any one of the people had attempted to do the same as the rulers, he would have experienced in his destruction what it is to advance beyond bounds. But the reason why their free and bold access turned out successfully to the elders, was because they obeyed the command of God.

What follows, as to their eating, I interpret to mean a solemn banquet, which was a part or appendage of a sacrifice, as we have seen on Exodus 18 See ante, vol. 1, pp. 300, 301. and in many other places.

12. And the Lord said unto Moses, Come up to me. Moses himself is now taken up higher; because it was sufficient that the elders should be admitted to that intermediate vision, from whence they might certainly know that he would not proceed further, except by God’s command, in order that he might be received to familiar colloquy. Although, however, Joshua began to go on with him, it is plain that he was only his companion for six days, until Moses left him behind, and was gathered into the cloud. When God declares that He will give him “a law and commandment,” this must not be understood of any new instruction, but of the authentic writing (consignatione) of the Law: for, after having spoken of the two tables, He immediately mentions, in apposition, the Law and Commandment, by way of explanation; as if He had said that He would give the tables, which were to be a divine monument “Un document celeste et infallible;” a celestial and infallible document. — Fr. of His covenant; so that a summary of doctrine should exist among the people, not written with ink, and by the hand of man, but by the secret power of the Spirit. I am afraid the speculation of Augustine is more subtle than correct, that the Law was written by the finger of God, See Augustine, Serm. 155: De verbo Apost. sect. 3, tom. 5, pp. 742, 743, (Edit. Bened.) See also Serm. 8. sect. 14, ibid., p. 48. See also Quaest. in Exodus 25, tom. 3., p. 429; and Quaest. 166., ibid., pp. 471, 472. “Proinde magna oritur quaestio, quomodo illae tabulae, quas erat Moyses Deo utique praesciente fractures, non hominis opus esse dicantur, sed Dei, nec ab homine scriptae, sed digito Dei: posteriores vero tabulae tamdiu mansurae, ac in tabernaculo et templo Dei futurae, jubente quidem Deo, tamen ab homine excisae sint, ab homine scriptae. An forte in illis prioribus gratia Dei significabatur, non hominis opus, qua gratia indigni facti sunt revertentes corde in Aegyptum, et facientes idolum; unde illo beneficio privati sunt, et propterea Moyses tabulas fregit: istis vero tabulis posterioribus significati sunt qui de suis operibus gloriantur; unde dicit Apostolus (Romans 10:3) Ignorantes Dei justitiam, et suam volentes constituere, justitiae Dei non sunt subjecti; et ideo tabulae humano opere exsculptae et humano opere conscriptae datae sunt, quae cum ipsis manerent, ad eos significandos de suis operibus gloriaturos, non de digito Dei hoc est de Spiritu Dei.” because only the Spirit of God engraves it on our hearts; for, to pass over the fact that the hardness of the stones was not changed, what will their breaking mean, which will be spoken of hereafter? Surely it does not accord that, whereas the grace of regeneration endures unto the end, the Law should be only engraven efficaciously by the Spirit upon men’s hearts for a moment. What I have advanced, however, is beyond controversy, that the Law was inscribed upon these polished stones, that the perpetuity of the covenant might be testified in all ages.

14. Tarry ye here for us, until we come again. I do not take the words so precisely as to suppose that he commanded them to stand still in the same place; but since he was just about to be separated from intercourse with men, I suppose, that our earthly dwelling-place is indicated by the adverb, “Le mot d’ici;” the word here. — Fr. since it immediately follows, that if anything should occur, Aaron and Hur were to be his substitutes for ruling the people and settling quarrels. For, since care and anxiety might beset their minds, as being deprived of their only guide in counsel, and minister of safety, he offers this consolation to relieve their despondency. Hence it follows that they were sent back to occupy their charge, which could not be the case, unless they were in communication with the people. We are not aware whether Moses was pre-informed as to the time (of his absence, Added from Fr. ) although it is more probable that he was in doubt and suspense, until he penetrated into the secret counsel of God. From the last verse but one, we learn, that though the majesty of God was more clearly revealed to the elders, still it was conspicuous to all, from the least to the greatest, lest any excuse for ignorance should remain; for when the fire was seen burning for six continuous days, as if it would consume the mountain, how could they afterwards pretend that it was not fully understood from what Author the Law proceeded?

Exodus 31

Exodus 31:18

18. And he gave unto Moses, when he had made an end of communing with him upon mount Sinai, two tables of testimony, tables of stone, written with the finger of God.

18. Et dedit Deus Most, quum finem fecisset loquendi cum eo in monte Sinai, duas tabulas Testimonii, tabulas lapideas scriptas digito Dei.

CHAPTER 24

Ex 24:1-18. Delivery of the Law and Covenant.

3-4. Moses came and told the people all the words of the Lord--The rehearsal of the foregoing laws and the ten commandments, together with the promises of special blessings in the event of their obedience, having drawn forth from the people a unanimous declaration of their consent, it was forthwith recorded as the conditions of the national covenant. The next day preparations were made for having it (the covenant) solemnly ratified, by building an altar and twelve pillars; the altar representing God, and the pillars the tribes of Israel--the two parties in this solemn compact--while Moses acted as typical mediator.

5. young men--priests (Ex 19:22), probably the oldest sons of particular families, who acted under the direction of Moses.

oxen--Other animals, though not mentioned, were offered in sacrifice (He 9:18-20).

6. Moses took half of the blood ... sprinkled--Preliminary to this was the public reading of the law and the renewed acceptance of the terms by the people; then the sprinkling of the blood was the sign of solemn ratification--half on each party in the transaction.

8. Moses took the blood, and sprinkled it on the people--probably on the twelve pillars, as representing the people (also the book, He 9:19), and the act was accompanied by a public proclamation of its import. It was setting their seal to the covenant (compare 1Co 11:25). It must have been a deeply impressive, as well as instructive scene, for it taught the Israelites that the covenant was made with them only through the sprinkling of blood--that the divine acceptance of themselves and services, was only by virtue of an atoning sacrifice, and that even the blessings of the national covenant were promised and secured to them only through grace. The ceremonial, however, had a further and higher significance, as is shown by the apostle (see as above).

9. Then went up Moses, and Aaron--in obedience to a command given (Ex 24:1, 2; also Ex 19:24), previous to the religious engagement of the people, now described.

Nadab, and Abihu--the two oldest sons of Aaron [Ex 6:23].

seventy of the elders--a select number; what was the principle of selection is not said; but they were the chief representatives, the most conspicuous for official rank and station, as well as for their probity and weight of character in their respective tribes.

10. And they saw the God of Israel--That there was no visible form or representation of the divine nature, we have expressly intimated (De 4:15). But a symbol or emblem of His glory was distinctly, and at a distance, displayed before those chosen witnesses. Many think, however, that in this private scene was discovered, amid the luminous blaze, the faint adumbrated form of the humanity of Christ (Eze 1:26; compare Ga 3:24).

sapphire--one of the most valuable and lustrous of the precious gems--of a sky-blue or light azure color and frequently chosen to describe the throne of God (see Eze 1:26; 10:1).

11. upon the nobles of the children of Israel he laid not his hand--The "nobles," that is, the elders, after the sprinkling of the blood, were not inspired with terror in presence of the calm, benign, radiant symbol of the divine majesty; so different from the terrific exhibitions at the giving of the law. The report of so many competent witnesses would tend to confirm the people's faith in the divine mission of Moses.

eat and drink--feasted on the peace offering--on the remnants of the late sacrifices and libations. This feast had a prophetic bearing, intimating God's dwelling with men.

12. I will give thee tables of stone--The ten commandments, which had already been spoken, were to be given in a permanent form. Inscribed on stone, for greater durability, by the hand of God Himself, they were thus authenticated and honored above the judicial or ceremonial parts of the law.

13. Moses went up into the mount of God--He was called to receive the divine transcript. Joshua was taken a little higher, and it would be a great comfort for the leader to have his company during the six days he was in patient waiting for the call on the seventh or sabbath day.

14. he said unto the elders, Tarry ye here for us--There is a circular valley or hollow a good way up on the brow of Jebel Musa, which was their halting place, while he alone was privileged to ascend the highest peak. The people stood below, as in the "outer court," the elders in the "holy place," Moses, as a type of Christ, in "the holy of holies."

18. Moses went into the midst of the cloud--the visible token of God's presence. Divine grace animated and supported him to enter with holy boldness.

Moses was in the mount forty days and forty nights--The six days spent in waiting are not included. During that protracted period he was miraculously supported (De 9:9), on a peak scarcely thirty paces in compass.

Come up unto the Lord - Moses and Aaron were already on the mount, or at least some way up, (Exo 19:24), where they had heard the voice of the Lord distinctly speaking to them: and the people also saw and heard, but in a less distinct manner, probably like the hoarse grumbling sound of distant thunder; see Exo 20:18. Calmet, who complains of the apparent want of order in the facts laid down here, thinks the whole should be understood thus: - "After God had laid before Moses and Aaron all the laws mentioned from the beginning of the 20th chapter to the end of the 23d, before they went down from the mount to lay them before the people, he told them that, when they had proposed the conditions of the covenant to the Israelites, and they had ratified them, they were to come up again unto the mountain accompanied with Nadab and Abihu the sons of Aaron, and seventy of the principal elders of Israel. Moses accordingly went down, spoke to the people, ratified the covenant, and then, according to the command of God mentioned here, he and the others reascended the mountain. Tout cela est racont ici avec assez peu d'ordre."

Moses alone shall come near - The people stood at the foot of the mountain. Aaron and his two sons and the seventy elders went up, probably about half way, and Moses alone went to the summit.

Moses - told the people all the words of the Lord - That is, the ten commandments, and the various laws and ordinances mentioned from the beginning of the 20th to the end of the 23d chapter.

Moses wrote all the words of the Lord - After the people had promised obedience, (Exo 24:3), and so entered into the bonds of the covenant, "it was necessary," says Calmet, "to draw up an act by which the memory of these transactions might be preserved, and confirm the covenant by authentic and solemn ceremonies." And this Moses does.

1. As legislator, he reduces to writing all the articles and conditions of the agreement, with the people's act of consent.

2. As their mediator and the deputy of the Lord, he accepts on his part the resolution of the people; and Jehovah on his part engages himself to Israel, to be their God, their King, and Protector, and to fulfill to them all the promises he had made to their fathers.

3. To make this the more solemn and affecting, and to ratify the covenant, which could not be done without sacrifice, shedding and sprinkling of blood, Moses builds an altar, probably of turf, as was commanded, Exo 20:24, and erects twelve pillars, no doubt of unhewn stone, and probably set round about the altar. The altar itself represented the throne of God; the twelve stones, the twelve tribes of Israel. These were the two parties, who were to contract, or enter into covenant, on this occasion.

He sent young men - Stout, able, reputable young men, chosen out of the different tribes, for the purpose of killing, flaying, and offering the oxen mentioned here.

Burnt-offerings - They generally consisted of sheep and goats, Lev 1:10. These were wholly consumed by fire.

Peace-offerings - Bullocks or goats; see Heb 9:19. The blood of these was poured out before the Lord, and then the priests and people might feast on the flesh.

The book of the covenant - The writing containing the laws mentioned in the three preceding chapters. As this writing contained the agreement made between God and them, it was called the book of the covenant; but as no covenant was considered to be ratified and binding till a sacrifice had been offered on the occasion, hence the necessity of the sacrifices mentioned here.

Half of the blood being sprinkled on the Altar, and half of it sprinkled on the People, showed that both God and They were mutually bound by this covenant. God was bound to the People to support, defend, and save them; the People were bound to God to fear, love, and serve him. On the ancient method of making covenants, see Clarke on Gen 6:18 (note); and see Clarke on Gen 15:18 (note). Thus the blood of the new covenant was necessary to propitiate the throne of justice on the one hand, and to reconcile men to God on the other. On the nature and various kinds of the Jewish offerings, see Clarke's note on Lev 7:1, etc.

They saw the God of Israel - The seventy elders, who were representatives of the whole congregation, were chosen to witness the manifestation of God, that they might be satisfied of the truth of the revelation which he had made of himself and of his will; and on this occasion it was necessary that the people also should be favored with a sight of the glory of God; see Exo 20:18. Thus the certainty of the revelation was established by many witnesses, and by those especially of the most competent kind.

A paved work of a sapphire stone - Or sapphire brick-work. I suppose that something of the Musive or Mosaic pavement is here intended; floors most curiously inlaid with variously coloured stones or small square tiles, disposed in a great variety of ornamental forms. Many of these remain in different countries to the present day. The Romans were particularly fond of them, and left monuments of their taste and ingenuity in pavements of this kind, in most countries where they established their dominion. Some very fine specimens are found in different parts of Britain.

Sapphire is a precious stone of a fine blue color, next in hardness to the diamond. The ruby is considered by most mineralogists of the same genus; so is also the topaz: hence we cannot say that the sapphire is only of a blue color; it is blue, red, or yellow, as it may be called sapphire, ruby, or topaz; and some of them are blue or green, according to the light in which they are held; and some white. A very large specimen of such a one is now before me. The ancient oriental sapphire is supposed to have been the same with the lapis lazuli. Supposing that these different kinds of sapphires are here intended, how glorious must a pavement be, constituted of polished stones of this sort, perfectly transparent, with an effulgence of heavenly splendor poured out upon them! The red, the blue, the green, and the yellow, arranged by the wisdom of God, into the most beautiful emblematic representations, and the whole body of heaven in its clearness shining upon them, must have made a most glorious appearance. As the Divine glory appeared above the mount, it is reasonable to suppose that the Israelites saw the sapphire pavement over their heads, as it might have occupied a space in the atmosphere equal in extent to the base of the mountain; and being transparent, the intense brightness shining upon it must have greatly heightened the effect.

It is necessary farther to observe that all this must have been only an appearance, unconnected with any personal similitude; for this Moses expressly asserts, Deu 4:15. And though the feet are here mentioned, this can only be understood of the sapphirine basis or pavement, on which this celestial and indescribable glory of the Lord appeared. There is a similar description of the glory of the Lord in the Book of Revelation, Rev 4:3 : "And he who sat [upon the throne] was to look upon like a jasper and a sardine stone; and there was a rainbow round about the throne, in sight like unto an emerald." In neither of these appearances was there any similitude or likeness of any thing in heaven, earth, or sea. Thus God took care to preserve them from all incentives to idolatry, while he gave them the fullest proofs of his being. In Scheuchzer's Physica Sacra, among his numerous fine engravings, there is one of this glorious manifestation, which cannot be too severely reprehended. The Supreme Being is represented as an old man, sitting on a throne, encompassed with glory, having a crown on his head, and a scepter in his hand, the people prostrate in adoration at the foot of the piece. A print of this kind should be considered as utterly improper, if not blasphemous.

Upon the nobles of - Israel he laid not his hand - This laying on of the hand has been variously explained.

1. He did not conceal himself from the nobles of Israel by covering them with his hand, as he did Moses, Exo 33:22.

2. He did not endue any of the nobles, i.e., the seventy elders, with the gift of prophecy; for so laying on of the hand has been understood.

3. He did not slay any of them; none of them received any injury; which is certainly one meaning of the phrase: see Neh 13:21; Psa 55:20. Also they saw God, i.e., although they had this discovery of his majesty, yet they did eat and drink, i.e., were preserved alive and unhurt.

Perhaps the eating and drinking here may refer to the peace-offerings on which they feasted, and the libations that were then offered on the ratification of the covenant. But they rejoiced the more because they had been so highly favored, and were still permitted to live; for it was generally apprehended that God never showed his glory in this signal manner but for the purpose of manifesting his justice; and therefore it appeared a strange thing that these should have seen God as it were face to face, and yet live. See Gen 16:13; Gen 33:10; and Jdg 13:22, Jdg 13:23.

Come up to me into the mount, and be there - We may suppose Moses to have been, with Aaron, Nadab, Abihu, and the seventy elders, about midway up the mount; for it plainly appears that there were several stations on it.

Moses rose up - In Exo 24:16 it is said that the glory of the Lord abode on the mount, and the cloud covered it. The glory was probably above the cloud, and it was to the cloud that Moses and his servant Joshua ascended at this time, leaving Aaron and the elders below. After they had been in this region, viz., where the cloud encompassed the mountain, for six days, God appears to have called Moses up higher: compare verses Exo 24:16 and Exo 24:18. Moses then ascended to the glory, leaving Joshua in the cloud, with whom he had, no doubt, frequent conferences during the forty days he continued with God on the mount.

Tarry ye here for us - Probably Moses did not know that he was to continue so long on the mount, nor is it likely that the elders tarried the whole forty days where they were: they doubtless, after waiting some considerable time, returned to the camp; and their return is supposed to have been the grand cause why the Israelites made the golden calf, as they probably reported that Moses was lost.

Aaron and Hur are with you - Not knowing how long he might be detained on the mount, and knowing that many cases might occur which would require the interference of the chief magistrate, Moses constituted them regents of the people during the time he should be absent.

And the seventh day he called - It is very likely that Moses went up into the mount on the first day of the week; and having with Joshua remained in the region of the cloud during six days, on the seventh, which was the Sabbath, God spake to him, and delivered successively to him, during forty days and forty nights, the different statutes and ordinances which are afterwards mentioned.

The glory of the Lord was like devouring fire - This appearance was well calculated to inspire the people with the deepest reverence and godly rear; and this is the use the apostle makes or it, Heb 12:28, Heb 12:29, where he evidently refers to this place, saying, Let us have grace whereby we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear; for our God is a Consuming Fire. Seeing the glory of the Lord upon the mount like a devouring fire, Moses having tarried long, the Israelites probably supposed that he had been devoured or consumed by it, and therefore the more easily fell into idolatry. But how could they do this, with this tremendous sight of God's glory before their eyes?

Forty days and forty nights - During the whole of this time he neither ate bread nor drank water; see Exo 34:28; Deu 9:9. Both his body and soul were so sustained by the invigorating presence of God, that he needed no earthly support, and this may be the simple reason why he took none. Elijah fasted forty days and forty nights, sustained by the same influence, 1Kgs 19:8; as did likewise our blessed Lord, when he was about to commence the public ministry of his own Gospel, Mat 4:2.

1. Moses, who was the mediator of the Old Covenant, is alone permitted to draw nigh to God; none of the people are suffered to come up to the Divine glory, not even Aaron, nor his sons, nor the nobles of Israel. Moses was a type of Christ, who is the mediator of the New Covenant; and he alone has access to God in behalf of the human race, as Moses had in behalf of Israel.

2. The law can inspire nothing but terror, when viewed unconnected with its sacrifices, and those sacrifices are nothing but as they refer to Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God, who alone by the sacrifice of himself, bears away the sin of the world.

3. The blood of the victims was sprinkled both on the altar and on the people, to show that the death of Christ gave to Divine justice what it demanded, and to men what they needed. The people were sanctified by it unto God, and God was propitiated by it unto the people. By this sacrifice the law was magnified and made honorable, so Divine justice received its due; and those who believe are justified from all guilt, and sanctified from all sin, so they receive all that they need. Thus God is well pleased, and believers eternally saved. This is a glorious economy, highly worthy of God its author.

Worship ye afar off - Before they came near, they must worship. Thus we must enter into God's gates with humble and solemn adorations.

And Moses alone shall come near - Being therein a type of Christ, who as the high priest entered alone into the most holy place. In the following verses we have the solemn covenant made between God and Israel and the exchanging of the ratifications: typifying the covenant of grace between God and believers through Christ.

Moses told the people all the words of the Lord - He laid before them all the precepts, in the foregoing chapters, and put it to them, whether they were willing to submit to these laws or no? And all the people answered, All the words which the Lord hath said we will do - They had before consented in general to be under God's government; here they consent in particular to these laws now given.

And Moses wrote the words of the Lord - That there might be no mistake; as God dictated them on the mount, where, it is highly probable, God taught him the use of letters. These Moses taught the Israelites, from whom they afterwards travelled to Greece and other nations. As soon as God had separated to himself a peculiar people, he governed them by a written word, as he has done ever since, and will do while the world stands. Pillars according to the number of the tribes - These were to represent the people, the other party to the covenant; and we may suppose they were set up over against the altar, and that Moses as mediator passed to and fro between them. Probably each tribe set up and knew its own pillar, and their elders stood by it. He then appointed sacrifices to be offered upon the altar.

1. The blood of the sacrifice which the people offered was (part of it) sprinkled upon the altar, which signified the people's dedicating themselves to God, and his honour. In the blood of the sacrifices, all the Israelites were presented unto God as living sacrifices, Rom 12:1. 2. The blood of the sacrifice which God had owned and accepted was (the remainder of it) sprinkled, either upon the people themselves, or upon the pillars that represented them, which signified God's conferring his favour upon them, and all the fruits of that favour, and his giving them all the gifts they could desire from a God reconciled to them, and in covenant with them. This part of the ceremony was thus explained, Behold the blood of the covenant; see here how God sealed to you to be a God, and you seal to be to him a people; his promises to you, and yours to him, are yea and amen. Thus our Lord Jesus, the Mediator of the new covenant (of whom Moses was a type) having offered up himself a sacrifice upon the cross, that his blood might be indeed the blood of the covenant, sprinkled it upon the altar in his intercession (Heb 9:12,) and sprinkles it upon his church by his word and ordinances, and the influences and operations of the Spirit of promise by whom we are sealed.

They saw the God of Israel - That is, they had some glimpse of his glory, in light and fire, though they saw no manner of similitude. They saw the place where the God of Israel stood, so the seventy, something that came near a similitude, but was not; whatever they saw it was certainly something of which no image or picture could be made, and yet enough to satisfy them that God was with them of a truth. Nothing is described but that which was under his feet, for our conceptions of God are all below him. They saw not so much as God's feet, but at the bottom of the brightness they saw (such as they never saw before or after, and as the foot - stool or pedestal of it) a most rich and splendid pavement, as it had been of sapphires, azure, or sky - coloured. The heavens themselves are the pavement of God's palace, and his throne is above the firmament.

Upon the nobles or elders of Israel he laid not his hand - Though they were men, the splendour of his glory did not overwhelm them, but it was so moderated (Job 36:9,) and they were so strengthened (Dan 10:19,) that they were able to bear it: nay, though they were sinful men, and obnoxious to God's justice, yet he did not lay his avenging hand upon them, as they feared he would. When we consider what a consuming fire God is, and what stubble we are before him, we shall have reason to say, in all our approaches to him, It is of the Lord's mercies we are not consumed. They saw God, and did eat and drink; They had not only their lives preserved, but their vigour, courage, and comfort; it cast no damp upon their joy, but rather increased it. They feasted upon the sacrifice before God, in token of their chearful consent to the covenant, their grateful acceptance of the benefits of it, and their communion with God in pursuance of that covenant.

Come up to the mount and be there - Expect to continue there for some time.

Joshua was his minister or servant, and it would be a satisfaction to him to have him with him as a companion during the six days that he tarried in the mount before God called to him. Joshua was to be his successor, and therefore thus he was honoured before the people, and thus he was prepared by being trained up in communion with God. Joshua was a type of Christ, and (as the learned Bishop Peirson well observes Moses takes him with him into the mount, because without Jesus, in whom are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge, there is no looking into the secrets of heaven, nor approaching the presence of God.

A cloud covered the mount six days - A visible token of God's special presence there, for he so shews himself to us, as at the same time to conceal himself from us, he lets us know so much as to assure us of his power and grace, but intimates to us that we cannot find him out to perfection. During these six days Moses staid waiting upon the mountain, for a call into the presence - chamber. And on the seventh day - Probably the sabbath - day, he called unto Moses. Now the thick cloud opened in the sight of all Israel, and the glory of the Lord broke forth like devouring fire.

Moses went into the midst of the cloud - It was an extraordinary presence of mind, which the grace of God furnished him with, else he durst not have ventured into the cloud, especially when it broke out in devouring fire. And Moses was in the mount forty days and forty nights - It should seem the six days, were not part of the forty; for during those six days, Joshua was with Moses, who did eat of the manna, and drink of the brook mentioned, Deu 9:21, and while they were together, it is probable Moses did eat and drink with him; but when Moses was called into the midst of the cloud, he left Joshua without, who continued to eat and drink daily while he waited for Moses's return, but from thenceforward Moses fasted.

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 .

After thou hast gone down and acquainted the people with my will, and received their answer, then come up again. This sence is gathered from the repetition of this command after that was done, ver. 12.

Aaron and his two eldest sons, whom by this special honour and favour he prepared for that office to which they were to be called, chap. 28.

Not the seventy governours which were chosen after this time, as appears from Num. 11. 24. compared with Numb. 33. 16. but seventy persons selected by Moses out of those rulers chosen and mentioned Exod. 18. 25. and possibly these were the chief heads of those several families which went with Iacob into Egypt, which were about 70. See Gen. 46. 26, 27.

Though they may come up into the mount further than the people, yet do thou, and let them especially, keep their distance; and what worship either thou or they shall offer to me, shall be performed afar off from the top of the mountain whither thou onely shalt be admitted and that not to pray to me but onely to receive laws and oracles from me. See ver. 2.

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

(i. e.) Without the persons now mentioned, though not without Ioshua his minister, as some conceive from ver. 13. though even there Moses seems to ascend into the mount without Ioshua.

To any part of the mount, as Aaron, and Nadab, &c. did, but they shall tarry at the bottom. See Exod. 19. 12.

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 .

Down from the mount to the people, after he had received the laws from God.

This they so readily and rashly promise, because they were not sensible of their own weakness, and because they did not understand the comprehensiveness and spirituality and strictness of Gods law, but thought it consisted onely in the external performances and abstinences expressed.

Marginal references: chap. 19. 8. Ver. 7. Deut. 5. 27.

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.

To wit, in a book, Heb. 9. 19. And the ten commandments God himself wrote also in tables of stone, Exod. 31. 18.

Representing God in Christ, as one party in the covenant.

Representing the people of Israel, the other party. So here are the outward signs and symbols of a covenant made between God and the Israelites.

5 And he sent young men of the children of Israel, which offered burnt-offerings, and sacrificed peace-offerings of oxen unto the LORD.

It matters not whether they were the first-born, or others: it is sufficient that they were persons appointed and authorized for the present service, not without Gods direction.

One kind, as the principal, is named for all: for there were offered also goats, as appears both from Heb. 9. 19. and from hence, that burnt-offerings were usually made of the goats, Lev. 1. 10. Numb. 7. 28.

6 And Moses took half of the bloud , and put it in basons; and half of the bloud he sprinkled on the altar .

Of the beasts killed, which for conveniency of sprinkling was mixed with a little water, Heb. 9. 19. whereby also Christ was most fitly represented, who came by water and blood, 1 Ioh. 5. 6.

To signify, as well that God was appeased and atoned by this blood as it represented the blood of Christ, as also that Christ was sanctified with his own blood, Heb. 9. 12.

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.

Wherein Moses had written the conditions of this covenant, to wit, the words and laws of God, above ver. 4.

(i. e.) In the hearing of a great number of them, or of some in the name of all the people, by whom it was read or otherwise published to all the people successively.

Marginal references: Verse 3.

8 And Moses took the bloud , and sprinkled it on the people , and said, Behold , the bloud of the covenant , which the LORD hath made with you, concerning all these words.

The other half of the blood, which was put in the basons for this end, ver. 6.

Either upon the 12 pillars representing the people: or upon the peoples representatives, to wit, the Elders mentioned ver. 1. as when the people are commanded to lay on their hands, the Elders do it in their name and stead, Lev. 4. 15. Deut. 21. 2. or upon those of the people which were nearest him, which was imputed to all the rest, and was to be taken by them as if it had reached unto them all. Now this sprinkling of the bloud upon the people did signify, 1. their ratification of the covenant on their parts, and their secret wishing of the effusion of their own blood if they did not keep it. 2. the sprinkling of their consciences with the blood of Christ, and their obtaining redemption, justification, and access to God through it alone. See Heb. 9. 20, 22. and 13. 20.

Whereby the covenant is made and confirmed, as was usual both in Scripture, Mat. 26. 28. Luk. 22. 20. and among heathens.

Marginal references: 1 Pet. 1. 2.

9 Then went up Moses and Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, and seventy of the Elders of Israel.

In obedience to that command of God given ver. 1.

10 And they saw the God of Israel and there was under his feet, as it were a paved work of a Saphire stone , and, as it were the body of heaven in his clearness .

Not any visible resemblance of the Divine nature which is expresly denied, Deut. 4. 15. 1 Tim. 6. 16. and was refused to Moses when he desired it; Exod. 33. 18, 20. and therefore surely would never be granted to the Elders of Israel, but some glorious appearance or token of Gods special presence, or rather, the second person in the Trinity, who now shewed himself to them in an humane and glorious shape, as an essay and testimony of his future incarnation. This may seem probable, 1. because here is mention of his feet, 2. because this way of Christs appearance was not unusual. See Gen. 18. &c. 3. because the person who delivered the law in Sinai was Christ, as appears from Act. 7. 38. though he be there called an Angel, a name oft given to Christ, as hath been sormerly shewed.

Which is of a clear sky-colour, mixed with golden spots, like stars in the sky.

Or, for clearness. A clear sky in Prophetical style signifies Gods favour, as a cloudy sky notes his anger.

Marginal references: Ezek. 1. 26. and 10. 1.

11 And upon the nobles of the children of Israel he laid not his hand : also they saw God, and did eat and drink .

Or separated or select ones, i. e. the persons who were singled out to go up with Moses ver. 1. 9. the same of whom it is said here and ver. 10. that they saw God.

(i. e.) Did not hurt or destroy them, as they might expect according to the vulgar opinion, Gen. 16. 13. and 32. 20. &c. and the conscience of their own guilt, as being now before their Lord and Judge. And so the phrase of putting or stretching forth the hand is most frequently used, as Gen. 37. 22. 1 Sam. 26. 11, 23. Esth. 2. 21. Iob 1. 11, 12. Psal. 138. 7, &c.

So far were they from being destroyed, that they were not affrighted at this glorious appearance of God, but were refreshed and comforted by it, and did joyfully eat and drink together in Gods presence, celebrating the sacred feast made of the remnant of the peace-offerings, according to the manner. Thus God gave them a taste of his grace and mercy in this covenant, and an assurance that he would not deal with them according to the rigors of the law, but for the sake of the blood of Christ typically represented here would graciously pardon and accept all those that sincerely, though imperfectly, obey him.

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.

(i. e.) Abide, as that verb is used 1 Tim. 4. 15. and elsewhere.

He chose that material, partly as very durable, yet so that it was capable of being broken, which God, foreseeing their wickedness, intended to do, and partly for signification, to note the hardness of their hearts, upon which no impression could be made, but by the finger of God.

Or, the law, and because that is ambiguous to the moral and ceremonial and judicial, he addes, even the commandment or commandements, to wit, the ten commandements, so called by way of eminency, for these onely were written by God upon the stony tables, as appears by Exod. 34. 28. the rest were written onely by Moses in a book, above ver. 4.

Marginal references: chap. 31. 18. and 32. 16.

13 And Moses rose up, and his minister Joshua : and Moses went up into the mount of God.

Who did not go up with Moses to the top of the mount, as is sufficiently implyed both here and above ver. 1, 2. but abode in some lower place, waiting for Moses his return, as appears from Exod. 32. 17. And there Ioshua abode 40 dayes, not fasting all the while, but having, as the rest had, Manna for his meat, and, for his drink, water out of the brook that discended out of the mount, as we read Deut. 9. 21.

14 And he said unto the elders, Tarry ye here for us , untill 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.

(i. e.) For me and Ioshua, and here, i. e. in the camp, where he was when he spake these words; for it was where not onely Aaron and Hur, but the people might come, as it here follows, and therefore not upon the mount.

Whom Moses had made joint-commissioners to determine hard causes which were brought to them from the Elders, according to the order, Exod. 18. 22. Some make Aaron the Ecclesiastical head, and Hur the civil head. But Aaron was not authorized for Ecclesiastical matters till chap. 28.

16 And the glory of the LORD abode upon mount Sinai, and the cloud covered it six dayes: and the seventh day he called unto Moses out of the midst of the cloud.

(i. e.) The tokens of his glorious presence in the fire, ver. 17. Deut. 4. 36.

From the eyes of the people.

So long God made Moses wait, either to exercise his humility, devotion, and dependance upon God: Or to prepare him by degrees for so great a work: Or because this was the Sabbath day, called therefore the seventh with an emphatical article: And God might chuse that day, for the beginning of that glorious work to put the greater honour upon it and oblige the people to a stricter observance of it. So it was upon a Lords Day that St. Iohn had his Revelation delivered to him, Rev. 1. 10.

Marginal references: Num. 14. 10.

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.

He saith like it, for it was not devouring fire, as appears by Moses his long abode in it. Note here, whatsoever the Elders of Israel saw before, the people saw no similitude of God, as Moses observes Deut. 4. 15.

Marginal references: Deut. 4. 36.

18 And Moses went up into the midst of the cloud , and gat him up into the mount: and Moses was in the mount forty dayes and forty nights .

The God that called him enabling him to enter and abide there, whereas, when he was left to himself, he could not enter into the Tabernacle, Exod. 40. 35.

In which he did neither eat nor drink, Exod. 34. 28. Deut. 9. 9, 18. whereby it seems most probable the six days mentioned ver. 16. were a part of these 40 days, because Moses being in perpetual expectation of Gods call seems not to have had leasure for eating and drinking, nor provision neither. Besides he is not said to be in the midst of the cloud so long, but onely in the mount, where he was those six days, ver. 15, 16.

Exo 24:1-2

These two verses form part of the address of God in Ex 20:22-23:33; for אמר משׁה ואל (“but to Moses He said”) cannot be the commencement of a fresh address, which would necessarily require מ אל ויּאמר (cf. Exo 24:12; Exo 19:21; Exo 20:22). The turn given to the expression מ ואל presupposes that God had already spoken to others, or that what had been said before related not to Moses himself, but to other persons. But this cannot be affirmed of the decalogue, which applied to Moses quite as much as to the entire nation (a sufficient refutation of Knobel's assertion, that these verses are a continuation of Exo 19:20-25, and are linked on to the decalogue), but only of the address concerning the mishpatim, or “rights,” which commences with Exo 20:22, and, according to Exo 20:22 and Exo 21:1, was intended for the nation, and addressed to it, even though it was through the medium of Moses. What God said to the people as establishing its rights, is here followed by what He said to Moses himself, namely, that he was to go up to Jehovah, along with Aaron, Nadab, Abihu, and seventy elders. At the same time, it is of course implied that Moses, who had ascended the mountain with Aaron alone (Exo 20:21), was first of all to go down again and repeat to the people the “rights” which God had communicated to him, and only when this had been done, to ascend again with the persons named. According to Exo 24:3 and Exo 24:12 (? 9), this is what Moses really did. But Moses alone was to go near to Jehovah: the others were to worship afar off, and the people were not to come up at all.

Exo 24:3-4

The ceremony described in Exo 24:3-11 is called “the covenant which Jehovah made with Israel” (Exo 24:8). It was opened by Moses, who recited to the people “all the words of Jehovah” (i.e., not the decalogue, for the people had heard this directly from the mouth of God Himself, but the words in Exo 20:22-26), and “all the rights” (ch. 21-23); whereupon the people answered unanimously (אחד קול), “All the words which Jehovah hath spoken will we do.” This constituted the preparation for the conclusion of the covenant. It was necessary that the people should not only know what the Lord imposed upon them in the covenant about to be made with them, and what He promised them, but that they should also declare their willingness to perform what was imposed upon them. The covenant itself was commenced by Moses writing all the words of Jehovah in “the book of the covenant” (Exo 24:4 and Exo 24:7), for the purpose of preserving them in an official record. The next day, early in the morning, he built an altar at the foot of the mountain, and erected twelve boundary-stones or pillars for the twelve tribes, most likely round about the altar and at some distance from it, so as to prepare the soil upon which Jehovah was about to enter into union with the twelve tribes. As the altar indicated the presence of Jehovah, being the place where the Lord would come to His people to bless them (Exo 20:24), so the twelve pillars, or boundary-stones, did not serve as mere memorials of the conclusion of the covenant, but were to indicate the place of the twelve tribes, and represent their presence also.

Exo 24:5

After the foundation and soil had been thus prepared in the place of sacrifice, for the fellowship which Jehovah was about to establish with His people; Moses sent young men of the children of Israel to prepare the sacrifices, and directed them to offer burnt-offering and sacrifice slain-offerings, viz., שׁלמים, “peace-offerings (see at Lev 3:1) for Jehovah,” for which purpose פּרים, bullocks, or young oxen, were used. The young men were not first-born sons, who had officiated as priests previous to the institution of the Levitical priesthood, according to the natural right of primogeniture, as Onkelos supposes; nor were they the sons of Aaron, as Augustine maintains: they simply acted as servants of Moses; and the priestly duty of sprinkling the blood was performed by him as the mediator of the covenant. It is merely as young men, therefore, i.e., as strong and active, that they are introduced in this place, and not as representatives of the nation, “by whom the sacrifice was presented, and whose attitude resembled that of a youth just ready to enter upon his course” (Kurtz, O. C. iii. 143). For, as Oehler says, “this was not a sacrifice presented by the nation on its own account. The primary object was to establish that fellowship, by virtue of which it could draw near to Jehovah in sacrifice. Moreover, according to Exo 24:1 and Exo 24:9, the nation possessed its proper representatives in the seventy elders” (Herzog's Cyclopaedia). But even though these sacrifices were not offered by the representatives of the nation, and for this very reason Moses selected young men from among the people to act as servants at this ceremony, they had so far a substitutionary position, that in their persons the nation was received into fellowship with God by means of the sprinkling of the blood, which was performed in a peculiar manner, to suit the unique design of this sacrificial ceremony.

Exo 24:6-8

The blood was divided into two parts. One half was swung by Moses upon the altar (זרק to swing, shake, or pour out of the vessel, in distinction from הזּה to sprinkle) the other half he put into basins, and after he had read the book of the covenant to the people, and they had promised to do and follow all the words of Jehovah, he sprinkled it upon the people with these words: “Behold the blood of the covenant, which Jehovah has made with you over all these words.” As several animals were slaughtered, and all of them young oxen, there must have been a considerable quantity of blood obtained, so that the one half would fill several basins, and many persons might be sprinkled with it as it was being swung about. The division of the blood had reference to the two parties to the covenant, who were to be brought by the covenant into a living unity; but it had no connection whatever with the heathen customs adduced by Bähr and Knobel, in which the parties to a treaty mixed their own blood together. For this was not a mixture of different kinds of blood, but it was a division of one blood, and that sacrificial blood, in which animal life was offered instead of human life, making expiation as a pure life for sinful man, and by virtue of this expiation restoring the fellowship between God and man which had been destroyed by sin. But the sacrificial blood itself only acquired this signification through the sprinkling or swinging upon the altar, by virtue of which the human soul was received, in the soul of the animal sacrificed for man, into the fellowship of the divine grace manifested upon the altar, in order that, through the power of this sin-forgiving and sin-destroying grace, it might be sanctified to a new and holy life. In this way the sacrificial blood acquired the signification of a vital principle endued with the power of divine grace; and this was communicated to the people by means of the sprinkling of the blood. As the only reason for dividing the sacrificial blood into two parts was, that the blood sprinkled upon the altar could not be taken off again and sprinkled upon the people; the two halves of the blood are to be regarded as one blood, which was first of all sprinkled upon the altar, and then upon the people. In the blood sprinkled upon the altar, the natural life of the people was given up to God, as a life that had passed through death, to be pervaded by His grace; and then through the sprinkling upon the people it was restored to them again, as a life renewed by the grace of God. In this way the blood not only became a bond of union between Jehovah and His people, but as the blood of the covenant, it became a vital power, holy and divine, uniting Israel and its God; and the sprinkling of the people with this blood was an actual renewal of life, a transposition of Israel into the kingdom of God, in which it was filled with the powers of God’s spirit of grace, and sanctified into a kingdom of priests, a holy nation of Jehovah (Exo 19:6). And this covenant was made “upon all the words” which Jehovah had spoken, and the people had promised to observe. Consequently it had for its foundation the divine law and right, as the rule of life for Israel.

Exo 24:9-11

Through their consecration with the blood of the covenant, the Israelites were qualified to ascend the mountain, and there behold the God of Israel and celebrate the covenant meal; of course, not the whole of the people, for that would have been impracticable on physical grounds, but the nation in the persons of its representatives, viz., the seventy elders, with Aaron and his two eldest sons. The fact that the latter were summoned along with the elders had reference to their future election to the priesthood, the bearers of which were to occupy the position of mediators between Jehovah and the nation, an office for which this was a preparation. The reason for choosing seventy out of the whole body of elders (Exo 24:3) is to be found in the historical and symbolical significance of this number. “They saw the God of Israel.” This title is very appropriately given to Jehovah here, because He, the God of the fathers, had become in truth the God of Israel through the covenant just made. We must not go beyond the limits drawn in Exo 33:20-23 in our conceptions of what constituted the sight (חזה Exo 24:11) of God; at the same time we must regard it as a vision of God in some form of manifestation which rendered the divine nature discernible to the human eye. Nothing is said as to the form in which God manifested Himself. This silence, however, is not intended “to indicate the imperfection of their sight of God,” as Baumgarten affirms, nor is it to be explained, as Hoffmann supposes, on the ground that “what they saw differed from what the people had constantly before their eyes simply in this respect, that after they had entered the darkness, which enveloped the mountain that burned as it were with fire at its summit, the fiery sign separated from the cloud, and assumed a shape, beneath which it was bright and clear, as an image of untroubled bliss.” The words are evidently intended to affirm something more than, that they saw the fiery form in which God manifested Himself to the people, and that whilst the fire was ordinarily enveloped in a cloud, they saw it upon the mountain without the cloud. For, since Moses saw the form (תּמוּנה) of Jehovah (Num 12:8), we may fairly conclude, notwithstanding the fact that, according to Exo 24:2, the representatives of the nation were not to draw near to Jehovah, and without any danger of contradicting Deu 4:12 and Deu 4:15, that they also saw a form of God. Only this form is not described, in order that no encouragement might be given to the inclination of the people to make likenesses of Jehovah. Thus we find that Isaiah gives no description of the form in which he saw the Lord sitting upon a high and lofty throne (Isa 6:1). Ezekiel is the first to describe the form of Jehovah which he saw in the vision, “as the appearance of a man” (Eze 1:26; compare Dan 7:9 and Dan 7:13). “And there was under His feet as it were work of clear sapphire (לבנת, from לבנה whiteness, clearness, not from לבנה a brick),This is the derivation adopted by the English translators in their rendering “paved work.” - Tr.and as the material (עצם body, substance) of heaven in brilliancy,” - to indicate that the God of Israel was enthroned above the heaven in super-terrestrial glory and undisturbed blessedness. And God was willing that His people should share in this blessedness, for “He laid not His hand upon the nobles of Israel,” i.e., did not attack them. “They saw God, and did eat and drink,” i.e., they celebrated thus near to Him the sacrificial meal of the peace-offerings, which had been sacrificed at the conclusion of the covenant, and received in this covenant meal a foretaste of the precious and glorious gifts with which God would endow and refresh His redeemed people in His kingdom. As the promise in Exo 19:5-6, with which God opened the way for the covenant at Sinai, set clearly before the nation that had been rescued from Egypt the ultimate goal of its divine calling; so this termination of the ceremony was intended to give to the nation, in the persons of its representatives, a tangible pledge of the glory of the goal that was set before it. The sight of the God of Israel was a foretaste of the blessedness of the sight of God in eternity, and the covenant meal upon the mountain before the face of God was a type of the marriage supper of the Lamb, to which the Lord will call, and at which He will present His perfected Church in the day of the full revelation of His glory (Rev 19:7-9).

Exo 24:12-18 prepare the way for the subsequent revelation recorded in ch. 25-31, which Moses received concerning the erection of the sanctuary. At the conclusion of the covenant meal, the representatives of the nation left the mountain along with Moses. This is not expressly stated, indeed; since it followed as a matter of course that they returned to the camp, when the festival for which God had called them up was concluded. A command was then issued again to Moses to ascend the mountain, and remain there (והיה־שׁם), for He was about to give him the tables of stone, with (ו as in Gen 3:24) the law and commandments, which He had written for their instruction (cf. Exo 31:18).

Exo 24:13-14

When Moses was preparing to ascend the mountain with his servant Joshua (vid., Jos 17:9), he ordered the elders to remain in the camp (בּזה i.e., where they were) till their return, and appointed Aaron and Hur (vid., Exo 17:10) as administrators of justice in case of any disputes occurring among the people. דּברים מי־בעל whoever has matters, matters of dispute (on this meaning of בּעל see Gen 37:19).

Exo 24:15-17

When he ascended the mountain, upon which the glory of Jehovah dwelt, it was covered for six days with the cloud, and the glory itself appeared to the Israelites in the camp below like devouring fire (cf. Exo 19:16); and on the seventh day He called Moses into the cloud. Whether Joshua followed him we are not told; but it is evident from Exo 32:17 that he was with him on the mountain, though, judging from Exo 24:2 and Exo 33:11, he would not go into the immediate presence of God.

Exo 24:18

“And Moses was on the mountain forty days and forty nights,” including the six days of waiting, - the whole time without eating and drinking (Deu 9:9). The number forty was certainly significant, since it was not only repeated on the occasion of his second protracted stay upon Mount Sinai (Exo 34:28; Deu 9:18), but occurred again in the forty days of Elijah’s journey to Horeb the mount of God in the strength of the food received from the angel (1Ki 19:8), and in the fasting of Jesus at the time of His temptation (Mat 4:2; Luk 4:2), and even appears to have been significant in the forty years of Israel’s wandering in the desert (Deu 8:2). In all these cases the number refers to a period of temptation, of the trial of faith, as well as to a period of the strengthening of faith through the miraculous support bestowed by God. Directions Concerning the Sanctuary and Priesthood - Exodus 25-31

To give a definite external form to the covenant concluded with His people, and construct a visible bond of fellowship in which He might manifest Himself to the people and they might draw near to Him as their God, Jehovah told Moses that the Israelites were to erect Him a sanctuary, that He might dwell in the midst of them (Exo 25:8). The construction and arrangement of this sanctuary were determined in all respects by God Himself, who showed to Moses, when upon the mountain, a pattern of the dwelling and its furniture, and prescribed with great minuteness both the form and materials of all the different parts of the sanctuary and all the things required for the sacred service. If the sanctuary was to answer its purpose, the erection of it could not be left to the inventive faculty of any man whatever, but must proceed from Him, who was there to manifest Himself to the nation, as the Holy One, in righteousness and grace. The people could only carry out what God appointed, and could only fulfil their covenant duty, by the readiness with which they supplied the materials required for the erection of the sanctuary and completed the work with their own hands. The divine directions extended to all the details, because they were all of importance in relation to the design of God. The account therefore is so elaborate, that it contains a description not only of the directions of God with reference to the whole and every separate part (ch. 25-31), but also of the execution of the work in all its details (ch. 35-40).

The following is the plan upon which this section is arranged. After the command of God to the people to offer gifts for the sanctuary about to be erected, which forms the introduction to the whole (Exo 25:1-9), the further directions commence with a description of the ark of the covenant, which Jehovah had appointed as His throne in the sanctuary, that is to say, as it were, with the sanctuary in the sanctuary (Exo 25:10-22). Then follow - (1) the table of shew-bread and the golden candlestick (Ex 25:23-40), as the two things by means of which the continual communion of Israel with Jehovah was to be maintained; (2) the construction of the dwelling, with an account of the position to be occupied by the three things already named (ch. 26); (3) the altar of burnt-offering, together with the court which was to surround the holy dwelling (Ex 27:1-19). This is immediately followed by the command respecting the management of the candlestick (Exo 27:20, Exo 27:21), which prepares the way for an account of the institution of the priesthood, and the investiture and consecration of the priests (ch. 28 and 29), and by the directions as to the altar of incense, and the service to be performed at it (Exo 30:1-10); after which, there only remain a few subordinate instructions to complete the whole (Ex 30:11-31:17). “The description of the entire sanctuary commences, therefore,” as Ranke has aptly observed, “with the ark of the law, the place of the manifestation of Jehovah, and terminates with the altar of incense, which stood immediately in front of it.” The dwelling was erected round Jehovah’s seat, and round this the court. The priests first of all presented the sacrifices upon the altar of burnt-offering, and then proceeded into the holy place and drew near to Jehovah. The highest act in the daily service of the priests was evidently this standing before Jehovah at the altar of incense, which was only separated by the curtain from the most holy place.

Israel's Acceptance of the Laws. (b. c. 1491.)

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. 2 And Moses alone shall come near the Lord : but they shall not come nigh; neither shall the people go up with him. 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. 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. 5 And he sent young men of the children of Israel, which offered burnt offerings, and sacrificed peace offerings of oxen unto the Lord . 6 And Moses took half of the blood, and put it in basons; and half of the blood he sprinkled on the altar. 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. 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 first two verses record the appointment of a second session upon Mount Sinai, for the making of laws, when an end was put to the first. When a communion is begun between God and us, it shall never fail on his side, if it do not first fail on ours. Moses is directed to bring Aaron and his sons, and the seventy elders of Israel, that they might be witnesses of the glory of God, and that communion with him to which Moses was admitted; and that their testimony might confirm the people's faith. In this approach, 1. They must all be very reverent: Worship you afar off, v. 1. Before they came near, they must worship. Thus we must enter into God's gates with humble and solemn adorations, draw near as those that know our distance, and admire the condescensions of God's grace in admitting us to draw near. Are great princes approached with the profound reverences of the body? And shall not the soul that draws near to God be bowed before him? 2. They must none of them come so near as Moses, v. 2. They must come up to the Lord (and those that would approach to God must ascend), but Moses alone must come near, being therein a type of Christ, who, as the high priest, entered alone into the most holy place.

In the following verses, we have the solemn covenant made between God and Israel, and the exchanging of the ratifications; and a very solemn transaction it was, typifying the covenant of grace between God and believers through Christ.

I. Moses told the people the words of the Lord, v. 3. He did not lead them blindfold into the covenant, nor teach them a devotion that was the daughter of ignorance; but laid before them all the precepts, general and particular, in the foregoing chapters; and fairly put it to them whether they were willing to submit to these laws or no.

II. The people unanimously consented to the terms proposed, without reservation or exception: All the words which the Lord hath said will we do. They had before consented in general to be under God's government (ch. xix. 8); here they consent in particular to these laws now given. O that there had been such a heart in them! How well were it if people would but be always in the same good mind that sometimes they seem to be in! Many consent to the law, and yet do not live up to it; they have nothing to except against it, and yet will not persuade themselves to be ruled by it.

This is the tenour of the covenant, That, if they would observe the foregoing precepts, God would perform the foregoing promises. "Obey, and be happy." Here is the bargain made. Observe,

1. How it was engrossed in the book of the covenant: Moses wrote the words of the Lord (v. 4), that there might be no mistake; probably he had written them as God dictated them on the mount. As soon as ever God had separated to himself a peculiar people in the world, he governed them by a written word, as he has done ever since, and will do while the world stands and the church in it. Moses, having engrossed the articles of agreement concluded upon between God and Israel, read them in the audience of the people (v. 7), that they might be perfectly apprised of the thing, and might try whether their second thoughts were the same with their first, upon the whole matter. And we may suppose they were so; for their words (v. 7) are the same with what they were (v. 3), but something stronger: All that the Lord hath said (be it good, or be it evil, to flesh and blood, Jer. xlii. 6) we will do; so they had said before, but now they add, "And will be obedient; not only we will do what has been commanded, but in every thing which shall further be ordained we will be obedient." Bravely resolved! if they had but stuck to their resolution. See here that God's covenants and commands are so incontestably equitable in themselves, and so highly advantageous to us, that the more we think of them, and the more plainly and fully they are set before us, the more reason we shall see to comply with them.

2. How it was sealed by the blood of the covenant, that Israel might receive strong consolations from the ratifying of God's promises to them, and might lie under strong obligations from the ratifying of their promises to God. Thus has Infinite Wisdom devised means that we may be confirmed both in our faith and in our obedience, may be both encouraged in our duty and engaged to it. The covenant must be made by sacrifice (Ps. l. 5), because, since man has sinned, and forfeited his Creator's favour, there can be no fellowship by covenant till there be first friendship and atonement by sacrifice.

(1.) In preparation therefore for the parties interchangeably putting their seals to this covenant, [1.] Moses builds an altar, to the honour of God, which was principally intended in all the altars that were built, and which was the first thing to be looked at in the covenant they were now to seal. No addition to the perfections of the divine nature can be made by any of God's dealings with the children of men, but in them his perfections are manifested and magnified, and his honour is shown forth; therefore he will not be represented by an altar, to signify that all he expected from them was that they should do him honour, and that, being his people, they should be to him for a name and a praise. [2.] He erects twelve pillars, according to the number of the tribes. These were to represent the people, the other party to the covenant; and we may suppose that they were set up against the altar, and that Moses, as mediator, passed to and fro between them. Probably each tribe set up and knew its own pillar, and their elders stood by it. [3.] He appointed sacrifices to be offered upon the altar (v. 5), burnt-offerings and peace-offerings, which yet were designed to be expiatory. We are not concerned to enquire who these young men were that were employed in offering these sacrifices; for Moses was himself the priest, and what they did was purely as his servants, by his order and appointment. No doubt they were men who by their bodily strength were qualified for the service, and by their station among the people were fittest for the honour.

(2.) Preparation being thus made, the ratifications were very solemnly exchanged. [1.] The blood of the sacrifice which the people offered was (part of it) sprinkled upon the altar (v. 6), which signifies the people's dedicating themselves, their lives, and beings, to God, and to his honour. In the blood (which is the life) of the dead sacrifices all the Israelites were presented unto God as living sacrifices, Rom. xii. 1. [2.] The blood of the sacrifice which God had owned and accepted was (the remainder of it) sprinkled either upon the people themselves (v. 8) or upon the pillars that represented them, which signified God's graciously conferring his favour upon them and all the fruits of that favour, and his giving them all the gifts they could expect or desire from a God reconciled to them and in covenant with them by sacrifice. This part of the ceremony was thus explained: "Behold the blood of the covenant; see here how God has sealed to you to be a people; his promises to you, and yours to him, are both yea and amen." Thus our Lord Jesus, the Mediator of the new covenant (of whom Moses was a type), having offered up himself a sacrifice upon the cross, that his blood might be indeed the blood of the covenant, sprinkled it upon the altar in his intercession (Heb. ix. 12), and sprinkles it upon his church by his word and ordinances and the influences and operations of the Spirit of promise, by whom we are sealed. He himself seemed to allude to this solemnity when, in the institution of the Lord's supper, he said, This cup is the New Testament (or covenant) in my blood. Compare with this, Heb. ix. 19, 20.

A Manifestation of God. (b. c. 1491.)

9 Then went up Moses, and Aaron, Nadab, and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel: 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. 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 people having, besides their submission to the ceremony of the sprinkling of blood, declared their well-pleasedness in their God and his law, again and again, God here gives to their representatives some special tokens of his favour to them (for God meets him that rejoices and works righteousness), and admits them nearer to him than they could have expected. Thus, in the New-Testament church, we find the four living creatures, and the four and twenty elders, honoured with places round the throne, being redeemed unto God by the blood of the Lamb which is in the midst of the throne, Rev. iv. 4, 6; v. 8, 9. Observe, 1. They saw the God of Israel (v. 10), that is, they had some glimpse of his glory, in light and fire, though they saw no manner of similitude, and his being no man hath seen nor can see, 1 Tim. vi. 16. They saw the place where the God of Israel stood (so the LXX.), something that came near a similitude, but was not; whatever they saw, it was certainly something of which no image nor picture could be made, and yet enough to satisfy them that God was with them of a truth. Nothing is described but that which was under his feet; for our conceptions of God are all below him, and fall infinitely short of being adequate. They saw not so much as God's feet; but at the bottom of the brightness, and as the footstool or pedestal of it, they saw a most rich and splendid pavement, such as they never saw before nor after, as it had been of sapphires, azure or sky-coloured. The heavens themselves are the pavement of God's palace, and his throne is above the firmament. See how much better wisdom is than the precious onyx or the sapphires, for wisdom was from eternity God's delight (Prov. viii. 30), and lay in his bosom, but the sapphires are the pavement under his feet; there let us put all the wealth of this world, and not in our hearts. 2. Upon the nobles (or elders) of Israel, he laid not his hand, v. 11. Though they were men, the dazzling splendour of his glory did not overwhelm them; but it was so moderated (Job xxvi. 9), and they were so strengthened (Dan. x. 19), that they were able to bear it. Nay, though they were sinful men, and obnoxious to God's justice, yet he did not lay his punishing avenging hand upon them, as they feared he would. When we consider what a consuming fire God is, and what stubble we are before him, we shall have reason to say, in all our approaches to him, It is of the Lord's mercies that we are not consumed. 3. They saw God, and did eat and drink. They had not only their lives preserved, but their vigour, courage, and comfort; it cast no damp upon their joy, but rather increased and elevated it. They feasted upon the sacrifice, before God, in token of their cheerful consent to the covenant now made, their grateful acceptance of the benefits of it, and their communion with God, in pursuance of that covenant. Thus believers eat and drink with Christ at his table, Luke xxii. 30. Blessed are those that shall eat bread in the kingdom of our Father, and drink of the wine new there.

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. 13 And Moses rose up, and his minister Joshua: and Moses went up into the mount of God. 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. 15 And Moses went up into the mount, and a cloud covered the mount. 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. 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. 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.

The public ceremony of sealing the covenant being over, Moses is called up to receive further instructions, which we have in the following chapters.

I. He is called up into the mount, and there he remains six days at some distance. Orders are given him (v. 12): Come up to the mount, and be there, that is, "Expect to continue there for some considerable time." Those that would have communion with God must not only come to ordinances, but they must abide by them. Blessed are those that dwell in his house, not that merely call there. "Come up, and I will give thee a law, that thou mayest teach them." Moses taught them nothing but what he had received from the Lord, and he received nothing from the Lord but what he taught them; for he was faithful both to God and Israel, and did neither add nor diminish, but kept close to his instructions. Having received these orders, 1. He appointed Aaron and Hur to be as lords-justices in his absence, to keep the peace and good order in the congregation, v. 14. The care of his government he would leave behind him when he went up into the mount, that he might not have that to distract his mind; and yet he would not leave the people as sheep having no shepherd, no, not for a few days. Good princes find their government a constant care, and their people find it a constant blessing. 2. He took Joshua up with him into the mount, v. 13. Joshua was his minister, and it would be a satisfaction to him to have him with him as a companion, during the six days that he tarried in the mount, before God called to him. Joshua was to be his successor, and therefore thus he was honoured before the people, above the rest of the elders, that they might afterwards the more readily take him for their governor; and thus he was prepared for service, by being trained up in communion with God. Joshua was a type of Christ, and (as the learned bishop Pearson well observes) Moses takes him with him into the mount, because without Jesus, in whom are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge, there is no looking into the secrets of heaven, nor approaching the glorious presence of God. 3. A cloud covered the mount six days, a visible token of God's special presence there, for he so shows himself to us as at the same time to conceal himself from us. He lets us know so much as to assure us of his presence, power, and grace, but intimates to us that we cannot find him out to perfection. During these six days Moses staid waiting upon the mountain for a call into the presence-chamber, v. 15, 16. God thus tried the patience of Moses, and his obedience to that command (v. 12), Be there. If Moses had been tired before the seventh day (as Saul, 1 Sam. xiii. 8, 9), and had said, What should I wait for the Lord any longer? he would have lost the honour of entering into the cloud; but communion with God is worth waiting for. And it is fit we should address ourselves to solemn ordinances with a solemn pause, taking time to compose ourselves, Ps. cviii. 1.

II. He is called up into a cloud on the seventh day, probably on the sabbath day, v. 16. Now, 1. The thick cloud opened in the sight of all Israel, and the glory of the Lord broke forth like devouring fire, v. 17. God, even our God, is a consuming fire, and so he was pleased to manifest himself in the giving of the law, that, knowing the terrors of the Lord, we may be persuaded to obey, and may by them be prepared for the comforts of the gospel, and that the grace and truth which come by Jesus Christ may be the more acceptable. 2. The entrance of Moses into the cloud was very wonderful: Moses went into the midst of the cloud, v. 18. It was an extraordinary presence of mind which the grace of God furnished him with by his six days' preparation, else he durst not have ventured into the cloud, especially when it broke out in devouring fire. Moses was sure that he who called him would protect him; and even those glorious attributes of God which are most terrible to the wicked the saints with a humble reverence rejoice in. He that walks righteously, and speaks uprightly, is able to dwell even with this devouring fire, as we are told, Isa. xxxiii. 14, 15. There are persons and works that will abide the fire, 1 Cor. iii. 12, &c., and some that will have confidence before God. 3. His continuance in the cloud was no less wonderful; he was there forty days and forty nights. It should seem, the six days (v. 16) were not part of the forty; for, during those six days, Moses was with Joshua, who did eat of the manna, and drink of the brook, mentioned, Deut. ix. 21, and while they were together it is probable that Moses did eat and drink with him; but when Moses was called into the midst of the cloud he left Joshua without, who continued to eat and drink daily while he waited for Moses's return, but thenceforward Moses fasted. Doubtless God could have said what he had now to say to Moses in one day, but, for the greater solemnity of the thing, he kept him with him in the mount forty days and forty nights. We are hereby taught to spend much time in communion with God, and to think that time best spent which is so spent. Those that would get the knowledge of God's will must meditate thereon day and night.

CHAP. XXIIII.

AND he said unto Moses, Come up unto Iehovah, thou and Aaron, Nadab & Abihu, and seventy of the Elders of Israel: and bow down your selves afarre off. And Moses himselfe alone shall come neere unto Iehovah; but they shal not come neere: and the people they shall not come up with him. And Moses came and told the people all the words of Iehovah, and all the judgments: and all the people answered with one voice, and said; All the words which Iehovah hath spoken, wee will doe. And Moses wrote all the words of Iehovah, and rose up earely in the morning, and builded an altar under the mount, and twelve pillars, according to the twelve tribes of Israel. And he sent the yong men of the sons of Israel, and they offered burnt offerings, and sacrificed sacrifices of peace-offerings, of bullocks, unto Iehovah. And Moses tooke halfe of the blood, and put it in basons, and halfe of the blood hee sprinkled on the altar. And he tooke the book of the covenant, & read in the eares of the people: and they said, All that Iehovah hath spoken, we will doe, and obey. And Moses tooke the blood, and sprinkled on the people, and said, Behold the blood of the covenant wch Iehovah hath striken with you, concerning all these words. Then went up Moses and 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 worke of Saphire bricke, and as the body of the heavens for cleernesse. And upon the Nobles of the sons of Israel hee laid not his hand: and they saw God, & did eat & drink. And Iehovah said unto Moses, Come up to me into the mount, and bee there, and I will give thee tables of stone, & a law, and commandement, which I have written, to teach them. And Moses rose up, and his Minister Ioshua: and Moses went up into the mountaine of God. And he said unto the Elders, Sit yee here for us, untill wee returne unto you: and behold, Aaron and Hur are with you; who so hath matters to doe, let him come neere unto them. And Moses went up into the mountaine, and a cloud covered the mountaine. And the glory of Iehovah dwelt upō mount Sinai, & the cloud covered it six dayes: and in the seventh day hee called unto Moses out of the midst of the cloud. And the sight of the glory of Iehovah was like devouring fire, in the top of the mountaine, in the eyes of the sons of Israel. And Moses went in to the mids of the cloud, and went up into the mountaine, and Moses was in the mountaine forty dayes, and fortie nights.

Annotations. ABihu] in Greeke Abioud: he and Nadab, were Aarons eldest sonnes, Exod. 28. 1 who were afterward, devoured with a fire from the Lord, Levit. 10. 1. 2. seventie] This number was answerable to the 70. soules of Israel that came into Egypt, Deut. 10. 22. and to the 70. that afterward were made the Senate of the commonwealth of Israel, Numb. 11. 16. 17. bow downe] the Gt, translateth, they shall bow downe to (or worship) the Lord afarre off. This though it were a speciall favour to the Elders, and served for confirmation of the things spoken by Moses; yet signified it the impotency of the Law, which kept men afar off, and could not bring them neere unto the Lord, nor unite them unto him, as the Gospell of Christ doth by faith, Heb. 10. 19. 22. and 12. 18.—22. &c. Vers. 2. with him] with Moses: not with the Elders; therefore the Greeke translateth, with them. For the people abode beneath, at the foot of the mount: the Elders went up as it were halfe way: and saw part of Gods glory, vers. 9. 10. but Moses himselfe went up to the top of the mount, into the darke cloud, v. 18. For the Law was to bee given by the hand (or ministerie) of a mediatour, Gal. 3. 19. Ver. 3. will doe] the Greeke addeth, and heare, (or obey) as is expressed in v. 7. Thus the covenant between God and Israel, was established by mutuall and willing consent: albeit they yet knew not the impossibilitie of the Law, which is weak through the flesh, Rom. 8. 3. So in Exod. 19. 8. Vers. 4. wrote] in a booke, Heb. 9. 19. for the stonie tables were written by the finger of God him-selfe, Exod. 31. 18. an altar] which represented God, the first and chiefe party in the covenant. pillars] or, statues; the Gr. translateth them stones: and pillars were wont to be of stones erected, Gen. 28. 18. 22. and 31. 45. and 35. 14. according to] or, for the twelve tribes; that is, to represent them, (the other party in the Covenant) and their hard stony nature: as the tables of stone, signified their stony hearts, 2 Cor. 3. 3. 14. See Exod. 31. 1[illegible: 1 letter]. Vers. 5. the yong men] that is, the first borne (as the Chaldee translateth) which were priests or sacrificers, untill the Levites (taken in stead of the first-borne of Israel, Numb. 3. 41.) had the priesthood in their tribe. And the Hebrew word doth not alwaies signifie men yong in yeers, but fit for service or ministerie to their elders: so Iesus the servant of Moses, and other such servants, are often called yong men, Exod. 33. 11. Gen. 14. 24. & 22. 3. 2 Sam. 18. 15. 1 King. 20. 14. of peace-offerings] Gr. of salvation. By these two sorts of sacrifices, (whereof see Lev. 1. and 3. chap.) the sanctification of the people was testified, who by the death of Christ (whom these sacrifices did figure out) presented themselves wholly to God, as obedient servants; and shewed thankfulnesse for the peace and salvation, which through him they had obtained, Rom. 12. 1. 2. Heb. 13. 15. See also the notes on Exod. 19. 10. bullocks] and other beasts; as the Apostle testifieth, of bullocks, and of goats, Heb. 9. 19. but the one is here named as principall. Vers. 6. on the altar] and so on the booke, Heb. 9. 19 which as it seemeth, was laid on the altar, to bee sanctified thereby. Vers. 7. and obey] or, heare hearken unto: that is, g[illegible: 1 span]y learne and obey: See the notes on Exodus 4. 31. Vers. 8. on the people] which may be meant of the twelve pillars set up to represent the people, vers. 4. Howbeit the Chaldee paraphrase saith, he sprinkled it on the Altar, to make propitiation for the people. Thus the first covenant (or testament) was not dedicated without blood, (as the Apostle observeth in Heb. 9. 18.—23.) and the patternes of heavenly things were purified by the blood of these sacrifices: signifying that Christ by his death should sanctifie himselfe for his people, and them unto himselfe, by the blood of a better testament, Iohn 17. 19. Heb. 9. 13. 14. 1 Pet. 1. 2. And whereas the sprinkling and purifying in the Law, was usually done with water, scarlet, wooll, and hyssope, Levit. 14. 6. 7. the Apostle telleth us, that this here was so done, though Moses nameth them not, Heb. 9. 19. behold, &c.] the Apostle explaineth it thus, This is the blood of the Covenant (or of the Testament,) which God hath commanded unto you, Heb. 9. 20. Thus the Sacrament of the old Testament, confirmed by the blood of beasts, had a resemblance unto the New Testament established upon better promises, and confirmed by the blood of Christ. But that was for workes of the Law: this is for remission of sins, Mat. 26. 28. Heb. 9. 15. Vers. 10. the God] that is, signes of the glory and presence of the God of Israel. For, never man saw God, neither can see him, 1 Tim. 6. 16. Therefore the Chaldee expounds it, The glory of the God of Israel; and the Greeke translateth, they saw the place where the God of Israel stood. of Saphire bricke] Hebrew, bricke of Saphire: whereby is meant, Saphire stone, hewed like bricke, wherewith the place under him was paved. So also the Greeke translateth it. Or, it may be Englished of whitenesse of Saphire, that is, of white Saphire stone: for bricke [illegible: 1 letter]ath the name in Heb. of whitenesse. The Chaldee translateth, under the throne of his glory, was, as [illegible: 1 word] were a worke of precious stone. The Saphire is also mentioned in Ezekiels vision of Gods Throne and glorie, Ezekiel 1. 26. It is a very precious trans [illegible: 1 letter]atent stone, of the colour of the skie: see Ex [illegible: 1 span]s 28. 19. The worke of bricke, might call them [illegible: 1 word] remember their bricke worke in Egypt, Exodus 1. 14. and 5. 16. 19. from which bondage, God now had brought them, to labour in the heavenly worke of his Law, and the mysteries of [illegible: 1 letter]he same, whereby the throne of his glory should be erected among them, and his Church (which [illegible: 1 letter]s as the footstoole of the Lord, Lam. 2. 1.) should have the foundations laid with Saphires, Esay. 54. [illegible: 1 letter]1. and such should be the polishing of the Saints, Lamentations 4. 7. the body] the Greeke [illegible: 1 letter]nd Chaldee translate, the sight (or semblance) of heaven. And this cleere heavenly appearance [illegible: 1 letter]id see forth the favour of God towards them [illegible: 1 word] keepe his Covenant: as on the contrary, a darke or cloudy Heaven, is a signe of Gods displeasure, Ieremy 4. 23. 28. Zeph. 1. 15. It signified also the cleannesse & puritie, that should be in the people of God. for clearnesse] or, in puritie. Vers. 11. the Nobles] or the select; or chosen men, as the Greeke translateth; meaning those Elders spoken of in verse 9. laid not his hand] that is, hurt or affrighted them not: because they went up by the leave and Word of God, not of their owne temeritie, which was before forbidden, Exodus 19. 21. So the laying of the hand often signifieth, Nehemiah 13. 21. Psal. 55. 21. so the Chaldee translateth, they had not hurt; and the Greeke, not one of them was dismayed (or killed.) did eate, &c.] The Chaldee paraphraseth, they saw the glory of God, and rejoyced in their sacrifices which were accepted; as if they had eaten and drunke. So other of the Hebrewes (as in Elle shemoth rabbah) say, they fed their eyes with the brightnesse of the Majestie (of God.) Christ promising felicitie to his Disciples, sayth they should eate and drinke at his table in his kingdome, Luk. 22. 30. Verse 12. bee there] that is, continue there. So 1 Tim. 4. 15 in these things be thou: that is, continue and give thy selfe unto them. So in Ruth 1. 2. Esay 66. 2. Psalme 64. 8. commandement] in Greeke commandements. But Moses often useth this word sigularly, though he speaketh of the Law in generall. So the Apostle also, 2 Peter 2. 21. and 3. 2. to teach] to instruct, or confirme in the Law. To this word the Apostle (following the Gr. version) hath reference, when he saith, the Israelites had the giving of the Law, Rom. 9. 4. and the people received (or were taught) the Law, Heb. 7. 11. and the covenant established (or taught) upon better promises, Heb. 8. 6. So that the word implieth a full information and constitution of them & their common wealth by the Law. Herein the Iewes did glorie, Rom. 2. 17. 18. Vers. 13. Ioshua] in Greek, Iesus: see Exod. 17. 9. of God] that is, as the Chaldee translateth, on which the glorie of God was revealed. See v. 16. Vers. 14. Sit] that is, Abide, or Tary, as the Chaldee translateth: the Greeke saith, be quiet. Hur] of him see Exod. 17. 10. hath matters to doe] or, hath words to speake: that is, hath any question or controversie. So the Gr. and Chaldee translate it Iudgment or controversie. The Hebr. phrase is, who so is a master of words, (or of matters.) Vers. 15. a cloud] the signe of Gods presence; though with terror and obscuritie, 2 Chron. 6. 1. Heb. 12. 18. See also Exod. 19. 9. Verse 16. dwelt] the Greeke expoundeth it, came downe upon the mount. six daies] to prepare Moses for to receive the Lawes; as before he had done the people three daies, Ex. 19. 10. 11. In six daies God made the world, and the seventh he rested, Gen. 2. the same number is here at the giving of the Law; wherein God shewed as great wisdome, as in the making of the world, Psal. 19. Vers. 17. devouring] or, consuming fire, in Greek, flaming fire: this was for a terror to the transgressors of his Law, Deut. 4. 24. and hee is no lesse fearfull under the Gospell, Heb, 12. 28. 29. Vers. 18. fortie dayes] during which time he did n[illegible: 1 letter]ther eat bread, nor drinke water, Deuter. 9. 9. The like number of daies Elias fasted, 1 King. 19. 8. and Christ when hee was to enter upon the ministery of the Gospell, Matt. 4. 2.