And he said to Moses, Go up to Jehovah, thou and Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel; and worship afar off.
God calls Moses, Aaron, Nadab, Abihu and seventy elders up the mountain. In the same breath He tells them to keep their distance. Why call men up only to hold them back? And what does that say about coming near to God — then, and now?
A small group is called up while the nation stays below. They receive a privilege the rest do not share. Yet the same summons that calls them up also holds them back.
There is distance, even though they are called to this place of distinction. "And Moses alone shall come near the LORD, but they shall not come near, neither shall the people go up with him."
The words "afar off" set the tone for the whole system given at Sinai. One writer weighs them against two words the law never uses.
This chapter opens with a phrase that marks the whole system given through Moses… We may search the legal ritual from end to end. We will not find those two precious words, "draw near." No; such words could never be heard from the top of Sinai, nor from among the shadows of the law. They could only be spoken at heaven's side of the empty tomb of Jesus… The words "afar off" belong to the law, just as "draw near" belong to the gospel. Under the law, the work was never done that could entitle a sinner to draw near. Man had broken his promises, and nothing had cleansed his sin. How, then, could he draw near?
Only one man crosses the line. Nothing in Moses himself explains why — and today the word to believers is the opposite one.
The place of the mediator stands out. It is a place of the highest honour and privilege, and the Lord gave it to Moses in His grace. Moses was no more deserving of access to God than his companions. It was grace alone that gave him this special place. All of it fits the character of that age. It stands in perfect contrast with the place of believers since the death of Christ. Now it is no longer said, "worship afar off," but "let us draw near" (Heb. 10:22).
The verse sets a named group in a place above the people. One writer shows that this fits the law, but has no match in the church today.
So a group was picked out to have a place above the people. That fits the character of law. But it has no place whatever in the church of God today, because God now treats all believers as priests (1 Peter 2:5). Yet God let only Moses come near to Him (v. 2). In this Moses is a picture of Christ, the Mediator of the new covenant (Heb. 12:24).
This verse honours Aaron's two sons by name. What they did later turns that honour into a warning.
Neither light nor privilege can secure salvation. Nor can they secure a holy and obedient walk, even in believers. Both later met a terrible end… Let the warning sink deep into our hearts: office and special privileges are alike powerless to save. And let this lesson sink in too: God cannot accept anything in our worship that we do not offer in obedience to Him. The offering must be of His own providing, and the heart must be in subjection to His will.
Even with the limit in place, God brings these men up the mountain to see Him and to eat there. One writer asks what that shows about God's heart.
Yet in this place of distance "they saw the God of Israel," and under His feet was what looked like a pavement of sapphire stone. And there they "ate and drank." They were still far from God. Yet does this not show God's desire to have men near Him, so that they may learn what He is?
- Called, yet kept back. The summons is a distinction, but the same verse fixes the limit — they come up only to worship at a distance.
- "Afar off" is the law's word. The law never says "draw near." The work that would let a sinner come close had not yet been done.
- One man near, by grace. Moses was no more deserving than the rest. Grace gave him his place as mediator, and that place pictures Christ.
- Privilege is not safety. Nadab and Abihu stood among the favoured few and still fell. Position cannot save. God does not accept worship He has not commanded.
- Distance was never the goal. God brought men up the mountain to see Him, and since the death of Christ the invitation reads: let us draw near.
And let Moses alone come near Jehovah; but they shall not come near; neither shall the people go up with him.
Exodus 24 calls Moses, Aaron, Nadab, Abihu and seventy elders up the mountain — then verse 2 lets only one of them come near. Why does God keep back a people He has just rescued from Egypt, and what does that lone climb teach?
The invitation and the limit sit side by side. A place among the chosen few did not mean a place at the top.
There is distance, even though God calls them to this place of honour… And there Israel renews the solemn agreement it had entered into… The people promise obedience, but it is obedience of the law.
The verse singles out one man. Why him?
The place of the mediator is unmistakable — a place of the highest honour and privilege, which the Lord granted Moses in His grace. Moses was no more deserving of access to God than his companions. Grace alone gave him this special place.
The lone figure climbing the mountain points forward to someone greater. The God who had come down to live among Israel is the God who now holds them back.
The people cannot draw near, not even through their representatives. He who has come down to live among them must still hold them at a distance. Moses alone comes near at His call, as a picture of a greater Mediator.
So what was left for the rest of the nation?
Only Moses had that access to God and only through him could the people of Israel receive the covenant.
The distance here is not about geography. It belongs to the covenant Israel had just accepted.
The people were far off, the leaders were not to come near, and had to worship far off. The blood of the Lord Jesus Christ, however, brings near and we can draw near. The legal covenant always puts man into a solemn and guilty distance from God; the covenant of grace brings man near to God.
For the believer, the order to worship at a distance is gone. A death and a torn curtain changed it.
The word now is no longer "worship far off," but "let us draw near" (Heb. 10:22). The blood of Christ has such power that it cleanses the believer from all sin. He has no more conscience of sins. The one offering of Christ has perfected him for ever. The veil was torn to testify that God has been glorified in the death of Christ, so the believer is free to enter the holiest place of all. In some way, then, Moses in the place he enjoyed was a picture of the believer. There was, however, this immense difference. He drew near to the LORD; we have access to the Father.
That also settles what the selected group at the mountain means for the church.
So a group was chosen to hold a place above the people. That fits the character of law. It has no place at all in the church of God today, for in God's dealings now all believers are priests (1 Peter 2:5). Yet Moses alone was allowed to come near to God (v. 2). In this he is a picture of Christ, the Mediator of the new covenant (Heb. 12:24).
Two of the men called up the mountain, Nadab and Abihu, are worth a second look.
They were both sons of Aaron, and with their father they were chosen for this rare privilege. But neither light nor privilege can ensure salvation, nor, if they are believers, a holy and obedient walk. Both of them later met a terrible end. They offered fire before the Lord that He had not commanded, and fire came out from the Lord and destroyed them (Lev. 10:1-2)… Let the warning sink deep into our hearts: office and special privileges are alike powerless to save. And there is this lesson too — God cannot accept anything in our worship that is not given in obedience to Him.
- Distance. Even the honoured few had to worship far off. The distance belongs to a covenant of law, not to any fault in the men called.
- One man. Only Moses could come near. Only through him could Israel receive the covenant.
- Pure grace. That place was not earned. Moses deserved no more than his companions; grace alone gave him the position.
- Blood. The blood of Christ turns "worship far off" into "let us draw near." A legal covenant holds man back; a covenant of grace brings him near.
- All near. A chosen few above the people fits the law, not the church. There every believer is a priest. Yet Nadab and Abihu show that privilege never replaces obedience.