Exodus 24:12–18

Near the end of the chapter Moses stands as mediator. God calls him to "Come up to me," so that he may receive from Him "the tables of stone, and the law, and the commandment that I have written, for their instruction." How solemn the moment was shows in this: "the appearance of the glory of Jehovah" was "like a consuming fire on the top of the mountain before the eyes of the children of Israel." Moses was alone with God for forty days and forty nights. As mediator he alone could come near God to receive the "tables of stone" — the "living oracles" Stephen spoke about in Acts 7. The glory the children of Israel saw was not the glory of God's grace. It was the glory of holiness, which suited the age of law.

God Himself wrote "the law and the commandment" upon the stone tables, and Moses received these God-written words directly from Him, so that he could teach them. (Ex. 24:12.) We can imagine how carefully the men who were trusted with these sacred writings would guard them. Those written words are now in front of us in our Bibles, and their authority never changes.

What was written on the two tables of stone was written by the finger of God. It set out what He required from the people the law was given to. It was not God revealing Himself. It was the lawgiver stating His demand on the people of Israel. He says to Israel, in effect, "You are to be that, or come under the curse." They were not that, and so they came under the curse.

Moses had pronounced the law, and had sprinkled the blood of cleansing as a symbol and picture. Now he is called (Exodus 24) to receive not only the law, engraved on stones, but also a much fuller revelation of God's care for His people: the provision of grace, based on the Lord's knowing in advance that they could not keep the law.

He was called away from earth and earthly things. Set apart from natural influences, he is shut in with God, to hear from His mouth the deep mysteries of the Person and work of Christ; for that, in fact, is what is unfolded in the tabernacle and all its meaningful furniture — "the patterns of things in the heavens."

God did not need that long. In a moment He could have made Moses see it all and understand it all. Why then forty days? In the wisdom of God it was the time needed to test the people. Would they obey and wait patiently for the rules they had vowed to keep? They were so far from seeing the solemn responsibilities they had taken on that they did not even wait to hear them.

Though the first tables of the law had been given to Moses, they never came into the camp. So Israel was never under absolute law. That would have meant death for all Israel.

The tables themselves were God's work, and the testimony cut into them was God's writing. In the coming day, under the new covenant, God will write the law in the hearts of the people. Right now the Spirit of God is writing not the law but Christ on the hearts of those who receive the Gospel. But here God's righteous demands on men were cut into stone.

This mountain is described as "the mountain of God". We find the same expression in the book of Exodus, and it always has to do with God's revelation on Mount Sinai. Moses once led his father-in-law's flock through the desert to Horeb, the mountain of God. In the same way, he led the people of Israel through the wilderness to this mountain (Ex. 3:1; Ex. 18:5; Ex. 24:13). It was the mountain where God sat enthroned. He wanted to reveal Himself to the people He had rescued from slavery to be His special treasure. So we are on holy ground here and, like Moses, have to put off our shoes.

His name was at first Oshea, or Hoshea. Moses changed it to Jehoshua, and that was shortened to Joshua. It is the same name as Jesus in Greek, and it means "Jehovah the saviour." … We first hear of Joshua when he led the army against the Amalekites and beat them while Moses' hands were held up. Ex. 17:9. He is later called the "minister" of Moses, and in that role he went up with him into the mountain of God.

Moses was the only one who could draw near to God. He went up into the mountain, accompanied by his assistant Joshua (Ex. 24:13; cf. Ex. 32:17). But Moses alone went up higher to meet God and to speak with Him (Ex. 24:2, 12ff). We even read that after six days of waiting, Moses went into the cloud where God dwelt (Ex. 24:18).

Then God called Moses alone up into the mountain of God, though it seems Joshua went with him a little way. On the top of Sinai was the cloud of the Divine presence, and the glory of the Lord like a devouring fire. Moses went right into it and stayed there for forty days and nights.

Joshua had not been mentioned before this, but he had clearly come up with the group as the personal attendant of Moses. Now he goes on with Moses (v. 13), and he was clearly with him the whole time on the mountain.

This mention is brief, but it matters greatly. It shows us that this man of action was no stranger to the solemn and wonderful way the invisible God showed Himself. He not only learned how to fight the enemies of God's people; he also learned the realities of God's glory… In secret he was in communion with God's glory — as the Lord Jesus was, more perfectly still — but outwardly he was a warrior from his youth. In both ways God was forming him for later service. Communion with glory on the mountain was as necessary as the uncertain conflict on the battlefield.

He was to be the redeemer of the inheritance, as Moses had been the redeemer of the heir. Through him God would finish what concerned Israel, as through Moses He had begun it. He was to lead Israel into Canaan, as Moses had led them out of Egypt. So beforehand we see him always with Moses. He waits on him… And this constant standing at Moses' side, waiting on him, was an early shadow of the ministry he would carry out as soon as his own day came.

Moses is now to be separated from Aaron, his sons and the 70 nobles. The Lord calls him up into the mountain to give him the tables of stone, on which God would write the ten commandments. Joshua had not been mentioned before, but he had clearly come with the group as the personal attendant of Moses. Now he goes with Moses (v. 13), and he was clearly with him the whole time on the mountain. Moses leaves instructions that Aaron and Hur are the ones to go to with any problems that might arise (v. 14).

To be the mediator — or, as people say today, to 'broker a deal' — you need access to both sides. You also need to be able to relate to both of them. Here we find an illustration in the Old Testament: Moses was the mediator of the old covenant. Reading Exodus 24, you are struck by the way Moses is singled out as the mediator. He alone was allowed to draw near to God.

As long as the intercessor's hands were raised, Israel prevailed; but when they dropped, Amalek gained the advantage. As the day wore on, Moses's hands grew heavy. Then Aaron, the future high priest, with Hur — whose name means purity — made a seat for the intercessor. Supporting his hands, they kept them steady until the sun went down. So the day ended, and Israel, in the power of those uplifted hands, were more than conquerors.

Moses, hidden from the sight of the people, was still occupied with God for the people. At that very time he was receiving instructions from Jehovah for building the beautiful tabernacle, and setting up the priesthood they needed. He was still blessedly serving them, although they did not see him.

As Moses went up, so our great High Priest has gone to the Father. We see Him not, but we know He is there and will come back again. May we live by faith during His absence and be kept from idols.

Whatever is put into man's hand is always spoiled and lost. Unless divine things are held in faith, they will very soon give way. Instead of quietly waiting for Moses, as you and I have to wait for the Lord's return, the people became restless. We have to wait in faith. We have the Holy Spirit and the enjoyment of Christ, but outwardly we have nothing to show, and so the Christian's path is a path of faith.

Think how much evil a good man can cause by acting unfaithfully in an emergency. Aaron was left in charge of the people, to meet any difficulty that might arise. But the leader falls in with what the people want, and leads them into idolatry without meaning to.

He was now called to go up the mountain to the Lord. He was to take others with him who could worship at a distance. Moses alone might come near. The people could not approach at all.

The people, even in their representatives, cannot draw near. He who has come down to dwell among them must still hold them at a distance. Moses alone, as a type of a greater Mediator, is called to approach.

The glory of Jehovah, hidden by the cloud, stayed on the mountain for six days. This spanned, as it were, man's time — his six days. On the seventh day it appeared as devouring fire in the eyes of the children of Israel. And on God's rest day Jehovah called Moses into the middle of the cloud.

The cloud covered the mountain for six days. On the seventh day the mountain breaks out into flame before the people's eyes. But the voice of the Lord calls Moses up to Himself — to that calm Presence where cloud and fire are not.

Then came the seventh day. It may express the rest into which Moses was now about to be led, beyond all the terror of the fiery mountain. The voice of the Lord out of the cloud calls him, and Moses goes up into the middle of the cloud and climbs the mountain. Up to now he had stood on a level with the people, or a little apart from them as the nation's mediator. But now he enters into closer intimacy with the Lord. He is called to the top of the hill, beyond the region of darkness and thunder altogether.

There is the defiled camp below and the sapphire pavement above; but the altar at the foot of the hill tells us the way. By it the sinner can escape the defilement of his own condition and go up to the presence of God. There he can feast and worship in perfect peace. The blood that flowed around the altar gave man his only title to stand in the presence of that glory.

He is there in the company of Christ. That is the secret. The shadows of good things to come pass before him there. One by one they tell out the glorious truth: God can be a just God, and yet a Saviour. He can lead a sinner safely up the fiery mountain without the smell of it clinging to him.

Moses went up, but he never went into the cloud to talk with God, though the cloud covered God from the people… Until Moses obtained the mercy, on the second time he went up, he did not go in with God.

As Moses went up, so our great High Priest has gone to the Father. We see Him not, but we know He is there and will come back again. May we live by faith during His absence, and be kept from idols.

After the covenant was ratified, the mediator was once more called up into God's presence to be alone with Him. The glory of the LORD, hidden by the cloud, rested on the mountain for six days. It spanned, as it were, man's time — his six days. On the seventh day it appeared as devouring fire in the eyes of the children of Israel. And on God's rest day the LORD called Moses into the middle of the cloud.

The cloud covers the mountain for six days. On the seventh the mountain breaks out into flame before the people's eyes. But the voice of the LORD calls Moses up to Himself — to that calm Presence where cloud and fire are not. These are only like the enfolding fire at the gate of Eden; beyond it is the glory beyond words and the eternal peace.

This was not the glory of His grace, but the glory of His holiness, as the symbol of devouring fire shows. It was the glory of the LORD in His relationship with Israel on the basis of law. So it was a glory no sinner could dare approach, for holiness and sin cannot be brought together. But now, through the grace of God, on the ground of accomplished atonement, believers can draw near and be at home in the glory. More than that, "beholding the glory of the Lord" with unveiled face, they "are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another" (2 Cor. 3:18).

Then on the seventh day the voice of the LORD out of the cloud calls him, and Moses goes up into the middle of it, into the mountain. The seventh day may express the rest Moses was now to enter, beyond all the terror of the fiery mountain. Until now he had stood on a level with the people while they received the ten commandments. Or he stood a little apart from them, as the nation's mediator, while the statutes were published. But now he enters into closer intimacy with the LORD. He is called to the top of the hill, beyond the region of darkness and thunder altogether.

This was truly a high and holy position for Moses. He was called away from earth and earthly things. Withdrawn from natural influences, he is shut in with God. There he hears from His mouth the deep mysteries of the Person and work of Christ. That, in fact, is what the tabernacle and all its meaningful furniture unfold — the patterns of things in the heavens. The blessed One knew full well how man's covenant of works would end. Yet He unfolds to Moses, in types and shadows, His own precious thoughts of love and counsels of grace, shown in Christ and secured by Him.

He is not there long before we learn the secrets of that holy place. We learn how he got there, and where the power lay that could carry him through all that devouring fire unharmed. He is there in company with Christ. That is the secret. The shadows of good things to come pass before him. One by one they tell out the glorious truth: God can be a just God and yet a Saviour. He can bring a sinner safely up the fiery mountain without even the smell of it clinging to him.

This was not the glory of His grace. It was the glory of His holiness, as the symbol of devouring fire shows — the glory of the Lord in His relationship with Israel on the basis of law. So it was a glory that no sinner could dare approach, for holiness and sin cannot be put together. But now, through the grace of God, and on the ground of accomplished atonement, believers can draw near and be at home in the glory. More than that, with unveiled face they behold the glory of the Lord, and they are changed into the same image from glory to glory, as by the Spirit of the Lord (2 Cor. 3:18). We approach boldly and gaze with delight on the glory, because every ray we see in the face of Christ in glory proves that our sins are put away and that redemption is accomplished.

The word "devouring" here might also be rendered "consuming." At Sinai this was the glory of Jehovah as He made Himself known to Israel. In a word, it was the expression of His holiness, set out in His righteous requirements. But His people were sinners, and could not, therefore, satisfy His just demands. So under Jehovah's government, which rested on the law, this glory became a "consuming fire." He judged Israel again and again for their repeated sins.

In the passage in Hebrews the apostle says that "our God is a consuming fire." Note carefully that he speaks this way of "our" God, the God of Christians... So once again, the "consuming fire" expresses the holiness of God. It tests all our service, and it must judge everything evil in it.

They had stood it in Exodus 24:17. "They were alive without the law" then. That is, they did not know their own condition as sinners, and they did not know how uncompromising the law is. So they looked at the fiery glory without alarm. But now "sin revived." That is, their consciences understood sin properly, because "the commandment had come" with power. So they "die." They accept the sentence of death upon themselves, and Moses' face, which stands for the law, is unbearable. (See Rom. 7.)

There is the defiled camp below and the sapphire pavement above. But the altar at the foot of the hill shows the way for the sinner to escape the defilement of his own condition. He can go up into the presence of God, and feast and worship there in perfect peace. The blood that flowed around the altar gave man his only title to stand in the presence of that glory. It "was like a devouring fire on the top of the mountain in the sight of the people of Israel."

The glory now changes its place. It had settled, as we have seen, like devouring fire on the top of the hill (Ex. 24:17), but now it comes down to fill the tabernacle pitched at the foot of it. In its first place it was death to approach it. If even an animal so much as touched the edge of it, the people had to stone it or run it through. But now it is life to come up to it.

The people stay inside their own covenant. They stand under the mountain and look at its devouring fires (Ex. 24:17). Moses is called into fellowship with the Lord's covenant of grace and salvation. So God takes him away from the people, into the middle of the cloud on the mountain, to a region that lay on the other side of all those devouring fires (Ex. 24:18). The thunder is now behind him, the storm has passed by for him, and he lives in the calm sunshine of the presence of Christ.

This was not the glory of His grace. It was the glory of His holiness, as the symbol of devouring fire shows. It was the glory of the Lord in His relationship with Israel on the basis of law (compare 2 Cor. 3). So no sinner could dare approach that glory, for holiness and sin cannot go together. But now, through the grace of God, on the ground of accomplished atonement, believers can draw near and be at home in the glory. More than that: "with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord," they "are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another" (2 Cor. 3:18).

He went up, I fully admit, to receive the law from God's hand; and the people thought he had only gone up to get that law. But what was God thinking about? He was thinking about Christ all that time, and He was telling Moses about Christ, in figure, type and shadow. The next seven chapters, from Exodus 25 right through to the end of Exodus 31, are all about Christ.

This was truly a high and holy position for Moses. He was called away from earth and earthly things. Cut off from natural influences, he is shut in with God. There he hears from His mouth the deep mysteries of the Person and work of Christ. That is what we have unfolded in the tabernacle and all its meaningful furniture — "copies of the heavenly things." The blessed One knew full well how man's covenant of works was going to end. Yet He unfolds to Moses, in types and shadows, His own precious thoughts of love and plans of grace, shown in Christ and secured by Him.

FORTY = 10 × 4. Complete probation to bring to light good or evil. Moses was forty years in the desert, and he was tried there himself. He was on the mountain for two periods of forty days, and those were times of trial for the Israelites (Ex. 24:18; Ex. 34:28). The spies spent forty days searching the land. The tribes were tested forty years in the wilderness. The Lord Jesus was under temptation forty days.

This length of time was not needed for God. He could have made Moses see and understand everything in a moment. Why then forty days? In the wisdom of God it was the time needed to test the people. Would they obey and wait patiently for the ordinances they had promised to keep? They were so far from recognising the solemn responsibilities they had taken on that they did not even wait to hear them.

Moses was obtaining all these things for them, and in his absence they make the calf. It is painful, yet also very beautiful, to see God's dealings with Moses after the people made the golden calf. In the middle of all the ruin, faith under grace can have closer fellowship than when there was no ruin. Moses never had such close fellowship with God as he had now, when the people had made the calf. And the calf was still in the camp.