Exodus 24:1-18
“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. And Moses alone shall come near the LORD: but they shall not come nigh; neither shall the people go up with him.” (Exodus 24:1-2)
Communication and leadership are the keys to success for any cooperative effort. Leadership is the quality whereby people with diverse and sometimes contradictory ideas are united to accomplish a single purpose. It requires real communication, both of the leader’s concerns and those of the various groups to see how each benefits. Autocratic systems fail when the concerns of the people out weigh the power of the authorities.
While God is able to communicate with each individual simultaneously, humans are not. No matter how open a leader is to his constituents, a system of communication is required. Certain respected individuals must assume the responsibility for communicating and leading in implementing the goals. This is what is usually called the chain of command. With six hundred thousand adult men, besides women and children, communication would require a network of individuals to communicate God’s message as it would be impossible, humanly speaking, to address them all simultaneously, and especially without any Public address system.
In any group there are natural leaders who, by virtue of wisdom, or skill naturally end up leading. At the same time there are political leaders who gain prominence by enlisting the support of other and seizing power any way they can. Israel had seventy leaders who could communicate well with the people. God called those natural leaders and Moses, Aaron, and two of Aaron’s sons to meet with him, but stipulated that they should only meet at a distance, and communication would be through Moses himself.
“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.” (Exodus 24:3)
By enlisting the people’s commitment before going forward Moses demonstrated his leadership. Having clearly explained what God’s contract offered and getting their approval, Moses was free to proceed with further negotiations. It is the failure to communicate, addressing the people’s concerns at each step of the way that has so angered the American voter.
“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. And he sent young men of the children of Israel, which offered burnt offerings, and sacrificed peace offerings of oxen unto the LORD. And Moses took half of the blood, and put it in basins; and half of the blood he sprinkled on the altar. 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. 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.” (Exodus 24:4-8)
Moses didn’t stop with just telling the people what was planned, he took the time to provide them with a written set of the laws so there could be no question what they were agreeing to. What a difference with the healthcare bill or Dodd-Frank bills our congress passed, in which even the legislators did not know what the bill entailed until after they had approved it. As a formal acceptance of God’s covenant, Moses set up an altar and twelve pillars as witnesses to their commitment, and they worshipped God, offering sacrifices and sprinkling blood on the people as a sign of their commitment to God. I am told that the remains of the twelve pillars and the altar can still be seen at the base of Jebel Al Laws, still bearing witness to Israel’s having accepted God’s covenant, and proving again that this is the Mt. Sinai of the Bible.
“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 paved work of a sapphire stone, and as it were the body of heaven in his clearness. And upon the nobles of the children of Israel he laid not his hand: also they saw God, and did eat and drink.” (Exodus 24:9-11)
Exactly what the elders saw is not clear. In Exodus 33:20, God told Moses, “…Thou canst not see my face: for there shall no man see me, and live.” To protect him at that time God offered , “…while my glory passeth by, that I will put thee in a clift of the rock, and will cover thee with my hand while I pass by: And I will take away mine hand, and thou shalt see my back parts: but my face shall not be seen”, in Exodus 33:22-23. Apparently the elders and future priests saw even less, because it did not affect them like that vision affected Moses. That no person has seen the full glory of the Father is reiterated in John 1:18, “No man hath seen God at any time; the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him.” The description is a little vague because they had almost nothing natural to compare it to other than like a floor of sapphire stones and a clearness like a clear sky. Like the Thunder and lightening and smoke the people had seen and the voice from heaven, this vision convinced the leaders that this was God’s doing, and not just Moses’ imaginings. God did not place his hand on them to designate any special authority.
“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. And Moses rose up, and his minister Joshua: and Moses went up into the mount of God.” (Exodus 24;12-13)
Moses had written out God’s laws and judgements, probably on parchment. Unfortunately, ink fades and sheepskin becomes brittle and cracks with age, so God offered to make a permanent copy in stone tablets. Moses would be able to use them to teach the people. To receive them, Moses and his assistant, Joshua went to the top of the mountain to meet with God privately.
“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.” (Exodus 24:14)
Before going to meet the Lord, Moses instructed the elders or leaders to wait for them, placing Aaron and his son Hur in charge. How much of the Pentateuch was actually written by Moses is unclear, but that the laws were is clear from this and subsequent passages. It is quite possible Joshua wrote some of the historical record. As Moses’ assistant, he was involved in a way few others would have been. It also gave him and understanding of both God’s instructions and the trials Moses would experience that prepared him to assume leadership forty years later. By allowing him to accompany him, Moses was preparing him to lead Israel.
“And Moses went up into the mount, and a cloud covered the mount. 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. 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. 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.” (Exodus 24:15-18)
Moses and Joshua had gone partway up the mountain when the glory of the Lord came down and for six days they were unable to go further until God called Moses to go the rest of the way. The Israelites below saw the cloud and what looked like a devouring fire over the top of the mountain. It probably made the forest fires I’ve seen look like someone burning weeds along a fence row, with the entire top of the mountain engulfed in flame. Like the burning bush Moses had seen, the fire didn’t just burn the brush and die away. Clearly God was involved and this was not a natural phenomena. Moses would remain on the mountain for forty days.
“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. And Moses alone shall come near the LORD: but they shall not come nigh; neither shall the people go up with him.” (Exodus 24:1-2)
Communication and leadership are the keys to success for any cooperative effort. Leadership is the quality whereby people with diverse and sometimes contradictory ideas are united to accomplish a single purpose. It requires real communication, both of the leader’s concerns and those of the various groups to see how each benefits. Autocratic systems fail when the concerns of the people out weigh the power of the authorities.
While God is able to communicate with each individual simultaneously, humans are not. No matter how open a leader is to his constituents, a system of communication is required. Certain respected individuals must assume the responsibility for communicating and leading in implementing the goals. This is what is usually called the chain of command. With six hundred thousand adult men, besides women and children, communication would require a network of individuals to communicate God’s message as it would be impossible, humanly speaking, to address them all simultaneously, and especially without any Public address system.
In any group there are natural leaders who, by virtue of wisdom, or skill naturally end up leading. At the same time there are political leaders who gain prominence by enlisting the support of other and seizing power any way they can. Israel had seventy leaders who could communicate well with the people. God called those natural leaders and Moses, Aaron, and two of Aaron’s sons to meet with him, but stipulated that they should only meet at a distance, and communication would be through Moses himself.
“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.” (Exodus 24:3)
By enlisting the people’s commitment before going forward Moses demonstrated his leadership. Having clearly explained what God’s contract offered and getting their approval, Moses was free to proceed with further negotiations. It is the failure to communicate, addressing the people’s concerns at each step of the way that has so angered the American voter.
“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. And he sent young men of the children of Israel, which offered burnt offerings, and sacrificed peace offerings of oxen unto the LORD. And Moses took half of the blood, and put it in basins; and half of the blood he sprinkled on the altar. 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. 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.” (Exodus 24:4-8)
Moses didn’t stop with just telling the people what was planned, he took the time to provide them with a written set of the laws so there could be no question what they were agreeing to. What a difference with the healthcare bill or Dodd-Frank bills our congress passed, in which even the legislators did not know what the bill entailed until after they had approved it. As a formal acceptance of God’s covenant, Moses set up an altar and twelve pillars as witnesses to their commitment, and they worshipped God, offering sacrifices and sprinkling blood on the people as a sign of their commitment to God. I am told that the remains of the twelve pillars and the altar can still be seen at the base of Jebel Al Laws, still bearing witness to Israel’s having accepted God’s covenant, and proving again that this is the Mt. Sinai of the Bible.
“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 paved work of a sapphire stone, and as it were the body of heaven in his clearness. And upon the nobles of the children of Israel he laid not his hand: also they saw God, and did eat and drink.” (Exodus 24:9-11)
Exactly what the elders saw is not clear. In Exodus 33:20, God told Moses, “…Thou canst not see my face: for there shall no man see me, and live.” To protect him at that time God offered , “…while my glory passeth by, that I will put thee in a clift of the rock, and will cover thee with my hand while I pass by: And I will take away mine hand, and thou shalt see my back parts: but my face shall not be seen”, in Exodus 33:22-23. Apparently the elders and future priests saw even less, because it did not affect them like that vision affected Moses. That no person has seen the full glory of the Father is reiterated in John 1:18, “No man hath seen God at any time; the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him.” The description is a little vague because they had almost nothing natural to compare it to other than like a floor of sapphire stones and a clearness like a clear sky. Like the Thunder and lightening and smoke the people had seen and the voice from heaven, this vision convinced the leaders that this was God’s doing, and not just Moses’ imaginings. God did not place his hand on them to designate any special authority.
“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. And Moses rose up, and his minister Joshua: and Moses went up into the mount of God.” (Exodus 24;12-13)
Moses had written out God’s laws and judgements, probably on parchment. Unfortunately, ink fades and sheepskin becomes brittle and cracks with age, so God offered to make a permanent copy in stone tablets. Moses would be able to use them to teach the people. To receive them, Moses and his assistant, Joshua went to the top of the mountain to meet with God privately.
“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.” (Exodus 24:14)
Before going to meet the Lord, Moses instructed the elders or leaders to wait for them, placing Aaron and his son Hur in charge. How much of the Pentateuch was actually written by Moses is unclear, but that the laws were is clear from this and subsequent passages. It is quite possible Joshua wrote some of the historical record. As Moses’ assistant, he was involved in a way few others would have been. It also gave him and understanding of both God’s instructions and the trials Moses would experience that prepared him to assume leadership forty years later. By allowing him to accompany him, Moses was preparing him to lead Israel.
“And Moses went up into the mount, and a cloud covered the mount. 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. 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. 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.” (Exodus 24:15-18)
Moses and Joshua had gone partway up the mountain when the glory of the Lord came down and for six days they were unable to go further until God called Moses to go the rest of the way. The Israelites below saw the cloud and what looked like a devouring fire over the top of the mountain. It probably made the forest fires I’ve seen look like someone burning weeds along a fence row, with the entire top of the mountain engulfed in flame. Like the burning bush Moses had seen, the fire didn’t just burn the brush and die away. Clearly God was involved and this was not a natural phenomena. Moses would remain on the mountain for forty days.
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