Exodus — Chapter 24
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1And 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.
2And Moses alone shall come near the LORD: but they shall not come nigh; neither shall the people go up with him.
3And 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.
4And 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.
5And he sent young men of the children of Israel, which offered burnt offerings, and sacrificed peace offerings of oxen unto the LORD.
6And Moses took half of the blood, and put
7And 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.
8And Moses took the blood, and sprinkled
9Then went up Moses, and Aaron, Nadab, and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel:
10And they saw the God of Israel: and
11And upon the nobles of the children of Israel he laid not his hand: also they saw God, and did eat and drink.
12And 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.
13And Moses rose up, and his minister Joshua: and Moses went up into the mount of God.
14And he said unto the elders, Tarry ye here for us, until we come again unto you: and, behold, Aaron and Hur
15And Moses went up into the mount, and a cloud covered the mount.
16And 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.
17And the sight of the glory of the LORD
18And 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.
1And he said unto Moses, Come up unto Jehovah, thou, and Aaron, Nadab, and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel; and worship ye afar off:
2and Moses alone shall come near unto Jehovah; but they shall not come near; neither shall the people go up with him.
3And Moses came and told the people all the words of Jehovah, and all the ordinances: and all the people answered with one voice, and said, All the words which Jehovah hath spoken will we do.
4And Moses wrote all the words of Jehovah, and rose up early in the morning, and builded an altar under the mount, and twelve pillars, according to the twelve tribes of Israel.
5And he sent young men of the children of Israel, who offered burnt-offerings, and sacrificed peace-offerings of oxen unto Jehovah.
6And Moses took half of the blood, and put it in basins; and half of the blood he sprinkled on the altar.
7And he took the book of the covenant, and read in the audience of the people: and they said, All that Jehovah hath spoken will we do, and be obedient.
8And Moses took the blood, and sprinkled it on the people, and said, Behold the blood of the covenant, which Jehovah hath made with you concerning all these words.
9Then went up Moses, and Aaron, Nadab, and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel.
10And they saw the God of Israel; and there was under his feet as it were a paved work of sapphire stone, and as it were the very heaven for clearness.
11And upon the nobles of the children of Israel he laid not his hand: and they beheld God, and did eat and drink.
12And Jehovah said unto Moses, Come up to me into the mount, and be there: and I will give thee the tables of stone, and the law and the commandment, which I have written, that thou mayest teach them.
13And Moses rose up, and Joshua his minister: and Moses went up into the mount of God.
14And he said unto the elders, Tarry ye here for us, until we come again unto you: and, behold, Aaron and Hur are with you: whosoever hath a cause, let him come near unto them.
15And Moses went up into the mount, and the cloud covered the mount.
16And the glory of Jehovah 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.
17And the appearance of the glory of Jehovah was like devouring fire on the top of the mount in the eyes of the children of Israel.
18And Moses entered into the midst of the cloud, and went up into the mount: and Moses was in the mount forty days and forty nights.
1But to Moses the Lord said, “Come up to the Lord, you and Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel, and worship from a distance.
2Moses alone may come near the Lord, but the others must not come near, nor may the people go up with him.”
3Moses came and told the people all the Lord’s words and all the decisions. All the people answered together, “We are willing to do all the words that the Lord has said,”
4and Moses wrote down all the words of the Lord. Early in the morning he built an altar at the foot of the mountain and arranged twelve standing stones—according to the twelve tribes of Israel.
5He sent young Israelite men, and they offered burnt offerings and sacrificed young bulls for peace offerings to the Lord.
6Moses took half of the blood and put it in bowls, and half of the blood he splashed on the altar.
7He took the Book of the Covenant and read it aloud to the people, and they said, “We are willing to do and obey all that the Lord has spoken.”
8So Moses took the blood and splashed it on the people and said, “This is the blood of the covenant that the Lord has made with you in accordance with all these words.”
9Moses and Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, and the seventy elders of Israel went up,
10and they saw the God of Israel. Under his feet there was something like a pavement made of sapphire, clear like the sky itself.
11But he did not lay a hand on the leaders of the Israelites, so they saw God, and they ate and they drank.
12The Lord said to Moses, “Come up to me on the mountain and remain there, and I will give you the stone tablets with the law and the commandments that I have written, so that you may teach them.”
13So Moses set out with Joshua his attendant, and Moses went up the mountain of God.
14He told the elders, “Wait for us in this place until we return to you. Here are Aaron and Hur with you. Whoever has any matters of dispute can approach them.”
15Moses went up the mountain, and the cloud covered the mountain.
16The glory of the Lord resided on Mount Sinai, and the cloud covered it for six days. On the seventh day he called to Moses from within the cloud.
17Now the appearance of the glory of the Lord was like a devouring fire on the top of the mountain in plain view of the people.
18Moses went into the cloud when he went up the mountain, and Moses was on the mountain 40 days and 40 nights.
1He said to Moses, “Come up to Yahweh, you, and Aaron, Nadab, and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel; and worship from a distance.
2Moses alone shall come near to Yahweh, but they shall not come near. The people shall not go up with him.”
3Moses came and told the people all Yahweh’s words, and all the ordinances; and all the people answered with one voice, and said, “All the words which Yahweh has spoken will we do.”
4Moses wrote all Yahweh’s words, and rose up early in the morning, and built an altar under the mountain, and twelve pillars for the twelve tribes of Israel.
5He sent young men of the children of Israel, who offered burnt offerings and sacrificed peace offerings of cattle to Yahweh.
6Moses took half of the blood and put it in basins, and half of the blood he sprinkled on the altar.
7He took the book of the covenant and read it in the hearing of the people, and they said, “All that Yahweh has spoken will we do, and be obedient.”
8Moses took the blood, and sprinkled it on the people, and said, “Look, this is the blood of the covenant, which Yahweh has made with you concerning all these words.”
9Then Moses, Aaron, Nadab, Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel went up.
10They saw the God of Israel. Under his feet was like a paved work of sapphire stone, like the skies for clearness.
11He didn’t lay his hand on the nobles of the children of Israel. They saw God, and ate and drank.
12Yahweh said to Moses, “Come up to me on the mountain, and stay here, and I will give you the stone tablets with the law and the commands that I have written, that you may teach them.”
13Moses rose up with Joshua, his servant, and Moses went up onto God’s Mountain.
14He said to the elders, “Wait here for us, until we come again to you. Behold, Aaron and Hur are with you. Whoever is involved in a dispute can go to them.”
15Moses went up on the mountain, and the cloud covered the mountain.
16Yahweh’s glory settled on Mount Sinai, and the cloud covered it six days. The seventh day he called to Moses out of the middle of the cloud.
17The appearance of Yahweh’s glory was like devouring fire on the top of the mountain in the eyes of the children of Israel.
18Moses entered into the middle of the cloud, and went up on the mountain; and Moses was on the mountain forty days and forty nights.
Summary
Israel ratifies the covenant with blood; Moses, Aaron, and the elders see God on the mountain; Moses ascends for forty days.
Authorship & Background
Map & Geography
- Mount Sinai: Moses, Aaron, Nadab, Abihu, and 70 elders ascend part of the mountain (vv.1, 9-11). Moses alone goes to the summit (v.12).
- Moses enters the cloud atop the mountain for 40 days and 40 nights (v.18). The glory of God appears "like devouring fire on the top of the mount" (v.17).
Commentary
- Enduring Word (David Guzik): enduringword.com Guzik covers the blood covenant ceremony, the extraordinary vision of God, the sapphire pavement, and Moses' forty-day fast as preparation for receiving the Law.
- Charles Spurgeon: Sermon: "The Blood of the Covenant" on v.8 (MTP Vol. 35, No. 2091) "Behold the BLOOD of the covenant — Moses sprinkles blood on the people. They are bound to God by blood. And at the Last Supper, Jesus takes the cup and says the same words: 'This is my blood of the new covenant.' The old covenant was sealed with animal blood — temporary, repeated, symbolic. The new covenant is sealed with Christ's blood — eternal, once-for-all, effectual. But the principle is the same: no covenant without blood. No relationship with God without sacrifice. No forgiveness without shedding of blood (Hebrews 9:22). The blood binds us to God and God to us — permanently, irrevocably, eternally."
Reflection
- 1. "Behold the blood of the covenant" (v.8). Your relationship with God is sealed in blood — Christ's blood. It's not based on your performance but on His sacrifice. When you doubt your standing, look at the blood.
- 2. "They saw God, and did eat and drink" (v.11). God invites you into His presence — not just for worship but for fellowship. Communion (the Lord's Supper) echoes this: eating and drinking in God's presence. Do you approach the table with awe?
- 3. "All that the LORD hath said will we do, and be obedient" (v.7). Israel pledged obedience — and failed within forty days (the golden calf). Our promises to God are fragile. Thank God that the new covenant depends on HIS faithfulness, not ours.
- 4. Moses entered the cloud — the devouring fire (v.18). What terrified the people, Moses walked into. Intimacy with God requires going where others won't go. Are you willing to enter the cloud — the unknown, the uncomfortable — to be with God?
- 5. God wrote the Law Himself (v.12). Scripture is not human invention — it is God's own word, written by His own hand. Do you treat it with that level of authority and reverence?