Chapter Twenty-Four

1–11. Solemn ratification of the covenant. 12–18. The ascent of Moses to Sinai and his stay there for forty days.

Exodus 24:1. And He said to Moses, “Come up to the Lord, you and Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel, and worship afar off; The people, as a member of the covenant concluded (Exod 24:6-8), is admitted through its representatives—the 70 elders, heads of the 70 families (Exod 1:5), within the boundary at the foot of the mountain for worship of the Lord—the expression of their reverence and complete obedience.

Exodus 24:2. Moses alone shall come near the Lord, but the others shall not come near, and the people shall not come up with him. The command of verse 2 concerns Moses’ further ascent. Together with Aaron, Nadab, Abihu, and the 70 elders, he worshipped the Lord “afar off” (Exod 24:1-11), did not approach Him. After this he was to ascend the mountain alone and approach the Most High (Exod 24:12). The reason that kept the members of the Old Testament kingdom from immediate communion with God, namely sinfulness, has not been destroyed even now: only Moses ascends the mountain alone to receive the tablets, the law, and the commandments.

Exodus 24:3. And Moses came and told the people all the words of the Lord and all the rules. And all the people answered with one voice, and said, “All the words which the Lord has spoken, we will do [and we will be obedient]. After the theophany, which occurred in darkness (Exod 20:21), Moses came down from the mountain to the people and declared to them “all the words of the Lord and all the rules”—not the Decalogue, for the Hebrews heard it directly from the mouth of the Lord Himself, but the rules of chapters Exod 20:19-23. The promise that followed from this: “All the words which the Lord has spoken, we will do” is the expression of voluntary consent to enter into the covenant, the last moment before its ratification (Exod 24:4, etc.).

Exodus 24:4. And Moses wrote all the words of the Lord and rose early in the morning and built an altar at the foot of the mountain, and twelve pillars, according to the twelve tribes of Israel; According to the idea of a covenant, both parties entering into a union must form one indivisible whole. This thought is expressed in the subsequent rites. As the altar, the place of God’s manifestation to His people (Exod 20:21), indicates the presence of the Most High, so the twelve pillars signify the presence of all the people. In the conclusion of the union, both parties are present.

Exodus 24:5. And he sent young men of the people of Israel, who offered burnt offerings and sacrificed oxen as offerings of peace to the Lord [God]. A new, youthful Israel enters into covenant with God, new in the sense that it promised to renounce its sinful will and act according to God’s commandments (Exod 24:3). This new people is now represented by its “youths,” the firstborn, for whom the future lies ahead. The sacrifices offered by them on behalf of all the people—the burnt offerings and the peace offerings—expressed complete dedication to God and gratitude for acceptance into the covenant.

Exodus 24:6. And Moses took half of the blood and put it in basins, and half of the blood he threw against the altar; Exodus 24:7. and he took the book of the covenant and read it in the hearing of the people; and they said, “All that the Lord has said we will do, and we will be obedient. Exodus 24:8. And Moses took the blood and threw it on the people, saying, “Behold the blood of the covenant which the Lord has made with you in accordance with all these words. As two equal bloods, being taken together, form one whole, so the people sprinkled with one half of the blood now form one unit with God, whose place of presence—the altar—is sprinkled with the other half of the blood. The account in chapter 24 of Exodus concerning the sacrifice at the entry of the Israelites into the covenant with God differs significantly from the testimony concerning the same subject in the Letter to the Hebrews (Heb 9:19-21). According to the words of the Apostle Paul, the Israelite people were sprinkled with the blood of bulls and goats, the blood being mixed with water and sprinkled by means of red wool and hyssop; not only the people were sprinkled, but also the book of the law, the tabernacle, and all the vessels of the sanctuary. According to one explanation, the discrepancy arose from the fact that the Apostle Paul took into account the testimony of Jewish tradition; according to another, he had in mind the Day of Atonement. This latter was an annual remembrance and, as it were, a repetition of the day of the covenant ratification at Sinai, and therefore it is not surprising if the Apostle identified the two days. On the Day of Atonement, besides bulls, goats were offered in sacrifice, and the blood was also used to sprinkle the tabernacle and all its furnishings (Lev 16).

Exodus 24:9. Then Moses and Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel went up, Exodus 24:10. and they saw the God of Israel. There was under His feet as it were a pavement of sapphire stone, like the very heaven for clearness. Exodus 24:11. And He did not lay His hand on the chief men of the people of Israel; they beheld God, and ate and drank. As a member of the concluded covenant, the people is admitted for worship of the Lord. The note about worship of Him afar off (Exod 24:1), about the appearance of His footstool (Exod 24:10), and about preservation alive after the vision (Exod 24:11) clearly testifies that those who worshipped the Lord did not only spiritually contemplate Him, but saw the glory and presence of Him with their bodily eyes. But, on the other hand, the appearance to them of the Lord is the appearance not of Himself, that is, not of His essence and inner life, but only of His glory; those who had gone up saw only the footstool in the manifestation in which the presence of divinity was revealed. Contemplation of God, not accompanied by the death of the beholders, was a sign of His favor toward the Hebrew people. As before, while outside the covenant, they could not ascend the mountain and remain alive (Exod 19:24), so now, granted the union with God, they remain whole and unharmed.

Exodus 24:12. And the Lord said to Moses, “Come up to Me on the mountain and stay there; and I will give you the tablets of stone with the law and the commandments which I have written for their instruction. As is evident from the last words of verse 11: “ate and drank” (Exod 24:11), the command for a new ascent to Sinai was given to Moses after he came down from the mountain with the elders. The purpose of the new ascent is to receive “the tablets of stone with the law and the commandments which the Lord has written for instruction.” The number of tablets, not noted in the present case, is indicated in other places (Exod 31:18); there were two, and each was inscribed on both sides (Exod 32:15). The words: “the law and the commandment” can hardly mean the Decalogue inscribed on the tablets, for it is usually called “revelation,” “words of the covenant,” “the Ten Commandments” (Exod 25:16, Deut 10:4). “The law and the commandment” refer to those laws and commandments which were given to Moses during his stay on the mountain and set out in chapters 25–31. In accordance with this, the expression: “which I have written for their instruction” should refer only to the tablets.

Exodus 24:13. So Moses rose with Joshua his servant, and Moses went up to the mountain of God, In the ascent of Moses with Joshua the action of divine Providence is seen, which gave the opportunity for the manifestation of the unbelief of the Hebrews. If Joshua had remained in the camp, it is supposed, he would not have allowed the people to worship the golden calf. As can be concluded from verse 2 of this chapter (Exod 24:2) as well as Exod 33:11, although Joshua was on the mountain, he was not in one place with Moses.

Exodus 24:14. And he said to the elders, “Wait here for us until we return to you. Aaron and Hur are with you; whoever has a dispute can go to them. The deputies of Moses in the settlement of important matters are his closest assistants—Aaron and Hur (Exod 17:10 and further).

Exodus 24:15. Then Moses went up on the mountain, and the cloud covered the mountain, Exodus 24:16. and the glory of the Lord abode upon Mount Sinai, and the cloud covered it for six days; and on the seventh day [the Lord] called to Moses out of the midst of the cloud. Exodus 24:17. And the appearance of the glory of the Lord was like a devouring fire on the top of the mountain in the sight of the people of Israel. Exodus 24:18. Moses entered into the midst of the cloud and went up on the mountain; and Moses was on the mountain forty days and forty nights. The giving of the law continues under the same circumstances as before (Exod 19:18).