Covenant Celebration

Exodus 24:9-11 ESV

9 Then Moses and Aaron, Nadab, and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel went up, 10and 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. 11 And he did not lay his hand on the chief men of the people of Israel; they beheld God, and ate and drank.

I must admit that writing this series of messages has been more difficult than most. The amount of time that I have invested into each sermon has been more than most, owing chiefly to the fact that throughout the writing of this series, I have had to consistently cross-reference what is said in this 24th chapter of the book of Exodus with those things which come before it, particularly in chapters 19 through 23.

But though it has been challenging, it has also been incredibly rewarding, as through it, God has graciously caused me to learn so many new things, not just about the immediate context in this 24th chapter, but really, in the entirety of the Bible. Through what God has graciously shown me here, He has enabled me to piece together portions of the sacred scriptures which I had no idea ever even went together.

But this which we will be studying from today is one of those texts which is so amazingly beautiful that you seemingly almost forget about everything that you have learned before it and you focus primarily on what is written here.

It is one of those texts that I believe almost makes this chapter stand out and apart from the rest of the book of Exodus. In fact, it is this text which we will be working through today that made me want to write a series of messages from this chapter in the first place.

The reality of God’s gracious provision towards those He has willed to save is found within this text. But even more than that, in this text we see the most blessed reality that those whom God has justified, He is pleased to fellowship with, and it is they who He will one day glorify.

Let us not wait any longer, but instead let us commence with the exposition of the text.

First, verse 9 tells us:

Exodus 24:9 ESV

9 Then Moses and Aaron, Nadab, and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel went up,

Now, as we have gone through the four sermons which precede our sermon for today, what we have seen, especially in looking at verses 3 through 8 is the ratification of the covenant that was agreed upon in the 19thchapter of Exodus.

Thus, while there had been a verbal promise and a verbal commitment made in Exodus, chapter 19, verses 5 through 8, what we see here in chapter 24, verses 3 through 8 is an official binding of that which had been verbally agreed upon.

It is almost as though God had proposed to the people, Israel in chapter 19, verses 5 and 6, and they accepted the Lord’s proposal in verse 8 of that 19th chapter. And now, as we have exposited verses 3 through 8 of this 24th chapter, what we have seen is almost like a wedding, binding God, and His people together.

Thus, having ratified the covenant, making it official and binding, the representatives are now permitted an audience with the King, the One Whom they have established this covenant with.

Now, as we mentioned earlier in this series, as it is today so it was in ancient times when the agreement of two parties resulted in the parties sharing a meal together.

After all, the agreement of two parties signifies fellowship, especially when that union, or agreement between the two parties involves the coming together in marriage. I don’t think that I have been to a wedding yet or officiated a wedding where there was not some kind of reception held after the official covenant making ceremony that we call a wedding.

And in the same way, as God and the people, Israel now have fellowship with one another as a result of the ratification of the covenant, those who represent Israel now “go up” to share a fellowship meal with God.

Those who “go up” to God here are the very ones He had summoned to Him in verse one of this chapter: Moses and Aaron, Nadab, and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel. They had been summoned by God, and now, having ratified the covenant, they are permitted an audience with God. Therefore, they “go up” to God, to some place part way up the mount.

Once there, at the destination, something amazingly remarkable happened. We find this remarkable happening at the beginning of verse ten, where we read:

Exodus 24:10a ESV

10a and they saw the God of Israel.

Did you hear that? Did you read that? They saw the God of Israel!

Now, that doesn’t mean that they gazed directly upon the God of Israel as though they saw Him in His full splendour, but clearly, what this reveals to us is that now that the people have come into covenant with God, the representatives of the people are now graciously given a clearer view of His glory.

They are able to see Him in a way that they had never seen Him before as He manifestly reveals Himself here to such an extent that the people are able to behold such a glorious manifestation and plainly recognize it as God. Indeed, this is what we call a theophany, a visible manifestation of God to man.

Let’s go on now to the last part of verse ten to see whatthe people saw when they saw God:

Exodus 24:10b ESV

10b There was under his feet as it were a pavement of sapphire stone, like the very heaven for clearness.

Now, we notice here that the appearance of God Himself is not spoken of. This is likely because God had not revealed Himself to the people to the extent that they could positively identify anything about Him in particular. For one, God cannot be gazed upon, and also, God strictly prohibits idolatry, and if it were possible for man to gaze upon God, then man, sinful and depraved as he is, would undoubtedly form for himself an idol based on what he had seen.

But while the appearance of God Himself is not spoken of here, what is spoken of are those things which surround Him.

That which we see described for us in this portion of our text is that which was under the feet of God. Now, I’m going to do my best to describe what is spoken of here and paint this scene for all of us. And the best way that we can ever come close to adequately describing anything in the scriptures is by comparing scripture with scripture.

And this which Moses, Aaron, Nadab, Abihu, and the seventy elders beheld is very similar to what Ezekiel would later behold when he too experienced a theophany. Thus, in order to better understand what is spelled out for us here in this portion of our text, we will be comparing what is written here to the theophany that Ezekiel experienced.

In Ezekiel, chapter 1, verses 22 through 26, we read:

Ezekiel 1:22-26 ESV

22 Over the heads of the living creatures there was the likeness of an expanse, shining like awe-inspiring crystal, spread out above their heads. 23 And under the expanse their wings were stretched out straight, one toward another. And each creature had two wings covering its body. 24 And when they went, I heard the sound of their wings like the sound of many waters, like the sound of the Almighty, a sound of tumult like the sound of an army. When they stood still, they let down their wings. 25 And there came a voice from above the expanse over their heads. When they stood still, they let down their wings.

26 And above the expanse over their heads there was the likeness of a throne, in appearance like sapphire; and seated above the likeness of a throne was a likeness with a human appearance.

This gives us what I believe is a better understanding of what this company in our reading was looking at. Our reading speaks of there being a pavement under the feet of God. And if we look at this passage from Ezekiel, particularly in verse 22, we see that this expanse, this pavement was supported by cherubim. Thus, it is likely probable that this company in our reading for today was looking upward as the expanse, or the pavement, was above the heads of the cherubim.

Furthermore, our reading says that this pavement was made of sapphire stone, like the very heaven for clearness. This reveals the intense brightness of this pavement.

Furthermore, in Ezekiel 1:26 it speaks of there being a throne sitting atop this pavement. Thus, the throne of God sitting above this intensely bright pavement reveals the vast extent of the rule of the heavenly King, Whose throne is higher than the heavens and all those who rule over the kingdoms beneath the heavens.

Thus, it is here that we see the remarkable reality that the King, the God of heaven and earth is graciously in the presence of a people, indeed, a lowly people, and He is not here to expend His wrath upon them, but to fellowship with them.

We see this spelled out better for us in the last verse of our reading, verse 11, which says:

Exodus 24:11 ESV

11 And he did not lay his hand on the chief men of the people of Israel; they beheld God, and ate and drank.

And He did not lay His hand upon them… this is a remarkable statement that should in no way be overlooked. We have just spoken of the majestic, holy appearance of the God of heaven and earth, and being in the presence of God, the direct presence of God in His splendour and glory, surely those whom He stood before trembled in His mighty presence.

We know the exclamation of Isaiah when he beheld the Lord. Herein was a man favored by God, yet when He saw the Lord, sitting upon His throne, lifted high, fearful words proceeded forth from the mouth of Isaiah when he said: “Woe is me! For I am lost; for I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts!”

Thus, even being one who is favored by God, when Isaiah is in the presence of God, he fearfully cries out, knowing that he deserves not to be in the presence of God, and that God could justifiably strike him down if that is what He chose to do.

In the same way, these men who have come into covenant with God are now in the direct presence of the Most High. And these men, being sinful as they were, as all are, could have been justifiably struck down by God.

But what does our text say? God did not lay His hand on Moses, Aaron, Nadab, Abihu, or the seventy elders, the chief men of Israel. He did not lay His hand on them, but instead, what these men found was mercy, God’s mercy.

And in addition to His mercy, they also found His grace. We see this as our reading ends by saying that these beheld God and ate and drank.

Had it been the day before, it would have meant death for these men to gaze upon the Most High, but today, having the blood of the covenant covering them, the blood which represents the shed blood of Christ, having this covering them, not only are they permitted to live, but they are brought in to sup with the Lord, as the two parties come together as friends… He their God, they, His people.

But what is even more amazing than this is that this beautiful account of the covenant meal being shared by God and His people foreshadows the sacrament that we will shortly partake in, the Lord’s Supper. For it is in the Lord’s Supper that Christ is spiritually present, allowing us and bidding us to share in the fellowship, covenant meal with Him today.

But the even greater reality is that this beautiful account of the covenant meal being shared between God and His people foreshadows a meal that we have not yet shared with the Lord, the Marriage Supper of the Lamb found in Revelation 19:9.

Beloved, as we now go to share in the Lord’s Supper, may it remind us that as the representatives of Israel shared in that covenant meal spoken of in our text for today while in the presence of God, so today is Christ spiritually present with us, sharing this meal with us so to speak. But even more, may we be reminded of the eternal supper to come.

Amen?