Good morning!
Text: Exodus 21-24; Proverbs 3
There is a scene in Exodus 24 that sets me to thinking. During the time the Israelites are encamped at the foot of Mount Sinai, the Lord instructs Moses to bring an entourage of the elders up to see Him.
Then Moses and Aaron, Nadab, and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel went up, 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. And he did not lay his hand on the chief men of the people of Israel; they beheld God, and ate and drank. (Exodus 24:9-11
I am amazed at this – in two ways. First, given that God is so incredibly holy, it is a wonder that they are permitted to see Him (given that elsewhere the Word says no one may see God’s face and live, it is unclear how much of God they really saw). The beauty and majesty must have really been something. Imagine how being there would impress upon you the reality of the splendor, power and beauty of God.
That said, the other part that gets me is that Aaron and his sons, Nadab, and Abihu, are named here. I know I am getting ahead of the story, but Aaron, just weeks later, oversees the creation of the golden calf, a flagrant violation of the Second Commandment. In Leviticus 10 we read how his sons get vaporized for not taking God’s instructions about worship seriously. Given that they had actually seen and experienced the presence of the Living God, what were they thinking? How quickly the human hear can wander! My point? Actually seeing God’s glory is not sufficient to seal our hearts in faith. Our hearts need to also be made new. Thank you, Jesus, for making that possible.
in Him, Mike