Moses, Aaron and his sons Nadab and Abihu and the seventy elders of Israel went up to Mount Sinai and there they saw the God of Israel. For years we were told seeing God is no joking matter. And no one could see God and stay alive because of the holiness of God. Yet the first portion of Exodus 24:2 explicitly said that they saw the God of Israel and nothing happened to them. Though all they could describe was the pavement that was under His feet. This led many to give all sorts of interpretation. We can be sure that many of us who love God would long to catch a glimpse of God. It would be an awesome privilege to be able to see Him. So, the question we ask is: did the 74 of them actually see God?
Of course, they did, and they were not stricken dead. How do we know? Verse 11 says the Lord did not stretch out His hand against the nobles. It appears as if they even had a great time of fellowship where they ate and drank together. However, closer scrutiny tells us that they never described God. Why? Could it be that they never saw higher than the feet of God? Let’s put our minds together and imagine the scene for a while. It could well be that the radiance of God’s glory was so overpowering that all they could do was have a quick glimpse of God and then fell prostrate in awe and reverential fear in His holy presence. Hence, they did not see anything higher than God’s feet. So, all they could describe was the pavement where God stood on.
Anyway, we need not be there to know that we have a great God who defies description. And there is no way anyone can fully describe Him, much less fashion an image of Him. What happened that day was they caught a glimpse of God’s glory. It could well be that the person they saw was Jesus Christ in His pre-incarnate form. That’s the reason Moses described who they saw as God and not Yahweh, the LORD. Walking with God is an adventure in faith. We experience God as He reveals Himself to us through the Word and Creation. For us, believing is seeing and not the other way around. We must take God at His word. What the 74 of them saw up in that mountain was a glimpse of His divine glory and that was an exceptional privilege.
What’s interesting was that they ate and drank in the presence of God. We are not told what they ate or drank. It could well be that they shared the bread and drink that they brought with them to the mountain, or perhaps what was left of the fellowship offering of the sacrifices that they had made. More than what they ate or drank, this is an indication to us that they had fellowship with each other and with God. Few things give us a greater picture of fellowship than eating a meal together. When we do that, we cultivate friendship and get to know each other better. Strong bonding with others is usually built through having meals together. We can understand why David In Psalm 23 said that God prepared a table for me. For that same reason, the New Testament church had regular meals together in God’s presence. This part about eating and drinking points us to the communion that we have in the church. In the traditional church, the communion is called the Eucharist. This word comes from the Greek word for thanksgiving. Communion is a Thanksgiving meal. Their eating and drinking with God leave us with a question about our own fellowship with God. Jesus yearns to fellowship with us. Let us not be like Martha who was so consumed with serving that she missed out the good things that her sister Mary enjoyed. Jesus said this is a needful thing and Mary had chosen the best part. Beloved, worship and fellowship with God will enhance the quality of our service. Don’t minimize the privilege of fellowship with God!
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