In Part
I we followed Moses on his
first three trips up and down the mountain – and each time he returned without the stone tablets. In Part
2 we followed Moses on his fourth
trip, on which he was given the Law of the Altar and the MISHPATIM
– but no stone tablets. So, we will
continue to follow Moses again and see what happens on his fifth trip. On the
fourth trip, Moses was told:
“Come up to YAHWEH, you and Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, and
seventy of the elders of Israel, and worship from afar. And Moses alone shall approach YAHWEH,
but they shall not approach; nor shall the people go up with him.”
(Exodus 24:1-12)
Aaron is the older brother
of Moses. Nadab and Abihu are Aaron’s eldest and
second-eldest of the sons. Who were the seventy elders? The appearances of the
word “elders” in the Bible were “the elders of Pharaoh’s house” and “the elders
of the land of Egypt.” They accompanied Joseph when he went to bury Jacob
(Genesis 50:7). The next appearance was the “elders of Israel,” who are first
mentioned in Exodus 3:16. They are not named, but it appears that there were
more than seventy. YAHWEH told Moses to bring “seventy of the elders of Israel.”
Trip #5
And Moses went
up, also Aaron, Nadab, and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel. And they
saw the ELOHIYM of Israel. And under His feet was a work of pavement of
sapphire stone, and it was like the heavens for its clearness. And to the
nobles of the sons of Israel He did not stretch out His hand. And they saw the
ELOHIYM. And they ate and drank. (Exodus 24:9-11)
This
is a very interesting and revealing account that has caused some interesting
theological problems for many. Let’s review what happened in the verses above:
(1) Everyone that went up the mountain with Moses saw the ELOHIYM.
(2) He
stood on clear blue pavement.
(3) He
did not stretch out His hand to the 70 elders.
(4) Implied
is that He did stretch out His hand to Moses, Aaron, Nadab, and Abihu.
(5) ELOHIYM
and all of those who went with Moses ate and drank together.
The
major theological problem this creates is related to the doctrine that “the
Bible is inerrant, infallible, with no errors or contradictions.” As we saw
above, “everyone saw the ELOHIYM (God),”
but two verses – John 1:18 & 1 John 4:12 – state, “No one has ever seen God at any time.”
This
is one of those times our BHC Guideline may come in handy:
Our beliefs will be large enough to include all the
facts;
open enough to be tested;
and, flexible enough to change when we become aware
of errors or new facts.
Below
are some facts that are directly related to this situation:
(1) Jacob saw ELOHIYM face-to-face (Genesis
32:20)
(2) Aaron, Nadab, and Abihu, and seventy of the
elders of Israel saw ELOHIYM (Exodus 24:10)
(3) YAHWEH said, “No man is able to see My face
and live.” (Exodus 33:20)
(4) No one has ever seen God at any time. (John
1:18)
(5) No one has ever seen God at any time. (1 John 4:12)
The
facts are these:
(1) According to
two verses in the Torah – Jacob, Aaron,
Nadab, and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel saw ELOHIYM.
(2) According to
one verse in the Torah – no man is able
to see YAHWEH’s face and live.
(3) According to
two verses in the New Testament – no one
has ever seen God.
(4) The New
Testament is not part of the Jewish Bible.
(5) A doctrine
created by some Christian religious institutions states “the Bible is inerrant,
infallible, with no errors or contradictions.”
The
facts are that the Christian Bible contains all of the above; therefore, they
must be included in our belief systems. Now let’s get back to Moses and see
what he does next.
And Moses went
up into the mountain, and a cloud covered the mountain. And the glory of YAHWEH
dwelt on Mount Sinai, and the cloud covered it six days. And He called to Moses
on the seventh day from the midst of the cloud. And the glory of YAHWEH
appeared like a burning fire on the top of the mountain before the sons Israel.
So Moses went into the midst of the cloud and went up into the mountain. And
Moses was on the mountain forty days and forty nights. (Exodus 24:15-18)
The
Israelites standing at the base of Mount Sinai saw a burning fire on the top of
the mountain. Aaron, Nadab, and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel had
a much closer look at it. What do you think went through all of their minds as
they witnessed this dramatic event – knowing
who was up there? How could anyone on the mountain survive? Just imagine
the discussions that must have taken place during those forty days and forty
nights. Meanwhile, on top of the mountain, Moses was receiving more laws and
instructions from YAHWEH:
(1) Offerings
for the Sanctuary (25:1-9)
(2) The
Ark of the Testimony (25:10-16)
(3)
The Mercy Seat (25:17-22)
(4) The
Table for the Showbread (25:23-30)
(5) The
Gold Lampstand (25:31-40)
(6) The
Tabernacle (26:1-36)
(7) The
Altar of Burnt Offering (27:1-8)
(8) The
Court of the Tabernacle (27:9-19)
(9) The
Care of the Lampstand (27:20-21)
(10) Garments for the Priesthood (28:1-4)
(11) The Ephod (28:5-14)
(12) The Breastplate (28:15-30)
(13) Other Priestly Garments (28:31-43)
(14) Instructions for the Consecration of Aaron
and His Sons (29:1-37)
(15) The Daily Offerings (29:38-46)
(16) The Altar of Incense (30:1-10)
(17) The Ransom Money (30:11-16)
(18) The Bronze Laver (30:17-21)
(19) The Anointing Oil (30:22-33)
(20) The Incense (30:34-38)
(21) The Craftsmen for Building the Tabernacle
(31:1-11)
(22) The Shabbat Law (31:12-17)
It
doesn’t take forty-days to read the above chapters, so it is clear that Moses
learned much more than the words recorded in the above chapters. It is reasonable
to assume that Moses passed on much of what he learned to Aaron, Nadab, Abihu
and the seventy elders of Israel.
And He gave to Moses, when He finished speaking with
him on Mount Sinai, two tablets of the testimony, tablets of stone, written by
the finger of ELOHIYM.
(Exodus 31:18)
Finally, we discover the time and place
that Moses first received two stone tablets – eleven chapters after chapter 20 -- the traditional account said to be the giving of the Ten Commandments.
Let’s take another look at the above
verse above, because it contains some very interesting and important terms:
(1) tablets of the testimony – an
everlasting memorial testifying to the covenant that had been made between
YAHWEH and Israel. (Cassuto, p. 405)*
(2) written by the finger of ELOHIYM – The
text is worded with great care: Scripture does not state, “written by the hand
of YAHWEH,” but “written by the finger of ELOHIYM,” in order to inform us specifically
that the writing was of Divine character. The phrase “finger of ELOIYM”
occurred earlier already (Exodus 8:15) as “a general allusion to the Divine
power.” (Cassuto, p. 405)*
And Moses turned and went down from the mountain,
the two tablets of the testimony were in his hand, tablets were written on two sides; on this and on that,
they were written. And the tablets were the work of ELOHIYM, and the writing was the writing of ELOHIYM, it was engraved on the tablets.
(Exodus 32:15-16)
The
above description helps us visualize the approximate size and weight of the
tablets. They were neither large nor thick, but could be carried by Moses in
his hands. They were not huge tablets like the stone monuments set up for all
to see – for example, the stele of Mesha, king of Moab, which were slabs that
no human being could carry in his hand. They were tablets like those on which
were inscribed or engraved, in letters of moderate size, records and documents
intended for preservation in archives or libraries. (Cassuto p. 418)*
And when Joshua heard the noise of the people as
they shouted, he said to Moses, “There is a noise of war in the camp.” But he
said: “It is not the noise of the shout of victory, nor the noise of the cry of
defeat, but the sound of singing I hear.” And it was, as soon as he came near
the camp, that he saw the calf and the dancing.
And Moses’ anger became hot, and he cast the tablets out of his hands
and broke them at the foot of the mountain. (Exodus
32:17-19)
Moses
brought the stone tablets down the mountain, but before he read them to the
people he smashed them against the foot of the mountain. So, this means at least one more trip up the
mountain will be required.
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*A Commentary on the Book of Exodus by U.
Cassuto © 1987 The Magnes Press, The Hebrew University, Jerusalem, Israel.
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