Eo – The Sh’khinah Glory Settled on Mount Sinai 24: 12-18

The Sh’khinah Glory Settled on Mount Sinai
24: 12-18

The Sh’khinah glory settled on Mount Sinai DIG: How did God’s time alone with Moses prepare the way for the subsequent revelation of the construction of the Tabernacle and the formation of the priesthood?

REFLECT: How does your time alone with YHVH prepare you for your day? Your job? Your stresses? Your relationships? Your life?

After ratifying the covenant, ADONAI said to Moses His servant: Come up to Me on the mountain and stay here, and I will give you tablets of stone, with Torah and commands I have written for their instruction (24:12). We learn later that God gave no images of Himself to bring down the mountain of God, He gave only two stone tablets (Deuteronomy 4:13), and written on them were the words of the covenant (34:28). Each tablet was probably complete with all Ten Commandments. We also learn that the tablets were written by the finger of God (31:18). It was common for suzerain covenants to prepare duplicate copies of the treaty, so it seems likely that the two stone tablets did not have different commands written on them, but were duplicate copies.⁴⁶⁹

Then Moses set out with Joshua his aide, and Moses went up on the mountain of God (24:13). The expression, the mountain of God, refers to the place where God revealed Himself to Moses in the burning bush (3:1). Joshua began to appear more frequently as God was preparing him to succeed Moses. He accompanied Moses to the foot of the mountain, where he remained until Moses came down. Consequently, he was not present when the golden calf incident occurred. When Moses was preparing to ascend the mountain with Joshua, he told the elders to wait in the camp until their return, and appointed Aaron and Hur as administrators of justice in case any disputes broke out among the people while they were gone (24:14; also see 31:2).⁴⁷⁰

Therefore, Joshua and Moses set out to climb the mountain together. At some point, Moses left Joshua and continued up the mountain by himself. When Moses went up on the mountain, the cloud covered it (to see link click Dg – Under the Chuppah), and the Sh’khinah glory settled on Mount Sinai (24:15-16a). In Genesis 15 the Sh’khinah glory was used to seal God’s covenant with Abraham, and here in Exodus 24 it is also used to seal His covenant with Moses.

For six days the cloud covered the mountain and Moses camped outside of it, but on the seventh day ADONAI called to Moses to enter the cloud, or Sh’khinah glory (24:16b). The six/seven formula reminds us of the creation account. The number seven is the climax of the Jewish calendar. Here the climax occurs on the seventh day when Moses enters the cloud. To the Israelites the Sh’khinah glory of ADONAI looked like a consuming fire on top of the mountain (Exodus 24:17; also see Deuteronomy 4:24 and Hebrews 12:29). The Sh’khinah glory was also visible to the people who had settled in the valley at the foot of Mount Sinai.

Then for the second time, Moses entered the cloud alone as he went up on the mountain. And he stayed alone on the mountain for forty days and forty nights to receive further instructions from God (24:18). The rabbis teach that God also gave Moshe the Oral Law at that time (see the commentary on The Life of Christ Ei – The Oral Law). We learn later that Moses ate no bread and drank no water for forty days (Deuteronomy 9:9). The length of time Moses spent in the cloud of the Sh’khinah glory is confirmed by other passages (Exodus 34:28 Deuteronomy 9:9, 11, 18, 10:10). The dual purpose of this long time of fellowship was to receive the tablets of stone and to be given the instructions for building the Tabernacle. The number forty is often used to symbolize a period of trial, testing, or purification (Genesis 50:3; Deuteronomy 7:2; First Kings 19:8; Exodus 16:35; Matthew 4:2).

When we look back it is easy to see how critical the Sh’khinah glory was to the ministry of Moses. The Sh’khinah glory called Moses to his ministry (3:1-10), led Isra’el in the wilderness (13:20-22), protected Isra’el from the Egyptians (14:19-20a), destroyed the Egyptians in the Red Sea (14:24-27), provided the manna and the quail for the people (16:1-8), sealed God’s covenant with Moses, and here, enabled Moses to receive the Ten Commandments and directions to build the Tabernacle. Wow!

The believer has an equally glorious opportunity in this age for we are able to come into the very presence of God in the Most Holy Place because of the blood of Christ. Brothers, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of  Yeshua (Hebrews 10:19). We no longer have to wait at the bottom of the mountain to hear from God. Our responsibility is now to pray, read, listen for His voice and obey.⁴⁷¹

Haftarah Mishpatim: Yirmeyahu (Jeremiah) 34:8-22, 33:25-26
(see my commentary on Deuteronomy, to see link click Af – Parashah)

Nebuchadnezzar invaded Judah and laid siege to the capital, Jerusalem. It is 587 BC and the end is near. Jeremiah recalls the words of Moshe and quotes from Deuteronomy about setting the Hebrew slaves free after seven years. In desperation, King Zedekiah listens to Jeremiah and freed the Hebrew slaves (see the commentary on Jeremiah Fy – A Warning to Jeremiah). The Babylonian siege was temporarily lifted, but the nobles decided that Pharaoh Hophra’s army had caused the pull-back and not ADONAI. So, they turned, and took back the slaves they had freed and returned them again to slavery (Jeremiah 34:11). It was the end. The last thing Zedekiah saw was the slaughtering of his twelve sons, because he was then blinded, put in chains and taken captive to Babylon. But, in that dark moment, YHVH declared that He would no more reject the descendants of Levi, or fail to select from David’s descendants, than He would break the order of day and night (see the commentary on Jerermiah Fx – David Will Never Fail to Have a Man Sit On the Throne of the House of Isra’el).

B’rit Chadashah suggested readings for Parashah Mishpatim: Mattityahu (Matthew) 5:38-42, 15:1-20; Mark 7:1-23; Acts 23:1-11; Messianic Jews (Hebrews) 9:15-22, 10:28-39

In the days of Messiah, Yeshua stood on the Mountain of Transfiguration in the Land of Promise, with Peter, James and John (Matthew 17:1). It was six days since Yeshua had prophesied: some people standing here . . . will not experience death until they see the Son of Man coming in His Kingdom (Matthew 16:28). Suddenly Messiah was transfigured, and He was seen in all His glory (see the commentary on The Life of Christ Gb – Jesus Took Peter, James and John Up a High Mountain where He was Transfigured). Once Moshe stood upon another Mountain, dying to enter the Land of Promise with his pleas apparently denied (Deuteronomy 3:26-27a, 32:52, 34:5-6). But now, Moshe appears in the Land of Promise! Elijah, the herald who announces Messiah, also appears (Malachi 4:5). As at Mount Sinai, a bright cloud overshadowed the witnesses and a voice called out. It proclaims that Yeshua is God’s Son: Tishm’u elav, Listen to Him (Deuteronomy 18:15b; Matthew 17:5b). What validated Moshe as prophet . . . now validates Yeshua.