Adonai said to Moshe, “Come up to me on the mountain, and stay there. I will give you the stone tablets with the Torah and the commandments I have written on them, so that you can teach them.”-Exodus 24:12
In verse 12, the Lord calls Moses back up to the mountain to receive something special.
He is going to receive the 10 Words written on stone tablets by God’s own finger.
Although the often repeated DEVARIM (words) implies speech, this central event of the giving of the Law places strong emphasis on the act of writing as the supreme vehicle for endowing words with permanence.
Moses first wrote down the 10 Words and laws with ink on parchment or papyrus.
But now God declares He will do His own inscription directly onto the durable medium of stone.
When Moses went up to the mountain, notice the brief mention that Joshua is to go with him.
It appears from this early stage, God had already handpicked Joshua to succeed Moses in becoming the next leader of Israel.
Following the direct epiphany to the elders, we get a long-distance view of God’s glory from the perspective of the valley floor where 3 million of the Israelites were encamped.
In Hebrew, God’s glory is KAVOD and we’re told it manifested itself as an unquenchable fire from the top of the Holy Mountain.
When Moses entered into the cloud, the terrifying gap between him and the people was beautifully registered.
We’re told that Moses was on the mountain immersed in God’s awesome presence for 40 days and 40 nights where He received via direct revelation probably the most intense and important teaching any man had ever experienced.
Notice that the Lord hid Himself in a cloud for 6 days and then on the 7th day began to give Moses more of His teachings.
The initial 6-day period was a time of spiritual preparation for Moses before He would stand directly in the presence of the Almighty.
There are a couple of interesting spiritual takeaways I felt the Lord placing on my heart today as I contemplated these passages.
First, our God is a God of exacting numerical organization.
There are number patterns established that remain consistent throughout all Scripture.
The 40-day period in the Bible always signifies a period of trial and testing that takes place before the start of a new phase in one’s walk with the Lord.
And the number 7 represents completion.
For example, in the creation story in Genesis, following the 6 days of creation, we’re told that God sanctified the 7th day as a holy day of rest.
The resting on the 7th day signified that the work God had done over the 6-day period was perfect with nothing left to be added or subtracted to it.
Second, reading these Scriptures gives me a much more renewed appreciation for the Holy Spirit that dwells within us.
Moses went up the mountain to receive a direct revelation of God’s rules for how to live a life pleasing to Him.
But how much more greater it is to have the very Spirit of the Living God living within us, ready to assist, instruct and strengthen whenever the need arises.
NEXT TIME WE BEGIN EXODUS CHAPTER 25
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