THE GLORY OF THE LORD

Can I pray for you in any way? Send any prayer requests to faithhopegodlove@aol.com In Christ, Mark

"Moses and Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, and the seventy elders of Israel went up and saw the God of Israel. Under his feet was something like a pavement made of sapphire, clear as the sky itself. But God did not raise his hand against these leaders of the Israelites; they saw God, and they ate and drank. The Lord said to Moses, "Come up to me on the mountain and stay here, and I will give you the tablets of stone, with the law and commands I have written for their instruction." Then Moses set out with Joshua his aide, and Moses went up on the mountain of God. He said to the elders, "Wait here for us until we come back to you. Aaron and Hur are with you, and anyone involved in a dispute can go to them." When Moses went up on the mountain, the cloud covered it, and the glory of the Lord settled on Mount Sinai. For six days the cloud covered the mountain, and on the seventh day the Lord called to Moses from within the cloud. To the Israelites the glory of the Lord looked like a consuming fire on top of the mountain. Then Moses entered the cloud as he went on up the mountain. And he stayed on the mountain forty days and forty nights." Exodus 24:9-18

After sealing the covenant between God and the people of Israel, Moses leaves the people who were ordered by God to "not come up with him" (Exodus 24:2b) and begins to climb Mount Sinai with "Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, and the seventy elders of Israel". And as they went up, scripture tells us they "saw the God of Israel" who had "something like a pavement made of sapphire, clear as the sky itself" under His feet. It’s believed the pavement wasn’t sapphire but lapus lazuli, a precious blue stone laced with golden pyrite. This stone was used to adorn royal chambers and thrones so it was fitting that the Sovereign King of Kings would be standing on pavement made of it.

Now it’s important to note that seeing God was usually not a good thing. In fact, it was typically very dangerous. Consider this passage:

"And the Lord said, "I will cause all my goodness to pass in front of you, and I will proclaim my name, the Lord, in your presence. I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion. But," he said, "you cannot see my face, for no one may see me and live." Exodus 33:19-20

Yet, in this case, Moses and the other leaders of Israel were allowed to be in His presence and see Him. Keep in mind that it was God who summoned these men to Him. God asked them to come into His presence and once there, He did not raise his hand against (them)". Instead, the men were allowed to share a covenant meal in the presence of the Almighty. What an awesome experience that must have been!

After the meal, God calls on Moses to "come up to me on the mountain and stay here, and I will give you the tablets of stone, with the law and commands I have written for their instruction." Moses obeys after giving the following guidance to the other religious leaders:

The elders of the people of Israel were told to "Wait here for us until we come back to you. Aaron and Hur are with you, and anyone involved in a dispute can go to them."

Moses was going to be away for quite awhile…forty days and forty nights. So he appointed Aaron and Hur to serve as mediators should any disputes break out amongst the people while he was away. They were also to make sure the people of Israel stayed obedient to the promises they made with God. As we’ll soon see, they failed miserably.

So "Moses set out with Joshua his aide, and…went up on the mountain of God." As Moses climbed the mountain, scripture tells us "the cloud covered it, and the glory of the Lord settled on Mount Sinai." The "cloud covered the mountain" for six days and "on the seventh day the Lord called to Moses from within the cloud." And we read that "Moses entered the cloud as he went on up the mountain" and "stayed on the mountain forty days and forty nights."

Moses, his fellow Israelite leaders and the people of Israel all saw the "glory of the Lord". What did this "glory of the Lord" look like? Well, Moses may have seen a cloud but "to the Israelites the glory of the Lord looked like a consuming fire". This led me to ponder a question that I will ask to you now. What does the glory of God look like to you? Do we not see His glory evident each and every day? Have you ever thought about the ways you get to experience God’s glory each and every day?
As I think about it, I can’t help but come up with so many ways that I see God’s glory in play each and every day. Whether it’s a cloudless, moonlit, star-filled sky or a blazing sunset or a miraculous work of healing or a newborn baby, all the same…it’s a clear reminder of God’s remarkable, wondrous glory. It was the same glory that shone around the shepherds who were tending their fields by night as a Savior was born unto them in a tiny town called Bethlehem. And the same glory that saw this Savior arise from the tomb, resurrected after dying from crucifixion just three days earlier.

Friends, indeed God’s glory is everywhere around us. All that we know, all that we have, and all that we are is because of Him. Indeed, even we are a part of His glorious handiwork. And just as He gives us so much glory, so too are we to return the glory to Him and be acutely aware of all He has done.

As we reflect on His glory this Lenten season…a glory that would bring us a glorious, Great Deliverer in His only Son, Jesus Christ, let us ever commit to glorifying Him with our every deed, word and thought. It’s the least we can do for the One who has given it all for us through the sacrificing of His Son so we might live and live forever with Him in glory. Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

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