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NOTES for Exo 24:1-18

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1 And he said unto Moses, Come up unto the LORD, thou, and Aaron, Nadab, and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel; and worship ye afar off.
2 And Moses alone shall come near the LORD: but they shall not come nigh; neither shall the people go up with him.
3 And Moses came and told the people all the words of the LORD, and all the judgments: and all the people answered with one voice, and said, All the words which the LORD hath said will we do.
4 And Moses wrote all the words of the LORD, and rose up early in the morning, and builded an altar under the hill, and twelve pillars, according to the twelve tribes of Israel.
5 And he sent young men of the children of Israel, which offered burnt offerings, and sacrificed peace offerings of oxen unto the LORD.
6 And Moses took half of the blood, and put it in basons; and half of the blood he sprinkled on the altar.
7 And he took the book of the covenant, and read in the audience of the people: and they said, All that the LORD hath said will we do, and be obedient.
8 And Moses took the blood, and sprinkled it on the people, and said, Behold the blood of the covenant, which the LORD hath made with you concerning all these words.
9 Then went up Moses, and Aaron, Nadab, and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel:
10 And they saw the God of Israel: and there was under his feet as it were a paved work of a sapphire stone, and as it were the body of heaven in his clearness.
11 And upon the nobles of the children of Israel he laid not his hand: also they saw God, and did eat and drink.
12 And the LORD said unto Moses, Come up to me into the mount, and be there: and I will give thee tables of stone, and a law, and commandments which I have written; that thou mayest teach them.
13 And Moses rose up, and his minister Joshua: and Moses went up into the mount of God.
14 And he said unto the elders, Tarry ye here for us, until we come again unto you: and, behold, Aaron and Hur are with you: if any man have any matters to do, let him come unto them.
15 And Moses went up into the mount, and a cloud covered the mount.
16 And the glory of the LORD abode upon mount Sinai, and the cloud covered it six days: and the seventh day he called unto Moses out of the midst of the cloud.
17 And the sight of the glory of the LORD was like devouring fire on the top of the mount in the eyes of the children of Israel.
18 And Moses went into the midst of the cloud, and gat him up into the mount: and Moses was in the mount forty days and forty nights.
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It seems that, in describing what is happening, the writer is deliberately restraining himself so as not to yield to emotion. There are no lists. Only the simplest descriptions are given, capable of awakening a response in every human heart: fire, blood, an oath, a pillar of smoke and a mountain, the people remaining at its foot, and Moses departing for forty days to speak with God. The deliberate lack of emotion in this most powerful experience is more effective than any cries, groans, or sighs. The picture is clear. Before us stand the majesty of the fire that consumes sin and the eternal Covenant between God and his chosen people.

Other notes

 
For Exo 24:1-18
1 And he said unto Moses, Come up unto the LORD, thou, and Aaron, Nadab, and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel; and worship ye afar off.
2 And Moses alone shall come near the LORD: but they shall not come nigh; neither shall the people go up with him.
3 And Moses came and told the people all the words of the LORD, and all the judgments: and all the people answered with one voice, and said, All the words which the LORD hath said will we do.
4 And Moses wrote all the words of the LORD, and rose up early in the morning, and builded an altar under the hill, and twelve pillars, according to the twelve tribes of Israel.
5 And he sent young men of the children of Israel, which offered burnt offerings, and sacrificed peace offerings of oxen unto the LORD.
6 And Moses took half of the blood, and put it in basons; and half of the blood he sprinkled on the altar.
7 And he took the book of the covenant, and read in the audience of the people: and they said, All that the LORD hath said will we do, and be obedient.
8 And Moses took the blood, and sprinkled it on the people, and said, Behold the blood of the covenant, which the LORD hath made with you concerning all these words.
9 Then went up Moses, and Aaron, Nadab, and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel:
10 And they saw the God of Israel: and there was under his feet as it were a paved work of a sapphire stone, and as it were the body of heaven in his clearness.
11 And upon the nobles of the children of Israel he laid not his hand: also they saw God, and did eat and drink.
12 And the LORD said unto Moses, Come up to me into the mount, and be there: and I will give thee tables of stone, and a law, and commandments which I have written; that thou mayest teach them.
13 And Moses rose up, and his minister Joshua: and Moses went up into the mount of God.
14 And he said unto the elders, Tarry ye here for us, until we come again unto you: and, behold, Aaron and Hur are with you: if any man have any matters to do, let him come unto them.
15 And Moses went up into the mount, and a cloud covered the mount.
16 And the glory of the LORD abode upon mount Sinai, and the cloud covered it six days: and the seventh day he called unto Moses out of the midst of the cloud.
17 And the sight of the glory of the LORD was like devouring fire on the top of the mount in the eyes of the children of Israel.
18 And Moses went into the midst of the cloud, and gat him up into the mount: and Moses was in the mount forty days and forty nights.
Hide
It appears that, in speaking of what is happening, the writer deliberately restrains himself so as not to give way to emotion. No lists are used. Only the simplest descriptions are given, capable...  Read more

It appears that, in speaking of what is happening, the writer deliberately restrains himself so as not to give way to emotion. No lists are used. Only the simplest descriptions are given, capable of awakening a response in every person's soul. Fire, blood, an oath, a pillar of smoke and a mountain, the people remaining at the foot, and Moses going away for forty days to speak with God. The deliberate lack of emotion in this most powerful experience works more strongly than any cries, groans, and sighs. The picture is clear. Before us stands the majesty of fire that consumes sin and of the Eternal Covenant between God and His chosen people.

Hide
 
For Exo 24:1-18
1 And he said unto Moses, Come up unto the LORD, thou, and Aaron, Nadab, and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel; and worship ye afar off.
2 And Moses alone shall come near the LORD: but they shall not come nigh; neither shall the people go up with him.
3 And Moses came and told the people all the words of the LORD, and all the judgments: and all the people answered with one voice, and said, All the words which the LORD hath said will we do.
4 And Moses wrote all the words of the LORD, and rose up early in the morning, and builded an altar under the hill, and twelve pillars, according to the twelve tribes of Israel.
5 And he sent young men of the children of Israel, which offered burnt offerings, and sacrificed peace offerings of oxen unto the LORD.
6 And Moses took half of the blood, and put it in basons; and half of the blood he sprinkled on the altar.
7 And he took the book of the covenant, and read in the audience of the people: and they said, All that the LORD hath said will we do, and be obedient.
8 And Moses took the blood, and sprinkled it on the people, and said, Behold the blood of the covenant, which the LORD hath made with you concerning all these words.
9 Then went up Moses, and Aaron, Nadab, and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel:
10 And they saw the God of Israel: and there was under his feet as it were a paved work of a sapphire stone, and as it were the body of heaven in his clearness.
11 And upon the nobles of the children of Israel he laid not his hand: also they saw God, and did eat and drink.
12 And the LORD said unto Moses, Come up to me into the mount, and be there: and I will give thee tables of stone, and a law, and commandments which I have written; that thou mayest teach them.
13 And Moses rose up, and his minister Joshua: and Moses went up into the mount of God.
14 And he said unto the elders, Tarry ye here for us, until we come again unto you: and, behold, Aaron and Hur are with you: if any man have any matters to do, let him come unto them.
15 And Moses went up into the mount, and a cloud covered the mount.
16 And the glory of the LORD abode upon mount Sinai, and the cloud covered it six days: and the seventh day he called unto Moses out of the midst of the cloud.
17 And the sight of the glory of the LORD was like devouring fire on the top of the mount in the eyes of the children of Israel.
18 And Moses went into the midst of the cloud, and gat him up into the mount: and Moses was in the mount forty days and forty nights.
Hide
The covenant between God and His people is made so that its terms are clear to everyone and evident to all. The Torah is read aloud in the presence of representatives of all...  Read more

The covenant between God and His people is made in such a way that its terms are clear to everyone and evident to all. The Torah was read aloud in the presence of representatives of all twelve tribes; everyone heard everything that was read, and everyone present promised to keep the terms of the covenant-union. Now the situation was changing radically compared with the previous era.

Before, one could always appeal to the leader: he, the leader, was responsible for everything, including relations with God, while an ordinary person could consider himself free of responsibility. This was not simply a desire to shift that responsibility onto the leader's shoulders, since in fact God at that time revealed Himself and revealed His will precisely to leaders, who were supposed to pass it on to their fellow tribesmen. Now everything was different.

The commandments had been read aloud; everyone had heard them. There were only ten of them, and anyone could remember a text like that. Of course, not everyone could appreciate their full depth; not everyone understood the Decalogue as a description of the spiritual path, and such understanding really required time. But everyone at all times understood the minimum. God calls a person to account according to that person's understanding, so each one answered before Him to the extent that the meaning of the commandments was clear to him.

Something else was important: now among God's people there was no one left who could honestly say that God's will was unknown to him. Not everyone had the experience of personal communion with God, but the minimum was known to everyone. Here, of course, we must speak specifically about minimum requirements: the Decalogue, understood as a moral code, did not set a very high spiritual ceiling for a person. And yet this minimum was known to everyone. It was a kind of foundation, a necessary condition for the further spiritual path and for spiritual life in general.

Many limited themselves to this foundation alone, since there have never been many people who were looking specifically for a conscious spiritual path. Yet even such a minimum, such a foundation, was still important: at the very least it kept a person from becoming a monster. Now, after the covenant-union was made at Sinai, no one could honestly say that he had not known that becoming a monster was wrong. This is a minimum, but a necessary minimum, and it is still better than nothing.

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