LOOK | WHAT DOES IT SAY?
THINK | WHAT DOES IT MEAN?
(A) They saw the God of Israel... they beheld God. The Jewish commentators, for obvious reasons, have a hard time with this passage (Exodus 24:9-11). This is true for all similar mentions in the Old Testament, including God's appearance to Abraham in Genesis 12:7. We are often told that people cannot see God, and that God does not have a body, and yet at the same time we often receive reports in the Bible of people having clearly seen Him. There is also a figure called the Angel of the LORD who continues to appear, who has an appearance like a man, is somehow differentiated from God, and yet repeatedly speaks in the first person as God--and when people see him, the Bible says they've seen God. Matt Foreman and Doug Van Dorn have a fantastic book, which I have only so far gotten partially through, called The Angel of the LORD: A Biblical, Historical, and Theological Study, where they show that this figure appears in more places than just where "the Angel of the LORD" is specifically mentioned. When people are clearly shown to have seen God in physical, anatomical form, we are on pretty good footing to say that it is the same figure. This same figure is a pre-incarnate appearance of Jesus Christ; who John 1 says was "with God, and was God" from "the beginning." Rabbi Ibn Ezra says this was "in a prophetic vision," as do the other Jewish commentators, but the passage does not appear to lend itself well to that interpretation. Not only is there no mention that they had a vision, but it says they physically feasted with God: "they beheld God, and ate and drank" (Exodus 24:11).
(B) Building instructions for the Tabernacle. It is easy to glaze over the instructions for the Tabernacle--and in this case, I will. But for those of you who are going through this plan more slowly, look up the final product. I would recommend this link from Ligonier ministries, which is a ministry that I trust: https://www.ligonier.org/learn/articles/6-reasons-why-christians-should-study-tabernacle.
RESPOND | WHAT IS OUR PART?
Both the appearance of God to the elders of Israel, and the building of the Tabernacle, are reminders of God's desire to be knowable and to be present in our midst. I think sometimes we carry on without Him, without really expecting to have an encounter with Him, without expecting Him to go with us. But nearly every page of the Bible reveals the opposite--God is on a rescue mission! He is constantly revealing Himself. He makes Himself present in our prayer times, in Bible reading, in changing hearts as we go forward with Him on mission. In the WhatsApp group that I am a part of with the group that does campus ministry, we are currently celebrating some circumstances where God has opened the hearts of a few students and caused them to enthusiastically open up to dedicating themselves to God. This doesn't just happen naturally; we see the opposite happen all the time. But as we do what He has called us to, we encounter the God who has called us. The elders who respond to God by climbing the mountain are met with God at the feast; the people who build the Tabernacle as they have been instructed get to witness the glory of the LORD fill it; Abraham who obeys and goes into the void is met with the appearance of God; the disciples who travel north to Galilee find Jesus waiting for them on top of the mountain; and we who go into all the world to make disciples will find God along the way.
PRAY | HOW DOES THIS BRING US CLOSER TO GOD?
Here is a suggested prayer prompt: "God, thank you for inviting me to know and encounter you. Help me to respond to your call so that as I go, I may meet you in the place of obedience to which you have called me."
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