Posted on by Abe Austin

Scriptural Analysis- Exodus 24:16-18

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.

The presence of the Lord descended upon the mountain, but Moses did not go up into it straightaway. He waited for the Lord to call him up, which did not occur until the seventh day. This immediately calls to mind the six days of creation, and the seventh day of rest. The reason for this parallel is not explained.

Perhaps that seventh day coincided with the Jewish sabbath, and the Lord was waiting for that sacred day to call Moses apart from the world. Perhaps the cloud on the mountain was purifying the place before the Lord’s arrival, recreating that part of the earth over six days just like it had taken six days to perform the original creation. Perhaps Moses required the six days to properly prepare his own soul for the meeting. Whatever the reason, we see a pattern of waiting a full measure for the time to be right.

This idea of sacred things taking a full measure to complete is also present in Moses then being up in the mountain for forty days and forty nights. If waiting seven days to ascend calls to mind the Genesis story of creation, then staying up in the mountain for forty days calls to mind Noah shut up in the ark while it rained for forty days and forty nights.

Both the initial conception of the earth and the flood are creation stories. Initial creation and recreation after the first had gone astray. They are symbols of beginning and resetting, of making everything new. Perhaps that was the Lord’s intent with these numbers, to suggest that His communion with Moses would usher forth a new beginning for Israel and all the world, a recreation of laws and principles that had been lost.

Posted on by Abe Austin

Scriptural Analysis- Exodus 24:13-15

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.

A number of priests and elders had stood with Moses to receive the witness of God. Now, though, when Moses went to receive the tables of stone with God’s law etched upon them, only Joshua accompanied him. It is interesting that Joshua is described here as Moses’s “minister.” The original Hebrew uses the word שָׁרַת (sharath), which is generally translated as “minister” or “servant” throughout the Bible.

Joshua would, of course, become the next leader of Israel, and so this is an interesting literal manifestation of what Jesus said when he told his disciples, “And whosoever will be chief among you, let him be your servant,” (Matthew 20:27). Joshua was literally functioning as a servant to Moses, and he really would become chief among all the Israelites.

Before Moses and Joshua ascended the mountain, Moses put the care of the congregation in the hands of Aaron and Hur. He said that any matters that needed to be addressed could be brought to those two priests. This, of course, would ultimately lead to their mischief with the golden calf in Chapter 32.

Posted on by Abe Austin

Scriptural Analysis- Exodus 24:1-2

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.

Today’s verses show a hierarchy being created. All of Israel is to worship from afar while Aaron, Nadab, and Abihu will ascend into the mountain with Moses. Those three priests would only come part of the way, though, with Moses alone fully entering into the presence of the Lord. Thus there is a triangular hierarchy with the prophet standing beside God at the top, the priests a step down from there, and the general populace down at the bottom.

Understanding hierarchies like this requires nuance and care. It is all too easy to turn a hierarchy into a competition, to feel ashamed of oneself if you are not high enough in the structure. In my church we often hear over the pulpit that the pastor is no more important than the nursery teacher, that each is performing an equal duty in the eyes of God, but it seems that the parishioners struggle to actually believe that.

Hierarchies are necessary for the management of a large people. If we had many leaders and few followers then there would be a constant change in direction and not enough workers to get things done. By necessity there must be fewer at the top and more at the bottom, but each half needs the other or nothing gets done at all. Every part, rightly balanced, is essential. Neither are expendable.

One other note from these verses is that Aaron, Nadab, and Abihu ascending the mountain with Moses calls to mind Peter, James, and John accompanying Jesus into the Mount of Transfiguration. Interestingly, one of the angels that conversed with Jesus in that mountain was none other than Moses. This same pattern of three accompanying witnesses was repeated again with Peter, James, and John as they followed Jesus into the Garden of Gethsemane at the beginning of his Passion. There seems to be a principle of three witnesses observing the divine moments of the leading prophet, so that they may bear testimony of it afterward.

Posted on by Abe Austin

Scriptural Analysis- Genesis 36:6-8

6 And Esau took his wives, and his sons, and his daughters, and all the persons of his house, and his cattle, and all his beasts, and all his substance, which he had got in the land of Canaan; and went into the country from the face of his brother Jacob.

7 For their riches were more than that they might dwell together; and the land wherein they were strangers could not bear them because of their cattle.

8 Thus dwelt Esau in mount Seir: Esau is Edom.

A couple days ago I mentioned that Esau and Jacob seemed to have minimal interaction after they were reunited in Canaan and now we know why: Esau left. Like Abraham and Lot, the land was not enough to support both of their households, and one of them had to pass over to the other side. And like Abraham, Jacob was the one that kept with Canaan, while Esau went elsewhere.

The two men’s decision of where to live perfectly echoes their preferences specified back in Genesis 25:27. Jacob was always a man of the plains, content to stay put for extended periods of time, while Esau was a wandering hunter. It seems the two men were destined to live as two separate halves. When they were young and forced to share the same space that disparity was likely one of their points of friction, but now that they were grown men they were able to resolve the matter with sufficient space. Like the parting between Jacob and Laban, sometimes the best way to keep the peace is to know when to step apart.

Posted on by Abe Austin

Scriptural Analysis- Genesis 22:14

14 And Abraham called the name of that place Jehovah-jireh: as it is said to this day, In the mount of the Lord it shall be seen.

A small verse, but a significant one. It is a verse that introduces the significance of special holy places, such as mountains, the tabernacle, and the temple. Remember that Abraham wasn’t commanded by God to sacrifice Isaac just anywhere, he was told to go to this very place. It was up in a mountain, and several mountains will be the site of sacred visitations from God, such as the Mount of Transfiguration and Mount Sinai. Mountains were seen as God’s home, a place where one might find and visit with Him.

The meaning of the name Jehovah-jireh is also very significant. Jehovah is, of course, the name of God, and jireh is often translated as “provides.” So “the Lord provides” is the name of the place, which certainly fits, given the lamb caught in the thicket.

However there is a second definition for the word jireh, which is “to see,” such as when it is used in 1 Samuel 16:7: “but the LORD looketh on the heart.” This explains the second part of our verse: “in the mount of the Lord it shall be seen.” Exactly what it was Abraham saw, we do not know. For us looking back we can see in it a clear analogy of God giving up His son as a sacrifice for the world to save our lives. Was Abraham instructed in some of these matters at this time as well? We can’t be sure, the text does not specify.

This name might also be referring to how God saw that Abraham would obey Him in all things. In either case, the name reinforces the notion of mountains, tabernacles, and temples being sacred sites. These were special places to come and see God and be seen by Him.

And I’m sure that both of these interpretations, “to provide” and “to see,” were intended. Abraham had been both provided for in the form of a ram in the thicket, and he been made to see the heart and workings of God, and so he named this place accordingly.