They Saw God...
Carter Wood
Exodus 24:9-11 (NASV)
"Then
Moses went up with Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of
Israel, and they saw the God of Israel; and under His feet there
appeared to be a pavement of sapphire, as clear as the sky itself. Yet
He did not stretch out His hand against the nobles of the sons of
Israel; and they saw God, and they ate and drank."
This
is one of the many times found in the Bible when people saw God. On
this day, God extended an invitation to seventy-four men to meet with
Him on Mount Sinai. Moses wrote, "They saw God…" I am sure most of us
would treasure the opportunity to see God with our physical eyes. I am
equally confident that we would tremble at the realization of what the
encounter would bring. What would it be like to meet with God face to
face, behold His Glory, see Infinity personified? What would we
experience, and see, and do, and ask? How would it change us and our
vantage point on the earth? Everything within me cries out for a
God-encounter such as this.
There are two
interesting points to note in this passage of scripture. Firstly, Moses
did not write about God's form or attributes, but simply of the place He
was standing. Why not describe God? This would be the question every
generation would want answered. And yet, the details of God's form is
absent from the testimony. Instead, Moses expounded on the place God was
standing and wrote, it "appeared to be pavement of Sapphire, as clear
as the sky itself." It does seem fitting that God would be standing on
Sapphire, being that it is one of the foundation stones in the New
Jerusalem. (Revelation 21:19) But still the question remains, why not
describe God? I think Moses was in awe of the beauty of the place of
God's location. That particular place was not transformed for God. No,
it was transfigured because of His nearness. The place of His manifest
presence becomes Glorious because He is Glory incarnate. The meaning of
the sapphire stage fascinated the physical and spiritual senses of Moses
and the story had to be told. There was far greater revelation in the
beauty of God's platform than Moses had literary ability to describe.
But by depicting the affects God had on the physical mountain beneath
His feet, Moses revealed a facet of God never before known by humanity.
Secondly, Moses noted that God did not kill his invited, but turned the event into a celebration; "… They saw God, and they ate and drank
". I have often wondered what it would be like to sit down and have a
meal with God. All of us who have accepted Christ will have that
opportunity one day. But I long for "dinner-with-God"
experiences this side of heaven. For the Children of Israel it was a
grand departure from viewing God as One who could not be seen without
losing life itself. God presented himself on this epic day as One who
was gracious and kind, who longed to be with His people. "...they saw God, and they ate and drank."
This sounds like a celebration to me. A party even. This glorious
invitation from God; to know Him in a manner they had never known Him
before. God was revealing His nature, personality, His Glory. This was a
day the Elders of Israel went far beyond knowing God as the Unapproachable One
to the God who reveals Himself to all who will receive His invitation.
That day each of the 74 men secured a personal relationship with
Creator. How awesome it must have been!
Today,
the invitation is extended to us all. We have full access to the Father
through Jesus the Christ. I am climbing that proverbial "mountain" of
God in order to know Him more. Come with me...Let's ascend together in
discovery! It will be AWESOME!
© 2014 Carter Wood All Rights Reserved
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