Seeing God

DEVOTION

EXODUS

SEEING GOD

Ex 24:9-18

9 Moses and Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, and the seventy elders of Israel went up 10 and saw the God of Israel. Under his feet was something like a pavement made of sapphire, clear as the sky itself. 11 But God did not raise his hand against these leaders of the Israelites; they saw God, and they ate and drank. 12 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." 13 Then Moses set out with Joshua his aide, and Moses went up on the mountain of God. 14 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." 15 When Moses went up on the mountain, the cloud covered it, 16 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. 17 To the Israelites the glory of the LORD looked like a consuming fire on top of the mountain. 18 Then Moses entered the cloud as he went on up the mountain. And he stayed on the mountain forty days and forty nights.

NIV

We are not certain just exactly what these seventy were given to see, or if they actually saw a physical representation of God. Later in another account in Deuteronomy Moses is telling them they saw no form of any kind the day the LORD spoke to them at Horeb out of the fire. Yet the original language here indicates they saw God. It does not say they saw a vision, or they sensed the presence of God, or anything else. It says they saw God. Most of our scholars cannot deal with this reality and make all sorts of other explanations which include all the other references about no one can being able to see God and live. But the fact remains the seventy who represent the entire people of Israel saw God and he did not lift up his hand against them to strike them down dead. We cannot be certain why God decided to allow them to see him, or what exactly they saw. It does not make much sense in that he would not allow Moses to see him, but only his back as he passed by the cleft he placed Moses in, putting his hand over Moses as he passed by. Yet here Moses, Aaron, his two sons and the seventy ate and drank in the presence of YAHWEH appearing to them on a pavement of Sapphires. What we can conclude is the seventy elders, when they returned to the people, certainly told them what they had seen, that God is absolutely real, he actually exists. The people had never seen God, but only his power, a display of his majesty. They had seen the pillar of fire and of smoke. They had witnessed the parting of the Red Sea. They had seen other miracles time and time again, the manna and the quail each and every day. They had seen water from a rock, bitter water turned sweet, but they had never seen God. But now having experienced a personal encounter with the living God, they must have been able to share that with all the people. Although most of this narrative continues about God calling Moses up to him, the lesson has to be in the experience of the seventy elders. How can we witness to the reality of God? All we have is our personal experience with him. We have experienced his power in our lives. We have experienced miracles we cannot explain away. We have actually heard his voice on several occasions. At least this man has, we cannot be certain about others. We are told we should believe by faith, and that faith is the hope of things not seen, but yet hoped for. However God allowed the seventy to see him so they could tell others. Yet do we not all see God within his word? Do we not see the reality of God by the complete record of his interaction with his creation? Do we not see God every time we glance into the ocean or take a walk in the woods, or stare into the night sky? Do we not see God every time we see the beauty of all the trees, bushes and flowers? Do we not see God when we feel the warmth of the sun or the fragrance of fall? Do we not know God and feel the security of him not raising his hand against us? Yes, we need some faith, but even that comes from his hand for we are told he gives every man a measure of faith.

Rom 12:3

3 For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the measure of faith God has given you.

NIV

 So then we can see God in our faith. But what is the purpose of our seeing God? What was the purpose he allowed the seventy to see him? It has to be so we can tell others God is not dead, God is real and he is alive and well, that they need to come up to the mountain of God and worship him. Of course that also means we should be on the mountain of God worshipping him, bowing before him in humility. He is God and we are his people. It is not we are the people and he is our God. We have not fabricated God for us, although many may have done exactly that. No, God has made us for him. Everything is about God. The seventy might have thought themselves of higher regard then the rest of Israel, but they were there so all of Israel would know God. Our experience, our seeing God, is not just so we can think highly about ourselves, but so we can share God with others, so the rest of his creation might be able to see him as we do.