Exodus 24: 12-18: “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. And Moses rose up, and his minister Joshua: and Moses went up into the mount of God. 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. And Moses went up into the mount, and a cloud covered the mount. 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. 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. 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.”
Moses was the only person in the nation of Israel at that time who had been through a personal experience with the Lord. He had met the Lord by the burning bush in Sinai and submitted to the Lord, so much so, that he risked his life even though he wasn’t willing to go alone but required Aaron to go and speak. Moses took Joshua with him to assist him as the Lord spoke to him on the mountain. Joshua would later lead the people into the Promised Land and he needed to have a good experience of the Lord’s greatness as well. The Lord made sure that the people were not left to their own devices but also appointed some leaders to be caretakers in Moses absence. Moses had to wait for the Lord to show that he had proper respect for the Lord’s glory and then he went to meet with the Lord. Moses went alone into the cloud and was in the Lord’s presence although he didn’t actually see the Lord directly (see Ex 33: 18-22, “And he said, I beseech thee, shew me thy glory. And he said, I will make all my goodness pass before thee, and I will proclaim the name of the LORD before thee; and will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will shew mercy on whom I will shew mercy. And he said, Thou canst not see my face: for there shall no man see me, and live. And the LORD said, Behold, there is a place by me, and thou shalt stand upon a rock: And it shall come to pass, while my glory passeth by, that I will put thee in a clift of the rock, and will cover thee with my hand while I pass by: And I will take away mine hand, and thou shalt see my back parts: but my face shall not be seen.”) This is part of the great enigma of the Lord, He is holy and perfect, He cannot bear to look upon iniquity but He still loves the sinner and reaches out to effect reconciliation, at His own expense even though He is the injured party (Hab 1: 13, “Thou art of purer eyes than to behold evil, and canst not look on iniquity: wherefore lookest thou upon them that deal treacherously, and holdest thy tongue when the wicked devoureth the man that is more righteous than he?”).
(The view expressed in this blog are my own and should not be taken as inspired in any way.)
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