But God did not lay His hand on the nobles of Israel; they saw Him, and they ate and drank. But God did not lay His handThe phrase "did not lay His hand" signifies divine restraint and mercy. In the Hebrew context, the "hand" often symbolizes power, judgment, or action. Here, it indicates that God chose not to exercise judgment or punishment upon the nobles of Israel. This restraint is significant, as it underscores God's grace and willingness to commune with His people despite their imperfections. Historically, the act of laying hands could imply a blessing or a curse, but in this context, it is the withholding of judgment, highlighting God's desire for relationship over retribution. on the nobles of Israel
The "nobles of Israel" refers to the leaders or elders who represented the people before God. In the ancient Near Eastern context, these individuals held positions of authority and were responsible for guiding the community in spiritual and civil matters. Their presence in this divine encounter emphasizes the communal aspect of the covenant, where leaders are accountable to God and serve as intermediaries between Him and the people. This moment foreshadows the role of spiritual leadership in guiding the faithful and maintaining the covenant relationship with God. they saw God
The statement "they saw God" is profound, as it suggests a direct encounter with the divine. In Hebrew, the word for "saw" (ra'ah) implies a visual perception that goes beyond mere physical sight, encompassing understanding and recognition. This encounter is extraordinary, as it reflects a moment of divine revelation and intimacy. In the broader biblical narrative, seeing God is often associated with transformative experiences that deepen faith and understanding. This vision signifies God's willingness to reveal Himself to His chosen people, affirming His covenant and presence among them. and they ate and drank
The act of eating and drinking in the presence of God symbolizes fellowship and covenantal communion. In ancient cultures, sharing a meal was a sign of peace, agreement, and relationship. This meal signifies the sealing of the covenant between God and Israel, where the leaders partake in a sacred feast that represents unity and divine blessing. Theologically, this act prefigures the Eucharistic meal in Christian tradition, where believers partake in the body and blood of Christ, symbolizing the new covenant and the intimate fellowship with God through Jesus. This moment in Exodus highlights the importance of communal worship and the sustaining presence of God in the lives of His people. Persons / Places / Events 1. GodThe central figure in this passage, who reveals Himself to the nobles of Israel. 2. Nobles of IsraelLeaders and representatives of the Israelite community who were invited to witness God's presence. 3. Mount SinaiThe location where this divine encounter takes place, a significant site for God's covenant with Israel. 4. Covenant MealThe act of eating and drinking in God's presence, symbolizing fellowship and the sealing of the covenant. 5. MosesAlthough not directly mentioned in this verse, he is the leader who facilitates this encounter between God and the nobles. Teaching Points Divine ProtectionGod’s mercy is evident as He does not harm the nobles despite their unworthiness. This highlights God's grace and protection over His chosen people. Covenant FellowshipThe act of eating and drinking in God's presence signifies a deep fellowship and the sealing of the covenant. It reminds us of the importance of communion with God in our spiritual lives. Reverence and AweWitnessing God should inspire reverence and awe. The nobles' experience calls us to approach God with a heart of worship and respect. Symbolism of MealsMeals in the Bible often symbolize unity and covenant. This passage encourages us to view our communal meals as opportunities for fellowship and spiritual reflection. God’s Presence in WorshipJust as the nobles experienced God's presence, we are invited to seek and recognize God's presence in our worship and daily lives. Bible Study Questions 1. How does the experience of the nobles in Exodus 24:11 reflect God's grace and mercy? 2. In what ways can we incorporate the symbolism of covenant meals into our own spiritual practices? 3. How does the concept of seeing God and living, as experienced by the nobles, challenge or affirm your understanding of God's holiness and accessibility? 4. What parallels can you draw between the covenant meal in Exodus 24:11 and the Lord's Supper in the New Testament? 5. How can we cultivate a sense of reverence and awe in our personal and communal worship experiences today? Connections to Other Scriptures Genesis 32Jacob's encounter with God, where he sees God face to face and his life is preserved, parallels the nobles' experience of seeing God without harm. Isaiah 6Isaiah's vision of God, where he is overwhelmed by God's holiness, contrasts with the nobles' peaceful meal in God's presence. Revelation 19The marriage supper of the Lamb, which reflects the theme of fellowship and covenant through a meal in God's presence. | The Covenant Made | H.T. Robjohns | Exodus 24:1, 2, 9-11 | | The Vision of God for the Selected Few | D. Young | Exodus 24:1-2, 9-11 | | A Vision of God | J. Orr | Exodus 24:1, 2, 9-12 | | A Glorious Sight and a Holy Feast | R. P. Buddicom, M. A. | Exodus 24:9-11 | | A Glorious Vision | W. Burrows, B. A. | Exodus 24:9-11 | | Man's Approach to God | J. W. Burn. | Exodus 24:9-11 | | Seeing God | J. Parker, D. D. | Exodus 24:9-11 | | The Distinguishing Privilege of God's Faithful Servants | T. Boston, D. D. | Exodus 24:9-11 | | The God of Sinai Approached Through Sacrifice | R. Roberts. | Exodus 24:9-11 | | The Vision of God | W. M. Taylor, D. D. | Exodus 24:9-11 | | The Vision of God, and the Feast Before Him | A. Maclaren, D. D. | Exodus 24:9-11 |
People Aaron, Abihu, Hur, Israelites, Joshua, Moses, NadabPlaces Mount SinaiTopics Ate, Beheld, Chief, Chiefs, Didn't, Drank, Drink, Eat, Forth, Israelites, Laid, Lay, Leaders, Nobles, Sons, Stretch, YetDictionary of Bible Themes Exodus 24:11 1349 covenant, at Sinai
5312 feasting
8650 hands, lifting up
9150 Messianic banquet Exodus 24:4-18 4269 Sinai, Mount Exodus 24:9-11 1193 glory, revelation of
8474 seeing God Library Sin and Forgiveness
'... Forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, and that will by no means clear the guilty....'--EXODUS xxiv. 7. The former chapter tells us of the majesty of the divine revelation as it was made to Moses on 'the mount of God.' Let us notice that, whatever was the visible pomp of the external Theophany to the senses, the true revelation lay in the proclamation of the 'Name'; the revelation to the conscience and the heart; and such a revelation had never before fallen on mortal ears. It is remarkable …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture 'The Love of Thine Espousals'
'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. 3. And Moses came and told the people all the words of the Lord, and all the judgments: and all the people answered with one voice, and said, All the words which the Lord hath said will we do. 4. And Moses wrote all the words of the Lord, and …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture The Blood of the Covenant
"Behold the blood of the covenant, which the Lord hath made with you."--EX. xxiv. 8; HEB. ix. 20. "This cup is the new covenant in My blood."--1 COR. xi. 25; MATT. xxvi. 28. "The blood of the covenant, wherewith he was sanctified."--HEB. x. 29. "The blood of the everlasting covenant."--HEB. xiii.21. THE blood is one of the strangest, the deepest, the mightiest, and the most heavenly of the thoughts of God. It lies at the very root of both Covenants, but specially of the New Covenant. The difference …
Andrew Murray—The Two Covenants The Blood of the Testament
BLOOD IS ALWAYS a terrible thing. It makes a sensitive mind shudder even to pronounce the word; but, to look upon the thing itself causes a thrill of horror. Although by familiarity men shake this off, for the seeing of the eye and the hearing of the ear can harden the heart, the instinct of a little child may teach you what is natural to us in referer to blood. How it will worry if its finger bleeds ever so little, shocked as the sight, actually there be no smart. I envy not the man whose pity would …
Charles Haddon Spurgeon—Spurgeon's Sermons Volume 58: 1912 The Blood of Sprinkling
Our apostle next tells us what we are come to. I suppose he speaks of all the saints after the death and resurrection of our Lord and the descent of the Holy Ghost. He refers to the whole church, in the midst of which the Holy Spirit now dwells. We are come to a more joyous sight than Sinai, and the mountain burning with fire. The Hebrew worshipper, apart from his sacrifices, lived continually beneath the shadow of the darkness of a broken law; he was startled often by the tremendous note of the …
Charles Haddon Spurgeon—Spurgeon's Sermons Volume 32: 1886 The Birth of Jesus Proclaimed by Angels to the Shepherds.
(Near Bethlehem, b.c. 5.) ^C Luke II. 8-20. ^c 8 And there were shepherds in the same country [they were in the same fields from which David had been called to tend God's Israel, or flock] abiding in the field, and keeping watch by night over their flock. [When the flock is too far from the village to lead it to the fold at night, these shepherds still so abide with it in the field, even in the dead of winter.] 9 And an angel of the Lord stood by them [He stood upon the earth at their side, and did …
J. W. McGarvey—The Four-Fold Gospel The Lord's Supper Instituted.
(Jerusalem. Evening Before the Crucifixion.) ^A Matt. XXVI. 26-29; ^B Mark XIV. 22-25; ^C Luke XXII. 19, 20; ^F I. Cor. XI. 23-26. ^a 26 And as they were eating, ^f the Lord Jesus in the night in which he was betrayed took bread; 24 and when he had given thanks, { ^b blessed,} ^f he brake it, ^a and he gave to the disciples, and said, ^b Take ye: ^a Take, eat; this is my body. ^f which is ^c given ^f for you: this do in remembrance of me. [As only unleavened bread was eaten during the paschal supper, …
J. W. McGarvey—The Four-Fold Gospel Writings of St. Ambrose.
The extant writings of St. Ambrose may be divided under six heads. I. Dogmatic; II. Exegetic; III. Moral; IV. Sermons; V. Letters; VI. A few Hymns. I. Dogmatic and Controversial Works. 1. De Fide. The chief of these are the Five Books on the Faith, of which the two first were written in compliance with a request of the Emperor Gratian, a.d. 378. Books III.-V. were written in 379 or 380, and seem to have been worked up from addresses delivered to the people [V. prol. 9, 11; III. 143; IV. 119]. This …
St. Ambrose—Works and Letters of St. Ambrose Things Pertaining to the Kingdom.
"Now is there solemn pause in earth and heaven; The Conqueror now His bonds hath riven, And Angels wonder why He stays below; Yet hath not man his lesson learned, How endless love should be returned." Hitherto our thoughts about "The Kingdom of Heaven" have been founded on the teaching of the King respecting His Kingdom recorded in the Gospels. But we must not forget to give attention to the very important time in the life of our Lord extending between His Resurrection and Ascension, during which …
Edward Burbidge—The Kingdom of Heaven; What is it? The Last Supper
189. On Thursday Jesus and his disciples returned to Jerusalem for the last time. Knowing the temper of the leaders, and the danger of arrest at any time, Jesus was particularly eager to eat the Passover with his disciples (Luke xxii. 15), and he sent two of them--Luke names them as Peter and John--to prepare for the supper. In a way which would give no information to such a one as Judas, he directed them carefully how to find the house where a friend would provide them the upper room that was needed …
Rush Rhees—The Life of Jesus of Nazareth Brief Outline of Ancient Jewish Theological Literature
The arrangements of the synagogue, as hitherto described, combined in a remarkable manner fixedness of order with liberty of the individual. Alike the seasons and the time of public services, their order, the prayers to be offered, and the portions of the law to be read were fixed. On the other hand, between the eighteen "benedictions" said on ordinary days, and the seven repeated on the Sabbaths, free prayer might be inserted; the selection from the prophets, with which the public reading concluded--the …
Alfred Edersheim—Sketches of Jewish Social Life Jesus Calls Four Fishermen to Follow Him.
(Sea of Galilee, Near Capernaum.) ^A Matt. IV. 18-22; ^B Mark I. 16-20; ^C Luke V. 1-11. ^a 18 And walking ^b 16 And passing along by the sea of Galilee [This lake is a pear-shaped body of water, about twelve and a half miles long and about seven miles across at its widest place. It is 682 feet below sea level; its waters are fresh, clear and abounding in fish, and it is surrounded by hills and mountains, which rise from 600 to 1,000 feet above it. Its greatest depth is about 165 feet], he [Jesus] …
J. W. McGarvey—The Four-Fold Gospel Appendix xii. The Baptism of Proselytes
ONLY those who have made study of it can have any idea how large, and sometimes bewildering, is the literature on the subject of Jewish Proselytes and their Baptism. Our present remarks will be confined to the Baptism of Proselytes. 1. Generally, as regards proselytes (Gerim) we have to distinguish between the Ger ha-Shaar (proselyte of the gate) and Ger Toshabh (sojourner,' settled among Israel), and again the Ger hatstsedeq (proselyte of righteousness) and Ger habberith (proselyte of the covenant). …
Alfred Edersheim—The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah Exodus
The book of Exodus--so named in the Greek version from the march of Israel out of Egypt--opens upon a scene of oppression very different from the prosperity and triumph in which Genesis had closed. Israel is being cruelly crushed by the new dynasty which has arisen in Egypt (i.) and the story of the book is the story of her redemption. Ultimately it is Israel's God that is her redeemer, but He operates largely by human means; and the first step is the preparation of a deliverer, Moses, whose parentage, …
John Edgar McFadyen—Introduction to the Old Testament Links Exodus 24:11 NIVExodus 24:11 NLTExodus 24:11 ESVExodus 24:11 NASBExodus 24:11 KJV
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