Bird's-eye view
This passage marks a pivotal moment in the establishment of God's covenant with Israel. Having ratified the covenant with blood and a communal meal in the presence of God (Ex. 24:1-11), Moses is now summoned into a deeper and more intimate communion. This is not a casual invitation; it is a summons to the very heart of God's terrifying glory. Here, on the mountain, the terms of the covenant relationship will be inscribed not just in the hearts of the people through promises, but onto immutable stone by the very finger of God. The scene is layered with significance. We see a clear hierarchy of access to God, with Moses alone entering the deepest darkness of the cloud, Joshua accompanying him part way, and Aaron, Hur, and the elders remaining at the base. This structured approach to God's presence underscores His holiness and the necessity of mediation. The entire event is shrouded in the visible manifestation of God's glory, a glory that appears to the Israelites below as a consuming fire, a potent symbol of His purity, power, and potential for judgment. Moses's extended stay of forty days and forty nights sets a pattern for profound encounters with God, a period of divine revelation that will shape the life of Israel for all time to come.
The central action is God's provision of His law in a permanent form. This is the constitution of the new nation, the very words of life that will define them as His people. The waiting period of six days, culminating in the call on the seventh, echoes the creation week, signifying that this giving of the law is a new creative act. God is not just giving rules; He is forming a world, a holy people set apart for Himself. The passage serves as the bridge between the covenant's ratification and the detailed instructions for the tabernacle that will follow, showing that the law written on stone must ultimately be housed in a place where God dwells among His people, a plan that points forward to the final incarnation when the Word would be made flesh and tabernacle among us.
Outline
- 1. The Divine Summons to the Mountain (Exod 24:12-18)
- a. The Invitation and the Promise of the Law (Exod 24:12)
- b. The Ascent and the Delegation of Authority (Exod 24:13-14)
- c. The Manifestation of Divine Glory (Exod 24:15-17)
- i. The Cloud Covers the Mountain (Exod 24:15-16a)
- ii. The Seven-Day Pattern (Exod 24:16b)
- iii. The Glory Like a Consuming Fire (Exod 24:17)
- d. The Mediator Enters the Presence (Exod 24:18)
Context In Exodus
This section immediately follows the formal ratification of the Mosaic Covenant. In the first half of Exodus 24, Moses has relayed God's laws (the "Book of the Covenant") to the people, they have unanimously agreed to obey, and the covenant has been sealed with the blood of sacrifices. Seventy-four representatives of Israel, including Moses, Aaron, Nadab, Abihu, and the seventy elders, have gone partway up the mountain and have seen God, eating and drinking in His presence in a covenantal meal. The scene in our text, verses 12-18, represents a transition and an intensification of that communion. The broader assembly has been dismissed, and Moses is called to go further, into the very epicenter of God's glory, to receive the permanent record of the covenant. This event is the necessary precursor to the detailed instructions for the tabernacle, which begin in chapter 25. God is about to give the blueprints for His dwelling place, but first, He gives the foundational law, written in stone, which will be placed at the heart of that dwelling, in the Ark of the Covenant. The terrifying glory described here provides the backdrop for the people's tragic failure in the golden calf incident (Exod 32), which occurs while Moses is on the mountain.
Key Issues
- The Nature of Divine Revelation
- The Permanence of God's Law (Written in Stone)
- Mediated Access to God
- The Symbolism of the Cloud and Fire
- The Significance of the Seventh Day
- The Typology of Moses as Mediator
- The Forty-Day Period of Revelation
The Lawgiver and the Law
There is something profoundly significant about God writing His own law. In a world of oral traditions and fleeting words, God chooses to give Israel something solid, something permanent. He is not just whispering suggestions; He is engraving His character onto stone. This act demonstrates the gravity, the immutability, and the authority of His commands. This is not Moses's law; it is Yahweh's law. Moses is the mailman, the carrier, but the author is God Himself. This is why the Apostle Paul can later speak of the "letter that kills" (2 Cor. 3:6). When the perfect, holy law of God, written on stone, is set alongside the crooked, sinful heart of man, the only possible outcome is condemnation. The law on the tablets is a perfect mirror, and when a sinner looks into it, it shows him his filth. It cannot clean him; it can only condemn him. And this is its good and necessary work.
But God's intention was never to stop with stone. The ultimate plan, promised through the prophets, was to take this same law and write it on the fleshy tablets of the human heart (Jer. 31:33). The new covenant in Christ does not abolish the law but rather internalizes it through the work of the Holy Spirit. The story that begins here with God's finger writing on stone finds its fulfillment when that same finger of God, the Holy Spirit, regenerates a sinner's heart and inscribes upon it a love for the very righteousness the stones demanded. This scene on Sinai, therefore, is a foundational piece of the entire biblical story of law and grace.
Verse by Verse Commentary
12 Now Yahweh said to Moses, “Come up to Me on the mountain and remain there, and I will give you the stone tablets with the law and the commandment which I have written for their instruction.”
The covenant has been verbally agreed to and sealed with blood. Now God summons His mediator for the official documentation. The command is personal: "Come up to Me." This is a call to fellowship, to direct communion. Moses is not just retrieving a package; he is entering the presence of the Lawgiver. He is told to "remain there," indicating a prolonged stay. This will not be a brief encounter. The purpose is specified: God will give him the stone tablets. Notice the divine authorship: "which I have written." This is not a dictation. This is God's own handwriting, His autograph. The law and the commandment are for "their instruction." The Hebrew word is Torah, which means more than just legislation; it means instruction, guidance, the path of life. God is giving His people the owner's manual for living as His covenant nation.
13 So Moses arose with Joshua his attendant, and Moses went up to the mountain of God.
Moses's obedience is immediate. But he does not go alone. He takes Joshua, his attendant or minister. Joshua has been a faithful second-in-command, and his presence here is significant. He is being groomed for future leadership. He is permitted to go further than the elders, deeper into the holy precincts, but not as far as Moses. This establishes a clear, tiered structure of authority and access. Joshua, whose name is the Hebrew form of "Jesus," is the understudy to the great mediator of the old covenant, a shadow of the one who would one day lead His people into the true promised land. The destination is called "the mountain of God," a title that emphasizes its status as a temporary sanctuary, a place where heaven and earth meet.
14 But to the elders he said, “Remain here for us until we return to you. And behold, Aaron and Hur are with you; whoever has a legal matter, let him approach them.”
Before ascending further, Moses delegates his authority. He establishes a provisional government to manage the camp in his absence. The elders are to wait, and judicial authority is vested in Aaron, the high priest, and Hur, a leader from the tribe of Judah. This is a practical and necessary arrangement. Life in the camp goes on, disputes will arise, and there must be a system for justice. Moses anticipates a long absence and provides for the good order of the people. This act of delegating authority is a mark of a wise leader. However, it also sets the stage for the tragic failure of that leadership when Aaron capitulates to the people's demand for a golden calf.
15 Then Moses went up to the mountain, and the cloud covered the mountain.
Moses obeys the summons and moves into the next phase of his ascent. As he goes, the visible sign of God's presence, the cloud, descends and envelops the entire mountain. The cloud serves a dual purpose. It is a manifestation of God's glory, but it is also a veil. It conceals the fullness of that glory, which no man can see and live. It marks the mountain as a holy, restricted zone. For the people below, the cloud is a constant, visible reminder that their leader is with their God, and that their God is present with them, yet transcendent and unapproachable apart from His chosen mediator.
16 And the glory of Yahweh dwelt on Mount Sinai, and the cloud covered it for six days; and on the seventh day He called to Moses from the midst of the cloud.
The text makes it explicit: what dwells on the mountain is the "glory of Yahweh." This glory settles, or "tabernacles" (shakan), on the mountain, the same word used later for God's presence in the Tabernacle. For six days, Moses waits. The cloud is there, the glory is there, but God is silent. This is a period of preparation, a holy pause. It is a test of patience and a time of consecration. Then, on the seventh day, the Sabbath, God speaks. This pattern deliberately echoes the creation week in Genesis 1. Just as God finished His work of creation and rested on the seventh day, so here, at the culmination of a week, He calls Moses to begin this new work of constituting Israel as His people. The giving of the law is a new creation.
17 And the appearance of the glory of Yahweh was like a consuming fire on the mountain top, in the eyes of the sons of Israel.
From the perspective of the people at the foot of the mountain, the glory within the cloud had a distinct appearance. It was like a "consuming fire." This is not a gentle, warming hearth fire. This is a raging, terrifying inferno. Fire in Scripture represents God's holiness, His purity, and His wrath against sin. It purifies what is precious and consumes what is worthless. This vision is a necessary part of their education. They must learn that their covenant God is not a tame God. He is holy, awesome, and dangerous. As the author of Hebrews reminds us, "our God is a consuming fire" (Heb. 12:29). This is the God with whom they have just entered into a covenant, and they must not take Him lightly.
18 Then Moses entered the midst of the cloud as he went up to the mountain; and Moses was on the mountain forty days and forty nights.
Having been called on the seventh day, Moses now moves from the outer court of the mountain into the holy of holies itself. He enters the very cloud, the place of fire and thick darkness where God was. He alone is granted this access. The duration of his stay is specified: forty days and forty nights. The number forty in Scripture is consistently associated with periods of trial, testing, and preparation. Noah's flood lasted forty days, Israel would wander for forty years, and Jesus would be tempted in the wilderness for forty days. Moses is set apart, removed from the ordinary passage of time, to receive a foundational revelation from God that will define the people of God for millennia.
Application
This passage is thick with application for the Christian. First, we see the terrifying holiness of God. We live in an age that wants to domesticate God, to make Him a comfortable, affirming buddy. But the God of the Bible, our God, reveals His glory as a consuming fire. We are to approach Him with reverence and awe, not with casual presumption. Our worship should never lose this sense of holy fear. It is because of this consuming fire that we so desperately need a mediator. We cannot ascend the mountain on our own.
Second, we see the central role of God's law. God takes His commandments with the utmost seriousness, writing them in stone with His own hand. We must not be antinomians, thinking that grace has done away with God's standard of righteousness. The law still functions to show us our sin and to guide us in the path of sanctification. We should love God's law and meditate on it, recognizing it as a gift of our Father for our instruction.
Finally, and most importantly, we see the absolute necessity of a mediator. The people could not go up. The elders could not go up. Even Joshua could only go so far. Only Moses could enter the cloud. This entire structure screams our need for a better mediator, one who did not just ascend a physical mountain, but who has ascended into the heavenly places, into the very presence of the Father. Jesus Christ, our great high priest, has gone into the true holy of holies for us. And because of His finished work, we are not kept at the bottom of the mountain, trembling in fear. We are given a bold invitation to "draw near to the throne of grace" (Heb. 4:16). Moses went into the fire for forty days to bring down the law that condemned; Jesus went into the fire of God's wrath on the cross to bring us the grace that saves.