Exodus 24
The
Lord said to Moses, "You and Aaron, Nadab, Abihu, and 70 of Israel''''s
leaders come up the
mountain to me and worship at a distance. Moses may come
near the Lord, but the others may not. The people must not come along with
Moses." Moses
went and told the people all the Lord''''s words and legal decisions. Then all the
people answered with one voice, "We will do everything the Lord has told
us to do." So
Moses wrote down all the Lord''''s words. Early the next morning he built an altar
at the foot of the mountain and set up 12 sacred stones for the 12 tribes of
Israel. Then
he sent young Israelite men, and they sacrificed bulls as burnt offerings and
fellowship offerings to the Lord. Moses took half of the blood and put it
into bowls, and he threw the other half against the altar. Then he took the
Book of the Lord''''s Promise and read it while the people listened. They said,
"We will obey and do everything the Lord has said." Moses took the
blood and sprinkled it on the people and said, "Here is the blood which
seals the promise that the Lord has made to you based on everything you have
just heard."
Moses went up with Aaron, Nadab, Abihu,
and 70 of Israel''''s
leaders. They saw the God of Israel. Under his
feet was something like a pavement made out of sapphire as clear and blue as
the sky itself. God
didn''''t harm these leaders of the Israelites. So they saw God, and then they ate
and drank.
The Lord said to Moses, "Come up to
me on the mountain. Stay there, and I will give you the stone tablets with the
teachings and the commandments I have written for the people''''s
instruction." Moses
set out with his assistant Joshua, and Moses went up on the mountain of God. He said
to the leaders, "Wait here for us until we come back to you. Aaron and Hur
are here with you. Take all your disagreements to them." So Moses went
up on the mountain, and the cloud covered it. The glory of the Lord settled on Mount
Sinai. For six days the cloud covered it, and on the seventh day the Lord
called to Moses from inside the cloud. To the Israelites, the glory of the Lord
looked like a raging fire on top of the mountain. Moses entered the cloud as he went up the
mountain. He stayed on the mountain 40 days and 40 nights.