Old Testament Commentary - Exodus 24

by Don R. Hender

Scriptural Text [& Editorial]	Commentary & Explanation	Footnotes ~ References ~ JST
CHAPTER 24 Israel accepts word of the Lord by covenant—Moses sprinkles the blood of the covenant—He and Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel see God—The Lord calls Moses into mount to receive the tables of stone and commandments.
1 AND he said unto Moses, Come up unto the LORD, thou, and Aaron, ^aNadab, and Abihu, and ^bseventy 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^a Lev. 1:1; Moses 1:17 ^b Ex. 3:12; Moses 1:1-3 4^a Deut. 327:11; D&C 124:18 (18,99) 5^a TG Obedience ^b TG Abrahamic Covenant TG Covenants ^c TG Israel, Twelve Tribes TG Peculiar People ^d TG Israel, Blessing of TG Treasure 6^a TG Election ^b TG Israel, Mission of; TG; Priesthood; TG Priesthood, History of ^c Ex. 22:31; 1 Pet. 2:9 (5-9); TG Holiness ^d TG Separation
3 ¶ And Moses came and told the people all the words of the LORD, and all the ^ajudgments: and all the people answered with one ^bvoice, and said, All the words which the LORD hath said will we do. 4 And Moses ^awrote all the words of the LORD, and rose up early in the morning, and builded an ^baltar ^cunder the hill, and twelve ^dpillars, according to the twelve tribes of Israel. 5 And he sent young men of the children of Israel, which offered burnt offerings, and sacrificed ^apeace offerings of oxen unto the LORD.		3^a Lev. 1:1; Moses 1:17 ^b Ex. 3:12; Moses 1:1-3 4^a Deut. 327:11; D&C 124:18 (18,99) 5^a TG Obedience ^b TG Abrahamic Covenant TG Covenants ^c TG Israel, Twelve Tribes TG Peculiar People ^d TG Israel, Blessing of TG Treasure 6^a TG Election ^b TG Israel, Mission of; TG; Priesthood; TG Priesthood, History of ^c Ex. 22:31; 1 Pet. 2:9 (5-9); TG Holiness ^d TG Separation
6 And Moses took half of the ^ablood, and put it in basons; and half of the blood he sprinkled on the altar. 7 And he took the book of the ^acovenant, and ^bread in the audience of the people: and they said, All that the LORD hath said will we do, and be ^cobedient. 8 And Moses took the ^ablood, and ^bsprinkled it on the people, and said, Behold the ^cblood of the ^dcovenant, which the LORD hath made with you concerning all these words.		3^a Lev. 1:1; Moses 1:17 ^b Ex. 3:12; Moses 1:1-3 4^a Deut. 327:11; D&C 124:18 (18,99) 5^a TG Obedience ^b TG Abrahamic Covenant TG Covenants ^c TG Israel, Twelve Tribes TG Peculiar People ^d TG Israel, Blessing of TG Treasure 6^a TG Election ^b TG Israel, Mission of; TG; Priesthood; TG Priesthood, History of ^c Ex. 22:31; 1 Pet. 2:9 (5-9); TG Holiness ^d TG Separation
9 ¶ Then went up Moses, and Aaron, Nadab, and Abihu, and ^aseventy of the ^belders of Israel: 10 And they ^asaw the God of Israel: and there was under his ^bfeet as it were a paved work of a sapphire stone, and as ^cit were the body of heaven in his clearness. 11 And upon the nobles of the children of Israel he laid not his hand: also they ^asaw God, and did eat and drink.
12 ¶ And the LORD said unto Moses, Come up to me into the mount, and be there: and I will give thee ^atables of stone, and a ^blaw, and commandments which I have ^cwritten; that thou mayest teach them. 13 And Moses rose up, and his minister ^aJoshua^a: and Moses went up into the ^bmount of God. 14 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.	13^a his minister Joshua Now Joshua was at Moses' side as the representative heir of Ephriam and Joseph of Egypt, the heirs of the covenant from the very early stages of Moses' leadership of the Children of Israel. The particulars concerning Joshua's calling by Moses unto the Lord have not been preserved in the record of the Jews other than the fact that Moses by the direction and inspiration of the spirit did set upon Joshua the very name of the coming Messiah, JESUS or JEHOSHUA. Bishop Eusebius of Ceasarea states that the name of JESUS, that is Jehovah Saves or Jehovah is Salvation, was from the beginning, meaning in the precounsils of heaven. That this would be the name of the Messiah was also known. And Moses purposefully was directed to place this name upon the son of Nun, whose name was first Oshea.
15 And Moses went up into the mount, and a ^acloud covered the mount. 16 And the ^aglory 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.
17 And the ^asight of the ^bglory of the LORD was like devouring fire on the top of the mount in the eyes of the children of Israel. 18 And Moses went into the midst of the cloud, and gat him up into the mount: and Moses was in the mount ^aforty days and forty nights.