manifested and magnified, and his honour showed forth; therefore he will now be represented by an altar, to signify, that all he expected from them, was, that they should do him honour, and that, being his people, they should be to him for a name and a praise. [2.] He erects twelve pillars, according to the number of the tribes; these were to represent the people, the other party to the covenant; and we may suppose that they were set up over against the altar, and that Moses, as mediator, passed to and fro between them. Probably, each tribe set up and knew its own pillar, and their elders stood by it. [3.] He appointed sacrifices to be offered upon the altar, (v. 5.) burnt-offerings and peace-offerings, which yet were designed to be expiatory. We are not concerned to inquire who these young men were that were employed in offering these sacrifices; for Moses was himself the priest, and what they did was purely as his servants, by his order and appointment. No doubt, they were men who by their bodily strength were qualified for the service, and by their station among the people were fittest for the honour.
(2.) Preparation being thus made, their ratifications were very solemnly exchanged. [1.] The blood of the sacrifice which the people offered was (part of it) sprinkled upon the altar, (v. 6.) which signifies the people's dedicating of themselves, their lives, and beings, to God, and to his honour. In the blood (which is the life) of the dead sacrifices, all the Israelites were presented unto God as living sacrifices, Rom. 12. 1. [2.] The blood of the sacrifice which God had owned and accepted was (the remainder of it) sprinkled either upon the people themselves, (v. 8.) or upon the pillars that represented them; which signified God's gracious conferring of his favour upon them, and all the fruits of that favour, and his giving them all the gifts they could expect or desire from a God reconciled to them, and in covenant with them by sacrifice. This part of the ceremony was thus explained, "Behold the blood of the covenant; see here how God has sealed to you to be, a God, and you seal to him to be to him a people; his promises to you, and your's to him, are both yea, and amen."
Thus our Lord Jesus, the Mediator of the new covenant, (of whom Moses was a type,) having offered up himself a sacrifice upon the cross, that his blood might be indeed the blood of the covenant, sprinkled it upon the altar in his intercession, (Heb. 9. 12.) and sprinkles it upon his church by his word and ordinances, and the influences and operations of the Spirit of promise, by whom we are sealed. He himself seemed to allude to this solemnity, when, in the institution of the Lord's supper, he said, This cup is the New Testament, (or Covenant,) in my blood. Compare with this, Heb. 9. 19, 20.
9. Then went up Moses, and Aaron, Nadab, and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel; 10. And they saw the God of Israel: and there was under his feet as it were a paved work of a sapphire stone, and as it 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 saw God, and did eat and drink.
The people having, beside their submission to the ceremony of the sprinkling of blood, declared their well-pleasedness in their God and his law, again and again, God here gives to their representatives some special tokens of his favour to them; for God meets turn that rejoices and works righteousness, and admits them nearer to him than they could have expected. Thus, in the New Testament church, we find the four living creatures, and the four and twenty elders, honoured with places round the throne, being redeemed unto God, by the blood of the Lamb which is in the midst of the throne, Rev 4. 4, 6.—5. 8, 9. Observe,
1. They saw the God of Israel, (v. 10.) that is, they had some glimpse of his glory, in light and fire, though they saw no manner of similitude, and his being no man hath seen or can see, 1 Tim. 6. 16. They saw the place where the God of Israel stood, (so the LXX.) something that came near a similitude, but was not; whatever they saw, it was certainly something of which no image or picture could be made, and yet enough to satisfy them that God was with them of a truth.
Nothing is described but that which was under his feet: for our conceptions of God are all below him, and fall infinitely short of being adequate. They saw not so much as God's feet, but at the bottom of the brightness they saw (such as they never saw before or after, and, as the footstool or pedestal of it) a most rich and splendid pavement, as it had been of sapphires, azure, or sky-coloured. The heavens themselves are the pavement of God's palace, and his throne is above the firmament. See how much better Wisdom is than the precious onyx or the sapphires, for Wisdom was, from eternity, God's delight, (Prov. 8. 30.) and lay in his bosom, but the sapphires are the pavement under his feet; there let us put all the wealth of this world, and not in our hearts.
2. Upon the nobles, or elders, of Israel, he laid not his hand, v. 11. Though they were men, the dazzling splendour of his glory did not overwhelm them; but it was so moderated, (Job, 26. 9.) and they were so strengthened, (Dan. 10. 19.) that they were able to bear it. Nay, though they were sinful men, and obnoxious to God's justice, yet he did not lay his punishing avenging hand upon them, as they feared he would. When we consider what a consuming fire God is, and what stubble we are before him, we shall have reason to say, in all our approaches to him, It is of the Lord's mercies that we are not consumed.
3. They saw God, and did eat and drink; they had not only their lives preserved, but their vigour, courage, and comfort; it cast no damp upon their joy, but rather increased and elevated it. They feasted upon the sacrifice, before God, in token of their cheerful consent to the covenant now made, their grateful acceptance of the benefits of it, and their communion with God in pursuance of that covenant. Thus believers eat and drink with Christ at his table, Luke, 22. 30. Blessed are they that shall eat bread in the kingdom of our Father, and drink of the new wine there.
12. 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. 13. And Moses rose up, and his minister Joshua; and Moses went up into the mount 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. 15. And Moses went up into the mount, and a cloud covered the mount. 16. And the glory of the Lord abode upon mount Sinai, and the cloud covered it six days: and the seventh
