_A.M. 2513. B.C. 1491._ Moses, as mediator between God and Israel, having received divers laws and ordinances from God in the foregoing Chapter s, in this chapter, (1,) Comes down to the people, acquaints them with the laws he had received, and takes their consent to those laws, Exodus 24:3; writes... [ Continue Reading ]
_Come up unto the Lord_ Moses being already on the mount, the meaning is, “After thou hast gone down and acquainted the people with my will, and received their answer, then come up again.” He was to bring with him Aaron and his two eldest sons, Nadab and Abihu, who, by this special favour, were to b... [ Continue Reading ]
_And Moses alone shall come near_ Being therein a type of Christ, who, as the high-priest, _entered alone_ into the most holy place. In the following verse we have the solemn covenant made between God and Israel, and the exchanging of the ratifications: typifying the covenant of grace between God an... [ Continue Reading ]
_Moses told the people all the words of the Lord_ He laid before them all the precepts, in the foregoing Chapter s, and put it to them, whether they were willing to submit to these laws or not? _And all the people answered, All the words which the Lord hath said will we do_ They had before consented... [ Continue Reading ]
_And Moses wrote the words of the Lord_ That there might be no mistake; as God dictated them on the mount, where, it has been thought by many, God taught him the use of letters; these Moses taught the Israelites, from whom they afterward travelled to Greece and other nations. As soon as God had sepa... [ Continue Reading ]
_He sent young men_ So also the Septuagint, τους νεανισκους : but the Chaldee renders it, _the firstborn._ The firstborn were priests in every family; but, among the Israelites, they were afterward redeemed, and the tribe of Levi given to God in their stead, for his service. But the Hebrew word נערי... [ Continue Reading ]
1st, _The blood of the sacrifice_ which the people _offered_, was (part of it) _sprinkled upon the altar_ Which signified the people's dedicating themselves to God, and his honour. In the blood of the sacrifices, all the Israelites were presented unto God as _living sacrifices, Romans 12:1_. 2d, The... [ Continue Reading ]
_They saw the God of Israel_ That is, they had some glimpse of his glory, in light and fire, though they saw _no manner of similitude._ They saw _the place where the God of Israel stood_, so the Septuagint; whatever they saw, it was certainly something of which no image or picture could be made, and... [ Continue Reading ]
_Upon the nobles_ Or elders; _of Israel he laid not his hand_ Though they were _men_, the splendour of his glory did not overwhelm them, but _it_ was so _moderated_, (Job 36:9,) and _they_ were so _strengthened_, (Daniel 10:19,) that they were able to bear it: nay, though they were _sinful men_, and... [ Continue Reading ]
_The Lord said unto Moses, Come up_ There were different stations on the mountain. The glory of the Lord occupied the highest place, _the top of the mountain:_ to this place Moses is now called up, leaving the elders below to wait for him, and commissioning Aaron and Hur to transact any business in... [ Continue Reading ]
_Joshua_ was his _minister or servant_, and it would be a satisfaction to him to have him as a companion during the six days that he tarried in the mount before God called to him. Joshua was to be his successor, and therefore thus he was honoured before the people, and thus he was prepared by being... [ Continue Reading ]
_A cloud covered the mount six days_ A visible token of God's special presence there, for he so _shows himself_ to us, as at the same time to _conceal himself from us;_ he lets us know so much as to assure us of his power and grace, but intimates to us that we cannot _find him out to perfection._ Du... [ Continue Reading ]
_Moses went into the midst of the cloud_ It was an extraordinary presence of mind which the grace of God furnished him with, else he durst not have ventured into the cloud, especially when it broke out in _devouring fire. And Moses was in the mount forty days and forty nights_ It should seem the six... [ Continue Reading ]