2314 23:14ff: There were three major feasts:
Unleavened Bread (beginning after Passover, for one week), Harvest (called the
day of Firstfruits in Ex. 34:22; called Pentecost in the NT; one day at the
beginning of harvest, 50 days after Passover), and Ingathering (Succoth, the
Feast of Tabernacles; one week in the 7th month, at the end of
harvest).
2320 23:20-24: The Angel who went before Israel
was of special significance. As you read
these verses you sense that the Angel Himself is God; when the Angel speaks God
is speaking (this is true of the Angel of the LORD in several OT
passages). This passage should be
connected to the NT passages on the “unpardonable sin” (e.g. Mt.
12:31-32). Jesus’ warning was at the
time that the minds and hearts of the leadership were turning against Him,
accusing Him of doing Satan’s work. It
is the same context as Exodus 23:21: Beware of Him and obey His voice; do
not provoke Him, for He will not pardon your transgressions, for My name is in
Him. Rejection of Christ by the
nation would result in the judgment of 70AD when God used the Romans to destroy
Jerusalem and the temple. The refusal to
enter the land at Kadesh Barnea after two years in the wilderness (Num. 15) was
another such incident: the people were judged and there was no recourse for
them.
2331 Is this the first reference to boundaries
since Genesis 15? Possibly. But this is more general, and it seems to me, having an emphasis on water. The Red
Sea, the Mediterranean Sea (where the Philistines lived), the desert (where
water was scarce) and the River (while you might be thinking the Jordan it more
likely refers to the Euphrates; check 1 Ki. 4:21, for example; it is more
likely the River Jordan would be called “the Jordan” rather than “the River”
whereas there have already been several references to the Euphrates at “the
River;” e.g. Gen. Gen. 31:21; Dt. 1:7; 11:24).
(Easton’s Bible Dictionary, under the term RIVER, has a great article on
8 different terms for “river” in the OT.)
2401 24:1-2: It is important to note that Nadab
and Abihu, who will later be killed by the LORD for improper worship (Lev. 10),
were first among those called up on the Mountain with Moses. Furthermore, they were aware of the holiness
or “separation” issue (v2). These kinds
of experiences (v9-11, fellowshipping with God, seeing God) can lead us to
pride where we consider ourselves to be above others in terms of a relationship
with God.
2403 24:3,7: The people knowingly entered
the covenant relationship with the LORD.
2405 Note that, at this point, ordinary men
offered sacrifices at the altar at Mt. Sinai.
The Aaronic priesthood had not yet been established. Moses is the “mediator” (v5-6; Heb. 3:5).
2410 This is a description of what they saw when
it says they saw the God of Israel.
It is a view designed by God to communicate His glory in a way that fits
the situation. When it speaks of His
“feet” we understand that the Son of God is involved. He is the one who makes the visible
appearances in OT times, theophanies, as they are called, “God
appearances.” They are not
“incarnations.” That term is reserved
for Jesus’ entrance into the world in Bethlehem until His ascension. He was “God in the flesh” and that form
remains true of Christ to this day. The
appearance at Mt. Sinai was for that moment.
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