Waiting for Glory

PASSAGE FOR THE DAY:
Then the LORD said to Moses, “Come up to the LORD, you and Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel. You are to worship at a distance, 2 but Moses alone is to approach the LORD; the others must not come near. And the people may not come up with him.”

3 When Moses went and told the people all the LORD’s words and laws, they responded with one voice, “Everything the LORD has said we will do.” 4 Moses then wrote down everything the LORD had said.

He got up early the next morning and built an altar at the foot of the mountain and set up twelve stone pillars representing the twelve tribes of Israel. 5 Then he sent young Israelite men, and they offered burnt offerings and sacrificed young bulls as fellowship offerings to the LORD. 6 Moses took half of the blood and put it in bowls, and the other half he splashed against the altar. 7 Then he took the Book of the Covenant and read it to the people. They responded, “We will do everything the LORD has said; we will obey.”

8 Moses then took the blood, sprinkled it on the people and said, “This is the blood of the covenant that the LORD has made with you in accordance with all these words.”

9 Moses and Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, and the seventy elders of Israel went up 10 and saw the God of Israel. Under his feet was something like a pavement made of lapis lazuli, as bright blue as the sky.11 But God did not raise his hand against these leaders of the Israelites; they saw God, and they ate and drank.

12 The LORD said to Moses, “Come up to me on the mountain and stay here, and I will give you the tablets of stone with the law and commandments I have written for their instruction.”

13 Then Moses set out with Joshua his aide, and Moses went up on the mountain of God. 14 He said to the elders, “Wait here for us until we come back to you. Aaron and Hur are with you, and anyone involved in a dispute can go to them.”

15 When Moses went up on the mountain, the cloud covered it, 16 and the glory of the LORD settled on Mount Sinai. For six days the cloud covered the mountain, and on the seventh day the LORD called to Moses from within the cloud. 17 To the Israelites the glory of the LORD looked like a consuming fire on top of the mountain. 18 Then Moses entered the cloud as he went on up the mountain. And he stayed on the mountain forty days and forty nights. (Exodus 24:1-18, NIV)


REFLECTIONS:
When I read this passage, I am usually drawn to the aura of glory revealed in the consuming fire and the shadowy cloud cover. In this encounter with God, something happens that overwhelms the senses, commands attention, and sanctifies the space as holy ground. Reading the passage again, I’m struck by the focus on time. God tells Moses to come and wait. Moses tells the elders, "Wait here for us" (verse 14). Moses goes up the mountain, a cloud settles over it for six days, and Moses waits for God. After God speaks, Moses spends another forty days and nights on the mountain—long enough for the people to wonder if their leader will ever return. 

Pause for a moment, and consider these words from the text: "Come up to me" and "wait." 

Perhaps you’ve noticed this before in reading through the Bible. A lot of people spend a lot of time waiting for God to act. Abraham and Sarah wait twenty-five years for God to keep the promise of a child. The Israelites wander in the wilderness for forty years before a new generation enters the Promised Land. Centuries later, the people of God are stranded in Babylon for seventy years. 

I imagine that you know something about waiting. Like the people of God back then, you and I are waiting for God to act right now. If you are like me, you hunger for transformation and eagerly anticipate God’s showing up. Maybe not in a glory cloud or a devouring fire but to show up nonetheless—in your relationships, health, monthly budget, and the headlines of the local newspaper. 

Draw strength from this fact: You’re not alone. We’re all in this together—wanting to see the glory, praying for help, waiting for an answer, and discovering God’s good news when the long wait is over. 


PRAYER:
Gracious God, in your kindness, please grant us the "confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see" (Hebrews 11:1). Stir our hearts and strengthen us form within so that we might wait for a deeper revelation of your glory. Amen.