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Exodus 24
4 And Moses wrote all the words of the Lord, and rose up early in the morning, and builded an altar under the hill, and twelve pillars, according to the twelve tribes of Israel.
8 And Moses took the blood, and sprinkled it on the people, and said, Behold the blood of the covenant, which the Lord hath made with you concerning all these words.
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.
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 day he called unto Moses out of the midst of the cloud.
17 And the sight of the glory 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 forty days and forty nights.
The parallels here are striking. There isn't a direct one-to-one correspondence, but the later transfiguration accounts contain all the elements of this story in a different configuration. This story provides motifs which are developed in the NT account.
This happens after God delivers the ten commandments and some ordinances. Moses first erects twelve pillars, symbolising the twelve tribes of Israel. In the transfiguration accounts, this is rendered in the form of twelve apostles.
We have the blood which seals the covenant. Here it is the law which defines and convicts. The israelites are sancitifed through obedience to the law. Of course, we are now sanctified by Christ's redemptive work.
We also have the clarity/brilliance of Christ's garments which were 'white as snow' compared with the splendour of God here. The word tohar (H2892 - ṭōhar - Strong's Hebrew Lexicon (kjv)) seems to describe a Divine radiance which is also tied to ideas of purity and glory.
Moses appears alongside Elijah, representing the law and the prophets. Christ is their fulfilment.
Sapphire stone is the second foundation of the temple of the New Jerusalem. Christ is the crowned king in the New Jerusalem. Jasper is the foundation stone. Perhaps this isn't used because the law is a shadow of things to come. The redemption will later be seen to literally undergird the whole edifice of God's salvific plan.
We furthermore have the cloud which only Moses enters. Later only Peter James and John are permitted to enter. in the transfiguration, God's words are recorded: “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased. Listen to him!” Matthew 17:5. The Exodus account records the ordinances which God pases down to Moses. The contrast is powerful. In the latter account, Christ is all that is required for righteousness.
Consider also that the cloud in Exodus is like devouring fire where tne transfiguration accounts do not use this language. In the Matthew account, Christ says 'do not be afraid'. In Christ we are brought into a very different relation to God. We are (like Moses) filled 'with the spirit of God, in wisdom, and in understanding, and in knowledge' (Exodus 31:3) We may now enter the cloud, and we can commune with God without fear.
4 And Moses wrote all the words of the Lord, and rose up early in the morning, and builded an altar under the hill, and twelve pillars, according to the twelve tribes of Israel.
8 And Moses took the blood, and sprinkled it on the people, and said, Behold the blood of the covenant, which the Lord hath made with you concerning all these words.
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.
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 day he called unto Moses out of the midst of the cloud.
17 And the sight of the glory 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 forty days and forty nights.
The parallels here are striking. There isn't a direct one-to-one correspondence, but the later transfiguration accounts contain all the elements of this story in a different configuration. This story provides motifs which are developed in the NT account.
This happens after God delivers the ten commandments and some ordinances. Moses first erects twelve pillars, symbolising the twelve tribes of Israel. In the transfiguration accounts, this is rendered in the form of twelve apostles.
We have the blood which seals the covenant. Here it is the law which defines and convicts. The israelites are sancitifed through obedience to the law. Of course, we are now sanctified by Christ's redemptive work.
We also have the clarity/brilliance of Christ's garments which were 'white as snow' compared with the splendour of God here. The word tohar (H2892 - ṭōhar - Strong's Hebrew Lexicon (kjv)) seems to describe a Divine radiance which is also tied to ideas of purity and glory.
Moses appears alongside Elijah, representing the law and the prophets. Christ is their fulfilment.
Sapphire stone is the second foundation of the temple of the New Jerusalem. Christ is the crowned king in the New Jerusalem. Jasper is the foundation stone. Perhaps this isn't used because the law is a shadow of things to come. The redemption will later be seen to literally undergird the whole edifice of God's salvific plan.
We furthermore have the cloud which only Moses enters. Later only Peter James and John are permitted to enter. in the transfiguration, God's words are recorded: “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased. Listen to him!” Matthew 17:5. The Exodus account records the ordinances which God pases down to Moses. The contrast is powerful. In the latter account, Christ is all that is required for righteousness.
Consider also that the cloud in Exodus is like devouring fire where tne transfiguration accounts do not use this language. In the Matthew account, Christ says 'do not be afraid'. In Christ we are brought into a very different relation to God. We are (like Moses) filled 'with the spirit of God, in wisdom, and in understanding, and in knowledge' (Exodus 31:3) We may now enter the cloud, and we can commune with God without fear.
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