Commentary on Exodus 24:12-18

Callie Plunket-Brewton
"Now the appearance of the glory of the Lord was like a devouring fire on the top of the
mountain in the sight of the people of Israel.
Moses entered the cloud and went up on the mountain." (Exodus 24:17-18a) The setting of
this story is spectacular. The sight of a mountain whose highest point is covered by a cloud
is beautiful; it is a view featured in numerous paintings and photographs. While it is
impossible to say exactly what so many people find moving about a cloud cropped
mountain, it is likely that many people would describe such a vista as majestic or aweinspiring.
Some might also say that the size of the mountain, whose top reaches into the upper
atmosphere is a reminder of our own relative insignificance. The majesty of Mount Sinai in
the narrative of Exodus 24 is intensified by the fact that the cloud that settled upon the
mountain was no ordinary cloud but enshrouded the very presence of God, whose
appearance, the text reads, "was like a devouring fire."
The significance of all of this grandeur would not have been lost on the ancient Near
Eastern audience. Mountains are the site of divine revelation throughout the ancient world,
even in cultures as far-flung as Greece and Japan, a mountain is a common location for a
theophany. In the case of Exodus 24:12-18, not only is the divine made visible on the
mountain that one associates with the very foundation of the people of Israel as God's
people, Mount Sinai, but the story that precedes this one details a covenant meal shared by
the leaders of the people of Israel and their God.
Within the story of the sacred meal, one finds another vivid description of God's glory:
"[T]hey saw the God of Israel. Under his feet there was something like a pavement of
sapphire stone, like the very heaven for clearness." Interestingly, in spite of the fact that the
story notes that the people saw God, it does not describe God's physical presence but the
brightness of the ground on which God was revealed to them, and even this description of
the "pavement" is a little vague, using words, such as "something like" and the simile "like
the very heaven" to describe it.
God's glory is beyond the capacity of the human being to describe, much less comprehend,
and there is something absolutely reassuring about that power being revealed in the context
of a covenant-making ceremonial meal. God's power is on the side of the people of Israel,
supporting their leaders, and establishing them as a people.
To say that God's power is on their side is not to say that the people are entirely safe from
that power being directed against them, however. And so Exodus 25-31, which seems to be

the content of God's revelation to Moses in the midst of the cloud, provides a verbal
blueprint for the creation of the tabernacle and the Ark of the Covenant as well as the main
practices associated with the worship of Yahweh. The emphasis in these chapters falls on
the necessity of maintaining the holiness of the site of the tabernacle and the cultic activity
that takes place within it as well as the holiness of the people themselves.
The heart of Exodus 25-31 contains detailed descriptions of the sacrifices that are to be
offered at the tabernacle along with the divine assertion: "I will dwell among the Israelites,
and I will be their God. And they shall know that I am the LORD their God, who brought
them out of the land of Egypt that I might dwell among them: I am the LORD their God"
(29:45). The key is the word "dwell." In Exodus 24:16, the text reads, "Then the glory of
the Lord dwelled on Mount Sinai."
The NRSV translates the verb in this sentence as "settle," which makes for smoother
English, but the verb there is actually the same Hebrew verb one finds in 29:45, which is
translated as "dwell." "Dwell" is also the same root one finds in the Hebrew name for the
tabernacle. While "tabernacle" in another context might simply refer to one's dwelling
place, in Exodus this simple term takes on new meaning because of the identity of the one
who will dwell there. It is no small matter for a god as terrifying and powerful as Yahweh
to decide to dwell in the midst of a people and to enter into a covenant with them. All of the
signs of God's power in chapter 24 make this point abundantly clear.
And yet there is something altogether reassuring about God's promise and provisions to
dwell with the people. While a covenant with God is not something to be entered into
lightly, it is the case that God invites and welcomes the people into a relationship. Indeed,
Exodus 24:12-18 with its awe-inspiring view of the presence of God and Moses' bold
willingness to walk into that cloud of devouring fire suggests that a relationship with God,
while not exactly comfortable, is exhilarating. In preaching a text like this one, it is
important to balance the wonder and the majesty of God's presence with God's promise to
be with and for the people of Israel. As the narrative of exodus continues through the
Pentateuch, one sees just how tenacious and faithful God is to this promise.