Take your copy of God's Word and turn with me once again to the book of Exodus. Exodus chapter 24. Exodus 24. Exodus 24, verse 9. Hear now the word of the living God. Then Moses went up, also Aaron, Nadab, and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel. And they saw the God of Israel. And there was under his feet, as it were, a paved work of sapphire stone. And it was like the very heavens in its clarity. But on the nobles of the children of Israel, he did not lay his hand. So they saw God. And they ate and drank. And the Lord said to Moses, Come up to me on the mountain and be there, and I will give you tablets of stone and the law and commandments which I have written that you may teach them. So Moses arose with his assistant Joshua, and Moses went up the mountain of God. And he said to the elders, Wait here for us until we come back to you. Indeed, Aaron and her are with you. If any man has a difficulty, let him go to them. Then Moses went up into the mountain, and a cloud covered the mountain. Now the glory of the Lord rested on Mount Sinai, and the cloud covered it six days. And on the seventh day, he called to Moses out of the midst of the cloud. The sight of the glory of the Lord was like a consuming fire on the top of the mountain in the eyes of the children of Israel. So Moses went into the midst of the cloud and went up into the mountain, and Moses was on the mountain 40 days and 40 nights. This is the word of the living God and we say thanks be to God. Please be seated and let us pray now and ask the Lord's blessing on the preaching of his word. Living God, we pray that we might catch a glimpse of our blessed Savior as we hear his voice through the word this day. Aid us, we ask, O Holy Spirit, We pray that the tender voice of our shepherd may be clear in our hearts. But the distractions of this week, the distractions of this very room. And the distractions of sin upon our conscience may fall by the wayside as we see the blessed Savior. Who walks among us. Help us, we pray, O Lord, in Jesus name. Amen. The Old Covenant people of God were brickmakers. They toiled and they labored. They toiled long and labored long in the land of Egypt. They were slaves and they made bricks. For hundreds of years, Pharaoh, the regime of Egypt, kept this people who carried the promise Enslaved brick after brick after brick. Year after year after year. Do you think perhaps that in moments of great trial, particularly towards the end when Moses began to speak and the people of God were weighed down, I will no longer give you straw, make your bricks, you're lazy. The toil perhaps seemed overwhelming. These brickmakers were eventually freed from their labor, and God brought them through the Red Sea, by the blood of his Passover sacrifice, to a new covenant place. And in that new covenant place, God, the living God, gave them a glimpse of himself and his glory, and he showed them better bricks. For you see, in our text today, it's not by mistake that when the glory of the Lord shone upon Mount Sinai, they were given a glimpse of the glory of God. And what did they see underneath the very feet of God? But glorious, beautiful, shining, shimmering sapphire bricks. Is it possible that the living God can take people from their worst toil under sin and bring them into a very precious glimpse of His glory and show them that their labors are no longer what is in front of them, but His very feet? Is it possible that the living God will show them His own glory? through sacrificial blood that they may see a new pavement of bricks. Look at verse 10. And they saw the God of Israel, and there was under his feet, as it were, a paved work of sapphire stone. Sapphire bricks that this people could see. This whole text is a series of pictures, particularly for us. It was a period of pictures for the old covenant people back in Moses's day. But for us who have seen now the fulfillment of all of the shadows and types of the Old Testament, it becomes a series of pictures. We look back and we see pictures of things that are to come. We see photographs. of those things that would become real life for us in Christ. I want to give you three examples from this text this morning. Three different pictures that Mount Sinai reveals. I think the first thing that we see this morning in this text as Jesus people, as New Covenant people, as people under the blood of Christ, we see a picture of worship. Now, boys and girls, every Lord's Day, we gather here in this place. And we have an order. The big word is liturgy. But we have an order of things that we do. God gathers us every Sunday. And what are the things that we do? You're learning this in Sunday school. We sing, we pray, we hear the Word preached. Those who've been baptized come to the Lord's table. But even beyond that, God calls us to worship. He speaks to us. We come into His presence because we're covered by the blood of a sacrifice, Jesus. He comforts us and He feasts with us. That's what happens for Jesus' people when they gather on the Lord's Day, on Sunday. We see a picture of that in this text. Notice with me, if you go back to Exodus 24, verse 1, there is a call to worship. Look at verse 1, now He said to Moses, God said to Moses, come up to the Lord. You and Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel, and worship from afar." There is a call to worship. Moses, come worship. We have that call to worship every Lord's Day. My people, come up to Mount Zion and worship. If you keep reading, as we saw last week in verses four through six, there is a blood that is covering them, isn't there? A sacrificial blood which covers them. We talked about what that covering was. That blood didn't take away their sins eternally. It made them ceremonially acceptable to God. To be in covenant with Him. To continue to be a nation until the ultimate blood would come. So here you have a call to worship. And you have the provision of blood. Look at verse 8. And Moses took the blood, sprinkled it on the people and said, this is the blood of the covenant which the Lord has made with you. call to worship and a blood covering sacrifice. But then notice in verse seven, there's also going to be God's word given to the people. Then he took the book of the covenant and read it in the hearing of the people. A gathering of God's people where there is a call to come and worship. This people is covered with the blood and they're given the word. Does this sound familiar to you? God makes his special presence known, doesn't he? Look at verses 9 and 10. Then Moses went up, also Aaron, Nadab, and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel, and they saw the God of Israel. And there was under his feet, as it were, a paved work of sapphire stone or sapphire bricks. And it was like the very heavens in its clarity. Now, you may be wondering what this passage means when it says they saw the God of Israel. Well, this would be God's glory, boys and girls. God is a spirit and does not have a body like men and women. So they didn't see God literally, but they saw as it were his glory. And the reason that we can say that is because of what other passages of scripture in the Bible tell us. Let me give you a couple of examples. Turn over to Deuteronomy chapter four. Deuteronomy chapter four, there we read these words in Deuteronomy 4 15. God is telling the people to avoid idolatry, and notice what he says in verse 15. Don't make idols of God because you've not seen the form of God. Or how about 1 Timothy, all the way at the end of the Bible? 1 Timothy. There we read these words, and they're helpful for us to interpret passages like this. First Timothy chapter six and verse 16. Who alone has immortality dwelling in unapproachable light whom no man has seen or can see. To whom be honor and everlasting power. Amen. or turn later in our own book of Exodus, Exodus chapter 33. Verses 18 to 20. The Lord pleading with Moses and he said, or excuse me, Moses pleading with the Lord and he said, please show me your glory. Then he says, I will make all my goodness pass before you, and I will proclaim the name of the Lord before you. I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion. But he said, You cannot see my face, for no man can see me and live. So then we come back to our text, and it is clear that the people of God didn't literally see God. But this text is helping us to understand that they knew the presence of God. God's glory was among them. Now, some would say. That perhaps they saw the pre incarnate Christ, it's an option, and there's one passage which may indicate that that's the case. Turn over to Acts, Acts chapter seven. Acts chapter 7 and verse 38. Jot it down to look at later. Acts chapter 7 and verse 38. This is that Moses who said to the children of Israel, the Lord your God will raise up a prophet like me from your brethren. Him you shall fear. This is he who was in the congregation in the wilderness with the angel who spoke to him on Mount Sinai. and with our fathers, the one who received the living oracles to give to us. Some interpret this as a reference to what's happening here in other places perhaps, where maybe there was some kind of a vision of the pre-incarnate Christ. Perhaps it's best to understand that this people who were called to worship, who were given a sacrificial blood covering, who were given God's Word, had the presence of God among them. And they knew the glory of God. And this is what Scripture says happens to us now, as New Covenant people, when we gather to worship. We have a call to worship. We have the ultimate blood covering us, making us ceremonially clean to worship. Do you know that even this morning as I was driving to church? Thoughts of former sin popped in my mind. Ever had that happen? What do you do? We have a blood which covers us, don't we? We have a blood which covers us, which makes us acceptable to enter into the presence of God in worship. We gather in the very presence of God. Verse 16 even says that the glory of the Lord rested. That Hebrew word could be translated encamped or tabernacled. The glory of the Lord rested on Mount Sinai. So this is a picture of worship, isn't it? A call to worship, a blood which makes you acceptable to be in God's presence as it were worshiping, worshiping him. The word of God being known among his people as they enjoy his presence. If only there was some reference in this passage to God's people in the Old Covenant eating a meal, we'd really have a picture of worship, wouldn't we? But is that not exactly what we have? Look at verse 11. But on the nobles of the children of Israel he did not lay his hands, so they saw God and they ate and drank." They are in God's presence in worship and they are having a fellowship meal. Does this sound familiar to anyone? Matthew Poole, a Puritan commentator of the 1600s, writes this, quote, So far they were from being destroyed, that they were not afraid, at this glorious appearance of God, but were refreshed and comforted by it and did joyfully eat and drink together in God's presence, celebrating the sacred feast made of the remnant of the peace offerings, according to the manner. Poole and others would argue that they are eating of the feast of the sacrifices just made. Will it ever be that God's people will ultimately eat a meal in his presence? Which is connected to the sacrifice made for sins. And what day? What day? Is referenced, look at verse 16. Now, the glory of the Lord rested on Mount Sinai and the cloud covered it six days. And on the seventh day. Boys and girls, what's the seventh day in the Old Testament? Last day of the week, of course, but is there another name for it? Have we seen in the Bible anything special about the seventh day in the Old Testament? Well, it is the day of worship and rest, the Sabbath. Brothers and sisters, I would commend to you this passage as a picture of worship. worship, which would ultimately come to find its final and truest form in the new covenant, when we would hear the call to worship, when we would have the ultimate sacrificial blood, when God's word of covenant grace would be made known among us, when we would know his presence and eat a fellowship meal on the Sabbath day. This is a picture for us. And notice the connections in the Bible. The New Testament kind of helps us to see these connections. Notice in verse 17, it says the side of the glory of the Lord was a consuming fire. Will we ever be told anywhere in the New Testament when asked about worship to consider God as a consuming fire? I'm glad that you asked. Turn over with me to Hebrews chapter 12. Hebrews chapter 12, what do we see there? At the very end of a discussion about how we are part of the new covenant and we have come to Mount Zion. We are now not at Mount Sinai, but we're at Mount Zion. And what do we see? What do we see there? Verse 28 of Hebrews 12, Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom which cannot be shaken, Let us have grace by which we may serve God or you could translate it, worship God acceptably with reverence and godly fear for our God is a. consuming fire. Imagery taken exactly and directly from our text. The writer of Hebrews, the preacher of Hebrews is contrasting the worship of Mount Sinai and the conditions of Mount Sinai to that of Mount Zion in the New Covenant. But he uses the same language, doesn't he? Our God is a consuming fire, just like he was a consuming fire at Mount Sinai. We, under the New Covenant, still worship the same God. This is a picture of worship. I do need to point out one thing to us as we move on to other pictures, and that is verse 14. Moses said to the elders, wait here for us. Now, this picture of worship is So very beautiful. A call to worship, blood covering the worshipers, the word of God, the fellowship meal, God's presence. I mean, this is a picture of what would be in the new covenant. Moses is called to the mountain and he tells those gathered there with him, wait for us until we come back to you. Now, Moses is about to get a lot of words of instruction over the next few chapters, and then we're going to get a picture of what happens during that waiting period. What happens as Moses leaves? What happens to these worshipers? They grow impatient of waiting for Moses. They lose track of God's commands and worship. Such that within a short period of time, Aaron would stand up and say, let's gather gold. Bring all your gold, this is God after all that we're worshiping. Bring it all here, we'll melt it down, we'll make a golden calf and we will worship God while we wait for Moses. The waiting would eventually turn into the setting for the golden calf incident. This is a picture of worship, but a reminder That worship can sometimes go awry if we do not look to the living God. A picture of worship, but a second thing that we see in this text this morning is a picture of Christ's work. Now, the name Jesus, boys and girls, the word Christ is not mentioned anywhere in our verses. Our verses this morning are verses nine through 18. As we look through them, we don't really see any mention at all of Jesus, and yet there is a picture of Jesus' work here. Let me give you a couple of examples. Look with me at verses 13 through 15. So Moses, the prophet, arose with his assistant Joshua, and Moses, the prophet, went up the mountain of God. And he said to the elders, wait here for us until we come to you. Indeed, Aaron, the priest, and her, the great, great grandfather of the ruling or kingly class of this people. Aaron, the priest, and her, the king, are with you. If any man has a difficulty, let him go to them. Then Moses, the prophet, went up into the mountain and a cloud covered the mountain. Now, I intentionally mentioned the three offices of these individuals. Her is not yet in the office of king, but he is in that line of individuals from whom eventually rulers would come. So what do you see here at this very encounter? Prophet. Priest. And King. Can you think of any time down the road where God's people would be worshiping and would have among them a prophet, a priest, and a king? Well, of course, we as God's people who look to Christ have the ultimate prophet, priest, and king among us, do we not? But then look at verse 18. The amounts of time here are not by mistake. In verse 18, we see this, so Moses went into the midst of the cloud and went up into the mountain, and Moses was on the mountain 40 days and 40 nights. Now, sometimes when we read our Bibles, we do need to ask the question, which we've asked before. We did it a lot when we studied the book of the Revelation. We did it a lot when we looked at the book of Daniel. We're doing it some in the first two books of the Bible. When we see certain things like that, we should ask ourselves, have we seen this before or will we see it again? 40 days and 40 nights. Well, what's happening here? God is creating a nation through Moses. He's going to take 40 days to give Moses some instruction. He's given God's people the law. Now he's going to give them instruction about the things that they're going to need, like a tabernacle in order to worship him. as a nation. So 40 days and 40 nights and God is creating a nation. Have we seen that before? Has God ever created anything? Well, he created the world, but after that, did he ever create anything or recreate anything? For that, go all the way back to Genesis chapter 7. There was a man, boys and girls, by the name of Noah. Just think to yourself. You don't have to say it out loud. What happened with Noah? God decided that he was going to destroy the world and recreate it or remake it. I wonder if there is any reference to time in this at all. Genesis chapter 7 and verse 4. For after seven more days I will cause it to rain on the earth forty days and forty nights. And I will destroy from the face of the earth all living things that I have made. Verse 12, and the rain was on the earth 40 days and 40 nights. So God is remaking the world that he has created. And there is a period of time, 40 days and 40 nights, a new physical creation. Now God is making a new nation. And how long does he take to do it? This new physical people, 40 days and 40 nights. Maybe you want to argue that Jesus's time in the wilderness was a picture of the recreation of his son, of his Israel, which is Christ 40 days. But then lastly, turn over to acts. Acts chapter one, there we read this at the very beginning of the book of Acts. Referencing how the Holy Spirit. Is going to be sent of Christ poured out upon the people and a new spiritual people are going to be made. Verse three, to whom he also presented himself alive after his suffering by many infallible proofs being seen by them during. Forty days. and speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God. Now, some of you are thinking, that's a lot of 40 days and 40 nights. What I'm inviting you to do is to take your Bible now and zoom outward from Genesis to Revelation and see that a lot of times, while there are individual stories that happen and we study them verse by verse, passage by passage, paragraph by paragraph, there are also times where things jump out at us as being very similar. And in those moments, what do we see? We see God at work. God is recreating the world. A period of time, 40 days and 40 nights. God is creating a nation, 40 days and 40 nights. God is creating this church, 40 days and 40 nights. You could do that with other things. Where do you see the picture of seed throughout the Bible? It shows up here and there. What about the picture of kingdom in the Bible? It shows up here and there. What about the picture of land in the Bible? It shows up here and there. And all of these pictures get us to Jesus and the ultimate reality of life eternal in glory with him. See, we see a picture of Jesus's work. He is the prophet, priest and king. And this 40 days of Moses is really going to be a picture of a greater event that's going to come. Jesus, post resurrection, teaching and revealing himself and pouring out his spirit that his church may be birthed. But there's perhaps at least one more picture of Christ in this passage this morning, and that's in verse 12. Then the Lord, this is the living God, said to Moses, the mediator of this covenant. Come up to me on the mountain and be there, and I will give you tablets of stone and the law and commandments which I have written that you may teach them. God gives to a covenant mediator his words, and that covenant mediator is to teach the covenant people. Who is the mediator of our covenant? Who is the mediator of the new covenant? It's Christ. Moses' ascension on this mountain as the mediator between God and his people is a picture of the true and better Moses, Christ, who would bring God's covenant words to his people. And those covenant words are summarized for us in Hebrews 8. You remember them. We've recited them much during the series. I will be your God and you will be my people. Those are Jesus's words from God to you, believer. I will put my law in your heart and you will long to obey it. Those are God's words to you, believer. You won't have to tell anyone around you, hey, no, God, because God will be known by all of his covenant people now. And then perhaps the one that brings the most emotion and joy to our hearts, I will forgive their sins and remember them no more. These are covenant words that Jesus now brings to you as the covenant mediator. So here on this mountain, we have a picture of worship, a liturgy, an order. And we have a picture of Christ's work. Will there ever be a mediator? who will bring God's words to his people, cover them with his blood and make them fit to sit at his table. One commentator, Gwinen, says this, quote, Like the old covenant at Sinai, the new one is sealed with a meal and blood ritual. Oh, beloved, don't you see what happens when we gather on the Lord's Day? There's a picture of worship that is now colored in and fulfilled. God calls us to worship. We have a blood which forever covers us and makes us acceptable to worship God. We have His covenant words taught to us. He is with us. He promises His presence to be with us on the Sabbath day, and we have a fellowship meal. This is a picture of worship, and it's a picture of Christ's work. In just a few moments, Lord willing, if we have life and breath, those of us who are in Christ will come to this table. We will have heard His covenant words today. He will have stood among us as we've responded to his call to worship, and we will eat in his presence without fear. Think about the most important meals in your life. Meals that aren't necessarily comfortable. You know, not family meals, not meals by yourself with a TV tray when no one else is home, but the meals that are really full of ceremony. You know, maybe you're going to meet a dignitary and you really want to make sure you've got it right. Which fork do I use? Which knife? Those kinds of things. Think about this. God, the sovereign of the universe, gives us a meal to observe in his very presence. And that meal is connected to the sacrifice related to our covenant, just like it was here. What did these people eat? They ate of the food of the sacrifice. What does the New Testament say that we do when we come to the Lord's table? We eat of, as it were, the spiritual food of the sacrifice. For what does 1 Corinthians 10, 16 tell us? We are having fellowship with the body and blood of Christ. That is the food, spiritually, of the sacrifice of the covenant. There are pictures here, a picture of worship and a picture of Christ's work, but I want you to see one more picture, and that is a picture of the comfort of God. A picture of the comfort of God, and let's see that in two ways. Verse 11. Gathered around Moses and the people, that are with him, we read these words, verse 11, but on the nobles of the children of Israel, he did not lay his hand. So they saw God and they ate and drank. What does it mean that God did not lay his hand on them, boys and girls? God, again, doesn't have a body like you and me. He doesn't have physical hands. God is spirit. But sometimes the Bible uses words to help us to understand God a little better. It's not as though God has hands, but it's telling us God didn't do something to the people. Well, in Exodus, the book that we're in, when this phrase has been seen before, It's always been as kind of a sign of punishment. It's been punitive. God has, as it were, laid his hand on someone, and it's been, well, kind of negative sounding. For instance, Exodus 320. So I will stretch out my hand, same image, and strike Egypt. Or perhaps we could see that later on in passages like Exodus 9. Exodus 9 and verse 15. Now, if I had stretched out my hand and struck you and your people with pestilence, then you would have been cut off from the earth. But now the same phrase is used to describe God not stretching out his hand, not wiping them out. We have a picture of the comfort of God. Here they experience fellowship with the living God. And His hand is not laid upon them. Of course, they would need to continue to sacrifice for that to be the case. Year after year, blood would need to flow so that their sins for that week, that month, that year, would be covered so that as a nation they would be able to continue to be in God's presence. But then Christ would come and His blood would be shed and so worshippers would never again need more sacrifice. What do we do when riding to church on a Sunday morning and our conscience is pricked by sin? Is there a sacrificial covering for us? I mean, we're going to come into the presence of God and eat He is giving us a meal. The most important meal of every week of our lives happens here. And what do we do? Is there a bull or a goat that we need to sacrifice so that God may be appeased? So that He will not lay His hand on us when we dare to open our hymnals and sing His praise? I mean, think about it. The lips that just sang psalms and hymns are lips that this past week gossiped and blasphemed and were discontent. Your lips. My lips. The hands which will hold up the bread which we will put in our mouth are hands that have engaged in sin this week. The minds that think on the things of God briefly and distractedly as we sing and as we listen here in this room are minds that also thought sinful things. Where is the covering so that God will not lay his hand upon us and strike us down? It is the blood of Christ. And I, beloved, do not care what sin comes to your mind. In so far as the blood of Christ covers you, you are ceremonially clean and perfected to worship in Christ's presence and to pull up a seat, as it were, at this meal of fellowship with the living God. It's a picture of the comfort of God here. There's at least one more picture of the comfort of God, and we go back to where we started this morning, and that is better bricks. Better bricks. Look at verse 20 or chapter 24, verse 10. And they saw the God of Israel, I take that as the glory. The recognition of the presence of the God of Israel, and there was under his feet, as it were, a paved work sapphire stone. And it was like the very heavens in its clarity, no more mud and straw and toil and labor. John Gill. The Baptist of the early 1700s in England, commenting on this passage, said this. Quote, the sapphire stones of which the pavement was were as broad as bricks. And being like a brick was a memorial of the servitude the Egyptians made the children of Israel to serve with in clay and bricks. But being sapphire, bright and glorious may denote the liberty they now enjoyed in exchange for their bondage. God gives better bricks to his people. Let me ask you, how has God given you better bricks, as it were, of his presence? He's taken you from the toil of this, whatever that thing is, and brought you to this. From the toil and labor of sin, to rest in Christ. Perhaps it's more physical than that. God has taken you from a situation that was full of difficulty, and by his providential hand has shown you that he is the one who brings you to his presence, where there is peace. And he has perhaps indeed solved your very temporal problem, even in this week. No, there is a picture of God's comfort here. The comfort of being able to know his presence and in his presence to know that he exchanges toil. And servitude. And past difficulties. With the glory of his presence, let me ask you this. As you think on the glory of God, as you gather in his presence this morning. Are there truly sapphire, sapphire bricks under his feet? As you gaze at his glory this morning. Is there the reminder that God has brought you out? And brought you in. No, this mountaintop encounter with God is not the final one. Or eventually Christ would climb Mount Golgotha. He would bleed and die and give his life as the final sacrifice. He would be buried and on the third day be raised that all who have faith in him might have everlasting life. Your sins, boys and girls, the sins that you commit can be forgiven in Christ. Run to him. You're not too young. Teenager, young adult, your sins can be forgiven in Christ. Run to him. Adults, at the very end of your life. The blood of Christ can make full pardon for a lifetime of evils, run to him. And this Christ would bring his people to the ultimate mountain, Mount Zion, where the writer of Hebrews says we have come not to Mount Sinai, but to Mount Zion, the presence of God forever. Even now. God gives us pictures in this text. And are we not rejoicing that those pictures are now filled in with the glorious substance of Christ and all that he brings? Let's pray. Living God, we ask your blessing on our hearts as your worshipers who hear your call to worship, who hear your word, who are covered by the blood of Christ, who in just a moment will come to your fellowship table. You've made us now a true spiritual people, the signs and shadows and types giving way to Christ. That all of Moses and his people may have their full and complete design, getting us to Jesus. Well, he has come. Living God, by your spirit, he is here. And what a privilege now to be in his presence, and so we pray that if there are any here today. who are standing afar off from the mountain of God. Perhaps thinking that they don't need this God or afraid that they cannot draw near to this God, may they see in these pictures the substance of Christ and Him crucified. Help us, we pray, in Jesus' name. Amen.