There were at least three classes of people who stood at different distances in relation to Mount Horeb: Moses, perhaps accompanied by Joshua, was on the mountaintop being infused with God under His glory and receiving the vision of the tabernacle as God’s dwelling place on earth (vv. 13, 16; 34:29; 25:1—30:38); Aaron, Nadab, Abihu, and the seventy elders were on the mountain worshipping at a distance and watching (vv. 1, 9); and the majority of the children of Israel were at the bottom of the mountain standing at a distance and trembling (Exo. 20:18). These three locations, corresponding to the three parts of the tabernacle — the outer court, the Holy Place, and the Holy of Holies — illustrate the fact that among God’s people there are different degrees of fellowship with Him. See note Heb. 9:4^3c.

To behold God and to eat and drink is to worship God (cf. v. 1) with the worship that He desires (see note Exo. 20:24¹).

Or, a work of transparent sapphire.

In a tranquil atmosphere and under a transparent and clear sky brought in by the blood of the covenant, Moses and the leaders of Israel entered into fellowship with God, in which they saw God (cf. Matt. 5:8; 2 Cor. 3:18). It was in such a setting, in contrast to the setting in which the law was decreed (Exo. 19:8-25; 20:18, 21), that God revealed to Moses the pattern of the tabernacle.

In vv. 6 and 8 the blood from the sacrifices offered on the altar (v. 5), typifying the blood of Christ, was for redemption and for the forgiveness and cleansing of sins (Eph. 1:7; 1 Pet. 1:18-19; Matt. 26:28; Heb. 9:22; 1 John 1:7, 9). This blood also enacted the covenant between God and His people. Hence, the blood is referred to here as “the blood of the covenant.” The blood made it possible for God’s people, as fallen and sinful persons who had been redeemed, forgiven, and cleansed, to enter into God’s presence, i.e., into God Himself, and remain there to be infused with Him and thereby be constituted pillars as a living testimony, a living portrait, of what God is (vv. 9-18; 34:28-29; Lev. 16:11-16; cf. Heb. 10:19-20). Eventually, the blood of Christ as the blood of the new covenant (Matt. 26:28; Luke 22:20) ushers God’s people into the better things of the new covenant, in which God gives His people a new heart, a new spirit, His Spirit, and the inner law of life, denoting God Himself with His nature, life, attributes, and virtues (Jer. 31:33-34; Ezek. 36:26-27; Heb. 8:10-12). Ultimately, the blood of the new covenant, the eternal covenant (Heb. 13:20), leads God’s people into the full enjoyment of God as the tree of life and the water of life both now and for eternity (Rev. 7:14, 17; 22:1-2, 14, 17).

The sprinkling of the blood on the people indicates that one party of the covenant, the children of Israel, was sinful and the other party, God, was willing to forgive (cf. Heb. 8:12; 9:22).

See note Exo. 19:8¹.

The cross of Christ, signified by the altar, redeems us through Christ’s blood and terminates us. As the reality of the offerings (see notes on Lev. chs. 1—7), Christ was offered to God on the cross to be our Redeemer and our Substitute. As we experience Christ and the cross, Christ becomes our replacement to reconstitute us with Himself and transform us, the fallen sinners, into pillars, a living testimony of God in Christ (2 Cor. 3:18; Phil. 1:19-21a). This is God’s economy.

A pillar signifies a testimony (cf. 1 Kings 7:21; 1 Tim. 3:15). The twelve pillars, representing the twelve tribes of Israel, indicate that in the sight of God the twelve tribes should be pillars as a testimony of God, a reflection of what God is in His virtues and attributes as portrayed in the law. The law was not given for God’s people to keep or observe; it was given that the people might become God’s testimony by being redeemed, terminated, replaced, and reconstituted by Christ through the cross (cf. Rom. 8:3-4).

Although the law had been decreed on the mountain of God, there was still the need for the law with its ordinances to be enacted as a covenant. Instead of commanding the people to keep the law, Moses enacted the covenant by means of an altar, twelve pillars, sacrifices of burnt offerings and peace offerings, and blood (vv. 4-8; cf. Heb. 9:18-20). The altar, symbolizing the cross of Christ (Heb. 13:10), indicates that as fallen and sinful people, we cannot possibly keep the law of God; hence, we need to be redeemed, terminated, and replaced by Christ through the cross.

See note Exo. 19:8¹.

After giving His people a revelation of Himself and His economy through the law, God charged Moses to bring the leaders of Israel up to the mountain to stay with Him that He might reveal to them His heart’s desire and might show them the design of the tabernacle, which they were to build as God’s dwelling place on earth (chs. 25—40).

In the Bible the number forty signifies tests or trials (cf. Deut. 8:2; Luke 4:1). It took Moses forty days and forty nights to see the revelation of God’s dwelling place. This indicates that receiving revelation from God requires a long period of time, which is a trial or a test to us.