“Then Moses, Aaron, Nadab, Abihu, and the seventy elders of Israel
climbed up the mountain again. There they saw the God of Israel…
In fact, they ate a covenant meal, eating and drinking in His presence.”
Exodus 24:9-11
Moses was not the only person who saw God on Mt. Sinai! Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, plus seventy elders of Israel also climbed that mountain one time. In God’s presence they all ate and drank. What a glorious experience!
Yet to our shock, before forty days had passed Aaron and the people were dancing around a Golden Calf! After spending time in the very presence of Almighty God, how could Aaron so quickly turn to idol worship? Jesus’ conversation with people trying to enter His Kingdom may help answer that question. When Jesus told them, “I don’t know you,” those people pleaded, “But we ate and drank with you…” Jesus’ reply was still the same, “I don’t know you!” (Luke 13:25-26)
We cannot get to KNOW God through a few experiences of eating and drinking in His presence. And no matter how amazing those experiences may feel, they will never keep us from dancing around idols! The difference between Aaron and Moses was one of them stayed on the mountain! By lingering in God’s presence day after day, Moses learned to know and to trust. The result was a powerful relationship with God.
Knowing and trusting take time. Occasional experiences with God may fill us with awe, but daily lingering with Him will fill us with power!
