But this week as I read Exodus 24, when I got to verses 9 - 11, I felt like I had never read those verses before! I'm sure I have, but I don't remember them. When this happens, it always feels like a portal has opened up, a secret passageway that I could have sworn wasn't there before.
Here the verses are in the New Living Translation:
"Then Moses, Aaron, Nadab, Abihu, and the seventy elders of Israel climbed up the mountain. There they saw the God of Israel. Under his feet there seemed to be a surface of brilliant blue lapis lazuli, as clear as the sky itself. And though these nobles of Israel gazed upon God, he did not destroy them. In fact, they ate a covenant meal, eating and drinking in his presence!"
I love this picture of a party to celebrate the peace/covenant made between God and God's people. There is so little description and I want to know so much more!
What did they eat? Did God serve them food? Why do they only mention God's feet? Did the surface separate them or were they all on it together?
When I was little, my family went to see the King Tut exhibit at the Field Museum here in Chicago. It was 1977 and I remember waiting and waiting to get into the exhibit. I'm not sure what 7 year old me thought was behind those doors, but the waiting heightened my expectations.
It was late by the time we went into the exhibit and the hush and the darkness were palpable. There were glass cases containing treasures, each one lit from inside - the majority of the light in the room came from these magical boxes. Traveling back in time to ancient Egypt, touching a bit of history. Mummies and pharaohs were mysterious figures, one from cartoons and the other from bible stories. I don't remember much of what I saw that night, but I do remember seeing lapis lazuli for the first time. The blue was so stunning and I loved the sounds of the words together. So luxurious. So kingly.
This passage's mention of lapis lazuli transported me back to that night for a moment, and some of the emotions from that experience seem apropos - the awe and wonder in the presence of a king, the timelessness, the inability to describe what I saw.
Whatever Moses and his family and the elders saw that day, I am sure it was full of these same emotions. Sometimes the telling of it doesn't measure up, so it seems better to treasure it instead.
Lately I find myself doing this. Instead of taking pictures of gatherings with friends, I find that the times I don't post on social media or document it in any way are more precious to me. A time to treasure and not to broadcast. A private moment. A hidden event. Just a sentence in my journal or a ticket stub.
Whatever happened that day on the mountain was just such a moment. A time to bolster these leaders as they prepared for their wilderness journey. A reminder that God was with them and would feed and provide. A seal on the covenant that they were making together.
Throughout the wilderness wanderings and the making and keeping of the tabernacle, the color blue will be a major theme. Blue threads, blue cloths to cover the most holy instruments of worship.
The surface was also described as "clear as the sky" - did they look up on a clear day and reminisce about that time at God's table? Built into creation and commandments, there are these reminders of God's presence and provision.
This story is an example of God breaking through in a tangible way. The blue surface seems to be the most vibrant memory from that day. In my life, the times that I have felt closest to God sometimes have these types of touchstones: a smell, a touch, a sound, a feeling. Then when I see that color or touch that ticket stub in my pocket, or whatever it is, I am reminded of God's faithfulness. And just for a moment, I am transported to my hidden life with God and I feast on God's presence.
