Exodus 24:12

My Notes

What Does Exodus 24:12 Mean?

"And the LORD said unto Moses, Come up to me into the mount, and be there: and I will give thee tables of stone, and a law, and commandments which I have written; that thou mayest teach them." God's invitation has two parts: come up AND be there. The first is action (ascend). The second is presence (stay). God doesn't just want Moses to arrive at the summit. He wants Moses to BE THERE — to dwell in the divine presence, to remain on the mountain, to exist in God's proximity. The coming up produces the being there. And the being there produces the receiving: tables of stone, law, commandments — all written by God's own hand.

The purpose is transmission: "that thou mayest teach them." Moses receives so he can transmit. The mountain experience isn't for Moses' private enrichment. It's for Israel's instruction. The receiving serves the teaching.

Reflection Questions

• 1.What does 'be there' (dwell, remain, exist in God's presence) require that 'come up' (effort, ascent) alone doesn't?
• 2.What are you rushing back from the mountain to do before the 'being there' has produced the receiving?
• 3.How does Moses' forty-day stay model the time required for deep spiritual formation?
• 4.What do you need to receive from the 'being there' before you can teach effectively?

Devotional

Come up. And be there. God's invitation to Moses has two verbs — and the second one is the one people skip. Come up (ascend, make the effort, climb the mountain). And then: be there (stay, remain, exist in my presence without rushing back). The being is as important as the coming.

Come up to me into the mount. The ascent requires physical effort: climbing Sinai. Leaving the camp below. Separating from the people. Going higher than anyone else. The coming up is costly — it demands energy, time, and distance from normal life. But the coming up is only the first verb.

And be there. The second verb is stillness: be there. Not: come up and get what you need and come back down. Be there. Stay. Dwell. Exist on the mountain in God's presence long enough for the presence to accomplish what the arrival couldn't. The coming up positions you. The being there transforms you.

Moses will be on the mountain forty days and forty nights (v. 18). Forty days of being there. The receiving of the tablets isn't instantaneous — it requires extended presence. The written law that God hands to Moses is produced during the being-there, not during the coming-up. The coming up took hours. The being there took forty days. And the forty days are where the actual transaction happens.

I will give thee tables of stone, and a law, and commandments which I have written. God writes. The tablets aren't Moses' notes from a lecture. They're God's autograph — divine handwriting on stone. The law that Israel will live by is written by the finger that created the universe. And the writing is given to Moses after the being-there is complete.

That thou mayest teach them. The purpose: transmission. Moses receives the tablets to give them to Israel. The mountain experience isn't private enrichment. It's public equipping. Moses comes up and stays so that when he comes back down, he has something to teach. The being-there produces the capacity to give-away. You can't teach what you haven't received. And you can't receive in passing what requires forty days of dwelling.

The invitation is the same for you: come up. And be there. Not a quick visit to God's presence. Not a drive-by prayer. Be there — long enough for the receiving to happen. Long enough for the transformation to complete. Long enough for the tablets to be written. And then: come back down and teach.

Commentary

Trusted original commentary from respected historical Bible scholars and theologians.

Cross References

Related passages throughout Scripture