Exodus 24:1-18 KJV
1 And he said unto Moses, Come up unto the LORD, thou, and Aaron, Nadab, and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel; and worship ye afar off.
2 And Moses alone shall come near the LORD: but they shall not come nigh; neither shall the people go up with him.
3 And Moses came and told the people all the words of the LORD, and all the judgments: and all the people answered with one voice, and said, All the words which the LORD hath said will we do.
4 And Moses wrote all the words of the LORD, and rose up early in the morning, and builded an altar under the hill, and twelve pillars, according to the twelve tribes of Israel.
5 And he sent young men of the children of Israel, which offered burnt offerings, and sacrificed peace offerings of oxen unto the LORD.
6 And Moses took half of the blood, and put it in basons; and half of the blood he sprinkled on the altar.
7 And he took the book of the covenant, and read in the audience of the people: and they said, All that the LORD hath said will we do, and be obedient.
8 And Moses took the blood, and sprinkled it on the people, and said, Behold the blood of the covenant, which the LORD hath made with you concerning all these words.
9 Then went up Moses, and Aaron, Nadab, and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel:
10 And they saw the God of Israel: and there was under his feet as it were a paved work of a sapphire stone, and as it were the body of heaven in his clearness.
11 And upon the nobles of the children of Israel he laid not his hand: also they saw God, and did eat and drink.
12 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.
13 And Moses rose up, and his minister Joshua: and Moses went up into the mount of God.
14 And he said unto the elders, Tarry ye here for us, until we come again unto you: and, behold, Aaron and Hur are with you: if any man have any matters to do, let him come unto them.
15 And Moses went up into the mount, and a cloud covered the mount.
16 And the glory of the LORD abode upon mount Sinai, and the cloud covered it six days: and the seventh day he called unto Moses out of the midst of the cloud.
17 And the sight of the glory of the LORD was like devouring fire on the top of the mount in the eyes of the children of Israel.
18 And Moses went into the midst of the cloud, and gat him up into the mount: and Moses was in the mount forty days and forty nights.

If you ever gone camping, or spent time in some of the nature's beautiful sites, you know the beauty of God's creation. Moses walked on Sapphire stones to spend time talking to God and the clouds cover Mount Sinai for six days. Nature phenomon or God glory understood in description of Bible. Until you looked over a valley from the clef of a mountain you do not understand half of these images in scripture of God's natural creative beauty. Looking over God's creation one can stand in awe of it. The problem today is some of that beauty has lost its magnificience with roadwork and so forth. To find those serene locations of God's mysteries in nature can be quite a hike and pictures taken with a camera only capture about half its beauty. Yet the hike can be worth an adventure if you can handle the creatures and bugs along those trails. Moses being out in the desert land, seeing sapphire stone pathway and people seeing the cloud covering of the fiery volcano on top of Mount Sinai had to been a beautiful sight with maybe a little fear. God was visible to man on Mount Sinai, this was before the sin of making a calf in the image of god something some of Israel desire to worship. God went up the mountain with seventy elders, and they ate with God. This was not enough to keep them worship him. God took Moses further away walking on a pavement of Sapphire enough to keep Moses walking with him despite what the tribe might do.

Sapphire stone are mined like diamonds. Whether this road was like stepping stones cross a natural spring or not, I have no clue. If the image of these sapphire stones need any more depiction of what heaven may look like, it gives a glimpse of the nature's beauty being seen through the eyes of Moses after being on a journey out of the desert, only seeing white sand/ perhaps brownish yellow fields of sand for days. This sight on the mountain had to be a sight to behold. God appearance was as a devouring fire on top of Mount Sinai to Israel. God being in his creation in the way man sees the beauty of the work, or even terrorifying imagiery of God's natural fury of his handiwork.

Yet God was a man that ate and talked with the elders and Moses. The laws written down and agreed to obey. Yet I can not help think of Moses' father in law telling Moses at one point in the wilderness he could not stand judge for so many people that they needed some rule guides to live by. Jethro's father in law to Moses was a priest in Midian. Was there order in the religious realm here that was not fully understood. Aaron was the high priest in Israel, and Moses only Priest judge, ruler over the tribe of Israel Yet he did so by the call of God on his life as intercessor an High Priest for the tribe of Israel.

Jethro would tell Moses to delegate responsibility to other tribe members. Never tell Moses to ask God about it. Later on God would instruct Moses on how to set up the Priesthood for his people. Jethro people were offspring of Abraham probably. Probably from one of Abraham's women/concumbine who name was Keturah. From the Abrahamic religion probably. Yet there no information given scripturally to this fact. Yet because religious law was different then what it appears Moses is doing for the people as judge, we must be reminded God still influence his people by their laws.

Jethro rejoiced at all Moses told him of what God had done for the tribe of Israel. This how we know Jethro was not God, or another man was not God. One might make the assumation God on the mountain was just man with rules and laws that he gave to Moses because he thought it would help. It is easy to explain the natures imagery in Bible as being probably God's creation being seen in its glory. I can remember once standing in the middle of the woods and the light shining just right through the trees, that it gave a beautiful imagery of God's glory. I was playing not even thinking probably about God when this occurred. Yet I can not help but think the beauty of the light through the trees giving just a glimpse of God's glory. As the earth rotate the earth move the light so that brillance for a moment was no longer seen. An Atheist will understand this imagery, God's people going to tell me I seen God's glory. Simple imagery to express how something may appear to be God and is not, no, God's creation sings his praises not always verbal, but through appearance in imagery.

Did this stone pathway only give Moses a reason to shout, or what it is like walking into the hiden spiritual garden of God for a moment. The moment of ah, the moment of beauty while walking up the pathway of sapphire stone, perhaps only fully understood by Moses. Yet we get a glimpse in the woods, the overlooks into the valley from a long walk. Yet there was fire of God on the mountain. We want to glorify God we need to defeat the atheist thinking of these imagery in scripture being nothing more then natural fact. To believe God in his reality walking and talking with man possible because God walked in the garden with Adam and Eve. When we believe scripture something happens that perhaps we can not see. The impossible of God being, God enabling, God demonstrating his power through his creation. The imagery later used in scripture as being God or reminder of God in power and the heavenly road we travel on. The begin of God's law being taught to man. Jethro encourage Moses not to be just a judge but to teach the laws and to give them power to judge themselves by that law. Do we judge ourselves by the laws and ordinance of God. I not saying invoke the punishment of the law, because punishment change through out history on how man delegates it verses how God delegates it.

Yesterday I post two passage of scripture that in truth did not seem to go with all I wrote. And yet to talk of God fury and not his love can only be seen in obedience to him in love, and the wrath of God coming to children of disobedience.

Remember God's glory next time you see God's creation. Understand that God is a living being. He is the Great I Am that spoke to Moses in the burning bush. The fire to Moses in the bush being unchangeable, for the people the burning fire being devouring only seem to last last six days on the mountain, symbolizing God's wrath can be changed, not lasting but his grace coming with teaching of God's ways.

If we only see Devil walking in God's fury we see his defeat unchanged, but if we see the laws of love being unchanged through the New mediator Jesus Christ who was eternal even in the days of Moses we see something of God's grace being taught of everlasting love for man. Us seeing the beauty of God through his creation of the burning bush and sapphire pathway.

Dear Heavenly Father, your beauty through your creation is enough, but to know your being spoke and talked not just to Moses but the seventy elders and then your glory shown through your creation, is worthy to be praised and honor for. For your laws are unchanging, through the glory of the earth will fade, but the glory of who you are, will not change. May you be praised forever and ever. In Jesus precious name, Amen.

Continual Scripture Study: Exodus 18:1-24 KJV
1 When Jethro, the priest of Midian, Moses' father in law, heard of all that God had done for Moses, and for Israel his people, and that the LORD had brought Israel out of Egypt;
2 Then Jethro, Moses' father in law, took Zipporah, Moses' wife, after he had sent her back,
3 And her two sons; of which the name of the one was Gershom; for he said, I have been an alien in a strange land:
4 And the name of the other was Eliezer; for the God of my father, said he, was mine help, and delivered me from the sword of Pharaoh:
5 And Jethro, Moses' father in law, came with his sons and his wife unto Moses into the wilderness, where he encamped at the mount of God:
6 And he said unto Moses, I thy father in law Jethro am come unto thee, and thy wife, and her two sons with her.
7 And Moses went out to meet his father in law, and did obeisance, and kissed him; and they asked each other of their welfare; and they came into the tent.
8 And Moses told his father in law all that the LORD had done unto Pharaoh and to the Egyptians for Israel's sake, and all the travail that had come upon them by the way, and how the LORD delivered them.
9 And Jethro rejoiced for all the goodness which the LORD had done to Israel, whom he had delivered out of the hand of the Egyptians.
10 And Jethro said, Blessed be the LORD, who hath delivered you out of the hand of the Egyptians, and out of the hand of Pharaoh, who hath delivered the people from under the hand of the Egyptians.
11 Now I know that the LORD is greater than all gods: for in the thing wherein they dealt proudly he was above them.
12 And Jethro, Moses' father in law, took a burnt offering and sacrifices for God: and Aaron came, and all the elders of Israel, to eat bread with Moses' father in law before God.
13 And it came to pass on the morrow, that Moses sat to judge the people: and the people stood by Moses from the morning unto the evening.
14 And when Moses' father in law saw all that he did to the people, he said, What is this thing that thou doest to the people? why sittest thou thyself alone, and all the people stand by thee from morning unto even?
15 And Moses said unto his father in law, Because the people come unto me to enquire of God:
16 When they have a matter, they come unto me; and I judge between one and another, and I do make them know the statutes of God, and his laws.
17 And Moses' father in law said unto him, The thing that thou doest is not good.
18 Thou wilt surely wear away, both thou, and this people that is with thee: for this thing is too heavy for thee; thou art not able to perform it thyself alone.
19 Hearken now unto my voice, I will give thee counsel, and God shall be with thee: Be thou for the people to God-ward, that thou mayest bring the causes unto God:
20 And thou shalt teach them ordinances and laws, and shalt shew them the way wherein they must walk, and the work that they must do.
21 Moreover thou shalt provide out of all the people able men, such as fear God, men of truth, hating covetousness; and place such over them, to be rulers of thousands, and rulers of hundreds, rulers of fifties, and rulers of tens:
22 And let them judge the people at all seasons: and it shall be, that every great matter they shall bring unto thee, but every small matter they shall judge: so shall it be easier for thyself, and they shall bear the burden with thee.
23 If thou shalt do this thing, and God command thee so, then thou shalt be able to endure, and all this people shall also go to their place in peace.
24 So Moses hearkened to the voice of his father in law, and did all that he had said.