Good Morning Yamon Ki Yesepar and Nevim Arith Hayomin:
Exodus 24:16: “And the glory of the Lord abode upon Mt. Sinai, and the cloud covered it six days; and the seventh day God called out to Moses out of the midst of the cloud.”
My study partner kept talking about what Moses was doing in the cloud for six days before God called him. I read the verse in my KJV and it said that God called out of the cloud, so Moses was not in the cloud. However, checking it out in my Hebrew Bible I find the preposition is really “from.” God called from the midst of the cloud. This could mean that Moses spent the six days in the cloud. Now if Moses was in this cloud for six days and did not speak with Him for six days, I wonder what he was doing.
For six days the cloud descended upon the mountain of Sinai, no, the text said it “abode” on Mt. Sinai. That word “abode” is very important. In the Hebrew the word is “shekin” which, if you add a feminine ending, would be “shekinah” like in the Shekinah glory of God. The word “shekin” means to rest, reside, inhabit. The first two letters, Shin and Kap form a dual root which carries the idea of rest and the third letter tells us what type of rest this is. The third letter here is Nun which carries the idea of faith, revelation productivity, fertility and another word it is used for is intercourse, well let’s just say intimacy. I believe it is safe to say that Moses and God spent six days just enjoying each other’s company before God got down to business on the seventh day. As my study partner pointed out, this is a little backward as he rested for six days and worked on the seventh day. Ok, I have no idea what took place on those six days, but I do know I sure would not mind having a similar experience.
What really captured my attention is the word for “six,” in “six” days. This word in Hebrew is spelled Shin, Shin (shash). However ,the word “six” in this verse is “shashat”, spelled “Shin, Shin, Taw.” I am baffled as to why the Taw is added. It is grammatically ok to do this, but my question is “why?” Unless, of course, there is a play on words here. Keep in mind a play on words is not always to create humor, actually it is a device to create a broader range of meaning. In this case it appears that “shashat”this is a play on the word “Shatah”. Shatah means to “drink” or in the Niphal to be drunk or saturated. In the Arabic a similar word has the idea of weaving, intermingling. With this as a play on words, it would suggest that during the six days God was just saturating and intermingling His presence with Moses.
After seven days of communing with God Moses was ready to receive instruction from God. Sometimes we treat God like a celestial boss, we go to Him for our orders and knock ourselves out trying to discern His voice. Maybe Moses had the right idea, spend a little quiet time with God, I mean quiet in the sense of just enjoying His presence and not speaking, then after six days you can get down to business and start chit chatting. His voice might be a little clearer after that time.
The text further tells us that God “called” to Moses on the seventh day. Moses was most likely a bit deaf as well as having a speech problem, after all why did God have to “call” out to him. The word “call” is “qara’” in Hebrew. This means to call or shout. But soft, “qara’” has a dual meaning. It also means to have a meeting. Possibly the Lord did not call out to Moses but met with Moses to have a sort of business meeting. What that means is that God did not meet with Moses for six days, He had that meeting on the seventh day. The first six days were pleasure, the seventh day was business.
I know it is suppose to be business before pleasure, God set that up at creation, but, after all He is God, and he can bend the rules a little and have pleasure before business. I guess for myself next time I start seeking a word or direction from God, I may just indulge in a little time of pleasure with God before getting down to business. You see, when I study and write, I feel God’s pleasure. Sometimes, God and I get down to business and I either learn something or get some direction. But to be perfectly honest, the reason I spend so much time studying and writing is not to learn something or get direction from God. I don’t even write these devotionals to share them with those who may or may not read them. I do it for only one reason, the same reason Moses spent six days in the cloud. He just enjoyed, bringing God’s pleasure and feeling His pleasure. As Eric Liddell said in his explanation as to why he was training for the Olympics rather than preparing for the mission field. “God made me for a purpose, but He also made me fast, and when I run, I feel His pleasure.”
Sometimes just sitting back, saying nothing or using the abilities or desires that God gave you such as carpentry, music, repairing a lawn mower, mowing the lawn or working in the garden, whatever you enjoy doing will bring God pleasure. If God gave you that ability and/or desire, then doing it with God will bring Him just as much if not more pleasure than getting down to “business.”
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