9Then Moses went up with Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel, 10and they saw the God of Israel. Under His feet was a work like a pavement made of sapphire, as clear as the sky itself. 11But God did not lay His hand on the nobles of Israel; they saw Him, and they ate and drank.
“In this verse it is equally stressed that the elders did not dare to raise their eyes above His footstool.” (Cole)
“It is impossible to say what is meant by ‘they saw God.’ It was some appearance of the divine presence (Numbers 12:8; Isaiah 6:1; Ezekiel 1:26).” (Thomas)
Numbers 12: 8I speak with him face to face,
clearly and not in riddles;
he sees the form of the LORD
Isaiah 6: 1In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord seated on a throne, high and exalted; and the train of His robe filled the temple.
Ezekiel 1: 26Above the expanse over their heads was the likeness of a throne with the appearance of sapphire, and on the throne high above was a figure like that of a man.
It is clear they didn’t look above His footstool because that is the only description we received in these verses!
“and they ate and drank.” I suspect the elders weren’t at ease. I believe they were in awe!
Awe: an overwhelming feeling of reverence, admiration, fear, etc., produced by that which is grand, sublime, extremely powerful, or the like: in awe of God;
When we see the Lord for the first time, will we gaze into His eyes or will we be in awe, looking at the ground and His feet?
Blessings, David
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