“Then Moses and Aaron, Nadab, and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel went up, and they saw the God of Israel. There was under his feet as it were a pavement of sapphire stone, like the very heaven for clearness. And he did not lay his hand on the chief men of the people of Israel; they beheld God, and ate and drank.” (Exodus 24:9-11)
Moses and Aaron offered a sacrifice with the sprinkling of blood. This ratified the covenant between God and Israel and atoned for the sins of the people. The Lord had stated that He had chosen Israel. He promised to protect and love her. Israel promised to obey God’s Law. Nevertheless the people were afraid to approach God directly. This is why Moses served as the mediator along with Aaron, his sons and the Elders.
Even though it was believed that no one could meet with God directly without being struck down, the elders entered into the presence of the Lord and lived. And yet the description of God only mentions His feet and what was beneath them. Perhaps this is because Aaron and the elders were so fearful of being in God’s awesome presence that they could not lift their eyes to view Him. They were aware of their own sinfulness and knew that God knew this too. Thus they only glimpsed his feet even though they could have viewed His face for the blood of the covenant covered over their sinfulness.
The glory of an awesome holy God should overwhelm us for He is Holy and we are not. We are all sinful unclean beings who cannot be in His presence. Yet God accepts us as righteous and holy because of the sacrifice of Jesus and the blood He poured out for our sins. We are now able to enter His presence and fellowship with Him by faith, without fear.