Hebrews 24:9-11 comments: the Hebrews see the preincarnate Christ

24:9 ¶  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.

There are certain facts that need to be expressed here to keep confusion from creeping in. First, no one actually sees God the Father, the part of God that is the soul and self-identity of the Godhead.

John 1:18  No man hath seen God at any time; the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him.

1John 4:12  No man hath seen God at any time. If we love one another, God dwelleth in us, and his love is perfected in us.

Why?

John 4:24  God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.

And there was a fear that seeing God face to face would kill you.

Genesis 32:30  And Jacob called the name of the place Peniel: for I have seen God face to face, and my life is preserved.

Judges 6:22  And when Gideon perceived that he was an angel of the LORD, Gideon said, Alas, O Lord GOD! for because I have seen an angel of the LORD face to face. 23  And the LORD said unto him, Peace be unto thee; fear not: thou shalt not die.

Judges 13:22  And Manoah said unto his wife, We shall surely die, because we have seen God.

The Lord Jesus Christ is the physical, visible appearance of God, what theologians call the Godhead. He is not a separate God or a created God but He is the body of God, the image of God. He revealed God to mankind. First, to understand what an image is you will need to see some verses from early on in the Bible;

Genesis 1:26a  And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness…

Deuteronomy 4:16  Lest ye corrupt yourselves, and make you a graven image, the similitude of any figure, the likeness of male or female,

So, now that you know what an image is, as an example, we being made in the image of God, you can understand the following verses better.

John 1:18  No man hath seen God at any time; the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him.

John 10:30  I and my Father are one. 31  Then the Jews took up stones again to stone him. 32  Jesus answered them, Many good works have I shewed you from my Father; for which of those works do ye stone me? 33  The Jews answered him, saying, For a good work we stone thee not; but for blasphemy; and because that thou, being a man, makest thyself God.

John 14:9  Jesus saith unto him, Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known me, Philip? he that hath seen me hath seen the Father; and how sayest thou then, Shew us the Father?

2Corinthians 4:4  In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them.

Colossians 1:15  Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature:

Hebrews 1:3  Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high;

What the Hebrews are seeing here is Christ before His incarnation into human flesh. At this point He appears to them. This is an incredible privilege that these Hebrews were given. That the God of all creation of all the universe would appear to them, they would see Him, and they would eat and drink in His presence.

A study of precious stones in the Bible will come later. But, just imagine the majesty and glory of the scene. A sapphire is blue. Notice the comparison with what Ezekiel will see.

Ezekiel 1:26  And above the firmament that was over their heads was the likeness of a throne, as the appearance of a sapphire stone: and upon the likeness of the throne was the likeness as the appearance of a man above upon it…10:1  Then I looked, and, behold, in the firmament that was above the head of the cherubims there appeared over them as it were a sapphire stone, as the appearance of the likeness of a throne.