The Covenant Names of God by Richard Sones

These two accounts of God appearing are of such a similarity that it is reasonable to conclude that the sapphire foundation and the sapphire throne are one in the same. Like the appearance of God to the elders of Israel, this too was God in the person of the Son. The figure upon this throne was the likeness of the glory of YHWH (Ezek. Above the shape of the throne was a figure of human appearance.

Consider Ezekiel 1:26:Ībove the expanse over their heads was something like a throne, resembling a sapphire stone. It is even a distinct possibility that the tablets were carved from God’s throne.

No doubt that the Charleton Heston film alone has cemented certain imagery into the culture (a fine movie in any respect). Unfortunately, many do not even consider the sapphire tablets an option because they have been unconsciously influenced by western images of the Ten Commandments. It would be a leap to conclude that the tablets were made from any type of stone other than that which was recorded.

The sapphire is the only type of stone mentioned in the context. The stone from which the tablets were fashioned almost certainly refers to that which appeared to be sapphire only two verses earlier. The LORD said to Moses, “Come up to me on the mountain and wait there, that I may give you the tablets of stone, with the law and the commandment, which I have written for their instruction.” It is from this pavement that God carved out the tablets upon which He wrote the law as recorded in Exodus 24:12: The Hebrew cappiyr (pronounced sap-peer’) can either be translated as a sapphire or lapis lazuli. Under God’s feet was something that appeared to be sapphire. God appeared in the person of the Son as He expresses God’s image to man (cf. Moses and the rest of Israel’s leadership were given the profound privilege of seeing God. There was under his feet as it were a pavement of sapphire stone, like the very heaven for clearness. Scripture itself corroborates much of what the tradition has to say regarding the sapphire Ten Commandments.Īnd they saw the God of Israel. Ancient tradition is especially useful in understanding what the Jewish people held to on scores of topics. Nevertheless, that does not mean that everything taught in rabbinical Jewish tradition is inaccurate. The Talmud and Mishnah are far from being authoritative and even blasphemous in several respects, especially when teaching on Yeshua (Jesus). This was done to point to God’s creation in the heavens and to His throne. However, rabbinical Judaism as found in the Talmud and Mishnah teaches that the tablets of the law were made of sapphire. The majority of Christians think of the Ten Commandments as being inscribed on tablets of grey stone.

The Covenant Names of God by Richard Sones