This paper applies a thematic Biblical Theology framework to Exodus 24 and John 21. One theme linking these two passages is the theme of divine hospitality. In DNTUOT, Brian S. Rosner writes, “One goal of biblical theology is to explore the Bible’s theological message in fresh and unexpected ways. ‘Salvation,’ ‘covenant,’ ‘temple,’ and ‘mission’ are not the only one-word answers to the question of what the Bible is about. Others include idolatry, violence, peace, victory, glory, and even clothes, cities, and serpents, to name but a few. These and many other themes use the full range of biblical-theological means of connecting the OT and NT, especially the development of OT themes and motifs” (pp. 71-72).
Part One of this paper notes how the LORD’s hospitality to Israel’s leaders in Exodus 24 contributes to Moses’s covenant ceremony. This scene serves as a pivot point in a unit that begins with the LORD’s appearance on Sinai in Exodus 19 and culminates with Moses descending the mountain with the stone tablets at the end of Exodus 31. In obedience to the Lord’s invitation in Exodus 24:1–2, Moses led Aaron, Aaron’s sons Nadab and Abihu, and Israel’s 70 elders up the mountain (v. 9). They saw the LORD but were not consumed, eating in the presence of the LORD (vv. 10–11). From the moment the LORD descended on the mountain in Exodus 19 to this point in the narrative, the LORD had demanded that Israel stay away from Him lest His holy presence consume them. But in Exodus 24, He hosted Moses and Israel’s leaders, disclosing Himself to them as they ate. Moses and Joshua then proceeded up the mountain, and Moses stayed in the LORD’s presence for 40 days and nights. (vv. 13–18). The LORD hosted Moses on Mount Sinai to establish Moses as His authoritative spokesman, who He chose to mediate His instruction to Israel. Having hosted Moses to prepare him for leadership, the LORD sent Moses down the mountain with the stone tablets (Exod. 31:18).
In Part Two of this paper, I note points of contact between Exodus 24 and Jesus’s hospitality to the eleven after His resurrection in John 21. Though Jesus’s hospitality to the eleven in John 21 lacks the formal language of the covenant ceremony Moses enacted in Exodus 24, points of contact remain. In both scenes, divine hospitality is extended to human leaders to equip them for their ministries in God’s redemptive program. Jesus’s hospitality to the eleven, framed by Peter’s robust pursuit of the Lord, becomes the setting where Jesus restored Peter to ministry. In John 21:15–19, Jesus asked Peter three times if he loved Him, challenging Peter to embrace his leadership role despite the suffering that would come with it.
I conclude this paper by suggesting that the LORD employed hospitality to establish Moses as Israel’s leader, and Jesus employed hospitality to establish Peter as the leader of the apostles. As a result of this paper, readers will (1) observe a thematic approach to Biblical Theology, (2) identify two of many places where God acts as host in the storyline of Scripture, and (3) appreciate God’s calling to covenant leadership and how He interacts personally with leaders in a meal setting among their peers to confirm His calling on them to positions of leadership.