We know, based on Exodus 33:20, that nobody has ever seen the actual image of God. In that scene, Moses begs to see God’s “glory,” and God responds by passing by Him and putting His hand directly over Moses’ face. When God removed His hand, Moses was able to see the back of God passing by.
That’s as close as anyone has ever gotten to seeing God. Nine chapters previously though, in Exodus 24, there’s another scene where not only Moses gets to see God, but so does Aaron, Nadab, Abihu, and seventy elders of Israel. There’s no ambiguity, either. Twice in three verses, the Bible says plainly that “they saw God.”
How is that possible? Most likely, the people on the mountain that day saw a representation of God—a form that humans could comprehend. Later in the Old Testament, Isaiah (Isaiah 6:1-5) and Ezekiel (Ezekiel 1:26) would see something similar. In John 14, Philip asks to see God, to which Jesus responds “If you’ve seen Me, you’ve seen the Father.”
On the one hand, it’s one hundred percent understandable that humans would want to see God. After all, we worship Him and serve Him. Why can’t we also see Him?
On the other, demanding to see God is akin to a lack of faith. If our faith relies on a human understanding of Him, then it’s not deep enough. Our faith needs to be rooted in a spiritual understanding of God, not what He looks like.
That’s why Exodus 24:10 is so important. The people that day didn’t ask to see God; He volunteered Himself to them. They were in close proximity to Him, and yet God “did not raise His hand” against them.
Their response was to eat and drink, most likely a form of sacrificial meal, although it could have simply been done in celebration. That’s the response that everyone has in the face of God though: Admiration, awe, and worship. Are we respectful enough of the glory of God in our lives?
