Ex 24 v 9-11 Then went up Moses, and Aaron, Nadab, and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel: 10And 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. 11And upon the nobles of the children of Israel he laid not his hand: also they saw God, and did eat and drink.

In the above scripture the God of Israel spoken of is Hebrew 430 {Strongs concordance} which means Elohym, This is God the word.  This is also understood because the elders saw Him and ate and drank with Him.

We understand that you cannot look on God the Father {Hebrew 3068} and live.

In Exodus 24 v 12 the God who called Moses up to the top of the mountain and gave him the 10 commandments is Jehovah {H3068} …….3068 can only refer to God the Father it cannot refer to Christ.  The Father only.

Ex 24 v 12 And the LORD said unto Moses, Come up to me into the mount, and be there: and I will give thee tables of stone, and a law, and commandments which I have written; that thou mayest teach them. 

You will notice if you look up the concordance that there are two different names used for two different Gods.

The God who spoke to the elders was H 430  Elohym.

This word is used for God the Word, and in some scriptures Jehovah, and can be used for either the Word or the Father or at times it can be used to mean both.

The God who called Moses up to the top of the mountain and gave the ten commandments to him was H 3068 Jehovah.

The Lord  3068 can only be used for the Father.

The God who gave the commandments cannot be looked upon..notice v 20 in the following scripture.

Ex 33 v 17-20 And the LORD said unto Moses, I will do this thing also that thou hast spoken: for thou hast found grace in my sight, and I know thee by name. ¹⁸And he said, I beseech thee, show me thy glory. 19And he said, I will make all my goodness pass before thee, and I will proclaim the name of the LORD before thee; and will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will show mercy on whom I will show mercy. 20And he said, Thou canst not see my face: for there shall no man see me, and live.

The God in v 17 is H3068 Jehovah.

The God who spoke to Moses face to face is also H3068

Ex 33 v 11 And the LORD spake unto Moses face to face, as a man speaketh unto his friend. And he turned again into the camp: but his servant Joshua, the son of Nun, a young man, departed not out of the tabernacle.

Lets turn to the account in Exodus and see what actually happened at that important time in history.

The following scripture shows that the Father told Moses, Aaron, Nadab and Abihu  and the elders to come up to the mountain.

Exo 24:1  And he said unto Moses, Come up unto the LORD, thou, and Aaron, Nadab, and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel; and worship ye afar off. 

However notice that only Moses was to come near the Lord.

Exo 24:2  And Moses alone shall come near the LORD: but they shall not come nigh; neither shall the people go up with him. 

Then notice that Moses Aaron, Nadab and Abihua and the elders saw God.

Exo 24:10  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. 

This was not the Father, this was God the Word, Moses did not disobey God the Father, remember they could not look on God and live, and yet they saw God.....this was God the Word.

The following verses show Moses going to the Father.

Exo 24:15  And Moses went up into the mount, and a cloud covered the mount. 
Exo 24:16  And the glory of the LORD abode upon mount Sinai, and the cloud covered it six days: and the seventh day he called unto Moses out of the midst of the cloud. 
Exo 24:17  And the sight of the glory of the LORD was like devouring fire on the top of the mount in the eyes of the children of Israel. 
Exo 24:18  And Moses went into the midst of the cloud, and gat him up into the mount: and Moses was in the mount forty days and forty nights. 

Now you are probably wondering how this is possible, God the Father says we can’t look on Him and live, and yet Moses spoke to him face to face, the following scriptures explain quite clearly how this happened.

The Father speaks to man in several ways,  in a cloudy pillar.....

Ex 33 v 9 And it came to pass, as Moses entered into the tabernacle, the cloudy pillar descended, and stood at the door of the tabernacle, and the LORD talked with Moses. 

Psa 99 v 6-7 Moses and Aaron among his priests, and Samuel among them that call upon his name; they called upon the LORD, and he answered them.
⁷ He spake unto them in the cloudy pillar: they kept his testimonies, and the ordinance that he gave them.

He speaks in a fire....

Deut 5 v 4 The LORD talked with you face to face in the mount out of the midst of the fire,

We also know that in some instances God the Father appears invisible

1 Tim 1 v 17 Now unto the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only wise God, be honour and glory for ever and ever. Amen.

He also appears in a vision

Gen 15 v 1 After these things the word of the LORD came unto Abram in a vision, saying, Fear not, Abram: I am thy shield, and thy exceeding great reward.

He also appears in a whirlwind

Job 38:1  Then the LORD answered Job out of the whirlwind, and said, 

But in this case He appeared in a cloud.

It is amazingly clear that the Johovah spoken of in the above scriptures is God the Father.

Strongs concordance has H 3068 Yehovah – self existant, Eternal Jewish national name of God

H 3068 is God the Father  only.

The scriptures are very plain: God the Father, who cannot be directly looked upon, gave the ten commandments. God the Word was on the mountain at the same time. The elders saw this God. 

Ex 24 v 9-11 Then went up Moses, and Aaron, Nadab, and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel: 10And 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. 11And upon the nobles of the children of Israel he laid not his hand: also they saw God, and did eat and drink.

It is apparent that the angel mentioned in the next verse is God the Word [Christ] Christ is called an angel in the old testament. The lively oracles were obviously given to the elders when they saw God  {the Word}on Mt. Horeb.

Act 7:38  This is he, that was in the church in the wilderness with the angel which spake to him in the mount Sinai, and with our fathers: who received the lively oracles to give unto us: 

God the Father gave the ten commandments to Moses: He cannot be looked upon.

God the Word [Jesus Christ] gave the oracles to the elders: He can be looked upon.

They were both on the mountain at the same time.