What was the nature of the Elders’ experience of God in Exodus 24:9-11

Click to join the conversation with over 500,000 Pentecostal believers and scholars

Click to get our FREE MOBILE APP and stay connected

In Exodus 24:9-11, the Elders see God.

Moses and Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, and the seventy elders of Israel
went up and saw the God of Israel. Under his feet was something like a
pavement made of lapis lazuli, as bright blue as the sky. But God did
not raise his hand against these leaders of the Israelites; they saw
God, and they ate and drank.

Does "did not raise his hand against them" imply that they had seen his face, or his whole form and not just his feet?

Did they perceive him in heaven from underneath, through the vault of the sky, similar Ezekiels vision in 1:22-28:

Spread out above the heads of the living creatures was what looked
something like a vault, sparkling like crystal, and awesome. Under
the vault their wings were stretched out one toward the other, and
each had two wings covering its body. When the creatures moved, I
heard the sound of their wings, like the roar of rushing waters, like
the voice of the Almighty, like the tumult of an army. When they
stood still, they lowered their wings.

Then there came a voice from above the vault over their heads as
they stood with lowered wings. Above the vault over their heads was
what looked like a throne of lapis lazuli, and high above on the
throne was a figure like that of a man. I saw that from what
appeared to be his waist up he looked like glowing metal, as if full
of fire, and that from there down he looked like fire; and brilliant
light surrounded him. Like the appearance of a rainbow in the
clouds on a rainy day, so was the radiance around him.

This was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the Lord.

Or was it as though he was a normal sized person and God was walking around on their level?

Also, is there any indication from the text whether God ate and drank with them?

I know this question has sort of been asked before, but I’m hoping somebody might be able to offer something that might help me picture what is going on.