"If the LORD delights in a person's way, He makes their steps firm; though they stumble, they will not fall, for the LORD upholds them with His hand." (Psalm 37:23,24)

Thursday, 18 July: Exodus 19

Good morning my friends, today we come to one of the greatest chapters in the Bible, Exodus 19.
 
“In the third month after the Israelites left Egypt…they came to the Desert of Sinai…and camped in front of the mountain.” 90 days of traveling in the desert, had brought them to the very mountain where it all began. This is the place where Moses was startled by a bush that burned but was not consumed, and then as he approached that bush, it spoke his name, and Moses had a life changing encounter with God. He recorded it for us in Exodus 3.
 
What do you suppose Moses might have been feeling as he saw that mountain rising up from the horizon, way off in the distance. Remember, this huge mass of humanity is following a cloud by day and pillar of fire by night. Moses is not the one determining the path each day. God is! As the mountain loomed larger and larger, I suspect Moses’ excitement grew and he began to make a plan. 
 
When the huge refugee city finally camped in the shadow of the mountain, I’m guessing Moses called Aaron, Hur and Joshua together and said something like…”here it is men, this is the place it all began for us. I just have to go back up there to see if God will meet with me and speak with me again. I’m leaving the people in your hands. I’m not sure how long I’ll be gone, but I can’t wait any longer. I so long for another burning bush...”
 
 
Do you long for a burning bush friends? An encounter with God that is so real, so powerful it changes your life? When was the last time you had that and where? What happened there? Have you been back to that place? 
 
By my calculation Moses went up this mountain to meet with God 8 times! This is the second. The first, of course was Exodus 3. The first time God shocked Moses by taking the initiative to ignite a bush on fire and call Moses by name. In a language he understood. This time, Moses takes the initiative and scurries up that rugged mountain, his heart beating with anticipation. 
 
Then Moses went up to God, and the LORD called to him from the mountain and said, ‘This is what you are to…tell the people of Israel.: You yourselves have seen what I did to Egypt, and how I carried you on eagles wings, and brought you to Myself. Now IF you obey Me fully and keep My covenant, then out of all the nations you will be My treasured possession. Although the whole earth is Mine, you will be for Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation. These are the words you are to speak to the Israelites.” (19:3-6)
 
Sit down on a rock on the mountain side and let our eyes sweep across the desert landscape below. 2 million people, plus their thousands of animals and all their belongings is spread out below us almost as far as we can see. 
 
God has spoken…again. The words He has said to Moses this time, are almost as breathtaking as what He said at the burning bush. This huge refugee city are runaway slaves. Most have no education and have been told since they were children, that they are little more than animals. Slaves who only have value as long as they can either work like animals, or bear more babies who will be slaves. But Almighty, Holy, Eternal God, the creator and sustainer of the Universe, has just told Moses that He wants these slaves to understand that HE views them as His treasured possession, His people whom He wants to be a holy people, a people who worship Him. Could there be any greater contrast? As we sit alongside Moses, what do you think he is pondering?
 
“So Moses went back and summoned the elders of the people and set before them all the words the LORD had commanded him to speak.” 
 
Now put yourself in the middle of that meeting… what would you have thought when Moses tells you what God had told him. You are not human slaves. You are part of God’s chosen people, whom He cherishes! The God who opened the Red Sea for you. The God who gushed water out of a rock in the desert for you. The God who brings you a daily bread delivery. The God who leads you by a cloud by day and fire of pillar by night. This God loves you and wants us all to be HIS people! How do we respond to that my friends…because it’s God’s message to you and me who are “Walking With Jesus” this summer of 2019.
 
“The people all responded together, “We will do everything the LORD has said.” (19:8)  Ah, evidently they had heard the conditions. God had promised they would be His treasured possession, His chosen people IF, and again I say it IF, “…you obey Me fully and keep My covenant…” 
 
It seems the people had seen the wisdom of obeying and following God’s leading in their escape from Egypt, 90 days before. 
 
So, do you see what happens next? “So Moses brought their answer back to the LORD.” (19:8) Moses hiked back up that mountain, this would be mountain climb #3. Of course, God knew what the people had said, and He also knew their hearts, but Moses had the privilege of bringing the official word back to God. “YES”…
 
Please note God’s response… “Go to the people and consecrate them today and tomorrow. Have them wash their clothes and be ready by the third day, because on that day the LORD will come down on Mount Sinai, in the sight of all the people…” What’s the lesson here my friends? I suggest to you, God is helping us understand that an encounter with Him is unlike anything else in our human experience. Sometimes it happens, like Moses at the burning bush, suddenly, unexpected, and you have no time to prepare yourself. Do you remember what the first thing God told Moses to do when they met at that burning bush? “take off your sandals, you are standing on holy ground.” (Ex. 3:5)  
 
And here, what does God tell Moses are the instructions for preparing to meet with God? “Consecrate them…have them wash their clothes…” And notice in vs. 15 Moses told them Prepare yourselves for the third day. Abstain from sexual relations.” So what does this tell us about how God views our planned encounters with Him? Now think about what it looks like on Sunday morning, the one day of the week God’s people gather for a planned encounter with Him? Do you think we are preparing ourselves ourselves and approaching “church” in a manner that pleases God, honors God, and is in line what what He prescribed here for these people? 
 
Now if we are in the midst of this huge refugee city, and Moses has told us to get ready because God is going to come and meet with us, how would you feel? What would you be expecting? Look at vs. 16… “On the morning of the third day there was thunder and lightning, with a thick cloud over the mountain, and a very loud trumpet blast. Everyone in the camp trembled. Then Moses led the people out of the camp to meet with God, and they stood at the foot of the mountain. Mount Sinai was covered with smoke, because the LORD descended on it in fire. The smoke billowed up from it like smoke from a furnace, the whole mountain trembled violently, and the sound of the trumpet grew louder and louder. Then Moses spoke and THE VOICE OF GOD ANSWERED him.” (19:16-19)
 
I’m speechless. . .let’s just sit quiet a moment and let that picture draw us in. 
 
An earthquake is happening as the mountain shook. Do you know how frightening that is? 
 
The mountain looks like a billowing volcano, you can imagine how frightening that must be!
 
The noise of what sounds like a trumpet blast is getting louder and louder and people are putting their fingers in their ears. Children are holding tightly to their mothers and crying. And then. . .the voice of God speaks! 
 
Evidently God said something like Moses, come up to meet with me again…” for I see in vs. 20 it says, The LORD descended to the top of Mount Sinai and CALLED Moses to the top of the mountain. So Moses went up…” If you are keeping track, this is now hike #4 for Moses up the mountain, and you see God told Moses, to warn the people to not try and rush the mountain. They were to keep their distance in respect and wait and listen for what God was going to tell them. “So Moses went down to the people and told them.” 
 
I’m glad there is a chapter break right here… it will allow us to spend the rest of today standing with the people, at the base of the smoking, shaking mountain…waiting to hear from God. Tomorrow chapter 20 begins with very special words, I wonder if you’ve ever noticed them before: And God SPOKE all these words: . . .” And tomorrow we’re going to look closely at what God said to these 2 million runaway salves, refugees in the desert. What God said that day, He has called every living human being to understand and live, from that day to this. 
 
For today…. read carefully, slowly, Exodus 19. Pause often putting yourself in the story, and speak with God about what you feel. Most of all, LISTEN to what the Holy Spirit wants to tell you, about the incredible privilege of being invited by Almighty God, into an encounter with Him, the God who created you and every living thing on this planet. The God who created this planet and everything in our Universe. Just allow yourself to be overwhelmed with the amazing truth that YHWH, El Shaddai, The LORD, Jehovah Nissi…this God, is sustaining your every breath today, and HE longs for frequent encounters with you and me. 
 
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Pastor Doug Anderson    262.441.8785  
Let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, with our eyes fixed on Jesus…” (Heb. 12:1,2)

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