Hello my “Walking with Jesus” friends on this the first weekend of November. REMEMBER, in many parts of the world the time changes on Saturday night, this weekend…going BACK one hour!
Yesterday I left you sitting on Mount Horeb with Moses as he was about to deliver a message to God from the 1 million Hebrew slaves setting up camp down at the base of this rugged mountain. Moses recorded this scene for us in Exodus 19:8,9 “So Moses brought the people’s answer back to the LORD. Then the LORD said to Moses, ‘I am going to come to you in a dense cloud, so that the people will hear Me speaking with you and will put their trust in you.” Leadership, in any situation, is complex isn’t it? But can you imagine trying to lead 1 million people, traveling across the desert, who have no idea where they are going, and have only the belongings they are carrying on their backs or in their carts! This leadership challenge Moses had was almost impossible.
Furthermore, you and I both know how difficult it is to find people willing to live their lives entirely trusting God and following God’s lead in the everyday aspects of their lives. Can you honestly say YOU are one of those rare people, fully trusting God and allowing God to lead you in every significant and even insignificant decision in your life? Have you ever geographically moved from one place to another because you had a strong sense God led you to pack up and move? Have you ever changed jobs because you sensed God led you to change jobs? That is the depth and scope of relationship God was inviting these Hebrews to live out in following God everyday in every aspect of their lives! It was a radical concept!
But like all of us, they were skeptical. While they had a cloud over them which symbolized God’s presence by day, and a pillar of fire in the sky by night, and while they had these manna flakes on the ground like dew each morning, still trusting God for everything required almost superhuman faith, and their faith seemed to wane quickly! The people had verbally promised God they would obey and follow His lead, but God knows how quickly popular opinion can change! So God was about to do something these people would never forget, and like the Red Sea miracle, this experience would become a defining moment for these Hebrew slaves. Moses told the elders to spread the word. . . these people were about to have an encounter with God in which they would actually hear the audible voice of God speaking to them in a language they would understand!
Furthermore as you read Exodus 19 you’ll see God gave Moses specific instructions, which he was to pass along to the people, regarding how to PREPARE for this unique encounter with God! “The LORD said to Moses, ‘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…” (Ex. 19:10-15) Furthermore, Moses instructed the people to stay back, away from the mountain, and not to try and go up the mountain. Finally, Moses told them to abstain from sexual relations over these next days in anticipation of their holy encounter with God. Now let me ask you, if you were given all these stipulations, what would you be expecting on the day of your encounter with God, and how would you compare that with whatever your normal religious experience is when you worship God? With what expectations do you approach God on your day of worship, in your place of worship, whenever and wherever you live around the world?
Moses describes for us what these people experienced: “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 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!“ (Ex. 19:16-19) Look around you, what do you see? Do you see children holding tightly to their parents legs and with arms uplifted, begging to be held? Are they crying in fright? Do you see older people with their hands over their ears, some trembling in awe? Do you see some of those self confident, brash, boastful younger people looking for places to hide? And do you see Moses, on his knees with arms outstretched and lifted heavenward in worship of Holy, Almighty, God?
May I ask you an important question? How does this experience compare to your normal Sunday worship experience, regardless of where you live or what type of church you are part of?
Moses records what happened next: “The LORD descended to the top of Mount Sinai and called Moses to the top of the mountain. So Moses went up and the LORD said to him, ‘Go down and warn the people so they do not force their way through to see the LORD and many of them perish…” (Ex. 19:20-22) God knows that in many of us there is a sense of ‘reckless abandon’ and given the right set of circumstances, and the right rush of adrenalin, we cast aside common sense and we rush headlong into danger. We don’t understand the HOLY Presence of God! So Moses went back down the mountain to again warn the people of the holy, awesome, presence of God and God’s warning that they remain at a safe distance.
Now ponder something special with me for a moment my friends: Do you remember that in both the Tabernacle and the Temple, by God’s architectural design, there was a thick veil which separated the Most Holy Place from the rest of that building of worship? What was in that Most Holy Place? The Ark of the Covenant containing the Tablets of 10 Commandments Moses brought down from this Mount Sinai. The cover of that Ark was called the “Mercy Seat” and above it hovered the ‘Holy Shekinah Glory’, the very presence of God. Only the High Priest was permitted in this Most Holy Place and only one time per year, on the Day of Atonement, as he entered there to pray atonement for the people and their sins. You’ll find this in Leviticus 16.
And when Jesus died on the cross, do you remember what happened to this veil in the Temple? That’s right, it was torn in two, by an invisible hand, from TOP to BOTTOM. (Matt. 27:51) Why? God was opening His Most Holy Place to anyone and everyone who will come to Him, pardoned by the shed blood of Jesus, in full payment for their sin! (Hebrews 10:19-23) My friends, do you see the link between God’s unapproachable holiness at Mount Sinai, and His unapproachable holiness in the Most Holy Place of the temple? And do you see JESUS is God’s ONLY provision as our mediator? Do you know this Scripture: “There is one God and one mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus, who gave Himself as a ransom for all men…” (1 Timothy 2:5,6)
Moses records for us what happened next in this remarkable, unforgettable encounter between God and these 1 million Hebrew slaves: “So Moses went down the mountain to the people and told them what God had said. And God SPOKE all these words: ‘I am the LORD your God who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery. You shall have no other gods before Me.” (Exodus 20:1,2)
So what do you think the voice of God sounds like when He’s speaking to 1 million people without a microphone, and loud enough to be heard over the thunder, lightning and trumpet blast? Look closely at the words God spoke… “I am the LORD your God who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery.” God wanted there to be NO confusion about WHO God is and WHO developed the strategy to humble the most powerful man on earth, the Pharaoh. And God wanted these Hebrews to remember that with each plague, God was defeating, humiliating the Egyptians gods. The great I AM who Moses had met at the burning bush on this mountain, (Ex. 3:7-14) was now introducing Himself to these 1 million people as Sovereign over all and their Deliverer!
Look around, what do you see? While the people may have initially looked to try and find the source of this great voice, I imagine it took them only seconds to fall to their knees and bow in adoration and fear. I’m sure they had been taught to bow whenever the Pharaoh appeared or rode by in his chariot, but this great God was so far beyond the Pharaoh in Majesty and Almighty Power, the people bowed before this voice of God not for fear of a whip across their back, but out of adoration and honor that God alone deserves!
And then God said “You shall have no other gods before Me.” It’s not an egotistical demand, it’s an obvious statement of wisdom and truth. Only an idiot would bow before or worship something fabricated by man or even worship another human, when given the opportunity to worship and know the only true, living God, the creator of all life and our universe!
Now let’s pause right here friends… among 1 million people hearing the audible voice of God at Mount Sinai which is trembling as the thunder rolls and lightning flashes. I wonder what wells up in your heart right now? What do you feel compelled to say to the Almighty, Holy God?
Now the song I’ve selected for us today is one of the most famous in the world, sung in almost every language of the world. As you watch and listen to it, join in, you know it, but I have a question… is it what you feel deeply in your soul as you put yourself in that crowd of 1 million people at Mount Sinai?
Today’s Scripture is Exodus 19:9-20:2.
Choose below to read or listen.
Exodus 19:9-25
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Exodus 20:1-2
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Bible images provided with attribution to www.LumoProject.com.
Have a comment or question about today’s chapter? I’m ready to hear from you, contact me here.
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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