Day 1165: When God speaks – Exodus 19 vs 18 - 25

18-19 Now Mount Sinai was wrapped in smoke because the Lord had descended on it in fire. The smoke of it went up like the smoke of a kiln, and the whole mountain trembled greatly. And as the sound of the trumpet grew louder and louder, Moses spoke, and God answered him in thunder. 20-22 The Lord came down on Mount Sinai, to the top of the mountain. And the Lord called Moses to the top of the mountain, and Moses went up. And the Lord said to Moses, “Go down and warn the people, lest they break through to the Lord to look and many of them perish. Also let the priests who come near to the Lord consecrate themselves, lest the Lord break out against them.”

23 And Moses said to the Lord, “The people cannot come up to Mount Sinai, for you yourself warned us, saying, ‘Set limits around the mountain and consecrate it.’” 24-25 And the Lord said to him, “Go down, and come up bringing Aaron with you. But do not let the priests and the people break through to come up to the Lord, lest he break out against them.” So Moses went down to the people and told them. Exodus 19:18-25 English Standard Version

In my last post (John 16:25-33) I mentioned that there are times when the Bible uses figures of speech, and times when it speaks plainly. Today's reading is one of the times when it is speaking plainly, and should be taken as literal. Mount Sinai really was wrapped in smoke, and the mountain did tremble greatly. There really was a sound of a trumpet which grew louder and louder. And all of this was because 'the Lord had descended upon it in fire'.

Many years later, however, Jesus told a woman He’d met at a well in Samaria that 'God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and in truth.” (John 4:24) This means that the fire, smoke and thunder were things which God used to let the people of Israel know that He was real. But the things themselves were not God.

When Elisha the prophet was fleeing from Jezebel, we read that “The Lord said, 'Go out and stand on the mountain before the Lord. Behold, the Lord is about to pass by.' And a great and mighty wind tore into the mountains and shattered the rocks before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. After the earthquake there was a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire came a still, small voice.” We see that God reveals His presence in different ways!

And so it was that God terrified Israel with an awesome act so that they would not think low thoughts of Him, and break through to look upon Him, and many would perish. There is such a thing as a righteous fear of God which all of us should take to heart. Moses was told to go back down the mountain, and to only bring Aaron back with him, lest God should 'break out against the people.' Then, as now, man needed the mediator that God appointed.

Can this apply to us in our daily living?

Well, King David applied these things of God when his prayer was answered. In Psalm 18 he says: “The earth quaked and trembled, the foundations of the mountains shook; they quaked because of His anger. Smoke poured from His nostrils; fierce flames leaped from His mouth. Glowing coals blazed forth from Him. He opened the heavens and came down; dark storm clouds were beneath His feet . . . He shrouded himself in darkness, veiling His approach with dark rain clouds. Thick clouds shielded the brightness around Him and rained down hail and burning coals. The Lord thundered from heaven; the voice of the Most High resounded amid the hail and burning coals.” (Psalm 18:7-13)

David was using 'figures of speech' to tell what God had done for him. But it was the same God who met with Moses, who answered David's prayers. And when, over a thousand years later, Jesus took Peter, James, and John, and led them up a high mountain, Moses and Elijah appeared before them, talking with Jesus. “Then a voice from the cloud said, 'This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. Listen to Him!'”