Moses told the people what God said about their responsibilities. They responded in the affirmative.
The people all answered as one, “Everything that the Lord has spoken we will do” (Exodus 19:8).
Jesus described our relationship with God as one of friendship: “You are my friends if you do what I command you” (John 15:14).
We can have an intimate, friendship relationship with God, but that does not mean that what one man said is acceptable: “God and I have a deal. He likes to forgive and I like to sin.”
Words were not enough. The people had to take their meeting with God with utmost seriousness.
The Lord said to Moses, “Go to the people and consecrate them today and tomorrow.
Have them wash their clothes and prepare for the third day, because on the third day the Lord will come down upon Mount Sinai in the sight of all the people.
You shall set limits for the people all around, saying, ‘Be careful not to go up the mountain or to touch the edge of it. Any who touch the mountain shall be put to death” (Exodus 19:10-12).
I frequently remind myself that the same God who met with the Hebrews by Sinai is the One with whom I speak while in prayer. The life and ministry of Jesus, along with the activity of the Holy Spirit makes this encouter possible, but it does not diminish the reality of it.
Pal Jesus
Several years ago, a well-meaning friend gave me a bobblehead of Jesus with the phrase “Pal Jesus” written beneath it. I couldn’t keep it on my office shelf because I felt it disrespected God, so it ended up in the local landfill.
While Jesus is certainly our friend, he isn’t a casual “pal” who can be represented by a bobblehead “Pal Jesus.”
While I don’t spend three days preparing for my prayer time with Jesus, the idea of doing so illustrates the profound importance of preparing ourselves to meet with Him.
At this point in Israel’s journey, the Tabernacle hadn’t been constructed, and the mountain served as the Holy of Holies. The scene must have been awesome in the fullest sense of the meaning.
On the morning of the third day there was thunder and lightning, as well as a thick cloud on the mountain and a blast of a trumpet so loud that all the people who were in the camp trembled.
Moses brought the people out of the camp to meet God. They took their stand at the foot of the mountain.
Now all of Mount Sinai was wrapped in smoke, because the Lord had descended upon it in fire; the smoke went up like the smoke of a kiln, while the whole mountain shook violently (Exodus 19:16-19).
God is holy. He is totally other than the created order. He demands the proper response.
Then the Lord said to Moses, “Go down and warn the people not to break through to see the Lord; otherwise many of them will perish.
Even the priests who approach the Lord must consecrate themselves, or the Lord will break out against them.”
Moses said to the Lord, “The people are not permitted to come up to Mount Sinai, for you yourself warned us, saying, ‘Set limits around the mountain and keep it holy'” (Exodus 19:21-23).
Returning to our meeting with the Lord. This should serve as a good reminder that we are entering the Holy of Holies when we meet with the Lord, and we should treat it as such.
The Beekeeper
A 1970s movie depicted a beekeeper’s attempts to interact with his bees. Every day, he’d stand outside the hive, trying to communicate, yet his words and thoughts remained unknown to them.
Ultimately, in the film, he transformed from a human into a bee. Upon entering the hive, he could finally express his thoughts, desires, and love to them.
This somewhat crudely made film conveyed a profound message.
That message is that God desires to communicate with us. He wants us to comprehend His might, which He demonstrated through the smoke and fire at Mount Sinai.
He also wants to show us His immense love, which is why Jesus entered our world to reveal God’s nature, character, and presence to us.
YouTube Discussion
Rudy Ross, Bruce Kirby, and I discussed this passage on YouTube today.
Real Voices 