Fear of God
29 Jan 2011 Leave a Comment
Reading through Exodus 20. It has been 3 months since the Israelites have left Egypt. Moses continues to commune with God up on Mount Sinai. I love how they talk. God communing with man. He is so relational. And yet He is so holy! The Israelites agreed to take part in the covenant that God had proposed. They were to wash their clothes and be ready on the third day. No one was allowed to go up the mountain or even touch the foot of it. Whoever touched it would be put to death. Only when the ram’s horn sounded a long blast may they go up on the mountain. (Exodus 19:1-15)
Now I want you to imagine these next verses that you are about to read. Exodus 19:16-21
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. The LORD descended to the top of Mount Sinai and called Moses to the top of the mountain.
Can you imagine sitting in the camp waiting for the presence of God on the third day? Your clothes have been washed, you have been consecrated. This meeting with God is real and it is serious. He makes sure they know not to even touch the mountain. He sets a limit around the mountain. If you go beyond it, you die. They begin to hear thunder and see lightening on the third day in the morning. A thick cloud comes over the mountain and a very loud trumpet blast.
I love how He seemed to establish His power with them at first. Parting the Red Sea took some strength. Then He provided food gently every morning as it lay on the grass like dew. He was very attentive to their needs and their complaints. And then they see Him for the first time as one holy God. He is the great “I AM” just as He told Moses, He now displays with power and authority what that means. They had lived around a lot of false gods in Egypt, but this was no false god that they encountered that day at Mt. Sinai. He had to establish the fear of God in them. Why? It says in 20:20, that the fear of God will be with you to keep you from sinning.
What a thought Lord that you displayed your power and holiness to place the fear of you so deep in their hearts and minds. Lord God place that fear within us. Not fear of death but fear of living without your presence. God, we need you. We are desperate for you. I pray that the sin that so easily entangles us will be cut loose by your power and strength. Thank you Lord for your righteousness and that no one can come near you without the blood of your Son, Jesus. It is only by His blood that we are worthy. Thank you Lord that one day we will see you face to face. Until then, may we climb up on that mountain of faith and keep communing with you.
