TUESDAY
Yesterday we briefly explored the covenant relationship Yahweh is establishing with his people at Mt. Sinai. God first presents the covenant, then the people must accept the terms of the covenant. We see the full acceptance of the covenant in chapter 24, which we will talk about on Thursday. But God first tests them. Think of test here less as tempt or lure into failure and more as a training or refining.
Exodus 19:7-25 7 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. 8 The people all responded together, “We will do everything the Lord has said.” So Moses brought their answer back to the Lord.
9 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 always put their trust in you.” Then Moses told the Lord what the people had said.
10 And the Lord said to Moses, “Go to the people and consecrate them today and tomorrow. Have them wash their clothes 11 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. 12 Put limits for the people around the mountain and tell them, ‘Be careful that you do not approach the mountain or touch the foot of it. Whoever touches the mountain is to be put to death. 13 They are to be stoned or shot with arrows; not a hand is to be laid on them. No person or animal shall be permitted to live.’ Only when the ram’s horn sounds a long blast may they approach the mountain.”
14 After Moses had gone down the mountain to the people, he consecrated them, and they washed their clothes. 15 Then he said to the people, “Prepare yourselves for the third day. Abstain from sexual relations.”
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. 17 Then Moses led the people out of the camp to meet with God, and they stood at the foot of the mountain. 18 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, and the whole mountain trembled violently. 19 As the sound of the trumpet grew louder and louder, Moses spoke and the voice of God answered him.
20 The Lord descended to the top of Mount Sinai and called Moses to the top of the mountain. So Moses went up 21 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. 22 Even the priests, who approach the Lord, must consecrate themselves, or the Lord will break out against them.”
23 Moses said to the Lord, “The people cannot come up Mount Sinai, because you yourself warned us, ‘Put limits around the mountain and set it apart as holy.’ ”
24 The Lord replied, “Go down and bring Aaron up with you. But the priests and the people must not force their way through to come up to the Lord, or he will break out against them.”
25 So Moses went down to the people and told them.
Exodus 20:18-21 18 When the people saw the thunder and lightning and heard the trumpet and saw the mountain in smoke, they trembled with fear. They stayed at a distance 19 and said to Moses, “Speak to us yourself and we will listen. But do not have God speak to us or we will die.”
20 Moses said to the people, “Do not be afraid. God has come to test you, so that the fear of God will be with you to keep you from sinning.”
21 The people remained at a distance, while Moses approached the thick darkness where God was.
Talk about an experience with the presence of God! Wow! Thunder, lightening, a loud trumpet blast, the mountain covered in smoke. The people tremble. They tell Moses to go speak to God on their behalf lest they die.
God is here training his people in the fear of the Lord. As Dallas Willard says, “God is not mean, but he is dangerous.” As C.S. Lewis says of Aslan in Narnia, “He is not a tame lion.” God is awesome beyond compare and we must never forget that. He is loving and kind, but he is also holy, transcendent, and powerful beyond anything we can imagine.
Sacred space is where God is. Unlike the gods of Egypt, Yahweh will not be approached on humans terms. He will only be approached on his terms. There is a definitive boundary between God and his sinful creatures, hence the boundary around the mountain. Only those who have been invited by God may approach and only in the ways that God has defined. Yahweh will not be controlled by humans. He is to be trusted and surrendered to.
God tells Moses to consecrate the people. This means to make holy or set apart for special treatment. They are to wash their clothes, implying that God is clean and nothing unclean can enter his presence. They are not to touch the mountain except at God’s invitation, implying that humans can only approach God at his invitation and in his way. They are to abstain from sexual relations. This isn’t saying that sex is wrong or unclean. Instead, it is likely to counter their former beliefs from Egypt that the gods were to be approached through sex. So, Yahweh will not be approached through sexual expression. This is how they are to be consecrated for this ceremonial acceptance of the covenant.
Reflection
Imagine this scene. God descending on a mountain in fire, a billowing cloud of smoke, a loud trumpet blast. Reflect on the awesomeness of God, the holiness, the transcendence of God. In that light, reflect on verse 20:
20 Moses said to the people, “Do not be afraid. God has come to test you, so that the fear of God will be with you to keep you from sinning.”
Do not be afraid to approach God but also fear God, to keep you from sinning. He is dangerous but he is not mean. We can only approach God in the ways that God has defined for us. For us today, under the new covenant, we can only approach God through faith in Jesus. He alone is the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to God but through him (Jn. 14:6). Thank God for making a way for us to approach him through Jesus. Yet, there needs to remain this healthy awe, reverence, fear of God to keep us from approaching him in any way other than the name and the righteousness of Jesus, who consecrates us.