Written by: Jill Rowe - Oasis
Exodus 19 v 7-9
So Moses went down and called the older leaders of the people together. He told
them all the words the LORD had commanded him to say. All the people answered
together, “We will do everything he has said.”Then Moses took their
answer back to the LORD.
And the LORD said to Moses, “I will come to you in a thick cloud and speak
to you. The people will hear me speaking with you and will always trust you.”Then
Moses told the LORD what the people had said.
Notes
Some people seem to have far from average lives. It’s as if they are
magnets to the unusual! Exodus depicts Moses as one of those people. In Exodus
3 Moses encounters God in a burning bush – not your normal country walk
experience!
Now in chapter 19 he meets with God up a mountain! Moses is no longer a shepherd having personal encounters with God. He is a mediator between God and the Israelites.
Earlier on (v 5-6) God has given a message to Moses saying that if the Israelites will obey God, they will be a “holy nation” chosen to bring blessing to all the earth.
Moses descends the mountain with this message for the people (v 7) – “Will you obey me and trust me? If you will then you will be a holy nation, special and chosen.”
Imagine the scene. Moses goes up a mountain. What happens when he is up there? What’s it like? How does the voice of God sound? What does it really all mean? Then Moses returns to base camp and communicates this powerful message from God – “Will you obey me?” The reply from the people comes quickly and is a resounding “Yes”.
Sometimes we can make very quick positive responses to God. We give a resounding “Yes”, sometimes because the circumstances seem dramatic or unusual. Always because we know it is the right thing to do.
But our “Yes” only becomes a reality when it is lived out in our lives. When Moses stood before the burning bush he gave a “Yes”. And that was the start of a life of crazy, exciting, challenging, God-filled obedience and it took him up the mountain.
Prayer
Lord, help my “Yes” to you be the start of my obedience, not the
totality of it. And help me to trust you beyond that initial ”Yes”!
Amen
Exodus 19 v 10-17
The LORD said to Moses, “Go to the people and have them spend today
and tomorrow preparing themselves. They must wash their clothes and be ready
by
the day after tomorrow. On that day I, the LORD, will come down on Mount Sinai,
and all the people will see me. But you must set a limit around the mountain
that the people are not to cross. Tell them not to go up on the mountain and
not to touch the foot of it. Anyone who touches the mountain must be put to
death with stones or shot with arrows. No one is allowed to touch him. Whether
it is a person or an animal, he will not live. But the trumpet will make a
long blast, and only then may the people go up on the mountain.”
After Moses went down from the mountain to the people, he made them prepare
themselves for service to God, and they washed their clothes. Then Moses said
to the people, “Be ready in three days. Do not have sexual relations
during this time.”
On the morning of the third day, there was thunder and lightning with a thick
cloud on the mountain. There was a very loud blast from a trumpet, and all
the people in the camp trembled. Then Moses led the people out of the camp
to meet God, and they stood at the foot of the mountain.
Notes
What unfolds in these few verses is a tale of three days of high drama and
expectation. Moses has given the Israelites a message from God. They need
to get ready as they are going to come close to the mountain where God will
be. This is their first ever encounter with their heavenly king! I’m
guessing they were fairly keen and eager to get on with it. The Israelites
had been through a lot and now they had the opportunity to encounter the
God who had rescued them from the oppression of the Egyptians.
What if their urgency and keenness caused them to forget that they were being invited to be near the awesome, powerful, life-giving creator and holy God. Were they in danger of being a little over-familiar with him?
God speaks clearly to Moses. He is to tell the people to prepare themselves physically, mentally and emotionally. They are not to rush up the mountain – it won’t do them any good. They are to approach God with reverence and understanding.
It’s very easy to forget just who God really is. Sometimes we become a little over-familiar. In the classic story of The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, written by C.S. Lewis, Lucy asks Mr Beaver if Aslan is safe. The reply is that Aslan isn’t safe but he is kind. And that is how we should acknowledge God. He isn’t safe, but he is awesome and deeply gracious and loving and he invites us to come close.
Prayer
Lord, help me not to be over-familiar with you. Thank you for loving me so
graciously and deeply. Amen
Exodus 19 v 18-25
Mount Sinai was covered with smoke, because the LORD came down on it in fire.
The smoke rose from the mountain like smoke from a furnace, and the whole
mountain shook wildly. The sound from the trumpet became louder. Then Moses
spoke, and the voice of God answered him.
When the LORD came down on top of Mount Sinai, he called Moses to come up
to the top of the mountain, and Moses went up. The LORD said to Moses, “Go
down and warn the people that they must not force their way through to see
me. If they do, many of them will die. Even the priests, who may come near
me, must first prepare themselves. If they don’t, I, the LORD, will punish
them.”
Moses told the LORD, “The people cannot come up on Mount Sinai, because
you yourself told us, ‘Set a limit around the mountain, and set it apart
as holy.’”
The LORD said to him, “Go down and bring Aaron up with you, but don’t
allow the priests or the people to force their way through. They must not come
up to the LORD, or I will punish them.”
So Moses went down to the people and told them these things.
Notes
Some Hollywood film directors could have real fun with this bit of the story.
A mountain covered in smoke, God descending in fire, an extra-loud trumpet – it
would take a lot of special effects to carry this one off!
I’ve never been invited to meet the queen, but I know that if I was I would spend a lot of time getting ready, practising what I would say and how I would say it - making sure I got everything right! In the previous few verses of this passage we read about the Israelites getting themselves ready to meet with God – trying to do everything they could to get it right.
God speaks to Moses again, telling him to warn them once more not to force their way through to see him (v 21). This warning wasn’t just for the ordinary people - it was also for the priests – the ones who thought they were holy.
So what is going on here? God is reminding the Israelites that he is wonderfully holy. No matter how hard they try to get ready and right to meet him, they can’t compare with this kind of holiness. Theirs will be a pale imitation of his pure, complete holiness which is so full of love.
In your mind, fast forward to first century Palestine. Jesus, the Son of God, enters the world – the image of this holy, invisible God wrapped up in flesh. And Jesus is our mediator before God – it is because of him that we can approach God, not with arrogance or a sense of thinking we are good enough ourselves. And when Jesus walked the earth he showed us exactly what this holy, loving, powerful God is like.
Prayer
Father, thank you for loving creation so much that you sent Jesus. I am in
awe of you. Amen
Exodus 20 v 1-6
Then God spoke all these words:
“I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt where
you were slaves.
“You must not have any other gods except me.
“You must not make for yourselves an idol that looks like anything in the
sky above or on the earth below or in the water below the land. You must not
worship or serve any idol, because I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God. If
you hate me, I will punish your children, and even your grandchildren and great-grandchildren.
But I show kindness to thousands who love me and obey my commands.”
Notes
I have quite clear memories of my first day at secondary school – especially
the school assembly. Over 1,000 pupils all gathered together at the start of
a new school year, some of us wide-eyed and full of expectancy. All of a sudden
the head teacher came in, wearing a black gown. We all stood and then he spoke!
His voice was loud and his message was clear – this was his school and
we would behave accordingly!
Actually, what he was really saying was that school can be a great place to be and a fantastic environment to learn and grow in. But you need to have boundaries or rules that make that kind of environment happen.
In Exodus 20 we read of the Ten Commandments given by God. And God isn’t playing the part of a vicious head teacher issuing rules on how to live. Verse 2 shows us that he is a loving, compassionate God – the God who rescued the Israelites from the slavery in Egypt.
The first commandment that will enable them to live well and flourish is to worship God only (v 3). Other gods are distractions and will take away from life being lived well.
When we make something “God”, we make it the most significant thing in our lives. It becomes the focal point of all our decisions, motivations and choices. Our gods could be our work, image, money, career, success, reputation, people or family. The list is endless. And ultimately all these things trap us.
But the God who rescued the Israelites from slavery, the God who calls us to serve him only, brings us freedom and purpose and enables us to live life fully.
Prayer
Lord, please be the focal point and driving force for my whole life. Help me
not to get distracted by those things which deflect me from you. Amen
Exodus 20 v 7-11
“You must not use the name of the LORD your God thoughtlessly; the LORD
will punish anyone who misuses his name.
“Remember to keep the Sabbath holy. Work and get everything done during
six days each week, but the seventh day is a day of rest to honour the LORD your
God. On that day no one may do any work: not you, your son or daughter, your
male or female slaves, your animals, or the foreigners living in your cities.
The reason is that in six days the LORD made everything—the sky, the earth,
the sea, and everything in them. On the seventh day he rested. So the LORD blessed
the Sabbath day and made it holy.”
Notes
Have you noticed how life has become very fast? And new technological gadgets
help us go even faster. Mobile phones, GPS systems, even fast food – all
of these things mean that we don’t ever need to really stop. In fact,
sleep is something we do to recover from the pace of life, to give us more
energy to run faster the next day and cover more ground.
I got a bit of a surprise whilst on holiday recently. Firstly, life was slower, and secondly, there was “silence”! All I could hear was “nothing” – no cars, planes, people, engines, sirens, announcements, or polyphonic ring tones - just the sound of silence. It was fantastic. The funny thing was that the silence and the more natural pace of life threw me onto God. Somehow a natural rhythm started to beat more clearly and audibly.
In Exodus 20 v 8 God commanded the Israelites to keep the Sabbath holy, to make sure they set aside one day for rest. The implication was that they would need to prepare for this, planning carefully to intentionally protect this special day, a day when they could listen clearly again to the God who had rescued them, set them free and provided for them.
For us this means being rather counter-cultural, going against the pattern of life that we see around us, intentionally choosing to be prepared to rest. And the amazing thing is that when we do we notice God much more clearly.
Prayer
Lord, help me to live life following your pattern, and as I do to learn how
to notice you more clearly in all aspects of my life. Amen
Exodus 20 v 12-17
“Honour your father and your mother so that you will live a long time in
the land that the LORD your God is going to give you.
“You must not murder anyone.
“You must not be guilty of adultery.
“You must not steal.
“You must not tell lies about your neighbour.
“You must not want to take your neighbour’s house. You must not want
his wife or his male or female slaves, or his ox or his donkey, or anything that
belongs to your neighbour.”
Notes
A recent survey discovered that only three of the original Ten Commandments
given to Moses were seen as valid today! Maybe it’s because they are
seen to be too difficult to live up to or maybe not relevant for life in
the 21st century, or perhaps it is because they read like a list of “Don’t
do that” statements from an angry parent who is disappointed at the
behaviour of their teenager!
But we need to get behind the commandments. Why would God have given Moses these particular statements? I wonder if it is actually because God knows us so well and loves us so dearly. This isn’t about God being angry. It is about him being a truly caring and compassionate God.
You see, whenever we as people choose to go against commandments such as these, there are consequences that go beyond the original action. Those consequences are always damaging and often far reaching, with the impact going way beyond those originally involved. Too often, the headlines in our newspapers remind us of this.
So these commandments are sent with loving care. It’s almost as if God is saying: “Don’t do this, not because I want to take away your freedom, but because I know that if you do, the consequences will hurt you and those you love. And that is the last thing I want to happen to you.”
Prayer
Thank you, Lord, that you love me so much and always want the best for me.
I commit myself today to try to live in line with what is your best. Amen
Exodus 20 v 18-26
When the people heard the thunder and the trumpet, and when they saw the
lightning and the smoke rising from the mountain, they shook with fear and
stood far
away from the mountain. Then they said to Moses, “Speak to us yourself,
and we will listen. But don’t let God speak to us, or we will die.”
Then Moses said to the people, “Don’t be afraid, because God
has come to test you. He wants you to respect him so you will not sin.”
The people stood far away from the mountain while Moses went near the dark
cloud where God was. Then the LORD told Moses to say these things to the Israelites: “You
yourselves have seen that I talked with you from heaven. You must not use gold
or silver to make idols for yourselves; do not worship these gods in addition
to me.
“Make an altar of dirt for me, and sacrifice on it your whole burnt offerings
and fellowship offerings, your sheep and your cattle. Worship me in every place
that I choose, and I will come and bless you. If you use stones to make an altar
for me, don’t use stones that you have shaped with tools. When you use
any tools on them, you make them unsuitable for use in worship. And you must
not go up to my altar on steps, or people will be able to see under your clothes.”
Notes
At different points in our lives we have what some people like to call defining
moments – events that stick with us in our memories for the rest of
our lives. It is always fascinating to listen to people who have lived a
long time and can recount stories of survival during difficult circumstances.
These stories represent life-changing experiences – events that leave
a mark!
In this passage we read about the response of the Israelites to their life-changing encounter with God. The problem is that instead of inspiring them and causing them to draw nearer to God, they appear to be paralysed by fear.
I’m not great on fun-fair rides; they frighten the life out of me. I remember being really brave (once!) and venturing onto a ride that was called “Skydive”. This basically involved being strapped into a seat and flying around for what seemed like a lifetime but was actually no more than two minutes! I was very afraid and decided the best thing to do was to shut my eyes and stay as still as I could! As a result I missed the fun of the ride – I was paralysed by fear.
Here in verse 20 we come across a verse that doesn’t seem to make sense; Moses says to the Israelites, “Don’t be afraid, because God has come to test you”. They have just had an earth-shattering encounter with God, including trembling mountains adding breathtaking effect. But now they are paralysed with fear. The actual meaning of the Hebrew verb “to test” is best translated as “experience”. So it is as if God is saying to his people: “Don’t be afraid – now that you have encountered me, let that stick with you in your memory, reminding you to live life differently following the ways I have commanded.”
Prayer
Lord, today and every day, help me to remember you and your faithfulness. Let
this knowledge be rooted deep in me. Amen
word-on-the-web uses the Scripture text
taken from the Youth Bible, New Century Version (Anglicised Edition) copyright
1993 by Word Publishing Milton Keynes