096 - Did You Feel The Mountains Tremble?

You pick up your Bible and one is there more here than meets the is there something here for me. I mean it's just words printed on paper right it may look like just print on the page but it's more than Inc. join us for the next half hour, as we explore God's word together as we learn how to explore it on our as we ask God to meet us there in its pages welcome to more than what makes makes me trouble is when the ground from vendor not so much when it's really close.

This is right over my head going today and see what happens in the desert. That's got to make Israel tremble at the mountain trembles today on more than Inc. wonderful to him Jim and I'm Dorothy and you joined us as we are walking away through Exodus walking with them in the desert. Well, yeah, and this section where we come to Exodus is when we come to the mountain, and so this is one of those passages in Exodus that everybody's a little bit familiar with, but may not really be aware of it went to what the details yes of the quick recap was they were in Egypt at beginning of Exodus, God called Moses to come back to Egypt to lead them out. He leads them out. They get the Red Sea, the God parts the Red Sea got drums Egyptian army in the Red Sea and they push off into the desert. They've had some mother had some adventures in the desert. The grumbling little grumbling. Yeah, a few unexpected things Hassan. Mirabal some attacks from Amalek places both have water and don't have water and also have the cloud. The cloud presence of God. The cloud by day and fire by night wonderful thing and they follow it work goes and they been receiving yeah and so all this time as Wheatley's restarting the chapter 19 we see the work we just barely 3 months out of Egypt like exactly since the beginning of chapter 19. This is the third as they set out riveting and they came here at three months and finally try to get oriented or just Egypt. And remember that Sinai.

This is a place assimilated Moses. This is the right mountain God's old stump. He's been here before.

This is the place where God revealed himself back in chapter 3, I am who I am: bring my people out so that this is where you got that instruction.

So today we we have kind of a face-to-face with God in way but was quite safe face-to-face about as close to you because there's this interesting pattern here where Moses goes up and down goes up and down, back and forth between God and people, and I think if you are drawing your biblical understanding from the movies you think Moses just went up on the mountain. One time he came down with a thing told the people well not exactly. So Sinai for roughly a year and so that's right they get here and just in this chapter 19 we see Moses going up coming down.

Going up coming down. Going up so that you know that's an interesting pattern. Yeah.

So that's a good thing point of this encampment because the they've been walking for about three weeks. 313 months. Yeah. And in this this email it were camped at the base of mouse on this scene were were encamped here will be here for a year plus and I counted about a curiosity chapters in the Bible are devoted to what happens where the camp is an exit chapters and hold happens in the Bible and I counted more than 50 I give up coming after interesting so what were so this is the place to be here for a while at this encampment at the foot of the mountain and things are going happens… Dive in and see what happens. But remember this is a this is team juncture in the life of his or were they going from being slaves or other people tell you how to live and how the culture supposed to run and now God is sculpting a nation and a culture in a society that with him at the center of it so these are some of first steps to get that set so reinforce chapter 9 Exodus. I love this part. I'm in the first six verses before. So beginning in chapter 19 on the third new moon after the people of Israel had gone out of the land of Egypt. On that day they came into the wilderness of Sinai, they set out from ref demon came into the wilderness of Sinai and encamped in the wilderness there. Israel encamped before the mountain while Moses went up to God. The Lord called to him out of the mountain, saying, thus you shall say to the house of Jacob, and tell the people of Israel. You yourselves have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I bore you on eagles wings, and brought you to myself. Now therefore, if you will indeed obey my voice and keep my covenant, you shall be my treasured possession among all peoples, for all the earth is mine and you shall be to me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.

These are the words that you shall speak to the people of Israel to stop there because yeah jaw-dropping statement yeah and it's a huge huge overview of the whole future of Israel.

Right here and once well he addresses them the house of Jacob, and the people of Israel, which harkens back to the promise made to Abraham Knight Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and Jacob's 12 sons became the people of Israel by the sons of Israel, but then they are about to be grown into the nation.

So you know, setting them squarely in contacts you need to know who you are.

Need to know who I am. This is a transforming situation to form a country that's not like anything that's ever happened and it's really interesting to me. Okay so I have the microphone on a black versus many times were told they went into the wilderness of Sinai and camp there they came to the wilderness over and over and over again through four times in the says like I was driving home there out here at this holy place. There's nothing else to do. You are here to meet with God exactly right.

And without God baby hopeless out in the desert in the wilderness right in God's is literally in the biggest picture again taking them from a wilderness of existence of slaves in Egypt and as wanderers and desert into a home that he's prepared for well giving them an identity. This is he saying to them, you know you know what I've done for you saw me do it right versus that 456 but he says I bore you on eagles wings, and I brought you to myself. I think this is fascinating to stop the end of verse four is not bringing them to the wilderness to bring Ryan the promise land.

He's bringing them to sorry need to me so fundamentally this nation that is being birthed right here before her very eyes, is a nation that is founded on a relationship relationship and that's just that's profoundly true here. All all through the rest of the old and New Testament, is that society and that God's best desire for us in terms of how we live is always in relationship with him uses that imagery and I bore you on eagles wings right has an eagle doing Eagle comes down and collects what it's after and just tears it away beyond site right just litter them out of where they were and brought them to this holy place so he could establish this relationship with them. Yeah, I miss this made me think about a passage in Deuteronomy 32 them when you talk with eagles about the care involved with rails so and Moses recounting this in turn is near the end of his commentary on history and 3211 he says like an eagle that stirs up its nest that flutters over its young protective spreading out its wings catching them tearing them on its pinions. The Lord alone, guided him no foreign God was with them. So that's the picture here, God is actually taking care of them like a mighty Eagle yeah so brings amount with great power to himself himself and promises them so now there is a little bit of a conditional statement here little bit.

It's a big conditional statement verse five now therefore right because I brought you to myself because of who you are now therefore, if you will indeed obey my voice and keep my covenant, then you shall be many names.

These three things, but but we need to stop for a minute on those two words that are translated here.

Obey and keep because these two Hebrew words we find them together links together all through the times we get lazy and presuming the same thing.

They do not mean the same as they don't even necessarily mean the first surface thing right because obey is that he rumored she really means. Listen you to listen pay heed to listen with a heart that is prepared to respond appropriately.

If you will indeed listen to my voice right let it penetrate you and keep my covenant, so that Keith means to treasure to try to guard carefully and that takes on a little flavor.

When God says the next thing and you will be mine treasure.

Yeah right. If you treasure me.

I will treasure you. So if we look to him and listen to him and and treasure what he says in the covenant right you will treasure us and if you course. Whatever you treasure you guard you pay attention to. That means it's it's in the foremost of your thinking all the time so the next logical thing is, of course, you will keep it, you will pay attention to what God has said if you are treasuring this words you talk to. Too bad. Many times this mischaracterizes works works right well yeah you do all those things, God will love you and that's not really the case at all here that I love you your is the deal here is in a very authentic kind of way.

Do you look to the Lord, do you listen to him, do you wait on him. Do you treasure everything he says do you realize a relationship with him is the core of life itself to you treasure that if you do you'll do what he says.

I mean that's just the way it is. If you if you understand how much he loved you and he says well I love you so I'm giving you this advice.

What is more than the covenant idea and if you live inside that covenant you find like I love you and if you're going to live in a love relationship with me. Racist things will follow you to curse me. Jesus even said that if you if you love me you'll be looking like a keeper yes was exactly the same kind of thing ends up its very authentic. It's not a matter of earning God's respect is the matter got ready treasures you and if you treasure who he is. You'll do this naturally anyway. So let's look at these three things he says if you obey and keep you will be my treasure, my special treasure among all the peoples, for all the earth is mine and you shall be to me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation, so those those as well. In Peter's writing. They shop in Revelation. The idea being a keenly linear relation and other places but it occurs to me that this also is a reaching back to the covenant with Abraham that said to Abraham I will you I will bless all the nations of the earth right I'll make you a blessing I will bless you and all the nations, yes of the blessing is not meant to stop and pull up in Israel at the slow through Israel. Almost as an invitation to a larger world that they especially belong to God as an example as a gift as a kingdom of priests to serve the rest of the world right half of the God they belong to, which helps us understand why the called priest is not just a religious right kind of things. The fact that God saying, to use you to be the go-betweens between me and the rest and what's beautiful about this is that when Peter picks it up and in first Peter two. He is addressing Gentile children shall test you were not people, but now you are people right where kingdom of priests holy to God to to proclaim the excellencies of the one who called you out of darkness so know Peter clearly understood by Best Buy that New Testament times that this promise made Israel fulfilled in Christ now extends to those who are children of Abraham by faith.

So you could almost say that God establishes Israel for the full kind of evangelistic purposes.

Omission I that's a fair stance away from way it a night nation level to say to the world.

This is my intention for all mankind.

And what I usually call what is is Israel is like a model nation since the going to demonstrate in the flesh and and even he says right here you're a holy nation.

Holy just means set apart for different people on purpose, and that difference that set apartness that I'm going to establish people see that there's something different about these people and they can say we have got some relationship so you know and as the chapter in.

The drive home to the meaning of his holiness the separation separateness yeah yeah what will… Well I guess we yeah we need to press on and like to spend about three weeks in these verse. These verses there from three to the end. Six are really coming that that is like the headline of all of the Old Testament sentences.

You wonder how Israel fits into God's planned visit right here so God cannot start unfolding how that's gonna work out an exercise delivered you and brought you out to be mine to be my initial relationship. Richard yeah yeah I look through as well. How many times in Deuteronomy, that the whole idea about priests and treasure nations up or that shall come again and again over and over to okay will speak up and seven okay so much to look at. So Moses came and call the elders of the people and set before them. All these words that the Lord had commanded him. Okay, so he had gone up the mountain, he went up to hear that from God. And then he came comes down called the others that people set before them.

All these words of the Lord had commanded him all the people answered together and said all the Lord spoke of all you do and Moses reported the words of the people to the Lord. So here. He must've gone back on and the Lord said to Moses, behold, and coming to you, and I think cloud people may hear when I speak with.

You may also believe you forever. Okay so that's here right there is the same word that is translated as obey. Back in verse five. So were talking about hearing with it train, letting it sink you yeah and this demonstration of the cloud is so that people can look and say I guess this is God talking about what is next is coming from God. So when Moses told the words of the people to the Lord. The Lord said to Moses, go to the people and consecrate them today and tomorrow and let them wash their garments and be ready for the third day for on the third day the Lord will come down on Mount Sinai in the sight of all the people, and you shall set limits for the people all around saying take care not to go up onto the mountain or touch the edge of it.

Whoever touches the mountain shall be put to death. No hearing shall touch him but he shall be stoned or shot beast or man, he shall not live when the trumpet sounds a long blast they shall come up to the mountain so Moses went down from the mountain to the people and consecrated people and they washed their garments and he said to the people be ready for the third day. Do not go near woman between pause there for second so he's Lord said to Moses to come and get them filled and it's interesting he says is number three day delay on the third day need to consecrate yourself now which is like well if things washer close.

This is important event like when a little wedding.

I put on tie-in. I get cleaned up their days of preparation of this is this is a respectful preparation for the appearance of God himself is coming near the got three days to do this and so just a warning that here comes. Be ready.

That's the pottery ready for the third day coincidence about the third source shows up in a lot of places like old the resurrection. The appearance of Jesus from the dead, or the appearance or God himself got work when God reveals himself and his power.

Yeah. So that's what were looking at this 1 to 60 okay I'll read this okay okay so on the morning of the third day here comes. There were thunders, and lightnings. I think cloud on the mountain in a very loud trumpet blast so that all the people in the camp rumbled and then Moses brought the people out of the camp to meet God and they took their stand at the foot of the mountain now. Mount Sinai was wrapped in smoke, because the Lord had descended on fire and the smoke of it went up like the smoke of the kiln and the whole mountain rumbled greatly and as the sound of the trumpet grew louder and louder. Moses spoke and God answered him and thunder and 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. There so here's the big meeting the big meeting at the top of the mountain. Have you ever wondered where the trumpets came from here. That question is the Lord himself long trumpets, I think so.

You know in Revelation that angels are blowing yeah and in ancient societies. You know you mustered everyone together with low arousal trumpets.

They were to coordinate attention is what they were.

And so here's God doing that. I think you bought him from heaven. Yeah. So were ready. God comes down and smoke on the top mountain Moses goes up and now they're going to be face-to-face, so did you notice that in verse 16 that people trembled at the trumpet blast and then in verse 18. The whole mountain temple mountain traveling God touches down, the earth trembles as a big event in creation itself is trembling will this find out what happens after okay and the Lord said to Moses, go down and warn the people, lest they break through to the Lord to look at many of the parish and let the priest to come near to the Lord. Consecrate themselves lest the Lord break out against them, 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 consecrate. It got 24 and the Lord said to him, go down and come up bringing Aaron with you, but do not let the priest and the people break through to come up to the Lord blessed break out against them. So Moses went down to the people and told them so he's gone up and down, up and down, up and down (we've seen what's taken place over the source of literal picture of an intercessor.

Okay, exactly.

So that's the pattern I think it's mainly down here is very visually clear that Moses at this point is the mediator between God and Israel exactly exactly and it's very visible, and may also just just by this restraint of not going to mount staying within outside London the mountain right they know that God God is coming there is going to some purposes there which he hasn't told quite yet what it's all about is coming there and the people can come up close, but they can't come near him right and that's the gigantic message here that's also doubled over. When we look at the tabernacle in the template on right. God is in our midst and it should bring trembling in fear because of his power and you can come near, but you can't come close, but you can't come near well you can only even come near by Tatian and only according to God's direction God's instruction. There is only one way to approach this holy got God's driving home here. This separation between a holy God in the sinful people and yet the separation that we ourselves because of our sin impose right and so this is exactly what Scott saying he's saying he say he loves him and he wants to be in the midst but they just can't come close because of sin before consecrate repeated and repeated and repeated consecrate something means to to cleanse it in order to devote God right so you know this is serious business here it's it's like us is like a single focus your your growing cycle focused on one thing. That's the consecration consecrated for this one thing and I put everything else aside for second so it occurred to you why such elaborate warnings and precautions. Why is it so dangerous because of judgment to be God's presence. Perhaps you oh yeah yeah and interestingly enough, Moses is allowed up there and we could ask a lot of questions about what this meant to symbolize but but I've always wondered where the Moses himself was terrified of this entire process. Well you now.

We have seen Moses growing from the from his first encounter with God.

Here through the plagues in Egypt through learning to be a leader.

During these months, beginning months in the wilderness, and now he is he he is aware of the holiness of God, but he also is aware that he has been invited right God has initiated this relationship God is the one they called him out of the burning bush in first class right so God's in charge of this and can allow Moses to come up there but again you know the big problem here even when you get to the temple. Later on, is that with God living in the midst of Israel. Raymond still you know 90% of what they did at the Temple was consumed with taking care of the problem of their own personal sin sacrifice that want to write stuff like that. So sin is an ever present problem that's in the periphery of the temple in the periphery of the nearness of God that is a that's a deal killer. You can come any closer than those which is why he asked have to get past the sacrifice. Go right where God is the sin we dealt with some very visibly were seen here that God loves his people, but his people have a problem with sin, and so they cannot come here were God was holy and just and who, in whose presence and cannot be but there riddled with well and he said if you hear my voice and keep my covenant right regard me as holy. Listen to what I tell you, and respond appropriately. Remember who you are and who I that's the basis on which we come to God. You can't just come blithely trip again, but still I come back to the fact that they they and us are his treasured possession. Yes, we are his treasured possession. But we are we are of treasured possession. This flawed bison of our own making. And there's the conflict in the entire book. Well, that's the whole point of my the Word became flesh and dwelt writing tests right demonstrate the love of God right God so loved the world that you gave his only begotten son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have everlasting yeah and I'm structure to that God is creating a relationship with the nation of Israel. It's based on his words, yes, which is very interest on communications communication into this very day.

Our relationship with God is built on his word and its truth of his Word the Bible. That's that's the essence of it on here in the entire nation of Israel is doing this so so there understand this again wants to communicate was clearly well I can do. So starting this speaks to God, whose God is not has to impress or bring offerings to in order to provoke him to speak right already opened the conversation he has taken the initiative and now he's going to use Israel as they follow the covenant to be a spokesman for him in the rest of the world, which is why says to Abraham and all the nations will be blessed through you. This is the plan and so I'm sort of as an echo of that pattern. He's establishing Moses as this type of mediator because first of the 256 says there's one God and one mediator between God and man, the man Christ Jesus gave his life as a ransom at the right time.

Well Moses is not fulfilling that part of the type but he is picturing a lot of that one mediator between God and men who goes between heaven and earth in a figurative way to exactly right now before we leave is run out of time and really get to what got next time to don't miss that. But I I had to I had to go back to Hebrews 1212 there is a fascinating contrast of the writer of Hebrews does between Mount Sinai, which is what were looking at here, fearful, trembling right wire smoke don't drag near and the contrast in the new covenant, which is Mount Zion, and so this is so this is what he says about our coming to this new covenant of Mount Zion is in Hebrews 12 verse 18 so good for you have not come to what may be touched, a blazing fire of darkness and gloom and a tempest in the sound of a trumpet and a voice whose words made the hearers bag that no further messages be spoken to them just for they could not endure the order that was given even a piece touches the mountain shall be stone indeed, so terrifying was the site that most said I tremble with fear. But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to innumerable angels in festal gathering, and to the assembly of the firstborn who are enrolled in heaven, and to God, the judge of all spirits righteous and to see Jesus mediator. Sprinkle.

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