The
God of Glory is also the God who speaks. The author of Hebrews made this
explicitly clear. In Hebrews 1:1 we are told that God spoke long ago in many
ways and at different times through His prophets, but in this last day, He is
still speaking through His Son. The primary reason God came down to Mount Sinai
was to give them the law. All the magnificent happenings: the thunders, lightning, smoke, fire and trumpet
sound and the quaking of the mountain, have only one objective.
It was set up to prove that it was God who had spoken to them. If God did not
come with all that manifestation, the people could have disputed that what
Moses gave them did not come from the Lord. God wanted them to know with certitude
that it was Him who had given them the law and not Moses. Today God still wants
to speak to us. There is a necessity for
us to be ready to hear. The Word of God is His message to us. Each day, we need
to take a bite size and chew on it. We learn to hear what God is saying to us
through the word. We need to set aside the time and allow God to download His
specific word to us.
Approaching God is a sacred thing. While He loves
us to draw near to Him, He will not allow us to treat Him with frivolity. We
must approach God with the respect and honour that He is worthy of. God Himself
made this clear to the children of Israel. Earlier,
in verses 12-13, He had already sternly warned them saying “Beware that
you do not go up on the mountain or touch the border of it; whoever
touches the mountain shall surely be put to death. No hand shall touch
him, but he shall surely be stoned or shot through; whether beast or
man, he shall not live.” He reiterated it again in verse 21, saying to
Moses, “Go down, warn the people, so
that they do not break through to the Lord to gaze, and many of
them perish.” Who were the priests that God spoke about here in verses
21-22? As far as we know Aaron and his descendants were only anointed as
priests in chapter 28. It was likely that God was referring to the first
born of each family who was functioning as a priest in the interim. Setting the
limit was a way of showing how the people could approach God and come into His
presence. It behoves us to be careful when we draw near to Him.
In
Hebrews 12:22-24, Mount Sinai was contrasted with Mount Zion. Thankfully, we
the church had come to the latter one, to the heavenly Jerusalem, “…and
to myriads of angels, to the general assembly and church of
the firstborn who are enrolled in heaven, and to God, the Judge of
all, and to the spirits of the righteous made perfect, and
to: Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled
blood, which speaks better than the blood of Abel”. Mount
Sinai was designed to keep the people out. But Mount Jerusalem was for us to
draw near. With boldness, let us draw near to God and enjoy His Holy presence.
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