
The Story
The Israelites are camped at the foot of Mount Sinai. They have been being travelling for two whole months. The base-of mountains are generally fertile areas where evaporated water runs down to the land beneath. The Lord calls Moses from the mountain and tells him what to say to the people, Yahweh says, “You’ve seen now what I can do, you have seen now how I can protect you and care for you”, but importantly Yahweh states “…and brought you to myself”. The intention of the whole Exodus.
God goes on to say, that if they fully obey him and keep His covenant they will be His treasured possession. Moses takes this back to the Elders for discussion, they all respond with a yes and Moses returns to the Lord with the reply. The Lord says He will come to talk to Moses in a thick cloud, but this time the people will hear the voice of God conversing with him, Yahweh says “so they will always put their trust in Moses!” The people have to prepare themselves, their are rituals of abstinence and cleaning. They are then warned not to approach the mountain or touch afoot on it or they will be put to death. On the third day, there were trumpet blasts and thunder and Moses leads the people to the foot of the mountain.
The trumpet sounds grew louder and Moses spoke, and the voice of God answered him. God comes down on to the top of the mountain and Moses goes up. God sends Moses backdown to warn the people not to push through to see God, (a contrast to the woman who uninvited grasps the hem-of Jesus years later.) Only Moses and Aaron are to come onto the mountain. A test in obedience maybe, but also sharp reminder that holiness is to be set apart, that the Lord is not of this world.
Whats happening with Moses?
Moses does a lot of leg work here, he’s up and down that mountain fulfilling his role as prophet in a very practical and obvious way. The people hear the Lord talk with him expressly so they know to trust that the words do indeed come from God, not an interpretation or a woolly ‘perhaps we should….’. This empowers Moses with the authority he needs to lead and also takes some of the pressure off. The Israelites have questioned Moses’s judgements time and time again. Now they know it is the Lords bidding, any issues should be taken up with God, which of course they won’t. Was Moses relieved ? I would think it was a little of the burden lifted. Moses doesn’t make an arbitrary decision for the acceptance of Yahwehs invitation, he gathers the elders and they discuss. I’m sure there was a moment when all the obstinate behaviour of the last months didn’t make this seem a done deal to Moses, I wonder did he convey the words and then hold his breath before the decision. Moses would have had those moments in front of the burning bush on replay, when the Lord had first spoken to him here in this place. telling him that his people would worship Yahweh on this very mountain. How impossible that would have seemed back then, how impossible that he would be the one chosen to do this. I find myself smiling at how God reminds Moses not to allow the people onto the mountain and Moses defends his people, like a biased parent, “oh we’ve said not to, of course they wouldn’t” as an onlooker we know Moses’ family are not always so obedient, but I love that he, as their elected stepparent still sees a goodness in them. They have threatened his life, they have turned on him over and over, yet his fatherly heart still loves them. This is Moses’ heart again being formed into the likeness of the God he follows.
Whats happening with the Israelites?
Moses ascends and descends the mountain seven times, the number of perfection and completion. The first are preparatory, obedience to His word, the obligation to hear and obey and the promise of the blessing. The next is the practical arrangements for this to be solemnised. They are made aware of the intensity and severity of this promise. And here the Israelites are asked for personal response, a sensitivity and respect to the presence of God and their own responsibility to be clean and prepared for it. Moses can’t wash each of them, Moses can’t marshal abstinence in the beds of each couple, they have to each make a commitment. We see how the individual responses come together as a whole for a collective blessing.
When Moses returns down the mountain with Gods proposal to the Elders, we don’t hear of a big and long debate on how best to respond. The decision is decisive and unanimous, hooray ! I wonder what the motivation was? They have no idea of what the rules will be yet, no clue as to what will be asked of them. I think we start a life of faith in the same way don’t we? Was it fear ? What does the alternative look like ? What would Yahweh do if they rejected the proposal? Was it for a life of ease? This isn’t what they get but the miraculous provision of water and food must have made this a good possibility. Or was it just possible that after all the Lord had done and shown them they had begun to trust in His love for them? For perhaps the first time they hear the Lords voice as individuals, the intimacy has taken yet another step deeper. Not only do they see all the proof they could ever need that Moses was in fact easily conversing with a mighty God, but that they too could hear His voice. That they too could possibly have the relationship that Moses had in their accepted role as Yahwehs treasured possession. Can you Imagine the awe and the fear when the trumpets sounded? Can you imagine how your heart would be thumping in your chest as the mountain shook and the cloud descended? Wouldn’t you be questioning if you had consecrated yourself properly? Would you have checked you were far enough back from the cordon to be doubly sure that even the end of your Sandal strap wasn’t breaking the rules? I would. When faced with this awesome scene I would have liked to think this would be life changing in how I obeyed and worshipped. I think it would have served the right amount of Holy fear that the covenant I had agreed to would find a place of highest importance for me…..and then as we go on to see, our flawed and fragile nature takes over.
What do we learn about God?
God comes down. We know that God only comes down to connect with His children, here He is in the form of a voice and cloud. Just as He appears in the baptism of Jesus and at His transfiguration. This is not the every day encounter, this is profound and a significant moment that all the Israelites get to witness. God is giving authority to Moses, He allows them to see that Moses is under His authority and therefore to listen to Moses is a sure way of following the Lord. Should there be any doubt in how to follow, how to obey, there is a physical and accessible human being to ask or to emulate. Moses is a type for Jesus, a less than perfect pre-curser of what and who is to come. God himself will come down and be the perfect example but the Israelites and the world were someway off being ready for this coming culmination. We are here in the early chapters of Gods love story.
As we are about to enter into the covenant, the giving of the Laws I think it would be a good time to look at how the Lord has turned the hard hearts of this huge group of people, who never knew Him, who never trusted Him, who never worshipped Him to a place of covenantal union. It starts with the formation of a leader, Moses. He rebuilds this one mans identity so he is equipped to lead others in finding theirs. He waits for the time when the Israelites are growing in their dissatisfaction, He allows the struggles to form their desires for something better, no one moves if things are bearable. Just to hit that home a little deeper, Moses innocently makes things harder still by his request for them to be allowed time off for worship. God hardens Pharaohs heart to the request.
Then the plagues, a disempowering of all that was thought powerful in the land, all the falsely worshipped gods of Egypt are discredited one by one. Each plague reveals the next fallacy. When the pain hits Pharaoh personally he lets them go. With no idea of how or what will happen the Israelites take a chance on Yahweh. Yahweh may well be another Master, but when life can’t get much worse then its worth jumping. Yahweh uses the first two months as a Desert bootcamp. “Cry out to me and watch me answer” time and time again. “I will allow every trial so you know that what ever you face I am there” Each step He draws closer to them as individuals, they are being formed for freedom not slavery. After the courtship, yahweh asks “are you ready to commit to me like I have committed to you? Each of the people must have agreed, each of them must have thought that this is the God to belong to. Whether through fear or awe or just plain common sense, they say yes. God says you don’t come to me, I, the Lord your God will come down to you. Yahweh descends onto the mountain and because of their fiat, their yes, they hear the voice of God, personally, as individuals, Seen, known, desired, chosen and loved. The antithesis of slavery. There is no rush for a God who is outside of time. He waits, the story will unfold, His will accomplished. And here we are thousands of years later still walking the pages of His book.
What do we learn from this story?
You can’t miss the correlation between the covenant being made here and the ideal we are given for marriage. There is the time of introduction, of getting to know the other, in trial and in good times. There is the the journey of discovery before you get the privilege of ‘seeing’ your spouse, a time for building an intimacy that is of the heart not of the body. The sharing of your nakedness, the Physical encounter comes after the promise. There is the invitation first to a lifetime commitment, not a one sided contract but a two sided covenant, that remains even if one side is unfaithful. We know the Israelites will test this. We know that daily we ourselves test this. But the God who is faithful remains true to the promise He makes, despite the waywardness of His bride.
The Israelites seize the invitation to be Gods chosen people. The short but intense journey has built a desire for Him in each heart that there appears to be no hesitation. In every other sense we are advised to count we have sufficient bricks before building a tower, but here, and for us maybe, the realisation is we come with no bricks at all, that we give ourselves to the one who has all the bricks, the mortar and the plans on what to build. I wonder if we stepped into the covenant with a plan for a tower in mind, an idea of what we could build with the Lord on our team. I wonder if you still clutch those plans or have you put them down already in order to pick up the ones He had waiting for you.
I think both of these points lead to a deeper understanding of our personal responsibility for the spiritual healthiness of the Church. I think we obey and follow for predominantly altruistic reasons. Perhaps for the hope, for the security, to belong, and because God is awesome and worthy. These are reasons enough to keep me faithful but I do still sin, I do fail and I do fall, In a covenant made with thousands that is easily unseen, It can be swept aside and ignored. The bigger picture and the anonymity that comes with crowds makes personal responsibility optional. We see that in society, some work while others don’t have to, as long as the coffers are being filled by the others. God sees us as individuals, our relationship is personal and therefore our responsibility to the covenant is too. Our individual sin affects the whole body, sickness spreads. I think the Lord brings this as a lesson here, to the Israelites, yes, but as in all of this story as a lesson for us.
Respecting that individuality, that free will, given as a means of fostering real love is understood here by Moses. He neither speaks for God or for his people but faithfully carries the messages between them. I don’t think we should underestimate the integrity that calls for. How tempted are we to add to Gods word the things we are sure He meant? Our interpretation of scripture, the insights that were given for us that must surely apply to these others? I know I’ve done it. I also know that I now treat with suspicion the person who professes Gods word for the means of manipulation. I’m sure you have experienced it “God told me that you were the person to do this” type conversations. If the Lord hasn’t told you personally then treat with caution, unless of course you aren’t talking to God at all. The other side of this is that Moses also doesn’t answer for his people. I think it wouldn’t stand if he did. We can’t make promises or commitments to God for others, if we could the world would be converted I’m sure, but that is a direct affront to the free will God has given each of us. We can only pray for the right responses to the invitation, we can only strive to be the most amazing witnesses to what a day in His courts can look like.
What is the significance for the Spiritual Journey?
This in sacramental terms would be confirmation preparation. You have established that God exists, you have walked with Him some way, all be it from a distance. You have been taught about Him through others and through the external signs. You have felt the call to obey and belong, although you have no idea what that might entail. You have doubted and been answered. You have struggled and been blessed. Now the Lord calls you to the foot of the Mountain He will descend on. The barrier still exists, there is still separation but the distance is narrowing. You hear His voice.
This is your invitation to a covenant, this is where you make the decision. Not as part of the whole but individually. Do you hear the Lords voice? Are you ready and willing ? Do you take this God, to have and to hold, to love and obey, to honour and to Cherish ? The ascent to union on the mountain can’t begin without the fiat at its foot.
Those barriers though…what about the barriers? There’s some comfort for the unsure in those barriers that manage the expectation of full submission. It’s akin to the temple veil, for us, Christ has ripped it in two, we can now pass through to the sacred, the way now has been opened. We have our own barriers however, fear mostly, maybe pride, maybe wounds. These barriers, intentionally chosen or not, permit choice. Once the veil is down, once the barriers have been lifted there is no room for doubt, faith is no longer needed as we see clearly the truth. Once that threshold has truly been crossed perhaps we become like the angels with full knowledge of our decisions and the consequences of failing to follow or not. I wonder if that while we walk in fallible human form that can feel too big a risk or responsibility. How much easier it is to leave wiggle room for error and maintain the degree of separation. The Lord I think permits this as a gift, its called Mercy, part of the divine plan to allow us the time and space to grow in trust and courage. Few seem to reach the summit of the mountain on earth I think, those great Saints maybe with the grace to fully respond with a terrifying abandonment. For most of us to walk on the mountain at all is a privilege, but is always a compromise on what the Lord desires for us if we remain in the easy accessible parts and never venture higher.
- Do you want to reach full union with God? Would you strive for the relationship that Moses had?
- How different do you imagine that to be compared with your relationship now?
- What barriers are there to desiring this more fully?
- Do you hide from God in anyway? Are there parts of your life/self that are yet to be given over to The Lord?
- How much personal responsibility do you feel for the spiritual health of Gods church?