Still 'fine-tuning' our process. You can get to the original article HERE
NOTE: THIS ARTICLE is a reprint from the blog of reverend Kevin Rogers of New Song Church in Windsor, Ontario and is reproduced here for your convenience. You can visit the his blog called "The Orphan Age" HERE.
In the
Divine encounters between Moses and God, we can see that God welcomes the one
who is curiously seeking Him and willing to step into intimate encounter.
First,
we find Moses, living in the wilderness far from the problem of Egypt. In the
faraway place, God speaks from a burning bush. In the fear of the Lord, Moses
approaches that oddity that has arrested his attention. Curiosity brings him to
holy ground where God tells him to take his sandals off. Without footwear, he
was vulnerable and would not easily run away. Here God calls Moses to a mission
that would seem unthinkable. Go to Pharaoh and lead God’s people to freedom.
As we
fast forward through the Exodus story, we find God’s people in the wilderness.
They are free to worship God, but they are in the unknown, difficult wilderness
where their very lives depended upon God leading them.
There’s
an interesting perspective given as we look into the fear of the Lord.
Exodus 19:
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.”
God
tells Moses that he is coming in a dense cloud that will provide intimate space
for God and Moses to meet on the mountain. The meeting will be obvious to the
people because they will be able to hear but not see God in conversation with
Moses. They will know that God is there, but they will not be able to come
close.
The
appearance of God is concealed and somewhat hidden because only those who are
properly prepared can get close. Moses was prepared through God’s instruction
and invited to come close. But the people were not ready. They needed to have
their hearts changed in preparation for intimacy with God.
Exodus 20:
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.
We would rather have Moses speak on God’s behalf instead of
hearing God speak directly to us. They are afraid of God because of his power,
but Moses invites them to be courageous toward God. The threat of God’s power
is intended to test their heart and call them to intimacy with the Almighty.
Exodus 24:
15 When
Moses Went Up On The Mountain, The Cloud Covered It, 16 And The
Glory Of The Lord Settled On Mount Sinai. For Six Days The Cloud Covered The
Mountain, And On The Seventh Day The Lord Called To Moses From Within The
Cloud. 17 To The Israelites The Glory Of The Lord Looked Like A
Consuming Fire On Top Of The Mountain. 18 Then Moses Entered
The Cloud As He Went On Up The Mountain. And He Stayed On The Mountain Forty
Days And Forty Nights.
Among his people, Moses was called to lead because he had
the fear of the Lord. But there is a dramatic shift in perspective depending on
where you are.
Moses in the intimate presence of God had a cloud like,
mystical experience. For the distant and afraid onlookers below the mountain,
they saw a raging fire.
It took Moses climbing alone into thick darkness to meet
with God and experience God’s glory.
Jesus story has many parallels to what Moses did. The writer
in Hebrews tells us that we can boldly come to the place that Moses encountered
God. We can have intimacy with the Almighty if we are willing to climb into the
dense cloud. Or we will prefer to be at a safe distance where God can’t hurt
us. From the ground perspective, God is a consuming fire that will turn us to
ash in seconds.
Will you have the courage to trust the Great High Priest
Jesus who has secured the path and reaches out to all who will follow?
Will you hide from God or be hidden in Christ?