Exodus 19:10-25
10 Then the LORD said to Moses, “Go to the people and consecrate them today and tomorrow, and let them wash their clothes. 11 And let them be ready for the third day. For on the third day the LORD will come down upon Mount Sinai in the sight of all the people. 12 You shall set bounds for the people all around, saying, ‘Take heed to yourselves that you do not go up to the mountain or touch its base. Whoever touches the mountain shall surely be put to death. 13 Not a hand shall touch him, but he shall surely be stoned or shot with an arrow; whether man or beast, he shall not live.’ When the trumpet sounds long, they shall come near the mountain.”
14 So Moses went down from the mountain to the people and sanctified the people, and they washed their clothes. 15 And he said to the people, “Be ready for the third day; do not come near your wives.”
16 Then it came to pass on the third day, in the morning, that there were thunderings and lightnings, and a thick cloud on the mountain; and the sound of the trumpet was very loud, so that all the people who were in the camp trembled. 17 And Moses brought the people out of the camp to meet with God, and they stood at the foot of the mountain. 18 Now Mount Sinai was completely in smoke, because the LORD descended upon it in fire. Its smoke ascended like the smoke of a furnace, and the whole mountain quaked greatly. 19 And when the blast of the trumpet sounded long and became louder and louder, Moses spoke, and God answered him by voice. 20 Then the LORD came down upon Mount Sinai, on the top of the mountain. And the LORD called Moses to the top of the mountain, and Moses went up.
21 And the LORD said to Moses, “Go down and warn the people, lest they break through to gaze at the LORD, and many of them perish. 22 Also let the priests who come near the LORD consecrate themselves, lest the LORD break out against them.”
23 But Moses said to the LORD, “The people cannot come up to Mount Sinai; for You warned us, saying, Set bounds around the mountain and consecrate it.’”
24 Then the LORD said to him, “Away! Get down and then come up, you and Aaron with you. But do not let the priests and the people break through to come up to the LORD, lest He break out against them.” 25 So Moses went down to the people and spoke to them.
This was such a terrifying sight to approach the Holy and Almighty God where His chosen one alone could meet with Him on the mountain “that burned with fire, and … blackness and darkness and tempest,” (Hebrews 12:18) because the penalty of death hung over any who would draw near uninvited. This is a shadow of our own inability to approach God without being invited (Hebrews 12:24) as His chosen (John 6:44, 1 Peter 2:4) servants through the access (Romans 5:2, Ephesians 2:18, 3:11-12) we have only in Christ. Apart from being in Christ and His righteousness, we are faced with a terrible judgment and certain death from lacking the hearing of God’s word (Hebrews 12:19-20) as more than we can endure. Moses warned them to stand clear because only he had been called to hear God’s word and to act as an intermediary to pass it on to the people who had to consecrate themselves to put away sin in order to hear him. We also are called to repent, to put away and turn from sin, in order to approach Him through the one eternal mediator (Hebrews 12:24) between God and man (1 Timothy 2:5-6, Hebrews 8:6, 9:15), Jesus Christ, lest we also face a terrible judgment. We are registered in Heaven as chosen in Him (Hebrews 12:23) and accounted as righteous, perfected and consecrated in His sight by grace. The people with Moses were unable to come near to the mountain where God came because they were still unholy and not sanctified by full consecration of a new creation in their souls, being yet in sin as awaiting Christ to come and make it all possible. They would surely be put to death if they approached Him unchanged in their sin, whereas in Christ we are changed and are invited (Hebrews 4:16, Ephesians 2:18, Hebrews 10:19-20, 22) to boldly approach the throne of grace where God sits without fear of death! When Moses stood between the LORD and the people before the mountain, the thunder and lightning and shaking filled them with fear as they listened to the word of spoken God by Moses. Moses was then called to climb up to meet God but had to go back to remind the people not to follow without invitation or face terrible consequences. Hebrews 12:26 explains that He shook the earth then (Mount Sinai) and will in the end of time shake Heaven and Earth in judgment (Haggai 2:6-7) that all who He calls as His own will draw near without fear to Him as the Desire of All Nations as He fills His temple with His glory as we stand in His presence! We who are found righteous in Christ will approach without fear in judgment because we have obtained a kingdom that is impossible to be shaken or taken away (Hebrews 12:28) as we serve our Lord forever “acceptably with reverence and godly fear” as it is written. Approaching God was a terrifying sight to see and hear in the world being shaken for Israel and all at the end of time, but for all who are called in Christ we have the assurance of a kingdom that can not be shaken and taken from us. We have no more fear of death (John 5:24, 1 John 4:17-18) but boldness to approach Him now (Hebrews 4:16) and forevermore in the day of judgment because we are in Christ who loved us first (John 3:16) and holds us fast (John 10:28-29) in an unshakable grasp of His certain promise of eternal salvation. Approaching God now is no longer a fearful sight of impending death but a certain hope of approaching in fearful awe and comforting assurance of His love for us as His children called to approach and stand before Him at last (Job 19:25-27, 1 Corinthians 13:12, Revelation 22:4) to worship and give Him glory for all He has done in calling and preserving we His children.
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