Thursday, 17 December 2009 01:00  |  Written by Steve Hall and posted in Mount Sinai

Moses and Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, and the seventy elders of Israel went up and saw the God of Israel…. But God did not raise his hand against these leaders of the Israelites; they saw God, and they ate and drank. Exodus 24:9-10

These leaders probably climbed the mountain in fear and trepidation wondering whether they’d live to tell the tale... Yet they ended up having a ball as God throws a wee feast! Isn’t that awesome?

Sadly the journey up the mountain to experience God’s intimate presence only involved 70 leaders while the rest of the community waited at the bottom.

Don’t be someone who waits at the bottom - climb up!

Wednesday, 16 December 2009 01:00  |  Written by Steve Hall and posted in Mount Sinai

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 and said to Moses, “Speak to us yourself and we will listen. But do not have God speak to us or we will die.” Exodus 20:18-19

God speaks the first two commandments out loud for the whole Israelite assembly to hear, but then fear overcomes the Israelites and they force Moses to tell them the rest.*

Fear causes the Israelites to stay at a distance rather than enjoy an intimate relationship with God that Moses does. Is there any fear in your life that is causing you to keep God at a distance?

FOOTNOTE:
* Notice the shift between first person to third person between the second and third commandments in Exodus 20:4-7.

Tuesday, 15 December 2009 01:00  |  Written by Steve Hall and posted in Mount Sinai

“Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work…” Exodus 20:8-10

In Egypt the Israelites were constantly worked every day of every year. They were exploited as expendable commodities rather than as people. A day off is therefore a revolutionary concept to ex-slaves!

God is commanding them to take a day off so that they take time each week to remember they are no longer in Egypt! Their value comes from God not from how many bricks they can produce.

Monday, 14 December 2009 01:00  |  Written by Steve Hall and posted in Mount Sinai

“You shall not misuse the name of the Lord your God, for the Lord will not hold anyone guiltless who misuses his name.” Exodus 20:7

The word translated here as ‘misuse’ can also mean “carry”. God has liberated these ex-slaves and is inviting them to be his representatives to the world. How they “carry” God’s name is going to affect how others view God.

This command is not just about how or what we speak, but whether we act on behalf of the oppressed and poor - just like God did by liberating Israel.

Friday, 11 December 2009 01:00  |  Written by Steve Hall and posted in Mount Sinai

“You shall not make for yourself an image in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below.” Exodus 20:4

A marriage relationship cannot work if one of the parties is spending their time with an image of their partner rather than the real deal! God desires our intimate focus!

The other reason for this command is that people are made in the image of God. The Israelites themselves were meant to represent God to others through the unique way they lived their lives!

Thursday, 10 December 2009 01:00  |  Written by Steve Hall and posted in Mount Sinai

“You shall have no other gods before me.” Exodus 20:3

A great way to think about the Ten Commandments is to liken them to a marriage contract. It is God outlining the appropriate way for his bride, Israel, to live in order to stay faithfully married to Himself. This first command is therefore God saying that Israel shall have no other lovers apart from Him… He desires Israel for Himself alone.

Wednesday, 09 December 2009 01:00  |  Written by Steve Hall and posted in Mount Sinai

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.’ … Only when the ram’s horn sounds a long blast may they approach the mountain.” Exodus 19:12-13

In all the details about how people who touch Mount Sinai will surely die it’s very easy to miss what’s being said at the end of verse 13. There God announces to Moses that the people are to come up the mountain... but only when the ram’s horn sounds a long blast. The people will be allowed up the mountain and into God’s presence! Does that change this story for you?

Tuesday, 08 December 2009 01:00  |  Written by Steve Hall and posted in Mount Sinai

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. Exodus 19:9

God hasn’t talked to a group of people since Eden… and now the Israelites are getting told to get ready for God speaks in three days time!

No other religion has as its central event a god speaking to a group of people all at the same time. Sinai is a revelation of God’s heart for all people as He proposes a marraige of sorts between the divine and the human.

Monday, 07 December 2009 01:00  |  Written by Steve Hall and posted in Mount Sinai

“‘Although the whole earth is mine, you will be for me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.’ These are the words you are to speak to the Israelites.” Exodus 19:6

Wow this sounds like New Testament language! But here it is in Exodus.

Priests mediate between people and the divine. They show and tell others what the divine is like. God is inviting all the Israelites to be his earthly representatives (priests).

Israel is also to be a holy nation. We could say that a holy nation is a nation that lives the opposite way to the oppressive Egyptian Empire.

Friday, 04 December 2009 01:00  |  Written by Steve Hall and posted in Mount Sinai

‘Now if you obey me fully and keep my covenant, then out of all nations you will be my treasured possession.’ Exodus 19:5

The Israelites are a rag tag group of abused scar-bearing ex-slaves who have seen their baby boys drowned in the Nile and have never known true freedom. Talk about issues!

Yet, out of all the nations of the world, God has chosen them to be his treasured possession. But notice the ‘if’: if they obey God. First the Israelites need to learn what it means to be human again.

Thursday, 03 December 2009 01:00  |  Written by Steve Hall and posted in Mount Sinai

‘You yourselves have seen what I did to Egypt, and how I carried you on eagles’ wings and brought you to myself.’ Exodus 19:4

It’s all grace! Liberation from slavery, rescue from empire, salvation from sin. They are all gifts from God.

The Exodus event defines who God is. He is not an abstract God floating somewhere in the heavens, but a God who acts on behalf of the poor and the oppressed. He is a God who liberates people and brings them to Himself.

Spend sometime today praising God for the freedom He brings.

Wednesday, 02 December 2009 01:00  |  Written by Steve Hall and posted in Mount Sinai

On the first day of the third month after the Israelites left Egypt—on that very day—they came to the Desert of Sinai. Exodus 19:1

The route from Egypt to the Promised Land in no way, remotely, not even closely goes near the Desert of Sinai. It’s like Google Maps sending you via London on a trip from Glasgow to Edinburgh. God has deliberately taken the Israelites on a huge detour. Something important is going to happen at Sinai.