The Mountain of Thorns
Exodus 19 & 20
Moses, in the book of Exodus, tells the story of the children of Israel receiving the Ten Commandments. We're all familiar with how they were delivered to Moses amid the awful thunders and vivid flashes of Sinai. Still, there is much of this story that, I believe, is often overlooked.
It came to pass, that God had told Moses that he and Aaron were to climb the "mountain of thorns," Sinai, so He could then speak to them there and later to the children of Israel. Before they could hear Him, they were to meticulously prepare for His presence, but no one, other than the two brothers, was supposed to go on the mountain or even touch it. If they did, they were to be stoned or "shot through." (Obviously by there fellows.) Even animals were to be killed that touched the mountain.
So, the people and the priests prepared as God commanded. They cleaned themselves and the camp and on the third day, after nervously putting on their Sunday best, went out to meet the Lord. There was smoke, lightning, thunder, earthquakes and the sound of an "exceeding loud trumpet."
Moses took Aaron with him and they soon returned from the mountain with the Commandments of God. Well, things went as expected, I suppose. The people heard the noise and rumbling, saw the overwhelming smoke and, apparently, even heard the Voice of God speaking to them among all the clamor.
This all put them in an awful fright. The people trembled in fear at the Voice coming from the mountain. When they heard the commotion, they ran away and "stood afar off." They tremblingly said to Moses, "You talk to Him. You can tell us what He says. We can't take it!" (They must've shouted their request since they refused to come near Moses and the mountain.)
Moses tried to calm them, but to no avail. He explained that God was merely testing them so that they would honor, respect, fear Him and "sin not." Dejectedly, I imagine, Moses went alone to the "thick darkness where God was."
I suppose this would be for or another blog, but it really jumps out at me here that God is presented as being in "thick darkness." I suppose, among other things, it shows that you can find God anywhere and even sometimes where you least expect Him.
It's also possible, I suppose, that where God is, is often darkness to us. As it was to them. We can't see where He is. He's beyond us. Unreachable. Unapproachable. At least He was to the poor souls shaking at the foot of the Mountain. Sadly, ofttimes, to us too.
I suppose that means we have to trust Him.
As I said, this topic seems to be for another blog.
Moving along, yes, it was their terrible loss! They quailed at an opportunity to hear Jehovah Himself speak. They were cowards and fled even though this might've been a once in a lifetime opportunity for them. What a story it would've been to tell their children and grandchildren! Oh, well. Our lives are filled with missed opportunities. (Sounds oxymoronic somehow.)
Were they afraid?
Yes.
Had they a right to be afraid?
Yes.
Would they have been stupid if they hadn't been afraid?
Yes!
Even still, I don't necessarily think they were wrong.
Amidst our many, many Biblical discussions, my father used to tell me about how unfair he believed we modern Christians are toward the Hebrews of old. He would cite how they didn't have the experience, the Holy Bible or the ever present Holy Spirit to love and guide them as we do. They often were only, in so many words, doing the best they could with what they had to work with. Yes, they were ultimately wrong, but maybe not so wrong for their time.
Moses, on the other hand, was a man who was never satisfied. Sure, he made mistakes along the way, but always wanted to make something happen wherever he went. (Someone must've told him, "Do something. Even if it's wrong!) He went so far as to murder a man to protect his kin. Still, God later chose him on holy ground to lead his kindred from slavery in Egypt to freedom in the Promised Land. It was he who turned a stave into a snake and stood toe-to-toe with Pharaoh demanding, "Let my people go!" It was he who called the ten plagues down on Egypt at God's command. It was he who saw the "back parts" of God from the cleft of a rock. (Exodus 33:18-23) Yes, God had allowed him to experience so much that the others hadn't. Consequently, he knew much that the others didn't. (Yes, experience is valuable.)
Moses was never content even with what God gave him. Like the good servant with five talents, he wanted to multiply the investment, increasing it until he knew his God more and more and more. Moses became a type of Christ. He was the people's ambassador to God. Their advocate, go-between, middle man and intermediary. Their mediator, if you will.
The Israelites were always in the background. Usually failing to do what they were told to do. They were unkempt and undisciplined. Their loyalty, faith and understanding of the God of Abraham was tenuous as a cotton thread. No, I don't believe the children of Israel were ready to hear the Voice of God. (Honestly, I'm not too sure I would've been ready either.)
Fast-forward about three to four millennia. Many today who claim Christianity, (though I suppose I don't actually doubt their claim,) vainly prepare themselves for church services. Corporately or individually, they claim they have the "call" of God on their lives. They sit in the pews singing the old Stamps-Baxter tune, "I wanna know more about my Lord." But just exactly how sincere are they in that? Do they really, really, REALLY wanna know more about their Lord? They do a lot of silly stuff that leads, or rather misleads, others into thinking they know about God. Worst of all, perhaps, they mislead themselves. They think they've cleansed themselves and their camp. They think themselves prepared for the arrival of God. All the while, they are ruefully unaware that they are merely "wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked." (Revelation 3:17)
Then, the blare begins, the clouds roll in, the lightning flashes, the trumpet sounds and in walks the Voice of God. They fear. They flee. They fail. Maybe it's all that noise, noise, NOISE! Oh, yeah, it's hard to hear the Voice of God with your fingers in your ears.
When they are presented with new information that they can't quickly and easily assimilate and fit into their sad old comfortable formula of status quo that they've leaned on their entire lives, they simply flee back into their safe space by saying, "I guess we're not supposed to know that yet." The God of Glory is standing before them with a burning heart, aching to teach them about His true Self and they willingly and flippantly pass on their chance. They were content to stay back when the He was so close. So very close! And all Heaven just weeps! (Jeremiah 33:3)
I don't understand why they don't want to understand! (Maybe I do.) Sure, there are a million and one things we won't be privy to until we do reach Heaven, but exactly how do they know which is which? How do they know God doesn't want us to know a thing? Did He tell them that He didn't want them to know? Sheesh!
They, we, are so much like the Israelites. We primp and clean and approach God at the foot, (and the foot only,) of the mountain. Alas, we are ultimately frightened away by the fearsome sound of His Voice. We are terrified to speak directly with Him. We, like they, fear being near Him, much less, hearing Him. So, we put our trust in a far from perfect human to speak to God for us and relay His message to us poor, pitiful, fearful saints. We're content to let our pastor, presumably, get closer to God while we just accept whatever he deems fit to share with us. Fortunately for Israel, they had Moses, a man sold out to God. He could speak to God for them and reliably tell them of the His plan. Most Christians are not so fortunate. Far too many have not a Godly leader behind the pulpit. Far too many have nothing more than a glib, loquacious, attention seeker who, sometimes even sincerely, thinks that qualifies him to shepherd the Lord's flock.
Still, too many Christians, like the children of Israel, mostly just don't want to know. (Phillipians 3:10)They don't truly want to meet God face-to-face. They don't want to have to deal with all the racket and smoke. They'll just settle for whatever is easy and doesn't require a lot of commitment. Whatever avoids that "prayer and fasting" part! (Matthew 17:21)
Why would Christians not want to hear the voice of their God? Fear? Obviously! But what are they afraid of? Why would they fear knowing the one who loves them most, better? Would they fear being near...Him?
Are we afraid of seeing ourselves as we truly are? (James 1:24) Are we afraid of seeing Him as He truly is?
Yes, they think they "know" Him. They talk about knowing they're saved, knowing their God and knowing the answers to life's important questions. What they don't know, they avert and say, it's enough to know later. Problem is, how can they be so sure they'll know it later? Does the Bible say that what we are not curious about now God will reveal to us in Glory?
They don't know what they don't know.
Those who spend their lives complacent with the little they have, Scripture says, that the little will be taken from them and given to another. Again, like the servants who were given the talents. Those who invested, gained. One merely buried what he had. (He treated his talent like it was dead.) Even what he had held onto was taken away from him and given to the one who had made the most return for his master.
Now, I'm not talking about what we call "Godly contentment." There is a great distinction between that and complacency. Complacency means you're where you are not because you're grateful, but because you're lazy.
Beware! What you don't want will be taken from you and given to one who wants more. This a mystery to which I don't yet have an answer. I'll keep asking though.
Again, God is overwhelming and should be feared. There is danger in drawing close to Him. If you touch His mountain, you will be struck dead. You may even be struck dead by those who weren't allowed to be there. Or don't want to be there themselves. Or, merely don't want you to be there.
Are we supposed to disobey God? God said, "Don't touch the mountain." What if Israel said, words to the effect, "You said don't come up here and don't touch this mountain, but, even if it means my death, I'm coming up. I will be happy to die on the mountain of God! As long as I can die on the mountain with God." Would that have, somehow, pleased God?
My father would, on occasion, challenge me by telling me not to do something or that I couldn't do something. When properly done, he knew nothing would want to make me do it more. (Sometimes, that actually worked.) Reverse psychology? I suppose.
Would God do such a thing? Perhaps? I honestly don't think so. It seems to me that, as I said, the Children of Israel were correct for avoiding the mountain. Moses was a type of Christ and only he could climb the mountain and only he could speak to God and for God. Today, we all can come to the mountain. Yes, we might be slain by our fellows, or we might be slain by our God, but what would it be like to touch the mountain? What would it be like to be so near to God that we could almost touch Him? That He would have to say to us, "I'll hide you in the cleft of this rock and cover you with my hand"? Would it be possible to actually touch the Face of God? Would we? Could we? Wow!
There's a story in the Gospels about a widow woman who wanted something from a king. (Luke 18) He continually gave her the brush-off and she continually pursued him concerning her petition. He avoided her; she harassed him. Finally, he gave her what she wanted just to get her out of his hair. Oh, that the children of God had such tenacity! Such desire!
We give up before we even start. We do so because, in the sad truth of the thing, we just ain't all that interested. It's too much work. It's too much trouble. It's too much time. It's too much thinking. It's too much praying. It's just...too much!
Yes, the Voice of God spoke to Moses and his kinsmen from a mountain of thorns. The people heard the Voice of God. A Voice that had not been heard since the cool of the day in the Garden of Eden where He passed judgment on our original ancestors for their original sin.
Though they had done what they were instructed, they were still not ready to hear. They feared. They fled. They failed. They weren't ready to hear the law, much less the Voice of God speaking the law from a mountain of thorns.
Now, why "mountain of thorns"?
I love words! I love looking up the meaning of words. I love studying the etymology of words. It helps me learn things that I didn't know.
Moses tried to calm them, but to no avail. He explained that God was merely testing them so that they would honor, respect, fear Him and "sin not." Dejectedly, I imagine, Moses went alone to the "thick darkness where God was."
I suppose this would be for or another blog, but it really jumps out at me here that God is presented as being in "thick darkness." I suppose, among other things, it shows that you can find God anywhere and even sometimes where you least expect Him.
It's also possible, I suppose, that where God is, is often darkness to us. As it was to them. We can't see where He is. He's beyond us. Unreachable. Unapproachable. At least He was to the poor souls shaking at the foot of the Mountain. Sadly, ofttimes, to us too.
I suppose that means we have to trust Him.
As I said, this topic seems to be for another blog.
Moving along, yes, it was their terrible loss! They quailed at an opportunity to hear Jehovah Himself speak. They were cowards and fled even though this might've been a once in a lifetime opportunity for them. What a story it would've been to tell their children and grandchildren! Oh, well. Our lives are filled with missed opportunities. (Sounds oxymoronic somehow.)
Were they afraid?
Yes.
Had they a right to be afraid?
Yes.
Would they have been stupid if they hadn't been afraid?
Yes!
Even still, I don't necessarily think they were wrong.
Amidst our many, many Biblical discussions, my father used to tell me about how unfair he believed we modern Christians are toward the Hebrews of old. He would cite how they didn't have the experience, the Holy Bible or the ever present Holy Spirit to love and guide them as we do. They often were only, in so many words, doing the best they could with what they had to work with. Yes, they were ultimately wrong, but maybe not so wrong for their time.
Moses, on the other hand, was a man who was never satisfied. Sure, he made mistakes along the way, but always wanted to make something happen wherever he went. (Someone must've told him, "Do something. Even if it's wrong!) He went so far as to murder a man to protect his kin. Still, God later chose him on holy ground to lead his kindred from slavery in Egypt to freedom in the Promised Land. It was he who turned a stave into a snake and stood toe-to-toe with Pharaoh demanding, "Let my people go!" It was he who called the ten plagues down on Egypt at God's command. It was he who saw the "back parts" of God from the cleft of a rock. (Exodus 33:18-23) Yes, God had allowed him to experience so much that the others hadn't. Consequently, he knew much that the others didn't. (Yes, experience is valuable.)
Moses was never content even with what God gave him. Like the good servant with five talents, he wanted to multiply the investment, increasing it until he knew his God more and more and more. Moses became a type of Christ. He was the people's ambassador to God. Their advocate, go-between, middle man and intermediary. Their mediator, if you will.
The Israelites were always in the background. Usually failing to do what they were told to do. They were unkempt and undisciplined. Their loyalty, faith and understanding of the God of Abraham was tenuous as a cotton thread. No, I don't believe the children of Israel were ready to hear the Voice of God. (Honestly, I'm not too sure I would've been ready either.)
Fast-forward about three to four millennia. Many today who claim Christianity, (though I suppose I don't actually doubt their claim,) vainly prepare themselves for church services. Corporately or individually, they claim they have the "call" of God on their lives. They sit in the pews singing the old Stamps-Baxter tune, "I wanna know more about my Lord." But just exactly how sincere are they in that? Do they really, really, REALLY wanna know more about their Lord? They do a lot of silly stuff that leads, or rather misleads, others into thinking they know about God. Worst of all, perhaps, they mislead themselves. They think they've cleansed themselves and their camp. They think themselves prepared for the arrival of God. All the while, they are ruefully unaware that they are merely "wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked." (Revelation 3:17)
Then, the blare begins, the clouds roll in, the lightning flashes, the trumpet sounds and in walks the Voice of God. They fear. They flee. They fail. Maybe it's all that noise, noise, NOISE! Oh, yeah, it's hard to hear the Voice of God with your fingers in your ears.
When they are presented with new information that they can't quickly and easily assimilate and fit into their sad old comfortable formula of status quo that they've leaned on their entire lives, they simply flee back into their safe space by saying, "I guess we're not supposed to know that yet." The God of Glory is standing before them with a burning heart, aching to teach them about His true Self and they willingly and flippantly pass on their chance. They were content to stay back when the He was so close. So very close! And all Heaven just weeps! (Jeremiah 33:3)
I don't understand why they don't want to understand! (Maybe I do.) Sure, there are a million and one things we won't be privy to until we do reach Heaven, but exactly how do they know which is which? How do they know God doesn't want us to know a thing? Did He tell them that He didn't want them to know? Sheesh!
They, we, are so much like the Israelites. We primp and clean and approach God at the foot, (and the foot only,) of the mountain. Alas, we are ultimately frightened away by the fearsome sound of His Voice. We are terrified to speak directly with Him. We, like they, fear being near Him, much less, hearing Him. So, we put our trust in a far from perfect human to speak to God for us and relay His message to us poor, pitiful, fearful saints. We're content to let our pastor, presumably, get closer to God while we just accept whatever he deems fit to share with us. Fortunately for Israel, they had Moses, a man sold out to God. He could speak to God for them and reliably tell them of the His plan. Most Christians are not so fortunate. Far too many have not a Godly leader behind the pulpit. Far too many have nothing more than a glib, loquacious, attention seeker who, sometimes even sincerely, thinks that qualifies him to shepherd the Lord's flock.
Still, too many Christians, like the children of Israel, mostly just don't want to know. (Phillipians 3:10)They don't truly want to meet God face-to-face. They don't want to have to deal with all the racket and smoke. They'll just settle for whatever is easy and doesn't require a lot of commitment. Whatever avoids that "prayer and fasting" part! (Matthew 17:21)
Why would Christians not want to hear the voice of their God? Fear? Obviously! But what are they afraid of? Why would they fear knowing the one who loves them most, better? Would they fear being near...Him?
Are we afraid of seeing ourselves as we truly are? (James 1:24) Are we afraid of seeing Him as He truly is?
Yes, they think they "know" Him. They talk about knowing they're saved, knowing their God and knowing the answers to life's important questions. What they don't know, they avert and say, it's enough to know later. Problem is, how can they be so sure they'll know it later? Does the Bible say that what we are not curious about now God will reveal to us in Glory?
They don't know what they don't know.
Those who spend their lives complacent with the little they have, Scripture says, that the little will be taken from them and given to another. Again, like the servants who were given the talents. Those who invested, gained. One merely buried what he had. (He treated his talent like it was dead.) Even what he had held onto was taken away from him and given to the one who had made the most return for his master.
Now, I'm not talking about what we call "Godly contentment." There is a great distinction between that and complacency. Complacency means you're where you are not because you're grateful, but because you're lazy.
Beware! What you don't want will be taken from you and given to one who wants more. This a mystery to which I don't yet have an answer. I'll keep asking though.
Again, God is overwhelming and should be feared. There is danger in drawing close to Him. If you touch His mountain, you will be struck dead. You may even be struck dead by those who weren't allowed to be there. Or don't want to be there themselves. Or, merely don't want you to be there.
Are we supposed to disobey God? God said, "Don't touch the mountain." What if Israel said, words to the effect, "You said don't come up here and don't touch this mountain, but, even if it means my death, I'm coming up. I will be happy to die on the mountain of God! As long as I can die on the mountain with God." Would that have, somehow, pleased God?
My father would, on occasion, challenge me by telling me not to do something or that I couldn't do something. When properly done, he knew nothing would want to make me do it more. (Sometimes, that actually worked.) Reverse psychology? I suppose.
Would God do such a thing? Perhaps? I honestly don't think so. It seems to me that, as I said, the Children of Israel were correct for avoiding the mountain. Moses was a type of Christ and only he could climb the mountain and only he could speak to God and for God. Today, we all can come to the mountain. Yes, we might be slain by our fellows, or we might be slain by our God, but what would it be like to touch the mountain? What would it be like to be so near to God that we could almost touch Him? That He would have to say to us, "I'll hide you in the cleft of this rock and cover you with my hand"? Would it be possible to actually touch the Face of God? Would we? Could we? Wow!
There's a story in the Gospels about a widow woman who wanted something from a king. (Luke 18) He continually gave her the brush-off and she continually pursued him concerning her petition. He avoided her; she harassed him. Finally, he gave her what she wanted just to get her out of his hair. Oh, that the children of God had such tenacity! Such desire!
We give up before we even start. We do so because, in the sad truth of the thing, we just ain't all that interested. It's too much work. It's too much trouble. It's too much time. It's too much thinking. It's too much praying. It's just...too much!
Yes, the Voice of God spoke to Moses and his kinsmen from a mountain of thorns. The people heard the Voice of God. A Voice that had not been heard since the cool of the day in the Garden of Eden where He passed judgment on our original ancestors for their original sin.
Though they had done what they were instructed, they were still not ready to hear. They feared. They fled. They failed. They weren't ready to hear the law, much less the Voice of God speaking the law from a mountain of thorns.
Now, why "mountain of thorns"?
I love words! I love looking up the meaning of words. I love studying the etymology of words. It helps me learn things that I didn't know.
Looking in my Strong's Exhaustive Concordance at the Hebrew root word for Sinai, I discovered that it means "thorny." Imagine my delight! It was the same delight you are currently experiencing if you've never came across this definition yourself.
Thorns appear throughout the Bible. From the promise of thorns to Adam to the mountain of thorns for Moses. It's for another blog, but the shittah tree, now commonly called acacia, a tree used for a multiplicity of medicines as well as in building the Ark of the Covenant, is crowned with thorns. (Try not to get too far ahead of me.) Yes, thorns are a recurring theme in the Holy Scriptures.
So, where does all this lead us?
Thousands of years after Moses, the Voice of God, wearing a crown of thorns, spoke from a mountain called Golgotha. His Mind, (the Logos,) was now approachable for all those invited. (I Corinthians 2:16) This time, not just two, but all are invited!
Sadly, the people were no more ready to hear Him at Golgotha than at Sinai. They feared. They fled. They failed. They were afraid to hear the Gospel.
Now, we can approach the mountain. We can touch the mountain. We can walk up the mountain. And, yes, there we can see God Himself.
No, the Hebrews of Moses' time were not ready to meet the Christ! No, not even the Hebrews of Christ's time.
The question remains:
Are you?
posted by The Preacher's Kid | 3:06 AM
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