Dec. 12, 2013
Exodus 19-Part 1
And Moses went up unto God, and the LORD called unto him out of the mountain...
Exodus 19:3a
LET IT GLOW
Since we have had a week of ice, snow, and cold weather, I have been home watching my granddaughter (closed school) and the fire in the fireplace. My morning routine is to carry in wood from the front porch so I don't need to the rest of the day. Usually, the logs have nearly gone out during the night, so I have to poke around in the bright coals, to rekindle the fire. I spend time restarting it with sticks or a starter log if it is completely out, which takes quite a while. Finally, I add logs to the fire to keep it going. I enjoy the heat it produces, keeping the whole house warm. (Propane is expensive.) (That is why I am late posting.)
Isn't our Christian life like that? If we take our spiritual eyes off the fire, Jesus, our flame goes out. He has to rekindle the fire within us again. Sometimes He has to poke us to get it going. The Israelites had to keep their eyes on the fire, to see when it moved. Maybe the Lord wants us to get up and move into His will for the day.
Three months after leaving Egypt, the Israelites journeyed with God to the Mt. Sinai area. Here they stayed for about one year (Numbers 10:11-12). It was probably our May, June, or July. Remember that they followed God's cloud by day and God's fire by night as they traveled through the wilderness (desert) to their Promised Land.
The cloud was the Shekinah Glory sign of God whereby Israel could enjoy a visible assurance that the people were, indeed, being led by God. (Falwell)
Israel had experienced God's:
- deliverance from Egypt
- guidance to go
- parting of the Red Sea
- miraculous provision of food and water
- prayerful victory over the Amalekites (Guzik)
There are 57 chapters of the Word of God that is about what happened at Mt. Sinai. (Guzik)
I never realized that. The Israelites got to settle down for a while, though they didn't know it at the time. They had to keep their eyes on God's representation, the cloud and fire.
In Luke 18:31, Jesus told His disciples, before His final journey to Jerusalem, "Listen, we are going up to Jerusalem..." (NLT)
I read this somewhere and wrote it on a note card: We go up to Jerusalem to fulfill God's purpose, not our own. What seemed failure from man's standpoint was a tremendous triumph from God's because God's purpose is never man's purpose.
It's a reminder that I am where God wants me to be, whenever I get discouraged and want to leave or move.
Do we go when and where God leads us? Do we get side tracked while we are where we were sent? Or do we keep our focus on Jesus and fulfilling His purpose? Are we willing to move when He says move, and to stay when He says stay? Does Jesus have to get the fire going in us to get us moving with Him?
LET IT GROW
After their arrival, God began to prepare the Israelites for worship. His plan involved leading them to the right place and requiring of them certain commitments.
Verse 3 NIV says, Then Moses went up to God, and the LORD called to him from the mountain...
The sign which the Lord had given particularly to Moses when he was still in Midian (3:12), that God had indeed sent him, was now fulfilled; he was with the people before the mountain of God. (MacArthur)
Mount Sinai was one of several granite mountains in this barren region.
Young's Concordance describes the mountain as being located between the gulf of Suez and Akaba with three large mountain tops. Each has a name-Horeb, the northeastern one, St. Catherine, the southwestern one,. The wilderness of Sinai is particularily the plain Sebayeh at the south of Gebel Mousa.
Strong's Concordance says, Sinai (Ciynay in Hebrew, pronounced see-nah'-ee) is a mountain in Arabia.
This is the special place where God gave Moses the Ten Commandments.
Do we go to the mountain of God to hear from Him? Do we desire a mountain-top spiritual experience with a Holy God? Are we willing to do whatever it takes for it? Will we set aside time to receive it?
LET IT GO
Go to the mountain of God and listen to Him.
Let Him rekindle His fire within me.
Follow the Holy Spirit's leading.
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