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Mt. Sinai and the Day of Judgment
What does the children of Israel coming to Mt. Sinai have to do with the Day of  Judgment? More than you might think. The children of Israel reached Mt. Sinai inthe third month after they left Egypt (Ex. 19:1-2). They had had by this time manyexperiences and had seen God working actively on their behalf in miracle aftermiracle. They had seen the plagues in Egypt from many of which they were spared. They had crossed the Red Sea on dry ground, they had been provided with drinkingwater miraculously on two separate occasions (Ex. 15:22-25, Ex. 17:1-7), they hadbeen fed with manna and quail (Ex. 16), and they had been able to defeat thosewho attacked them with God's help (Ex. 17:8-13). There was also the cloud thataccompanied them by day and the pillar of fire that accompanied them by night.Evidence of God's presence with them and of his care for them was everywhere tobe seen.At Mt. Sinai the Lord spoke to Moses from the mountain (Ex. 19:3) with a messagefor the children of Israel. They were to be reminded of what they had seen the Lorddo to the Egyptians and "how I bore you on eagles' wings, and brought you tomyself." (Ex. 19:4 NASB) These things they were fully aware of. The Lord isprepared to make a covenant with them making them his own special people if theywill only agree to obey him keeping his covenant (Ex. 19:5-6). Moses goes back tothe elders of the children of Israel, meets with them, and "all the people" (Ex. 19:8NASB) agree to do whatever the Lords says.Here is where we begin to get to what I want to talk about. Moses returns with thewords of the people to the Lord. The Lord then says to Moses, "Behold, I will cometo you in a thick cloud, so that the people may hear when I speak with you and mayalso believe in you forever." (Ex. 19:9 NASB) All Bible students are well aware thiswill be the time when God descends on Mt. Sinai in view of the people though hewill be hidden in a cloud. "On the third day (after preparations for the event aremade – DS) the Lord will come down on Mount Sinai in the sight of all the people."(Ex. 19:11 NASB) It will be the time when the Lord delivers the 10 commandments.A question is in order here. Why was one of the purposes of this event "so that thepeople may hear when I speak with you and may also believe in you (Moses – DS)forever"? (Ex. 19:9 NASB) The answer to this question is simple enough. Moseswas God's lawgiver, "For the law was given through Moses" (John 1:17 NASB). Hewas God's man, the man who acted as a mediator between God and God's children,the children of Israel. When Moses spoke to the children of Israel they were tolisten for he spoke to them on God's behalf. This event was to make it crystal clearto all of God's relationship with Moses so that the children of Israel would know of acertainty that to disobey a command Moses gave was to disobey God himself.However, there was also another reason or two God wanted the people to hear him.He says, "so that the people may hear when I speak with you." (Ex. 19:9 NASB)
 
 They had seen God in action in his miracles but they had not yet heard his voice.He wanted them to hear him. Why? Was it just more confirmation to the peoplethat Moses was God's man as God talked directly to him? I think it safe to say therewas that in it but might there have been more? I think it likely.Can you imagine what it must have been to hear the voice of God? What kind of aneffect would that have on a man or woman? If you were to hear a voice fromheaven right now, a loud speaking voice from the heavens (not a quiet innerspeaking to the mind or spirit), what kind of an effect would it have on you? Ourfirst and immediate reaction, one we would be incapable of not having, would be tostrike us with terror down to our toes. The children of Israel had been told what wascoming, what was going to happen, and were in expectation but even so it terrifiedthem. Fear can change a man and we want to pursue that thought in a little bit.On the third day, as God had said, he descended on the mountain called Mt. Sinai inthe presence of the people who were at the base of the mountain although farenough back, according to God's commandment, not to be touching it. "So it cameabout on the third day, when it was morning, that there were thunder and lightningflashes and a thick cloud upon the mountain and a very loud trumpet sound, so thatall the people who were in the camp trembled." (Ex. 19:16 NASB)"Now Mount Sinai was completely in smoke, because the Lord descended upon it infire. Its smoke ascended like the smoke of a furnace, and the whole mountainquaked greatly. And when the blast of the trumpet sounded long and becamelouder and louder, Moses spoke, and God answered him by voice." (Ex. 19:18-19NKJV) The NASB says, "God answered him with thunder." However, while theoriginal language can be technically translated either way the NKJV is correct, itshould be voice rather than thunder.How do I know? Deut. 4:10-13, "Remember the day you stood before the Lord yourGod at Horeb, when the Lord said to me, 'Assemble the people to me, that I may letthem hear my words so they may learn to fear me all the days they live on theearth, and that they may teach their children.' You came near and stood at the footof the mountain, and the mountain burned with fire to the very heart of theheavens: darkness, cloud and thick gloom. Then the Lord spoke to you from themidst of the fire; you heard the sound of words, but you saw no form--only a voice.So he declared to you his covenant which he commanded you to perform, that is,the Ten Commandments; and he wrote them on two tablets of stone." (NASB) Theyheard words, the words of God spoken by God, not thunder. We find furtherconfirmation of this in Ex. 20:22, the very words of God himself directly speaking onthe subject.On the day God descended on Mt. Sinai (called Horeb in Deut. 4:10) the NewInternational Version says the people "trembled with fear." (Ex. 20:18 NIV) While
 
that is not a literal translation, the literal is "they trembled" (NASB), it is the exactmeaning of the literal. They trembled due to what they were seeing and hearing.On that third day when God came down on top of Mt. Sinai Moses went up. Godthen instructed him to go back down, warn the people again to stay their distance,and to get Aaron and bring him back up to the top of the mountain with him (withMoses), see Ex. 19:20-24. This he did.However, having heard God speak terrified the children of Israel to the extent thatthey begged Moses, "let not God speak to us, or we will die." (Ex. 20:19 NASB)Moses responded, "Do not be afraid; for God has come in order to test you, and inorder that the fear of Him may remain with you, so that you may not sin." (Ex.20:20 NASB)So what are the lessons in this account for us? I have not been telling a story just torepeat a story. There are important lessons here for you and me today. Here aresome of them.(1) One should fear God. Fear is a motivating factor from God himself. Its purposeis to keep us from sinning. Many today say we should have no fear of God. But theBible says we are to perfect holiness "in the fear of God." (2 Cor. 7:1 NASB) Of those listed by Paul in Rom. 3 as being "under sin" (ver. 9) one of the condemningfactors is, "There is no fear of God before their eyes." (Rom. 3:18 NASB) Paulspeaks of a factor that motivates him to preach to sinful men. He says, "Therefore,knowing the fear of the Lord, we persuade men." (2 Cor. 5:11 NASB) He does notwant men to experience condemnation and knows there is a reason to fear such anend. Yes, I know perfect love casts out fear and the one who fears is not perfected in love(1 John 4:18). I am sure Paul did not fear God as in trembling fear but the fear of the Lord is one of the things that keeps us from sin (Ex. 20:20) and keeps uswalking in faithful obedience so that we can develop that perfect love which in ourspiritual maturity destroys fear altogether. That day comes when we are able tosay as Paul did, "I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have keptthe faith." (2 Tim. 4:7 NKJV) We never know when we are about to finish the racebut we can know before death that we have fought the good fight and have keptthe faith and thus have the assurance of salvation. We need not fear God as longas we are walking in the light but the fear of God ought to keep us walking in thatlight.(2) Another lesson we can learn from this account is that fear itself will not keepman in the straight and narrow road of righteousness over the long haul. All whoknow the Bible know the rest of the story that is not being covered in this article. Irefer to the golden calf, an idol, which will be made before Moses returns from beingon the mountain with God. We have here a people who have experienced the realGod who speaks and works miracles and who is full of wonder and awe, capable of 
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