This passage invites us to see God’s Transcendence (unapproachable holiness) and His Immanence (gracious descent to covenant with sinners). His holiness demands reverence, yet He is gracious by descending to meet His people and make covenant. God works to form a nation through awe, wonder and preparation.
- (vv. 7-15) The Call of Covenant
- Notice Israel is ready to do “everything” God says, without knowing what He is about to say, is a superficial commitment. Sin creates a gap between our best intents and actual abilities. Only God can unilaterally fulfill His covenants. God affirms Moses as the mediator in the people’s hearing by a Theophany in a thick cloud (God’s manifest presence). Moses brings the command for the people’s consecration (wash & abstain) in preparation of the covenant, and as a warning to the people. Touch the mountain of God and death is the consequence. (1 Tim 6:16, 1 Pet. 1:15-16)
“He is transcendent above all His works even while He is immanent within them.” – AW Tozer
- (vv. 16-20) The Drama of Descent
- On the third day there was thunder, lightning and a thick cloud. This would be a testimony to every sense. Hear the trumpet and feel the quaking mountain. See and smell the smoke like a furnace. God descends in a fire. We approach Him by His commands, as He answers in thunder. While His glory shakes creation, He descends to covenant with His people. (Heb. 12:18-21, Isa 6:1-5, John 1:14)
- (vv. 21-25) Reverence is Required
- God continues to give warning for those who would come to the mountain. There is also a command given to the priests for consecration in the sight of God. His holiness requires a non-negotiable reverence to what He commands. The Lord was gracious to extend the warning and boundaries. The ascent and descent of Moses shows us God is immanent with His people through His chosen mediator. (Heb 10:19-22, Eph 2:18, Rev 21:3)
Application: From Sinai to Zion
Christ, the greater mediator (Heb 8:6, 12:24), Immanuel (Matt 1:23), has brought immanent grace. He descended to bear God’s wrath on our behalf, tearing the veil, so we can approach reverently and intimately. Just as the people needed to be consecrated before entering covenant with a Holy God, are you ready for the reality of what happened on the third day after His crucifixion? Are you prepared to stand before a Holy and righteous God (Heb 10:31)? The only way this is possible is to be consecrated in Jesus Christ. Because Jesus was resurrected, justification was made possible. We can stand rightly before God in Jesus’ blood. Jesus is the mediator who brought down a new covenant written in His blood. He is the bridge from Sinai to Zion (The heavenly Jerusalem). Have you trusted in finished work of the greater mediator? If so, let us be grateful for “receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, and offer God acceptable worship with reverence and awe.” (Heb 12:18-29)