Exodus 20:18-25
The People Afraid of God’s Presence
18 Now all the people witnessed the thunderings, the lightning flashes, the sound of the trumpet, and the mountain smoking; and when the people saw it, they trembled and stood afar off.
19 Then they said to Moses, “You speak with us, and we will hear; but let not God speak with us, lest we die.”
20 And Moses said to the people, “Do not fear; for God has come to test you, and that His fear may be before you, so that you may not sin.”
21 So the people stood afar off, but Moses drew near the thick darkness where God was.
The Law of the Altar
22 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Thus you shall say to the children of Israel: ‘You have seen that I have talked with you from heaven.
23 You shall not make anything to be with Me—gods of silver or gods of gold you shall not make for yourselves.
24 An altar of earth you shall make for Me, and you shall sacrifice on it your burnt offerings and your peace offerings, your sheep and your oxen. In every place where I [a]record My name I will come to you, and I will bless you.
25 And if you make Me an altar of stone, you shall not build it of hewn stone; for if you use your tool on it, you have profaned it.
Exodus 24:13-18
13 So Moses arose with his assistant Joshua, and Moses went up to the mountain of God.
14 And he said to the elders, “Wait here for us until we come back to you. Indeed, Aaron and Hur are with you. If any man has a difficulty, let him go to them.”
15 Then Moses went up into the mountain, and a cloud covered the mountain.
16 Now the glory of the Lord rested on Mount Sinai, and the cloud covered it six days. And on the seventh day He called to Moses out of the midst of the cloud.
17 The sight of the glory of the Lord was like a consuming fire on the top of the mountain in the eyes of the children of Israel.
18 So Moses went into the midst of the cloud and went up into the mountain. And Moses was on the mountain forty days and forty nights.
Context
- Why did the people tremble and stand afar off? (Exodus 19:16-20, 20:18, 19, Deuteronomy 5:23-27)
Reflection
- How was Moses a mediator? How does this prefigure Christ? (Exodus 19:20, 33:9-11, 1 Timothy 2:5, Hebrews 4:14-16, 10:19-23)
- Why were they told to ‘fear not’ and ‘fear God’ in 20:20? (Exodus 14:13, Psalm 33:8, 34:11-13, 111:10, 147:11, 12, Proverbs 14:26, 27, 19:23, 23:17)
- What is the Glory of the Lord? (Exodus 33:18, 40:34-38, Deuteronomy 4:36, Is 6:1-5, Luke 2:14)
Testimony Time
- Do I fear the Lord? (Exodus 20:20, Proverbs 9:10, 15:16, 2 Corinthians 7:1, 1 John 4:18)
- How am I experiencing His glory? (2 Corinthians 3:18, 7:1, Hebrews 12:25-29, 1 Corinthians 10:31)
