Rev. Johnson V.
27th February 2011

Nestled in the Bible, in Exodus 20:18-26, is a beautiful set of verses with a sad ending. The verses talk about how the God of the Universe came down to talk with His people, to call those He called His own, unto Himself. But they pulled away and stood afar, while Moses drew near. We can learn much from these two contrasting responses to God’s call to intimacy.

The God that we serve is neither shy, reticent nor aloof. He wants, no, He longs, to be with us. This is why, when God says that He will never leave us nor forsake us, we can believe Him. His character is one where He loves being involved in the minutest detail of our lives. He does not consider anything too petty for His attention. He longs to speak with us. God sometimes speaks through pastors, prophets and others around us, but He desires to speak with each of us personally, on a one-to-one basis. God does not need a mediator.

The stage, for this wonderful encounter, is set on Mount Sinai. God came down on the mountain. Note that the people didn’t rise up, but God came down. He made Himself audible and visible to the people. Why a mountain? God manifests Himself as specific times and places. We must learn to look for God’s appearance in every situation. Many times mountains look like impediments to our course, but they are actually escalators to a higher level. If nothing seems to be working out, keep trying, keep working, don’t be discouraged. There is a plan that God has in store – a plan to elevate you.

The prophet Jeremiah illustrates an important aspect of listening as God talk. In the eighteenth chapter of the Book of Jeremiah, God tells this rather renowned prophet to go to a lowly potters’ house and God will speak to him there. Jeremiah obeys. Once there, God does not give him a revelation immediately. Instead Jeremiah observes the potter at his work. It was only after a bit of time that God spoke and gave Jeremiah a valuable insight into His dealings with us. We must be humble enough to go through the various situations that God takes us through. God speaks in the manner and time that He chooses, not what we choose.

And what was it that God wanted to communicate to His people? Read Exodus 20:22 onwards. He told the Israelites that they should give Him His rightful place in their lives; that they should build Him an altar. An altar is a shadow of the cross. God instructs them not to use a tool on any of the stones for the altar. In the same way, we cannot modify the message of the cross and Christ’s salvation plan for us. God also tells them not to climb upon the altar. The priests in the old days wore skirts. If they were to climb the altar, there was a chance that they could expose their nakedness. There is nothing that can be higher than the altar (the victory won by our Lord Jesus on the cross of Calvary).

And God promises to bless the people. When God meets us on the mountain of our situation and we build an altar of sacrifice and worship, God will come and meet us there. And He will bless us. He will not come empty-handed.