The Mountain That Shook with Fire

Three moons after they walked out of Egypt, God's people came to the foot of a great mountain in the wilderness. The mountain was called Mount Sinai, and God had told the people he was coming down. Coming down close. To be with the very people he had carried up out of Egypt, the way a great eagle carries its little ones. He loved them. He had longed for this day, the way you long to finally meet a friend you have only heard about.

The people wanted to meet him too, though a small fear fluttered inside them. Only a little while before, they had watched God win a battle while Moses' tired arms were held high on the hilltop. They knew he was strong. Now they would find out how holy he was.

When God came down, the mountain shook.

Smoke rolled up from the top like the smoke of a furnace. Fire burned and would not stop. Thunder cracked, lightning flashed, and a trumpet sounded louder and louder, until the whole mountain trembled, and the people trembled too.

God was so holy, so pure and bright and good, that the people knew, way down deep, that they were not.

"Stay back," God said. "Do not even touch the edge of the mountain." He drew a line around it, a boundary they must not cross, because it was holy ground. So the people stood far off, watching the fire, their hearts pounding.

Then, out of the smoke, God spoke. He gave them ten good words, words to show them how to live and how to love. They were beautiful words. But the people could barely listen, because they were so afraid.

"Please," they begged Moses, "you talk to God for us. If God speaks to us himself, we are sure we will die. He is too holy. We cannot come close."

There is an ache in that day. God came down because he wanted to be near them. He came down because he loved them. And still they had to keep their distance. There was a fence around the fire, and the people stood on the wrong side of it, longing to come close, and not able to.

It was almost as if the mountain itself was waiting for something. Or for Someone.

One day there would come another mountain, a city of light and welcome, with no fences at all. And the One who would bring the people there would not stand far off. He would walk right up to them. He would let them touch him. He would eat at their table and hold the little children on his knee.

His name is Jesus. And when he came, he stood in the very place where the fire should fall, so that you would never have to be afraid of it again.

You do not have to stand far off. You do not have to watch the holy God from across a line with your heart pounding. Jesus has taken your hand and walked you all the way in. Come close. You are welcome now, and you always were.

And even there at Sinai, God was already making a way to come nearer. Up on that smoking mountain, he began telling Moses about a tent, a tent to be set right in the middle of the camp, so that he could live among his people. Turn the page, and you will see it.