“You have not come to a mountain that can be touched and that is burning with fire; to darkness, gloom and storm; to a trumpet blast or to such a voice speaking words that those who heard it begged that no further word be spoken to them, because they could not bear what was commanded: ‘If even an animal touches the mountain, it must be stoned.’ The sight was so terrifying that Moses said, ‘I am trembling with fear.’ ” (Hebrews 12:18-19)
We don’t get God’s holiness. We trivialize Him. We make Him smaller in our minds and with our words so that we can imagine being in relationship with Him. The Israelites cowering before Mount Sinai didn’t have that choice. God’s all-consuming holiness appeared there as a storm and fire and thunderous holy voice painful to sinful human ears.
It’s not just that God has a high-and-mighty attitude, that He is too proud to mingle with His unclean creatures. It is that He is truly high and endlessly mighty. He is completely other from anything sinful; His holiness will consume corruption in fire. He must not share space with it.
So He established a holy perimeter for the trembling Israelites to keep them from getting too close. Even the stray calf would be killed for wandering into His zone of powerful righteousness.
Still, there He was, to bring His Law to His people, to give them the opportunity to live as He required and to be forgiven. That was love. Terrifying, epic, holy love.
Think: Do we tend to trivialize God’s holiness? Does our closeness with Him because of Jesus sometimes make us too casual about respecting Him?
Pray: Thank God for His holiness and purity and power. Then thank Him for making you clean by washing you in the holy blood of Jesus.
Do: Try to imagine what it must have been like to be in that crowd of Israelites huddling next to Mount Sinai and waiting for Moses to come back with words from God.