The Great and Terrible King Appears

Introduction and Background

The law is about to be given but first the King comes to make clear it is His law that is about to be given. It is His law that must be obeyed for blessing. He stands behind His law and so should we.

Exposition

Verses 16 - 17: The arrival of the presence of God necessarily brings trembling as the gracious and terrible sovereign of creation comes in the midst of His people. As the transcendent sovereign of the universe comes down, even Moses trembled (Heb. 12:18-21). The awesome completely ‘other’ divine presence and majesty is coming to meet His people. In coming in this manner, The LORD of heaven demonstrates His power (thunder and lighting), mystery (dark cloud), holiness (fire - v. 18), and sovereignty (trumpet sound).[1] What other reaction could they have given? As we said last week, this is not a God to be treated lightly. Yes he is a God of rich love and mercy. He is great in His grace toward us. But He is also complete ‘other’ from us. We can’t forget this.

I am reminded at this point of the beatific vision of Isaiah found in Is. 6:1-7. In a time where the long time king died and the nation was mourning, Isaiah’s perspective was altered when he got a glimpse of God’s glory. What he describes is incredible. He tells us how the holy angels, the Seraphim in this case, used four of their six wings to cover their faces and feet. Keep in mind these are sinless beings who dwell in the heavenly realm. They are ministers of God. Yet the full glory of God was beyond what even they could handle. Concerning their feet, the late R.C. Sproul writes this in his book, The Holiness of God: “God commanded Moses to take off his shoes. Moses was standing on holy ground. The ground was made holy by the presence of God. The act of removing the shoes was a symbol of Moses’ recognition that he was of the earth—earthy. The feet of man, sometimes called “feet of clay,” symbolize our creatureliness. It is our feet that link us to the earth. The seraphim are not of the earth. Their feet are not made of clay. As angels they are spirit-beings. Nevertheless they remain creatures, and the imagery of Isaiah’s vision suggests that they too must cover their feet, acknowledging their creatureliness in the exalted presence of God.”[2]

Notice how Isaiah in his beatific vision also describes the trembling of the house and its filling with smoke. Even inanimate objects could not remain still at the coming of the awesome presence of God. The psalmist gives us a similar picture in Ps. 97:4-5. All of creation and metaphorically bow in submission and give reverence to the awesome majesty of God.

Verses 18 - 19: These latter images are echoing what is first seen here at Sinai. The King of the Universe, the Righteous and Terrible Judge of creation is stepping into his footstool. The mountain top is full of covered in a thick cloud. Yahweh, the consuming fire which purifies and destroys, in upon it. The ground shakes, something the people would have felt and feared. Full attendance and focus is required. Reverence is mandatory. Creation pays attention. The people see Moses converse with the LORD. What was being said we are told but this fulfills the LORD promise to elevate Moses before the people. Yet That is not

There is an interesting grammatical connection between verse 18 and Gen 19:28. This chapter of Genesis deals with the judgment and destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah. Notice the use of the same language: “ascended like the smoke of a furnace.” In our text this comes in the context of the LORD’s gracious coming to give his law. In Genesis it is in the context of judgment. The coming of the LORD and the giving of His law represents both grace and judgment.[3]

Verses 20 - 22: God and Moses meet on the top of the mountain. At this point only Moses may come. The mediator between God and His people alone has privilege to stand in His presence. Everyone else must stay behind the boundary. The people are warned to keep their distance. Returning to Isaiah for a moment, what was his response to seeing the veiled glory of God? It was woe is me (Is. 6:5)! Peter gave a similar response to Jesus’s miracle of all the fish in the nets (Lk. 5:8). When these men saw the glory and holiness of God, the reality of who He was and who they were hit them. Their unworthiness came to the forefront. Neither one had the thought of irreverently getting closer. Oh that we would have that fear.

It is an unfortunate aspect of human nature that we fail to listen to warnings the first time, sometimes the second or more. As we mentioned last week, curiosity can kill and some apparently were balking at the first warning. No one is entitled to barge into the Divine presence. One must be invited to come into the presence of the LORD. Matthew Henry puts it this way: “In divine things we must not covet to know more than God would have us know; and he has allowed us as much as is good for us. A desire of forbidden knowledge was the ruin of our first parents.... The restraints and warnings of the divine law are all intended for our good, and to keep us out of that danger into which we should otherwise, by our own folly, run ourselves. It is at our peril if we break the bounds that God has set us, and intrude upon that which he has not allowed us; the Bethshemites and Uzzah paid dearly for their presumption. And, even when we are called to approach God, we must remember that he is in heaven and we upon earth, and therefore it behoves us to exercise reverence and godly fear.”[4] Many a preacher has advised their church to pay attention when scripture repeats something. What was repeated here is the message: ‘To dishonor God’s holiness is to ensure death.’ This even applies to the priests. Priests?

There were apparently those operating in the capacities of priests, even before the formal institution of the priesthood. Aaron himself is never formally named as high priest but functions as one and certainly treated that way.[5]

Verses 23 - 25: Moses protests that the people have already been warned but Yahweh knows better. It is vital for this to be drilled into the people. The presence of the LORD is sacred. It must be honored as such by all the people all the time.

Practical Application

It must again be stressed again that we have far greater as then Israel had. They couldn’t touch the mountain. We can enter the holy of holies. They had to keep a distance from Mt. Sinai whereas we can meet on Mt. Zion. The blood of animals couldn’t bring them closer. The blood of Christ allows us to draw near. In Christ we can approach God with cleansed hearts of thanksgiving. We can say apologetically, joyfully, and in a greater sense than the psalmist whom wrote: “In Your presence is fullness of joy; In Your right hand there are pleasures forever”. We can come boldly because Christ has taken our sin and covered us with his blood. We have been adopted as sons and daughters, grafted into the vine by the death and resurrection of Christ. My point here is to stress that God is still just as holy now as He was then. Christ’s work on our behalf doesn’t alter the holiness of Yahweh. It satisfied His wrath. It isn’t God who is different. We are believers have changed, no able to draw near. We can rejoice in this nearness. We must not forget His transcendence.

Gospel Application

I already mentioned the repeated warnings to say back from the mountain. No one not invited by the LORD could approach on their own. His holiness would destroy them. There was need for a mediator. That need never went away. We are still just as sinful as those around that mountain. We still face destruction as the hand of the LORD if we fail to honor him. God is still just as dangerous to the unholy. What then is our resource. This answer is Jesus Christ. Through repentance and faith in Christ, we can safely be in God’s presence as sons or daughters and Father. This requires us to join with Isaiah and Peter and realizing we are sinners. Like Isaiah we need of sin forgiven (Is. 6:6-7). If you have come to the realization of Isaiah, I call you to repent indeed. Acknowledge your sin and worthiness of judgment, believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and confess him as savior and Lord. You shall be saved. Don’t delay. Now is the time. Repent and believe the gospel today.

Bibliography

1. Ryken, P. G., & Hughes, R. K. (2005). Exodus: saved for God’s glory (p. 513). Wheaton, IL: Crossway Books.

2. Sproul, R. C. (1993). The holiness of God (p. 36). Wheaton, IL: Tyndale House Publishers.

3. Niehaus, J. J. (1995). God at Sinai: Covenant and theophany in the bible and ancient Near East. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan. Pg. 196

4. Henry, M. (1994). Matthew Henry’s commentary on the whole Bible: complete and unabridged in one volume (p. 123). Peabody: Hendrickson.

5. Stuart, D. K. (2006). Exodus (Vol. 2). Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers. footnote no. 306