Context: Exodus 19:1-25

Focus: “On the morning of the third day there were thunders and lightnings and a thick cloud on the mountain and a very loud trumpet blast, so that all the people in the camp trembled.”Exodus 19:16

God told Moses in the Wilderness of Sinai on the mountain to tell the people to keep His covenant and He would make them a Holy nation, set apart. He told Moses to have the people consecrate themselves by washing their clothes and restraining from sexual intercourse for three days.  God placed a boundary around the mountain He descended upon lest they be destroyed while His presence was there.  He appeared as fire and smoke on the mountain as He spoke to Moses, and the people trembled at the sound and sight of it all.

The awesomeness and Holiness of God was demonstrated to the Israelites as Moses received the instruction of God’s covenant.  Before the people could come near to God and receive His Commandments, they were to cleanse themselves and not come near the presence of God until He summoned them with His trumpet.  Yet God has descended to us, not from a mountain or from any place on earth but from heaven in the flesh of His Son, Jesus Christ.

The sight and sound of God’s presence was so terrifying that the people trembled and did not want to hear God’s voice. But now in the new covenant, with God’s promise to redeem, Jesus came to us while we were still  sinning, receiving upon Himself God’s wrath, on the altar of sacrifice, forgiving all mankind their sins.
(Hebrews 3:15, Romans 5:8)

Christ draws near to us to instruct, sanctify, and save all who will draw near to Him with a sincere and repentant heart. (James 4:8)

So what is the voice of God that convicts a man or a woman of their need for a Savior and God’s Grace?  It’s not in fire or smoke or any external dramatic demonstration, but the gospel message by the Holy Spirit’s conviction that causes us to hear, and draw near to God’s Son, Jesus Christ. (Ephesians 1: 13-14)

Cross References: Hebrews 12: 18-21, Zechariah 4:1-6, 1 Kings 19:11-13

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