“And all the people perceived the thunder and the lightning flashes and the sound of the trumpet and the mountain smoking; and when the people saw it, they trembled and stood at a distance.”
God had just finished handing
down The Ten Commandments to the people of Israel gathered at the foot of Mount
Sinai. [Note: There is still
some question as to whether or not the people at the foot of the mountain could
hear God give the commandments. It is possible
from the reading of the text to say only Moses and Aaron were able to do
so. But it is also possible to believe
that when Exodus chapter 20 starts, with God speaking, all could hear Him. There is no linguistic link to believing
those words were uttered only to Moses and Aaron. What matters, though, is that He did utter
these commandments either to them directly or for their sake.]
And not only did He utter the
commandments (I believe) to them, but He did it in the midst of the most
spectacular heavenly fireworks display we can imagine, complete with thunder,
lightning flashes, trumpet sound, and a smoking mountain, to boot.
Imagine yourself in that very
situation looking up the mountain, having listened to all that God had to say
or knowing at least that He was speaking to Moses and Aaron, and then suddenly
silence. How would you react?
The Bible says the people
were trembling motionless at a distance.
We could say they were visibly shaken.
No one spoke. No one knew what to
expect next or what to do. The almighty
God had been among them yet maintained His majestic omnipotence and glory. The people knew they had experienced an
earth-shattering occurrence – God was among them and spoke to them.
There are those that say that
God does not visit us or speak to us in the same way any more (or should I say,
these days). But here is what I
know. My Bible tells me God is the same
yesterday, today, and tomorrow. He never
changes. Why would He stop visiting or
speaking to us the way He did for Moses and Aaron and the children of Israel?
If so, there is a reason for it and it does not have to do with Him. I also know that God does not push His way
into our lives. So, if He is not
speaking to us or visiting us collectively as He did back on Mount Sinai it is
because He knows we would not listen; we would not even hear Him. (Just
over two thousand years ago, we did not listen to His Only Begotten Son who
lived among us and performed incredible miracles. Why would we listen to Him now?) We may not even be amazed at His startling
heavenly display of lights from flashing lightening – after all, we are no
longer awestruck with fireworks, Disney World extravaganzas, Olympic Games opening
or closing day ceremonies, or even the Northern Lights that He Himself created
for us. And as far as the noise of
thunder and lightning goes, well, our ears have been deafened by the Rock Bands
of our age. And even if He were to get
our attention, He knows the chances of us being visibly shaken or trembling,
are slim. There is nothing that can
easily faze us nowadays. We’ve seen it
all on television thanks to Hollywood.
So God chooses instead to reach us individually, using His still, small
voice, these days. And it is still and
small for a reason. Not because He cannot
repeat and excel His performance on Mount Sinai when anyone who was making any
kind of noise immediately became quiet when God spoke, but because these days
in order for us to hear Him, it is us who first have to become quiet and then invite
Him to do direct us.
God has not changed. He still very much wants to communicate with
His people. But I am sure He is tired
and perhaps saddened of being ‘unheard’, so He changed His approach – and He
did it because He loves us. He is
desperately trying to reach out to us, if we would only hear Him.
And while God does not give
us ‘Mount Sinai’ experiences now, He still communicates to His people
individually and sometimes in smaller groups that are seeking Him in
unison. But what has not changed at all
is the fact that He still watches for our reaction to His communication. Are we still awestruck? Do we tremble at the fact that God has spoken
to us directly and been present with us in a very real sense? Are we silent with godly fear after He has
spoken to us? Were we silent enough to
hear Him in the first place?
If you and I are missing out
on communications from God, it is not because He has gone off the air. No, it is because we do not expect it, we do
not prepare for it, we do not seek it. We’re
too busy listening to other frequencies.
And when His message tries to break through the plethora of competitive
airwaves, we miss it.
Recently I was challenged by
something I read to do just that – to expect God to speak with me after I have
sincerely sought Him and prepared myself for His doing so. It occurred to me that I spend a lot of time
in my car driving almost daily and as a big fan of keeping up with world news, my
car radio tuner is set to one of my favorite networks on my Sirius radio all
the time. It struck me that a) some of
this time could be well spent hearing from God, and b) that God may not want to
compete with world-famous network personalities – not that He couldn’t, mind
you. So, I started leaving my car radio
off each day until after my first full stop.
And no, I do not mean for a stop sign or a red light. To qualify, the stop would require me to turn
the engine off and get out of the car.
During those times in the last few weeks, God has spoken to me often and
clearly as I offer to Him exclusively an average of 30 to 40 minutes each
morning on my way to a client’s place.
And if one day, I get in my car again to take a longer trip – then I
expect to sit quietly before Him for a long session. Just God and me.
I encourage you identify what
is blocking God’s communication with you in your life and to remove those
obstacles if you are seriously seeking Him and His direction for you. Then wait to tremble in awe before your
God. The children of Israel and many
others throughout history to this very day will tell you it is well worth it.
_____________________________________________________________________
[Are you
looking for a speaker at your church, your club, school, or organization? Ken
is available to preach, teach, challenge, and/or motivate. Please contact us.]
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