Lesson 60 - Junior

Memory Verse

"See that ye refuse not Him that speaketh" (Hebrews 12:25).

Notes

Sinai

The Children of Israel have come to the wilderness of Sinai. This was not strange territory for Moses, because it was here that he had tended his father in law's flocks while an exile from Egypt. It was at Mount Horeb that God spoke to Moses from the burning bush and commissioned him to go back to Egypt to lead out His chosen people. Mount Horeb is a chain of mountains of which Sinai is a peak, and the names are used interchangeably. The Children of Israel are to camp in this location for almost a year, and some of the most solemn and impressive scenes in Bible history appear here. Here God gives the Ten Commandments.

God had spoken from time to time to Moses from the pillar that was leading them on their pilgrimage, and now the cloud evidently hovered over the top of the mountain, and Moses went up to talk with God. We read of Moses, at the close of his life: "And there arose not a prophet since in Israel like unto Moses, whom the LORD knew face to face" (Deuteronomy 34:10). What wonderful blessings Moses received because He lived wholly to please God!

On Eagles' Wings

The Lord told Moses to remind the Children of Israel of the wonders they had seen Him perform in Egypt, and to remind them of the way He had borne them up as on eagles' wings. When a mother eagle teaches her young to fly, she pushes them out of the nest to force them to use their wings. But if the eaglet cannot keep aloft, or is in danger of dashing itself against a cliff, the mother will fly under it and lift it again on her wings to a higher altitude for a new effort. In like manner God had lifted up His people and kept them from hurting themselves. He had drawn them to Himself, a special people. That is how much He loved them, in spite of their murmurings. And He did so want them to love Him!

God told Moses that if the Israelites would obey Him they should be a peculiar treasure unto Him. We know what a treasure is: something that is very valuable to us, something we especially love and take good care of. That is just what God thought of the Children of Israel. He was the Creator of the world and everything that is in it, including all the people; but He was going to show special favour to this group of people whom He had chosen to bear His name. He wanted them to be a holy nation, and they should all be priests ([EXO:19:6]). We shall see that they failed miserably of living up to what He desired; but through the Blood of Jesus we can fulfil that will of God and be a royal priesthood unto God ([1PE:2:5]).

Hasty Promises

Moses went down from the mountain and told the people what God had said. The promises God had made sounded good to them; they were eager to receive the blessing about which God spoke. They quickly promised to do everything that God asked, but they did not stop to consider what it meant to do the will of God. Very soon after His glory was shown to them, they forgot all about the Lord. Solomon, the wisest man in all the earth, said, "Better is it that thou shouldest not vow, than that thou shouldest vow and not pay" (Ecclesiastes 5:5). They promised to do all God asked, but almost immediately they went back on their promises.

God offers us even more than He promised the Israelites, and He asks so little in return; but how few there are who are willing to be obedient to the Lord in order to enjoy His blessings!

Moses returned the next day to the mount and told God that the Children of Israel had promised to do all He asked.

The Voice of God

God now tells Moses a little of the awesome event that is about to take place. In three days He is going to speak out of a thick cloud to Moses is such a manner that everyone will hear. They will never be able to offer the excuse that Moses is not sent by God, that He knows no more than they. They will hear the Voice from the cloud, but they will see no one.

Think how those people must have felt when they were going before the Lord! Moses directed them to cleanse themselves thoroughly, and wash al their clothes. They had to be clean when they came before the God of all the earth. When one comes before God he cannot cover any of his sins. If he expects an answer to his prayers, he must confess his sins first, and be forgiven, then he can ask God for greater things. The washing of clothes here is a type of our inward cleansing when the Blood of Jesus covers our sins.

The people were given three days to prepare themselves, and then they were to gather at the base of the mountain to listen to God.

Fifty Days After the Passover

It was now the third month since the Israelites had left Egypt. Some believe that when the Scripture states "the same day" it refers to the first day of the month. If such be the case, and one day is allowed for Moses' going into the mountain and returning, and another day for his giving the people's answer to God, the next three days would add up to fifty since the Passover.

After the mode of living for the Israelites was established, they were to celebrate three feasts: the Passover on the 14th day of the first month; the Feast of Weeks, which was celebrated a week of weeks (seven weeks) after the Passover; and the Feast of Tabernacles, which came in the fall of the year. The Feast of Weeks (fifty days after the Passover) is called Pentecost in the New Testament, and was the day the Holy Ghost fell upon the 120 in the upper room, 50 days after Jesus died as our Paschal Lamb. It is believed by some that the Feast of Weeks was held to commemorate the giving of the Law ([DEU:16:9-12]).

The Mount that Burned

The great day came. All the people were gathered around the foot of the mountain. God had commanded Moses to set a boundary so that none of the people through curiosity or boldness would venture too near, because "if so much as a beast touch the mountain, it shall be stoned, or thrust through with a dart" (Hebrews 12:20). That morning there was a rumbling on the mountaintop, and smoke billowed high. Thunder crashed, and the whole mountain shook as by an earthquake. There was such an upheaval of nature that even Moses became frightened. Then came the long clear blast of a trumpet, blown by God Himself or the angels who accompanied Him. It blew louder and louder until Moses spoke to God. The Lord answered Moses "by a voice," and commanded him to ascend the mountain. But God was not ready to give the Law. He knew how wilful the Children of Israel were, and He was still they did not realise how important it was for them not to come too close to the mountain. So He sent Moses down to warn the people once more to keep their distance. However, when he came up the mountain again he was to bring Aaron with him, so he, too, could hear when God gave the Law. Aaron was soon to be anointed as priest, and he needed the divine authority to give him honour with the people.

The people became so frightened with all the thunder and lightning, the fire and smoke, that they drew back from God. They told Moses he could go and talk with God, and tell them what His commandments were, "but let not God speak with us, lest we die."

The Love of Jesus

Today we do not have to be afraid when we come to Jesus. He holds out His arms of love; He died to satisfy the wrath of God, and made the way whereby we can enter into the Holiest of All. He has made us, who are washed in the Blood of Jesus, members of the church of the first born whose names are written in Heaven (Hebrews 12:18 24). But since Jesus has given us such wonderful heavenly blessings, we must be careful to live to please Him, or we will deserve even greater punishment than the Israelites had to suffer when they disobeyed God.

Questions

1. Where are the Children of Israel now camped?

2. Have we ever heard of this site before?

3. What does God ten Moses is going to happen after the Israelites have purified themselves for three days?

4. How did God announce His presence? Why were the Israelites afraid?

5. What would happen if either a man or an animal touched the mountain?