SCRIPTURE BY DOUGLAS SMITH
Scripture Lesson Text : Exodus 19:16-25
Related Scriptures: Job 40:1-14; Psalms 96: 1-13; Hebrews 12: 18-29 Revelation 19: 4-10
In this lesson, we learned that the Israelites are at Mount Sinai where they are camped.
The Lord descended upon Mount Sinai, and there He gave Moses instructions for the people. In Job 40:1-14, these verses refers to the conversation that Job had with God, and in this dialogue, God reaffirms to Job of His majesty, excellency, glory, beauty, authority, and power. Job’s tone changed because he had thought previously God had forsaken him, but now felt and knew God was with him. It is important to remember that God never did forsake Job, and God was present strengthening him with His unseen hand.
In Psalms 96:1-13, it’s author, believed to be David, gives an example of how to praise God. These songs to the Lord were not only celebrations but also proclamations. We come into God’s presence to receive but also to give unto Him. The psalm ends with the joyful confidence that God will judge and set things right.
Hebrews 12:18-29, refers to the power of God as it rested on Mount Sinai, and the warnings given about approaching it. The New Covenant offers us Christ and gives us an ability to approach God, which the Old Covenant could not do. Revelation 19:4-10, depicts John, the beloved of Jesus , given revelation to the things that he was shown concerning the marriage supper of the Lamb. The praise precedes the marriage supper as well as the second coming of Christ in glory and the judgement of the nations.
SYNOPSIS BY JANICE HALL
Lesson Text: Exodus 19: 16-25
In today’s lesson we see these signs, thunder, lightning, power, and the glory signaled the presence of the Lord. The sound of the trumpet did not come from the camp, but from heaven, as the people trembled. Moses led the people up to the base of Mount Sinai. Israel heard the Lord God speak from Mount Sinai in an audible voice. God came down and Moses went up.
God called Moses and Aaron up to Mount Sinai, was not an open invitation for the whole nation to meet with God. We learn of God’s holy requirements and what we have to do before we can come to Him. We must receive God’s word, be set apart, be cleansed, respect God’s boundary, restrain the flesh, in order to know how to come to a holy God. Moses told the Israelites that because the Lord delivered them from the Egyptians, they must obey God and keep His covenant.
The author emphasized throughout the exposition, the focus of having a “ proper sense of fear and respect in our relationship with the Lord”. Israel learned to worship a God who is awesome, pure, and majestic. “ But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.”( I Peter2:9 esv)
PRACTICAL APPLICATION BY CHARLENE ARMSTRONG BROWN
The lesson today reveals God in all His splendor and glory, which demands a proper response of awe and reverence from His people. God is worthy of ALL our praise, worship, honor, obedience and respect. When we the chosen people, the called out ones, fully understand and comprehend who God is, then we can fully understand and comprehend who we are because of Him and His love towards us. 1 Peter 1:15-16 tells us; “But as He who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct. Because it is written, “Be holy for I am holy”.
In addition to reverencing God’s holiness, the scriptures also mention the preparations and requirements that the people were given by God Himself to enter into His presence. God is a holy God and He demands and requires His people to sanctify themselves before coming before Him. The same goes for us today, we can not and should not enter into God’s presence callously. Week after week we gather to fellowship with other believers in His temple, but do we enter into His gates with thanksgiving and His courts with praise? We must prepare ourselves, consecrate our hearts and confess our sins as we give thanks to our God for who He is and what He has done for us.
Even though God is holy, sacred, full of might and power, He still desires to be near His people. God in all his magnificence desired to come down to meet with His children. That is the act of an amazing and awesome God, one who would instruct His people to sanctify themselves so that they are not consumed, so He could meet with them. That’s the God we serve, one that is not distant, but one who is alive, active and present, one who desires to be a part of our everyday lives. The more time we spend with God the more we’ll reverence Him, worship Him and humbly surrender and submit to Him.
