What does it look like when people encounter the Almighty? What does it look like when the Almighty steps into the lives of men?
He is our
creator, and the maker of the universe.
We see His
appearance to Moses in the burning bush, and His presence in front of the
descendants of Jacob in the pillar of cloud by day and fire by night.
We have
been studying the Almighty’s deliverance of the descendants of Jacob from
slavery in Egypt. God intervened and
with mighty signs and wonders led the millions of Israelites out of Egypt. He led them out of Egypt to Mount Sinai to
meet with them there.
This was a
pivotal point in the life of the nation of Israel. This was a pivotal point in the history of
the world. It is probably safe to say
that this occasion has done more to shape history than any other, apart from
the life of Jesus Christ.
God gave
the 10 Commandments on this occasion.
God met
with His people.
I have
heard people talk about the God of the Old Testament. The question, “Why is God so different in the
Old Testament than He is in the New?” has been asked many times.
A famous
opponent of God, Richard Dawkins, in his book The God Delusion says:
“The God of the Old Testament is arguably the
most unpleasant character in all fiction: jealous and proud of it; a petty,
unjust, unforgiving control-freak; a vindictive, bloodthirsty ethnic cleanser;
a misogynistic, homophobic, racist, infanticidal, genocidal, filicidal,
pestilential, megalomaniacal, sadomasochistic, capriciously malevolent bully.” (pg. 51)
This is an
extreme statement of how many perceive God as He appears in the Old
Testament. Dawkins, along with many of
us, must be suggesting that he knows better how the Almighty should interact
with humanity.
As one goes
through the book of Exodus, he or she sees how obstinate and unbelieving we as
human beings tend to be. One sees
stubborn unbelief in the face of the most incredible miracles in recorded
history.
In chapters
19 and 20 of Exodus, God gets personal and direct in His interaction with the
people He has led out of Egypt. He
physically comes down to meet with His people. Exodus 19:16-19 says:
16On the
morning of the third day, thunder roared and lightning flashed, and a dense
cloud came down on the mountain. There was a long, loud blast from a ram’s
horn, and all the people trembled. 17Moses led them out from the
camp to meet with God, and they stood at the foot of the mountain. 18All
of Mount Sinai was covered with smoke because the LORD had descended on it in
the form of fire. The smoke billowed into the sky like smoke from a brick kiln,
and the whole mountain shook violently. 19As the blast of the ram’s
horn grew louder and louder, Moses spoke, and God thundered his reply.[i]
Can you
picture this?
It was
terrifying. Exodus 20:18-19 tells us
what the people felt like when they saw the Almighty appearing like this. Exodus 20:18-19 says:
18When the
people heard the thunder and the loud blast of the ram’s horn, and when they
saw the flashes of lightning and the smoke billowing from the mountain, they
stood at a distance, trembling with fear.
19And they
said to Moses, “You speak to us, and we will listen. But don’t let God speak
directly to us, or we will die!”
In this
terrifying setting, God begins to lay out the terms of His covenant. This covenant represents the conditions by
which people can remain in a right relationship to God.
The first
condition or statement of the Covenant is, “I am the LORD your God.” (Exodus 20:2)
This
statement is not a command, but it prefaces the first commandment. The first commandment is, “You must not have
any other god but me.” (Exodus 20:3) The
statement, “I am the Lord your God,” is the answer to the questions we have
raised. “What does it look like when
people encounter the Almighty? What does
it look like when the Almighty steps in to the lives of men?” It even explains
Richard Dawkins’ extreme reaction against God and His policies.
The answer
lies in the truth of who God is. This
statement, “I am the Lord your God,” contains two names for God, Lord and God,
or Yahweh Elohim.
The name Elohim is used in Genesis 1:1 when it
says, “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” This name
generally refers to the fact that God is the Creator and Judge of the universe. The root of the name is “El” which means
“Strong One,” or “Mighty.” It is the
name that contains the idea of the Almighty.
The name Yahweh is built off the root of “I Am.” Yahweh expresses who God is as far as language
will allow.
As the “I Am,” we understand that God never had a beginning. This truth is beyond our ability to comprehend.
As the “I Am,” He will never end.
As the “I Am,” He is absolute reality. Outside of Him, there is no other reality, unless He creates it. There can be no emptiness of space except He sustains it.
As the “I Am,” he is absolutely independent. There is nothing that He depends on or needs outside of Himself. Conversely, everything else depends completely on God. The universe and all it contains depends wholly on God for its existence.
As the “I Am,” we understand that God never had a beginning. This truth is beyond our ability to comprehend.
As the “I Am,” He will never end.
As the “I Am,” He is absolute reality. Outside of Him, there is no other reality, unless He creates it. There can be no emptiness of space except He sustains it.
As the “I Am,” he is absolutely independent. There is nothing that He depends on or needs outside of Himself. Conversely, everything else depends completely on God. The universe and all it contains depends wholly on God for its existence.
It is this
“Yahweh Elohim,” that comes to Mount
Sinai and says:
4You have
seen what I did to the Egyptians. You know how I carried you on eagles’ wings
and brought you to myself. 5Now if you will obey me and keep my
covenant, you will be my own special treasure from among all the peoples on
earth; for all the earth belongs to me. 6And you will be my kingdom
of priests, my holy nation. Exodus
19:4-6
Look again
at verse 5. God says, “If you will obey
me and keep my covenant.”
What right
does God have to require obedience? Why
should it matter to Him?
Besides the
fact that everything is His and He made it all, there are also the natural
results of rejecting Him.
The
Canaanites, whose land the Israelites were going to possess show us an example
of what happens when we reject God.
Deuteronomy 18:9-12 lists some of the things these people were
doing. It says:
9“When you enter the land the LORD
your God is giving you, be very careful not to imitate the detestable customs
of the nations living there. 10For example, never sacrifice your son
or daughter as a burnt offering. And do not let your people practice
fortune-telling, or use sorcery, or interpret omens, or engage in witchcraft, 11or
cast spells, or function as mediums or psychics, or call forth the spirits of
the dead. 12Anyone who does these things is detestable to the LORD.
It is because the other nations have done these detestable things that the LORD
your God will drive them out ahead of you.”
Let us look
at just one of the things listed here.
The
Canaanites were sacrificing their sons and daughters as burnt offerings. In other words, the most innocent and
helpless members of society were not protected by those entrusted with their
protection. They were not even given the
status of human beings, and could be sacrificed for the benefit of those whose
job it was to protect, nourish and love them.
This is
what the Bible calls the deceitfulness of sin.
When we choose not to obey God, we naturally become the slaves of sin,
of our own desires and appetites. For
example, most men have a desire for women.
If they do not control that desire, much harm and damage is done as they
go from woman to woman to woman. In
other words, just because we are born with a desire does not mean it should be
indulged. God warned Cain that sin was
crouching at the door ready to master him.
He gave in to his desire and murdered his brother.
Our world
today is full of the evidence of what men do without God. God has given us true freedom of choice and
we have filled the world with violence of every sort. All the words that Dawkins uses to indict God
are words that describe man’s inhumanity to man. Priests, pastors and parishioners are no
exception. Abuse, crime, fraud and
manipulation fill our governments, cities, homes and even churches.
Romans 6:16
says, “Don’t you realize that you become the slave of whatever you choose to
obey? You can be a slave to sin, which leads to death, or you can choose to
obey God, which leads to righteous living.”
Should the
judge of the universe stand idly by while innocent young children are abused
and murdered? No, He does not and He
will not. Have we forgotten the flood? Have we forgotten what happened to the
Canaanites? Richard Dawkins, along with this generation, is deliberately
forgetting or denying what God has done to deal with the sinfulness and evil we
have perpetuated in our world.
We think
that we are nice and do not deserve to be punished, let alone sent to hell to
suffer forever. Mount Sinai and the Law
were given to show us just how wrong we are.
God is not a sadistic megalomaniac as Dawkins suggests. However, He is righteous, just and pure and
will not stand idly by while His creation is missused for
the benefit of the whims of us megalomaniacs who think we have the right to
tell Him how to judge.
God is
extremely patient. Far from being
vindictive, in His great love for us He paid for our crimes Himself.
As the “I Am,” He is the only One who could pay the huge price for our sinful rebellion against Him.
At Mount Sinai, the Earth shook in terror at the presence of its Holy Maker. At Mount Calvary, it shook with sorrow as the Only Begotten Son of God laid down His life to satisfy the conditions of the covenant that we all have broken.
As the “I Am,” He is the only One who could pay the huge price for our sinful rebellion against Him.
At Mount Sinai, the Earth shook in terror at the presence of its Holy Maker. At Mount Calvary, it shook with sorrow as the Only Begotten Son of God laid down His life to satisfy the conditions of the covenant that we all have broken.
What does
it look like when people encounter the Almighty? What does it look like when the Almighty
steps in to the lives of men?
It looks
like fire, smoke and a shaking trembling mountain, or it looks like a Father
calling to His children to come safely home.
The difference is only one thing.
John 3:36 says it this way:
And anyone who believes in God’s
Son has eternal life. Anyone who doesn’t obey the Son will never experience
eternal life but remains under God’s angry judgment.
Through us,
God is making His plea to all men to be reconciled to Himself through faith in
Jesus Christ.
Come to Him that you can have life, because without Him there is only the terrifying expectation of certain judgement.
Come to Him that you can have life, because without Him there is only the terrifying expectation of certain judgement.
[i]
Unless otherwise noted Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New
Living Translation. Copyright © 1996,
2004, 2007 by Tyndale House Foundation.
Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Steam,
Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
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