Summary: TRANSFIGURATION(A) - See the glory of the Lord as your hear God’s commands and as you dwell in the Lord’s glory.
SEE THE GLORY OF THE LORD
Exodus 24:12, 15-18 - February 22, 2004
12The LORD said to Moses, "Come up to me on the mountain and stay here, and I will give you the tablets of stone, with the law and commands I have written for their instruction."
15When Moses went up on the mountain, the cloud covered it, 16and the glory of the LORD settled on Mount Sinai. For six days the cloud covered the mountain, and on the seventh day the LORD called to Moses from within the cloud. 17To the Israelites the glory of the LORD looked like a consuming fire on top of the mountain. 18Then Moses entered the cloud as he went on up the mountain. And he stayed on the mountain forty days and forty nights.
+ + + + + + + + + + + + + +
In the Holy Scriptures we read of several different mountain top experiences. We heard of one mountain top experience in the Gospel for today (LUKE 9:28-36). In this lesson Jesus went up on the mountain and took with Him Peter, James and John and was transfigured. Jesus was changed before their very eyes. We celebrate Transfiguration Day as a link between seeing the glory of God during the Epiphany season and then the suffering of our Savior during Lent, which begins this Wednesday. During Lent we see another mountaintop, though not quite as high as a real mountain, Calvary—Golgotha where the Savior is crucified.
Today, we are told about Moses on top of a mountain and how things would change for the children of Israel. Moses sees the glory of the Lord. Because of his seeing the glory of the Lord, we also are privileged to see God’s glory. Last Wednesday in Bible study we finished our study of 2 Peter. We were reminded of the importance of the Old Testament as it applies to our life. 2 Peter 1 tells us: "And we have the word of the prophets made more certain, and you will do well to pay attention to it, as to a light shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts" (2 PETER 1:19). So we look at these words from Exodus, the words of the Old Testament prophets. We pay attention to them so that light can shine in the darkness of our heart and rise as a morning star in our lives.
Today we see the glory of the Lord: WE SEE THE GLORY OF THE LORD
I. as we hear God’s commands
II. as we dwell in God’s glory in our lives.
I. We see God’s glory as we hear God’s commands
Now the book of Exodus in the Bible is an account, of course, of the children of Israel as they exited or went out of Egypt and made their journey into the Promise Land. We know that when they first saw the Promised Land they did not enter it. The spies the Israelites sent out came back with conflicting reports. Rather than listen to the two spies who told the truth, they listened to the other spies that did not. So the children of Israel wandered for forty years. Along with that wandering in the wilderness for forty years, many different things happened, didn’t they? The Lord God provided the Israelites with manna. Their clothes did not wear out, and their sandals did not wear out on their feet because of God’s divine providing for them. There was water for them from a rock, so they would not thirst. Of course, that which everyone knows most about is the Ten Commandments.
Today, we are told how Moses went to get those Ten Commandments from God Himself. 12The LORD said to Moses, "Come up to me on the mountain and stay here, and I will give you the tablets of stone, with the law and commands I have written for their instruction." This is the first mention of the tablets of stone. God was going to write them down for the children of Israel and for all nations. There were a couple of reasons why. First of all, over the years and generations, the Law that was put on man’s heart had become clouded and distorted and sometimes even forgotten and forsaken. Moses comes up on Mount Sinai, and the Lord is going to write down on tablets of stone the Ten Commandments so that people would be without excuse. They can’t say, "Well, I don’t know what the Law says."
Moses hears the Word of the Lord, and he is going to see the glory of the Lord. We are told: When Moses went up on the mountain, Moses entered the cloud as he went up on the mountain. He heard God’s Word and went there. There was a cloud there. Verse 15: 15When Moses went up on the mountain, the cloud covered it; and the glory of the Lord settled on Mount Sinai. You and I heard about the cloud that came at the Transfiguration. The disciples were frightened to enter it. Here, Moses enters it, because he hears the voice of the Lord, he obeys the Lord’s command to come and see. Then Moses is also going to see God’s glory.