“When the people saw the thunder and lightning and heard the trumpet and saw the mountain in smoke, they trembled with fear. They stayed at a distance and said to Moses, “Speak to us yourself and we will listen. But do not have God speak to us or we will die.”
In this passage we see one of the first times God speaks his people. Moses heard from God that He was going to speak to the people from a cloud on Mount Sinai. If you read verse 18 it says that when the people saw the thundering and lightning and heard the trumpet and saw the mountain in the smoke, they trembled with fear. They stayed at a distance and said to Moses, “Speak to us yourself and we will listen. But do not have God speak to us or we will die.” Thus began the hundreds of years of what would become the Pharisees and Sadducees of Jesus’ day we read about in the gospels. A direct God to man relationship through the priests and the prophets. Yet despite all the laws that Moses would write for the Israelites that came directly from God, they still turned away from God many times. We read the history of Israel in the Old Testament and the littered past of them going astray, worshiping other gods, and sinning. We read about a few that followed what God wanted them to do and He blessed them.
Looking back, a glaring realization comes to focus. The way God set things up was to magnify the gap between man and God. Psalm 14:3 says, “They have all turned aside; together they have become corrupt; there is none who does good, not even one.” If anything, God set up things this way so that we can read how man attempts to get close to God. You would think that God’s chosen people were the ones to get it right because after all, God spoke to them first. Surely they would reach this pinnacle of acceptance from God. Well, even the Israelites got it wrong. The truth is that man can never measure up to God’s standard even when being persuaded by prophets and priests.
The Bible says that our righteousness is as filthy rags to God. Enter in the grace of God through Jesus Christ. Born in manger, not thundering from a cloud. He grew up in Nazareth, a little town with little significance. Preaching the good news of the grace of God near small fishing villages surrounding the Sea of Galilee. Fulfilling all the prophesies of His coming and by dying on the cross, He made a way to bridge the gap between God and man. He even discipled twelve men who spread His message that changed the world as we know today.
Galatians 5:16 says “But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh.” Israel’s history was filled with carrying out those desires. Without the Spirit of God active inside of you, you will have a hard time fighting the flesh and will seldom overcome the evil desires of your flesh. The entire Old Testament is pointing us to towards this fact. Today examine your walk, is it by the Spirit or by the flesh? If by the Spirit then victory and overcoming should follow, if by the flesh then frustration and failure. Jesus paved the way for us to be close to God through cross. We don’t have to be afraid of speaking to God like the Israelites were at the base of Mt. Sinai. Don’t let Satan fill your head with images of an angry God who only shows himself with fire and thunder.
1 Kings 19:11-13 says, “The Lord said, “Go out and stand on the mountain in the presence of the Lord, for the Lord is about to pass by.” Then a great and powerful wind tore the mountains apart and shattered the rocks before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. After the earthquake came a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper. When Elijah heard it, he pulled his cloak over his face and went out and stood at the mouth of the cave. Then a voice said to him, “What are you doing here, Elijah?”
The Holy Spirit will whisper in your ear similar in a still small voice. No thundering cloud, no violent shaking, but rather a still small voice. Do you hear it?
Let It Go 
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