One of the most famous God encounters in the Bible comes with Moses and the burning bush. But there is another interesting, and actually heart breaking, encounter in the book of Exodus between the Israelite people and God.

A few months after God demonstrated His compassion, mercy and miraculous power by rescuing the Israelites from slavery in Egypt, He tells Moses to get everyone ready to encounter His presence as they are camped in the desert at Mount Sinai.

Get Ready for God
“God said to Moses, ‘For the next two days get these people ready to meet the Holy God…because on the third day God will come down on Mount Sinai and make His presence known to all the people.’ On the third day at daybreak, there were loud claps of thunder, flashes of lightning, a thick cloud covering the mountain, and an ear-piercing trumpet blast. Everyone in the camp shuddered in fear.” (Exodus 19: 9, 10-13, 16)

“All the people, experiencing the thunder and lightning, the trumpet blast and the smoking mountain, were afraid—they pulled back and stood at a distance. They said to Moses, ‘You speak to us and we’ll listen, but don’t have God speak to us or we’ll die.’ Moses spoke to the people: ‘Don’t be afraid. God has come to test you and instill a deep and reverent awe within you so that you won’t sin. ‘The people kept their distance while Moses approached the thick cloud where God was.” (Exodus 20: 18-21)

Fear or Fear?
After reading about the intensity of the scene at Mount Sinai it’s understandable that the people were afraid. But here’s the thing…In the Bible when the “fear of God” is talked about, normally the word “fear” is a Hebrew word that means “respect, awe, reverence for God.” That is what Moses was describing that God wanted to instil in the people.

There is a difference, then, in fearing God and, say, being afraid of someone who is chasing you with a knife. Those are two completely different fears. The Israelites were just plain afraid. Instead of letting reverence and awe turn them toward the good and kind God who had already demonstrated His trustworthy nature to them, they allowed fear to persuade them to not want to encounter God directly.

While God wanted to have a relationship with each one of them, they were scared so they asked Moses to be their middle man. You notice that even though Moses was also trembling at the encounter with God, he still walked up into the cloud of God’s presence to meet with Him.

Moses wanted to hear from God!

I Have Experienced That Trembling
There have been a number of times in my life where I have been so overcome with the deep reverence, respect for and awe of God—the fear of God—that all I could do was to lay down completely prostrate on the floor, whole body trembling, and worship God. It is a “fearful” experience but not in a bad way.

It’s a holy experience.

One of those times came in the middle of the night in the midst of a loud and fierce Florida storm. The bright flashes of lightening and the loud claps of thunder kept awakening me throughout the night. As I lay awake I kept thinking that this must be a portion of what it sounded like that very day at Mount Sinai.

About the fourth time I was awakened by the thunder I completely felt the fear of God (awe, reverence, etc). The only way I can describe it is that God’s presence felt like a thick atmosphere in my room. The only possible response I had was to get up out of bed, lay with my face to the ground and worship God. In the middle of the night. In my dark bedroom. My entire body was trembling and it was an awe-inspiring experience.

The Same But Different
Encountering God, being in His presence, exposes how unclean and sinful we are. And yet, because Jesus’ blood has cleansed us and made us righteous in the eyes of the Father, the Bible says we can “come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive His mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it most.” (Hebrews 4:16)

The writer of Hebrews continues, talking about the scene in Exodus, “Unlike your ancestors, you didn’t come to Mount Sinai—all that volcanic blaze and earthshaking rumble—to hear God speak…No, that’s not your experience at all. You’ve come to Mount Zion, the city where the living God resides. The invisible Jerusalem is populated by throngs of festive angels and Christian citizens. It is the city where God is Judge, with judgments that make us just. You’ve come to Jesus, who presents us with a new covenant, a fresh charter from God. He is the Mediator of this covenant. (Hebrews 12:18, 22-24)

Let’s rejoice in Him!

So…
God wanted to meet with the Israelites but out of fear they declined. Have you ever done that? Turned your back on God because you felt scared or full of shame or unclean?

This week I encourage you to meet with God. Take the time to read His words, listen for His voice, serve Him, get on your face and worship Him with reverence and awe. Trust that as a follower of Jesus, made righteous because of His death and resurrection, you can boldly approach God’s throne and fellowship with Him.