These words the Lord spoke to all your assembly at the mountain out of the midst of the fire, the cloud, and the thick darkness, with a loud voice; and he added no more. And he wrote them on two tablets of stone and gave them to me. – Deut. 5:22
Scripture reading: Deut. 5:22-33
You are going to church at a mountain. You approach, but not too close. You’ve been warned against touching the mountain. You probably wouldn’t want to. It is full of fire, smoke and wind and shakes as you approach. You feel the ground trembling. This is not your regular church service. Then out of the fire, God speaks. His words? The Ten Commandments. God gives these words in the midst of the fire and smoke and speaks no more. I have called this the unveiled Word, but this is not entirely true. The Word of God is still veiled in darkness, fire and smoke. However, Israel does hear that Word directly from God.
That God chooses to speak this Word from the mountain, underlines its significance. God meets His people in this unique way and chooses that moment to give these Ten Words. They are a summary of God’s holiness and righteousness. In following these Ten Words, we reflect the holiness of God. This is the closest that the people of Israel ever came to God near the mount. We experience a far more fearsome unveiling, for we approach Mt. Zion by the Spirit, a place of glory and light. We are only able to bear it because the Word spoken on the mountain has become incarnate in Jesus Christ. Yet, even now we cannot properly speak of the Word as completely unveiled for someday Jesus Christ will step down from His role as Mediator and we shall have unveiled access to God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
Suggestions for prayer
Thank God for the closeness of the communion we have with Him in Jesus Christ. Pray for continual humility and thankfulness for this gift of God.
This daily devotional is available in a print edition you can buy at Nearer to God Devotional. Rev. James Zekveldis the pastor of the Ambassador Canadian Reformed Church In Niverville, MB.
