The Way
God Comes Down on the Mountain
A people carried on eagles' wings
Story
Leaving Rephidim, the people entered the Wilderness of Sinai. It was in the third month after they had come out of Egypt. In a silent land where peaks of red granite pierced the sky, they camped before the mountain. Moses went up to God, and the Lord called to him from the mountain. Say this to the house of Jacob, and tell the children of Israel.
You have seen what I did to Egypt, and how I carried you on eagles' wings and brought you to myself. Now if you keep my covenant, you will be my treasured possession, a kingdom of priests and a holy nation. When Moses passed on these words, the people answered with one voice. Everything the Lord has said, we will do. They washed their clothes, made themselves clean, and waited for the third day. A boundary was marked out all around the mountain.
On the morning of the third day there was thunder and lightning, a thick cloud covered the mountain, and a trumpet blast rang out loud. Everyone in the camp trembled. Moses led the people out, and they stood at the foot of the mountain. The Lord came down upon it in fire, and the mountain poured out smoke like a furnace and shook violently. The sound of the trumpet grew louder and louder.
Walk this scene on the map →God's Words
You have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I carried you to myself as an eagle carries its young on its wings.
The whole earth is mine, but if you truly listen to me and keep my covenant, you will be for me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.
We will do everything the Lord has said.
The sayings are fresh renderings of the original meaning in today's language. Text: Ex 19:1–25
Background
Mount Sinai is traditionally identified with Jebel Musa, the Mountain of Moses, in the southern Sinai Peninsula, about 2,285 metres high. But other suggestions include Jebel Serbal, the northern part of the peninsula and mountains in northwestern Arabia, so the exact location is unknown.
Pause and Reflect
How seriously do I take the fact that I stand before a holy God?