Two Mountains: One Mandate

Then Moses brought the people out of the camp to meet God, and they took their stand at the foot of the mountain. Now Mount Sinai was wrapped in smoke because the LORD had descended on it in fire. The smoke of it went up like the smoke of a kiln, and the whole mountain trembled greatly. And as the sound of the trumpet grew louder and louder, Moses spoke, and God answered him in thunder. The LORD came down on Mount Sinai, to the top of the mountain. And the LORD called Moses to the top of the mountain, and Moses went up. And the LORD said to Moses, “Go down and warn the people, lest they break through to the LORD to look and many of them perish. Also let the priests who come near to the LORD consecrate themselves, lest the LORD break out against them.” And Moses said to the LORD, “The people cannot come up to Mount Sinai, for you yourself warned us, saying, ‘Set limits around the mountain and consecrate it.’ ” And the LORD said to him, “Go down, and come up bringing Aaron with you. But do not let the priests and the people break through to come up to the LORD, lest he break out against them.” So Moses went down to the people and told them. And God spoke all these words, saying, “I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. “You shall have no other gods before me.

Notice the…

The mountain was wrapped in smoke because the LORD had descended on it in fire.

And listen to v.12-13

12 And you shall set limits for the people all around, saying, ‘Take care not to go up into the mountain or touch the edge of it. Whoever touches the mountain shall be put to death. 13 No hand shall touch him, but he shall be stoned or shot; whether beast or man, he shall not live.’ When the trumpet sounds a long blast, they shall come up to the mountain.”

From 20:1-17 we have the giving of the 10 commandments.

Then in vs. 18, we read…

18 Now when all the people saw the thunder and the flashes of lightning and the sound of the trumpet and the mountain smoking, the people were afraid and trembled, and they stood far off 19 and said to Moses, “You speak to us, and we will listen; but do not let God speak to us, lest we die.” 20 Moses said to the people, “Do not fear, for God has come to test you, that the fear of him may be before you, that you may not sin.” 21 The people stood far off, while Moses drew near to the thick darkness where God was. – Exodus 20:18–21

So what does all of this mean? Well, as was the case last week, we have a New Testament passage that tells us what to make of it. Look at Hebrews 12:18-24

18 For you have not come to what may be touched, a blazing fire and darkness and gloom and a tempest 19 and the sound of a trumpet and a voice whose words made the hearers beg that no further messages be spoken to them. 20 For they could not endure the order that was given, “If even a beast touches the mountain, it shall be stoned.” 21 Indeed, so terrifying was the sight that Moses said, “I tremble with fear.” 22 But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to innumerable angels in festal gathering, 23 and to the assembly of the firstborn who are enrolled in heaven, and to God, the judge of all, and to the spirits of the righteous made perfect, 24 and to Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel.

Section 1: The Two Mountains

Two different mountains

Two different mountains. Sinai and Zion. One outside of the promise land. One inside the promise land. One represents the Old Covenant and the other the New Covenant. One law. The other gospel. And the quality of these two covenants is reflected in the names for the mountains.

The Old Covenant Mountain:
Sinai – thorny or even hateful, harsh
Horeb - to lay waste, be dried up

The New Covenant Mountain:
Zion - monument, maker, permanence
Salem - peace

Moving from one mountain to another

God has designed the story of Exodus to reveal some deeper theological truths. The Jews were headed into the promise land – which was a place of unmerited favor. It was given to them. Cities they did not build. Vineyards they did not plant. Wells they did not dig. The promise land represents gospel peace. But to get to mount Zion, they had to first stop at mount Sinai.

We move from the law into the gospel. We are given awareness of sin in the law and the solution to sin in the gospel. Nobody ever arrives at the peace of Salem without feeling the thorns of Sinai.

Two different mediators

What accounts for the difference in the mountains? God is the same yesterday, today, and forever. One of the early church age heretics, a man named Marcion, could not reconcile the God of the OT and the God of the NT. He believed that the God of the OT was a lesser god, a gnostic demiurge and that the God of the NT came to set the record straight. But what Marcion failed to understand is that God appears differently from the OT to the NT because Christ is a better mediator than Moses.

The virtue of the mediation affects the vibe of the mountain.

When Moses, a mere man, mediates between God and man, we feel terror, fear, woe, etc…
When Jesus, the god-man, mediates for us, we feel joy and peace.

Moses has to say, “don’t get too close…”
Jesus is able to say, “draw near…boldly approach the throne of grace.”

What accounts for the difference? The writer of Hebrews says that the Old Covenant has something to do with the blood of Abel and the New Covenant has something to do with the blood of Christ.

See that in vs. 22-24

22 But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to innumerable angels in festal gathering, 23 and to the assembly of the firstborn who are enrolled in heaven, and to God, the judge of all, and to the spirits of the righteous made perfect, 24 and to Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel.

What does that mean? Two men who had unique favor from God – killed by their jealous brothers. Abel killed by Cain. Jesus killed by his fellow Jews. But Abel’s blood cried out for vengeance. Abel’s blood is all accusation. But Jesus’ blood cried out for forgiveness. Abel’s blood is accusation. Jesus’ blood is reconciliation.

So the reason for the different mountains is not different gods. Rather different mediators. One representing the need for justice. The other representing the accomplishment of justice.

Something like that.

The same mandate

Now what’s interesting is that in spite of the fact that you’ve got two different mountains, and two different mediators, the mandate from both mountains is the same.

Yes, the second mountain is mediated by a superior mediator. Yes, it is a place of joy, peace, and welcoming. But there is no relaxation of God’s righteous requirement.

In Hebrews 12:18-24, we have the better mountain and the better mediator. But in vs. 25-29 we see that the mandate, the righteous requirement of God remains.

25 See that you do not refuse him who is speaking. For if they did not escape when they refused him who warned them on earth, much less will we escape if we reject him who warns from heaven. 26 At that time his voice shook the earth, but now he has promised, “Yet once more I will shake not only the earth but also the heavens.” 27 This phrase, “Yet once more,” indicates the removal of things that are shaken—that is, things that have been made—in order that the things that cannot be shaken may remain. 28 Therefore let us be grateful for receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, and thus let us offer to God acceptable worship, with reverence and awe, 29 for our God is a consuming fire.

Now look back at Exodus 19:21-20:3

21 And the LORD said to Moses, “Go down and warn the people, lest they break through to the LORD to look and many of them perish. 22 Also let the priests who come near to the LORD consecrate themselves, lest the LORD break out against them.” 23 And Moses said to the LORD, “The people cannot come up to Mount Sinai, for you yourself warned us, saying, ‘Set limits around the mountain and consecrate it.’ ” 24 And the LORD said to him, “Go down, and come up bringing Aaron with you. But do not let the priests and the people break through to come up to the LORD, lest he break out against them.” 25 So Moses went down to the people and told them. 20 And God spoke all these words, saying, 2 “I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. 3 “You shall have no other gods before me.

See the same mandate?

Hebrews 12:28-29 – “thus let us offer to God acceptable worship with reverence and awe for our God is a consuming fire.”

Exodus 20:3 – “You shall have no other gods before me.”

Puritan Thomas Shepard "the gospel requires believers to be holy and perfect... The law and the gospel each require as much perfection as the other in the matter of holiness." (p.51)

The swiss reformer Johanne Wolleb, “It is not that the law is strict and the gospel is lax. Rather, both law and gospel require “perfect obedience.”

So whichever mountain you’re standing before, the mandate is the same. All human beings everywhere are commanded by God to worship and serve him alone.

And the cross does not change this requirement at all.

So why then, are the mountains so different? Or why is the New Covenant better?

Section 2: The Two Law Givings

There’s another theological connection to Sinai that I want you to see. You know a little while back, we saw the very first Passover. A feast that was celebrated every year by the Jews for thousands of years that followed.

But in Exodus 19, another feast is initiated. This one called Shavuot (shuhvooowt). The Feast of Weeks. That takes place 7 weeks after passover. And Shavuot commemorates the receiving of the law.

Btw, this is also right around the time the final grain harvests are coming in. Which was also celebrated. So when Jesus quotes “man shall not live by bread alone but by every word that proceeds from God’s mouth” – there was a very deep cultural connection between bread and the law.

Anyway, this receiving of the law that we see in Exodus 19 was, thereafter celebrated as Shavuot – seven weeks of seven days (7x7). So the passover winds up being correlated with the cross and resurrection. Do you know how this appears in the New Testament? We don’t have the word Shavuot, we have the word Pentecost. Which means 50. It is the same thing. The more hellenistic Jews call Shavuot Pentecost.

So turn with me to Acts 2:1-4

2 When the day of Pentecost arrived, they were all together in one place. 2 And suddenly there came from heaven a sound like a mighty rushing wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. 3 And divided tongues as of fire appeared to them and rested on each one of them. 4 And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance.

Do you see the similarities between this passage and Exodus 19? God descending via fire.

Only in Pentecost, the men are the mountains.
At Sinai, the law was given externally, on tablets of stone.
At Pentecost, the law was given internally, on the tablets of their hearts.

Now in explaining this phenomenon, Peter cites from a series of Old Testament scriptures including Ezekiel 36:28

22 “Therefore say to the house of Israel, Thus says the Lord GOD: It is not for your sake, O house of Israel, that I am about to act, but for the sake of my holy name, which you have profaned among the nations to which you came. 23 And I will vindicate the holiness of my great name, which has been profaned among the nations, and which you have profaned among them. And the nations will know that I am the LORD, declares the Lord GOD, when through you I vindicate my holiness before their eyes. 24 I will take you from the nations and gather you from all the countries and bring you into your own land. 25 I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean from all your uncleannesses, and from all your idols I will cleanse you. 26 And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. 27 And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules. 28 You shall dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers, and you shall be my people, and I will be your God.

So the mandate remains the same. It is your absolute duty to love God and worship and serve him only. But the means of obeying that mandate has been given to you and I in a way that it was not given to the people who stood at Sinai.

We have been given the Spirit of God – the law of God written on our hearts – and he causes us to walk in God’s statutes and be careful to obey his rules.

Application:

Now we all know this isn’t a fully automatic thing. The will is still involved. So my question is simply this. How does the Spirit work on our will to lead us away from idolatry and into “acceptable worship with reverence and awe.”

Let me just give you one key idea. It isn’t the only one but it is key. And it ties in with what we talked about last week (grumbling).

Look at Exodus 19:1-3 – “I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. You shall have no other gods before me.”

And now look at Hebrews 12:28 – “28 Therefore let us be grateful for receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, and thus let us offer to God acceptable worship, with reverence and awe, 29 for our God is a consuming fire.”

In both texts, prior to the command, we are given a justification for the command. Namely, God has done great things for us.

I am the Lord your God who brought you out of slavery – therefore you shall have no other gods

Let us be grateful for receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken and therefore let us offer to God acceptable worship.

How does the Holy Spirit work in our hearts to drive out the idols and energize real love for God alone?

He uses gratitude. I don’t think that’s a very remarkable idea. I think it is very obvious. I think we all understand that…

Gratitude fuels loyalty.
Grumbling fuels disloyalty.
But gratitude fuels loyalty.

And we’ve seen, on several occasions, we’ve seen that the Hebrews had a very hard time conjuring up gratitude – which of course – is connected in fundamental ways to remembering God’s past faithfulness.

So the Old Covenant is inferior in this respect. It depends on gratitude and godly memory – but fails to offer the spiritual power we need to overcome forgetfulness, pride, presumptuousness, forgetfulness.

And the New Covenant is superior in this respect. Through the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, godly memory and therefore gratitude are furnished.

Acts 2:5–11

5 Now there were dwelling in Jerusalem Jews, devout men from every nation under heaven. 6 And at this sound the multitude came together, and they were bewildered, because each one was hearing them speak in his own language. 7 And they were amazed and astonished, saying, “Are not all these who are speaking Galileans? 8 And how is it that we hear, each of us in his own native language? 9 Parthians and Medes and Elamites and residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, 10 Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya belonging to Cyrene, and visitors from Rome, 11 both Jews and proselytes, Cretans and Arabians—we hear them telling in our own tongues the mighty works of God.”

Illustration: Polycarp
“Eighty and six years I have served Him, and He has done me no wrong. How then can I blaspheme my King and Savior?