Now that Yahveh has laid out his vision for Israel, he gives Moses specific instructions for one of the most central events in the entire Bible: Yahveh giving the 10 Commandments. What makes this event so huge, so central is that Yahveh gave these commandments (or some of them anyway) in person to the entire assembly of Israel. Think about that for a moment; the god of the universe personally talked with a group of people. That is epic.
Of course this will be dealt with in more detail in the following post, which will sort of be on the Commandments. For now we are going to discuss the instructions that Yahveh gave.
"Go to the people and consecrate them today and tomorrow," Yahveh ordered everybody through Moses. "Have them wash their cloths, and be ready by the third day, because on that day the LORD will come down on Mount Sinai in the sight of all the people. Put limits for the people around the mountain and tell them, 'Be careful that you do not go up the mountain or touch the foot of it. Whoever touches the mountain shall surely be put to death. He shall surely be stoned or shot with arrows; not a hand is to be laid on him. Whether man or animal, he shall not be permitted to live. Only when the ram's horn sounds a long blast may they go up to the mountain.'"
Whoa. That raises a lot of questions, such as isn't Yahveh kind of touchy? I'm all for hygiene but commanding that everybody spend the next couple of days doing laundry seems a bit excessive (although it does raise the question of clean clothes in Late Bronze Age Israel. Maybe some things are better left unknown). Did they have enough water for everyone to do laundry? What if someone couldn't get their laundry done? All I know is that whoever sold detergent made bank.
And then what's this about putting up limits around the mountain? If anyone goes close to Yahveh when he is on the mountain, he's going to be executed on the spot? This seems to be taking personal space to a bit of an extreme. What about the loving God who became human and lived among us in the person of Jesus Christ? He had no problem touching people of all kinds. So what's up with Yahveh being so finicky? While we're on the subject, would you go anywhere near that mountain ever, even after the all-clear had been sounded? I know you couldn't pay me enough.
Oh, and for good measure Moses throws in a "Don't have sex for the next three days," zinger, which had to drive more than one person nuts. To quote Brian Regan, it was as if Moses threw in, "And no more happiness."
I'm pretty sure that everyone was thinking what you and I are probably thinking: what is going on? Part of them was thinking that this is stupid while the other part was wondering what epic thing was about to go down and probably a bit apprehensive. I know that's what would be going through my mind.
They had no idea what was in store for them. For that matter, neither do I. The Biblical description hardly does the even justice in conveying what went down on the third day.
The people woke up that morning to see Mount Sinai covered in a cloud of smoke, like a furnace, and rocked with thunder, lightning, and an earthquake. The Bible says the mountain "trembled violently." And sounding above all of this was a loud, clear, trumpet blast that blew again and again and again.
None of us have ever experienced anything remotely close to this so there is no way we can understand what it was like to be there. Part of me wishes I could have been there, while the other part of me is glad that I wasn't. I'm pretty sure I would've wet my freshly washed pants. What I can understand is that the people "trembled" as Moses led them to meet God.
To meet God. That was what all of this intense preparation was about. The Israelites were going to have as close to a face-to-face meeting with the creator and ruler of the universe as one could ever have and that is not something to be taken lightly.
The whole picture of Yahveh in Exodus 19 tends to fly in the face of the popular image of Yahveh as some old guy sitting on a cloud somewhere, a picture that is, interestingly enough, very similar to the Canaanite picture of their chief deity El who has often been compared with Yahveh. We often think of Yahveh as this kindly, somewhat senile, old man who dispense with love and gifts to good people.
Jesus, on the other hand, is the cool kid from down the street. He's the guy driving the cool car that always takes the time to hang out with you. Whoever you are and whatever you do is cool by him and he will always go to bat for you. He is, to use the highly grating metaphor, your homeboy.
To be fair, there are some aspects of this picture of Yahveh and Christ that are accurate. Christ is pretty cool and Yahveh is loving. But the problem is that these are overly simplistic images that bring the god of the universe down to our level when in reality he is nowhere close to our level. Yahveh is so much more than just that.
Inaccurate as it may be, that is often the picture of him, consciously or no, that we take with us to church and our personal devotions. As a result, we so often underestimate Yahveh and take meeting with him lightly.
But as the Israelites learned, that is a rather foolish thing. Yahveh is far beyond any of the simplistic, anthropomorphic images we conjure up. Yahveh is true, pure, unadulterated power on a scale that none of us can comprehend.
Nature is truly an awesome thing. If you spend much time in, you are quickly made aware of how weak and fragile you are. I know that is my experience. I have stood on the edge of the Grand Canyon, strolled through the mighty redwood forests, had lightning strike less than a hundred yards from me, been attacked by the ocean, hiked through the Alps and the Rocky Mountains, been attacked by the Pacific Ocean, and walked through the aftermath of tornadoes. I don't say these things to brag; rather I tell you this because there is an awesome beauty in these experiences; seeing the raw, untamable power that nature possesses and I understand how helpless I really am.
But for all that power, it is nothing compared to Yahveh who created nature and controls it. He is the one who formed the mountains, rivers, forests, and fields. It is he who orders the wind and rain and he who commands the ocean. Nature obeys him. And if nature, who is at Yahveh's command, is untamable, how much more so Yahveh himself?
And that is the whole point. This being of incomprehensible power and strength is who we are meeting every time we go to church, every time we open the Bible, and every time we kneel in prayer. When we realize this, then we approach Yahveh a sense of awe, respect, and even a little fear.
This sense is called reverence. It is the understanding of who I am in relation to who Yahveh is. Often when we think of reverence, we think of it as not running in church or always talking in whispers and having a straight face all of the time.
But this isn't what reverence really is. Reverence can be somber of course (believe me, the Israelites were somber that day) but reverence can also be joyful. Reverence can be expressed through song and dance; after all this almighty being against who we've rebelled did die to save us and that is a reason for celebration.
No, reverence is understanding who I am in relation to Yahveh. It is understanding that I am a helpless, sinful creature while Yahveh is the perfect, omnipotent creator. It is understanding that we are not equal. It is understanding that I am his servant, not he mine.
This may offend some people especially those of us who have grown up in the West were equality among everyone is a central tenant. But the fact is that we are not equal with Yahveh and if we are truly going to be his followers, we need to understand that.
That is why Yahveh gave those instructions to the Israelites before he met with them. He wanted them to understand who they were in relation to him; he wanted to give them a sense of reverence so that they would take his words seriously and follow his commands. How much better off would we be if we possessed the same sense of reverence? Would we be so flippant towards meeting with him? Would we be so careless with his words?
Yahveh is not to be taken lightly. Take time to reflect on who he is and who you are. Wash your clothes to do it if you have to but do not take him lightly.
I must warn though: if you do this, you will be frightened or at least you ought to be. After all, would you feel no fear in the face of a tornado or lion? And if those things terrify you, how much more the creator of the universe? He cannot be controlled, he cannot be tamed. Yahveh should scare you.
But remember this: though Yahveh is not tame, he is good (thank you CS Lewis). He is power and majesty, but his also love and goodness. So while he may be far beyond your control, he does love you and will take you under his powerful wing. And that is a comforting thought.
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