When I think of the phrase “prepare to meet God” or “prepare to meet your Maker” I think of movies where the person speaking is about to kill someone else. The scene is a scary one. This is how the people of Israel felt when they met God at Mount Sinai. Once again they are likely thinking that Moses has brought them out into the wilderness to kill them. The people were warned not to go up the mountain before they were prepared or they would be put to death and then on the morning of the third day there were thunders and lightnings and a thick cloud on the mountain and a very loud trumpet blast, so that all the people in the camp trembled. It looked like judgment day and the people knew that they had sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. Their fear shows that their hearts were not really prepared for the morning of the third day. Yet this was just after God had said that He had saved them from Egypt as if on eagles’ wings for eagles are fierce birds of prey who care for the weak and God had said they were going to be His treasured possession, a kingdom of priests, and a holy nation. And the people had all answered that they would do what the Lord had spoken. They began here so well, but then they were very, very afraid to meet God. Let’s hear about it as we meet with God this morning.
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(God has saved you and brought you to Himself this morning so that you might be His treasured possession, a kingdom of priests, and a holy nation.)
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God’s purpose in saving Israel from Egypt in the first place was to bring them to Himself and have them be His treasured possession among the peoples, a kingdom of priests and a holy nation. They were not asked to obey here in order to be saved – they were saved by God from Egypt in order to be His witnesses to the nations. They were to keep God’s covenant with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. God had said that through the seed of Abraham all the nations of the earth would be blessed. This was the purpose of Israel – the nation was to be different in order to be the witnesses of the true and living God to the nations. They were to be a holy nation as a testimony to the world of the holy God of Israel. The nation was to relate to the nations around them and to God as a kingdom of priests. But already in this passage we know that Israel will fail to live up to their calling because they were scared to meet God at Sinai.
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But where Israel failed in their witness, Jesus has made you God’s treasured possession among the peoples, a kingdom of priests, and a holy nation. The apostle Peter says this in the New Testament, “They stumble because they disobey the word, as they were destined to do, but you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a people for His own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light” (1 Peter 2:8b-9). You are not called to be a holy nation and kingdom of priests in order to be saved either. You were saved by God from slavery to sin and death by the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ in order to be His witnesses to the nations. Everyone knows that part of witnessing to Jesus Christ is not only the words that you say, as essential as those are, but also the life that you live. Thus you are different than the world around you in order to testify to the transformation that Jesus done within you. You are all priests who witness to the risen Jesus Christ in word and action. God has saved you and brought you to Himself this morning so that you might be His treasured possession, a kingdom of priests, and a holy nation.
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But first you meet with God on top of the heavenly Mount Zion this morning of the third day.
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Israel was to meet God on the morning of the third day at Mount Sinai but they were afraid. They were prepared on the outside – they had washed their clothes and the men had avoided the women so that they would be ritually clean. They even had been consecrated, set apart for this great event by Moses. But their hearts were not ready to meet God. So Moses went alone to the top of the mountain, the priests consecrated themselves so that they could come near to the Lord, and the people remained at the foot of the mountain. This threefold division also will be replicated in the tabernacle and later in the Temple. This way the people did not have to meet God too close for comfort and He break out against them.
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But those who believe in Jesus have His Spirit in your heart and you are meeting with God on top of the heavenly Mount Zion this morning of the third day (cf. Hebrews 12:18-29). For Jesus’ death on the cross tore the curtain in the temple separating you from the holy of holies and on the morning of the third day He rose from the dead. In fact, you are not in a copy of the heavenly sanctuary like Moses would have Israel build but you are in the actual heavenly sanctuary in the heaven of heavens this morning – in the holy of holies – in union with Jesus Christ who sits at the right hand of God the Father Almighty. The original disciples on the morning of the third day were still afraid, but you had no reason to fear ascending the holy hill this morning because Jesus has died for your sins and reconciled you to God, rose on the morning of the third day for you and also ascended for you into heaven so that you and all of His people throughout the world can meet God on the morning of the first day of the week. Thus those words “prepare to meet God” no longer need be scary for those who believe in Jesus. Sure we should still have a sense of the awe and majesty of God rather than just thinking of God as our buddy. And yes we should never reject Him who warns from heaven as those to whom the author of Hebrews wrote were on the verge of doing. But we offer God acceptable worship, with reverence and awe, for God is a consuming fire and today is preparation or practice for judgment day when the trumpet will sound and the nations will tremble and try to hide but we will meet God on the holy hill. And as a holy nation and a kingdom of priests we then can share this good news of the way to meet with God and live to the world. That is, witness to the one who is the way named Jesus Christ to someone this week. Maybe even seeing “prepare to meet God” on the sign this week has led someone you know to be afraid – pray for God to prepare their heart and then tell them about Jesus.
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