CWA- O T Lesson - Transfiguration Sunday - KB Kuschel
Exodus 24: 12, 15-18
12 The LORD said to Moses, “Come up to me on the mountain and stay here, and I will give you the tablets of stone with the law and commandments I have written for their instruction.” 15 When Moses went up on the mountain, the cloud covered it, 16 and the glory of the LORD settled on Mount Sinai. For six days the cloud covered the mountain, and on the seventh day the LORD called to Moses from within the cloud. 17 To the Israelites the glory of the LORD looked like a consuming fire on top of the mountain. 18 Then Moses entered the cloud as he went on up the mountain. And he stayed on the mountain forty days and forty nights.
IA1 Three months before our text occurred, Israel had left Egypt after the firstborn of the Egyptians were all killed. Then they had walked through the Red Sea. God had provided them with miracles to give them water, manna and quail.
2 Now they were at Mt Sinai. There God told them that they were His special people. He made His presence obvious to them with thunder, lightning, a thick cloud and a trumpet blast. He gave them the ten commandments, laws about worship, about slaves and workers, about personal injury, protection of property, social responsibility, justice and mercy and the three major annual festivals. Then He called Moses into His presence to receive the written form of His commands. 24:12 The LORD said to Moses, “Come up to me on the mountain and stay here, and I will give you the tablets of stone with the law and commandments I have written for their instruction.”
B1 Where do we get direction for our lives? Sometimes the direction comes from inside us. Based on the bad stuff that happened the last time we did whatever it was we are thinking about doing, we decide not to do it. Based on the positive results that happened the last time we did whatever it was we are thinking about doing, we decide to do it. Based on the negative feeling we have when we think about doing something, we don’t do it. Based on the good feeling we have when we think about doing something, we do it. Some of the direction in our lives comes from our consciences.
2 There is a potential problem here. We can do the opposite of what our consciences tell us to do or to avoid. And we can make our consciences not work so well anymore by doing the opposite of what our consciences tell us to do. If that is the case, where are we to go to get correct direction for our lives? The LORD says to us as He said to Moses, “ “Come up to me and stay here, and I will give you..... the law and commandments I have written for (your) instruction.” What a blessing it is to be able to go into God’s presence and get direction from someone who loves us and who gives us directions through which we are blessed.
C1 Where do we get direction for our lives? Sometimes the direction comes from outside of us. The laws of our land tell us which way to drive on our roads, among other things. The rules of our household tell us where it is proper to place our clothes when we are not using them. The procedures of our place of work tell us what is appropriate or not appropriate for that environment. Other people give us advice as to what is right or wrong in a given situation.
2 There is a potential problem here. Sometimes the government says something like abortion is legal when God says it is sinful. Sometimes the household rules allow us to not use God’s Word when God says that is sinful. Sometimes the work environment expects us to be less than truthful when God says that is sinful. Our friends, relatives, acquaintances and neighbors often tell us to do what is for our advantage regardless of how it affects others when God says that is sinful. If that is the case, where are we to go to get correct direction for our lives? The LORD says to us as He said to Moses, “ “Come up to me and stay here, and I will give you..... the law and commandments I have written for (your) instruction.” What a blessing it is to be able to go into God’s presence and get direction from someone who loves us and who gives us directions through which we are blessed.
D1 Why can we have the confidence that what God tells us to do in His Law is intended to bless us? God made humans. They were perfect. God made the world. It was perfect. God wanted His creatures to have a perfect existence filled with His blessings. They had that perfect existence as long as they followed God’s directions for life.
2 God hasn’t changed. He still wants our lives to be filled with His blessings. He knows how we should live in order to access those blessings. He tells us in His Law how to live to access His blessings. The problem is, although the LORD hasn’t changed, we have. We are sinners. We don’t carry out the LORD’s directions for our lives. Thus God’s blessings get cut off. But we ask His help to implement His directions in our lives so that His blessings don’t get cut off. What a blessing it is for us to hear the Lord say to us: “Come up to me and stay here, and I will give you..... the law and commandments I have written for (your) instruction.”
IIA1 When Moses went up on the mountain, the cloud covered it.{15} For six days the cloud covered the mountain,{16} This cloud was not something new. Right after they had left Egypt a cloud guided them on their way. When they were trapped by the Egyptian army against the water, the cloud moved between them and provided a barrier to help them escape. Now on Mt Sinai they knew what this cloud meant. Moses tells us what it meant. {16}The glory of the LORD settled on Mount Sinai.
2 There was more to see. {17}A consuming fire on top of the mountain. This was not anything new either. Right after they had left Egypt a pillar of fire guided them at night so they could travel on their way also at night. When they were trapped by the Egyptian army against the water, the pillar of fire moved between them and provided light so that they could see their escape route through the waters of the Red Sea. Now on Mt Sinai they knew what this consuming fire meant. Moses tells us what it meant. 17 To the Israelites the glory of the LORD looked like a consuming fire on top of the mountain.
B1 What conclusions did God want them and us to draw from this cloud? A cloud hides. God is a spiritual creature. Humans are physical creatures. The difference is so big that we can’t begin to understand Him. He is hidden from us He has to tell us about Himself, if we are to know anything about Him.
2 What conclusions did God want them and us to draw from this consuming fire? Fire burns up and destroys. He had told them not to approach Mt Sinai or they would die. He had displayed His destructive power through the plagues in Egypt. He had done the same when He let the water drown the Egyptian army. God has the power to destroy.
C1 This hidden God who has the power to destroy on the seventh day ........ called to Moses from within the cloud. What did He says to Moses? “Come here, Moses.” How do I know that? Because of verse 18 Then Moses entered the cloud as he went on up the mountain. And he stayed on the mountain forty days and forty nights. Who was this Moses who got this invitation? This was the man who murdered an Egyptian. The man who tried to talk God out of giving him his job. This was the man God invited to come through the cloud that hid Him from people.
2 This Moses was allowed to stay in God’s presence. The fire didn’t consume him. God’s anger over Moses’ murder and his refusal to shoulder his responsibility earlier in his life didn’t burn him up. The power which He had used to destroy in Egypt and at the Red Sea wasn’t used against Moses. The same hidden God who is a consuming fire invites humans into His presence and lets them stay there.
D1 Things haven’t changed. The cloud hasn’t left. On our own we humans don’t understand who God is or what He is like. We just don’t get spiritual things. The only thing we on our own know for sure about God is that we don’t know much for sure about God.
2 The consuming fire hasn’t left. Our consciences tell us that we are guilty and deserve God’s punishment. He still threatens to punish sin with physical death and separation from Him.
3 But He still invites us into His presence. He says to us what He said to Moses: “Come here and be with me.” And He allows us to come and stay. Why can He do that? He has taken our sins and put them on Jesus. Jesus took them to the cross, shed His blood and washes them away. Why can He do that? He has taken the holiness, which Jesus lived as our Substitute and covers us with it. We are acceptable to Him. Can stand right next to Him on His mountain. Jesus rose from the dead. We can stay there forever.
E1 The glory of the LORD. That means “the reason God deserves us to say, ‘God is great and God is good.’” He deserves to be praised because He is way beyond our comprehension as if hidden by a cloud. He deserves our praise for defining and enforcing what is right and wrong - He is a consuming fire.
2 But the primary reason we say, “God is great and God is good,” is because He invites us into His presence and makes it possible through Jesus our Savior for us to stay there. The biggest reason we praise God is He is our Savior who gives us forgiveness, holiness, and eternal life and allows us to belong to Him. The glory of the Lord - it’s the Gospel - the good news about Jesus.
3 That’s what Transfiguration Sunday is about, isn’t it. The hidden God of whom we are terrified because of our sins who showed Himself to Moses, Elijah, His disciples and us in all His glory - in His power as God and with His resolve to go to Jerusalem to die and rise so we might have eternal life. LORD Jesus, thank You for letting us come into Your presence to see Your glory.