Scripture to Read: Exodus 19:19–25
God came down on Mount Sinai for all of the Israelites to see and hear. As we read the end of Exodus 19:19, we see that when Moses spoke to God, God answered Moses with thunder. There is no doubt that Moses understood what God said, but it sounded like thunder to the people of Israel. Then God does something interesting. God had already told Moses in Exodus 19:12–14 that the people of Israel were to have boundaries set and to make sure that none of them came up Mount Sinai or they would be killed. So, in Exodus 19:21–24, we read the conversation between God and Moses. God repeated His command and tells Moses to go down to the people and tell them again. But Moses reminded God in Exodus 19:23, “The people cannot come up to Mount Sinai, for You warned us, saying, ‘Set bounds about the mountain and consecrate it.’” Think about this, Moses is reminding God as if God needed reminding. What does God do? God tells Moses one more time in Exodus 19:24, “Go down and come up again, you and Aaron with you; but do not let the priests and the people break through to come up to the Lord, or He will break forth upon them.” When God speaks, and He does this through His Word every day to each of us, we never need to remind God of something He has already said. God is telling us because He expects obedient action and not our “lip service.” Of course, then Moses obeyed.
Challenge & Application
· What must we do each time God speaks to us through His Word and even through His Holy Spirit in us?
· How do you do listening to God and obeying Him, and in what areas of your life do you still need to surrender completely?
Don’t forget to pray using the A.C.T.S. (Adoration, Confession, Thanksgiving, Supplication) method!