But God’s glory is still like a consuming fire
Exodus 33:20 [God speaking to Moses] You may not look directly at my face, for no one may see me and live.
Exodus 24:1-18 Then the Lord instructed Moses: “Come up here to me and bring along … Israel’s elders. All of you must worship at a distance. Only Moses is allowed to come near to the Lord. … Then Moses and the elders climbed up the mountain. There they saw the God of Israel. Under his feet there seemed to be a surface of brilliant blue lapis lazuli, as clear as the sky itself. And though these nobles of Israel gazed upon God, he did not destroy them. In fact, they ate a covenant meal, eating and drinking in his presence. Then the Lord said to Moses, “Come up to me on the mountain. … Then Moses climbed up the mountain and the cloud covered it. And the glory of the Lord settled down on Mount Sinai … To the Israelites at the foot of the mountain, the glory of the Lord appeared at the summit like a consuming fire.
Hebrews 4:16; 12:28-29 Let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. … Let us be thankful and please God by worshiping him with holy fear and awe. For our God is a consuming fire.
“I (Derry) walked from the garden back to the inn deep in thought, trailing Desta and [twelve-year-old] Jesus whose conversation I couldn’t hear … ‘Son has all the power in the universe’ [Derry thought] … ‘Even as a human. He can just lift his little finger and—’ At that moment, Jesus turned around and stood waiting for me to catch up to him. I caught his glance and threw myself to the ground before him in worship. Could people not see that this—this twelve-year-old boy—was the King of kings and Lord of lords, eternally one with Father and Spirit, his human body disguising magnificence beyond imagination?
“I trembled so much that the boy Jesus, two feet shorter than me, had to steady me as he pulled me up. ‘I don’t want to attract attention,’ he whispered, nudging me to walk between him and Desta. My body tingled as his touch strengthened me.” Three-in-One, page 73
Writing Three-in-One confronted me with how casually and informally I treat God.How I take for granted the access to him Jesus provided for us, eternally codified in the top-to-bottom tearing of the four-inch-thick* curtain shielding God’s glory in the Most Holy Place of the Temple the moment Jesus died. Derry lives in Heaven. One accidental glimpse of God’s glory was enough to blind him in chapter 1. Through his puzzled eyes, the mystery of Incarnation became viscerally overwhelming to me.
The wonder of Exodus 24 is the exception God made this one time, that people could see him and live. Isaiah also experienced this wonder and was overcome by it (Isaiah 6:5).
And God has not changed: His glory still blindingly bright; his greatness unfathomable to us. It’s only because Son made himself small enough to fit within a human body that we can see God and live.
So when I hear his invitation to come to him on the mountain, I now climb with awe and reverence and a powerful desire simply to worship. My small concerns fade in the glory of his Presence.
Fire in My Heart, Timeless Hebrew Tunes
Debra Kornfield 