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The God Who Stoops
Sunday, September 19, 2021
Pastor Jojo Ma
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Exodus 19:7-15
7 So Moses came and called the elders of the people and set before them all these words that the LORD had commanded him. 8 All the people answered together and said, "All that the LORD has spoken we will do." And Moses reported the words of the people to the LORD. 9 And the LORD said to Moses, "Behold, I am coming to you in a thick cloud, that the people may hear when I speak with you, and may also believe you forever." When Moses told the words of the people to the LORD, 10 the LORD said to Moses, "Go to the people and consecrate them today and tomorrow, and let them wash their garments 11 and be ready for the third day. For on the third day the LORD will come down on Mount Sinai in the sight of all the people. 12 And you shall set limits for the people all around, saying, 'Take care not to go up into the mountain or touch the edge of it. Whoever touches the mountain shall be put to death. 13 No hand shall touch him, but he shall be stoned or shot; whether beast or man, he shall not live.' When the trumpet sounds a long blast, they shall come up to the mountain." 14 So Moses went down from the mountain to the people and consecrated the people; and they washed their garments. 15 And he said to the people, "Be ready for the third day; do not go near a woman."
Exodus is a great story of a great salvation by a great God. And that’s the key. Exodus reveals to us who God is: He is good, He is gracious, He is glorious, He is great.
I. The Immanence of God: He is Near
II. The Transcendence of God: He is Great
I. The Immanence of God: He is Near
9 And the LORD said to Moses, "Behold, I am coming to you in a thick cloud, that the people may hear when I speak with you, and may also believe you forever."
7-8 So Moses came and called the elders of the people and set before them all these words that the LORD had commanded him. All the people answered together and said, "All that the LORD has spoken we will do." And Moses reported the words of the people to the LORD.
11 and be ready for the third day. For on the third day the LORD will come down on Mount Sinai in the sight of all the people.
This is the great joy we have as believers, and it’s the good news we have for unbelievers, that God has come down. He is immanent; he is Immanuel, God with us. He has chosen to stoop low for our sake.
II. The Transcendence of God: He is Great
12-13 And you shall set limits for the people all around, saying, “Take care not to go up into the mountain or touch the edge of it. Whoever touches the mountain shall be put to death. No hand shall touch him, but he shall be stoned or shot; whether beast or man, he shall not live.”
The transcendence of God means that God is so far “up there”, so grand in His being, so exalted in His nature, that He is too much for us to comprehend and grasp with our tiny, finite minds.
Ecclesiastes 5:1-2 Guard your steps when you go to the house of God. To draw near to listen is better than to offer the sacrifice of fools, for they do not know that they are doing evil. Be not rash with your mouth, nor let your heart be hasty to utter a word before God, for God is in heaven and you are on earth. Therefore let your words be few.
9 And the LORD said to Moses, “Behold, I am coming to you in a thick cloud.”
Ps 97:2 Clouds and thick darkness are all around him; righteousness and justice are the foundation of his throne.
That’s what we learn from this cloud. We cannot know Him exhaustively; there is a mystery to Him. We cannot grasp the full Godness of God.
12 And you shall set limits for the people all around.
12-13 And you shall set limits for the people all around, saying, “Take care not to go up into the mountain or touch the edge of it. Whoever touches the mountain shall be put to death. No hand shall touch him, but he shall be stoned or shot; whether beast or man, he shall not live.” When the trumpet sounds a long blast, they shall come up to the mountain.
1 Tim 6:15-16 He who is the blessed and only Sovereign, the King of kings and Lord of lords, who alone has immortality, who dwells in unapproachable light, whom no one has ever seen or can see.
Heb 12:28-29 let us offer to God acceptable worship, with reverence and awe, for our God is a consuming fire.
I’m sad for my heart, I’m sad for you. We just don’t fear God as we ought, we don’t see Him as He is. We totally underrate and misjudge His glorious transcendence.
Sometimes we get so familiar, so comfortable, so used to our loving and forgiving God that we slack off, we get casual, we get buddy-buddy with God. We forget that He is in heaven and we are of the earth.
14-15 So Moses went down from the mountain to the people and consecrated the people; and they washed their garments. And he said to the people, "Be ready for the third day; do not go near a woman."
Today we’ve learned about the immanence and the transcendence of God: That God is both near and far, He stoops low and reigns on high. And what we should take from all this is truly how great God is.