Words of Hope Daily Devotional
START EVERY DAY WITH HOPE
Get the Words of Hope Devotional and get daily encouragement to love God, read his Word, and meet with him in prayer. Available in print and email.
START EVERY DAY WITH HOPE
Get the Words of Hope Devotional and get daily encouragement to love God, read His Word, and meet with Him in prayer. Available in print and email.
The Burning Mountain
Read: Exodus 19
The LORD descended upon Mount Sinai. (v. 20 NRSV)
Imagine the Israelites, recently freed from slavery in Egypt, gathered at the foot of Mount Sinai. Their tunics are dusty from the weary road and sweat beads on their brows. But they hardly notice anymore because the rocky spires before them blaze with fire. Thunder shakes the mountain and they watch, mute with wonder, as Moses climbs up to meet God.
Can you imagine the fear, the terror, the awe? The Lord came to rest on Mount Sinai and “the smoke of it went up like the smoke of a kiln, and the whole mountain trembled greatly” (v. 18). And in the midst of the swirling flame is the God of heaven, who had descended upon the mountain in holy fire (v. 20). It’s interesting that this is the second time Moses encountered God in a fire on a mountain. The first time it was a little bush; now the presence of God wreathes an entire mountain.
This is the paradox of God. He is the rushing wind at Pentecost (Acts 2), yet also the hovering Spirit over the waters (Genesis 1), the little flame and the thundering blaze. But each time, the important thing is that he descended. The Israelites grumbled in the desert, yet God descended into their midst because he desired to be with his created ones. Similarly, when the circumstances around you feel too much, when you are lonely and downtrodden and anxious, when you’ve been wandering through your own wilderness, God continues to descend in order to meet you.
As you pray, praise God for the simple grace that he descends.
Justin Kuiper is a student from Holland, MI, studying English literature at Hope College. His own writing explores the many intersections of faith, storytelling, and the created order. Justin is a life-long soccer fan and plays on the Hope College soccer team.
