In bringing the people to the mountain of God, it was not God’s intention to give them commandments to keep. When God first spoke to the people in chapter nineteen, there was no thunder, darkness, or sound of a trumpet. There at the mountain the atmosphere was pleasant and quiet. Verse 4 says, “Ye have seen what I did unto the Egyptians, and how I bare you on eagles’ wings, and brought you unto myself.” The people had walked out of Egypt, through the wilderness, and to the mountain of God. But from God’s point of view, He had carried them to Himself on the wings of an eagle. After likening Himself to a great eagle, the Lord went on to say that the people would be His personal possession and that they would be unto Him “a kingdom of priests, and a holy nation” (vv. 5-6, lit.). Is this a word of law or a word of grace? It is a word of grace, not of law. Actually it is a word of love expressed by grace.
If the people had been enlightened concerning God and themselves, they would have said, “Lord, we thank You for Your mercy. We are not worthy of it. We don’t deserve it. All we can do is thank You for it.” However, when the children of Israel heard the words God spoke to Moses, they answered, “All that Jehovah has spoken we will do” (v. 8, lit.). This indicates that the people did not have a heart for God and that they did not know Him. Even Aaron was at least somewhat ignorant. Otherwise, how could he have been persuaded to make a golden calf for the people to worship? The response of the people and Aaron’s deed in shaping a calf out of gold prove that the children of Israel did not know God and that they did not truly have a heart for Him.
Because the people knew neither God nor themselves, God changed His attitude toward them and also caused a change in the atmosphere. He told Moses that He would come in a thick cloud (v. 9). He also charged the people to sanctify themselves, to wash their clothes, and to observe the boundary. Exodus 19:12 says, “Take heed to yourselves, that ye go not up into the mount, or touch the border of it: whosoever toucheth the mount shall be surely put to death.” In verse 16 we see how dreadful and terrifying the atmosphere became: “And it came to pass on the third day in the morning, that there were thunders and lightnings, and a thick cloud upon the mount, and the voice of the trumpet exceeding loud; so that all the people that was in the camp trembled.”
It was not God’s original intention to create such a terrifying atmosphere. But only Moses knew what God’s intention was. He realized that God did not intend to make the people afraid. This was the reason he said to the people in 20:20, “Fear not: for God is come to prove you.” Moses knew that God was proving the people, that He was testing them. He realized that it was not God’s intention to have thunder, darkness, lightning, and the terrifying blast of a trumpet. Among all the children of Israel, Moses was the only one who knew the desire of God’s heart.
At the word of the Lord, Moses went up to the top of the mountain and stayed there with God for a period of forty days. Years ago, I thought these forty days were meant to be a trial to the children of Israel. Yes, these days were a time of testing to them. However, these forty days were not primarily intended to be a test of the children of Israel; they were designed to give Moses an opportunity to be infused with God. The longer I stayed by that coal stove in my house, the more heat I absorbed. Likewise, the longer Moses stayed with God on the mountaintop, the more he was infused with God.
Concerning most of these forty days, there is no record that either Moses or God did anything. It was not until the end of these days that God began to speak to Moses. God was happy simply to have one of His people stay with Him. Would you have been content to stay with God those forty days and not do anything? Suppose a brother would invite you to his living room and ask you to sit down with him. Then for twelve hours he simply sits with you and looks at you, not saying a word. Would you be able to endure this? I do not think anyone, especially one of a quick disposition, could tolerate such a situation. But Moses stayed on the mountain with God for forty days without eating, drinking, or sleeping. There was no indication that any kind of business was transacted between him and God. The only thing that happened was that Moses received a divine transfusion. God’s very element was infused into him.
Certain of my small grandchildren are fond of visiting my wife and me. One child in particular comes over mainly for the purpose of getting something good to eat. However, when she has another source for these things, we do not see very much of her. But when she has no other source, she comes to see us. But she does not stay very long. It is not her intention to stay with us; it is to get something from us and then to go her way. We, on the contrary, enjoy her presence and would like her to stay with us longer. The behavior of my grandchild is a picture of the way we often relate to the Lord. We come to Him not simply to be with Him, but to get something good from Him. As soon as we receive it, we go away. Thus, we may pray to the Lord and even meet with Him in fellowship in order to get something from Him that is a benefit to us.
God knows how difficult it is for us to stay in His presence without doing anything. In sympathy with our weakness, He may tell us to do certain things. But it is not His intention to require us to do things. It is to keep us with Him that we may be infused with Him. But according to our natural concept, we consider that God is placing demands on us and making requirements of us. Oh, that we might see that God’s intention is to infuse us with what He is and with what He has! In order for this infusion to take place, we need to be with Him.
After spending forty days on the mountaintop being infused with God, Moses was shining with God’s light. Notice that God did not ask Moses to do anything. Rather, He transfused Himself into Moses until Moses began to shine with Him. This was the reason that when Moses came down from the mountain, the skin of his face was shining. The highest profession on earth is to spend time being infused with God that we may shine forth God. This is far greater than doing anything for God. If we would shine forth God, we need to spend time with Him, not to do something but to have Him transfused into our being.
My burden in this message is to point out that God’s intention in bringing the children of Israel out of Egypt was to lead them to His mountain so that He could infuse them with Himself. He wanted them to be infused with Him even as that burning bush had been infused. The bush which burned without being consumed had been fully infused with God. God was in the bush and spoke from the midst of it. God wanted all His people to be brought to the place where He could infuse them with Himself. Therefore, He told them that He brought them on eagles’ wings and that He would make them His personal treasure and a kingdom of priests.
When the people heard those words, they should have bowed down and confessed, “O God, we cannot make ourselves a treasure for You. We are not precious. There is no way for us to become Your personal treasure.” If this had been their attitude, God would have said, “I will make you a personal treasure to Me. Stay with Me, and I will infuse you with what I am. Eventually, you all will become precious in My sight.” Imagine what the situation would have been like if all two million Israelites had been infused with God and had begun to shine forth God. Their glory might have been like the glory of the New Jerusalem.
God’s people did not understand His intention. Their concept was that they should do certain things for God. Furthermore, they wanted to do these things and thought they were able to do them. They had seen what God had done for them, and now they wanted to do something for Him. This concept caused them to fall.
Have you ever asked yourself why God gave us such a big book as the Bible? In the hundreds of chapters in the Bible, there are a great many commandments for us to keep. Certain of these commandments are repeated again and again. The reason for this repetition is that God’s desire is to keep us with Him through the Word. In order to stay with God, we need to stay in the Word. However, often when we come to the Bible, we have no consciousness of coming to God. Moreover, when we dwell with the Bible, we do not have the sense that we are staying with God. How we need a change of concept! Whenever we come to the Bible, we should come to God and stay with Him. Yes, the Bible shows us many things God wants us to do. But all these things are secondary. The primary matter is that through the Word we stay with God and are infused with Him. Unfortunately, we are easily distracted from Him by other things. There are not many like Moses who stay with God according to the desire of His heart. Once again, I wish to point out that during those forty days Moses was with God on the mountaintop, he did not do anything. It was not God’s intention for Moses to do certain things; it was for him to be infused with God Himself.
In the Bible we can find out what God says to us and what He wants us to do. However, the primary matter is that we stay with God through the Word. But this is not easy for us to do. Our tendency is to come to the Bible simply to find out what it says about different things. As we read the Word, we may decide that we shall do whatever the Bible says. Little do we realize that in making such a decision we actually set God aside. Those who come to the Word in this way are not truly blessed by God. If we would be blessed by Him through the Word, we need to see that both what God wants us to do and what He says to us are secondary. What is primary is that we stay with God to be infused with Him. The reason God speaks to us and tells us to do certain things is that He wants us to be with Him.
Why do we need to read the Bible? When I was young, I was told that as a Christian I must read the Bible to find out what God wants me to do. Yes, by reading the Bible we find out a great many things God wants us to do, perhaps hundreds or even thousands of things. The problem is that we are not able to do them. Nevertheless, in our natural concept, we desire to find out what God wants us to do and then set out to do it. Our attitude is that we must do and want to do whatever God speaks. Therefore, we make up our mind to do these things and in practice we set God aside. Instead of making up our mind to do what the Bible says, we should say, “Lord, I love You, I love Your word, and I love everything You say to me.” If we speak this way to the Lord, He will answer, “Very good! Now you need to know that whatever I want you to do, I will do for you and through you.”
In a song about saying amen to the Word of God, there is a line I appreciate very much:
What I never could do God is doing in me.
By saying Amen to His Word.
Hymns,#1219
What we are not able to do ourselves God desires to do in us. For example, a husband should say to the Lord, “Lord, You ask me to love my wife. Lord, I love You, but I must tell You that I cannot love my wife.” Then the Lord will say, “Right, you can’t love your wife, but I will love her through you. What you cannot do, I will do in you.” Concerning the commandments to love the brothers and to love our neighbor as ourselves, we should also say, “Lord, I love You, but I must be honest with You. I cannot love the brothers, and I cannot love others as myself. I have many neighbors and relatives, but I simply am not able to love them. Lord, I love You and I love Your Word, but I simply am not able to love them. Lord, I love You and I love Your Word, but I cannot love other people.” Once again the Lord will tell us that what we are not able to do He will do from within us. This is God’s economy both in the Old Testament and in the New.