"18For ye are not come unto the mount that might be touched, and that burned with fire, nor unto blackness, and darkness, and tempest, 19And the sound of a trumpet, and the voice of words; which voice they that heard intreated that the word should not be spoken to them any more:" (Hebrews 12: 18-19)
Whenever we read the Old Testament, we have to remember that even though the Israelites came to Mount Sinai, the LORD's ultimate goal was for them (and for us) to receive Himself and His Life:
"33But this shall be the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel; After those days, saith the LORD, I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts; and will be their God, and they shall be my people. 34And they shall teach no more every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, Know the LORD: for they shall all know me, from the least of them unto the greatest of them, saith the LORD: for I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more." (Jeremiah 31: 33-34)
At the foot of Mount Sinai, God has originally invited His people to walk in perfect fellowship with Him, too:
"5Now therefore, if ye will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant, then ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto me above all people: for all the earth is mine: 6And ye shall be unto me a kingdom of priests, and an holy nation. These are the words which thou shalt speak unto the children of Israel." (Exodus 19: 5-6)
When we read about commandments and statutes, we have to understand that God ministered directly by His Spirit to Abram, then Abraham. The LORD explained to Isaac:
"Because that Abraham obeyed my voice, and kept my charge, my commandments, my statutes, and my laws." (Genesis 26: 5)
How did Abraham obey? He believed on Him (Genesis 15: 6); Romans 4: 3, 17; Galatians 3: 6; James 2: 23).
Yet instead of trusting God, the Israelites trusted themselves:
"7And Moses came and called for the elders of the people, and laid before their faces all these words which the LORD commanded him. 8And all the people answered together, and said, All that the LORD hath spoken we will do. And Moses returned the words of the people unto the LORD. " (Exodus 19: 7-8)
That statement was untrue then, and to this day, none of us can be obedient in what we do:
"Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight: for by the law is the knowledge of sin." (Romans 3: 20)
We need to recognize that we cannot come to God, but rather we must allow Him to come to us.
The Good News begins and ends on this revelation. God came to us, and therefore we can rest assured that we no longer have to come to Mount Sinai.
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