Exodus 24:8–18

⁸And Moses took the blood and threw it on the people and said, "Behold the blood of the covenant that the LORD has made with you in accordance with all these words." ⁹Then Moses and Aaron, Nadab, and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel went up, ¹⁰and they saw the God of Israel. There was under his feet as it were a pavement of sapphire stone, like the very heaven for clearness. ¹¹And he did not lay his hand on the chief men of the people of Israel; they beheld God, and ate and drank. ¹²The LORD said to Moses, "Come up to me on the mountain and wait there, that I may give you the tablets of stone, with the law and the commandment, which I have written for their instruction." ¹³So Moses rose with his assistant Joshua, and Moses went up into the mountain of God. ¹⁴And he said to the elders, "Wait here for us until we return to you. And behold, Aaron and Hur are with you. Whoever has a dispute, let him go to them." ¹⁵Then Moses went up on the mountain, and the cloud covered the mountain. ¹⁶The glory of the LORD dwelt on Mount Sinai, and the cloud covered it six days. And on the seventh day he called to Moses out of the midst of the cloud. ¹⁷Now the appearance of the glory of the LORD was like a devouring fire on the top of the mountain in the sight of the people of Israel. ¹⁸Moses entered the cloud and went up on the mountain. And Moses was on the mountain forty days and forty nights.

Where is God? No, I don't mean in an abstract, theoretical sense. I mean where is he in the midst of the mess and turmoil of our life? Where is he when I need him the most? Where is he when I'm lost and don't know the way? Or when I'm hurting? Or even, where is he when things are going great and I want to thank him and praise him? Where is God?

The Israelites could have told you. He's up there on the top of that mountain. It is trembling and shaking. It is billowing smoke. Look, you can see the fire shining inside the smoke. It is wrapped in a cloud. We hear loud voices, trumpets, thunders coming from up there. You can see flashes of lightening and fiery flames. It's a terrible sight. It's the sight and sound of power, might, majesty, judgment, and death. Don't make us go up there, we're afraid.

Yes, that was God who come down to meet the Israelites. On top of a mountain, wrapped in the cloud, smoke and fire shooting out. Don't go near or you will be consumed by the holiness of God.

So Moses consecrated the people and God made a covenant with them. He sealed his covenant with blood.

The people could not go up the mountain because they would have been consumed. Annihilated by the glory of God. Sinners cannot see God. Sinners cannot be in the presence of God. But God called up Moses, Aaron, Nadab, Abihu, and seventy elders. They went up and saw the God of Israel. There was under his feet a pavement of sapphire stone, clear and transparent like the sky.

Let's take a break from this tense and fearsome scene for a moment just to get a grasp on what is going on. The Hebrew concept of the universe is like this: Heaven, God's home, is up, the earth is in the middle and hell is down below. Separating the heaven above from the earth below is the firmament which we find in Genesis one at creation. However, to the Hebrew mind, the firmament was solid, like a pavement of sapphire, but clear as glass. Into the solid firmament was etched the heavenly bodies: the sun, moon, the stars and planets. So God was up and we are beneath. Mountains then were high places reaching up bridging the gap between heaven and earth where God could come down to earth. Thus very many of the theophanies in the Scripture, that means when God appears to people, take place on hills or mountains. The most famous being this occasion when Moses received the Ten Commandments. Other times are when God first called Moses to deliver his people from Egypt. That took place on this same mountain 40 years earlier. There is also Mt. Moriah where Abraham took his son to sacrifice him to the Lord. It was on a mountain that Elijah defeated the priests of Baal. God told the Israelites to build Jerusalem and the temple on a mountain. It was on that mountain where Jesus was crucified. It was on a mountain that Jesus ascended back to his Father. And it was on a mountain that Jesus was transfigured in the sight of Peter, James and John.

But there is more here than a mountain. There is also a cloud that covered the mountain top. A cloud of darkness. A cloud that shielded the people from the direct, full view of God's glory. Oh yes, they could see the dazzling light coming from the cloud, like lightening, brighter than the sun. But the cloud shielded their eyes so that the glory of God and his holiness wouldn't consume the mere mortals who stood at the bottom of the mountain.

Israel was just as familiar with the cloud as it was the mountain. It was the cloud that led them through the wilderness by day, and by night shielded their eyes from the fiery pillar of God's presence. It was the cloud that stood over the tabernacle when it was dedicated and filled it with the presence of the Lord. It was the same cloud that over 300 years later filled the Temple which Solomon built. It was the same cloud from which God spoke as it overshadowed Peter and James and John and Jesus on the mount of Transfiguration. It is the same cloud into which Jesus ascended and from which Jesus will come to judge the world.

So we have two important elements here: a mountain and a cloud. These two things were signs of the presence of God's glory. God came down and was present on the top of the mountain and hid himself in a cloud so that we sinners are not consumed by his holiness. It is the mountain and the cloud that connect our Old Testament lesson and our gospel reading today. The mountain and the cloud of God's presence.

This then connects Jesus to the mountain of Moses. This then connected Peter, James and John to Moses and Mt. Sinai. They immediately got the connection. They understood that this Jesus is the God who spoke with Moses, who gave him the Ten Commandments, who made a covenant with Israel and who signed that covenant with blood. And here was Moses too. They had just become a part of the giving of the law to Moses on Mt. Sinai. They were in the presence of God on the mountain.

But there are other significant details too. At Sinai only Moses and the elders went up the mountain to meet God. Notice most of the people of Israel were not permitted to go up the mountain. These few were allowed to go up, but only halfway. There God met them and shared a meal with them, they ate and drank in the company of God. Then, after the meal, Moses alone was invited to go on up to the top and into the cloud. Yes, there is a distinction between different people. There are ranks. Not everyone had the same status.

This same order is observed in the temple. The people could go only into the outer courts. The priests could enter into the holy place, and only the high priest could enter into the holy of holies. And on the mount of Transfiguration, only Peter, James and John were given the privilege of going into the cloud with the Lord, not even the other disciples.

Once again there is a connection between these two events. But the Transfiguration was more than just a connection to Mt. Sinai. The transfiguration was the fulfillment of Sinai. Everything that happened on Mt. Sinai was fulfilled at the transfiguration. The Mount of Transfiguration foreshadows Jesus death. Jesus, Moses and Elijah discussed the Exodus of Jesus which is to say his death, resurrection and ascension. At Sinai a covenant between God and Israel was signed with the blood of oxen. The transfiguration foreshadows a new covenant signed in blood; the blood of God. On Sinai we saw the fire of God's wrath. The Transfiguration is about Jesus taking our place in the fiery wrath of God.

Sinai is about God giving the law to Moses. The law that we have not fulfilled. The law that accuses us of sin. It is the law of God that tells us that we are unworthy sinners and deserve the punishment of hell. It is on account of our sin that the people were not allowed on the mountain or they would have been annihilated. It is on account of our sin that the glory of God would consume us that God has to shielded us with a cloud so-to-speak from seeing him directly. We are sinners. We have not kept the law. We have not fulfilled its requirements and demands. We have loved and trusted God, but not above all things. We have loved some of our neighbors, but not as ourselves and we have not loved our enemies. We are sinners who deserve God's eternal punishment.

But, just as Sinai is about the giving of the law that we have not fulfilled, the Transfiguration is about Jesus fulfilling the law, doing what the law demands for us so that we are counted righteous. Sinai is about the Law of God that accuses us of sin; the Transfiguration is about Jesus paying for our sin on the cross and earning forgiveness for us. The transfiguration speaks to us about Jesus fulfilling the law and going to the cross. It is the fulfillment of Mt. Sinai. Only a few of God's people could go up Sinai, but after the Transfiguration the gates of heaven are open to all, and all God's children have access to his throne. On Mt. Sinai only a few people ate with God, but now he invites us all to his table. The Transfiguration points to the suffering and death of Jesus to pay for our sins and fulfill the law of God, and that is why it ushers in the season of Lent.

Mountains and clouds. Where God dwells and where God hides himself. Today we too come to the mountain, the house of God and enter into the presence of God in the divine service. Today God hides himself in the elements of water, bread and wine where he shares a meal with us and is present with us.

The means of grace are the masks of God today where he hides so that the radiance of his holiness does not consume you as a fiery furnace. He hides in his word, written and studied by all his children. Preached by a sinful human man. He hides in the water joined to his word in baptism. He hides in the bread and wine joined to the word in Holy Communion. He hides in your neighbor who is in need of your love and service. He hides in the crosses you bear daily on account of his name. He hides in your suffering and pain where he suffers just as you suffer. He hides on a cross where he suffered and died for you to take away your sin.

Mountains and clouds. Why can everyone come to the mountain of the Lord to worship him today without being consumed? Because of the blood of the Lamb of God that was used to sign the new covenant. Why are you allowed into the cloud of God's presence without dying? Because of the blood of God's Lamb who died for you. Why can all believers eat and drink a meal with God at the altar today? Because of the blood of the Lamb which takes away the sin of the world. Why do you have access to the throne of grace so you can take your prayers and petitions directly to God? Because of the blood of the Lamb that was poured out on you in your baptism.

So today, right here in worship, on the mountain and in the cloud, God is here present with you in the middle of your messy life. In the midst of turmoil and strife, of confusion and fear. In the midst of trials and temptations. God is with you. Because Jesus fulfilled the demands of God's Law. Because Jesus suffered your sufferings, and died for your sins, God is with you. Because Sinai was fulfilled at the Transfiguration, God is with you. Amen.