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    God wanted his people to experience hope, to enjoy his blessings, to become a great nation—one that would bless other nations around the world, forever. The task was enormous, but God had been working on Israel long before Egypt enslaved them. Everything he did for them centered on making them into a holy nation, suited for his purposes. They had but one task—to learn to trust a God they didn’t know.

The LORD...said, “... Tell the people of Israel: ‘Every one of you has seen what I did to the people of Egypt. You saw how I carried you out of Egypt, as if on eagle’s wings. And I brought you here to me. So now if you obey me and keep my agreement, you will be my own possession, chosen from all nations. Even though the whole earth is mine, you will be my kingdom of priests and a holy nation.’” EXODUS 19:3-6   When the people heard the thunder and the trumpet, and when they saw the lightning and the smoke rising from the mountain, they shook with fear and stood far away from the mountain. Then they said to Moses, “Speak to us yourself, and we will listen. But don’t let God speak to us, or we will die.” Then Moses said to the people, “Don’t be afraid, because God has come to test you. He wants you to respect him so you will not sin.” EXODUS 20:18-20

    God’s dramatic rescue of the Israelites from Egypt was followed by more signs and wonders. God’s people camped in the desert, eating food miraculously bestowed from heaven, drinking water from rocks, following a strange cloud in the daytime and a pillar of fire at night. Day after day God dazzled them with his power, provision, and protection, but they still didn’t know him.

    Three months after they left Egypt, God’s nation arrived at Mount Sinai. Moses gathered Israel around the foot of the mountain so God could speak to them. The anticipation must have been fierce. How could they forget the deaths in Egypt, their dramatic hike between walls of water, the drowning of the Egyptians?

    These apprehensive slaves had seen that Moses’ God could just as easily destroy them as talk to them. The people were convinced that Moses knew God; now they too were going to hear him speak. What if he turned against them?

    The all-powerful I AM God descended from heaven shrouded in fire, punctuated with thunder and lightning. A monstrous trumpet blast announced his presence, and the ground shook. The people trembled with fear and begged for him to stop. They were too afraid to hear God for themselves. So Moses became Israel’s ears and God’s spokesman, the first of God’s prophets. He spent weeks inside the clouds on Mount Sinai, talking with God. And the people later listened to Moses as he repeated God’s commands.

Reflection: God had set out to build an exemplary nation from a frightened collection of freed slaves. They had done nothing to earn it—God did it. And to initiate his relationship he promised his love, his presence, and his protection. But they were petrified, and ears of stone don’t hear well. It wasn’t God’s intention that his people be disabled by his voice; he wanted them to be a nation of priests —people with a direct line to him, people who understood him to be the Almighty and the One who cared enough to provide for their daily needs. What God wanted from the Israelites is what he wants from us today—respect and obedience.