This will still be in the Wednesday Evening Bible Study category.

FROM DELIVERANCE TO GLORY

The Awe Of The Presence and Word of God – Exodus 20:18-26

It seems that people in the world of this century and decade have lost the awe of God.  It would do me, and every Christian good to have a “Close encounter” with God.  The people of Israel, heard the thunder, and saw the smoke and fire of God on the mountain and were fearful to the point of fleeing the scene.  Moses tells them, “Fear not…” (v. 20), and God does not desire us to flee from His person; but rather to flee from all things that separate us from Him.

The fallen nature of man, however, drives us the other way.  Adam and Eve hid themselves from God; and that has been the habit of fallen man ever since that day.  God desires that we be in His glory; and Paul has written, “All have sinned, and come short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23).  In His grace God has made a way for us to love Him, in that He first loved us.  He loved us so much that He sent His Son to be the atonement for our sins; and showed us what it is like to have fellowship with the Father.

OUTLINE –

I.  THE PRESENCE OF GOD AND HIS WORD CAUSE FEAR IN THE HEARTS OF THE UNRIGHTEOUS (vv. 18-21).
II.  THERE IS NO IMAGE MADE BY HUMANITY TO SHOW THE LIKENESS OF GOD (vv. 22-23).
III.  THE NEED TO REMEMBER THE HOLINESS OF GOD (vv. 24-26).

Study Questions –

1.  These “thunderings”, and “lightnings” were probably simply a volcanic eruption.  True    False   (v. 18)

2.  When the people saw and heard these things they called on Moses…   (v. 19)
A.  …To pray.    B.  …To run.    C.  …To hide.    D.  …to be their mediator.

3.  The people were ________________ probably because they did not believe themselves ______________ in the presence of holy God. (v. 20)

4.  The _______________ which Moses entered can show us that God is with us in our _______________ moments (v. 21).

5.  The “________________” and “_________________” were evidence that God had ________________ “with” them “from heaven”. (v. 22).

6.  Even the precious metals and gems of the earth cannot be likened unto God our Creator.     True    False  (v. 23)

7.  Any inappropriate _____________ was forbidden; thus God says any stone used to make an _____________ was not to have a “tool lifted against it”.

-Tim A. Blankenship

Answers –

1. False;  2. D;  3. fearful, worthy;  4. darkness, darkest;  5. thunderings, lightnings, spoken;  6. True;  7. image, altar.