#mt. sinai

[nlnnet]

[mybeautifulchristianjourney]

At Mount Sinai

1 On the first day of the third month after the Israelites left Egypt – on that very day – they came to the Desert of Sinai. 2 After they set out from Rephidim, they entered the Desert of Sinai, and Israel camped there in the desert in front of the mountain.

3 Then Moses went up to God, and the Lord called to him from the mountain and said, ‘This is what you are to say to the descendants of Jacob and what you are to tell the people of Israel: 4 “You yourselves have seen what I did to Egypt, and how I carried you on eagles’ wings and brought you to myself. 5 Now if you obey me fully and keep my covenant, then out of all nations you will be my treasured possession. Although the whole earth is mine, 6 you will be for me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.” These are the words you are to speak to the Israelites.’

7 So Moses went back and summoned the elders of the people and set before them all the words the Lord had commanded him to speak. 8 The people all responded together, ‘We will do everything the Lord has said.’ So Moses brought their answer back to the Lord.

9 The Lord said to Moses, ‘I am going to come to you in a dense cloud, so that the people will hear me speaking with you and will always put their trust in you.’ Then Moses told the Lord what the people had said.

10 And the Lord said to Moses, ‘Go to the people and consecrate them today and tomorrow. Make them wash their clothes 11 and be ready by the third day, because on that day the Lord will come down on Mount Sinai in the sight of all the people. 12 Put limits for the people around the mountain and tell them, “Be careful that you do not approach the mountain or touch the foot of it. Whoever touches the mountain is to be put to death. 13 They are to be stoned or shot with arrows; not a hand is to be laid on them. No person or animal shall be permitted to live.” Only when the ram’s horn sounds a long blast may they approach the mountain.’

14 After Moses had gone down the mountain to the people, he consecrated them, and they washed their clothes. 15 Then he said to the people, ‘Prepare yourselves for the third day. Abstain from sexual relations.’

16 On the morning of the third day there was thunder and lightning, with a thick cloud over the mountain, and a very loud trumpet blast. Everyone in the camp trembled. 17 Then Moses led the people out of the camp to meet with God, and they stood at the foot of the mountain. 18 Mount Sinai was covered with smoke, because the Lord descended on it in fire. The smoke billowed up from it like smoke from a furnace, and the whole mountain trembled violently. 19 As the sound of the trumpet grew louder and louder, Moses spoke and the voice of God answered him.

20 The Lord descended to the top of Mount Sinai and called Moses to the top of the mountain. So Moses went up 21 and the Lord said to him, ‘Go down and warn the people so they do not force their way through to see the Lord and many of them perish. 22 Even the priests, who approach the Lord, must consecrate themselves, or the Lord will break out against them.’

23 Moses said to the Lord, ‘The people cannot come up Mount Sinai, because you yourself warned us, “Put limits around the mountain and set it apart as holy.”’

24 The Lord replied, ‘Go down and bring Aaron up with you. But the priests and the people must not force their way through to come up to the Lord, or he will break out against them.’

25 So Moses went down to the people and told them. — Exodus 19 | New International Version - UK (NIVUK) Holy Bible, New International Version® Anglicized, NIV® Copyright © 1979, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® All rights reserved worldwide. Cross References: Genesis 11:5; Genesis 35:2; Exodus 3:1; Exodus 3:4-5; Exodus 3:12; Exodus 4:5; Exodus 4:29; Exodus 4:31; Exodus 24:1; Exodus 24:5; Exodus 20:1; Deuteronomy 4:36; Deuteronomy 33:2; Matthew 24:31; Acts 7;38; 1 Corinthians 7:5; 1 Corinthians 10:26; Hebrews 12:18; Hebrews 12:20; Hebrews 12:26; 1 Peter 2:5; Revelation 12:14; Revelation 15:8; Revelation 22:14

Exodus 19 Bible Commentary - Matthew Henry (concise)

Key Events of Exodus 19

The people arrive at Sinai

God’s message by Moses unto the people out of the mount

The people are prepared against the third day, for the giving of the law

The mountain must not be touched

The fearful presence of God upon the mount

[religion-is-a-mental-illness]

From today's WSJ. Self-publish indeed.

Funny how God's most important work was delivered to humanity using technology that was available at the time. If he'd sent them laser engraved titanium tablets, we'd still have the finely inscribed originals today.

And proof of divinity.

For an all-powerful god who can create an entire universe exactly how he wishes with just a word, there is no deed which is any more difficult than any other deed. They are exactly as trivial. Anything he does for you is no more difficult or meaningful than not doing it at all. Bestowing personalized, laser-engraved titanium tablets to each and every human on Earth is no more difficult than producing stone tablets... or doing nothing at all.

Instead, we get crap like this.

Exodus 24:12

And the Lord said unto Moses, Come up to me into the mount, and be there: and I will give thee tables of stone, and a law, and commandments which I have written; that thou mayest teach them.

Exodus 31:18

And he gave unto Moses, when he had made an end of communing with him upon mount Sinai, two tables of testimony, tables of stone, written with the finger of God.

Exodus 32:14-19

And the Lord repented of the evil which he thought to do unto his people.

And Moses turned, and went down from the mount, and the two tables of the testimony were in his hand: the tables were written on both their sides; on the one side and on the other were they written.

And the tables were the work of God, and the writing was the writing of God, graven upon the tables.

And when Joshua heard the noise of the people as they shouted, he said unto Moses, There is a noise of war in the camp.

And he said, It is not the voice of them that shout for mastery, neither is it the voice of them that cry for being overcome: but the noise of them that sing do I hear.

And it came to pass, as soon as he came nigh unto the camp, that he saw the calf, and the dancing: and Moses' anger waxed hot, and he cast the tables out of his hands, and brake them beneath the mount.

Exodus 34:1-5

And the Lord said unto Moses, Hew thee two tables of stone like unto the first: and I will write upon these tables the words that were in the first tables, which thou brakest.

And be ready in the morning, and come up in the morning unto mount Sinai, and present thyself there to me in the top of the mount.

And no man shall come up with thee, neither let any man be seen throughout all the mount; neither let the flocks nor herds feed before that mount.

And he hewed two tables of stone like unto the first; and Moses rose up early in the morning, and went up unto mount Sinai, as the Lord had commanded him, and took in his hand the two tables of stone.

And the Lord descended in the cloud, and stood with him there, and proclaimed the name of the Lord.

Exodus 34:27-32

And the Lord said unto Moses, Write thou these words: for after the tenor of these words I have made a covenant with thee and with Israel.

And he was there with the Lord forty days and forty nights; he did neither eat bread, nor drink water. And he wrote upon the tables the words of the covenant, the ten commandments.

And it came to pass, when Moses came down from mount Sinai with the two tables of testimony in Moses' hand, when he came down from the mount, that Moses wist not that the skin of his face shone while he talked with him.

And when Aaron and all the children of Israel saw Moses, behold, the skin of his face shone; and they were afraid to come nigh him.

And Moses called unto them; and Aaron and all the rulers of the congregation returned unto him: and Moses talked with them.

And afterward all the children of Israel came nigh: and he gave them in commandment all that the Lord had spoken with him in mount Sinai.

The god of creation didn't think to make the tablets indestructible, and when they were broken, instead of reconstituting them, asked Moses to make some more, traipse back up the mountain, proposed that "I will write upon these tables the words that were in the first tables, which thou brakest" but then couldn't be bothered - or just plain forgot - and "the Lord said unto Moses, Write thou these words."

And the whole thing took almost six weeks. Twice.

The universe was created in 6 days, but two tablets with 10 dot points on them took two attempts, each 40 days. And Lord still didn't learn from the first time, because he didn't think to make the second set any more indestructible than the first. Even magic unbreakable stone would have been a true miracle to declare himself to the world.

This is a stupid book, containing a stupid story about a stupid god. How anyone thinks this is the greatest story ever told is beyond me, when it's not even in the top 1000 least facepalmy stories.

[wisdomfish]

[quo-usque-tandem]

Mt. Sinai, Egypt

[gallerybyzantium]

Our St. Catherine Cross is inspired by a a fresco in a side chapel apse of the St. Catherine Monastery on Mount Sinai.  

St. Catherine of Alexandria was a 3rd century martyr, celebrated for her piety and determination.  She is the patron of philosophers and scholars and is believed to help protect against sudden death.

[dramoor]

“This image can be found at St. Catherine’s Monastery near Mt. Sinai and is dated to the 6th century. Around Mary and Jesus are St. Theodor of Amasea, St. George, and two angels. Notice also the hand at the top.”

[bythebigcoolingtower]

Homer vs. Lisa and the 8th Commandment [S2 E13] (dir. Rich Moore)

When future generations ask what my masterpiece was, this will be your answer. I kid of course. This is a wonderful way to open an episode however. Mt. Sinai is a real place located in Egypt, obviously if you were to go there now it’d be a lot different. What hasn’t changed are the ideals of the ten commandments, the episodes central theme, and there introduced here in a way that’s both informative and humorous.