who approach Yahweh, even these must purify themselves, or Yahweh will break out against them.’
Moses answered Yahweh, ‘The people cannot come up the mountain of Sinai because you warned us when you said, “Mark out the limits of the mountain and declare it sacred.”
Go down,’ said Yahweh to him ‘and come up again bringing Aaron with you. But do not allow the priests or the people to pass beyond their bounds to come up to Yahweh, or he will break out against the.
[Exodus 19.16-25]
Moses answered Yahweh, ‘The people cannot come up the mountain of Sinai because you warned us when you said, “Mark out the limits of the mountain and declare it sacred.”
Go down,’ said Yahweh to him ‘and come up again bringing Aaron with you. But do not allow the priests or the people to pass beyond their bounds to come up to Yahweh, or he will break out against the.
[Exodus 19.16-
The Spiritual Message
The next stage in the theophany on Mount Sinai deals with God’s revelation of the 10 Commandments to the Moses and the people. Following the covenant, Moses is instructed to build the Tent of Meeting which would later become the prototype for the Temple of Solomon and even later the model for the Temple of Herod the Great of Jesus’ day.
The tent of meeting and later temple constructions involved three basic elements: an outer courtyard, the Holy Place and the Holy of Holies. Each expresses metaphorically a different level of spiritual awareness of God and his kingdom. The outer court equates with “the way of the slave”; the Holy Place is synonymous with “the way of the friend”; and the Holy of Holies represents the fullness of unity between God and believer, “the way of the son”.
According to this idealized metaphor, a slave is someone who works for someone else only under compulsion. Such a person, according to the metaphor, has only his or her own vested interests at heart and not the master’s. In contrast, a friend is someone you can trust and share your concerns with, someone who has a genuine concern for your welfare. However, it is only the son who knows his father’s heart. As a person turns towards God, he or she must travel through these three stages of spiritual awakening before he or she can look on the face of God. Each is associated with a discrete moral consciousness and understanding of God. However, it is only the son – the pure of heart – who sees God as he really is.
A Model For Spiritual Growth
In the account of the Theophany on Mount Sinai in chapter 19 of Exodus, the Israelites where not allowed past the base of the mountain. This corresponded to their level of spiritual awakening. Moses and Aaron alone were allowed to climb the mountain and go beyond the cloud, where Moses received the 10 Commandments. The people experienced God as a god of wrath and anger – a god who lived by law and retribution. In other words, they saw themselves reflected in their image of God. This understanding of God kept them at the base of the mountain.
The tent of meeting and later temple constructions involved three basic elements: an outer courtyard, the Holy Place and the Holy of Holies. Each expresses metaphorically a different level of spiritual awareness of God and his kingdom. The outer court equates with “the way of the slave”; the Holy Place is synonymous with “the way of the friend”; and the Holy of Holies represents the fullness of unity between God and believer, “the way of the son”.
According to this idealized metaphor, a slave is someone who works for someone else only under compulsion. Such a person, according to the metaphor, has only his or her own vested interests at heart and not the master’s. In contrast, a friend is someone you can trust and share your concerns with, someone who has a genuine concern for your welfare. However, it is only the son who knows his father’s heart. As a person turns towards God, he or she must travel through these three stages of spiritual awakening before he or she can look on the face of God. Each is associated with a discrete moral consciousness and understanding of God. However, it is only the son – the pure of heart – who sees God as he really is.
A Model For Spiritual Growth
In the account of the Theophany on Mount Sinai in chapter 19 of Exodus, the Israelites where not allowed past the base of the mountain. This corresponded to their level of spiritual awakening. Moses and Aaron alone were allowed to climb the mountain and go beyond the cloud, where Moses received the 10 Commandments. The people experienced God as a god of wrath and anger – a god who lived by law and retribution. In other words, they saw themselves reflected in their image of God. This understanding of God kept them at the base of the mountain.
