THUNDER AND LIGHTNING

PROCLAMATION

“And it came to pass on the third day in the morning, that there were thunders and lightnings, and a thick cloud upon the mount, and the voice of the trumpet exceeding loud; so that all the people that was in the camp trembled.  And Moses brought forth the people out of the camp to meet with God; and they stood at the nether of the mount.”  Exodus 19:16-17 (KJV)

 

EXPLANATION

These are the words of God which were revealed to and written by Moses under the influence of The Holy Spirit of God.  On the first day of the third month after the children of Israel had left Egypt, they arrived at the foot of Mount Sinai in the desert of Sinai. (Exodus 19:1-2)  The Lord God called Moses and told him to come up to Him on the mountain.  Moses went up the mountain and God gave him a message for the people. (Exodus 19:3-6)  When Moses came back down the mountain, he met with the elders and told them what thus saith The Lord.  They agreed to do all that The Lord had spoken, and Moses returned up the mountain to give the words of the people to The Lord. (Exodus 19:7-8)  Then The Lord told Moses to tell the people to consecrate themselves, and He would come down Mount Sinai in the sight of all the people.  He also told Moses to set boundaries around the foot of the mountain that the people were not to cross. (Exodus 19:9-12)  On the third day, a thick cloud covered Mount Sinai and there was thunder and lightning, and a very loud trumpet blast, and the people trembled. (Exodus 19:16)  There was smoke billowing up from the mountain because The Lord descended upon it in a fire.  The whole mountain began to quake violently. (Exodus 19:17-19)  And The Lord again called Moses to come up mountain, and he went up and spoke with Him.  Then He sent Moses back down to speak to the people. (Exodus 19:20-25)

 

APPLICATION

When we pray, we are talking to God.  The Holy Bible is The Word of God and it represents God talking to us.  Many of us have heard “the old folks” say that we should be still and be quiet during a storm when there is thunder and lightning because God is talking.  That saying was based upon this Bible verse. (Exodus 19:16)  Many Bible scholars believe that this was a sermon preached by The Lord God directly to the people in the wilderness which Moses had to interpret for them. (Exodus 19:16-18)  Today, The Lord God speaks to us whenever we read His Holy Word.  The more often we read it prayerfully, the more we will hear Him speak to us.