Exodus 20:18b-19 They stayed at a distanceand said to Moses, "Speak to us yourself and we will listen. But do not have God speak to us or we will die." (Deuteronomy 5:22-23 recounts the phenomenon of God making Himself manifest on Mt. Sinai more fully, describing the mountain being ablaze with fire and the Voice of God coming out of a cloud and deep darkness. The people were overwhelmed and overcome. Until now, before they had experienced this amazing spectacle before them, they had pressed into the mountain, curious to see something of this God Who had led them out of Egypt and through the desert to this place. They knew He was certainly more powerful than the gods of Egypt with which they were familiar, but still assumed He was somehow of that same type, just stronger. Now, they realize this is God like no other and beyond anything in human experience or understanding. In a foreshadowing of what is to come later through Jesus, the Lord is showing His people they need a mediator, and the people realize they need someone to be their mediator. Today, the Lord is still merciful to us and does not show Himself in the fullness of His awesome power. He knew we needed to see Him, needed to experience Him, so He gave Israel a mere glimpse of Himself, allowing them and us to understand we need a Mediator. Today, He has given us Jesus to show Himself to us in human terms all we could bear. In Christ, we now have all we need to know and all we could presently understand about God Almighty. In Christ, we now can not only be in His Presence, but we also may fellowship with Him.)
