Exodus 24:8-18—God appears to Moses on Mt. Sinai. It
was an experience with God revealing His glory. What is the significance of the
mountain? A mountain is generally the site of a religious experience. It was,
at least, for Moses, Elijah, Abraham and Jesus. There is symbolism to a
mountain. It is high. Above the valley of the mundane. It is s solitary place
away from people. It is a silent site where God’s voice can be heard without
the distractions and confusion of human voices. A mountain also speaks of
stability, permanence and strength.
Moses’
experience on Mt. Sinai was for the purpose of both making a covenant and the
receiving the Law. The covenant came first; the work of God grace of offering
to make a covenant. The Decalogue consists of the human conditions or counterpart
of the covenant. The laws are not primarily to please God but they are given
for our good. The Law is an expression the grace of God. It is significant that
the Ten Commandments are not developed through of a sociological situation but they
come from God as depicting God’s will for our well-being.
O
God, in the glorious transfiguration of Your beloved Son You confirmed the
mysteries of the faith by the testimony of Moses and Elijah. In the voice that
came from the bright cloud, You wonderfully foreshowed our adoption by grace. Mercifully
make us co-heirs with the King in His glory and bring us to the fullness of our
inheritance in heave; through the same Jesus Christ, our Lord, who lives, and
reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. [2]
[2] Collect for Transfiguration, Lutheran Service Book © 2006 Concordia Publishing House. St. Louis
[3] Collect for Wednesday of the week of Epiphany 6, For All the Saints, A Prayer Book For and By the Church, Vol. III © 1995, The American Lutheran Publicity Bureau, Delhi, NY
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