From Sinai to Zion: Approaching the Holy God
“You shall set bounds for the people all around, saying, ‘Take heed to yourselves that you do not go up to the mountain or touch its base. Whoever touches the mountain shall surely be put to death. Not a hand shall touch him, but he shall surely be stoned or shot with an arrow; whether man or beast, he shall not live.’ When the trumpet sounds long, they shall come near the mountain.”
— Exodus 19:12–13
Approaching an emperor without an invitation was a capital crime in many ancient cultures. Consider how Esther risked her life to approach Ahasuerus, even though he was her own husband. This may seem extreme to us, but laws like these vividly illustrated the difference between a king and a commoner. The glory and responsibility of the kingly office demanded respect. His subjects served at his pleasure, and they were expected to follow the king’s commands and schedule.
In these verses, we see something similar taking place at Mount Sinai. But in this case, the sovereign is no mere fallen man. Here we see the holy, omnipotent, and just God of all creation descending upon Mount Sinai to meet with His people.
When God descends to earth, the ground upon which He rests becomes immeasurably holy. Remember when Moses first encountered God in the burning bush? God commanded Moses to remove his shoes because even the ground upon which God stood was holy. Earthly humility is not sufficient to make sinful man worthy of God's presence. Even the holy angels are not without fault in God's sight, as the book of Job reminds us:
“Behold, He puts no trust in His servants, and His angels He charges with error.”
— Job 4:18
Earthly kings are not necessarily aware of your approach until they are informed by their servants or see you approaching in the throne room. You might enter a palace, change your mind after passing through the gate, and return home unharmed.
Our omniscient God misses nothing.
Simply beginning to ascend the mountain or touching its base out of idle curiosity was enough to incur God's judgment. There are no harmless motives or hidden corners with God. He sees the heart as well as the outward action.
The Shema in Deuteronomy 6:4 declares God's majesty:
“Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one!”
The very next verse declares the corresponding responsibility of God's people:
“You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength.”
God's holiness establishes our obligation. We are not free to approach Him according to our own terms.
At Mount Sinai, God gave Israel His law and placed before them the demands of His covenant. Would they attempt to fulfill the covenant of works that Adam had broken, or would they rest in the covenant of grace already promised in Genesis 3:15?
The Ten Commandments would be expounded throughout the civil and ceremonial laws of the Mosaic covenant. Although Christians are no longer under the Mosaic civil and ceremonial laws, how often do we find hundreds of different ways to break the same ten commandments?
We are all malefactors here.
The Uncleanness of Sin
There is another interesting detail in the punishment for the person who trespassed upon God's holy mountain. Notice the language:
“Not a hand shall touch him, but he shall surely be stoned or shot with an arrow.”
The offender was not to be approached or handled directly. He was to be executed from a distance.
The imagery reminds us of the biblical concern with separation from uncleanness. Jude similarly commands believers to exercise hatred toward the pollution of sin:
“Hating even the garment defiled by the flesh.”
— Jude 23
The severity of Sinai teaches us something important: carelessness before God is not a trivial matter.
The Israelites were commanded to regard violation of God's holy ordinance with deadly seriousness. The same holy God who condemns adultery and blasphemy also condemns presumptuous disregard for His commands.
Why?
Because the problem is not merely the individual act. The problem is the holiness of the One against whom the act is committed.
Adam's federal headship brought the curse upon his descendants, and his position as prince over creation meant that his fall affected the created order itself. Even the animals were not immune from the consequences of man's sin.
Mankind possesses a sinful nature, and creation itself groans under the effects of the Fall.
Who can restore us to God?
Who can restore glory to the created order?
From Sinai to Zion
The answer is Christ.
Christ took the capital punishment that we deserved and opened the only way for sinners to approach God as Father. The cordon around Sinai, the ark within the tabernacle, and the veil within the temple all communicated the same terrifying truth:
The sinner cannot casually enter the presence of a holy God.
Yet Christ has opened a new and living way.
The writer of Hebrews tells us:
“Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.”
— Hebrews 4:16
The Israelites were forbidden from approaching Sinai until they heard the trumpet sound. But those who belong to Christ have received something infinitely greater. We do not approach a mere desert mountain. We approach God Himself upon His heavenly throne.
And the writer of Hebrews reveals something about Sinai that Exodus does not explicitly tell us:
“For you have not come to the mountain that may be touched and that burned with fire, and to blackness and darkness and tempest, and the sound of a trumpet and the voice of words, so that those who heard it begged that the word should not be spoken to them anymore. For they could not endure what was commanded: ‘And if so much as a beast touches the mountain, it shall be stoned or shot with an arrow.’ And so terrifying was the sight that Moses said, ‘I am exceedingly afraid and trembling.’”
— Hebrews 12:18–21
Moses himself trembled before the terrifying holiness of God at Sinai.
But then comes the glorious contrast:
“But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, to an innumerable company of angels, to the general assembly and church of the firstborn who are registered in heaven, to God the Judge of all, to the spirits of just men made perfect, to Jesus the Mediator of the new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling that speaks better things than that of Abel.”
— Hebrews 12:22–24
What Moses feared has become our triumph—not because God has become less holy, but because Christ has borne the judgment that stood between us and God.
Sinai says, “Do not come near.”
Christ says, “Come boldly.”
Sinai warns of death for the one who approaches God's holiness improperly.
Christ gives us access to the Father through His own blood.
The mountain is no longer our destination.
Zion is.
And we do not come to Zion because we are worthy. We come because Jesus is worthy. He is our Savior, our Prophet, our great High Priest, and the Mediator of the new covenant.
The fearful distance of Sinai has been answered by the blood of Christ.
Having received such greater promises, should we not be eager to use them?
Soli Deo Gloria.
