The People Were Afraid and Trembled - Exodus 20:18-21:36

The presence of God is a fearsome thing. As the Children of Israel beheld what was transpiring on the mountain, they quaked in fear and begged Moses that he would speak to them and not the Lord. We are separated from that time a place by over 3,500 years. We have to work to understand their perspective on what they saw and encountered. Today's video focuses on doing just that.

• Do not be dependent on anyone else for your growth in the Word. Be In It For YOURSELF
• Why is the presence of the Lord frightening to us?
• Moses was an author and had the liberty to arrange things as he saw fit. It was not all chronological.
• Storm imagery represents the presence of God throughout the Scriptures
• Baal, the chief deity of Canaan was the "Cloud Rider." God appropriates that title and imagery for himself. He is the God of gods and King of kings and Lord of lords
• Man's sinfulness precludes him from being in the presence of Yahweh
• What is the significance of "thick darkness?" Sin is darkness. Sin separates us from God.
• Imagery Matters
• Altars are the place where people meet God
• People did not believe their idols were actually THE deity
• Yahweh cannot be represented by anything He created
• Our legal code is based upon what we find set forth by God in the Pentateuch
• The unbelieving heart hates God and looks for ways to attack and belittle his essence
• No where does the Bible say God approves of slavery. Slavery was and is part of the world. God made rules that made it "kinder." For the world of that day, he elevated the status of slaves.
• What we study today serves as the basis for the criminal justice system throughout the Western world.
• Show me an obedient and respectful child and I will show you a good citizen.
• No other religious code or system in the ancient world showed that the supreme deity was concerned about the lives of the people. That is especially the case with slaves.
• If you do not set bounds on behavior, the weakest and most vulnerable suffer. God protected them.
• Every where that faith grows, Christianity spreads, slavery diminishes and goes away.
• Life is always protected