Then the LORD said to Moses, “Leave this place, you and the people you brought up out of Egypt, and go up to the land I promised on oath to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, saying, ‘I will give it to your descendants. – Exodus 33:1

Today's Scripture Reading (December 3, 2024): Exodus 33

Occasionally, someone asks if they can come and just sit in the sanctuary of the church. And sometimes, they don’t ask. Every so often, if the church is open, they just come in and sit down. There is something about the sanctuary where people feel close to God.

Many years ago, I attended a church where we met every Saturday night to pray. This wasn’t the kind of prayer meeting I had become used to, where we gathered in a room or even in the church's sanctuary, sang some songs, and then prayed together. And it wasn’t anything like the kind of prayer service my African friends celebrate, which is punctuated with loud music and even some yelling. We met as a group at the church but then fanned out all through the church to pray. Many ended up sitting in the pews in the sanctuary or kneeling at the altar. Still, I have to admit that my favorite place on those nights was to climb up on the roof and sit at the edge of the building with legs hanging over the wall, overlooking the neighborhood with a view of the downtown skyline. Sometimes, like my friends sitting in the sanctuary below me, I could lose my sense of time praying and looking at the city I believed was my mission field. 

It has been over a decade since I served at the church that hosted those prayer meetings. The church I currently serve doesn’t have a roof with as easy access as that church. Yet, I still remember those times of prayer up on the roof. And I often wish I could return to my perch overlooking the city.

I can’t imagine any of those places of prayer or solace measured up to what it was like to be invited to meet with God up on the side of Mount Sinai. What was it like to be with God and converse with him like Moses had? I don’t think that I would have wanted to leave. Or, at the very least, that I would have voluntarily wandered away from that mountain. 

However, Moses isn’t allowed to stay in the vicinity of Mount Sinai. God commands Moses and his people to leave the area of Sinai. This place where Moses met with God was not to be the final destination of the people of Israel. And unlike other religions, this would also not be a place of annual pilgrimages. When Moses left the mountain, he and the people were to leave the area and go to the place God had promised to Abraham and his descendants. Sinai was not to be a place to which Israel would return. Sinai was designed to be a one-time event. Elijah, deep in his depression, would return to the mountain of God, but it wasn’t to become a place of worship for Israel. God had no plan to stay on this mountain. He would move with Israel into the place promised to them. And now, it was time to go forward into the next chapter of the nation’s journey. 

Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: Exodus 34