The Mountain Series

The Story of Moses : Exodus 19-20

The Mountain

Pastor Jefferson M. Williams

Chenoa Baptist Church

06-29–2025

Awesome!

In this culture, we overuse words to the point they lose their power. One of those words is “awe.” When Pete Crow-Armstrong makes an amazing catch for the Cubs, we say it was “awesome.” When we find out that Barry Manilow will not be playing concerts in Illinois anymore, we [all] say that is awful.

The dictionary defines “awe” as “the rapt attention and deep emotion caused by the sight of something extraordinary.”

I’ve been following Hansel Emmanuel since he was in high school. He’s a basketball player from the Dominican Republic.

He was told to give basketball up. But he made his high school team. Then he showed out in several camps in the US. He was recruited by multiple schools. Played college ball at Austin Peay.

Many people told him to be content to have made it this far. He wasn’t satisfied. He wasn’t drafted in the NBA draft this week but on Thursday he signed a two-way contract with the Houston Rockets.This means that he can play for their G-League affiliate team. He’s a pro!

But why is this awesome?

Well he’s 6’6, 175. Tall and skinny. And, by the way, he only has one arm!

I asked friends on Facebook, when was a time they felt “awe.” Here’s what some of them said:

Several people wrote about being at Disney for the first time and seeing Cinderella’s castle.

Walking through Babylon in Iraq while serving in the Army. I had this sense of wonder of what was there before and what it now was.

Several people talked about the birth of their children.

Several others wrote about seeing the Grand Canyon, the ocean, Niagara Falls, or Yosemite valley for the first time.

One pastor friend wrote about walking into the cave on Patmos where John received the Revelation. As well as walking into Ephesus. That was just wow.

One person wrote about standing on top of Pikes Peak after hiking more than five hours and another wrote about seeing the pyramids in Egypt at night.

One young person wrote about the sense of awe and God’s presence as she sat with her father as he went to heaven.

Several others wrote about encounters with God that filled them with awe.

That’s what we will be looking at today. The Israelites are going to receive the Law, the master plan for their nation. But chapter 19 of Exodus has to come before chapter 20.

Remember, for over 400 years they had been slaves in a country that had thousands of gods. Now, at the foot of Mt. Sinai, they will learn experientially that Yahweh is the only true God and that being in His presence creates terror, dread, and awe.

We will start our study of the Ten Commandments next week. But before the wow there needs to be worship. Before the commandments there needs to be consecration. Before obedience there needs to be a sense of God’s ownership.

Please turn with me to Exodus 19.

Prayer

Are We There Yet?

When we last left Moses, they had gone through the Red Sea on dry land and witnessed the destruction of the Egyptian army.

In Chapter 16, Moses led the people in a song of victory that began with these words:

“I will sing to the Lord, for he is highly exalted. Both horse and driver he has hurled into the sea.” (Ex 15:1)

And then…the grumbling started. Only three days out of Egypt, and the people already began to grumble against Moses. They were thirsty and the only water they found was bitter. But

“Then Moses cried out to the Lord, and the Lord showed him a piece of wood. He threw it into the water, and the water became fit to drink.” (Ex 15:25)

The whole group then camped at the oasis of Elim.

And then…they grumbled again!

“If only we had died by the Lord’s hand in Egypt! There we sat around pots of meat and ate all the food we wanted, but you have brought us out into this desert to starve this entire assembly to death.” (Ex 16:3)

Despite their complaining, God provides them with manna and quail to eat.

At Rephidim, Moses recorded that people quarreled with him and were ready to stone him because there was no water.

God told Moses to strike a rock and fresh water flowed in abundance.

They had their first battle victory when the Amalekites attacked them.

Let’s pick the story up in verse one of chapter 19.

“On the first day of the third month after the Israelites left Egypt—on that very day—they came to the Desert of Sinai. After they set out from Rephidim, they entered the Desert of Sinai, and Israel camped there in the desert in front of the mountain.” (Exodus 19:1-2)