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A MOUNTAIN VIEW |
One of the most striking things about the Mount Washington Valley in which we reside is the mountain scenery. Mount Washington to the north dominates our valley with its impressive mass and often snow-capped peak. To the west are the Moat Mountains which provide spectacular sunsets as the sun drops behind them. To the east is the ridge formed by Kearsarge, Cranmore, Black Jack, and Peaked mountains. Driving south through Conway and Albany you will soon catch glimpses of distinctive Mount Chocorua. Locals love the mountians, and our visitors are often awed by their beauty. |
Did you know that mountains play a significant role in the Bible as well? The mountains of the land of Israel vary from the snowy Mount Hermon (left) in the north with an elevation of 9,000 feet, to the rugged and desolate hill country of the Judean wilderness (below) only a few miles from Jerusalem. |
It is in this territory, and on these mountains, that many significant spiritual lessons were taught in the scriptures. Let us look at some of the highlights of these mountain views. |
1. One of the most important mountains to know about is Mount Horeb (left), also called Mount Sinai in the Bible. It was on this mountain that God gave His law to His people, Israel. It is difficult to say which of the rugged peaks in the Sinai peninsula was the actual "Mountain of God." But one of these rocky giants was where God wrote the Ten Commandments. Almost everyone has heard of the Ten Commandments. However, not many people remember that there was a very detailed process of purification which Moses and |
the Israelites had to perform before God gave the law to them. They were to set boundaries around the mountain, wash their clothes, and make sure they were "consecrated" or spiritually clean (Exodus 19:9-11) All of this preparation was a physical reminder of God's great holiness. It is not merely that God has never sinned (He never has sinned, of course!) God's holiness is a positive thing as well. The Bible tells us in several places that He is light: His character is shining, pure and glorious, totally apart from sin or darkness of any kind. The people of Israel where aware of this when God descended upon Mt. Sinai on the third day: "now Mt. Sinai was all in smoke because the Lord descended upon it in fire; and its smoke ascended like the smoke of a furnace, and the whole mountain quaked violently." (Exodus 19:18) God's character is holy and perfect, therefore His law, the standards He requires of mankind, are also perfect. Unfortunately, we are sinful, flawed, and very much unholy. Even while God was writing the Ten Commandments and handing them to Moses on the top of the mountain, the people of Israel were down at the base of the mountain committing horrendous sin. They were worshiping the statue of a golden calf (probably similar to many of the idols they had seen in Egypt). Mount Sinai is the scene of God's perfect holiness and man's awful sinfulness. We need to recognize that we all are sinners before a holy God! Romans 3:23 says, "All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God." We all are under the judgement of God because of our sin. In fact, the Israelites were afflicted by a great plague from God as punishment for their sin. Likewise, we can expect consequences, punishment, for our sins. This punishment is summarized in the word "death." "For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord." (Romans 6:23) Because of our sin against God, we deserve His anger and punishment: eternal death. |
2. But this leads us to consider another moutain which is very significant in the Bible. Mount Moriah (artist rendering of Mount Moriah and city of David in Bible times to right) plays an important role in the Old Testament. In order to prove Abraham's love, obedience, and faith, God commanded that he take his son Isaac and offer him as a sacrifice on top of Mount Moriah. Abrham believed that God would restore Isaac to life, and willingly prepared to do as he had been instructed. At the last moment, God sent His Angel, Who interupted the sacrifice, and pointed Abraham to a substitute instead, a ram whose horns had trapped it in a bush nearby. Abraham offered the ram instead of his son, and named that place Jehovah Jireh, "The Lord Will Provide." What a beautiful story! And it takes on all the more meaning when we realize that Mount Moriah (current day view to right showing The Dome Of The Rock at the top) is one of the hills of Jerusalem. |
A few hundred yards to the east is the Mount of Olives (left & below) where Jesus prayed to God The Father, "Not my will, but Thine be done." And a few yards to the west is Mount Zion (below) where David built his palace, and where Jesus ate the last supper with His apostles. A small but steep ravine divides the Mounts Moriah and Zion, but the two hills come together a few yards north and slope upward toward a slightly higher elevation just north of the old city wall. |
At a place called Golgotha ("place of the or a skull"- right) the Roman troops carried out executions of criminals. It was here that Jesus Christ, The Son Of God, offered Himself in our place. In the very location where Abraham had offered his son Isaac, the Holy One Of God gave up His life on a cruel executioner's cross, taking our sins upon Himself and willingly accepting the wrath of God The Father, so that through faith in Him we might have eternal life. Mount Moriah is not only a place of sacrifice and death, it is also the place of the greatest display of love that mankind has ever witnessed. Three days later the Roman and Jewish officals were confounded to discover that Jesus had risen from the dead. The grave in which Jesus had been placed (the garden tomb below) about a hundred yards west of the hill Golgotha, was empty! |
Jesus conquered death, thereby assuring those who believe in Him, that they too will live forever with Him. This gift of eternal life is offered to you: by simply ackowledging that you are a sinner before a Holy God, and believing the fact that Jesus Christ, God's Son, died to take the penalty of your sins, was buried and rose again the third day, God promises to you a home in heaven. Acts 16:31 say, "Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved." If you put all your faith in Jesus, without relying at all on your good works, you too are guaranteed a home in heaven with Him. |
3. A third mountain you should know about, among many others in the Bible, is Mount Carmel (right). From the top of beautiful Mount Carmel, one can see the sparkling Mediterranean Sea to the west, and the city of Haifa (below) down the slopes to the north. But in about 850 B.C. it was the seen of a great struggle. Elijah, the fiery porphet of God, had challenged the prophets of the false god Baal, a favorite fertility figure in Canaanite religion, to a contest. Whoever could call fire down from heaven to consume an animal sacrifice would be deserving of the worship of the people of Israel. Elijah posed the challenge with classic clarity: he said to the assembled |
people, "How long will you hesitate between two opinions? If The Lord is God, follow Him, but if Baal, follow him." (2nd Kings 18:21) Certainly this episode is one of the most famous and well-loved of all Bible narratives. But it is also a powerful challenge to us. We all tend to hesitate between two opinions. We all pause, as it were, in the valley between the two mounntains. You cannot be on both peaks at once: you must serve Baal, or the true and living God of the Bible. You must love and obey Jesus Christ, or choose your own god to bow down to; but you cannot do both. |
When the prophets of Baal had exhasuted themselves with fruitless pleas to their diety, Elijah arose, had his sacrifice soaked with twelve buckets of water, and prayed simply, clearly and humbly to Jehovah, the God of Heaven. God responded with fire out of heaven that burned up the sacrfice, consumed the wood, stones, and dust and vaporized the water standing in the ditch. There was no question about who was real. Mount Carmel is the mountain of decision. Jesus said, "you cannot serve God and mammon (material things)." Only life of service and faith in God is worth living. We challenge you today, my friend, to stand on Mount Sinai and recognize that god is perfect and holy and you are sinful and flawed, as are all human beings. And we point you to Mount Moriah, where God provided a substitute for you: Jesus Christ the Righteous. Who laid down His life in payment for your sins. If you have never believed in Him for salvation from the guilt and penalty of your sins, why not do so today? It you are a believer, we challenge you to go th Mount Carmel: Are you hesitating between two opinions? Are there competing "gods" in your life? True joy, peace and purpose in life are only for those who are truly born again, and who are serving the Lord Jesus Christ. May God give you a mountain view of His holiness, truth and love today. In His Service, Rev. Laurence D. Brown - Pastor |