And the LORD said to Moses, “Behold, I am coming to you in a thick cloud, that the people may hear when I speak with you, and may also believe you forever.”
When Moses told the words of the people to the LORD, the LORD said to Moses, “Go to the people and consecrate them today and tomorrow, and let them wash their garments and be ready for the third day. For on the third day the LORD will come down on Mount Sinai in the sight of all the people. And you shall set limits for the people all around, saying, ‘Take care not to go up into the mountain or touch the edge of it. Whoever touches the mountain shall be put to death. No hand shall touch him, but he shall be stoned or shot; whether beast or man, he shall not live.’ When the trumpet sounds a long blast, they shall come up to the mountain.” So Moses went down from the mountain to the people and consecrated the people; and they washed their garments. And he said to the people, “Be ready for the third day; do not go near a woman.”
On the morning of the third day there were thunders and lightnings and a thick cloud on the mountain and a very loud trumpet blast, so that all the people in the camp trembled. Then Moses brought the people out of the camp to meet God, and they took their stand at the foot of the mountain.
Comment: What does to ‘consecrate’ mean? In the dictionary it is easy you ‘set something apart for a specific usage’. Does the ‘apart’ mean ‘exclusively apart’? I guess that it is relatively easy to set something exclusively apart – you can use a consecrated building only for that which it has been set apart. For instance you couldn’t play soccer on an exclusively set apart ‘cricket field’. It might be a ‘stupid’ thing to do as you don’t play cricket in the wet season and it would make good sense to play soccer on it when it isn’t cricket season and save an enormous amount of money in setting up a consecrated ‘soccer field’ which wouldn’t be used for a large part of the year. Not a total explanation but I’m sure you get the idea. So should a church be used for a political rally?
But to my mind it becomes much more difficult when we talk about humanity instead of buildings. Washing their clothes and bodies would have been difficult enough in the wilderness (although easy for us!) but the Israelis, as we read yesterday, were called upon in terms which are life dominating. ‘You shall be my treasured possession among all peoples, for all the earth is mine; and you shall be to me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.’ The word (Latin) for priest was pontifex or bridge builder – they were being consecrated to become ‘bridge-builders’ between mankind and the estranged God – estranged because of sin.
At any rate, after their physical preparation God was about to tell them what His terms were for them to become the ‘treasured possession‘ that He wanted them to be.
Prayer: Help me to understand and live out what becoming a living sacrifice for You means.
As I read it! 