18 Aug The Greatest Sermon Ever Preached
So, what is the greatest sermon ever preached? I’m glad you asked.
One question people often ask is, “How did we get the Bible?” In 2 Peter 1:21 we are told: “For no prophecy was ever made by an act of human will, but men moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God.” But, there is one part of the Bible unlike any other. Exodus 31:18 tells us that God wrote the Ten Commandments with His own finger!
And when He had finished speaking with him upon Mount Sinai, He gave Moses the two tablets of the testimony, tablets of stone, written by the finger of God.
Moses and the Ten Commandments
It is impossible to overstate the theological and the practical significance of this fact. Accordingly, God’s emphasis on the moral law does not end there, it begins there. The revelation at Mt. Sinai represents the one and only time that God descended to Earth in His omnipotent state, and spoke audibly to the entire nation of Israel!
THE GREATEST SERMON EVER PREACHED
While there are many miracles recorded in scripture, three are in a class by themselves. Only creation (which no human witnessed), and the resurrection of Jesus Christ compare in terms of power, glory, and significance to what happened at Sinai. Herbert Lockyer in his book, “All the Miracles of the Bible,” agrees. Speaking of the revelation at Sinai, he said there has never been: “So awful a manifestation…at any other place or time, nor will be until the end time period of human history.” 2
God’s message from Mt. Sinai, was accompanied by an entourage of sight and sound so dreadful, so terrifying, that when it was over, the people begged Moses never to let God speak to them directly again. They were convinced that one more manifestation of that magnitude would literally kill them (Ex. 20:19).
This raises a most important and fundamental question. Why would God do such a thing to His own people? What was the point in almost scaring them to death? I would like you to discover the answer by reading an abbreviated version of the Biblical account yourself.
So it came about on the third day, when it was morning, that there were thunder and lightning flashes and a thick cloud upon the mountain and a very loud trumpet sound, so that all the people who were in the camp trembled. And Moses brought the people out of the camp to meet God, and they stood at the foot of the mountain. Now Mount 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.
When the sound of the trumpet grew louder and louder, Moses spoke and God answered him with thunder. And the LORD came down on Mount Sinai, to the top of the mountain. Then God spoke all these words, saying,
“I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. Thou shalt have no other gods before Me.
Thou shalt not make for yourself an idol.
Thou shalt not take the name of the LORD your God in vain.
Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.
Honor your father and your mother.
Thou shalt not murder.
Thou shalt not commit adultery.
Thou shalt not steal.
Thou shalt not lie.
Thou shalt not covet against thy neighbor.”
And all the people perceived the thunder and the lightning flashes and the sound of the trumpet and the mountain smoking; and when the people saw {it,} they trembled and stood at a distance. Then they said to Moses, “Speak to us yourself and we will listen; but let not God speak to us, lest we die.”
Why would a loving God almost scare His own people to death? You’ll have to tune in to our next post to find the fascinating answer.
This is from Chapter One of my book, Jesus Christ the Master Evangelist – How to Present the Gospel the Way Jesus Did. Available at, www.voice-wilderness.org
In Christ,
Phil