Good Morning Friends,
There is something mysterious about the mountains of the world and those referenced in the Bible for these places were also often pagan worship sites as well as where God was revealed. You see from the Biblical experience on the mountains of Ararat, Sinai, to Horeb, Hermon and Calvary the message is the same. Think of Moses and the Burning Bush and dew glistening on the rocks at the Transfiguration. God has a power we do not have. He is holy and we are not. He is God and we are not. But then the Father sent the Son who did miracles, redeemed us and gifted us the Holy Spirit and Scripture to guide and mentor us, to build up the Church so we too might be equipped and sent out for a purpose to do the assignment of loving God and loving others as ourselves. So, What Do Mountains In The Bible Symbolize For Our Work Today?
Scripture: Now the appearance of the glory of the Lord was like a devouring fire on the top of the mountain in the sight of the people of Israel.
Exodus 24:17 (NRSV)
Six days later, Jesus took with him Peter and James and his brother John and led them up a high mountain, by themselves. And he was transfigured before them, and his face shone like the sun, and his clothes became dazzling white. Suddenly there appeared to them Moses and Elijah, talking with him. Then Peter said to Jesus, ‘Lord, it is good for us to be here; if you wish, I* will make three dwellings* here, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.’
Matthew 17.1-4 (NRSV)
By your favor, O Lord, you had established me as a strong mountain; you hid your face; I was dismayed.
Psalms 30:7 (NRSV)
In days to come the mountain of the Lord’s house shall be established as the highest of the mountains, and shall be raised above the hills; all the nations shall stream to it.
Isaiah 2:2 (NRSV)
This calls for a mind that has wisdom: the seven heads are seven mountains on which the woman is seated; also, they are seven kings, of whom five have fallen, one is living, and the other has not yet come; and when he comes, he must remain for only a little while. As for the beast that was and is not, it is an eighth but it belongs to the seven, and it goes to destruction.
Revelation 17:9-11 (NRSV)
God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, though the earth should change, though the mountains shake in the heart of the sea; though its waters roar and foam, though the mountains tremble with its tumult. [Selah] There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God, the holy habitation of the Most High. God is in the midst of the city; it shall not be moved; God will help it when the morning dawns. The nations are in an uproar, the kingdoms totter; he utters his voice, the earth melts. The LORD of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge. [Selah] Come, behold the works of the LORD; see what desolations he has brought on the earth. He makes wars cease to the end of the earth; he breaks the bow, and shatters the spear; he burns the shields with fire. “Be still, and know that I am God! I am exalted among the nations, I am exalted in the earth.” The LORD of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge. [Selah]
Psalm 46:1-11 (NRSV)
I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; that I know very well.
Psalm 139:14 (NRSV)
But Jesus has now obtained a more excellent ministry, and to that degree he is the mediator of a better covenant, which has been enacted through better promises. For if that first covenant had been faultless, there would have been no need to look for a second one. God finds fault with them when he says: ‘The days are surely coming, says the Lord, when I will establish a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah; not like the covenant that I made with their ancestors, on the day when I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt; for they did not continue in my covenant, and so I had no concern for them, says the Lord. This is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the Lord: I will put my laws in their minds, and write them on their hearts, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. And they shall not teach one another or say to each other, “Know the Lord”, for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest. For I will be merciful towards their iniquities, and I will remember their sins no more.’ In speaking of ‘a new covenant’, he has made the first one obsolete. And what is obsolete and growing old will soon disappear.
Hebrews 8:6-13 (NRSV)
He went up the mountain and called to him those whom he wanted, and they came to him. And he appointed twelve, whom he also named apostles, to be with him, and to be sent out to proclaim the message, and to have authority to cast out demons. So he appointed the twelve: Simon (to whom he gave the name Peter); James son of Zebedee and John the brother of James (to whom he gave the name Boanerges, that is, Sons of Thunder); and Andrew, and Philip, and Bartholomew, and Matthew, and Thomas, and James son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus, and Simon the Cananaean, and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed him. Then he went home;
Mark 3:13-19 (NRSV)
And he said to them, “Follow me, and I will make you fish for people.”
Matthew 4:19 (NRSV)
Message: There is something about mountains and spiritual life. They were certainly part of the landscape of the Bible’s setting. But the link between mountains and worship seems to have occurred all around the world independently. Mount Sinai, Mount Olympus, Mount Fuji, Machu Picchu, Mount Athos, Mount Carmel, even the hills of Rome and the list goes on and on. There is a drama on the tops of mountains, again and again all around the world. Even in places like Pittsburgh and Mount Washington. Oh, there is drama on the flat lands of Florida too but there is something special about being able to see for miles and miles from a mountaintop or to overlook a city. Certainly, it must be more than just a metaphor of the religious life…of climbing the spiritual mountain inside. Still when Moses climbed Mount Sinai, he found that the appearance of the glory of the Lord was like a devouring fire on the top of the mountain. When Jesus climbed a high mountain, he became transfigured, and his face shone like the sun, and his clothes became dazzling white. And in today’s scripture Jesus appoints his disciples for a special purpose, and it too is on a mountain that helps us to see more clearly the work of being the Church in the Jesus Way so that we do not end up like Sisyphus. People have traditionally revered mountains as places of sacred power and spiritual attainment… a bit closer to heaven. But they also can be places of sacrifice as in the story of Abraham and Isaac. Today people are consumed with climbing the highest mountains. But maybe we do not need to venture out to find one of these sacred mountains of the world in order to pursue spirituality and understand what they symbolize. In the Old Testament, the mountains of Sinai and Zion were probably the most significant. But few climbed them. Mount Sinai, of course, is associated with Moses and is the place where Moses received the gift of the Law, the Ten Commandments. Thus, Mount Sinai is a symbol of God’s Covenant with Israel. Zion is the location of the Jerusalem Temple. Its significance for religion is substantial. And on Mount Carmel, Elijah challenged all the prophets of Baal, to determine whose sacrifice would be accepted. He turned the hearts of the people of Israel to the true God. It is that kind of faith that moves mountains and defeats the giants in our lives. In the New Testament Jesus appoints the Twelve on a mountain. Jesus delivers the Beatitudes in his Sermon on the Mount, conjuring an image of Moses who received the Commandments on Mount Sinai. Matthew, in particular, has six significant mountain “scenes” in his gospel: Jesus’ temptation (4:8); the Sermon on the Mount (5:1); a number of healings (15:29); the Transfiguration (17:1); Jesus’ final discourse (24:1); and the commissioning of the Apostles (28:16). Perhaps the most significant mountain scene aside from the cross in the Gospels, is the Transfiguration of Jesus. Jesus is accompanied by Moses and Elijah, who themselves encountered God on the mountaintop in the Old Testament. Now, they encounter God through Jesus and Jesus, in turn, is seen as the fulfillment of the Law (Moses) and the Prophets (Elijah). Augustine once marveled at the realization that people travel to wonders around the world… to mountains…across the vast oceans and long rivers and even contemplate the stars only to pass by our intricate and wondrous bodies. Indeed, we have been built up like mountains and woven together as a craftsman would skillfully weave a tapestry. And so too the Church. For here we are woven together in community through friendships and relationships that build up the body of believers in love…woven together in all the experiences of life in the reality that God is there with us through it all.
And So, following a Mountain is very counterintuitive especially for a Florida Boy who grew up on the beach sailing through thunderstorms. But following God is what being a Christian is about. We cannot climb the Mountain through our own effort. That is like chasing a cloud of our own making or rolling a heavy stone up a hill day after day. When Jesus walked the earth, a person who wanted to be a disciple would look for their own teacher. It was like looking for a life coach or a new minister. It was a big commitment and a lot of work. But unlike the other Rabbis of his day, Jesus hand picked his own apostles to multiply and bear much fruit. The Mountain came to them. God nominated and appointed those to do the work. See, the reality is, we do not pick Jesus… He picks us! Notice Jesus does not say, “Pick me! Pick me! I’ll promise you a wonderful life and you’ll never have another problem or trial!” No! He says, “Come! Follow me!” Literally, “Get behind me!”. No conditions, no negotiations… just follow and I will make you fish for people. So, when Jesus calls people to serve, I think he means for us to embrace God as the center and essence of our life. That is still Jesus’ call today. At the point you start to think you are the Mountain, you are in trouble. The Mountain has to be in you and Jesus calling you to act on His behalf. Being a disciple means being a follower for an ultimate purpose of being appointed to be a sherpa to others in the valley that hope to experience the Mountaintop. Think about this, the call to follow Jesus is a call to go without a net. When Jesus called Peter and Andrew, only one thing stood between them and total commitment. It was their nets. If they were going to follow Jesus, they would have to give up their security, income, comfort and survival. Jesus challenged them to follow him, and they had a choice to make. They had to decide if they were all in. The bible says that they immediately left their nets and followed him. Disciples are to be netless believers that followed Jesus from a lake below sea level to the highest point.
Pray that nothing entangles or inhibits our lives from a total commitment to follow Christ. Pray we appreciate the kingdom of God. Pray we appreciate the authority of the rule of Christ. Pray that the nations of the world are indeed brought low. Pray that we focus on God and the reality that He created us as well as the mountains and raises us both up. Pray that God knows us, encourages us, comforts us, and builds us up. Pray that we are astounded by God’s grace and greatness. Pray we feel His power in our lives. Pray we claim and climb the mountains of life by having the Spirit of the Jesus Mountain in us as a sanctuary. Pray we together in community through friendships and relationships build up the body of believers in love…woven together in all the experiences of life in the reality that God is there with us through it all. Pray we embrace Jesus’ better plan and better promises. Pray we have the mind and heart of Christ who was fully human as well as being fully God. Pray having encountered God that we proclaim the Gospel with authority. Pray we realize that there is victory, power and glory in the high ground of God.
Blessings,
John Lawson
Daily Devotionals 