Mountains: March 2020
Table of Contents
Theme
Over and over again, in His revelations to man, God has been pleased to give illustration to His words by the natural features of the locality where the words have been uttered. In speaking to men, God uses the natural to give emphasis to the spiritual. We are of the natural, nature surrounds us, and that very environment God uses to teach of the verities which lie outside and beyond the realm of nature.
Sinai was a mountain isolated, in a way, from others. The Scripture narrative informs us that bounds were set about it (Ex. 19:23), that it was in view from a plain in which “all” (Ex. 19:11) the people could stand, and move either “near” it or “afar off” from it (Ex. 20:21). It was sufficiently broad on the summit to enable one person to be in seclusion when 70 others were also there (Ex. 24:1-11). The base of the mountain could accommodate the two or three millions of Israel who stood and faced the fiery mount, enabling them to see all, without one rank obstructing the view of the rank behind it. Can anyone question the design of God in the selection of this plain? Surely the natural character of Mount Sinai was indeed in keeping with the solemn law that was proclaimed there!
H. F. Witherby (adapted)
Seven Mountains in Matthew
A mountain in Scripture represents an elevated place above the level of this world. In the Book of Matthew, we find the Lord Jesus upon seven different mountains. Matthew, of course, presents Him to us as the King of the Jews, primarily in His rejection. Since He was rejected by His people Israel, the Lord Jesus introduces a new dispensation, a dispensation of grace, in which is found the kingdom of the heavens. The rejected King will rule His kingdom from heaven and whosoever will believe are its subjects.
The First Mountain
The first mountain for consideration is in Matthew 4:8. After His baptism and His public acceptance by God, the Lord Jesus was led into the wilderness by the Spirit to be tempted of the devil. At this time, “the devil taketh Him up into an exceeding high mountain, and showeth Him all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them,” and he offers them to Him if He will fall down and worship him. The Lord Jesus uses the whole armor of God to defend Himself from the tempter’s attacks and defeats him with the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God. We, too, “wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places” (Eph. 6:12).
Christ would not receive glory from any other than His Father, even though the kingdom could be obtained only through suffering and death. “Wherefore God also hath highly exalted Him, and given Him a name which is above every name: that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow” (Phil. 2:9-10). This principle cannot be understood by the natural man. The Lord Jesus was despised and rejected, becoming the Man of sorrows; His subjects, too, if they follow Him, will find this same kind of life.
The Second Mountain
In the second mountain, in Matthew 5, we find Jesus seated and His disciples coming unto Him, as He taught them the principles of His kingdom. It was through meekness and lowliness that they would be blessed, not by asserting themselves or claiming their rights.
The Third Mountain
In Matthew 14:23, the Lord Jesus goes up into a mountain again to be alone with God in prayer. If the principles of the kingdom are going to be maintained, they must be maintained by dependence upon and obedience to the Father. This is the power the believer receives from God in prayer, and it is necessary for any faithfulness and service to Him. In prayer the individual also is alone with God.
The Fourth Mountain
Matthew 15:29 gives us the fourth mountain, where Jesus is found giving His disciples the example of service in meeting the needs of others. No matter how little it is, He can use what we have to feed the multitude, and with much left over. We may feel our contributions are insignificant, but in the hands of our Lord and with His blessing there is an abundance.
The Fifth Mountain
When we come to Matthew 17, we find a display of the future glory of the Lord Jesus Christ as He brings Peter, James and John unto a high mountain apart — a preview of the coming kingdom. In that day He alone will be exalted (Isa. 2:17). The same is true for us; we have the privilege of honoring and hearing Him because He is God’s Son, and God’s delights are in Him. God will not give His glory unto another (Isa. 48:11).
The Sixth Mountain
The Mount of Olives is prominent in the life of our Savior. From this mount He ascends into heaven (Acts 1:12), and upon this mount He will return to earth again (Zech. 14:4). In Matthew, however, the Lord Jesus begins His triumphant procession into Jerusalem from the Mount of Olives and offers Himself once more to His people as their King. They refuse Him again and He ends His final rejection by weeping over Jerusalem (Matt. 23:37).
From the Mount of Olives in Matthew 24:3 through chapter 25, the Lord discourses with His disciples of coming events: the great tribulation, the judgment of professing Christendom, and the judgment of the Gentile nations. We do not learn these things from the intelligence of this world, but by being in communion with Him in the heavenlies. The Lord said, “Shall I hide from Abraham that thing which I do?” (Gen. 18:17). It was from the Mount of Olives also that Jesus disclosed to Peter that he could have no confidence in the flesh, and Peter had to learn this through sad experience. The best intentions can never be accomplished without divine power. The Lord Jesus is a patient, loving teacher, and His desire is to restore those who fall so that they may learn to trust in Him.
The Seventh Mountain
The seventh mountain in Matthew in which we find the Lord Jesus was a place that He had appointed to meet with His disciples after His resurrection. “When they saw Him, they worshipped Him” (Matt. 28:17). Today the Lord Jesus has an appointed place where He has also promised His presence: “Where two or three are gathered together in My name, there am I in the midst of them” (Matt. 18:20). The place, however, would be nothing apart from His Person, but if He is there, it makes all the difference. The Lord Jesus Christ Himself is the gathering center. Do we value and appreciate Him when He gathers us around Himself, above the level of this world? It is there that we learn what is in His heart and what is in our hearts. We learn also to depend on Him, to serve Him, and to learn what He is about to do. But most of all, it is there we have the privilege of worshipping Him.
Although physically His own are still in the world, morally and spiritually we are seen as seated with Him in those mountain heights (Eph. 2:6). May this encourage us to be more faithful to Him while we wait for His return, when we shall be with and like Him in those heights of glory!
R. Klassen (adapted)
Mount Moriah
In Genesis 22 the history of Abraham is at its highest stage, but in verse 1 we read, “It came to pass after these things, that God did tempt Abraham.” After what things? The answer furnishes a great practical lesson for every one of us. There were two things that had to be corrected in Abraham (one in his heart and the other in his household) before he could be conducted to the highest point in his practical career. First, he had to have his heart freed from an old root that had long remained there — a little bit of unbelief, which had been allowed to remain unjudged for many years. It is the same for ourselves. If there is anything that is keeping us back from entire devotedness, that root must be judged before the aspiration of the true heart can be fulfilled.
Unbelief
The first time this root sprouted was when he went down into Egypt, and demanded that Sarai say that he was her brother. Surely this was unbelief. But even when he got out of Egypt and back to Bethel, that root had never been judged. For the heart to be fully judged, we need to be in the light of the divine presence, and it is far better to learn what is in my heart in His presence, than by bitter experience. We may be praying for progress, but we cannot go on to the point to which we aspire until that root is judged.
In Genesis 20 this root appears in Abraham again when he is before Abimelech, but at last he is brought to make a full, free confession, and to judge what was in his heart. In chapter 21 his household is set straight, the bondwoman is cast out, and then, house and heart being cleansed, the Lord says (in effect), “Now I can conduct you to the highest point.” It was “after these things” that God can bring him on. Before, he was not in a position to respond to the call of God; now God tries him.
The Test of Faith
What deep-toned devotedness this testing called forth in Abraham! The basis was, “Abraham believed God” — not merely something about Him, but he believed God. That is the true basis of all devotedness — God so much the One before our hearts that we may trust Him for everything. Human props give way and creature streams run dry, but faith finds in the living God an immovable Rock and an exhaustless Fountain.
Abraham stands on Mount Moriah and bears witness to the fact that he could trust God for Isaac on the altar as well as before he was born. This trial did not come a single moment before Abraham was able to bear it. “That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honor and glory” (1 Pet. 1:7). God never implants faith that He does not put to the test. Does it all shine forth for the glory of Abraham? No, but for the glory of God. Who can conceive what Abraham’s heart must have gone through! What assaults must Satan have made on him! But his one answer to all the temptation was, I have God; because he believed God, he was prepared to see Isaac reduced to ashes on the altar.
James takes up this episode, and says that Abraham was justified by works. He was justified by this act, for it was the expression of a faith which rested on God without a cloud, so that God could say, “Now I know that thou fearest God, seeing that thou hast not withheld thy son, thine only son, from Me” (Gen. 22:12). Here was the basis of devotedness. He could trust God when everything else had passed away; his soul had such a grasp of God that he could trust Him in the absence of all human agency.
The Spirit of Worship
In what spirit does Abraham walk to Mount Moriah? In the spirit of worship. “I and the lad will go yonder and worship.” That is always the spirit of true devotedness. Abraham does not speak of the sacrifice he is going to make; he moves on in all the calm blessedness of worship. But when we contemplate this scene, we are conducted to another scene where the Father and the Son went together to where God was to pour out on that blessed One all His wrath against sin; where He took the cup of unmitigated wrath and drained it, so that He has not left a single dreg for you and me. There was no voice from heaven to intercept that stroke when the blessed Son of God bowed His head on the cross of Calvary. Oh! what a motive for deep-toned devotedness is here!
Let us turn for a moment to Hebrews 11:17 — ‘By faith Abraham, when he was tried, offered up Isaac and he that had received the promises offered up his only begotten son.” That is the inspired comment on this wonderful scene; he did not take account of difficulties unless to take occasion of trusting God more fully. None of us should say, I do not have the faith of Abraham. If we have faith at all, we have all the faith spoken of in Hebrews 11; it is simply a question of using it, and he more we use it the stronger it grows. What a harvest of glory came to God on Mount Moriah! There was a man who was content to be stripped of all he possessed, because he had God.
God must be all or nothing. This is very important! If He covers our eyes, we can see nothing else. Difficulties vanish; all is peace, victory and praise. He is glorified and we are blessed. There is not a single need that He cannot meet. If I am in the path of simple obedience, I can trust Him for everything. He delights to be used — to be trusted. Abraham was “strong in faith, giving glory to God.
Growth of Faith
As our faith grows, we get into all the largeness, fullness, and blessedness that is in Him. Faith is the key that unlocks the treasury of God, a path which, when truly trodden, gets brighter and brighter — shining more and more unto the perfect day. Abraham was attracted at first by the beams of the God of glory; he turned his back on his country and kindred, not knowing where he was going. What did he have? God! On he goes, therefore, step by step, stage by stage, wavering indeed here and there (for even he was open to the waverings of unbelief occasionally), but on he goes till he stands on Mount Moriah, declaring plainly that he was prepared to give up all, because his vision was filled with the Lord his God.
May it be granted to each of us to walk more and more in the power of faith in the living God — to endure “as seeing Him who is invisible.” The life of faith grows stronger and stronger, and is prepared for higher and deeper trials as we go on.
Lord, lead us on closer and closer to Thyself, that we may be independent of all but Thee. May it be so to Thy praise, and to our deep, deep joy!
C. H. Mackintosh (adapted)
The Mount of Olives
What wealth of memories and thoughts come to our minds as we consider the Mount of Olives! It is mentioned many times in the New Testament in connection with our Lord’s earthly ministry, as the place where He often resorted alone or with His disciples.
The first mention of the place in Scripture is many years before, in David’s time, when he fled from Absalom. It is recorded that “David went up by the ascent of Mount Olivet, and wept as he went up, and had his head covered, and he went barefoot” (2 Sam. 15:30). The name was derived from the fact that olive trees flourished there, and, indeed, ancient olive trees still live on the site, some of them probably dating back nearly 1,000 years. The name Gethsemane originated from the Aramaic word for “olive press.” The area is also one of the largest Jewish cemeteries in the world, with thousands of graves that date as far back as 3,000 years. Down through the ages, it was considered a high honor for those of Jewish origin to be buried there.
The Valley of Kidron
As to the geography of the place, it lies east of Jerusalem, across what is known as the Kidron valley, a shallow valley through which the brook Kidron (spelled Cedron in Greek) once flowed. The valley is dry today except after a heavy rain. The land rises gently to a summit, then begins to descend toward the Jordan valley. The village of Bethany lies on the eastern slope of the mount, and to continue farther takes us down a rather steep road that leads to Jericho, a distance of about 15 miles. It is indeed a downward road, for the loss in altitude is almost 4,000 feet.
The name Kidron means “dark, black or turbid” and has this significance in Scripture, for it speaks of the path of rejection. David, as a type of our Lord Jesus, trod this path when he was fleeing from Absalom, weeping, barefoot, and in every way taking the place of submission to what God had allowed. Later we find that Shimei, who cursed David when he was in rejection, was executed when he crossed over the brook Kidron, for he did so contrary to Solomon’s express judgment on him. Further on in Israel’s history, godly kings like Asa and Josiah destroyed the idols and other articles associated with the worship of heathen deities and burnt them at the brook Kidron. At one point, in Josiah’s time, the Mount of Olives is even referred to as “the mount of corruption” (2 Kings 23:13), for evidently the area had been defiled with heathen worship and idolatry since the time of Solomon.
Jesus Went There
But there is that which is most precious when we come to our blessed Lord and His association with the brook Kidron and the Mount of Olives. He too crossed the brook Kidron, not once, but many times, showing that even in His lifetime, He was largely rejected by those to whom He came in grace. Concerning the Mount of Olives, He often “resorted thither” with His disciples, and at other times He went there alone, both to pray and perhaps frequently to spend the night. He could say, “The Son of Man hath not where to lay His head” (Mark 8:20). We read that, on one occasion, “every man went unto his own house. Jesus went unto the mount of Olives” (John 7:53; 8:1). Although perfectly accessible to all, yet He was indeed the most lonely of men.
Finally, the time came once more to cross that Kidron valley with His disciples, but this time to pray in Gethsemane’s garden, before going to the cross. Here we tread on holy ground, as we stand in awe of that solemn and yet blessed scene. The pathway of rejection led only to the cross, yet He willingly took that road, for He could say, “Not My will, but Thine be done” (Luke 22:42).
The Future Significance
But if the brook Kidron and the Mount of Olives are associated with darkness and judgment and with the rejection of our blessed Lord and Master, we have the assurance from the Word of God that it will not always be that way. The Kidron valley and the Mount of Olives have a special significance, not only in the rejection, but also in the future glory of our Lord Jesus.
We read in Jeremiah 31:40 that “the whole valley of the dead bodies, and of the ashes, and all the fields unto the brook of Kidron, unto the corner of the horse gate toward the east, shall be holy unto the Lord; it shall not be plucked up, nor thrown down anymore forever.” In a coming day all that speaks of rejection and judgment will be done away, as Israel rejoices once again in their own land and embraces the Messiah whom they once refused.
More than this, the Lord Himself shall come down right to the Mount of Olives, for we read in Zechariah 14:3, “Then shall the Lord go forth, and fight against those nations, as when He fought in the day of battle. And His feet shall stand in that day upon the mount of Olives, which is before Jerusalem on the east, and the mount of Olives shall cleave in the midst thereof toward the east and toward the west, and there shall be a very great valley; and half of the mountain shall remove toward the north, and half of it toward the south.” After the awful judgment on Israel by the king of the north (described in Zechariah 13:7-9), the Lord will appear on behalf of His people. It is fitting that He appears in power and glory in the very spot where He once took the place of humiliation and submission. Evidently great geographical changes will take place, in order to prepare for a river of blessing that will flow from Jerusalem, described in Zechariah 14:8 and also in Ezekiel 47:1-12. In that day the Lord will appear, first of all to judge the enemies of Israel — His enemies — and then to bring in millennial blessing, not only for His earthly people, but for all the world.
The Ascension
It was to this very time that the angels referred in Acts 1:11, when they said to the disciples, “Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? This same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen Him go into heaven.” The Lord Jesus had “led them out as far as to Bethany” (Luke 24:50) and to that same Mount of Olives, from which point He ascended to heaven. At this point in time the gospel was once again to be preached to the nation of Israel, but from a risen Christ in glory, in order that they might have one more opportunity to repent and believe. Thus the setting here is still Jewish, for had the nation of Israel responded to this final message, no doubt the Lord would have returned and set up the kingdom. But when the nation at large refused this testimony, the earthly kingdom was postponed until the church would be gathered in, largely from among the Gentiles.
We might say, then, that while the strict interpretation of this scripture in Acts 1:11 refers to the Lord’s appearing on behalf of Israel, morally we may apply it to ourselves today, as we wait for the Lord’s coming for us, to take us away before the day of judgment comes. When He comes back in power and glory, we will be with Him, and we will be a part of all that will be involved in the setting up of the millennial kingdom. Truly, “O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments, and His ways past finding out!” (Rom. 11:33). We may well exclaim with Paul, “Of Him, and through Him, and to Him, are all things: to whom be glory forever. Amen” (Rom. 11:36).
W. J. Prost
The Holy Mount and Calvary
A Solemn Contrast
“Behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them: and behold a voice out of the cloud, which said, This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased” (Matt. 17:5).
“Now from the sixth hour there was darkness over all the land unto the ninth hour. And about the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani? that is to say, My God, My God, why hast Thou forsaken Me?” (Matt. 27:45-46).
Rejection and Crucifixion
The time had come for His disciples to be plainly warned of all that was about to happen. So it is written, “From that time forth began Jesus to show unto His disciples, how that He must go unto Jerusalem, and suffer many things of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised again the third day” (Matt. 16:21). It is the cross, but the cross rather from man’s side, for there is no mention here of those deeper sufferings in which atonement was wrought. The tide of human hate and rebellion against God and against His Anointed was rising rapidly and was about to culminate in the final rejection and crucifixion of the Son of God.
From every point of view, it was an awful ending to such a path as His had been, so full of grace and blessing for sinful men — awful for those who were the instruments of bringing it all about. The Son of God was here on earth, not with outward pomp and splendor, not in flaming fire as on Sinai’s solemn mount, not with hosts of mighty angels such as shall swell His train in the approaching day of judgment. He came rather to free men from their hateful yoke of sin. Therefore He came in the fashion of a lowly man, His deity enshrouded in a tabernacle of flesh and blood. He came full of grace and truth.
No words like His had ever fallen on mortal ears, nor since the world began had deeds been seen such as were witnessed wherever the Savior went. Yet was He despised and rejected of men, a Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. They that sat in the gate spoke against Him, and He was the song of the drunkards. Nor would the heart of man, energized by Satan, be content till He had been apprehended like a thief, crowned in derision with a bramble crown, and crucified with malefactors for His companions. What an ending, and what an exhibition of humanity was there!
Behold Him then — the One who had given eyes to the blind, ears to the deaf, tongues to the dumb, and life to the dead — who had cleansed the leper, wiped the tears from weeping eyes, bound up the broken heart, and whose words were words of eternal life! Behold Him upon a common Roman cross, and that cross the only reward that man gave for all He had said and done!
The Holy Mount
But all this, so plainly foreseen and foretold by the Lord, is but the dark background of the picture, and serves to throw into bolder, brighter relief the lovely scene on the holy mount. Taking with Him Peter, James and John, He went into a high mountain apart and was transfigured before them. They gaze upon Him, and, lo! His face shines as the sun, and His raiment is white as the light. And as they look, being eyewitnesses of His majesty, a cloud of glory overshadows them; they fear and fall on their faces. Then from out of that cloud a voice is heard; it is the voice of God the Father saying, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.”
It is thus that God the Father gave honor and glory to Jesus. Thus did He confess Him as His beloved Son, the One in whom He found His good pleasure. Every thought, every word and every impulse of his heart were like incense pure and sweet, always ascending to God the Father and furnishing, so to speak, fresh motives for the Father’s love.
The Contrast
But we must turn from “the holy mount,” where the heart, captivated by its beauty, loves to linger, and go to “the place which is called Calvary,” where we shall see Jesus in other scenes. On the cross we behold Him now. Tread gently, O my soul, for thou art on holy ground. There is no overshadowing cloud of glory here, no voice from heaven, no Moses, no Elias, no angel such as ministered unto Him in dark Gethsemane. Instead of a face shining as the sun, we see the One who was marred more than any man. Gloom and darkness without, answered by greater gloom and darkness within, which at last found utterance in the piercing cry of “Eli, Eli, lama, sabachthani?” Passing with rapidity of thought from Calvary to the mount of transfiguration and from the mount of transfiguration back to Calvary, we can but exclaim, What a mighty revolution is here! On that mount honored and glorified, on this mount bruised and forsaken; there God the Father saying, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased”; here the Son crying, “My God, My God, why hast Thou forsaken Me?” Do we understand this great mystery?
How this utterly destroys the dishonoring thought that the cross to Christ was only a martyr’s death! Who has ever heard of God’s martyrs being abandoned and obliged to confess in a loud voice and in presence of their foes that they were forsaken of God in the hour of their extremity? No; have they not gone boldly to the sword or to the stake and joyously welcomed death? Sustained by the power and presence of God, they have sung songs of holy triumph while the devouring fire has been doing its deadly work, and their faces have shone like an angel’s. But it was not so with Jesus, though none had served as He had served or loved as He had loved.
We are not left to find a solution for all of this. In vain would be the task, did heaven throw no light upon the otherwise dark problem. One verse in Isaiah 53 explains it all: “All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the Lord hath laid on Him the iniquity of us all.” With that verse in view, the mystery which enshrouds the cross passes away, and we understand how “He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon Him; and with His stripes we are healed.”
Christian Truth, Vol. 15 (adapted)
My Holy Mountain
In considering the subject of mountains, we cannot help but notice a phrase that occurs eleven times (using the JND translation) in the Word of God — “My holy mountain.” All of the references to “My holy mountain” occur in the Old Testament, in prophecies relating to Israel, and particularly to her future glory when the Lord restores them to a prominent place in the world, in the millennium. Those prophecies have not yet been fulfilled, but they will surely be accomplished, for the Lord has said it. We do not have to speculate as to the primary meaning of the phrase, for we read, “They shall bring all your brethren out of all the nations as an oblation unto Jehovah, upon horses, and in chariots, and in covered waggons, and upon mules, and upon dromedaries, to My holy mountain, to Jerusalem, saith Jehovah, as the children of Israel bring an oblation in a clean vessel into the house of Jehovah” (Isa. 66:20). Further we read, “So shall ye know that I am the Lord your God dwelling in Zion, My holy mountain: then shall Jerusalem be holy, and there shall no strangers pass through her anymore” (Joel 3:17). In a coming day, the city of Jerusalem and the temple there will be known as God’s “holy mountain.”
The Blessing in Heaven and on Earth
God has in His purposes the blessing of the church in heaven and the blessing of Israel on earth, for He has said “that in the dispensation of the fullness of times He might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth, even in Him” (Eph. 1:10). The church must first be taken up when our Lord Jesus Christ comes to call us home, but then He will begin working out His purposes in the earth, with a view to establishing His glorious kingdom. The awful judgments during and at the end of the tribulation period will prepare the way for it, and then the Lord Jesus will appear with His bride, the church, “to be glorified in His saints, and to be admired in all them that believe” (2 Thess. 1:10).
Jerusalem
In a previous issue of The Christian (June 2017), we took up the subject of Jerusalem, noting that various phrases are given in Scripture to describe that city in millennium blessing, including “the joy of the whole earth,” “the city of the great King,” and “the city of peace.” But as we have seen, God will also give it another title — “My holy mountain.” None of the above descriptions fit Jerusalem today, for it is anything but “the joy of the whole earth,” nor is it “the city of peace.” It is rather a place of constant strife, as Christians, Jews and Muslims compete for their place in it. The great King, our Lord Jesus Christ, is rejected and cast out, and the expression “My holy mountain” certainly could not be applied to it today. In a coming day all will change, as God works to bring His earthly people Israel into blessing again. We must remember, of course, that before all these wonderful expressions can apply to Jerusalem, it must first pass through untold suffering and later become “a burdensome stone for all people” (Zech. 12:3). But then God will make it His capital in the earth.
“My Holy Mountain”
The expression “My holy mountain” no doubt refers to the fact that the temple mount is indeed Mount Moriah, where Abraham was told to sacrifice Isaac, where Solomon’s temple was located, and where the Mosque of Omar now sits. Although Israel has military control of the entire city, they do not dare to touch the Mosque of Omar, lest they provoke an international conflict. The scripture must be fulfilled: “Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled” (Luke 21:24). But in a coming day Islam and its influence will disappear, the millennial temple will be built on Mount Zion, and the character of Jerusalem will be as depicted in such scriptures as: “Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised in the city of our God, in the mountain of His holiness” (Psa. 48:1). But the expression “My holy mountain,” while primarily defining the millennial city of Jerusalem, has wider and more varied meanings.
The Millennial Earth
We also read, “They shall not hurt nor destroy in all My holy mountain” (Isa. 11:9; 65:25). This broadens out the expression, referring to the entire millennial earth, when competition and violence between nations will cease, and even the animal kingdom will be changed, so that they will no longer prey on one another, as they do today. Another reference tells us that “he that putteth his trust in Me shall possess the land, and shall inherit My holy mountain” (Isa. 57:13). Here the expression refers to the land of Israel, when those who trust in the Lord will once again possess their land, in peace and safety.
A Warning
In other cases, the words are a warning, for we read, “Blow ye the trumpet in Zion, and sound an alarm in My holy mountain: let all the inhabitants of the land tremble: for the day of the Lord cometh, for it is nigh at hand” (Joel 2:1). Here is a solemn warning that the Lord is about to establish His kingdom, but through judgment, and apostate Israel will feel it first, before the Lord begins to deal with the nations at large. In another reference, we read, “As ye have drunk upon My holy mountain, so shall all the heathen drink continually, yea, they shall drink, and they shall swallow down, and they shall be as though they had not been” (Obad. 16). Here the phrase is a warning to the Edomites, the implacable enemies of Israel for thousands of years, who in their pride have rejoiced at the oppression of Israel. They will eventually be completely annihilated for all this.
The Place to Worship
Finally we read, “Even them [those who love the name of the Lord] will I bring to My holy mountain, and make them joyful in My house of prayer: their burnt offerings and their sacrifices shall be accepted upon Mine altar; for Mine house shall be called an house of prayer for all people” (Isa. 56:7). During His earthly ministry, our Lord cleansed the temple of defilement — those who sold animals, the money-changers, and the animals themselves, quoting this scripture as a contrast to the “den of thieves” that the Jews had made of the house of God. In a coming day all will recognize Jerusalem and the millennial temple as God’s “holy mountain,” a place where all nations will resort in order to know the Lord and to worship Him.
W. J. Prost
The Mountains and Valleys of Horeb
The position of Israel before Sinai was unique. They had been delivered from Egyptian slavery by a succession of miraculous displays of divine power, and every day since they had left that land, whether in the glory-cloud, the manna, or the rock, a miracle had emphasized God’s presence among them. Having reached Sinai, they were absolutely isolated from the world at large, and were shut in with themselves and with God.
The physical characteristics of Horeb and Sinai are remarkable. The barren wilderness generally is a theme for scriptural poetry, and numberless Christian lips and pens have found in it illustrations for daily life. But the mountain of Horeb evokes no song. It produces instead the feeling of awe, and hushes into silence. Horeb is “the great mountain labyrinth” where Sinai itself stands; it signifies “the mountain of the dried-up ground,” and this for generations has been its character. Sinai is the mountain of the thorn. The predominant ideas attached to the region are nakedness and barrenness. Sinai itself is noted for its bare rocks and lifeless crags, from which the soil long since has been swept away. The valley, or wady, at the mountain base, is usually but a dry watercourse, with stones tumbled about over it, brought down by the storms. The bare crags do not absorb the rain, and hence the thunder-clouds which burst over them form floods, which, with marvelous rapidity, carry all before them. The life-giving rains of heaven, by reason of the repelling rocks, are thus the cause of Sinai’s desolation. Silence reigns in the region, and where the voice of a man, or the cry of the hyena, breaks upon it, the sound rises high up on the mountain sides.
In a very marked way in Horeb and Sinai, a locality is prepared and selected by the divine hand for the giving of the law, and even the rain-repelling rocks seem to be a symbol of the human heart hardened against the words of heaven, so that “the commandment which was ordained to life” is “found to be unto death” (Rom. 7:10).
The Natural Features
Over and over again, in His revelations to man, God has been pleased to give illustration to His words by the natural features of the locality where the words have been uttered. In speaking to men, God uses the natural to give emphasis to the spiritual. We are of the natural, nature surrounds us, and that very environment God uses to teach of the verities which lie outside and beyond the realm of nature. Israel had been all their lifetime educated under the influence of awe-inspiring and magnificent temples, and the most splendid spectacles of religious pomp. They had heard the strains of music and the acclamation of thousands of voices celebrating the glory of the gods. They had yielded to the seduction of idolatry, at least in many cases (see Amos 5:25-26). Jehovah, their Creator, did not forget this. He arranged their encampment in the valley in such a way that they should occupy a nature-temple of such formation and magnitude, that compared with it, Egypt’s mightiest buildings were as toys. Silence, deeper than that which reigned among the columns of the temples their hands had helped to rear, enveloped them, to be broken again and again by the appalling voices and trumpets of heaven. As a roof, arching over the many-colored precipices which walled them in, stretched the thick cloud that composed the footstool of God. Sinai’s shoulder rose up as the end wall of the stupendous temple in which they stood, while from its heights, up into the cloud-roof, the devouring fire ascended.
Sinai was a mountain in a way isolated from others. The Scripture narrative informs us that bounds were set about it (Ex. 19:23), that it was in view from a plain in which “all” (Ex. 19:11) the people could stand, and move either “near” it or “afar off” from it (Deut. 4:11; Ex. 20:21). It was sufficiently broad on the summit to enable one person to be in seclusion when seventy others were also there (Ex. 24:1-2, 9-11). The base of the mountain could accommodate the two or three millions of Israel who stood and faced the fiery mount and see all, without one rank obstructing the view of the rank behind it. Can anyone question the design of God in the selection of this plain? Surely the natural character of Mount Sinai was indeed in keeping with the solemn law that was proclaimed there!
H. F. Witherby (adapted)
Two Mountains
In Hebrews 12 two mountains are spoken of, one that speaks of law and one that speaks of grace. It is an important question for our souls, to which one of these mounts we are brought, for in connection with one, we have to do with God as making demands upon us, while in connection with the other, we have to do with God as acting in grace. “Ye have not come to [the mount] that might be touched and was all on fire, and to obscurity, and darkness, and tempest, and trumpet’s sound, and voice of words; which they that heard, excusing themselves, declined the word being addressed to them anymore: (for they were not able to bear what was enjoined: And if a beast should touch the mountain, it shall be stoned; and, so fearful was the sight, Moses said, I am exceedingly afraid and full of trembling;) but ye have come to mount Zion; and to the city of the living God, heavenly Jerusalem; and to myriads of angels, the universal gathering; and to the assembly of the firstborn who are registered in heaven; and to God, judge of all; and to the spirits of just men made perfect; and to Jesus, mediator of a new covenant; and to the blood of sprinkling, speaking better than Abel” (Heb. 12:18-24 JND).
The Failure of Law
God had spoken the law to Israel at Mount Sinai, and their responsibility was according to the just requirements of that law. In this they failed and utterly broke down, and in the days of Eli, the ark — the only remaining link between Jehovah and His people — was taken by the Philistines. At the end of this career of failure, God in grace chose David the king, who, with his son Solomon, founded the temple on Mount Zion. This was the expression of God’s grace to a failing people, when all was over on the ground of responsibility under the law.
And this is the grace according to which God had visited the Hebrew saints who accepted the Messiah. It is the same grace that has taken us up and that goes on with us day by day. And on this principle only can we get on with God. God acts toward us in grace. This is an immense truth for our souls to grasp, for only as we lay hold of this can we realize the character of our relationships with God and with one another as Christians and the principles that are to govern us in our ways with one another. Our sins have been purged through the blood of Christ. This is pure grace.
Holiness
But is not holiness required? Without holiness no man can see the Lord, we are told in verse 14. Is this grace also? The need of holiness surely is not grace, but if God’s character and nature are such that none can be in His presence without holiness, He furnishes it to us in grace, blessed be His name! We have it not of or in ourselves, but He makes us “partakers of His holiness,” even if He has to bring us into that exercise of soul in which we can receive all from Him. All blessing flows down from Him in perfect grace, and our place before Him is that of subject receivers.
Grace Toward One Another
But now if God acts toward us on the principle of grace, we are to be imitators of Him, as dear children. Grace is the principle on which we are to act toward one another. Do we sufficiently realize this in our souls, so as practically to act according to divine principles? We find in the beginning of Hebrews 12 that we are in the racecourse, and weights are to be laid aside and sin which entangles the feet, and then God comes in and helps us by chastening, making us partakers of His holiness. Now we are not alone in this path. There is a company — the whole company of God’s people — moving on together toward Him who has finished the course of faith and who has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God, but who will soon rise up to receive His own. With this company we have to do. It is not a mere selfish running where only one receives the prize. We all journey on together, and, as a flock of sheep, there are the weak and the lame, not to be left behind, but to be helped on. There are “hands that hang down,” and there are “feeble knees.” How are we to act toward such? The passage is plain: “Lift up the hands which hang down, and the feeble knees; and make straight paths for your feet, lest that which is lame be turned out of the way; but let it rather be healed” (Heb. 12:12-13). This is not the terrible mount that burned with fire; it is the pure grace of God.
On the one hand, grace leads us to minister help to the weak and the faint. On the other hand, it will lead us to be watchful, taking heed to our own ways, lest the lame be turned out of the way. There are lame ones in the flock, and they do not get on well, but the whip would be no remedy for such. We must not act toward them on the principle of Pharaoh’s taskmasters with the bondslave children of Israel. This is not God’s way. He acts toward us in grace and helps us in our infirmities, or if He chastens, when needs be, it is “that we might be partakers of His holiness.” What should we think of a shepherd taking a whip to a poor, weak, lame sheep? Yet how often is this done among the flock of God! The whip instead of grace! Mount Sinai instead of Mount Zion! God’s Word is, “Let it rather be healed.” It is not that holiness can be dispensed with, and therefore it is written, “Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord.” Only let us remember that the whip and the burning mount will neither heal nor produce holiness. Grace only can do either, and so it is added, “Looking diligently, lest any man fail of the grace of God” (vs. 15). If I lose in my soul the sense of that grace in which God is ever acting toward me, I shall fail in manifesting grace toward my brethren. And who can tell the loss and damage to the saints? Some root of bitterness springs up, and trouble arises, and many are thereby defiled.
Failure in Showing Grace
What sorrow is sometimes caused in the assembly of God, just because someone — a leader, it may be — has failed of the grace of God and acted in the spirit of the law, rather than the Spirit of Christ! Or someone, through greed of gain, has driven a hard bargain or defrauded his brother! Or some word has been unadvisedly spoken, and an evil seed has been sown in some heart, which springs up as a root of bitterness, producing trouble, which passes from tongue to tongue, thereby defiling many! Surely such conduct is most sad, utterly contrary to the Spirit of Christ, and, if not unsparingly judged by those who so act, will bring down the hand of the Lord in discipline.
Oh to realize in our innermost soul that we are saved by grace, that we stand in grace, and that it is grace every step of the way to the end! And to realize that we are called to live and act toward one another in the power of the same grace in which God has acted and ever acts toward us.
A. H. Rule
Faith Which Can Move Mountains
Genuine faith has both an active and a passive quality to it, which can be seen in the lives of those who possess it. In the active sense, it is the physical expression of the loyalty we have to a person or the fidelity to an obligation or trust and the exercise of their duty relating to it. In the passive aspect, it is confidence which rests with certainty in the word or assurances of another. For believers, it is finding and having their all in Christ.
In studying the Bible, we are taught what genuine faith is in the examples given of those who committed their lives to God, trusting in His faithfulness and care toward them. It is found in those who stand in awe of Him, recognizing Him as the Creator and Sustainer of all things and the Judge of the whole universe. This is not to suggest the people involved were perfect and without any form of doubt, but that even in error or under trial, they looked to the Lord for deliverance through it all. These examples are in every book of the Bible, Old and New Testaments alike. Those declared as righteous all have the same thing in common: believing God’s Word and trusting solely in His grace towards them (Heb. 11:3-38). Simply put, faith is that which owns God as being true and faithful in His Word.
As Noah, Abraham, Sarah, Job, Moses, Rahab, David; as of the prophets; as of Peter, Thomas and Paul; as for us — the heart given to God in utter confidence in His faithfulness will be characterized by loving obedience to do His will (faithfully knowing that, even if we should fail from time to time, God is gracious and just, His correction true, and He is to be relied upon for all things and to set all things to the right, according to His own purpose — 2 Tim. 2:11-13). Of course, faith’s fulfillment is in the Person and work of Christ.
The Product of Faith
While some may think of Hebrews 11:1 as the definition of faith, it is actually the product of what true faith is. The simple scriptural definition of faith, however, is found in John 3:33: “He that hath received His testimony hath set to his seal that God is true.” What is meant by “his seal,” in context, is what is known as a signet: It is the stamp of ownership impressed as a mark of the genuineness of the contents or of the privacy of access (as to its possession) on which it appears. It does not mean that the one believing endorses what is being stated as true, but rather ascribes that truth as coming only from God. He possesses it in place of his own.
God’s Testimony
To “receive” the Son’s testimony then is to believe on the Son by holding that all which God had foretold is fulfilled in Him (Matt. 5:17). This is shown by the believer’s obedience to His Person and authority as both Savior and Lord. While this does include obedience to His commands, it is obedience produced and manifested by love in those who own that they are already accepted and complete in Him (Rom. 1:17; 3:21-26). Some may say they believe that Christ is God’s Son, and even that He is the Messiah, but it is meaningless unless they receive Him as such and submit themselves to Him in the fullness of His Person and authority as well (see also Matt. 7:13-27). This is the obedience and submission which only the possession of God as being true creates.
In the Old Testament, receiving God’s testimony meant not only to “call upon” the name of Jehovah, but those who called themselves “by the name of Jehovah” (Gen. 4:26 JND footnote). Abraham was an example of its meaning in practice: He took God at His word and acted as its being an accomplished fact in his life. He was not only considered righteous because of such, but he was called “the friend of God.” He was a man of Jehovah, “adopted” as such by Jehovah Himself, and known by his contemporaries as belonging to Him — a follower of God.
To “Call Upon” the Lord
To continue back into the New Testament, then, it is not as the seven sons of Sceva sought to do (Acts 19:13-16) — to “call over” the name of the Lord, but it is to have the ownership of being called by His name as well. It is of a personal love relationship to Him. What is meant to “call upon” the name of the Lord is ownership of all Christ is, and, in turn, our being owned of Him in such a confession being true. A love relationship must exist in both, owning Him in all that He is and being owned of Him as His own. The comparison in Scripture between the “signet” itself and the use of it in its application is a blessing to enjoy. This is the “signet” we receive as being owned by Him, in being sealed by the Holy Spirit until the day of our full redemption (Rom. 8:14-23; Eph. 1:5-14; 4:30).
While owning God’s seal is shown quite beautifully throughout the Bible, it is of particular comfort in the examples of those not quite walking as they were fully meant to. It is in times when the person’s act of disobedience and sin led to the Lord’s correction of them, and they turned to Him in faith, that He would pardon and forgive.
David’s Life Example
David’s life is a perfect example of this. He was chosen of God, declared a person after God’s own heart, yet had committed sin under the law truly worthy of immediate death in the acts of adultery and murder (2 Sam. 11). In faith, and not just in this incident, he turned to God for pardon and deliverance (2 Sam. 12; Psa. 51). This was his repeated testimony of reliance on God.
However much a person of the world may look to find fault in David, seeing nothing by example except his sin, those of faith hear God’s own testimony of him. God Himself declared David as righteous, a man after His own heart. It is not David’s sin for which he is remembered, but for his faith, and of whom the promised Redeemer should come (Matt. 12:18-23; 22:41-45; Acts 2:25-36).
David “owned” God’s testimony as true; he owned it as a fact already accomplished. For one of faith, God’s Word, whether in prophecy or history, in promise or in learning, is seen as perfect — as already having been accomplished to the full. It is complete, with nothing we can add to it or take away from it: The counsel (word and decree) of the Lord stands (Psa. 33:11; Rev. 22:16-21).
A. Yerkey (adapted)
Removing Mountains
Whatever mountains of difficulty may appear, God can remove them, or make a way around them, as He sees good and fitting. We need more simple and child-like faith. In Zechariah 4:7 we read, “Who art thou, O great mountain? before Zerubbabel thou shalt become a plain.” Our true Zerubbabel can and will meet all our difficulties. In trusting Him we can be at rest.
Young Christian, Vol. 31
Mount Zion
In Hebrews 11, beginning with verse 22, the eye is fixed on the assembly of firstborn ones — the church. They did not always belong to heaven, as the angels did, but their names are written there; grace has inscribed them on heaven’s scroll according to God’s eternal purpose. Then it is to God we have come. He is seen as the supreme Judge of all, to whom every creature is responsible. Another company also has its place in this vast circle of glory — the spirits of just men made perfect, the blessed dead of a former dispensation who await the glory they shall share at the coming of the Lord. Finally, Jesus, the mediator of the new covenant, is spoken of — that covenant yet to be made with the houses of Israel and Judah, and the blood of Jesus which is the basis of all blessing and glory for sinful men.
To all this we have come in contrast to mount Sinai, which justly demanded a righteousness we could never render, and as justly shut us up under condemnation and despair. But these things are so vast that we need to pray for enlargement and for that teaching which only God’s Spirit can give in order to take them in.
“But ye have come to mount Zion; and to the city of the living God, heavenly Jerusalem; and to myriads of angels, the universal gathering; and to the assembly of the firstborn who are registered in heaven; and to God, judge of all; and to the spirits of just men made perfect; and to Jesus, mediator of a new covenant; and to the blood of sprinkling, speaking better than Abel” (Heb. 12:22-24 JND).
In saying that we have come to mount Zion, the Apostle does not mean the literal mount. We have come to that of which mount Zion speaks, in contrast to mount Sinai. Zion speaks of grace, of blessing, and deliverance from God when everything on man’s side had given way. We have come to that vast sphere of blessing yet to be established and which is named here in its various parts. Now, mount Zion is only the center of the earthly system; there is also the heavenly Jerusalem, the city of the living God. Our thoughts are thus taken to heaven, and there we find ourselves in the midst of the inhabitants of the unseen world, the innumerable company of angels.
Christian Truth, Vol. 14 (adapted)
Mount Carmel
“So she went and came unto the man of God to mount Carmel. And it came to pass, when the man of God saw her afar off, that he said to Gehazi his servant, Behold, yonder is that Shunammite: Run now, I pray thee, to meet her, and say unto her, Is it well with thee? is it well with thy husband? is it well with the child? And she answered, It is well” (2 Kings 4:25-26).
Elisha dwelt at Mount Carmel on the hill, suggesting the heavenly places, and it was to Mount Carmel that she went, just as we see Christ in the heavens as our great High Priest, to whom we are told to go for seasonable help. We will never be disappointed if we go, for no one with a need was ever turned away. The widow of Nain had her son restored to life, and she was comforted. Peter’s wife’s mother was raised up from a great fever. Christ is always on hand for faith.
Jesus came here to serve; now, when on high, He serves as our great High Priest; when we reach home, He will come forth to serve His people. Blessed Savior! Although the natural eye cannot see Him, faith knows and believes the love of His heart.
The great woman had often been to God’s fruitful field in spirit, but at this time she went directly to Elisha in person. The prophet saw her approaching, as God is watching continually for the good of His own. The prophet spoke of her as the Shunammite, about to claim her inheritance, now in a permanent character, because without a son she could have no continuance of her inheritance. Are we interested in our eternal inheritance or do we find our interests only in this present world?
When tested by Gehazi’s question, she answered, “It is well.” She could not open her heart to him because her spiritual discernment led her to detect that he was not a man of God. Later, Gehazi became covered with leprosy. It is one thing to open our hearts to the Lord, quite another to the world.
“And when she came to the man of God to the hill, she caught him by the feet: but Gehazi came near to thrust her away. And the man of God said, Let her alone; for her soul is vexed within her: and the Lord hath hid it from me, and hath not told me” (2 Kings 4:27).
The servant did not know that her soul was vexed within her, and he did not manifest the sympathies of Christ, but should she tell her sorrow to such a man as Gehazi who did not have the mind of God?
“Then she said, Did I desire a son of my lord? did I not say, Do not deceive me?” (2 Kings 4:28).
The truth regarding the son’s death, which the Lord had hidden from Elisha, now came out. True blessing could only come through death and resurrection, and the Shunammite’s faith is greatly strengthened.
C. E. Lunden
Mount Sinai and Calvary
Ye are not come unto the mount ... that burned with fire” (Heb. 12:18).
I have stood beneath the “burning mount”
And heard the loud trumpet sound,
While the thunders pealed and the lightnings flashed,
And the earthquake shook the ground;
And Moses himself, the man of God,
Who had braved the tyrant’s ire,
And cleft the sea with his shepherd-rod,
Yet quailed before Sinai’s fire!
How terrible was that mighty voice,
More dread than the lightning’s flame,
That there His holy and righteous law
Did to Israel’s host proclaim!
It exposed and judged all my words and ways,
And searched out the depths within;
I cannot abide in this awful blaze;
It has shown me I’m naught but sin.
Moses descends from the burning mount,
The tables are in his hand;
His face so reflects that condemning light,
No soul before him can stand
With the fiery law that convicts of guilt,
He speaks of the shadows of grace;
But till the true blood of the Lamb is spilled,
The veil must enshroud his face.
On Cal’vry’s mount I’ve adoring stood
And gazed on that wondrous tree,
Where the holy, spotless Lamb of God
Was slain for a wretch like me;
How my heart has stirred at that solemn cry,
While the sun was enwrapt in night,
“Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani?”
Most blessed, most awful sight!
My sins were laid on His sacred head,
My curse by my Lord was borne;
For me a victim my Savior bled,
And endured that death of scorn;
Himself He gave my poor heart to win
(Was ever love, Lord, like Thine!)
From the paths of folly, and shame, and sin,
And fill it with joys divine.
And now I draw near to the throne of grace,
For His blood and my Priest are there;
And I joyfully seek my Father’s face,
With my censer of praise and prayer:
The burning mount, the mystic veil,
With my terrors and guilt are gone;
My conscience has peace that can never fail:
’Tis the Lamb on high on the throne!
J. G. Deck