Revelation 7:9-17
The Multitude from Every Nation
 
The book of Revelation is often misunderstood. The apocalyptic imagery has attempted to scare people into salvation. Even though the writing was attributed to John’s visions when he was in exile, modern scholarship suggests that it probably wasn’t the apostle John but someone who followed him in the Johannine community. The coded language was common during the time it was written because Christians were persecuted and martyred. The mark of the beast, 666, was code for Nero Caesar, a brutal and cruel emperor who killed many Christians. In this sense, this book was really to give hope to the persecuted Christians when their world would come to an end, instead of the end of “the” world as some interpret it today.

We see the multitude of martyrs in this passage, who wear white robes that have been washed clean by the Lamb, which is code for Jesus. The name of Jesus is not used in this passage, but the common images of Jesus as the Lamb of God and Jesus as Shepherd were known by the Jewish people. Readers of this text would be assured that if they are martyred for their faith, the Lamb’s blood will wash their own blood out of their robes and the Shepherd will lead them to a safe shelter. In fact, just being in Christ’s presence will be their shelter.

The multitude in this passage represents people from all nations, tribes, and languages, similar to the scene at Pentecost when people were praising God in many languages. One way to see this detail is to affirm the many Gentiles who had become martyred Christians. Heaven will be filled with many different people – too many to count – not only the Jewish tribes that were outlined in the first part of Revelation 7. All will praise God and shelter in Christ together.

A shelter is something that surrounds us and protects us from adverse conditions. It is a refuge or a retreat where we can rest from our labors. In this passage, it is used to give the persecuted, hope that Christ will be their shelter. They may meet their end, but they will rest in the shelter of Christ’s embrace. However, we don’t have to wait to be sheltered by Christ in heaven. Christ as the Shepherd wants to lead us to shelter now as we rest from our ongoing labors. We need to shelter in Christ in order to gain strength to carry on the work Christ calls us to do.

​This passage when read on All Saints Day paints a comforting image when we imagine all the saints who have finished their course in life. They are now gathering around God’s throne and praising God at the top of their voices. Day and night, they offer praise to God. They are resting from their labors in the shelter of Christ. As we continue our faith earthside, we can follow the saints’ lead by praising God and sheltering in Christ. If these are the things we will do in heaven, we might as well start now!
 
Reflection questions:
How does the image of all nations and tribes worshipping together encourage you?
How is this vision reflected in your experience of the church today?
Who do you imagine to be in this multitude? 
Who has taught you to praise God and shelter in Christ? Remember and honor them on All Saints Day.
 
Action: Spend time worshipping God this week and allowing Christ to shelter you from hardship in whatever ways that bring you rest and assurance.

Exodus 33:12-23
Moses Pleads with God
 
Moses is away with God for forty days and forty nights. The people get impatient. They go to Aaron, who is in charge while Moses is away, and pressure him into making a Golden Calf for them to worship. Aaron is a people-pleaser and gives in to them. Before the “ink” is dry on the tablet, they break the covenant with God. They break the first and second commandments. The people ultimately held on to what they experienced in Egyptian worship, and they wanted a God they could see.
 
God is angry. Just as God had shown the people who God is, the people showed God who they are – fickle, self-serving, stubborn or “stiff-necked.” God told Moses that it was time for them to leave Mount Sinai and go to the land of Canaan. However, God would not be going with them.
 
Moses pleads with God. First, he begs to make atonement on behalf of the people, and then he begs God to go with them. At this point in the story, God’s presence is in the tabernacle but also accompanies them. The “tabernacling presence” is the one that God says will not go with them. Yet, Moses persuades God to change God’s mind. God promises to go with them after all.
 
Moses then asks, “Please show me your glory” (v.19). We can assume that Moses is really asking to see the face of God, especially since God refers to no one living after seeing God’s face. The passage ends with God declaring that “my face shall not be seen” (v.23). Yet, God creates a way for Moses to see God’s back as he passes by. God puts Moses in a “cleft,” a space or hiding place, which would allow Moses to see God. Moses asked God for something that wasn’t really possible, but God created a way to make a similar action possible.
 
God’s love and tenderness are seen when God puts Moses in a safe place and covers him with God’s hand, just so Moses can get a glimpse of God. God also explains that he can see God’s glory through other ways than seeing God’s face. God said, “I will make all my goodness pass before you and will proclaim before you the name, ‘The Lord,’ and I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious and will show mercy on whom I will show mercy” (v.19). God will proclaim or announce to him that God is before him, and Moses can see God pass before him through goodness, grace, and mercy. 
 
Faith is believing in a God that we can’t see. The Israelites were desperate to worship a God they could see, and even Moses begged to see the face of God. Humans still try to find God in facts and evidence. God teaches in this passage all the proof we need: God is not limited to what we can see. We can listen for God’s voice. God will tell us when God passes before us, and God will put us in a safe place to see a glimpse of God through goodness, grace, and mercy.
 
Reflection questions:
Have you ever pleaded with God and felt that God had a change of heart and answered your prayer?
 
Have you ever asked God for something that really wasn’t possible? Yet, God created a different way for a similar act to happen?
 
Where is your “cleft,” a hiding place or sacred space where you have gotten a glimpse of God’s presence?
 
Have you ever felt shielded by God’s hand?
 
Action: Spend some time this week in your “cleft” next to God and wait for God’s glory to pass before you. Did this experience strengthen your faith?

​Exodus 20:1-4, 7-9, 12-21
The Covenant
 
Moses and the Israelites finally made it to the mountain of God. God brought them out of Egypt and through the wilderness back to God. They camped at the base of the mountain, but the entire congregation could not go up the mountain. God calls out to Moses, and Moses goes up to meet God.
 
God tells Moses that he wants to come down to meet the people. God wants to enter into a covenant with them, making them God’s prized possession. But first, Moses has to prepare them to meet God. Moses must consecrate the people and have them ritually clean before entering the presence of God. Moses must also set limits as to who can go up the mountain and when. They must wait until the trumpet sounds when God calls them to come.
 
Although this scripture may sound like there were things they had to do before coming to God and there were limitations placed upon the people, I interpret it as God trying to establish reverence for the sacred. It might be similar today for an unchurched person who walks into a church. Without the teaching or understanding of who God is, it’s just a building. When someone who has learned or experienced the awe of God, one acts differently when entering a sacred space. It’s more than a building.
 
No one has ever seen God and lived, even Moses, so God was trying to prepare the people for this indescribable experience. God also knew the people were fickle, especially toward Moses, so God allowed the people to experience a taste of what Moses experienced with God, so they would not question Moses going forward.
 
The people agreed to do anything God said, and the time had come for them to meet God. This is how the experience was described in Exodus 19:16-20:
 
16 On the morning of the third day there was thunder and lightning, as well as a thick cloud on the mountain and a blast of a trumpet so loud that all the people who were in the camp trembled. Moses brought the people out of the camp to meet God. They took their stand at the foot of the mountain. Now all of Mount Sinai was wrapped in smoke, because the Lord had descended upon it in fire; the smoke went up like the smoke of a kiln, while the whole mountain shook violently.  As the blast of the trumpet grew louder and louder, Moses would speak and God would answer him in thunder. When the Lord descended upon Mount Sinai, to the top of the mountain, the Lord summoned Moses to the top of the mountain, and Moses went up. 
 
Whoa. Now we know why God tried to warn the people. The limits placed upon them were for their protection. God’s presence is so overwhelming and earth-shattering that we must only receive small glimpses at a time. But it was important for God to reveal the divine in such a huge way, so that the people learn who God is and know that God is worthy of worship.
 
So, this is the backdrop to what happened before God gave Moses the covenant. When Moses went up the mountain to receive the covenant, the people stayed at a distance in fear. However, Moses “drew near to the thick darkness where God was” (v.21). I think I was drawn to that phrase “thick darkness” because we always assume that God is light. Scripture tells us God is light and Jesus refers to himself as the light of the world, but here scripture also says God is in the “thick darkness.”
 
The New Living Translation describes this phrase as a “dark cloud,” and The Message translation says, “thick cloud.” Both say that God was in the cloud. The most beautiful interpretation that spoke to me was from The Living Bible, which says, “Moses entered into the deep darkness where God was.” We all have to enter our own deep darkness in order to find God. And, God is there. Not sin or Satan, but God. The darkness that all humans contain come from God. Just as God created light from the darkness at creation, light comes out of the darkness we face. Seeds grow under the dark soil, and grow stronger when exposed to the light. We must enter the deep darkness where God is when we enter into a covenant with God.
 
Reflection questions:
God shows the people who God is before he enters into a covenant with them. That’s what the Ten Commandments are – a covenant that guides them into a loving relationship with God. Who is God to you?
 
The people prepare themselves to enter into this covenant as well when they meet God. How do you prepare yourself to enter into God’s presence?
 
Have you experienced God in the darkness? Explore that encounter.
Have you entered into a covenant with God? Perhaps write down a covenant that you vow to uphold to God.
 
Action: Do one thing this week that actively upholds this covenant. Perhaps do something that honors your father or mother, or shows your love for God or others. Instead of “not stealing or murdering,” do something that shows you don’t worship other gods or covet your neighbor’s possessions.