Consuming fire

Moses went up on the mountain, the cloud covered it, and the glory of the Lord settled on Mount Sinai. For six days the cloud covered the mountain, and on the seventh day the Lord called to Moses from within the cloud. To the Israelites the glory of the Lord looked like a consuming fire on top of the mountain. Then Moses entered the cloud as he went on up the mountain. And he stayed on the mountain forty days and forty nights.    Exod. 24.15-18

What does this passage tell me? As I imagine the cloud covering the mountain with the glory of the Lord within it, my heart leaps inside me. I feel a certain envy toward Moses, but also a strong sense of awe at the immediacy and power of the presence of God. Moses is, presumably, adjacent to and quite near this cloud of power and glory. He remains in the vicinity for six days. Then, on the seventh day, God calls to him from within the cloud. I almost physically jump at the imagining of the voice of God calling out to Moses.

The Israelites, looking on from afar, are not un-affected. They see the glory of the Lord sitting like a consuming fire on top of the mountain.

Moses enters the cloud. Surely he is touched, impacted and changed by the glory of the Lord. He is with the Lord, in close relationship, for forty days and forty nights. How thrilling, how frightening, terrifying and – how wonderful!

Lord God,

Touch me with Your consuming fire. Draw me into the cloud of Your presence. Let me experience something of Your glory. I know I may not bear all that You could show, but I ask for a touch, that I might know the presence and the awesome power of the living God. My prayer today is indeed short, that I might meet with You and see something of Your glory. Thank You, Lord.                                                                                     Amen.