No More Sinai

I was breathing, but not alive—

All my failures I tried to hide;

It was my tomb

'Til I met You.

You called my name;

Then I ran out of that grave—

Out of the darkness

Into Your glorious day.

—Kristian Stanfill

After miraculously calling down the fire on Mt. Carmel and killing the prophets of Baal, Elijah hid from Jezebel. Ahab had informed Jezebel of what had happened, and she angrily sent this message to Elijah: “May the gods strike me and even kill me if by this time tomorrow I have not killed you just as you killed them” (1 Kings 19:2, NLT). 

On the mountain, Elijah had been powerful in the Lord, but on hearing this threat, he ran away and wandered in the desert toward Mount Sinai, the mountain where God had given the law to Moses. An angel of the Lord gave Elijah enough sustenance to travel forty days and forty nights to Sinai. There he found a cave and hid.  How often have you been strong in the Lord one moment and weak the next because of fear? 

Symbolically, fear is what Mount Sinai reveals. The law had no power to heal the weakness of man—only to expose man's sin. For forty days and nights, Elijah wandered toward this mountain to seek refuge there. And when he got there, did he find safety?  No.

“‘Go out and stand before me on the mountain,’ the Lord told him. And as Elijah stood there, the Lord passed by, and a mighty windstorm hit the mountain. It was such a terrible blast that the rocks were torn loose, but the Lord was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. And after the earthquake there was a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire there was the sound of a gentle whisper. When Elijah heard it, he wrapped his face in his cloak and went out and stood at the entrance of the cave” (1 Kings 19:11-13, NLT).

The Lord was in none of the occurrences on Mount Sinai of wind, earthquake, and fire. He was in the gentle whisper that came. That whisper drew the frightened Elijah. And the Lord asked him, “What are you doing here, Elijah?”  

Elijah did not have what Jesus has done on the Cross for you. The Grace of Jesus has changed everything. You don’t need to hide in your own Mt. Sinai cave in fear of anything. You no longer go to Mount Sinai. You go to Mount Zion, the city of the living God. You were once breathing, but not alive. Your failures? You tried to hide. You once hid in fear, but unlike Elijah, you ran out of that cave. You didn’t cover your face at the entrance. You stood unmasked, in God’s presence, fulfilled by the Grace of Jesus. That cave of fear was your tomb until Jesus called your name. And you ran out of the darkness into His glorious day! 

Is this true for you? Are you hiding? The gentle voice of the Holy Spirit asks, “What are you doing here?” He draws you from your hiding place to understand what the Grace of Jesus has given you. When you believe the change Jesus has made in your life, you do not need to fear. Mount Zion has no place for you to hide! You no longer need to hide! Grace has unmasked you. You have come to Jesus, the one who mediates the new covenant between God and people. There is no condemnation in Him. 

Do you long to experience the freedom of Mount Zion? Learn what the Grace of Jesus has done for you. Learn your identity in Christ. You don’t need to live in fear of failure and hide in your self-constructed cave. Sin is no longer your master. You no longer live under the requirements of the law. Instead, you live under the freedom of God’s Grace. Run out of that grave. Mount Sinai is no more.

© 2020 Lynn Lacher

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