Title Dawn, a time of grace.
Contents
Hymn: 217 “Thy will be done”
Meditation: What is the biggest hindrance to waking up in the morning to experience grace?
Confession of Faith: Apostles' Creed
Text: “Moses cut two tablets of stone like the first one, and rose early in the morning, took the two tablets of stone in his hand, and went up to Mount Sinai as the Lord had commanded. The Lord descended from the cloud… ” (Exodus 34:1-9)
Word: In the Bible, the time of dawn has a very special meaning. God's special works and miracles occurred mostly in the early morning hours. David, the father of faith, praised God for his help at dawn and looked forward to the God of dawn (Psalm 46:5).
God told Moses to show me in the morning. Why did God call Moses to Mount Sinai? What kind of dawn was the dawn of Mount Sinai that God called?
It was the dawn of opportunity. In chapter 32, Moses has already visited Mount Sinai once by God's call. But then, because of the golden calf incident, Moses broke the stone stone that Moses had received from God. After that, again in the text, Moses is called to Mount Sinai a second time. At this time, you will receive the stone tablets with the Ten Commandments written on them again. Then, what kind of dawn was the dawn of Mount Sinai, which was called by God and ascended? It was the dawn of opportunity to give one more chance to the people of Israel who had failed in their first call. It was the dawn of restoration, the dawn of grace, where we can reap the grace of God that we lost through our sins. Don't we need dawn like this too? Don't you need another chance from God?
It was the dawn of an experience. God, who called Moses to Mount Sinai, revealed Himself in the cloud (verse 5). This is the experience of God. The dawn that Moses met at Mount Sinai was the dawn of the experience of experiencing God in the clouds.
Experiencing the presence of God is a blessing. Experience strengthens and warms our religious life. Therefore, experience is very important for believers. Do we not need the grace of this experience too?
It was the dawn of change. When Moses met God at the dawn of Mount Sinai, his face lit up. This is the changed image of a person who has experienced God. The dawn of Mount Sinai made Moses experience the grace of change. This was the blessing that dawn brought. Don't you need this grace of change? Let's long for the blessings of dawn.
Prayer: God! Wake up the dawn with obedience so that we too may receive the grace of opportunity, change, and experience. I pray in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Lord's Prayer
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