O Come, Great Lord of Might

Ascribe strength to God; His majesty is over Israel and His strength is in the skies. O God, You are awesome from Your sanctuary. The God of Israel Himself gives strength and power to the people. Blessed be God! Psalm 68:34-35

I've been reading through the Old Testament during this advent season and I continue to be amazed at how God spoke to Moses, audibly. After Aaron and Miriam started questioning Moses' authoriy and why he should be the only prophet, God said,

"When a prophet of the LORD is among you, I reveal myself to him in visions, I speak to him in dreams. But this is not true of my servant Moses; he is faithful in all my house. With him I speak face to face, clearly and not in riddles; he sees the form of the LORD." Numbers 12:4-8

Wow. Moses, who was reluctant to be the leader of God's people (see Exodus 4), was spoken to by God, face to face. One of the more meaningful experiences in Moses' "career" must have been meeting with the Lord on Mt. Sinai.

Now the LORD said to Moses, "Come up to Me on the mountain and remain there, and I will give you the stone tablets with the law and the commandment which I have written for their instruction." Exodus 24:12

Moses was there for forty days as the glory of the Lord rested on the mountain. Can you even imagine?

Then Moses went up to the mountain, and the cloud covered the mountain. The glory of the LORD rested on Mount Sinai, and the cloud covered it for six days; and on the seventh day He called to Moses from the midst of the cloud. And to the eyes of the sons of Israel the appearance of the glory of the LORD was like a consuming fire on the mountain top. Moses entered the midst of the cloud as he went up to the mountain; and Moses was on the mountain forty days and forty nights. Exodus 24:15-18

It was the great Lord of might who met with Moses on that mountain to give him the Law. The Law was given so that God's people would know how to live with one another, and to prepare them for their eventual Deliverer and Redeemer, the One who was coming to fulfill the Law.

"Do not think that I came to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I did not come to abolish but to fulfill." Matthew 5:17

The fulfillment of the law included Christ's suffering death and rising again from the dead that forgiveness of sins might be proclaimed to all nations!

Now He said to them, "These are My words which I spoke to you while I was still with you, that all things which are written about Me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled." Then He opened their minds to understand the Scriptures, and He said to them, "Thus it is written, that the Christ would suffer and rise again from the dead the third day, and that repentance for forgiveness of sins would be proclaimed in His name to all the nations, beginning from Jerusalem." Luke 24:44-47

Rejoice! The God of might sent His son, born as a baby, to fulfill the Law of Moses.

O come, O come, great Lord of might,
Who to Thy tribes on Sinai’s height
In ancient times once gave the law
In cloud and majesty and awe.

Rejoice! Rejoice!
Emmanuel shall come to thee, O Israel.