Was Israel not able to bear the command not to touch Mount Sanai? ~ Cross reference of Hebrews 12:20 to Exodus 19:12


Hebrews 12 says that Israel could not endure the command that G-d gave that no man or beast should touch or come close to the mountain when G-d's glory descended on mount Sanai. Not sure what he means by this.

The command from G-d was that no man or beast should come close to the mountain and if someone does come, he must be stoned.

The command was clear and Moses communicated the command to the people and there were markers made to let the people know they should not come close to the mountain.

If you read verse 21-25 G-d repeats the command and when Moses tells G-d that it will not happen, G-d actually insists to go down and make double sure it does not happen.
 
No theology involved so will share the passages on this event and leave it.

All Images are links to Google Images. Copyright violations not intended.
All Greek Text references are from NIV and Tanakh references are from Chabad.

This post is not intended to offend anyone's faith but for those people who are Seeking the truth of THE ONE TRUE G-D of the universe to who we owe all our love, gratitude & devotion.

My encouragement to you is that you read the whole chapter of Tanakh that the Greek text quotes so you get the context and understand what G-d actually said.

G-d Bless and Seek THE Truth.

Hebrews 12:20 because they could not bear what was commanded: “If even an animal touches the mountain, it must be stoned to death.”

Exodus 19:12 And you shall set boundaries for the people around, saying, Beware of ascending the mountain or touching its edge; whoever touches the mountain shall surely be put to death.' 13 No hand shall touch it, for he shall be stoned or cast down; whether man or beast, he shall not live. When the ram's horn sounds a long, drawn out blast, they may ascend the mountain."

If you read the below passages, you will see that there is nothing that says Israel could not bear or endure this command to stay away from the mountain. They did obey this command and no one was stoned.

Same applies to the animals. They did not come to the mountain and also there is no mention that the animal should be stoned.

Not being difficult, but the Greek text needs to be accurate. Christians claim that every word is inspired by the holy spirit and is true.
  • In the below passages G-d tells Moses that he will come in the thickness of a cloud and will speak to him so all the 3 million people will hear G-d speaking to Moses and believe in him and obey him.
    • Exodus 19:9 And the Lord said to Moses, "Behold, I am coming to you in the thickness of the cloud, in order that the people hear when I speak to you, and they will also believe in you forever." And Moses relayed the words of the people to the Lord. 10 And the Lord said to Moses, "Go to the people and prepare them today and tomorrow, and they shall wash their garments. 11 And they shall be prepared for the third day, for on the third day, the Lord will descend before the eyes of all the people upon Mount Sinai.
  • Below passages clearly state what needs to be done so either man or beast does not touch the mountain and it was adhered to and had a happy ending.
    • Exodus 19:12 And you shall set boundaries for the people around, saying, Beware of ascending the mountain or touching its edge; whoever touches the mountain shall surely be put to death.' 13 No hand shall touch it, for he shall be stoned or cast down; whether man or beast, he shall not live. When the ram's horn sounds a long, drawn out blast, they may ascend the mountain."
  • In the below passage G-d actually insists Moses checks to make sure no one come close to the mountain.
    • Exodus 19:21 The Lord said to Moses, "Go down, warn the people lest they break [their formation to go nearer] to the Lord, to see, and many of them will fall. 22 And also, the priests who go near to the Lord shall prepare themselves, lest the Lord wreak destruction upon them." 23 And Moses said to the Lord, "The people cannot ascend to Mount Sinai, for You warned us saying, Set boundaries for the mountain and sanctify it.' " 24 But the Lord said to him, "Go, descend, and [then] you shall ascend, and Aaron with you, but the priests and the populace shall not break [their formation] to ascend to the Lord, lest He wreak destruction upon them." 25 So Moses went down to the people and said [this] to them.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Vicarious Atonement is not taught in Tanakh

Image
Exodus 32:32  But now, if you will only forgive their sin - but if not, blot me out of the book that you have written. 33 But the L-rd said to Moses, " Whoever has sinned against me I will blot out of my book." Deuteronomy 24:16 Parents are not to be put to death for their children , nor children put to death for their parents; each will die for their own sin. 2 Kings 14:6 Yet he did not put the children of the assassins to death, in accordance with what is written in the Book of the Law of Moses where the Lord commanded: “ Parents are not to be put to death for their children , nor children put to death for their parents; each will die for their own sin. ” Jeremiah 31:30 Instead, everyone will die for their own sin ; whoever eats sour grapes—their own teeth will be set on edge. Ezekiel 3:20 “Again, when a righteous person turns from their righteousness and does evil, and I put a stumbling block before them, they will di e . Since you did not warn Ezekiel 18:1  The word o...
Read more

Jesus entry into Jerusalem ~ Cross reference of John 12:12 to Psalm 118:26

Image
I don't think I have much to add here as this is the 4th gospel that records Jesus's entry into Jerusalem. This is very important for the Christian as they think this establishes the crucial link of Jesus to what Zachariah 9:9 prophesied. Like all the other 3 gospels, John also cross references Psalm 118:26 to say what the people will say when Jesus enters Jerusalem. A few points to call out are In the previous 3 gospels, the people shout out "Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!" when Jesus rides on the donkey(s) while in John, they start cheering him even before he sits on the donkey.[I guess they continued to cheer even after he got onto the donkey] Jesus finds a donkey on him own and does not have ask his disciples to get him one or two donkeys [depends on which gospel you read] you so he can fulfill what Zechariah said. John explains that except Jesus no one know about the Zechariah's prophecy [messiah will make a triumphant entry into Jerusalem]....
Read more

Did the "The abomination that causes desolation" happen yet? ~ Cross reference of Matthew 24:15 to Daniel 9:26

Image
In Matthew 24 Jesus prophesies about the destruction of the temple. When his disciples ask Jesus when he will return at the end of the age, I think they were asking when he will return after being resurrected, he says he does not know and only god knows. Matthew was written around 80 CE and the temple was destroyed in 70 CE. Do we call this prophecy or history? Jesus does however share details of the things that will happen between his resurrection and his return. He talks about false prophets coming and claiming that they are Jesus, natural calamities that will occur and finally "the abomination that causes desolation" will have to occur. In verse 29 Jesus says after all these things have happened, immediately he will come and everyone on the earth will see him coming in the clouds with his angels. He does not offer a timeline when all these calamities will end but the trigger for him to return will be " The abomination that causes desolation " The only reference ...
Read more