Old Glory


Exo 32:1  When the people realized that Moses was taking forever in coming down off the 

	mountain, they rallied around Aaron and said, "Do something. Make gods for us who 

	will lead us. That Moses, the man who got us out of Egypt--who knows what's 

	happened to him?" 



	As you drive west on I-70 through Kansas and across eastern Colorado there 

are several hours of mostly flat and unimpressive landscape. When you first cross the 

Colorado line from Kansas you are greeted with a sign that reads, "Welcome to 

Colorful Colorado". I've thought it a bit funny that from that point you really have to 

drive a couple hours before even glimpsing something that might be considered 

colorful or interesting. Once you get to Limon, though, on a clear day way off on the 

horizon you can begin to see the mountains, first just Pike's Peak and then a whole 

mountain range. For the next hour and a half this image keeps growing until you 

finally arrive in Denver where the ascent to the first pass begins with a steep grade 

just west of the city. Especially the first time this is experienced it can be very 

impressive and the presence of these large physical obstructions that rise so high 

above the city can be a thing of constant awareness and attention. If you were to 

decide to make Denver your home, however, there might be a point when you begin 

to not really acknowledge how really awesome those mountains are as you had upon 

your first arrival. It's not that the awareness of them is gone, it's just that it becomes 

a bit old and something that you've become used to and not so impressed with, 

especially if you never leave the level land and actually progress into the mountains 

themselves where every curve in the road may reveal another visible exhibition of 

glory.

	What an awesome thing it must have been to see God perform all the amazing 

things that brought the children of Israel out of the bondage in Egypt, in particular 

when the sea was opened up before them and they walked across on dry ground? 

How much closer could you be to the greatest power source in the universe, their 

Almighty God? They were aware that the very same God that had done all those 

things was in the cloud that now covered the mountain and that their leader was 

having a very important conference with their God.



Exo 24:17 In the view of the Israelites below, the Glory of God looked like a raging     

fire at the top of the mountain.

Exo 24:18 Moses entered the middle of the Cloud and climbed the mountain. Moses 

was on the mountain forty days and forty nights.


	I wonder how long it was before the first mumbling complaints were spoken 

and people were no longer impressed with the visible evidence of their God' presence 

on the mountain? By the end of only forty days they had managed to give up 

completely on their leader and their God, looking instead to something of a more 

tangible nature around which they could party. The view of the glory lost its awe for 

them and became unimpressive and easily replaceable by something of a totally 

meaningless substance. There was such a need to please the people and keep them 

occupied that entertainment took the place of their established relationship with 

their God. When honor of the glory was allowed to age they felt they could come up 

with something much more interesting, fresh and new on their own. 

	Our touch by the glory of God in our encounter of salvation is an impressive 

exposure to the Almighty God of creation. We are enthralled and our attention is 

totally captured by the wonder of His presence. This is our exposure to something 

other than the natural world to which we've become so accustomed. After a period of 

time, however, living in the glory and within view of His presence, it can begin to 

become a bit old and unimpressive. After all, how long can you just sit and look at a 

cloud and fire? After awhile there needs to be more entertainment than that and 

something of a more tangible nature is constructed in a way that makes everyone 

seem to be much more happy and joyful. Until that cloud and fire actually does 

something, we can come up with something pretty functional and exciting on our 

own. A cheap toy becomes the replacement of the thing of infinite potential and 

discovery. 

	There is another possibility for those who have been touched by this Glory. 

Instead of remaining on the plain and allowing the Glory's vision to age, we can 

begin to ascend the mountain ourselves, clothed in the righteousness of Christ, 

where everything about this glory is given new perspective and new inspiration at 

every turn in the road. Instead to trying to come up with the things that would be 

well-crafted images of success and growth on our own, there is a whole mountain 

range of infinite discovery in the Glory of the very One who brought us to the 

mountain in the first place. Every day and every moment of progress towards Him is 

a brand new experience of pristine finding. We are no longer entertained and 

occupied with things of man's invention, but are fulfilled only with the adventure of 

glory-to-glory exploration. Let the wonder of His glory ever be for us a fresh and new 

impression as we take the steps in a life of worship that take us higher still. 



3/28/04