I was reading in Exodus 19 and all about the expressions of God’s presence and came across something totally knew to me. This is the passage where Moses goes up to Mount Sinai to speak with God and God comes down on the mountain in a powerful and terrifying presence. There is so much in this passage, but read the verse below and see if anything stands out. Hint, the title of this post ;)

Read Exodus 19:16

“Then it came to pass on the third day, in the morning, that there were thunderings and lightnings, and a thick cloud on the mountain; and the sound of the trumpet was very loud, so that all the people who were in the camp trembled.”

What Israel saw and felt in the thunder, lightning, clouds, smoke, and earthquake was terrifying! Can you imagine all of that happening all at once? All the while while they are at the foot of the mountain and their leader (Moses) is in the midst of it all.

But these are all just natural phenomenons. It’s the sound of the trumpet that would cause trembling. Why? Because for the first time I realized when reading that this trumpet didn’t come from camp, it came from heaven itself!

The heavens sounded those trumpets to announce His presence.

No wonder they were trembling.

”Fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.”