The Lord declared that Israel would worship Him on the very mountain where God had spoken to Moses in chapter 3. Israel has been brought to the mountain of God and has been there three days. They have been set apart for these three days to prepare to meet the Lord. Our text opens with the Lord’s presence displayed on the mountain. 16 Then it came to pass on the third day, in the morning, that there were thunders 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. 18 Now Mount Sinai was wrapped in smoke because the Lord had descended on it in fire. The smoke of it went up like the smoke of a kiln, and the whole mountain trembled greatly.19 And as the sound of the trumpet grew louder and louder, Moses spoke, and God answered him in thunder. 20 The Lord came down on Mount Sinai, to the top of the mountain. And the Lord called Moses to the top of the mountain, and Moses went up.
As the Lord descends upon the mountain, the natural is supernaturally transformed. Can we imagine what it would have been like to witness this powerful and aweful presence of the Lord on this third day on Mount Sinai? The skies begin to come alive with thunders and lightnings! A thick cloud envelops the mountain! The sound of the trumpet blows and gets louder and louder! The scene is described further in verse 18 as the mountain is likened to a great furnace with smoke billowing about as the mountain itself trembles!
