The Account of Moses’ Eight Ascensions to Mount Sinai

Exodus 19:1-19, Colossians 1:26-27



Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy in the Old Testament are all related to Mount Sinai. What happened at Mount Sinai for it to have such a great role in the Bible? Moses, the great leader of the Exodus and father of the wilderness, went up and down Mount Sinai eight times. Many Christians don’t even show interest in knowing how many times Moses climbed Mount Sinai. Some theologians say climbing up the mountain once must have been enough, and that the number of eight ascensions is merely a literary expression. They certainly do not believe in God’s Word.
Mount Sinai is a rocky mountain that is 2,291 meters in height. It is higher than Mount Halla (1,950m) and Mount Jiri (1,915m), and rougher than both. This rocky mountain is full of thorns and bushes, and it is dry with no moisture (Exod 3:1, 33:6, Deut 1:2, 6, 19, 4:10, 15, 5:2, 9:8, 18:16). According to the Hebrew Bible, Moses did not just go up to the midpoint of Mount Sinai, but all the way to the top every time he went up the mountain (Exod 19:20, 34:2). The top of Mount Sinai is surrounded by daunting rocks and boulders, and there is not one clump of grass. Moses repeatedly went up there in the morning and came down in the evening. Such tasks cannot be achieved by human effort alone.
Moses made a journey that required superhuman strength in order to make a covenant between God and the Israelites. The theme that penetrates throughout the Bible is God’s salvation. Each and every Word of God is based on His love to save man. God’s history of redemption is to teach man how to live, who were sentenced to death as a result of sin. The climax of the history of redemption and the central figure that the history of redemption points to is Jesus Christ (Acts 4:12, John 14:6). He is the only way leading to heaven, and He is life itself (John 11:25-26).
The link that continues the history of redemption is the covenant. Just like the arteries and veins in our body, the main artery of the history of redemption is continued through the unchanging link of the covenant (Heb 1:12, 1 Sam 15:29, Mal 3:6, Rom 11:29, Titus 1:2, Heb 6:17-18, Jas 1:17). Of the different covenants, the covenant of Mount Sinai is the first covenant which God left in the records.
For God, the hub of the world is the person with whom He has made His covenant, the one who receives His Word. He loves and cherishes such a person (Ezek 38:12, 5:5). During the Old Testament era, Israel was the center of the world, the center of Israel was Jerusalem (Jer 51:50, Isa 2:2, Ps 48:2,125:2), and the center of Jerusalem was the temple (=tabernacle). The center of the temple was the Holy of Holies, and its center was the Ark of the Covenant (Joshua 6:1-14). The center of the ark was “the Word of the Covenant” ? the Ten Commandments (Exod 34:28, Deut 4:13, 10:4).
The Ten Commandments in Hebrew means “Ten Words.” It is the summary of the whole Bible, both the Old and New Testaments. All the articles of the law were based on the Ten Commandments (Exod 20:22-23:33), and all the facts recorded in the Old and New Testaments came from the Ten Commandments. Ten is a number that signifies perfection, a number that has no insufficiency. When we count numbers (in Korean), after counting up to ten, we say “ten plus one.” This is evidence that the number ten is a number of completion.
Moses strenuously went up and down Mount Sinai in order to receive the Ten Commandments. As we follow the footsteps of Moses at the time, we can see the beginning and the end of the events through the telescope of grace. Although it appears complicated, all the events are recorded chronologically. Through the Bible, we can see the Exodus, the schedule of the wilderness journey, and Moses’ ascensions to Mount Sinai, including the precise dates and days of the week.
On the fourth day of creation, God created the sun, moon, stars, seasons, days, and years (Gen 1:14). Therefore, all events that have occurred since that very day, including the creation of Adam, have dates. We can clearly see the dates through the records of the Bible. Without a single deviation, the Bible’s records of dates and days of the week coincide with historical events up to this day.

The great work of the Exodus that moved toward Mount Sinai
On the very day when the Israelites’ 430-year slavery in Egypt came to an end, the people came out of Egypt at the right time without even an hour’s delay (Exod 12:40-41). They used to live groaning under hopelessness every day and underwent the sufferings of being in the iron furnace. As slaves, they lived like animals and were completely humiliated by Pharaoh the king of Egypt, who was like a fierce beast (Deut 4:20, 1 Kings 8:51, Jer 11:4)
God told them repeatedly not to forget their experience. God heard their earnest prayers and came down Himself to see them. He took pity on them and remembered them. Finally, on the 15th day of the first month in 1446 BC, which was on a Thursday, He guided them out of Egypt with His mighty hand (Exod 32:11, Num 33:3). The 40-year wilderness journey of the Israelites began on this day, and it can be divided into five phases:

1) Forty-five days, from Ramses where they took off to their arrival at Mount Sinai (Exod 1-18, 19:1-2)
2) About one year, when they stayed in the wilderness of Sinai (Exod 19 - Num 10:10)
3) About 50 days from Mount Sinai to the judgment of Kadesh-Barnea (Num 10:11-14)
It takes about 11 days from Mount Sinai to go pass Mount Seir and reach Kadesh-Barnea (Deut 1). In Kadesh-Barnea, 12 leaders of each tribe were sent to Canaan to investigate the land for 40 days (Num 13:25).
4) Thirty-eight years wandering in the wilderness, as punishment for the unbelief of the first generation of the Exodus (Num 15-19)
It took 38 years for the Israelites to go from Kadesh-Barnea to Brook Zered. Among the 603,550 men over 20 years old who came out of Egypt, 603,548 men except for Joshua and Caleb died and were not able to cross Brook Zered. They were killed by angels in their tents (Num 14:34-38). Whenever we read this verse, it breaks our hearts and makes our hearts pound in fear. It was after the fifth month in 1407 BC. Before this incident occurred, Aaron the high priest also died on the first day of the fifth month, in 1407 BC, for his unbelief (Num 20:25-29, 33:38-39).
Miriam, the sister of Moses and Aaron, died in the first month of the same year. Because it was God’s will, God told Moses to take a Cushite woman; however, spurred by her human thoughts, Miriam sinned by condemning Moses’ actions. God reproached Miriam, saying, “If there is a prophet among you, I, the LORD, shall make Myself known to him in a vision. I shall speak with him in a dream. Not so, with My servant Moses... With him I speak mouth to mouth...” (Num 12:6-10). She did wrong because she did not understand the world of God’s Word.
5) Eleven months from the Israelites’ seconding gathering at Kadesh-Barnea until Moses’ death (Num 20 - Deut 34)
Moses, too, died two months before entering Canaan. It was because he did not obey the Word; instead of speaking to the rock to get water, he struck the rock with his staff. The rock is Jesus Christ (1 Cor 10:4). Haven’t we also gone against Jesus with the words that came from our lips, by speaking badly about Him and hitting Him? “The one who desires to see good days must keep his tongue from evil and his lips from speaking deceit” (1 Pet 3:10). We should not gossip about others (Matt 12:36-37). We will be cursed or blessed based on what we say. The sin of the parents who speak ill of others will pass down to their children. King Nebuchadnezzar, by a slip of his tongue, lived like a beast for seven years Dan 4).



Moses’ eight ascensions to Mount Sinai
The Israelites arrived at Mount Sinai on Sunday, the first day of the third month in 1446 BC, 45 days after the Exodus. “In the third month after the sons of Israel had gone out of the land of Egypt, on that very day they came into the wilderness of Sinai” (Exod 19:1-2). In Hebrew, “the third month” is “the new moon of the third month.” A new moon is the first day of the month. The Israelites received the Ten Commandments and laws while they were staying at Mount Sinai, and God made a covenant with them to be established as a nation. They were given the mission to prepare the people thoroughly so that they could destroy the seven evil tribes of Canaan.
Mount Sinai was a very safe place, far from both Egypt where they escaped from and Canaan where they would go to. It was a special place that God had prepared from past generations and ages. Amazingly, God had foretold long before the Exodus that the Israelites would come to Mount Sinai (Exod 3:12). He showed Moses beforehand that the Israelites would worship God and make a covenant with Him at Mount Sinai (Mount Horeb). This time period when the Covenant of Mount Sinai was made (Exod 19-24) was a very critical point for the Israelites, for it was the start of their history as a chosen people.
Moses went up and down the high mountain eight times to meet God, a place that was far from the lowland where the people were camping. He delivered God’s holy will to the people and returned back to God with the people’s thoughts and will (Exod 19:7-8, 20:20-21, 24:1, 12). It took him 127 days, or four months and seven days in total, to go up and down the mountain eight times.

The first ascension: the second day of the third month (Monday), 1446 BC
God proposed to make the Covenant of Mount Sinai (Exod 19:1-6)
It was the very next day after they arrived to the Wilderness of Sinai and 46 days after the Exodus. God offered to make the Sinaitic Covenant to Moses, when he climbed up the Mount Sinai. First, God said Exodus was by God’s sovereignty (Exod 19:4). And if the chosen people, Israel would indeed obey His voice and keep His covenant, they shall be His own possession among all the peoples and be to Him a kingdom of priests and a holy nation. (Exod 19:5-6, 7:6, Deut 14:2) They would also be reputed to be people of wisdom and people of knowledge among all the nations (Deut4:6).
Fearing God is basis of knowledge of word (Prov 1:7, Job 28:28, Ps 111:10, Prov 9:10, 15:33). When we read the Word of God, the water of life gushes out. The fire of the Holy Spirit blaze in our hearts. That is how we should experience when we read the Bible. Fearing God and keeping His commandments applies to every person (Eccl 12:13). Fear of God is a fountain of life and it will turn a person from the snares of death (Prov 14:27, Ps 33:18). When Moses delivered God’s proposal of the covenant to the people, they responded that they would obey to his law.

The second ascension: the third day of the third month (Tuesday), 1446 BC
God commanded the Israelites to be consecrated
How much easier it would have been for Moses, if God spoke all His Words at once to him when he climbed up the Mount Sinai with all his strength in the first place? However, God spoke a portion of the Word to Moses and commanded him to go down, and to come back up again the next day. How many people today would obey to climb up a mountain of 2291 meters high? Furthermore, how many could obey to climb up the mountain on the following day, immediately after having gone up and come down the previous day? Nonetheless, Moses fully obeyed God’s Word and faithfully fulfilled his role as a mediator between God and Israelites, by going up and down Mount Sinai for eight times. God came to people in a thick cloud that looked like it was about to shower (Exod 19:9). And then God explained, “The people may hear when I speak with you and may also believe in you forever.” And He commended the people to consecrate themselves and not to go near their wives, and be ready for the third day (Exod 19:10-15). God always demands us to consecrate ourselves at the critical moment of redemptive history (Lev 15:18).
When David was chased by Saul, Abimelech the priest gave him the consecrated bread after making sure that women have been kept from David (1 Sam 21:4-5). God also commanded people to consecrate themselves for three days before crossing over the Jordan (Josh 3:5). The Apostle Paul emphasized that husband and wife should not deprive each other when they devoted themselves to prayer (1 Cor 7:5). Our ancestors also did not go near women for three months before taking an important state examination.
Without being consecrated, mankind can neither go close to God nor see God. God said to us to make every effort to live in peace with all men and to be holy (Heb 12:14-15). He ordered us to consecrate ourselves and be holy because He is holy (Lev 11:44-45).
Then the Lord told Moses to put limits around Mount Sinai to stop people from climbing up the mountain. Whoever touches the foot of it shall surely be stoned or shot with arrows (Exod 19:12-13). After receiving that Word and came down from the mountain, Moses set bounds around the mountain even though he was exhausted. He must have stayed up all night in order to mark the bounds around the wide mountain. It is truly tough to keep up with Moses devotion. Such devotion sends us a shiver through our spines. Whether he was witnessed or not, he devoted himself alone. As we observe Moses’ attitude, we should repent that we have been so idle in reading the Bible and in evangelizing. We need to be alert and open our eyes straight. When Moses spoke God’s command to consecrate, the people obeyed (Exod 19:14-19).

The third ascension: the fifth day of the third month (Thursday), 1446 BC
God repeatedly commands His people not to enter the mountain
It was the 49th day, the third day after the people became consecrated. In the morning, there were thunder and lightning flashes, a thick cloud upon the mountain and a very loud trumpet sound. The two million people trembled (Exod 19:16). And when Moses brought the people out of the camp to meet God and stood at the foot of the mountain, God descended upon it in fire (Exod 19:17). The smoke ascended Mount Sinai like the smoke of a furnace, and the whole mountain quaked violently (Exod 19:18). If the people had not been consecrated, they would die at the spot immediately.
When the sound of the trumpet grew louder and louder, Moses spoke and God answered him with voice. And as the people heard the sound, they realized that their leader Moses was really speaking with God. God came down on the top of Mount Sinai and called Moses. And again, He told Moses to warn the people not to enter the mountain again. He also ordered people to be consecrated (Exod 19:21-22). Although Moses assured God, “For You warned us to set bounds about the mountain, the people cannot break through,” God urged Moses to go down again to warn the people (Exod 19:24).
He meant to keep the priests and the people from breaking through to come up to the LORD. It also showed the rebuke for Moses not to make any further comments on Lord’s commands. So Moses obeyed God right away, by going down to the people and telling them that they would die at once if they climbed up the mountain, and even their animals must be tied up (Exod19:25).
This strict warning did not intend to scare the people away. It was God’s love to prevent even a single one of them from being put to death by committing sins. It tells us that if we keep the covenant until the end, the Garden of Eden will be recovered. God cherishes a life more than the whole world. Our limited and foolish minds can’t fathom the depth of God’s thought and his meticulousness in caring for us. We human beings are flawed and foolish. Nonetheless, God’s lovingkindness and love are perfect (Ps 36:5, 103:11).

The fourth ascension: the sixth day of the third month (Friday), 1446 BC
God grants the Ten Commandments and the law
It was the 50th day after the Exodus. On this day God gave the Ten Commandments and the law (Exod 20:1-24:18, Deut 5:1-6:25). This day when people received the Word is called “the day of the Assembly” (Deut 9:10, 18:16). Israelites still commemorate this day. Stephen, the leader of the Early Churches, called this day ‘a day a wilderness church was formed.’
First, God gave all the Israelites the Ten Commandments (Exod 20:1-17). However, as the people perceived the loud thunder and the lightning flashes, the sound of the trumpet, the thick smoke and darkness that blocked sight, the burning mountain and God’s voice that came amidst fire, they were captured by the strong fear of death. They witnessed the grandeur of God. All two million men became pale.
So they solicited that they could receive the law through Moses, their mediator (Exod 20:19, Deut 5:25-27). They realized that no sinned man could live to see God in person. “Moses, speak to us yourself and we will listen.” Then God told Moses to come up to the top of the mountain again as a representative of the people. (Exod 24:1-2) Moses came and recounted to the people all the words of the Lord and all the ordinances (Exod 24:3).



The fifth ascension: the seventh day of the third month (Saturday), 1446 BC
The ceremony of covenant ratification and ceremonial meal
It was on the 51st day after the Exodus. Moses, who went down from Mount Sinai on the previous day, wrote down all the words of the Lord throughout the night. That is the book of the covenant (Exod 24:4, 7). Early morning on the next day, which was the seventh day, Moses built an altar at the foot of the mountain with 12 pillars for 12 tribes of Israel and sent out young men to offer burnt offerings and peace offerings (Exod 24:4-5). Moses took half of the blood and put it in basins, and the other half of the blood he sprinkled on the altar. The covenant was made through blood, not only by the words. Without blood, covenant cannot be made. Jesus also said, “Drink from it . . . this is My blood of the covenant . . .” as he was giving a cup of wine (Matt 26:28).
As Moses read the book of the covenant again, Israelites promised to be obedient to the covenant (Exod 24:7). And as Moses took the blood and sprinkled it on the people the covenant was completely made (Exod 24:8). Then after the ratification of the covenant, there was a ceremonial meal with God, a covenantal meal (Exod 24:9-11).
Then God called the names of Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel. And they saw the God of Israel; and under His feet there appeared to be a pavement of sapphire, as clear as the sky itself. It was an endlessly pure and brightly shining scene.
God called them the nobles of Israel. “Nobles” signifies people of high and valuable standing. Believe that God gave the same noble title to us, who deserve to die thousand and tens of thousand times and be thankful for that.
Then they saw God, and ate and drank. To eat and drink in Hebrew means to enjoy and indulge oneself, when there is a great feast. It was a magnificent scene. “To see” in Hebrew means to take a close look, as if one would see a woman he loves, and refers to special cases of spiritual enlightenment or revelations. (Job 36:25, Num 24:4, Ps 17:18). Before being named as the nobles, Israelites called God “God of Abraham, God of Isaac, God of Jacob.” However, ever since this event, everything changed; God was now their own God. Their eyes to understand God have opened wide. Likewise, God has become our own God as we can put our names in the blank “OOO’s God.”
It was truly a feast filled with joy and happiness. Where we are today is also a holy feast to eat and drink before God. The joy to receive the Word should be overflowing us. Without the joy and happiness, there is only stench wherever we go. Originally, no man can see God and live (Exod 33:20), but we have become the nobles through the blood of Jesus. It is a special grace granted to the people of the covenant. The people given the covenant by the blood of Jesus are nobler than president of a nation. They receive blessings when they go out and come in (Deut 28:6, Ps 121:8). Everything works out well for them, and all doors open before them.

The sixth ascension: From the eighth day of the third month (Sunday) to the seventeenth day of the fourth month (Thursday), 1446 BC
The first 40-day fasting prayer (Exod 24:18, Deut 9:9-11)
This was the 52nd day after the Exodus, the day after the joyful feast. From this day to the seventeenth day of the fourth month (Thursday), Moses fasted for forty days and nights. As God called Moses, He alluded that Moses would be there for some time (Exod 24:12). Moses asked Aaron, Hur, and the elders to take care of the affairs and went up to the mountain with his servant Joshua (Exod 24:13-14), climbing to the top by himself. When he went up to the mountain, it was covered with a cloud, and the glory of the Lord was resting on Mount Sinai (Exod 24:15-16). Moses neither ate bread nor drank water for forty days and nights (Exod 24:18, Deut 9). He prayed to save Israel, without tending to his personal thoughts or physical fatigue. It is easy for us to read the printed verses, but it is truly a tearful scene.
On the seventh day (the Sabbath) of Moses’ fasting, God called Moses from the midst of the cloud (Exod 24:16). He explained what the tabernacle should be like (Exod 25:1-31:11). After forty days and nights, when God completed His instructions to Moses, He gave Moses two stone tablets, on which He inscribed the Ten Commandments with His own finger (Exod 24:12, 31:18, 32:16, Deut 9:9-11). The tablets were made by God and the letters were written by God. The finger of God is His might (Exod 8:19, 31:18, Deut 9:10, Ps 8:3).
However, God told Moses to “go down at once.” As Moses went down the mountain, he saw an astonishing sight ? the Israelites were worshiping a golden calf. It was made after the people threatened Aaron to make one, based on the assumption that Moses was not around because he had lacked the courage to take the people into Canaan and had therefore fled. They were the ones who had vowed that they would keep the covenant. How could their hearts change like that? Their faith should have been like unchanging gold, yet it had changed. “…The proof of your faith, being more precious than gold which is perishable, even though tested by fire, may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ” (1 Pet 1:7).
Moses threw the tablets and shattered them. After he had the people pick up the burnt calf, ground it to powder, and scattered it over the surface of the water, he made the people drink it (Exod 32:1-20, Deut 9:15-17, 21). Then Moses looked for people who would dedicate themselves to the Lord (Exod 32:26). While the other tribes stood there looking at each other, the tribe of Levi came forward voluntarily. They killed about 3,000 of their own brothers, going back and forth in all directions. God killed 3,000 men out of the two million who bowed to the idol. And God, seeing the dedication of the tribe of Levi, acknowledged them.
God compared wisdom to refined gold (Prov 3:13-14, Job 28:15-19, Prov 8:10-11, 19, 16:16, Ps 19:10). People of God need to be wise, and they must have wisdom and understanding (Deut 4:6). Dear saints, greed and lust are idols just like the golden calf (Ps 115:4-8, 135:16-18, Isa 42:17, 44:9-11, Col 3:5).

The seventh ascension: From the 18th day of the fourth month (Friday) to the 28th day of the fifth month (Tuesday), 1446 BC
The second 40-day intercessory prayer
It was the 92nd day after the Exodus. Moses underwent a 40-day intercessory prayer for his people’s sin (Exod 32:30, 33:3, Deut 9:25-29, 10:10-11) because God told him that He would destroy Israel. Stunned by this, Moses went up to the mountain again. He prayed, putting his own life in pledge to ask God for forgiveness (Exod 32:31-32). It was such an earnest prayer. How much he must have wept while praying!
Moses’ last prayer was to ask that his name be blotted out from the Book of Life should the Israelites be blotted out from the Book. We cannot pray like that even for ourselves, our parents, our children, or our spouses. The Israelites, however, did not even understand Moses’ heart. They did not see Moses, so they did not know what he was praying for. Nevertheless, Moses prayed thusly. God said, “Whoever has sinned against Me, I will blot him out of My book” (Exod 32:33-35).
Since God’s wrath did not subside even after the 40-day intercessory prayer, Moses built a tabernacle outside the camp on the following day, the 29th day of the fifth month (Wednesday), and watched it for a day. He entreated God not to leave them. For God who did not want to come close to the sinners, Moses built a tabernacle outside the camp and prayed that God would come in and be with them. The very reason the Israelites were able to survive God’s fierce wrath was because Moses prayed with devoted tears and sweat as he pounded on the ground, pulled out his hair, and tore at his garments.
Moses was a man of tearful prayer. He loved his people more than his own body and more than his own children. Have we ever prayed such a prayer for our family and our cell group members? Have we prayed for our family members who do not believe in Jesus, crying loudly in grief? When we pray that earnestly, God, whose loving-kindness and mercy are endless, listens to the pitiful prayer and make things work. God listened to Moses when he prayed, “Please do not leave us, for the sake of Your servant,” and was with him in the tabernacle. How can we call ourselves saints when we cannot find such verses from the Bible? After Moses finished his prayer, God ordered him to cut out two tablets of stone just like the first pair and to come up on the mountain. Without Moses’ intercessory prayer, the Israelites would have perished. God’s wrath had finally subsided (Deut 10:1, 10:10-11).

The eighth ascension: From the 30th day of the fifth month (Thursday) to the 10th day of the seventh month (Monday), 1446 BC
The third 40-day fasting prayer (Exod 34:28, Deut 9:18)
Moses risked his life and did a 40-day fasting prayer for the second time. The day he finished the prayer was on the 10th day of the seventh month, on a Monday. It was a day of atonement. When we realize the mystery of the event, we can also understand the fall of mankind. God made a covenant with Israel again. This mysterious event occurred within the profound providence of God. It also tells us how the completion of redemption will take place in the future. All those events foreshadow Jesus Christ. Therefore, we need to understand their meaning.



Dear saints, the covenant of Mount Sinai is the covenant of all generations. God has spoken of “all generations” since the beginning of time (Isa 41:4). The covenant of all generations is not a dead covenant but a living covenant, which breathes life into the chosen people from now and to the future, and to tens of thousands of generations thereafter. 603,548 Israelites could not enter Canaan because they did not have faith (Heb 3:12-19). Therefore, our life of faith must not be wishy-washy. We need to focus when we meet people, sing hymnals, pray, and read the Bible. Otherwise, we will end up giving up halfway. When we read the Bible, we will just end up going to bed, unable to finish even a few chapters as we cite tiredness as our excuse.
Even if we have extensive experience in our life of faith, we will have no chance if we do not have faith. What we have done in the past does not save us.
Dear saints, now is the time to listen to the Word and understand it. It is today, right now! If Jesus comes to us and asks if we really believe in Him, what would you answer? If we are believers, we need to live according to God’s Word. The very time of the covenant is today, the very place of the covenant is right here, and we who are living today are the people with whom God has made His covenant (Deut 5:2-3, 29:14-15).