When God was getting ready to come down on Mount Sinai, He told Moses to have the people consecrate themselves and be ready. They were to wash their garments and purify themselves because God was going to come down in the sight of all the people (Exodus 19:10). We see that same concept of preparation in the book of Revelation: “They have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb” (Revelation 7:14).[1] God is telling us, “Get prepared for My appearing. Don’t come to this time lightly because something is going to happen.”
What took place on Mount Sinai is one of the premier events of the Bible and of human history. God Himself actually descended and touched down on Mount Sinai. Everything that took place leading up to that event was in preparation for the people to come into His presence. But God had to set boundaries for them because sanctification was necessary first. They could not rush into His presence. The Father was not trying to stop them from entering His presence forever. They just had to be prepared so it would not be destructive to them.
The trumpet of a ram’s horn called a shofar is representative of God’s presence (Numbers 10:10). God announces Himself and calls us to come to Him. So we can assume that God was the first One at Sinai to blow the shofar with a loud blast. As He descended, “there was thunder and lightning. A thick cloud was upon the mountain, and a very loud blast of the ram’s horn went out, so that all the people in the camp trembled. Then Moses brought the people out of the camp to meet God” (Exodus 19:16–17). It was an awesome sight as God Himself came down and stood on Mount Sinai.
The biblical Feast of Booths is one of the appointed times when the Lord Himself will dwell or tabernacle with His people. This holy convocation begins with the blowing of trumpets (Leviticus 23:24–25). Likewise, when the Scriptures talk about the second coming of Christ, they refer to it as the last trumpet (1 Corinthians 15:52). During the time of Trumpets, we will see the return of the Lord and the return of the Father’s presence on the earth (Matthew 24:30–31; 1 Thessalonians 4:16; Revelation 8:6, 11:15). Christ came to earth as Immanuel, “GOD WITH US” (Matthew 1:23). And by our worship we can enter into His awesome presence.
God wants to be the focus of our lives, so He puts us in circumstances that force our attention to be on Him. His dealings may seem catastrophic on a human level. But remember that in God’s eyes nothing else compares to Him. Paul said, “I count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them but rubbish so that I may gain Christ” (Philippians 3:8). When something is torn away from you, let your response be, “Lord, I want to know Your ways that I might know You.”
When we know Him, all the wounds will be bandaged (Hosea 6:1–3). Everything we have gone through will melt away in the reality of being in His presence. God is saying, “Now you are going to know Me” (see Jeremiah 31:34). It is His initiative to come down and dwell among us (John 1:14). Our initiative is to get ready. Have this heart cry in your spirit during this time of Tabernacles that says, “Father, I want to know You!”
[1] All Scripture references are from the New American Standard Bible 1995 (NASB1995).
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