Come Let Us Go Up To The
Mountain Of The Lord
The prophet Moses was at the mountain of God, Horeb, when God met him with the burning bush (Exodus 3:1 – 5). Moses was called to bring forth the children of Israel out of Egypt, and further promised that when he brought them out he would serve God on that mountain (Exodus 3:7 – 12). Moses was then called by God to climb mountains numerous times to be with God;
Exodus 19:20 And the Lord came down upon mount Sinai, on the top of the mount: and the Lord called Moses up to the top of the mount; and Moses went up.
Exodus 24:12, 13 And the Lord said unto Moses, Come up to me into the mount, and be there: and I will give thee tables of stone, and a law, and commandments which I have written; that thou mayest teach them. And Moses rose up, and his minister Joshua: and Moses went up into the mount of God.
Exodus 34:1, 2 And the Lord said unto Moses, Hew thee two tables of stone like unto the first: and I will write upon these tables the words that were in the first tables, which thou brakest. And be ready in the morning, and come up in the morning unto mount Sinai, and present thyself there to me in the top of the mount.
Deuteronomy 32:48 – 50 And the Lord spake unto Moses that selfsame day, saying, Get thee up into this mountain Abarim, unto mount Nebo, which is in the land of Moab, that is over against Jericho; and behold the land of Canaan, which I give unto the children of Israel for a possession: And die in the mount whither thou goest up, and be gathered unto thy people; as Aaron thy brother died in mount Hor, and was gathered unto his people:
Let us grasp the parallel that there will be spiritual climbing necessary to hear and find the calling and promises of God, and to enter His presence. Will you be a spiritual mountain climber? Also note from Exodus 34 that if we are not respectful and careful with the things God has given us we will have a more difficult task in replacing them, and will have to again climb the spiritual mountain, carrying tables this time, and again present ourselves to God.
Abraham was also called to the mountain to offer Isaac;
Genesis 22:2 And he said, Take now thy son, thine only son Isaac, whom thou lovest, and get thee into the land of Moriah; and offer him there for a burnt offering upon one of the mountains which I will tell thee of.
God told Abraham that He would show him which mountain; do not go where you choose, the ram was prepared on this mountain, in this place, for this time. What if Abraham had chosen the mountain himself? We must find the blessing and promises in Him;
II Corinthians 1:20 For all the promises of God in him are yea, and in him Amen, unto the glory of God by us.
When Elijah was discouraged and despaired of life, the angel prepared him for the journey to the mountain of God. From Horeb, the mount of God, God shewed him wind, earthquake, and fire, and spake in a still small voice (I Kings 19:4 – 18), and told him there is a remnant of seven thousand. If you want to hear or know of the seven thousand, go up to the mount of God, the presence of God, and seek His face.
Jesus took several disciples with Him to the mountain, that He might encounter God;
Matthew 17:1, 2 And after six days Jesus taketh Peter, James, and John his brother, and bringeth them up into an high mountain apart, And was transfigured before them: and his face did shine as the sun, and his raiment was white as the light.
As an example of the spiritual aspect and requirement of climbing the mountain, the face of Jesus … did shine as the sun, similar to that recorded of Moses. The disciples were called to the same mountain by Jesus, had made the same climb, and were in the same place, but not with the same preparation or expectation; as a result, they did not receive or experience the same spiritual walk. How many of you would go mountain climbing unprepared? But that is exactly how we seek God, and as a result do not reach the summit, or find the fulness of God. Have you ever wondered what occurred before the six days, what initiated that period of time? The six days did not occur after something, but the six days are the time of preparation! What saith the scripture? Six days shalt thou labour and do all thy work: (Exodus 20:9). Please also note that they were taken to an high mountain apart; there is a separation from the things of the world necessary to receive the things of God. It is only after the preparation and the separation that true rest can be entered into!
As these were each called, and went up into the mountain, God is calling a righteous people to stand in His presence and learn of Him. We must desire His ways, and His paths. These were able to come before God because of their meek and righteous walk with God. Have you allowed God to build you to a place of humbleness, righteousness unto holiness, and meekness that you can be called the man or woman of God? Without holiness no man shall see the Lord. Do you have a desire to serve Him completely, and be one of the remnant, or the seven thousand of God?
The following scriptural accounts by two prophets are very similar, and contain sufficient truths to study on for weeks;
Isaiah 2:2 – 5 And it shall come to pass in the last days, that the mountain of the Lord’s house shall be established in the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills; and all nations shall flow into it. And many people shall go and say, Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths: for out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem. And he shall judge among the nations, and shall rebuke many people: and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruninghooks: nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more. O house of Jacob, come ye, and let us walk in the light of the Lord.
Micah 4:1 – 4 BUT in the last days it shall come to pass, that the mountain of the house of the Lord shall be established in the top of the mountains, and it shall be exalted above the hills; and the people shall flow into it. And many nations shall come, and say, Come, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, and to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths: for the law shall go forth out of Zion, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem. And he shall judge among many people, and rebuke strong nations afar off; and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruninghooks: nation shall not lift up a sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more. But they shall sit every man under his vine and under his fig tree; and none shall make them afraid: for the mouth of the Lord of hosts hath spoken it.
These scriptures plainly say the prophecy will occur in the last days. The prophet Joel prophesied of the pouring out of the Spirit, and then Peter said on the day of Pentecost that … this is that, speaking of the Spirit being poured out in the last days. These confirm that we are in the last days. II Peter 3:8 then says … one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. We are truly in the very last of the last days! We can receive the above scriptures from the two prophets as speaking of the millennial reign, but we should also receive them as a spiritual word for our walk today. As with Jesus and Moses we need to go up to the mountain of the Lord, the house of God, the house of the God of Jacob. Please understand that there is a made up mind in these prophecies, … Come, and let us go up. Do we discuss going to camp with someone and allow the enemy to give us reasons why not? Or do we approach them with a made up mind and encourage them to come with us?
This mountain is the place of receiving, the place of instruction in His ways, the place of hearing of His paths for you. God has told us that He created our lives and our paths, and exhorted us to walk therein, and walk as His Son, Jesus Christ. We must have spiritually seeing eyes and hearing ears to receive His direction. But we are exhorted in I Corinthians 6:19, II Corinthians 6:16, and Hebrews 3:6 that we are the temple or house of God! God wants to establish us, His house, in the top of the mountains! That is also the spiritual parallel of the physical word spoken by a third prophet, Haggai;
Haggai 1:7, 8 Thus saith the Lord of hosts; Consider your ways. Go up to the mountain, and bring wood, and build the house; and I will take pleasure in it, and I will be glorified, saith the Lord.
After Cyrus, under the call and anointing of God, had sent the children of Israel back to rebuild the temple, the enemy had hindered the work. The prophet Haggai is led to tell the people why they are not blessed; they had left off building the house of God. Consider your ways: are you missing your spiritual blessings because you are in your own fleshly house and walk, and have stopped building His temple? How can we tell when we are falling short? All have sinned and come short;
Romans 3:23 For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God.
If coming short of the glory of God is our standard, every one of us must repent every day! Reaching that standard is only possible if we are empty of flesh, full of God, and led of the Spirit. The house of this flesh must be destroyed, or your temple will be destroyed;
I Corinthians 3:16, 17 Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you? If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy; for the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are.
In the physical, the wealth of the children was deteriorating because they had not built His temple. This is true in the spiritual as well; if we refuse to build the temple, then our house, our health, our wealth, our spiritual well being can be deteriorated; it is only the enduring mercy of God that allows us the time to repent and turn to Him.
In Haggai 2:18, 19 the people were told they would be blessed from the day the foundation of the temple was laid: that is also true if we lay the foundation of our spiritual temple, which must be the Lord Jesus Christ;
I Corinthians 3:11 For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Christ Jesus.
Jesus must be our foundation, and we must build only upon that foundation. Haggai asked the people what the first house had been like;
Haggai 2:3 Who is left among you that saw this house in her first glory? and how do you see it now? is it not in your eyes in comparison of it as nothing?
Realize that the Lord Jesus Christ is the first spiritual house; consider His glory, and realize we are nothing in comparison. We must be seeking to have a temple in that image. That is why we are told that this flesh must die; we cannot build on the foundation of our flesh. All things must become new;
II Corinthians 5:16, 17 Wherefore henceforth know we no man after the flesh: yea, though we have known Christ after the flesh, yet now henceforth know we him no more. Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.
How do we build this temple? Haggai was led to tell us to go up to the mountain; we must go and seek God. But we are also told to bring wood and build, that He might take pleasure in it, and be glorified. The Hebrew word translated wood in Haggai is the same word translated trees in Isaiah 61:3; that we … might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that he might be glorified. Righteousness is the spiritual wood we must go up and bring back from the mountain; Isaiah 64:6 says our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; we cannot build on the righteousness of our flesh, but must bring back and build with the righteousness of God. It is only with these spiritual building materials that God will be glorified. Jesus is described as a righteous Branch;
Jeremiah 23:5, 6 Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that I will raise unto David a righteous Branch, and a King shall reign and prosper, and shall execute judgment and justice in the earth. In his days Judah shall be saved, and Israel shall dwell safely: and this is his name whereby he shall be called, THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS.
Jeremiah 33:15, 16 In those days, and at that time, will I cause the Branch of righteousness to grow up unto David; and he shall execute judgment and righteousness in the land. In those days shall Judah be saved, and Jerusalem shall dwell safely: and this is the name wherewith she shall be called, The Lord our righteousness.
We must build with the righteousness of God to glorify Him, and we will only receive this righteousness by going up to the mountain of God, spiritually seeking His face that He might bring us past our fleshly failures. This is the additional element that is needed that is often ignored from I Chronicles 7:14; it is not just humbling ourselves and praying, but we must seek His face and turn from our wicked ways.
Now let us consider Isaiah 2:2 – 5 and Micah 4:1 – 4 further. While God is judging and rebuking among the people, what can it mean to us today to beat our … swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruninghooks? After all, our spiritual weapon, the sword, is the Word;
Ephesians 6:17 And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God:
Hebrews also compares the Word to a sword;
Hebrews 4:12 For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of the soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.
But please consider in the above verse that each of the things divided by the Word relate to the internal: our struggle with the flesh demands this weapon, for the flesh must be killed, and die daily. A sword or spear are weapons of mass destruction; intended for use against the enemy or our flesh, but how often the church has wielded the word of God as a weapon with the lost, or with members who are experiencing difficulty, to their detriment. A plowshare is also a cutting tool, but it is used to plant; and a pruninghook is a cutting tool or implement used for husbandry or harvest. Isaiah 61:3 also notes that we are the planting of the Lord; God will use us to profit the individuals who are in trials if we will be pliable, and be beaten into an instrument of planting or harvest! We must be humble, obedient, yielded, vessels, hearing and doing as God leads, when we deal with the lost or straying. It has been said – “you don’t have to tell them they are lost and going to hell, they already know it”, love them enough to reach them. God does not desire to destroy men (Ezekiel 33:11, Jeremiah 29:11 – 14), but to plant, establish, prune, or harvest. To confirm this we need only look at the full context of the verses with Isaiah 61:3;
Isaiah 61:1 – 3 THE spirit of the Lord God is upon me; because the Lord hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound; To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all that mourn; To appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that he might be glorified.
This prophecy about Jesus was read by Him, and fulfilled, in Luke 4:17 – 22. Jesus, the Word of God; the root out of dry ground; the vine; the lamb of sacrifice and atonement for our sin; the way, the truth, and the life; our advocate with the Father; in His love and compassion, and for our spiritual blessing, did not destroy, but met all the spiritual need for each and every person. If we are to be conformed to His image we must give up our righteous indignation with the sinner, stop bludgeoning them with our sword or spear, love them to His purpose, and then be an instrument or tool of planting or harvest in His hands. It is only in His image, with Jesus and the kingdom within, that we can fulfill this and glorify Him.
Jesus prayed for Peter; … Satan hath desired to have you that he may sift you as wheat, but I have prayed for thee. That prayer availeth much; pray for the lost, hold them up to God, pray for their protection and deliverance. Admonish your children, but when they are grown revert to love and prayer.