The Eight Ascensions of Moses up Mt. Sinai:

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cv5

Well-known member
Nov 20, 2018
23,772
8,613
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#1
A superb high resolution treatment of the facts here.....

https://bible.ca/archeology/bible-archeology-exodus-route-travel-times-distances-days.htm

  1. 1st Ascension: Tuesday Sivan 2, Day 48 from Goshen: Ex 19:3-8
    1. Moses Ascends Mt. Sinai and returns with oath for people to obey the Law soon to be revealed.
    2. Moses returns to the camp and asks the people if they will keep the law soon to be revealed. The people reply yes.
  2. 2nd Ascension: Friday Sivan 4, Day 50: Ex 19:7-14
    1. Moses ascends Mt. Sinai to give God the people's "yes" answer. God says to be ready on the third day (Sunday Sivan 7, day 53 from Goshen) when he will descend on the Mountain in fire: Ex 19:7-14. The people are told to walk to the base of the mountain from their camp and be ready for God's coming. God tells Moses to set up boundaries around the mountain so the people cannot break through, climb the mountain and die.
    2. The third day= Friday to Sunday: There is a direct triple correspondence between the Sinai, the Triumphal entry and the crucifixion since all were periods of three days between Friday and Sunday: Luke 13:32.
    3. As the Israelites waited as instructed the third day, for God to descend on Mt. Sinai, they suddenly looked due north 100 km and saw God in the wilderness of Paran. God "dawns from Seir" like a sunrise in its glory, until He is hovering directly over Mt. Sinai. The Israelites watched in wonder and were amazed at the beauty and splendor of God as He came closer and closer to them where they stood. One of the most interesting facts about the Wilderness of Paran, is its connection with God's appearing at Mt. Sinai. When Israel was encamped at the foot of Mt. Sinai (Mt. Al-Lawz), God thundered, in a volcanic level display that terrified the Israelites. But three verses explicitly tell us that God dawned from the north like a sunrise, or like Elijah's small cloud the size of a man's fist in the distance that became a storm (1 Kings 18:44). God dawned from Mt. Seir until he came to Mt. Sinai and made the mountain turn to fire before Israel. They were terrified. The four key verses that describe "dawning from the north" are: Deut 33:2; Isa 63:1-2; Judg 5:4; Hab 3:3-7. 40 years later, when Israel was at Mt. Seir, God gave the "go ahead" to finally start their way to the promised land by the command, "Now turn North". In fact Mount Seir is absolute due south of Jerusalem and absolute due north of Mt. Sinai in modern Saudi Arabia. There are several passages that repeat this pattern of God coming "from the North". Most notably is Ezekiel's vision where God came from a distant storm in the North finally to overshadow him. (Ezekiel 1:4) Job describes God as coming from the North in golden splendor. (Job 37:22-23) Lucifer, the king of Babylon describes God's throne as being in the far north. (Isaiah 14:13-14) Psalm 48:1-2 describes Jerusalem as being located in the "far north". Further detailed study.
  1. 3rd Ascension: Pentecost Sunday, Sivan 7, Day 53: Ex 20:18-25; 20:1-26
  • a. God descends on Mt. Sinai in fire and He calls Moses to climb the mountain. Ex 19:20
  • b. Moses hears the Ten Commandments and other laws including building altars.
  • c. God tells Moses to go back down and warn the people again to stay away from the mountain so they will not die, then come up again (4th) with Aaron. Ex 19:21
  1. 4th Ascension: Ex 19:24, Sivan 9, Day 55
  • a. Moses ascends with Aaron only where Ten Commandments and other laws are repeated for Aaron who hears the Ten Commandments and various other laws found in Exodus chapters 20-23
  • b. Moses and Aaron. God tells Moses to descend and return with Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, and 70 elders of Israel. Moses goes back down and tells the people what God has said. Deut 24:1-3
  • c. Moses descends and writes down the words in the Book of the Law, which will eventually be placed on the side of the ark. Ex 24:1-4
  • d. Moses builds an alter with 12 pillars at the foot of the mountain for the twelve tribes. He then sprinkles the alter with blood. Ex 24:4-6
  • e. Moses read the book of the law to the people and after they agreed, he sprinkled the people with blood of the covenant. Ex 24:7-8
  1. 5th Ascension: Ex 24:1; 9-11 Sivan 11, day 57
    1. Moses now returns to the mountain with Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, and 70 elders of Israel. After seeing God and eating the group descend to the foot of the mountain. Ex 24:9-11
  2. 6th Ascension: Sunday Sivan 14, day 60-99: Ex 24:12-18
    1. Moses begins 40 days on the Mountain and receives two tables of stone:
    1. Day 60-99 inclusive counting equals 40 days ending on day 99 after leaving Egypt
    2. God calls Moses up with Joshua to the mountain to receive the two tablets of stone with the ten commandments written by the finger of God. Ex 24:12
    3. Moses spends 40 days on the mountain (6th) where God reveals the plan for the tabernacle. Exodus chapters 25-31
    4. After 40 days, Aaron makes the golden calf as Moses was on the mountain for 40 days. In one of the most fascinating interaction between a man and God in the Bible, God tells Moses He will kill all the Hebrews who sinned and make Moses into a great nation. Moses pleads for the people. Then God changes his mind and says he won't kill them. Moses physically throws 10 commandments at the people who had made the golden calf, rebukes Aaron. Moses grinds up the golden calf and makes them drink the gold dust. Then Moses commanded the Levites to kill about 3000 of the idol worshippers. Ex 32:7-29
  1. 7th Ascension: Day 100 from leaving Goshen: Ex 32:30-33:23
    1. The next day, Moses climbed Mt. Sinai (7th). God tells Moses is to take them into the promised land with God's angel as protection, but God himself will not go with them. Moses goes down the mountain. God strikes down a number of the Hebrews who sinned. Ex 32:30-35
    2. When the people hear that God's angel will lead them but God himself will not go with them, the people get sad and they remove all their jewelry. Ex 33:2-6
    3. Moses continues to plead with God for the people and says, "I pray You, show me Your glory!" God says He will show Moses his Glory on the Mountain. Ex 33:18-23
  1. 8th Ascension: Days 102 - 141 days from Goshen (40 days inclusive): Ex 34:1-9; 2 Cor 3.
    1. God tells Moses to cut out two replacement tablets and God calls Moses back up to Mt. Sinai (8th), where God passes by while Moses was in the cleft of the rock.
    2. Again Moses asks God to join them on the journey to the promised land. God changes his mind finally and tells Moses he will lead them to the promised land.
    3. Moses spends forty more days on the mountain, then returns.
    4. God said he would perform new miracles and Moses face is shining in view of the people so he puts a veil over his face. Ex 34:1-9; 2 Cor 3.
 

SilverFox7

Well-known member
Dec 24, 2022
698
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63
Grand Rapids, Michigan
#2
  1. 6th Ascension: Sunday Sivan 14, day 60-99: Ex 24:12-18

    1. Moses begins 40 days on the Mountain and receives two tables of stone:
    1. Day 60-99 inclusive counting equals 40 days ending on day 99 after leaving Egypt
    2. God calls Moses up with Joshua to the mountain to receive the two tablets of stone with the ten commandments written by the finger of God. Ex 24:12
    3. Moses spends 40 days on the mountain (6th) where God reveals the plan for the tabernacle. Exodus chapters 25-31
    4. After 40 days, Aaron makes the golden calf as Moses was on the mountain for 40 days. In one of the most fascinating interaction between a man and God in the Bible, God tells Moses He will kill all the Hebrews who sinned and make Moses into a great nation. Moses pleads for the people. Then God changes his mind and says he won't kill them. Moses physically throws 10 commandments at the people who had made the golden calf, rebukes Aaron. Moses grinds up the golden calf and makes them drink the gold dust. Then Moses commanded the Levites to kill about 3000 of the idol worshippers. Ex 32:7-29
It's hard to comprehend how messed up the Hebrews were after a few centuries of slavery in Egypt. After witnessing the glory of God coming from the north and descending on Mt. Sinai (great depiction from this author), it was only a short time after this that they began complaining about Moses' absence, reverted back to the idolatry they learned in Egypt, and threw a huge party.

Moses is a type of Jesus. He interceded for the people and saved the nation from extinction like Jesus has done for us, and Moses spent 40 days on the mountain--the Hebrews couldn't resist the temptations they faced while Moses was up there. In contrast, Jesus spent 40 days in the wilderness facing Satan's best temptations, yet He resisted and prevailed by the power of God.

The rebellion at Sinai is just the beginning of woes for the Hebrews during their 40 years in the wilderness. God gives them sound-minded reasonable instructions, and they either ignored Him or did just the opposite. It shows how powerless human nature is at obeying the law of God, especially that generation of Hebrews who were ruined beyond redemption by the harsh slavery in Egypt. It was so bad that Caleb and Joshua were the only surviving members of that generation to enter the Promised Land.

Perhaps Moses should have allowed God to put those folks out of their misery at Sinai and make a great nation through him instead?