Exodus chapter 34. And our text for this morning is the verse 28. Verse 28, Exodus 34. And he was there with the Lord 40 days and 40 nights. He did neither eat bread nor drink water. And he wrote upon the tables the words of the covenant, the 10 commandments. We might read on to verse 29. And it came to pass when Moses came down from the Mount Sinai with the two tables of testimony in Moses' hand, when he came down from the Mount, that Moses wished not that the skin of his face shone while He talked with him. While he talked with God, his face did shine, reflecting the glory of God in his face. For a second time, Moses climbs Mount Sinai to spend another 40 days and 40 nights in the presence of the Lord God Jehovah. And it was while he was there that Moses received once again a copy of the Ten Commandments written by the finger of God on the two tables of stone which Moses had brought with him as he went up into the mount. You look there at the first verse of the chapter 34. The Lord said unto Moses, you 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 thy breakest. Yeah, Moses may have broken the first tables of stone when he come down the mount after spending those 40 days and 40 nights in God's presence and seeing there in the camp, the children of Israel committing idolatry. And when Moses saw it, he waxed hot in anger and he broke the two tables of stone. But God did not hold that against Moses. But he certainly did have words to say about the children of Israel. Moses may have broken the tables of stone, but the children of Israel had broken what was written on the tables of stone. They had hewn on to themselves and made themselves idols. and gods and worshipped them and gave glory to those man-made idols as those that had brought Israel out of Egypt. The children of Israel suffered severely for their sin of idolatry. The judgment of God came upon the camp, and the Lord told the sons of Levi to go in and out, and to slay the idolaters. And we're told in Exodus 32 verse 28, there fell of the people that day about 3,000 men. We are reminded once again, of the words of the Apostle Paul. Remember what Paul said? Be not deceived. Be not deceived. God is not mocked. Whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. Whatever he sows, that's what he will reap. Galatians 6 and verse 7. The children of Israel had sown in idolatry, and they had reaped in death. And 3,000 men fell there in the wilderness at the foot of Sinai. Now Moses was gone up from them once again, and once again for another 40 days and 40 nights. We wonder would the children of Israel have learned their lesson? Or would they return once more to their own ways? Would they return again to making idols and worshipping them in the absence of Moses? Well, it was a different reception that Moses was given when he descended Mount Sinai. Very different. And indeed Moses himself, in appearance, was a different man. After the first 40 days, we're told Moses came down the mountain, he saw the calf and the dancing, and Moses' anger waxed hot. Chapter 32, verse 19. But this time, while the first time he had the appearance of anger upon his face, his anger waxed hot, this time Moses descends the mount and comes before the camp of Israel, and we're told, behold, the skin of his face shone. Verse 30. The skin of his face shone. After all, he had been 40 days and 40 nights in God's presence, speaking to the Lord Jehovah, saw something of his glory. And when Moses came down the mount, he reflected that glory in his countenance. reflecting the glory of God. I want, first of all, to consider this morning Moses on the Mount with God. Moses on the Mount with God. For a second time, Moses spent 40 days and 40 nights on Mount Sinai with the Lord. I want you to notice the call. The Lord had called to Moses to come up the mount and be with him. If you look there at verses two and three of the chapter 34, the Lord speaking to Moses said, be ready in the morning and come up in the morning onto Mount Sinai and present thyself there to me in the top of the mount and no man shall come up with thee. Neither let any man be seen throughout all the mount, neither let the flocks nor herds feed before that mount. So there's the call of God to Moses. God said, be ready in the morning to come up in the morning onto Mount Sinai. Present thyself before me. There's the call of God to Moses. So Moses was going up the mount to meet with God once again. And then following the Lord's instructions, what he was to do, said, be ready in the morning. There we see that Moses, first of all, prepared himself. God said, be ready in the morning. And so Moses had to make preparation to going up mount and to meet with God. So he prepared himself. Well, he was going to meet with the Lord Jehovah. And of course you would expect him to prepare himself for that meeting. Be ready in the morning. That means God was telling Moses, you need to prepare yourself. I want you to prepare for meeting with me in the morning. So God expected Moses to be ready to meet with him. And he was to make preparation to meet with God. You know, the same truth applies to us. Here we are the Sabbath morning in the Lord's house. And we go up to the Lord's house every Saturday. What for? To meet with God. We want to meet with the Lord around his word. We want to meet with the Lord and be in his presence. Because when the two or three are gathered together in the Lord's name, the Lord says, there am I in the midst of them. And we're gathered today in the Lord's name. And that tells me the Lord's here. We're in the Lord's presence. And each time we go up to the Lord's house, it is to enter into God's presence. So what do we do? As we go up to the Lord's house, we make preparation. We prepare ourselves to meet with God. It's not just a matter of making preparation to go up into a building of bricks and mortar. We're coming here each Lord's day to meet with God. And the Lord tells us, Be ready, be prepared to meet with me. So what preparation are we to make? Well, surely we need to prepare our hearts. Did we prepare our hearts this morning before we came to God's house? Did we make that preparation? David, or we are told in the Scriptures, prepare your hearts unto the Lord. Words of Samuel to Israel, prepare your hearts unto the Lord, 1 Samuel 7 and 3. So we need our hearts ready and prepared to receive the word, need their hearts ready and prepared to meet with God. Ought we not also to make sure that we are like the Apostle John on the Isle of Potmos? What does it say of him? He was in the spirit on the Lord's day. I think those are wonderful words when you think of the circumstances. There's John alone in a barren island, the Isle of Potmos. He's not with anyone. He's not in a company of believers. There's no temple there. There's no place of worship there. But still, we find that John recognized it was the Lord's day. And we're told that he was in the spirit on the Lord's day. He was in the spirit of worship. And as we know, when he was in the spirit on the Lord's day, he met with the Lord. He wasn't disappointed. And so for us to make preparation like Moses, Moses prepared himself to meet with Jehovah. Likewise, we ought to prepare ourselves to meet with the Lord on the Lord's day morning, to have our hearts ready, made ready by the Lord himself, prepared to praise the Lord, prepared to pray unto the Lord, prepared to give ear to the preaching, of the word of the Lord. I'll tell you something. The better spiritually prepared we are, when we go to the Lord's house to meet with God, the better prepared we are, the more blessing we will receive from the service. Because we'll be meeting with the Lord and we know he's no disappointment. So upon receiving the call to come up the mount, we're told Moses prepared himself, be ready in the morning. Not only did he prepare himself, but he presented himself to the Lord. Look again at the verse two. God said, be ready in the morning and come up in the morning unto Mount Sinai, and present thyself there to me." That was the clear direction given by God to Moses. Present thyself there to me. He was to present himself to the Lord and wait to hear what the Lord had to say to him, what instruction he was going to receive from the Lord, what word he was going to receive from God, present himself to God and wait to hear what God was going to say. Likewise, in our worship services, We also are to present ourselves to the Lord, be in a state of readiness. To say with one of old, and as we present ourselves to the Lord, say, Lord, speak. For thy servant heareth. I'm waiting. I'm listening. Lord, for what thou? and say unto me. Present ourselves to God and say, Lord, what will thou have me to do? Whatever thou dost say unto me today, whatever instruction, Lord, that thou dost give me, as I live the Christian life, Lord, I'm ready to do it. What will thou have me to do as a Christian? presenting ourselves to God, ready to do his bidding, is what the Lord commands. Ready to accept and to obey the Lord's word. That's basically what God told Moses. Be ready in the morning and come up and present yourself to me. There's the clear words of the Lord. Likewise, as we enter the Lord's house and come together to worship God, we prepare to worship Him. We come and we present ourselves to Him. But then we notice also, He preceded Himself. So He prepared Himself. He presented Himself. And then he proceeded up that mount to meet with God, and he did so himself. We're told there in the verse 3, he was to go up and present himself to the Lord on the top of the mount. And then verse 3, and no man shall come up with thee. Neither let any man be seen throughout all the mount. Neither let the flocks nor herds feed before that mount. And so it was just Moses and the Lord. He was to leave the children of Israel, there was to be no man go up that mount. Neither let the flocks nor herds feed before the Mount, just Moses and the Lord. There was nothing to be on that Mount, Mount Sinai, that would prove to be a distraction. There were to be no distractions. You get that whole sense in those two verses, two and three. Be ready in the morning. Come up in the morning onto Mount Sinai and present thyself to me. And no man shall come up with thee. Nobody. Neither let the flocks nor herds feed before that Mount. So just God and Moses. no distractions. And there's something that we can apply and take to heart when we gather together to meet God and spend some time with Him and His presence. We ought not to allow anything to distract us so that we are completely focused on God in this world and our worship of him, the whole time we're here, no distractions. We know how easy we can be distracted. We're sitting in God's eyes, but I have so many things to do tomorrow. How am I going to get those things done? Or we think about what we did yesterday. And we have all these things going through our mind, and before we know it, the meeting's over, and we've hardly met with God. There was nothing to be in that mount that would distract Moses in meeting with God. Thoughts about what we need to do, plans for tomorrow and such things, were to leave them all at the foot of the mountain, as it were. The Savior said in John 4, verse 23, true worshipers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth. For the Father seeketh such to worship him. That's how God wants us to worship him, in spirit, and in truth. So we are not to bring with us those thoughts, those things that would distract us. When we come to worship God, we come into his presence. We don't want our minds filled with those things of time and sense. We want to meet with God. And we can see the clear direction given here to Moses by God himself. You notice something else. How that when God called Moses up the mount, we see that with great eagerness, Moses responded to the call of God. Look at verse four. And he hewed two tables of stone, like unto the first. And Moses rose up early in the morning, and went up unto Mount Sinai, as the Lord had commanded him, and took in his hands the two tables of stone. Be ready in the morning. And verse 4 says, And he hewed the two tables of stone like unto the first, and Moses rose up early in the morning. Speaks to me of his eagerness to be there in God's presence. That's what lay ahead of him. He was going to meet with God. And he rose up early in the morning. It's as if he couldn't wait to get there. Rose up early in the morning. There was not only an eagerness to obey the Lord's precept, but there was an eagerness to be in the Lord's presence. He eagerly obeyed God's word. And he also showed a great eagerness to be in the Lord's presence. Was it any wonder then that when Moses descended the mount, his face shone. His face did shine. When we see how he prepared himself and presented himself and came before God, proceeded there No distractions. Completely taken up with God. And when he came down the mount, his face was shining. We've considered the call to Moses. Next I want to look at the company. That is the company that Moses was in. You will notice when Moses was called by God to go up the mount again, God didn't tell him how long he was going to be there. There's no mention of time. God just told him to come up the mount in the morning. Moses, as we know, had already spent 40 days and 40 nights. And I wonder, did Moses think, am I going to be up the mountain again for another 40 days? There's no mention of time. God just simply said, come up in the morning and present thyself before me. And you see Moses being called up, knowing he'd been there 40 days before, and he's called up into the mount. And there's no reluctance on his part to go. Not as if Moses said, oh, not another 40 days and 40 nights on the mountain. Not a hint of that. As we've already seen, he looked forward to getting up the mount. He looked forward to being in the Lord's presence as if he couldn't wait to get there. And it didn't matter to Moses how long he would be there. He was going to meet with God. Now, of course, there was a very good reason why there was no reluctance on the part of Moses, why there was no hesitancy. Why there was no casual approach to meeting, to going up the mountain. Why? Because he's going to meet with God, that's why. That overruled everything else. He knew whose company he was going to be in. Look at the verse 5 of the chapter 34. So Moses has gone up the mount, and we read in verse 5, and the Lord descended in the cloud and stood with him. And those lovely words, and the Lord descended in the cloud and stood with him there. Imagine. God of heaven, descending and standing with his servant, stood with him there and proclaimed the name of the Lord. Mark those words, stood with him there. Now look at verse, go down the chapter to verse 28. We read there in the verse 28 of the chapter 34, And he was there with the Lord. So we find first of all, the Lord came down and stood with Moses. Then we read in the verse 28, and he was there with the Lord. So the Lord was with Moses and Moses was with the Lord. Nothing between. Just the Lord and Moses alone for 40 days and 40 nights. Now you see why Moses with great eagerness made his way up the mountain that morning. God was with Moses and Moses was with God. What a blessed time that must have been. When Moses experienced God being with him. standing beside him, and for Moses to be with God. Many ways, a little bit of heaven upon earth. Just the Lord and Moses. When we go up to the Lord's house, isn't that what we want? Just love to have a little bit of heaven upon earth. Where in the world, the other days of the week, we hear the conversation of the world. We hear the music of the world, the hustle and the bustle of the world. Isn't it just good to come into God's house to meet with God alone and to shut out the world and be alone with God. A little bit of heaven upon earth. And when we really meet with the Lord and fellowship with Him for whatever length of time, we're here. We say with the hymn writer, What will it be to be there? If we have a touch of heaven upon earth, what will it be when we get to heaven? If a blessing is so good now, when we're in God's presence and we enjoy his company, what will it be to be in heaven? He enjoyed the Lord's presence. Remember what the Psalmist said, Psalm 16, verse 11, in thy presence, there is fullness of joy. To be in the Lord's house, to be in the company of our Lord and Savior, Sure, that is what we want. That would be a touch of heaven upon earth. And that's certainly what Moses experienced. Just the Lord and Moses, and just Moses and the Lord. For six weeks, the whole time, with no one else but the Lord. We have considered the call to Moses, the company. That leads us to consider the communion. There was Moses on Mount Sinai, alone with God, no distractions, no disturbances, no duties to perform, just Moses alone with the Lord. What communion? Moses must have experienced and enjoyed with his God. Indeed, it is evident that Moses was completely taken up with the Lord. As far as Moses was concerned, nothing else mattered. He was completely taken up with God. You say, why do I say that? Look at verse 28. And he was there with the Lord forty days and forty nights. He did neither eat bread nor drink water. And he wrote upon the tables the words of the covenant, the ten commandments. Does that not indicate to us that Moses was completely taken up with God? He did neither eat bread nor drink water. And you see, whenever you're in God's presence and taken up with him, nothing else matters. Job said, in Job 23 and verse 12, that he esteemed the Lord's word above his necessary food. And there's Moses, and there's just the Lord and him, nobody else. For six weeks, 40 days and 40 nights, And he's just completely taken up with God. Oh, to be in that place where we're completely taken up and enthralled with the Lord in his presence. We talked about the communion. Remember how Moses and the Lord spoke with one another. In Exodus 33 and 11, And the Lord spake unto Moses face to face, As a man speaketh unto his friend. What a lovely description. And the Lord spake unto Moses face to face, as a man speaketh unto his friend. Moses, God was saying, Moses, you're my friend. That brings it right down, doesn't it? Here's God coming down and standing with his friend. We've noted that. God descended and stood. with him. God came down and stood with his friend. And there in that mound for 40 days and 40 nights, Moses was in the presence of his friend. What a wonderful way to put it. This would show just how close Moses and the Lord were. And this once again shows us that Moses did experience a little bit of heaven upon earth. And you know something? Moses spent time on the Mount with Jehovah. And there was another occasion. when Moses spent time on the Mount with Jehovah, this time in the person of the Lord Jesus Christ. Because you read there in Matthew 17, Matthew 17, After six days, Jesus taketh Peter, James, and John, his brother, and bringeth them up into a high mountain apart, and was transfigured before them, and his face did shine as the sun, and his raiment was white as the light. And behold, there appeared unto them Moses and Elias, talking with him. And so there you have, as it were, a repeat of what we have in Exodus 34. There's Moses and he's up the mountain and he's talking with God. They spoke to one another as friends speaks to friends, face to face. And here we read in Matthew 17, and behold there appeared unto them Moses and Elijah talking with him. Moses knew what it was to be on the mountaintop with God. And we find Moses on the mountaintop with God. both in the Old Testament and here in the New. Christ, of course, we know is God. And they talked, the Lord Jesus and Moses. They talked about his decease. They talked about his work in Calvary. They are worship services. take us up to higher ground, away from the world, as they say, if it's for an hour, an hour and a half, whatever it may be, just to get away from the world and be on the top of the mount with God and talk with Him and let Him speak to us. When Moses came down the mount after spending that time with God, his face did shine. You know, it couldn't be anything else. It couldn't be any other way. When you spend time with God, it is bound to make a difference. It is bound to change the individual who spends time in God's presence. That person cannot spend time in God's presence and then come out the same way, the same person. There'll be a change. And there was a change at Moses. For When he came down the Mount, Moses wished not that his skin of his face shone while he talked with him. And when Aaron and all the children of Israel saw Moses, behold, the skin of his face shone. And they were afraid to come nigh him. That's what we'll be looking at next week, Lord willing. There's so much in those few verses. And may we also, perhaps not in the same way that Moses' face shone, but we spend time in God's presence. May there be a brightness about our countenance. Have you ever heard that description? of a Christian, you've heard someone say about so-and-so, you know so-and-so's a lovely Christian. Whenever you talk, their face is always shining. It's not just a false smile or anything of that nature, but there is a difference about them. Because there are people you know that spend time with God. And their face is beaming. The face is always shining. And it came to pass when Moses came down from the Mount Sinai with the two tables of testimony in Moses' hand, when he came down from the Mount, that Moses wished not that the skin of his face shone while he talked with him, reflecting. the glory of God. Just the Lord will bless this morning's word to your heart. We'll take up that study, Lord willing, next Sabbath morning. Let's bow our heads in prayer. O dear Lord, we thank Thee for the example that this man Moses sets for us. What a time that must have been for thy servant to be 40 days and 40 nights in the Lord's presence. No distractions, no disturbances, just Moses and the Lord. Lord, give us a desire to spend time, more time, in the presence of our God. Lord, take this word. Write it with thine own finger, as it were, upon the fleshly tibbles of our hearts. That our Lord, even today, will meditate upon it. And that our prayer will be, Lord, make me more like Moses, yea, Make me more like Christ. Lord, be with us now as we part the one from the other. Keep thy hand upon us, O Lord, throughout this week. In our going out and coming in, our down-sitting and our uprising. Protect our families. And Lord, now be with us as we part the one from the other. May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit abide and remain with us now and forevermore. Amen.