Why were the people so afraid when they saw the mountain smoking?

The people had just heard God speak and saw thunder, lightning, a loud trumpet sound, and the mountain covered in smoke. These sights and sounds showed God’s great power and holiness in a way they could feel with their senses. It was not quiet or gentle, but shocking and loud. They knew they were sinful and felt small and exposed before such a God. So they pulled back and stood far away, afraid that if God kept speaking to them like that, they might die.

What did the people mean when they asked Moses to speak with God for them?

When the people said, “Speak thou with us, and we will hear, but let not God speak with us, lest we die,” they were asking for a go-between. They felt they could not bear to hear God’s voice directly with all the thunder, lightning, and trumpet sound. They wanted Moses, a man like them, to receive God’s words and then tell them what God said. By saying this, they were agreeing to listen to Moses as God’s messenger and were accepting the idea of a mediator between themselves and God.

What does it mean that God came to prove them and to put his fear before them?

When Moses says, “God is come to prove you,” he means God is testing them and showing what is in their hearts. God is letting them feel how holy and powerful he is so they see their need to listen and obey. “That his fear may be before your faces, that ye sin not” means God wanted them to have a lasting respect and awe of him, not just a moment of panic. This steady fear is not about terror that drives them away, but a deep sense of his greatness that keeps them from taking sin lightly.

Why does Moses say, “Fear not,” and then speak of God’s fear being before them?

Moses is talking about two different kinds of fear. When he says, “Fear not,” he is calming their panic, the kind of fear that makes them think they will be destroyed like the Egyptians were in the plagues. God had not come to wipe them out. But when he adds that God’s fear should be before their faces, he is speaking of a good fear, a steady respect for God’s holiness and authority. They should stop shaking in terror, yet keep a serious, humble awe of God that leads them to obey and avoid sin.

What does it mean that Moses drew near to the thick darkness where God was?

The thick darkness is the heavy cloud around the mountain where God chose to show his presence. While the people stayed far back, afraid and conscious of their guilt, Moses went toward that dark cloud because God had called him closer. The wording suggests he was helped or brought near, not just going on his own courage. This shows the special role Moses had as the one who went into God’s presence for the people. Through him, the people could still hear from God, even though they could not handle God’s voice directly.

What was happening in the story when the people stood afar off?

Right before this, God himself had spoken the Ten Commandments from the mountain with thunder, lightning, trumpet blasts, and smoke. At first, the people had been eager to come near and see what would happen. But once God spoke in that fearful way, they were overwhelmed. The noise, fire, and smoke made them feel that they could not survive such nearness to a holy God. So they pulled back and stayed at a distance, while Moses remained the one who would go up, meet with God, and bring God’s words down to them.

What does this passage teach about God’s character and our response to him?

This passage shows that God is holy, powerful, and not to be treated lightly. The thunder, lightning, trumpet, and smoke were not for show, but to give the people a clear sense of his greatness. At the same time, God’s purpose was not to crush them but to test them and keep them from sin. Our response should be like what Moses explains: not a fear that runs away from God and expects only destruction, but a steady fear that remembers who God is, respects his commands, and takes obedience to him very seriously.

How can the fear of God described here help someone fight sin today?

The scene at the mountain reminds us that God is not small or casual. When a person remembers that God is this holy and powerful, sin stops looking harmless. The thought that this God sees and judges rightly can check careless words and choices. Moses shows that the right kind of fear does not mean living in constant panic, but walking with a clear sense that God matters more than our desires. Keeping this picture of God in mind can make someone pause before disobeying and choose instead to honor him.

Exod.20.18

Exodus 20:18

KJV

¶ And all the people saw the thunderings, and the lightnings, and the noise of the trumpet, and the mountain smoking: and when the people saw it, they removed, and stood afar off.

Moses Comforts the People

¶ And all the people saw the thunderings, and the lightnings, and the noise of the trumpet, and the mountain smoking: and when the people saw it, they removed, and stood afar off.

And they said unto Moses, Speak thou with us, and we will hear: but let not God speak with us, lest we die.

And Moses said unto the people, Fear not: for God is come to prove you, and that his fear may be before your faces, that ye sin not.

And the people stood afar off, and Moses drew near unto the thick darkness where God was.

Cross References

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