Scripture often tells us how the physical world literally shakes in the presence of God.
Exodus 20 tells the story of God speaking to the nation of Israel when they were arrayed at the foot of Mount Sinai receiving the ten commandments. The text says, “Now when the people saw the thunder and the flashes of lightning and the sound of the trumpet and the mountain smoking, the people were afraid and trembled.” God’s presence shook the mountain and caused the very elements to smoke.
Isaiah 6 tells us how the very foundations of the temple shook at God’s presence. Much like the people of Israel, Isaiah cried out saying “Woe is me! For I am lost; I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts!”
In the first chapter of Ezekiel, we read about his vision of God descending upon the earth in a great cloud with a great wind preceding him while fire and lightning continually flashed around him as he proceeded along the face of the earth. Ezekiel’s response, much like the Israelites and Isaiah, was to fall on his face because he had seen the Lord’s presence on earth.
Daniel tells us when he saw God take his place on the throne flames jumped from the Lord’s presence and steam and smoke filled the space around him. Like those before him, Daniel chronicled how the presence of God causes all to tremble before him. In fact, Jesus used this very description in the Gospels to tell us that the son of man would come in great power and glory on the clouds of heaven bringing judgment to the earth.
We would be remiss in this quick survey if we didn’t mention John’s Revelation and how he explains that the presence of God brings with it flashes of lightning, rumblings, peals of thunder, and earthquakes. All who find themselves in God’s presence fall down and break out in spontaneous worship. Truly, the presence of God is an awesome and powerful place.
This brings us to Psalm 114 and the next reason the Psalmist tells us to Praise the Lord, but we must not be hasty in our conclusions. Certainly, we are to see that God’s presence causes the sea to flee, the Jordan to stop in its tracks, the mountains to skip, and the hills to jump. We are told how God’s presence causes the earth to tremble and the rocks to turn into water, all of which are reasons for us to praise God for his power. But I think if we only see God’s power as a reason to praise him, we miss other reason for praise.
Judah became his sanctuary.
Israel his dominion.
When God rescued the people of Israel from Egypt, he not only went along with them through the desert as they traveled to the promised land, he made them, the people of Israel, his dwelling place. Let that sink in for a moment. The presence of God chose to live within the nation of his people and as a result, wherever they went he went. And, possibly even more interesting, wherever they went the earth trembled at his presence.
The story of Israel, from one perspective, is the story of how God chose a home on earth within which he could dwell so he might bring his order, grace, and mercy to the rest of the world. It is certainly true that God could have done this without the help of people, but God chose to work through people. In fact, if you read scripture closely, God always chooses to work through people so his work might continue on the face of the earth.
I don’t think it’s a stretch to say that the day of Pentecost, as described in Acts 2 when the disciples waited for the Holy Spirit to come on them, is a New Testament example of this very thing. The room was filled with a mighty rushing wind while tongues of fire descended upon the disciples enabling them to do amazing things as they spread the gospel through Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and the uttermost parts of the earth. I also don’t think it’s a stretch to say that the church – the followers of Christ today – are currently God’s presence on earth.
I wonder if we understand this as well as we should. For my part, when I look back at the way God worked in both the Old and New Testaments, I think about how it must have been to live in the times when God was actively moving on the face of the earth. It must have been amazing to see how the power of his presence caused the earth to tremble, his enemies to fall to the ground, and even the earth itself to break free of its restraints. But I rarely, if ever, think about how God still does those things today. Scripture is full of passages explaining how God’s presence showed up in and through his people so that marvelous things were done, and this, I think hasn’t changed. But I think one thing has changed: we have stopped expecting him to do marvelous things.
Tremble, O earth, at the presence of the Lord,
at the presence of the God of Jacob,
who turns the rock into a pool of water,
the flint into a spring of water.
I wonder what he might do next…
