OLD TESTAMENT TEXTS

This Sunday is a celebration of the Transfiguration. The Old Testament texts provide two perspectives on the presence of God in our midst. Exodus 24:12-18 describes the descent of God in the form of fire to the top of Mount Sinai in order to be with the people of God in worship, while Psalm 2:6-11 celebrates the messianic rule of God throughout this world. Taken together these texts provide commentary on the Transfiguration. (Note that Psalm 2:6-11 is the alternate reading, which is preferred in this commentary to Psalm 99, the preferred response to the lesson.)

Exodus 24:12-18 - "The Presence of God as Fire on the Mountain"
Setting. The setting of Exodus 24:12-18 is Mount Sinai. Israel has been liberated from Egypt by God, they have passed through the water of the Re…