1 In the third month, when the children of Israel were gone forth out of the land of Egypt, the same day came they into the wilderness of Sinai.

2 For they were departed from Rephidim, and were come to the desert of Sinai, and had pitched in the wilderness; and there Israel camped before the mount.

Moses had received his vision of the burning bush and prophetic calling in Mount Horeb. He had been told at that time to remove his shoes “for the place whereon thou standest is holy ground.” Now, after having fulfilled the first part of his divine calling: leading Israel out of captivity, he came again to the foot of a mountain.

This mountain, Mount Sinai, would be yet another holy mountain. As we will soon read, Moses would ascend into it while Israel camped at its feet, and Moses would receive all the law of the Lord at its summit. Surely, this was “holy ground” once more.

There are many reasons why the Lord would choose mountains as the place for His presence. They literally draw the gaze heavenward. They stand above the lower things of the earth. Their summit resides in the atmosphere, suspended between heaven and earth. They are a place where the elevated meets the debased.

To ascend into the mountain requires effort and determination. Ascending requires overcoming the constant pull of gravity. It requires leaving behind valleys and rivers and homes, having as one’s sole objective the peak.

Just by their natural, physical structure, mountains remind us of God in many ways, and of our journey towards Him. I, myself, am fortunate to live in a part of the world where I am surrounded by mountains, and I have had some of my most precious spiritual experiences within them.