Climb!

by R. Darke, Victoria, B.C. | Category: Fingerpost | Jul 1975

That was the command given by General Wolfe when he came to Canada to conquer Quebec. His attack was to be made unexpectedly from the Heights of Abraham, the scaling of which was a formidable task. "Climb, and keep climbing", Wolfe instructed his men. "I do not know if this will succeed, but we must keep trying". Wolfe's mountain men succeeded in their endeavour, and victory was assured.

God, too, has His mountain men. From Abraham onwards God encouraged His servants to climb mountains. Sometimes this was His plan of preparation in order that crises which lay ahead could be met effectively.

In the Scriptures the mountain is a place of worship (Gen. 12:8); of proving (Gen. 22:1); of blessing (Psalm 133:3); of teaching (Matt. 5:1,2); of choosing (Mark 3:13,14); of revelation (Luke 9:28-36); of commission (Matt. 28:16); and of ascension (Acts 1:6-12).

After Abram entered Canaan he climbed a mountain and pitched his tent between Bethel ("the house of God") and Ai ("ruins"), "And there he builded an altar unto the Lord" (Gen. 12:8). It was to this very spot that Abram returned after his lapse of faith, when he went down into Egypt where troubles pursued him. He must have been glad to leave Egypt. There was no revealed purpose of God in him being there, and it is good to read that he came up out of Egypt, "And he went... unto the place where his tent had been at the beginning, between Bethel and Ai; unto the place of the altar, which he had made there at the first" (Gen. 13:1-4). It is a great encouragement to read of a man returning to the place where he had dealings with God although it demands a mountain climb. Abram, a man of the tent and altar, knew the value of worshipping God and of communion with Him, for himself and his family.

One day Abram would climb the highest of his mountains in order to be tested by God. Mount Moriah would be the place of supreme sacrifice, for there Abram would be asked to offer his darling son Isaac. Abram obeyed, and honouring his obedience God intervened at the crucial moment. True to His Name, Jehovah Jireh, He provided a ram as a substitute for Isaac. This points us to Calvary, yet another mountain, where God would allow His Son to be sacrificed without any divine intervention. Christ would be the Lamb and the Ram.

Unquestionably Moses is the mountain man of Scripture. His climbs would be excelled only by the Lord Jesus. After his flight from Egypt, Moses spent 40 years in the wilderness as a shepherd, a task which was an abomination to the Egyptians (Gen. 46:34). It was while he cared for the flock at Horeb, the mountain of God, that he saw the burning bush. To Moses it was "this great sight". He must have seen many remarkable things in Egypt, but none compared with a bush which burned and was not consumed. "And the angel of the LORD appeared unto him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush... And... God called unto him out of the midst of the bush" (Exod. 3:1-4). Moses would never forget the divine command, "Draw not nigh hither: put off thy shoes from off thy feet, for the place whereon thou standest is holy ground" (3:5). The man who had known his every want and wish answered by servants in Pharaoh's palace, whose shoes would be removed and replaced by the same humble servants, must now take off his own shoes in preparation for getting down to the level of help needed by God's downtrodden people in Egypt.

What he saw on the mountain was an assurance that Israel would pass through fiery trials, but would be preserved by God through them all; and what he heard, "I will send thee unto Pharaoh" (3:10), was the beginning of a great work which would culminate in a holy nation being formed for God, and a tabernacle being built for God in the wilderness. It was on another mountain, Sinai, that he would receive God's instructions for this. Although Moses was denied the privilege of leading Israel into the promised land, because of his own misdemeanour, he was permitted to view it from Mount Nebo; but better still he was allowed into the land in somewhat startling fashion when he appeared on yet another mount, the holy mount, as Peter described it, or the mount of Transfiguration. There he stood with Elijah and the Lord Jesus, an unforgettable scene witnessed by Peter, James and John (Luke 9:28-36), nevertheless a scene which was a fitting conclusion for a man who so often dwelt on the mountain with God.

R. Darke, Victoria, B.C. | Jul 1975
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