"Mountains"

 

“Mountains”

 

During 2022 a New Hampshire friend completed a bucket list item when he scaled the last of the 48 4000’+ peaks in the state. Some years ago a Denver Seminary (my alma mater) professor joined an exclusive fraternity when he finished climbing all 58 14,000’+ mountains in Colorado. By contrast, Briton Hill (near the Alabama border in the Florida Panhandle) is the state’s highest point, rising a majestic 345’ above sea level.

As I imagined the joy these two men experienced when they stood at the summits of these lofty sites which fulfilled their goals I thought about events which took place atop mountains in Scripture. According to the study helps in the Thompson Chain-Reference Bible, which I’ve used as a resource for more than 60 years, there are 23 named peaks in God’s Word. Some we know little about but others were the locale of some of God’s greatest works. A few examples:

*Mount Ararat, where the ark settled as the flood waters receded and from which Noah and his family began repopulating the earth (Genesis 8:4,16-17).

*Mount Moriah, where God told Abraham to sacrifice Isaac then provided a ram (Genesis 22:1-14).

*Mount Sinai, where God met Moses and gave him His Law to pass on to the Israelites (Exodus 19:20; 31:18).

*Mount Carmel, where God showed His power and authority over Baal, the false god Israel worshiped at the behest of Queen Jezebel and its prophets, through His prophet Elijah (1 Kings 18:16-40).

*Mount of Transfiguration (exact identity uncertain but likely Mount Hermon), where Jesus was seen in His glory by Peter, James and John (Matthew 17:1-8).

*Mount of Olives from which our Lord ascended into Heaven (Acts 1:9-12) and to which He’ll return to rule on earth (Zechariah 14:4).

In time my friends had to leave the exhilaration of the mountaintops and return to their lives and responsibilities below. So did Noah who drank too much of the fruit of his labors (Genesis 9:20-21), Abraham whose beloved wife Sarah died not long after (Genesis 23:1-2), Moses who witnessed Israel’s worshiping an idol (Exodus 32:19-20), Elijah who wanted to die (1 Kings 19:1-5) and Jesus who descended to see His disciples’ lack of faith (Mark 9:14-29). Remember that Peter wanted to stay on the mountaintop rather than face the real world (Luke 9:33-36)—we probably would have too—but God had other ideas for him and his companions.

Many of us have had a “mountaintop experience” at a camp, revival meeting or somewhere else. But God didn’t let us stay there—there are no mountaintops without valleys below—He used it to prepare us to serve (“Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord….”—1 Corinthians 15:58, emphasis added). How’s my (and your) follow-through been?

 

Grace and Blessings!

Jim McMillan