Mountain
Summary
Elevated landforms that feature prominently in biblical history as places of divine revelation, worship, refuge, and prophetic significance.
☩Places of Divine Encounter
God appointed mountains as sacred meeting places. On Mount Horeb, God appeared to Moses in the burning bush and promised: 'When thou hast brought forth the people out of Egypt, ye shall serve God upon this mountain' (Exodus 3:12). Mount Sinai trembled when God descended to give the Law. Elijah encountered God on Horeb in the still small voice (1 Kings 19:11-12).
☩Worship Sites
Abraham offered Isaac on Mount Moriah, later the site of Solomon's Temple (Genesis 22:2; 2 Chronicles 3:1). However, mountains also became sites of idolatrous worship: 'Ye shall utterly destroy all the places, wherein the nations which ye shall possess served their gods, upon the high mountains, and upon the hills' (Deuteronomy 12:2). The high places became Israel's persistent snare (1 Kings 14:23; 2 Kings 17:10).
☩Symbolic Power
Mountains symbolize God's power over creation. They 'melted like wax at the presence of the LORD' (Psalm 97:5). Fire and smoke covered Sinai (Deuteronomy 4:11; 5:23). Deborah sang that 'the mountains melted from before the LORD' (Judges 5:5). Isaiah prayed: 'Oh that thou wouldest rend the heavens, that thou wouldest come down, that the mountains might flow down at thy presence' (Isaiah 64:1). Mountains also symbolize stability: 'His foundation is in the holy mountains' (Psalm 87:1).
☩In Christ's Ministry
Mountains marked crucial moments in Christ's life. He was tempted on a mountain (Matthew 4:8). He preached the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5-7). He was transfigured on a high mountain (Matthew 17:1-8). He taught on the Mount of Olives concerning end times (Matthew 24). He agonized in Gethsemane on Olivet's slopes (Luke 22:39). He ascended from the Mount of Olives (Acts 1:12).
☩Prophetic Significance
Isaiah prophesied: 'In the last days... the mountain of the LORD's house shall be established in the top of the mountains... and all nations shall flow unto it' (Isaiah 2:2). Zechariah foretold: 'His feet shall stand in that day upon the mount of Olives' (Zechariah 14:4). The heavenly Jerusalem descends as God's dwelling with humanity (Revelation 21:10). Mountains that once trembled at God's presence will witness His ultimate triumph.
