Believe אָמַן

We are in chapter nineteen of Exodus with our word for today. אָמַן wearing, prove to be firm, reliable, faithful, believe, confirm, support, to have faith, put one’s trust in something or someone. It is used 96 times in the Old Testament. We have looked at our word before applied to God as the object. Today we will look at the sense of it being applied to God’s messenger as the object. This is what we see in our chapter today. Exodus 19:9 And the Lord said to Moses, “Behold, I am coming to you in a thick cloud, that the people may hear when I speak with you, וְגַם־בְּךָ֖ יַאֲמִ֣ינוּ and may also believe you forever.” Did you see that? Our word was used before to identify God as the one to believe in now God is saying that people may also believe in Moses. So how is God going to accomplish this? Let’s look at our context. God says in the verse we just looked at that he was going to come in a thick cloud. And that people would hear his voice speaking to Moses. Then we have all of this. Exodus 19:11, 18-20 For on the third day the Lord will come down on Mount Sinai in the sight of all the people… Now Mount Sinai was wrapped in smoke because the Lord had descended on it in fire. The smoke of it went up like the smoke of a kiln, and the whole mountain trembled greatly. And as the sound of the trumpet grew louder and louder, Moses spoke, and God answered him in thunder. The Lord came down on Mount Sinai, to the top of the mountain. And the Lord called Moses to the top of the mountain, and Moses went up. Wow that is a lot to take in. So we have God coming down with smoke, fire, earthquake that shook the mountain, trumpet blasts that increased in volume, and God answering Moses in thunder. And we can’t forget the lightnings referenced back in verse 16. This is what you call overwhelming evidence. Sometimes God makes himself known in over the top obvious ways like on this day. God always gives us evidence to believe in him and in this case to believe in his messengers. This reminds me of another messenger like Moses who is also God himself. Jesus came with all kinds of evidence that pointed people to himself as the Son of God and God the Father. John specifically points this out as the purpose of his gospel. John 20:30 Jesus performed many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not recorded in this book. But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name. Did you notice that John points to the miracles as evidence that Jesus is God the one who we are to believe in. The Holy Spirit also makes this same point through Luke in the book of Acts. Acts 2:22 Fellow Israelites, listen to this: Jesus of Nazareth was a man accredited by God to you by miracles, wonders and signs, which God did among you through him, as you yourselves know.  Then he brings up the best miracle of all the resurrection. Acts 2:24 But God raised him from the dead, freeing him from the agony of death, because it was impossible for death to keep its hold on him. This is one of the great things about our God he gives us more than enough evidence to believe in him and his plan communicated through his messengers. This is Paul’s point in appealing to King Agrippa after he accused him of being crazy. Acts 26:25-29 “What I am saying is true and reasonable. The king is familiar with these things, and I can speak freely to him. I am convinced that none of this has escaped his notice, because it was not done in a corner. King Agrippa, do you believe the prophets? I know you do.” I’ll close with this great psalm where David trusts in God and God’s plan even while his enemies are against him. Psalm 27:13-14 הֶ֭אֱמַנְתִּיI believe that I shall look upon the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living! Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord.