A Close Call For Israel

God had Moses gather them at the mount,
Sinai's foot in the desert, when they went free;
He wanted them hear a first-hand account
Of what He wanted Israel to be!
The ground trembled; thunder rolled; lightning flashed;
People screamed. shrank away; covered their eyes;
They scrambled to safety, as boulders crashed;
Moses stood alone, behind, to his surprise!
So he climbed atop, by himself with God,
Hidden from view of the people below;
He was gone so long, Aaron thought it odd,
Cast a golden calf, a new god to show!
God grew angry enough to kill them all,
But He heeded Moses for mercy call!

"After Moses had gone down the mountain to the people, he consecrated them, and they washed their clothes. Then he said to the people, 'Preoare yourselves for the third day. Abstain from sexual relations.' On the morning of the third day there was thunder and lightning, with a thick cloud over the mountain and a very loud trumpet blast. Everyone in the camp trembled. Then Moses led the people out of the camp to meet with God, and they stood at the foot of the mountain. Mount Sinai was covered with smoke, because the Lord descended on it in fire. The smoke billowed up from it like smoke from a furnace, the whole mountain trembled violently, and the sound of the trumpet grew louder and louder. Then Moses spoke and the voice of God answered him." (Exadus 19:14-18)

"When the people saw the thunder and lightning and heard the trumpet and saw the mountain in smoke, they trembled with fear. They stayed at a distance and said to Moses, 'Speak to us yourself and we will listen. But do not have God speak to us or we will die.' Moses said to the people, 'Do not be afraid. God has come to test you, so that the fear of God will keep you from sinning.'" (Exodus 20:18-20)

"The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet [Jesus] like me [Moses] from among your own brothers. You must listen to him. For this is what you asked of the Lord your God at Horeb [Sinai] on the day of your assembly when you said, 'Let us not hear the voice of the Lord our God nor see this great fire anymore, or we will die.' The Lord said to me [Moses] 'what they say is good. I will raise up for them a prophet like you from among their brothers; I will put my words in his mouth, and he will tell them everything I command him. If anyone does not listen to my words that the prophet speaks in my name, I myself will call him to account. But a prophet who presumes to speak in my name anything I have not commanded him to say, or a prophet who speaks in the name of other gods must be put to death.'" (Deuteronomy 18:15-20) [Brackets added]

Moses was the first and greatest prophet to Israel, except Jesus, and this prophecy foretells the coming of Jesus. Unfortunately, their fear of hearing directly from God resulted in His speaking to them entirely by prophets; since they didn't heed God's warning that anyone who failed to listen and obey the words of His prophet would die (which is what 'holding them to account' means), many Jews down through history have 'died' (which in Biblical language means 'condemnation to hell').

A descendant of Ishmael in 610-632 A.D. named Mohammad capitalized on the Deuteronomy prophecy by naming himself the "prophet" spoken of, and recited what he called the "Third Testament" of the Bible, or the Qu'ran, which became the "holy" book of Islam. By distortion, deception, and delusion, Islam's "God" has become confused with our Jehovah, and 1.5 billion Muslims follow a counterfeit religion that will result in their condemnation to hell on Judgment Day. Perhaps this would not have happened had the Israelites been brave enough to stand at the foot of Sinai and listen directly to the voice of God that day in the desert.