The Bible In Paintings, #33: Mt. Sinai #1 – GOD SHOWS OFF

Bing Images ^ | c. 2000 BC -- c. 90 AD | Father, Son & Holy Spirit

[Hebrews 11:6]

ARE YOU IN A HURRY? I’M NOT, NOR WAS GOD:

After all, He kept Moses on that mountain-top for forty days. Now I’m not going to take anything like forty days in telling the story, obviously; but what I will endeavour* to do is to tell the story completely and unhurriedly. Really, it all just depends upon how much art I can find. As it happens, I found plenty on just the mountain itself, so today I present to you

X
X
GOD SHOWING OFF:
MT. SINAI ON FIRE!

E X O D U S . . 1 9
New International Version, emphases added
Abridged – the complete text is in your Bible

1 On the first day of the third month after the Israelites left Egypt they entered the Desert of Sinai, and Israel camped there in the desert in front of the mountain.

3 Then Moses went up to God, and the Lord called to him from the mountain and said, “This is what you are to tell the people of Israel: 5 ‘Now if you obey me fully and keep my covenant, then out of all nations you will be my treasured possession, a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.’”

8 The people all responded together, “We will do everything the Lord has said.” So Moses brought their answer back to the Lord.

9 The Lord said to Moses, “I am going to come to you in a dense cloud, so that the people will hear me speaking with you and will always put their trust in you.”

10 And the Lord said to Moses, “[T]he third day, the Lord will come down on Mount Sinai in the sight of all the people. 12 Put limits for the people around the mountain and tell them, ‘Be careful that you do not approach the mountain or touch the foot of it.’”

16 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. 17 Then Moses led the people out of the camp to meet with God, and they stood at the foot of the mountain. 18 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, and the whole mountain trembled violently.

24 The Lord replied, “[B]ring Aaron up with you. But the priests and the people must not force their way through to come up to the Lord, or he will break out against them.”

by BRACHA LAVEE
“Mt. Sinai”

by NAOMI JACOBS
“Smoke on the Mountain”

You may have noticed that a work need not be a masterpiece to make the cut here;
it just needs to tell the story or, frankly, tickle my fancy. Thanks for understanding.

By AVNER MORIAH

I'll take BLUE FLYING SAUCERS for $600, please, Alex.
No, I don't have a clue, either, why this artist modified the painting just above.
Think it's kind of Close Encounters-ish? Who has a phone number for Spielberg or Dreyfuss?
Now, let's return to moving Thru the Bible--I'll take J. VERNON McGEE for $2,000, Alex!

by YORAM RAANAN
“Mount Sinai Aflame at the Giving of the Torah”

Moses' 5 books: Genesis-Exodus-Leviticus-Numbers-Deuteronomy

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* E N D E A V O U R
American fans of the brilliant British detective series Endeavour will be heartened to learn that its seventh season is upon us at last! Look for it on your PBS station on three consecutive Sundays, beginning August 9th. (First, baseball resumes--GO DODGERS!--and now this: God is good! LOL) Between now and then, I'll be gearing up by rewatching Morse, Fred, Win, Reggie and Jim in the first six seasons. Bring back Trulove; and you tell him, Joan!

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Again, here is the Bing page
"GOD ON MT. SINAI IN SMOKE AND FIRE”,
showing various painters' conceptions.
Several are serious works worthy of interest,
by unknown artists except as noted.

Also, here are links to compendia of three masters
who painted Biblical scenes prolifically:

REMBRANDT van RIJN

GUSTAV DORÉ
(241 wood engravings for
La Grande Bible de Tours)

JAMES TISSOT

Finally, here are links to the
PREVIOUS 32 POSTS IN THIS SERIES

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SPECIAL THANKS
to FReeper left that other site,
who allowed God to make her His conduit
for incomparable enthusiasm, encouragement,
education, advice and technical assistance!

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SNEAK PEEK: Next time,

MOSES CLIMBS
MT. SINAI

[Hebrews 11:6]

Post #9: “What took that photo at a distance sufficient to shrink our star to apparent insignificance? Surely not Hubble. Voyager? The specific source of the picture, if you please. “

[Hebrews 11:6]

Obviously the image of “our galaxy” is either an artist’s rendition, or perhaps of a similar spiral galaxy to give an idea of where we sit.

It is absolutely the standard photo of the Andromeda Galaxy, the Milky Way's sister and the only large galaxy anywhere near us, at only two million light-years' distance. The poster's contention that our star the Sun is of insignificant size in that photo, if true, means Hubble did not take it; but it certainly looks like a Hubble image to me. I think he's correct philosophically about our star's apparent insignificance without being correct technically.

[Hebrews 11:6]

I wonder if God created this immense universe as if spreading His arms wide and saying ‘I love you THIS much!’”

ABSOLUTELY! That's exactly why He created as He did, One need look no further for confirmation than Romans 1:19-20: "...what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. 20 For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made..."

However, it is very much worth noting, as I wrote in post #14, "Under the physical laws God chose in creating this (finite) universe, it requires a universe this inconceivably immense in order to yield just this one planet capable of indefinitely supporting advanced life, and here we are."

[jjotto]

It is a Hubble photo of Andromeda.

Here it’s credited:

http://www.sci-news.com/astronomy/science-halo-andromeda-galaxy-02780.html

[jjotto]

Oops!

The photo is actually from the Galaxy Evolution Explorer, not Hubble.

[Hebrews 11:6]

Thanks so much. Whether GALEX or Hubble, our Sun cannot be that insignificant speck that SkyDancer asserted. It would appear in any photo by those telescopes without magnification to be as large as it does to our naked eye, because both telescopes orbit the Earth and remain within a mere 93 million miles of it. He is simply mistaken about that, then, although his point is perfectly valid.

[SkyDancer]

In the relative size of the galaxy our sun is just an insignificant speck amongst all the other stars there and would not stand out.

[Hebrews 11:6]

Of course--it is just one of the Milky Way's 100,000,000,000+ stars. My point was simply that most definitely "we're NOT about an inch up and an inch to the right of the bright star in the lower left hand corner. One of those little orange stars is NOT our sun." Our sun appears that insignificant from the proper distance, but the camera that took that image orbits earth and our sun would appear to it to be immense.

Your point as to our relative insignificance is well-made, but your visual example is factually incorrect. I don't care, but if you present it to others the error may cause them to reject your point.

[Hebrews 11:6]

If you simply do an internet search for "Andromeda Galaxy," you get a dizzying array of photos, all very similar to yours because all were taken from roughly the same location: at the earth's surface or in near-earth orbit. From that distance our sun cannot appear as a "little orange star." Whoever or whatever told you it can is mistaken.

[Hebrews 11:6]

It couldn’t have been Hubble, because the images in that composite photo have round borders, whereas Hubble’s have that peculiar “stepped-L” shape.

[jjotto]

It’s a GALEX UV photo.

The story linked above was that Hubble revealed a ‘gaseous halo’ around Andromeda.

[Hebrews 11:6]

wonder if God created this immense universe as if spreading His arms wide and saying ‘I love you THIS much!’”

Was doing my daily Bible reading and came across this in 1 Chronicles 16

the Lord made the heavens. 27 Splendor and majesty are before him; strength and joy are in his dwelling place. 28 Ascribe to the Lord, all you families of nations, ascribe to the Lord glory and strength. 29 Ascribe to the Lord the glory due his name; bring an offering and come before him. Worship the Lord in the splendor of his holiness. 30 Tremble before him, all the earth! The world is firmly established; it cannot be moved. 31 Let the heavens rejoice, let the earth be glad; let them say among the nations, “The Lord reigns!” 32 Let the sea resound, and all that is in it; let the fields be jubilant, and everything in them! 33 Let the trees of the forest sing, let them sing for joy before the Lord, for he comes to judge the earth. 34 Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his love endures forever. 35 Cry out, “Save us, God our Savior; gather us and deliver us from the nations, that we may give thanks to your holy name, and glory in your praise.” 36 Praise be to the Lord, the God of Israel, from everlasting to everlasting. Then all the people said “Amen” and “Praise the Lord.”

[Hebrews 11:6]

Every galaxy has a (visually undetectable) dark matter halo along with enormous clouds of gas, but a gas halo is new to me. A Filimentary And Reactionary Taurus—F.A.R.T.?

[sgt_lau]

Of course it was rhetorical.

[Hebrews 11:6]

Just double-checking, since we don't have a tag. I'm certainly with you. Imagine how they felt. We'll actually be able to hear some of them describe it. Would be fun to hear Jesus' account of it, too.