Why God Meets Us on Mountains
Last week I was on holiday in Scotland and my husband and I went for a hike. The hike we went on took us to the top of what we assumed was a mountain, it looked massive, it’s summit disappearing into the clouds and it was going to take us about 5 hours to climb up and back down. It wasn’t until afterwards that we discovered it was 570 metres high – just 30 metres shy of what’s typically classified as a mountain. But it got me thinking about all the events that take place on top of mountains in the Bible. Here are just a few:
Moses met with God and received the 10 commandments on Mount Sinai (Exodus 19:20).
Elijah hears God’s whisper on Mount Horeb (1 Kings 19:11-13).
Abraham is tested by God and God’s covenant with him is reaffirmed on Mount Moriah (Gensis 22:1-19).
The famous Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5-7).
Jesus was transfigured on a mountain (Matthew 17).
Throughout the Bible there is a common theme that significant events, particularly those where individuals meet with God, occur on the top of mountains. Traditionally, this could be because people had the idea that God dwelled above the Earth, hence the people building the Tower of Babel in an attempt to reach God.
However, through reading scripture we know that one of the characteristics of God is that he is omnipresent. He’s not confined to mountaintops. We’re not “out of signal” if we are stood in a valley. Even before Jesus comes and frees us from our sin we see plenty of cases where God meets people not on a mountaintop: Jacob wrestled with God beside a river and Moses met with God at the burning bush in the wilderness). So, why mountains? Why does God choose mountains for all of these significant events to take place on?
My first thought is that it’s because mountains offer solitude. When you’re up a mountain you are away from any towns or cities and there’s not normally many people around. Normally the only noise you can hear is the wind. All of this means that when you’re up a mountain there are no distractions. You’re able to focus on what God’s saying, you’re able to hear his quiet whisper like Elijah did on Mount Horeb. Or maybe like Moses you’re able to distance yourself from the crowds of Israelites all complaining about one thing or another.
My second thought is that climbing a mountain is a very intentional act. It takes time, even a small mountain will take a full day to climb and then climb down again. It takes planning, you need to make sure you’ve got everything you need. It takes commitment, it’s hard work to climb a mountain, it’s not just a gentle stroll. When God tested Abraham and God told him to climb a mountain and sacrifice his son at the top, Abraham was fully committed to following God’s instruction. He wasn’t going to climb the mountain and then decide if he was going to obey God. He trusted God and didn’t come with an animal as a backup plan; he tells Isaac himself that God will provide an animal to sacrifice.
Mountains were a helpful place for people to meet with God because there were no distractions and it was an intentional space with God. They are symbolic of the kind of space God invites us into – places of focus and intention. When we meet with God we can be conscious in making it a place of focus, free from distractions; you might want to put your phone away in a different room or take yourself away from other people. And we can be conscious in making that space an intentional space with God; maybe for you that’s having a specific place in your house that you go to when you spend time with God or having a written plan of what you want to bring before God each day.
Whatever it looks like for you, there’s something powerful about mirroring these mountaintop events in our own daily lives. These stories can inspire us for how to draw near to God today.
