"And it came to pass on the third day in the morning, that there were thunders and lightnings, and a thick cloud upon the mount, and the voice of the trumpet exceeding loud; so that all the people that was in the camp trembled...And mount Sinai was altogether on a smoke, because The LORD descended upon it in fire: and the smoke thereof ascended as the smoke of a furnace, and the whole mount quaked greatly." [Ex 19:16; 18]

There are many glorious differences between the Old Covenant and the New. Take one, for example, which we can see when we contrast what happened the third day in Exodus chapter nineteen versus the third day in the New Testament, which was when Jesus arose from out of the dead. On the third day with Moses, at Mount Sinai, the Israelites saw the power and judgment and fear of God. Exodus says, “and it came to pass on the third day in the morning, that there were thunders and lightnings, and a thick cloud upon the mount, and the voice of the trumpet exceeding loud.” [Ex 19:16] The people during that time saw the holiness of The LORD to an extreme; they experienced just how set apart God was and how difficult and fearful it was to approach him. Everyone who tried to touch the mountain or look upon The LORD would be killed. The LORD had said, “there shall not an hand touch it, but he shall surely be stoned, or shot through; whether it be beast or man, it shall not live…” [Ex 19:13] No one, except a very select few, could approach God upon the mount; there was a great amount of fear surrounding everything this day, and especially for those who thought to approach the dreadful mountain to get a glimpse of God. And so we see that on the third day at Mount Sinai there were storms and much fear.

However, in the new covenant with Jesus, on the third day there is joy and victory, for Jesus is risen! We read in Matthew,

“And the angel answered and said unto the women, Fear not ye: for I know that ye seek Jesus, which was crucified. He is not here: for he is risen, as he said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay. And go quickly, and tell his disciples that he is risen from the dead; and, behold, he goeth before you into Galilee; there shall ye see him: lo, I have told you. And they departed quickly from the sepulchre with fear and great joy; and did run to bring his disciples word. And as they went to tell his disciples, behold, Jesus met them, saying, All hail. And they came and held him by the feet, and worshipped him. Then said Jesus unto them, Be not afraid...” [Mt 28:5-10a]

On the third day the women came to find Jesus risen. There at the tomb, the angel which met them comforted them, saying “fear not ye.” Then, Jesus Himself met them and also said, “be not afraid.” There is no fear to be found here! As the angel said, “come, see the place where the Lord lay.” Come and see the empty tomb; come and see that He is no more dead but risen. Come see where He used to lay but lies no longer. Come, see that death has been conquered by your Lord. Come and draw near, do not be afraid, do not hesitate to come.

For us this is a very comforting contrast. For in the New Covenant, because of Jesus’ blood, we may “draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith;” [Heb 10:22] we may draw near without worry because in Christ we are accepted by God and peace has been made: now, Jesus has “reconciled [us] in the body of His flesh through death, to present us] holy and unblameable and unreproveable in His sight: if ye continue in the faith…” [Col 1:21b-23a] So then, let us draw near to our God and enjoy this newfound fellowship in Jesus; for it is only through Him that we may approach God.