During July of 1995, my wife Judy and I joined a study tour of the Middle-East. One of the high points of the trip was a climb up Mount Sinai where Moses received the Ten Commandments from God. We were excited, we were going to stand where Moses stood and experience first-hand being on top of Mt. Sinai. The biblical account of Moses is given in the 19th chapter of Exodus. Our tour brochure stated: "We begin at 2:00 A.M.! Those who wish to climb Mount Sinai must depart early in order to arrive on top by sunrise. We will hike 6 miles to the summit. The last 200 yards are the hardest. And for those who don't feel up to the climb, there is always a friendly camel that will carry you to the way-station near the top for $12.00."
It all sounds straight forward, until you hear the rest of the story. First, we learned that Mount Sinai (Jebel Musa) is 7,363 ft. high! You'll recall that a mile is 5,280 ft., so we're talking about climbing something well over a mile high. By 3:00 A.M. we are glad to join a procession of hundreds and hundreds or people standing in the pitch black darkness waiting to start the climb. It had been a sleepless night. Our "five-star" hotel didn't have screens on the windows. We were warned to keep our shutters closed to ward of desert robbers and---there was neither air conditioning nor fans. Just stifling heat and bugs. The walls were covered with little red splotches, we later figured out to be smashed mosquitoes. We tried to cool off by sleeping on the bare stone floor where the roaches crawled---but to no avail. With a sense of relief we welcomed our wake-up call.
Once the trek began, we used flashlights, but the Arab camel drivers didn't bother. Their ability to see in what seemed total darkness was uncanny and their camel's large marshmallow soft feet were perfectly adapted for the stony mountain trail.
At the appointed hour, a strange procession of camels led by dark Arabs in white robes, and peoples from all over the world began the arduous hike. In the blackness of the desert night, the side of the mountain soon turned into a spectacle of flickering lights, stretching out for miles, as pilgrims slowly ascended the steep switchbacks. Three hours we trudged up the winding footpath, stopping now and then, resting and greeting other English speakers who passed as unknown shadows in the night.
Just before dawn we crawled up the final 200 yards over the last few monstrous boulders and took a position with our group to watch the sunrise. Then, over the horizon, the first welcome rays of orange-yellow light broke through and warmed a very cold group of travelers huddled together on the barren summit. What an event! However, it was just after the sunrise experience that we learned---"The Rest of the Story."
It turns out that this is a "traditional site" dating back to the sixth century. Our tour archeologist pointed out to us that the "real" location was probably another peak a mile or so in front of us. What he said made sense, because there was a large valley at the foot of the "other" peak where the children of Israel could have camped. Such was not the case where we were. Further, we discovered that this was an easier mountain to climb because ages ago, monks had made the trail over the rocky slopes and carved steps into the steep granite mountain side. So, we hadn't climbed Mt. Sinai at all, we had simply climbed a mountain with the most convenient set of steps!
We believed we were climbing the right mountain, but at the end of the journey we were disappointed in the substitute. Climbing the wrong mountain won't doom you, but it may leave you wishing you had spent your time more wisely and climbed the other mountain since they both required mega effort, why waste your energy on something less than the best.

Blessings in your study of God's Word!

Marvin Hunt

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Blessings!
Marvin Hunt

Http://www.biblehistory.com

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