In Tibet, Chomolungma is considered “goddess mother of the universe.” Tibetans, who practice Buddhism, pay homage to stay on her good side. What made her so revered? Her height. Chomolungma is known by another name throughout the western world that was given to her in 1865 by British Surveyor General of India, Andrew Waugh. The new name: Mt. Everest. Mr. Waugh named the mountain after surveying its height and discovering that it is, as far as can be ascertained, the tallest mountain in the world at over 29,000 feet above sea level. Drawn by the glory of the tallest mountains on earth, British surveyors had attempted to determine its height nearly 60 years earlier but were halted by Malaria and failing health. Yet the glory of the mountains continued to beckon and the British sent another team in 1947, but again they were halted by bouts of Malaria. Not to be deterred, a calculation was finally published in 1856.

The glory of the world’s tallest mountain has called ever since and in 1924, after 2 prior trips to the mountain, George Mallory attempted to reach the summit. It is not known whether he reached the top or not as he and his climbing partner never returned from their attempt. His body was found in 1999 on the mountain. The glory of the mountain cost him his life. It is said that when asked why he would attempt such a thing that he responded, “because it’s there.” That phrase has grown famous among mountain climbers. It’s a rather remarkable phrase for it points not to the pride, honor, or even fame that could come from such a climb, but to the mountain itself. It is the glory of the mountain that beckons and makes it a worthy and awe-inspiring adventure. Anything less would be insufficient. Pride, honor, fame can all be achieved in other ways and when the gruel of the cold, wind, lack of oxygen, lack of sleep, lack of food, the threat of losing extremities to frostbite, and the threat of death itself confronts you, anything less than the mountain itself will fail you. Only the glory and love of the mountain and the climb keeps the mountain climber climbing.

When it comes to Christianity, and any religion for that matter, you’ve got to approach it like these mountain climbers approach climbing. It will never do for you what it promises unless you give yourself to that religion’s end. For Christianity, that end is God himself. When Abraham was called out by God and promised good things, the climax of the good things was God himself. In Genesis 15:1, God says to Abraham, “Fear not, Abram, I am your shield, your very great reward.” The promise of the land, the promise to become a great nation, the promise to be a blessing to the nations are great promises but they are secondary. The reality of these promises is that they frame what God is doing so that God himself will be Abraham’s God. The promises of good things are not the end and they can never be, as we’ll see in the coming weeks. For now, we need to see that a life shaped by a relationship with God himself, as he is revealed in Christ, is the end that the Christian is after. If it is simply a better life that you are after, then Christianity simply won’t do. It will never work for you. But if you understand that God himself and his glory is our ultimate end, then you will find God. Jeremiah says clearly, “you will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.”

While all religions require this kind of zeal and commitment to climb the mountain to “work”, only Christianity reveals a God who comes down the mountain to us. Thus, only Chritianity saves us from dying in our attempt to climb.

What I want to do this advent season is show how the things that God reveals about himself in the Old Testament are precursors to Christ himself. All of the Old Testament then becomes part of the advent because it is the Old Testament that prepares a people to understand the nature and work of Christ and the salvation that God is accomplishing for us. As we look at this text from Exodus, I want to see how God himself is indeed a worthy pursuit – the only worthy pursuit, really. I want you to get a glimpse of the beauty of the Lord, in other words, by understanding the shining face of Moses and the veil that covers it before the people.