Mountains: Sometimes Selected As Places for Divine Worship
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Mountains hold a significant place in biblical narratives, often serving as sites for divine encounters and worship. Throughout Scripture, mountains are depicted as places where God reveals Himself, delivers commandments, and where His people offer worship and sacrifices.

Mount Sinai (Horeb): One of the most prominent mountains in the Bible is Mount Sinai, also known as Horeb. It is here that Moses encountered God in the burning bush (Exodus 3:1-2) and later received the Ten Commandments. The mountain is enveloped in divine presence, as described in Exodus 19:18 : "Mount Sinai was completely enveloped in smoke, because the LORD had descended on it in fire." This mountain becomes a symbol of God's covenant with Israel and His divine law.

Mount Moriah: Another significant mountain is Mount Moriah, where Abraham was tested by God to sacrifice his son Isaac (Genesis 22:2). This site later becomes the location of Solomon's Temple in Jerusalem, a central place of worship for the Israelites. The narrative of Abraham's faith and obedience on Mount Moriah underscores the mountain's role as a place of profound spiritual significance and divine provision.

Mount Carmel: In 1 Kings 18, Mount Carmel is the setting for the dramatic confrontation between the prophet Elijah and the prophets of Baal. Elijah's challenge and the subsequent divine fire that consumes his offering demonstrate God's supremacy and power. This event on Mount Carmel reaffirms the mountain as a place where God's presence and authority are unmistakably revealed.

Mount Zion: Often referred to as the "holy mountain," Mount Zion holds a special place in biblical theology. It is synonymous with Jerusalem and the dwelling place of God among His people. Psalm 48:1-2 extols its significance: "Great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised in the city of our God, His holy mountain. Beautiful in loftiness, the joy of all the earth, like the peaks of Zaphon is Mount Zion, the city of the great King." Zion becomes a symbol of God's eternal kingdom and His covenantal promises.

The Mount of Olives: This mountain, located east of Jerusalem, is frequently mentioned in the New Testament. It is the site of Jesus' teaching, His triumphal entry into Jerusalem, and His ascension into heaven (Acts 1:9-12). The Mount of Olives is also associated with eschatological events, as prophesied in Zechariah 14:4, where the Lord will stand upon it in the day of His return.

The Sermon on the Mount: In the New Testament, Jesus delivers the Sermon on the Mount, a foundational teaching for Christian ethics and discipleship, on a mountainside (Matthew 5-7). This setting underscores the mountain as a place of divine instruction and revelation, echoing the giving of the law on Mount Sinai.

Throughout biblical history, mountains serve as places where heaven and earth meet, where God reveals His will, and where His people respond in worship and obedience. These elevated places symbolize the transcendence and majesty of God, inviting believers to seek His presence and guidance.
Torrey's Topical Textbook
Genesis 22:2,5
And he said, Take now your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and get you into the land of Moriah; and offer him there for a burnt offering on one of the mountains which I will tell you of.
Torrey's Topical Textbook

Exodus 3:12
And he said, Certainly I will be with you; and this shall be a token to you, that I have sent you: When you have brought forth the people out of Egypt, you shall serve God on this mountain.
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Isaiah 2:2
And it shall come to pass in the last days, that the mountain of the LORD's house shall be established in the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills; and all nations shall flow to it.
Torrey's Topical Textbook

Library

"This Thing is from Me"
... Sometimes, that which seems to be a great mistake may ... After great mountains there
usually come low hills. ... Solomon to be his ambassador, but he selected the very ...
/.../spurgeon/spurgeons sermons volume 42 1896/this thing is from me.htm

From the Close of the General Conference in 1796, to the ...
... He succeeded in crossing the Cumberland Mountains in the ... of divinity in a few words,
selected from the ... that day to this gradually and sometimes powerfully to ...
/.../chapter 3 from the close.htm

The Potter and the Clay
Selected Sermons of George Whitefield. ... But what if I should come over the mountains
of your ... such an ungovernable height do our affections sometimes rise, that ...
/.../whitefield/selected sermons of george whitefield/the potter and the clay.htm

On the Incarnation and Redemption
... till it covered the tops of the mountains, and all ... to the Blessed Virgin that she
was selected for the ... and wild dogs, so fierce that they sometimes came into ...
/.../kinkead/baltimore catechism no 4/lesson 7 on the incarnation.htm

Synagogues: their Origin, Structure and Outward Arrangements
... ground in the place was at least selected for it ... which so frequently sweep down upon
it from the mountains. ... Sometimes, as we know, they were erected at the cost ...
/.../edersheim/sketches of jewish social life/chapter 16 synagogues their origin.htm

The First Theban Empire
... He selected the little Nubian town of Bohani, which lay exactly ... disintegrated by
the burning sun, or by steep mountains, which appear sometimes a dull red ...
/.../chapter iiithe first theban empire.htm

From the Close of the General Conference of 1808, to the ...
... new countries west of the Allegheny mountains; and he ... Sometimes, indeed, the ardor
of the mind, when ... Hymns were selected which were solemn and impressive; and ...
/.../chapter 8 from the close.htm

Godly Fear and Its Goodly Consequence
... theology of this period we ought to have selected faith. ... I have known sometimes when
a man in order to do ... might one climb to the tops of the mountains, for the ...
/.../spurgeon/sermons on proverbs/godly fear and its goodly.htm

Ancient Chaldaea
... or perhaps, as a general rule, he selected as examples ... seen, sometimes on one peak
and sometimes on another. ... arrived, he who dwells in the mountains, and who ...
/.../chapter iancient chaldaea.htm

The Real Presence, the Great Want of the Church
... should work wonders there, and I have selected this text ... has betaken himself to the
far-off "mountains of myrrh ... True, we are led to see Jesus sometimes, and I ...
/.../spurgeon/spurgeons sermons volume 18 1872/the real presence the great.htm

Resources
What is the significance of Mount Ebal in the Bible? | GotQuestions.org

Was Noah's flood global or local? | GotQuestions.org

What does it mean to have mustard seed faith? | GotQuestions.org

Mountains: Dictionary and Thesaurus | Clyx.com

Bible ConcordanceBible DictionaryBible EncyclopediaTopical BibleBible Thesuarus
Subtopics

Mountains

Mountains are the Sources of Springs and Rivers

Mountains of Difficulties

Mountains of God's Righteousness

Mountains of Persons in Authority

Mountains of Proud and Haughty Persons

Mountains of the Church of God

Mountains: (Breaking Forth Into Singing) of Exceeding Joy

Mountains: (Burning) of Destructive Enemies

Mountains: (Dropping New Wine) of Abundance

Mountains: (Made Waste) of Desolation

Mountains: (Threshing of) Heavy Judgments

Mountains: A Defence to a Country

Mountains: Abarim

Mountains: Abounded With: Deer

Mountains: Abounded With: Forests

Mountains: Abounded With: Game

Mountains: Abounded With: Herbs

Mountains: Abounded With: Minerals

Mountains: Abounded With: Precious Things

Mountains: Abounded With: Spices

Mountains: Abounded With: Stone for Building

Mountains: Abounded With: Vineyards

Mountains: Abounded With: Wild Beasts

Mountains: Afford Refuge in Time of Danger

Mountains: Afforded Pasturage

Mountains: Amalek

Mountains: Ararat

Mountains: Bashan

Mountains: Beacons or Ensigns often Raised Upon

Mountains: Bethel

Mountains: Called: Everlasting Hills

Mountains: Called: God's Mountains

Mountains: Called: Perpetual Hills

Mountains: Called: Pillars of Heaven

Mountains: Called: The Ancient Mountains

Mountains: Called: The Everlasting Mountains

Mountains: Canaan Abounded In

Mountains: Carmel

Mountains: Collect the Vapours Which Ascend from the Earth

Mountains: Ebal

Mountains: Ephraim

Mountains: Gerizim

Mountains: Gilboa

Mountains: Gilead

Mountains: God: Causes, to Melt

Mountains: God: Causes, to Skip

Mountains: God: Causes, to Smoke

Mountains: God: Causes, to Tremble

Mountains: God: Formed

Mountains: God: Gives Strength To

Mountains: God: Makes Waste

Mountains: God: Overturns

Mountains: God: Parches, With Draught

Mountains: God: Removes

Mountains: God: Scatters

Mountains: God: Set Fast

Mountains: God: Sets the Foundations of, on Fire

Mountains: God: Waters, from his Chambers

Mountains: God: Weighs, in a Balance

Mountains: Hachilah

Mountains: Hermon

Mountains: Hor

Mountains: Horeb

Mountains: Lebanon

Mountains: Made to Glorify God

Mountains: Many Exceedingly High

Mountains: Mizar

Mountains: Moreh

Mountains: Moriah

Mountains: Nebo (Part of Abarim)

Mountains: Often Inhabited

Mountains: Often Selected As Places for Idolatrous Worship

Mountains: Olives or Mount of Corruption

Mountains: Pisgah (Part of Abarim)

Mountains: Proclamations often Made From

Mountains: Seir

Mountains: Sinai

Mountains: Sion

Mountains: Sometimes Selected As Places for Divine Worship

Mountains: Tabor

Mountains: The Elevated Parts of the Earth

Mountains: Volcanic Fires of, Alluded To

Related Terms

Quake (23 Occurrences)

Valleys (38 Occurrences)

Abarim (8 Occurrences)

Ararat (4 Occurrences)

Quaked (13 Occurrences)

Dens (10 Occurrences)

Majestic (22 Occurrences)

Mountaintops (4 Occurrences)

Shephelah (2 Occurrences)

Pisidia (2 Occurrences)

Arabia (9 Occurrences)

Deer (15 Occurrences)

Cedars (37 Occurrences)

Burst (33 Occurrences)

Plains (31 Occurrences)

Melt (33 Occurrences)

Melted (33 Occurrences)

80000 (3 Occurrences)

Mountain (298 Occurrences)

Defied (20 Occurrences)

Merom (2 Occurrences)

Pastures (25 Occurrences)

Burns (34 Occurrences)

Bether (1 Occurrence)

Cutters (14 Occurrences)

Carriers (7 Occurrences)

Cities (427 Occurrences)

Ciccar

Caves (17 Occurrences)

Chamois (1 Occurrence)

Anakims (9 Occurrences)

Armenia (2 Occurrences)

Shadows (11 Occurrences)

Snow (25 Occurrences)

Stonecutters (6 Occurrences)

Sank (19 Occurrences)

Sharon (9 Occurrences)

Prevailed (46 Occurrences)

Burdens (35 Occurrences)

Streams (80 Occurrences)

Sounds (64 Occurrences)

Sardis (3 Occurrences)

Shrines (40 Occurrences)

Mount (311 Occurrences)

Phoenicians

Phoenicia (6 Occurrences)

Partridge (2 Occurrences)

Shake (68 Occurrences)

Shook (33 Occurrences)

Shaking (162 Occurrences)

Arabah (32 Occurrences)

Shade (67 Occurrences)

Sheep (413 Occurrences)

Shaken (62 Occurrences)

Kir (11 Occurrences)

Depths (56 Occurrences)

Shadow (72 Occurrences)

Sinai (38 Occurrences)

Sounding (99 Occurrences)

Quarry (5 Occurrences)

3600 (2 Occurrences)

Vapor (6 Occurrences)

Zoar (12 Occurrences)

Ensign (21 Occurrences)

Den (19 Occurrences)

Drip (12 Occurrences)

Densest (2 Occurrences)

Month (197 Occurrences)

Mistake (5 Occurrences)

Peaks (5 Occurrences)

Pines (7 Occurrences)

Pontus (3 Occurrences)

Plateau (13 Occurrences)

Phoenix (2 Occurrences)

Poplar (4 Occurrences)

Publisheth (3 Occurrences)

Preparing (25 Occurrences)

Pamphylia (6 Occurrences)

Publishes (3 Occurrences)

Mountains: Sion
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