Saturday, February 10, 2007

Exodus 19

Exodus 19 - You will be my own special treasure, my kingdom of priests, my holy nation


   This chapter is essentially about mediation. The people are getting ready to meet with God, receive the Law from Him, and enter into a covenant with Him. All of this required mediation and preparation. Through it all, Israel will become God’s unique possession, a kingdom of priests on earth – IF they comply with His Law. The chapter can be divided as follows: verses 1-8 tell how God, Israel’s great deliverer, promised to make them a kingdom of priests; this is followed by God’s declaration that Moses would be the mediator (verse 9); verses 10-22 record instructions for Israel to prepare themselves to worship Yahweh and an account of the manifestation of Yahweh with all the phenomena; and the chapter closes with the mediation of Moses on behalf of the people (verses 23-25). Having been redeemed from Egypt, the people will now be granted a covenant with God. -- www.bible.org/netbible/exo19_notes.htm#191


(1) Exactly two months after the Israelites left Egypt*, they arrived in the wilderness of Sinai**.


*Hebrew: In the third month after the Israelites left Egypt, on the very day, i.e., two lunar months to the day after leaving Egypt.

Numbers 33:3: They set out from the city of Rameses in early spring—on the fifteenth day of the first month—on the morning after the first Passover celebration. The people of Israel left defiantly, in full view of all the Egyptians.


   The precise time indication of “in the third month” (or “on the third new moon”), followed by “this very day,” emphatically marks the date of their arrival at Mount Sinai as the beginning of Israel’s seventh week after their “going out” from Egypt, and designates Moses’ ascent up the mountain to receive God’s words as fifty days after Passover. This is why the Jews celebrate the giving of the Law on Mt. Sinai with the feast of Pentecost (Shavout - the Feast of Weeks). This unique divine encounter will become the pivotal moment in Exodus and the whole Torah. After arriving at the foot of the mountain, Israel will remain there for eleven months, and it is here that the rest of the accounts of Exodus, Leviticus and Numbers 1-10 will take place. -- On Eagles’ Wings - www.pbcc.org/sermons/morgan/1476.html


Calendar below is from wsw.oneyearbibleblog.com/2006/02/index.html


Leviticus 23:15-16, 21: “From the day after the Sabbath—the day you bring the bundle of grain to be lifted up as a special offering—count off seven full weeks. Keep counting until the day after the seventh Sabbath, fifty days later. Then present an offering of new grain to the Lord. That same day will be proclaimed an official day for holy assembly, a day on which you do no ordinary work. This is a permanent law for you, and it must be observed from generation to generation wherever you live.

Deuteronomy 16:9-10: Count off seven weeks from when you first begin to cut the grain at the time of harvest. Then celebrate the Festival of Harvest to honor the Lord your God. Bring him a voluntary offering in proportion to the blessings you have received from him.


**Sinai: We'll save the question of where Mt. Sinai is located to the next study.


(2) After breaking camp at Rephidim, they came to the wilderness of Sinai and set up camp there at the base of Mount Sinai.


Exodus 3:12: God answered, “I will be with you. And this is your sign that I am the one who has sent you: When you have brought the people out of Egypt, you will worship God at this very mountain.”


(3) Then Moses climbed the mountain* to appear before God. The Lord called to him from the mountain and said, “Give these instructions to the family of Jacob**; announce it to the descendants of Israel:


*Moses climbed the mountain: Exodus 20:21: As the people stood in the distance, Moses approached the dark cloud where God was.

This is the first of 7 ascents and descents by Moses on Mount Sinai to receive and give God's laws and ordinances (chapters 19, 20, 24, 32 & 34). 3 times in this chapter.


Exodus 24:1-2: Then the Lord instructed Moses: “Come up here to me, and bring along Aaron, Nadab, Abihu, and seventy of Israel’s elders. All of you must worship from a distance. Only Moses is allowed to come near to the Lord. The others must not come near, and none of the other people are allowed to climb up the mountain with him.” - Notice the 3-part division similar to how the tabernacle and the temple are laid out. The top of the mountain, to which Moses alone has access, corresponds to the Holy of Holies. Aaron, Badab, Abihu and the 70 elders have access to the mountain but not its summit, corresponding to the Holy Place. The rest of the people stay at the foot of the mountain, corresponding to the outer court where the laity gather. The tabernacle and the temple are both earthly reflection of God's heavenly abode. -- "The NIV Life Application Commentary - Exodus" – Peter Enns – Zondervan™


   It is likely that the cloud which had conducted the Israelitish camp had now removed to the top of Sinai; and as this was the symbol of the Divine presence, Moses went up to the place, there to meet the Lord. -- Clarke's Commentary - Exodus 19: www.godrules.net/library/clarke/clarkeexo19.htm. Who is speaking here? None other than the preincarnate Christ - the Word!


**Jacob: Interesting that God refers to Jacob (the deceiver). A portent of how they will behave themselves for 40 years and already have?


(4) ‘You have seen what I did to the Egyptians. You know how I carried you on eagles’ wings* and brought you to myself.



*eagles’ wings: The mother eagles would have no doubt been above them from time to time off in the mountains and elsewhere and they knew how mother eagles taught their eaglets to fly. Kick them out of the nest, let them fall, and before they hit they the ground swoop down under them, pick them up take them back up again. There is the picture. You have not flown on your own. You’ve been riding on the back, My back, as a chick on the back of a mother eagle. I’ve borne you out of Egypt. You haven’t done it on your own. The message is grace, you see. -- On Eagles’ Wings: www.fpcjackson.org/resources/sermons/exodus/Exodus%20Vol%203%20&%204/20bExo.htm


Revelation 12:14: But she was given two wings like those of a great eagle so she could fly to the place prepared for her in the wilderness. There she would be cared for and protected from the dragon for a time, times, and half a time.

Isaiah 40:31: But those who trust in the Lord will find new strength. They will soar high on wings like eagles. They will run and not grow weary. They will walk and not faint.


(5) Now if you will obey me and keep my covenant*, you will be my own special treasure** from among all the peoples on earth; for all the earth belongs to me.


*if you will obey me and keep my covenant: This covenant with Israel is CONDITIONAL! They failed to keep their part of this covenant.


Deuteronomy 7:7-13: “The Lord did not set his heart on you and choose you because you were more numerous than other nations, for you were the smallest of all nations! Rather, it was simply that the Lord loves you, and he was keeping the oath he had sworn to your ancestors. That is why the Lord rescued you with such a strong hand from your slavery and from the oppressive hand of Pharaoh, king of Egypt. Understand, therefore, that the Lord your God is indeed God. He is the faithful God who keeps his covenant for a thousand generations and lavishes his unfailing love on those who love him and obey his commands. But he does not hesitate to punish and destroy those who reject him. Therefore, you must obey all these commands, decrees, and regulations I am giving you today.“If you listen to these regulations and faithfully obey them, the Lord your God will keep his covenant of unfailing love with you, as he promised with an oath to your ancestors. He will love you and bless you, and he will give you many children. He will give fertility to your land and your animals. When you arrive in the land he swore to give your ancestors, you will have large harvests of grain, new wine, and olive oil, and great herds of cattle, sheep, and goats.


Jeremiah 31:32-33: “The day is coming,” says the Lord, “when I will make a new covenant with the people of Israel and Judah. This covenant will not be like the one I made with their ancestors when I took them by the hand and brought them out of the land of Egypt. They broke that covenant, though I loved them as a husband loves his wife,” says the Lord.“But this is the new covenant I will make with the people of Israel on that day,” says the Lord. “I will put my instructions deep within them, and I will write them on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people. And they will not need to teach their neighbors, nor will they need to teach their relatives, saying, ‘You should know the Lord.’ For everyone, from the least to the greatest, will know me already,” says the Lord. “And I will forgive their wickedness, and I will never again remember their sins.”


**special treasure: Hebrew hlgs segullah, which means a special possession. Israel was to be God’s special possession, but the prophets will later narrow it to the faithful remnant. All the nations belong to God, but Israel was to stand in a place of special privilege and enormous responsibility. -- The Lord's treasure chest - www.pbc.org/library/files/html/exo018.html


   The word segullah is a highly significant word. It is used of the treasure of kings (1 Chronicles 29:3, Ecclesiastes 2:8). These treasures were the kings' most valued possessions. So the Lord tells Israel that it will become his most valued possession upon accepting his proposal. Israel will be his treasure chest - his special treasure. Israel will be what he values most. That is what happened - at least for the remnant (Deuteronomy 7:6, 26:18). -- Messages On Exodus - Peninsula Bible Church: www.pbc.org/library/series/10398


(6) And you will be my kingdom of priests*, my holy nation**.’ This is the message you must give to the people of Israel.”


*kingdom of priests: God's purpose for bringing Israel out of Egypt - to establish a HOLY KINGDOM OF PRIESTS to minister to the rest of the world! But, Israel failed, so God restricted the priesthood to the descendants of Aaron. But, this will change in the future. Why did God want a kingdom of priests - to bring the knowledge of him to the rest of the world and fulfill His promise to Abraham that his descendants (Genesis 18:18) would be blessed through Abraham's descendants. But, most importantly of all, Messiah would come through this nation.


   All the Israelites would be living wholly in God’s service and enjoying the right of access to him. And, as priests, they would have the duty of representing God to the nations, following what they perceived to be the duties of priests – proclaiming God’s word, interceding for people, and making provision for people to find God through atonement (see Deuteronomy 33:9,10). -- www.bible.org/netbible/exo19_notes.htm#191


   The most striking privilege of the priests was intimate access to God. They drew near on behalf of the people. Their inheritance was not the land but the Lord. This privilege God promises to the whole nation. This privilege is heightened when God calls them a royal priesthood or priests in the services of the King. There is no greater privilege than to have intimate access to the King of the universe. -- God's Covenant through Moses: www.soundofgrace.com/piper83/121183m.htm



  • 1 Peter 2:5,9: And you are living stones that God is building into his spiritual temple. What’s more, you are his holy priests. Through the mediation of Jesus Christ, you offer spiritual sacrifices that please God. But you are not like that, for you are a chosen people. You are royal priests, a holy nation, God’s very own possession. As a result, you can show others the goodness of God, for he called you out of the darkness into his wonderful light.

  • Revelation 1:6: He has made us a Kingdom of priests for God his Father. All glory and power to him forever and ever! Amen.

  • Revelation 5:10: And you have caused them to become a Kingdom of priests for our God. And they will reign on the earth.”

  • Revelation 20:6: Blessed and holy are those who share in the first resurrection. For them the second death holds no power, but they will be priests of God and of Christ and will reign with him a thousand years.


**holy nation: They are also to be “a holy nation.” They are to be a nation separate and distinct from the rest of the nations. Here is another aspect of their duty. It was one thing to be God’s special possession, but to be that they had to be priestly and holy. The duties of the covenant will specify what it would mean to be a holy nation. In short, they had to keep themselves free from everything that characterized pagan people. So it is a bilateral covenant: they received special privileges but they must provide special services by the special discipline. -- www.bible.org/netbible/exo19_notes.htm#191


   This is all by grace and because of God's promises to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. They had been chosen to be separate from the rest of the world, not just so that they can "belong" to Him, but so that they may be used by Him for a special purpose - Isaiah 49:6: He says, “You will do more than restore the people of Israel to me. I will make you a light to the Gentiles, and you will bring my salvation to the ends of the earth


(7) So Moses returned from the mountain and called together the elders of the people and told them everything the Lord had commanded him.


(8) And all the people responded together, “We will do everything the Lord has commanded.” So Moses brought the people’s answer back to the Lord.


   They have no concept of their complete and utter inability to fulfill the demands of the Law. Moreover, they haven't even yet heard all of the conditions of the covenant!


(9) Then the Lord said to Moses, “I will come to you in a thick cloud, Moses, so the people themselves can hear me when I speak with you. Then they will always trust you.” Moses told the Lord what the people had said.


   The Jews consider this as the fullest evidence their fathers had of the Divine mission of Moses; themselves were permitted to see this awfully glorious sight, and to hear God himself speak out of the thick darkness: for before this, as Rabbi Maymon remarks, they might have thought that Moses wrought his miracles by sorcery or enchantment; but now, hearing the voice of God himself, they could no longer disbelieve nor even doubt. -- Clarke's Commentary - Exodus 19: www.godrules.net/library/clarke/clarkeexo19.htm


(10) Then the Lord told Moses, “Go down and prepare the people for my arrival. Consecrate them today and tomorrow, and have them wash their clothing*.


*wash their clothing: Now the washing of their clothes was actually just a symbolic action. The people were to really cleanse themselves before God. The washing of their clothes being a symbolic action that spoke of just the setting of themselves, or the washing of themselves of their hearts, their minds, their lives. It means to sanctify, means to set apart for, for use. -- Blue Letter Bible - Chuck Smith Commentary on Exodus 19-20: www.blueletterbible.org/Comm/chuck_smith_c2000/Exd/Exd019.html


Psalm 51:7:
Purify me from my sins, and I will be clean; wash me, and I will be whiter than snow. This is the verse that spoke to me as a child and led me to salvation.


(11) Be sure they are ready on the third day, for on that day the Lord will come down on Mount Sinai as all the people watch.


(12) Mark off a boundary all around the mountain. Warn the people, ‘Be careful! Do not go up on the mountain or even touch its boundaries. Anyone who touches the mountain will certainly be put to death.


(13) No hand may touch the person or animal that crosses the boundary; instead, stone them or shoot them with arrows. They must be put to death.’ However, when the ram’s horn sounds a long blast, then the people may go up on the mountain*.”


*Or up to the mountain.


(14) So Moses went down to the people. He consecrated them for worship, and they washed their clothes.


(15) He told them, “Get ready for the third day, and until then abstain from having sexual intercourse*.”


*abstain from having sexual intercourse: As the people were to approach him they were not to lose themselves in earthly love. Such separations prepared the people for meeting God. Sinai was like a bride, forbidden to anyone else. Abstinence was the spiritual preparation for coming into the presence of the Holy One.

-- www.bible.org/netbible/exo19_notes.htm#191


(16) On the morning of the third day, thunder roared and lightning flashed, and a dense cloud came down on the mountain. There was a long, loud blast from a ram’s horn*, and all the people trembled.


*ram’s horn: The word here is shofar, the normal word for “horn.” This word is used especially to announce something important in a public event. Probably the sound of the trumpet was something similar to that which shall be blown by the angel when he sweareth, by Him that liveth for ever, There shall be time no longer!


Hebrews 12:21: Moses himself was so frightened at the sight that he said, “I am terrified and trembling.”


   It was absolutely necessary that God should give the people at large some particular evidence of his being and power, that they might be saved from idolatry, to which they were most deplorably prone; and that they might the more readily credit Moses, who was to be the constant mediator between God and them. God, therefore, in his indescribable majesty, descended on the mount; and, by the thick dark cloud, the violent thunders, the vivid lightnings, the long and loud blasts of the trumpet, the smoke encompassing the whole mountain, and the excessive earthquake, proclaimed his power, his glory, and his holiness; so that the people, however unfaithful and disobedient afterwards, never once doubted the Divine interference, or suspected Moses of any cheat or imposture. Indeed, so absolute and unequivocal were the proofs of supernatural agency, that it was impossible these appearances could be attributed to any cause but the unlimited power of the author of Nature.
-- Clarke's Commentary - Exodus 19: www.godrules.net/library/clarke/clarkeexo19.htm



  • Sinai speaks of fear and terror, but Zion speaks of love and forgiveness.

  • Sinai is in a dry desert, but Zion is the city of the Living God.

  • Sinai, with all its fear and power is earthly; but the Mount Zion we come to is heavenly and spiritual.

  • At Sinai, only Moses could come and meet God; at Zion, there is an innumerable company, a general assembly.

  • Sinai had guilty men in fear, but Zion has just men made perfect.

  • At Sinai, Moses is the mediator, but at Zion, Jesus the mediator.

  • Sinai put forth an Old covenant, ratified by the blood of animals; Zion has a New Covenant, ratified by the blood of God's precious Son.

  • Sinai was all about barriers and exclusion; Zion is all about invitation.

  • Sinai is all about Law, Zion is all about grace.


-- David Guzik's Commentary on Exodus: www.enduringword.com/commentaries/02.html


   All of Israel is now going to experience what Moses experienced in Exodus 3 where God appeared to Moses in the burning bush.


(17) Moses led them out from the camp to meet with God, and they stood at the foot of the mountain.


(18) All of Mount Sinai was covered with smoke because the Lord had descended on it in the form of fire. The smoke billowed into the sky like smoke from a brick kiln, and the whole mountain shook violently.


Hebrews 12:18, 22-24: You have not come to a physical mountain, to a place of flaming fire, darkness, gloom, and whirlwind, as the Israelites did at Mount Sinai. No, you have come to Mount Zion, to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to countless thousands of angels in a joyful gathering. You have come to the assembly of God’s firstborn children, whose names are written in heaven. You have come to God himself, who is the judge over all things. You have come to the spirits of the righteous ones in heaven who have now been made perfect. You have come to Jesus, the one who mediates the new covenant between God and people, and to the sprinkled blood, which speaks of forgiveness instead of crying out for vengeance like the blood of Abel.



  • Law demands - grace gives.

  • Law says "do" - grace says "believe."

  • Law exacts - grace bestows.

  • Law threatens, pronouncing a curse - grace entreats, pronouncing a blessing.

  • Law says "Do, and thou shalt live" - grace says, "Live and thou shalt do".

  • Law condemns the best man - grace saves the worst man.

  • The Law reveals the character of God - it also reveals the weakness of man.

    -- "Exodus Chapters 19-40: The Law" - J. Vernon McGee - Thomas Nelson Publishers


(19) As the blast of the ram’s horn grew louder and louder, Moses spoke, and God thundered his reply.


Deuteronomy 4:12: And the Lord spoke to you from the heart of the fire. You heard the sound of his words but didn’t see his form; there was only a voice.


(20) The Lord came down* on the top of Mount Sinai and called Moses to the top of the mountain. So Moses climbed the mountain.


*The Lord came down: This was undoubtedly done in a visible manner, that the people might witness the awful appearance. We may suppose that every thing was arranged thus: the glory of the Lord occupied the top of the mountain, and near to this Moses was permitted to approach. Aaron and the seventy elders were permitted to advance some way up the mountain, while the people were only permitted to come up to its base. Moses, as the lawgiver, was to receive the statutes and judgments from God's mouth; Aaron and the elders were to receive them from Moses, and deliver them to the people; and the people were to act according to the direction received. Nothing can be imagined more glorious, terrible, majestic, and impressive, than the whole of this transaction; but it was chiefly calculated to impress deep reverence, religious fear, and sacred awe; and he who attempts to worship God uninfluenced by these, has neither a proper sense of the Divine majesty, nor of the sinfulness of sin. It seems in reference to this that the apostle says, Let us have grace whereby we may serve God acceptably with REVERENCE and GODLY FEAR: for our God is a CONSUMING FIRE; Hebrews 12: 28-29. Who then shall dare to approach him in his own name and without a mediator? -- Clarke's Commentary - Exodus 19: www.godrules.net/library/clarke/clarkeexo19.htm


(21) Then the Lord told Moses, “Go back down and warn the people not to break through the boundaries to see the Lord, or they will die.


(22) Even the priests who regularly come near to the Lord must purify themselves so that the Lord does not break out and destroy them.”


(23) “But Lord,” Moses protested, “the people cannot come up to Mount Sinai. You already warned us. You told me, ‘Mark off a boundary all around the mountain to set it apart as holy.’”


(24) But the Lord said, “Go down and bring Aaron back up with you. In the meantime, do not let the priests or the people break through to approach the Lord, or he will break out and destroy them.”


(25) So Moses went down to the people and told them what the Lord had said.



   This meeting between the Lord and the people of Israel represents a major advance is God's plan to restore humanity to fellowship with him. Here, man speaks, and God answers. Since the fall it was rare for God to meet with man. Here he meets with an entire nation. In that light, this is an amazing encounter.


   As amazing as it is, it is also a limited encounter. The people could only approach the foot of the mountain, the Lord descended just to the top of the mountain and Moses acted as go-between. The law is good; Jesus is better. Jesus blows the doors off the limitations of the law. Let's see how.


   To meet the people, the Lord had to descend to earth, their land. It would be far better if the people could ascend to the Lord, to his land. Can we do such a thing? We already have done it!


   As God descended to Mount Sinai to meet humanity, Jesus Christ descended from heaven to meet humanity (John 1:14, Philippians 2:5-8). God touched down at Mount Sinai, and Moses could only take the people to the foot of the mountain. How far has Jesus taken us? Notice in this passage that there are four references to "the third day" (19:11, 15, 16). The people meet the Lord on the third day. In verse 16, the Lord appears on the "morning" of the third day. When did Jesus rise from the dead? On the morning of the third day. The resurrection marked the beginning of Jesus' ascension, not to the foot of the mountain, not even to the top of the mountain but all the way to heaven (Ephesians 1:20)! Jesus, then, is our man in heaven. But it gets even better than that. He's not only our man in heaven, he took us with him! God "raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus" (Ephesians 2:6). Jesus has taken us to God's land. In a way that we cannot fully understand or appreciate, we are in heaven right now, in God's land. But one thing we can understand, and this is the important thing to understand: Right now we are in the presence of the Lord, and Jesus made that possible.


   Just as obedience to the law cannot prepare us for relationship to God, it cannot take us to the presence of God. It shows us who God is. Used rightly, it can show us that knowing and worshiping God is good. It gets us to the foot of the mountain, so to speak, but not to the heights, not the very presence of the Lord. Jesus takes us all the way. He breaks through, taking us with him. In fact, he already has taken us all the way. We already are in the presence of the Lord, whether we know it or not.


   Several years ago I wanted to travel from Stuttgart, Germany, to Heidelberg. When I arrived at the Stuttgart train station, I was overwhelmed by the number of tracks, and I couldn't find my way to the right train. Somewhat flustered, I was able to communicate to a passer-by that I needed help finding the train to Heidelberg. He was able to take me to the right train. But that's all he was able to do. He was not able to get me out of Stuttgart. The engineer took me to Heidelberg. Like my friend in the train station, the law is able to take us to a certain place but no further. Like the engineer, Jesus takes us to the presence of the Lord.


   So Jesus Christ has taken us into the very presence of the Lord. What do we do there? We embrace him.


-- Embracing the Lord - www.pbc.org/library/files/html/exo019.html



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