Sermon Tone Analysis

Introduction

Biblical Timeline

Israelites were going to and in Egypt.

They were brought into Egypt through Joseph to be saved from the famine.

They were later put into slavery by the Egyptians.

God would deliver them from slavery and bring them into the promise land through Moses.

Within this time, God establishes his covenant relationship with the nation of Israel, establish the Law and Sacrifices, the tabernacle, and guides them to the promise land.

Moses

After the Exodus, Moses and the Israelites returned to Mt. Sinai.

The Encounter with God (Exodus 19)

Chapters 19-20 is a literary unit because there is a clear connection between the events of ch 19 and the reaction of the Israelites in 20:18-21

This encounter is foundational to the Covenant relationship between God and the Israelites.

Here at Mount Sinai, God is going to establish the Covenant relationship with it’s stipulations.

God meets with the Israelites.

God’s Message (19:3-6)

Exodus 19:3–6 (ESV)

3 while Moses went up to God.

The Lord called to him out of the mountain, saying, “Thus you shall say to the house of Jacob, and tell the people of Israel: 4 ‘You yourselves have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I bore you on eagles’ wings and brought you to myself.

5 Now therefore, if you will indeed obey my voice and keep my covenant, you shall be my treasured possession among all peoples, for all the earth is mine; 6 and you shall be to me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.’

These are the words that you shall speak to the people of Israel.”

God’s presence on the Mountain (19:16-20)

Exodus 19:16–20 (ESV)

16 On the morning of the third day there were thunders and lightnings and a thick cloud on the mountain and a very loud trumpet blast, so that all the people in the camp trembled.

17 Then Moses brought the people out of the camp to meet God, and they took their stand at the foot of the mountain.

18 Now Mount Sinai was wrapped in smoke because the Lord had descended on it in fire.

The smoke of it went up like the smoke of a kiln, and the whole mountain trembled greatly.

19 And as the sound of the trumpet grew louder and louder, Moses spoke, and God answered him in thunder.

20 The Lord came down on Mount Sinai, to the top of the mountain.

And the Lord called Moses to the top of the mountain, and Moses went up.

This incredible experience is the context around the giving of the 10 Commandments.

The rest of Exodus, Leviticus, and Numbers is about establishing this covenant relationship between God and the Israelite people with the stipulations of the covenant.

The Commandments from God (Ex.

20:1–17)

10 Commandments: Significant

These commandments are the Tablets of the Testimony given by God.

Exodus 31:18 (ESV)

18 And he gave to Moses, when he had finished speaking with him on Mount Sinai, the two tablets of the testimony, tablets of stone, written with the finger of God.

2 tablets of the Testimony - testimony object n., the written copy on stone of the regulations of the covenant given to Moses, functioning as a witness between the parties; in some contexts this can refer to the tablets and their container or sometimes to the container only (The Lexham Analytical Lexicon of the Hebrew Bible 2017: n. pag.

Print.)

“Written with the finger of God: see Exodus 8:19, where the same metaphor is used of the plagues of Egypt, and Luke 11:20, where it is used of Christ’s ministry.

This is a strong statement of divine source and causation, but need not be pressed in a strictly literalistic sense.”

(Cole, R. Alan.

Exodus: An Introduction and Commentary.

Vol. 2. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1973.

Print.

Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries.)

The importance of these commandments to the Israelite people and this covenant relationship with God.

Exodus 34:27–28 (ESV)

27 And the Lord said to Moses, “Write these words, for in accordance with these words I have made a covenant with you and with Israel.”

28 So he was there with the Lord forty days and forty nights.

He neither ate bread nor drank water.

And he wrote on the tablets the words of the covenant, the Ten Commandments.

These 10 Commandments are specifically restated in the book of Deuteronomy.

(Deut.

5:6–21)

“The Ten Commandments (in 34:28 “Ten Commandments” is lit., “Ten Words”), the hub of all of Israel’s religious and civil laws, has two parts.

The first four commandments pertain to the relationship of the Israelites with God, and the other six deal with social relationships within the covenant community.”

(Hannah, John D. “Exodus.”

The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures.

Ed.

J. F. Walvoord and R. B. Zuck.

Vol. 1. Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1985.

139.

Print.)

10 Commandments: Relationships

Israelites covenant relationship with God (Command 1-4; vs. 1-11)

Commit to God alone (1-3)

Exodus 20:1–3 (ESV)

1 And God spoke all these words, saying, 2 “I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.

3 “You shall have no other gods before me.

“You shall have no other gods before Me."(Or besides Me)

“The first commandment serves as a “first principle” (Capetz, “First Commandment,” 174), anchoring the remaining commandments to the unique relationship between Yahweh and His chosen people.

Jewish interpreters understand that the phrase “I am Yahweh your God” has an implied imperatival force, and take it as the first commandment in itself.”

(Beal, Matthew S. “Ten Commandments.”

Ed.

John D. Barry et al.

The Lexham Bible Dictionary 2016: n. pag.

Print.)

“Israel was to choose Yahweh to the exclusion of the myriad deities of the nations around them.” (Beal, Matthew S. “Ten Commandments.”

Ed.

John D. Barry et al.

The Lexham Bible Dictionary 2016: n. pag.

Print.)

No Idols (4-6)

Exodus 20:4–6 (ESV)

4 “You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth.

5 You shall not bow down to them or serve them, for I the Lord your God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and the fourth generation of those who hate me, 6 but showing steadfast love to thousands of those who love me and keep my commandments.

“The use of images was important to ancient worshipers because they believed that the deity was present in the image.

An image provided immediate access to the god.

By banning the making of images, the Lord indicates that his presence will not be experienced in this way.

Rather, as the rest of Exodus reveals, God will reside among the Israelites in the tabernacle.”

(Alexander, T. Desmond.

Exodus.

Ed.

John H. Walton.

Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books: A Division of Baker Publishing Group, 2016.

Print.

Teach the Text Commentary Series.)

“This raises the question as to why such image-representation of the true God (even by human form) was forbidden.

Perhaps the reason is that no likeness could possibly be adequate, and that each type of image would imprint its own misunderstandings.

... The localization and materialization of God was another danger inherent in idolatry.

Even Israel in later days tended to believe that God’s presence was localized and contained in ark or temple; how much more so, if there had been an image?

Finally, there would have been the danger of quasi-magical attempts to placate or control God through possession of some such localization of his presence, such as we can see in connection with the ark in 1 Samuel 4:3.” (Cole, R. Alan.