Sermon Tone Analysis
Overall tone of the sermon
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Not quite two months after the Israelites left Egypt—seven weeks to be more accurate—the people came to the Desert of Sinai and camped there in the desert in front of the mountain.
They’ve made it back to this mountain—the mountain where the angel of the Lord appeared to Moses in flames and fire from within a bush.
They’ve made it back to this mountain, just as God promised.
Here they are.
They’ve made it to the mountain—Mt.
Sinai, or Horeb, the mountain of God.
The people of God are going to worship God while standing at the base of the mountain of God.
They are going to worship Him.
They are going to hear directly from Him.
They are going to realize who He is and what that means for them as His peculiar people.
On this mountain God speaks to His people.
On this mountain God calls His people into a covenant relationship.
On this mountain God’s holiness is displayed.
So far in the book of Exodus, unless I’m forgetting something (which is entirely possible), the Lord has spoken primarily through a mediator (that is, the Lord has spoken through Moses).
To the people, to Pharaoh—when the Lord has spoken in this book, He’s done so through His servant, Moses.
We see this even at the beginning of Exodus 19:
God is speaking, but speaking through Moses.
But soon—very soon—God is going to speak to the people directly.
Amid smoke and fire, thunder and lightning and trumpet blast, the people of God are going to hear the voice of God.
It’s here in the book of Exodus that God speaks the Ten Words, better known as the Ten Commandments.
God speaks.
God Himself speaks.
God Himself speaks the Ten Words directly to Israel rather than through Moses.
The people were so awestruck by this experience that when God finished, they asked for Moses to speak instead of the Lord Yahweh speaking to them.
When the people heard the voice of God for themselves, they could not doubt His presence among them.
His presence is more clearly displayed at Mt. Sinai than anywhere else thus far.
All the people were hearing the voice of God, just like Adam and Eve, Noah, Abraham and the patriarchs had heard it.
All the people are hearing the voice of God just as Moses had heard it earlier at this same mountain when God called him to bring His people out of Egypt.
All the people are here hearing the voice of God with audio and visual display (thunder, lightning, smoke, fire, trumpet blast).
There could be no doubt that God was present with them, that this God is not only present, but unique—unlike any other.
On this mountain,
God speaks.
Unlike any other god, the Lord Yahweh, the God of Israel, speaks.
He speaks and the people tremble.
Exodus 19 sets the stage for the giving of the Ten Commandments.
God speaks, revealing His Word to His people.
The main reason God came down on Mt.
Sinai was to give His law; and this, to make crystal clear that He is the One who has spoken to the human race.
Has God given us His Word?
Has He communicated with us, explaining His work in human history?
Has He proclaimed the way of salvation from sin and death?
Has He given us commands to guide us in our walk with Him?
If God did not speak to Moses, we would not have the book of Exodus (or Genesis, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy).
If God did not speak to Moses, He has not spoken to us.
But God has spoken!
He reminds the people of this on down the line:
God speaks.
It’s because the Israelites heard God’s voice that we hear God’s voice today through His Word.
"If you want to hear God speak, read the Bible.
If you want to hear God speak audibly, read the Bible out loud.”
What’s written here in Exodus is the very word of God (and the same is true for the other 65 books of the Bible).
Every single word in this book comes from God.
All the commands, warnings, and promises in the Bible are the commands, warnings, and promises of God.
Most importantly, God has spoken to us in His Son:
On this mountain, God speaks—this is a formative moment in the lives of the people and foundational to our understanding of who God is.
Ours is the God who speaks.
On this mountain, God speaks and,
God calls His people into a covenant relationship.
The words in verses 4-6 of Exodus 19 are sometimes described as the heart of the OT.
In these verses, God describes what He has done to save His people.
He also told them what He expected from them as His people.
Look with me at these verses:
God reminds Israel what He had done to save them (for some reason they, like me, need constant reminding).
Maybe you need a reminder of everything God did to save you.
Remember: this is not of yourself; you did not save yourself, nor did you even have a hand in saving yourself.
Because of your deep, deep sin God had to provide the way for you to be saved.
And so He gave us Jesus, His perfect, spotless, righteous Son.
Jesus suffered and bled and died to save you.
He gave up His life to save you.
He was buried, and on the third day rose from the grave to save and justify you.
What unspeakably glorious Good News.
God here, through Moses, summarizes the salvation He brought to His people:
God humiliated Egypt’s gods, one by one, with 10 terrible plagues.
He drowned Pharaoh and his army in the sea, and brought the Israelites out of slavery.
God lifted His people up on His mighty wings, and provided them with food and water and victory in battle.
The only reason they made it anywhere at all is that the Lord carried them.
God was not satisfied with bringing His people out of slavery, but would bring His people close to Himself; so He led them to His holy mountain where they would worship Him in all His majesty.
After reminding His people how they were saved—by God’s grace alone—God sets the terms for their relationship in the future:
What God commands here is nothing less than full obedience, the keeping of His covenant—keep my covenant.
This is the first time the Bible uses this exact expression—keep my covenant.
The covenant is God’s unbreakable promise of love for His people.
He made His covenant with Abraham.
He confirmed His covenant with Isaac and Jacob.
And then, He brings His people out of Egypt, because God keeps His Word, remembers His covenant.
A covenant—any covenant—involves two parties.
A covenant is a mutual relationship.
God’s covenant requires the obedience of the people, obedience to God’s revealed will.
God is about to unfold in full detail what the covenant demands, in terms of obedience.
In Exodus 20, God gives His law to the people and then applies His commandments to various life situations (the following chapters).
But here, in Exodus 19, the essence of what God requires is clear: full obedience.
This is the main thing.
Anyone who wants to enjoy fellowship with God must make a basic commitment to do everything God says.
This is where God begins: If you obey me fully and keep my covenant...
Realize that God says this to people who are already saved.
They’ve been delivered and redeemed.
The order is important: First, God delivers His people.
And then, He gives them the law.
Imagine what would have happened if it was the other way around.
Suppose God said to Moses, “Tell my people: ‘If you obey me fully and keep my covenant perfectly, then I will carry you out of Egypt on eagle’s wings.’”
If that were the case, there never would have been an exodus at all.
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