Exodus 19-The Nation Of Israel Enters Into A Covenant With God At Sinai
Wenstrom Bible Ministries
Pastor-Teacher Bill Wenstrom
Sunday January 29, 2012
Journey Through The Bible Series: Exodus 19-The Nation Of Israel Enters Into A Covenant With God At Sinai
Lesson # 20
Please turn in your Bibles to Exodus 19:1.
In Exodus chapter 19 we have the nation of Israel entering into a covenant relationship with God.
Exodus 19:1-2 records Israel arriving at Sinai.
Exodus 19:1 In the third month after the sons of Israel had gone out of the land of Egypt, on that very day they came into the wilderness of Sinai. 2 When they set out from Rephidim, they came to the wilderness of Sinai and camped in the wilderness; and there Israel camped in front of the mountain. (NASB95)
The Israelites arrived at Mount Sinai and remained there throughout the rest of the events recorded in Exodus 19:1-Numbers 10:10.
They stayed in this location for 11 months and 6 days since a comparison of Exodus 12:2, 6 and 19:1 with Numbers 10:1 reveals that they stayed there from the fifteenth day of the third month of their first year of travels to the twentieth day of the second month of the second year of their travels.
Exodus 19:3 Moses went up to God, and the Lord called to him from the mountain, saying, “Thus you shall say to the house of Jacob and tell the sons 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 then, if you will indeed obey My voice and keep My covenant, then you shall be My own possession among all the 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 sons of Israel.” (NASB95)
The Lord calls Moses up to the mountain in order to give him the conditions that Israel must agree to enter into a covenant with Him.
Moses is the mediator of this covenant in the sense that he represents the Lord before the Israelites and he represents the Israelites before God.
In verse 3, the Lord calls the Israelites “the house of Jacob” and “the sons of Israel” with the former describing the descendants Jacob from the perspective of living according to the old Adamic sin nature whereas the latter describe them appropriating the power of God by exercising faith in God’s promises.
The change of name from “Jacob” to “Israel” marks a change in Jacob’s character and reorientation in his life in the sense that no longer does he solve his problems with people by means of deception as denoted by the name “Jacob” but now solves them with the power of God by claiming the promises of God in prayer.
Just as the name “Jacob” reflects character produced by the function of the power of the old sin nature so the name “Israel” reflects character produced by appropriating the power of the Word of God by claiming the promises of God in prayer.
Exodus 19:4-6 summarizes the Mosaic covenant, which is recorded in greater detail and elaborated on in Exodus 20-Leviticus 27.
The Lord reminds the Israelites that He delivered them from Egyptian bondage by exercising His omnipotence and striking the Egyptians with ten plagues and destroying Pharaoh’s elite chariot force at the Red Sea.
The Lord says He bore the Israelites on eagles’ wings, which is describing the Exodus itself (cf. Deuteronomy 32:10-11), which is a reference to when young eagles are learning to fly and have a problem the mother will fly under them with her wings spread out to catch them.
So the analogy is describing God’s love and care and concern for the Israelites.
In Exodus 19:5-6, the Lord promises the Israelites three things if they obey His Word and keep the covenant He is establishing with them through Moses: (1) Israel would become God’s treasured possession which represents the separation of God’s chosen people from the rest of the world’s population (cf. Deuteronomy 7:6; 14:2; 26:18; Psalm 135:4; Malachi 3:17). (2) Israel would be a kingdom of priests who would represent God before the world in order to bring the world closer to God. (3) Israel would be a holy nation who is set apart exclusively for God’s own purposes.
These three promises do not imply that the Israelites were better than the rest of the world’s population but rather were simply recipients of God’s sovereign grace, which means that God chose them as His nation but not based upon their merits but because it pleased Him.
These three promises make clear that Israel was to bear testimony of Yahweh to the rest of the world.
They indicate that Israel was to be an example to the rest of the nations by means of their words and actions that were to be based upon obedience to Yahweh so as to impress these nations and draw them to desiring a personal relationship with Him.
These promises also indicate that Israel was to intercede for the rest of the world.
Lastly, it indicates that Israel was to keep the promises of God and preserve His Word that the Lord had communicated to them in order to share His Word and His promises with the rest of the world.
Now, notice in verse 4, the Lord says “if” you obey My voice and keep My covenant, then the Israelites would be the recipients of these promises, which expresses the “conditional” aspect of this covenant.
This is totally unlike the Abrahamic, Davidic and New covenants, which are “unconditional” meaning that the fulfillment of these covenants is dependent on God’s faithfulness to His promises regardless of Israel’s continued disobedience (cf. Ezek. 20:1-44).
The fulfillment of unconditional covenants depended entirely upon the faithfulness of God rather than man whereas the fulfillment of a conditional covenant depended upon the faithfulness of man.
Exodus 19:7 So Moses came and called the elders of the people, and set before them all these words which the Lord had commanded him. 8 All the people answered together and said, “All that the Lord has spoken we will do!” And Moses brought back the words of the people to the Lord. (NASB95)
Moses repeats verbatim everything the Lord told him to communicate to the Israelites.
Notice also that Moses speaks to the elders of Israel and not the Israelites themselves.
Verse 7 repeats a pattern that we have seen in the book of Exodus up to this point, namely the Lord speaks to Moses who in turn speaks to the elders who in turn speak to the people (cf. Exodus 3:16, 18; 4:29; 12:21; 17:5-6).
After listening to the elders, the people agreed to do all that the Lord commanded them to do, thus they enter into the covenant with the Lord.
Now, in verse 8 we have the Israelites saying “All that the Lord has spoken we will do!”
Some expositors have criticized this response as presumptuous and that the Israelites should have confessed their total inability to obey perfectly the Lord’s commands.
They argue that they were placing too much confidence in themselves.
However, Deuteronomy chapter 5 records the same event but reveals in greater detail what the Lord thought of the Israelites’ response.
In Deuteronomy 5:28, the Lord says that the Israelites had done well by responding in such a fashion.
Then, in Deuteronomy 5:29, the Lord also reveals that the Israelites did not have the capacity to obey Him.
He bemoans the fact that they did not have the heart to do so.
So these passages teach us the Lord accepted the Israelites’ response, though they were not aware of their inability to obey Him, and the covenant was ratified for the establishment of the kingdom of God in Israel.
So the Israelites’ response to God that they would obey all that He commanded expresses their desire to obey Him wholeheartedly even though they did not have the capacity to do so.
They wanted what God was offering them.
However, they overestimated their own ability to keep the covenant, much like Peter overestimated own ability to overcome Satan and remain faithful to the Lord during His passion.
The Israelites also underestimated God’s own holy standards, which is the direct result of not appreciating their own sinfulness and God’s holiness.
However, the Mosaic Law would teach about both.
Exodus 19:9 The Lord said to Moses, “Behold, I will come to you in a thick cloud, so that the people may hear when I speak with you and may also believe in you forever.” Then Moses told the words of the people to the Lord. 10 The Lord also said to Moses, “Go to the people and consecrate them today and tomorrow, and let them wash their garments; 11 and let them be ready for the third day, for on the third day the Lord will come down on Mount Sinai in the sight of all the people. 12 You shall set bounds for the people all around, saying, ‘Beware that you do not go up on the mountain or touch the border of it; whoever touches the mountain shall surely be put to death. 13 No hand shall touch him, but he shall surely be stoned or shot through; whether beast or man, he shall not live.’ When the ram’s horn sounds a long blast, they shall come up to the mountain.” 14 So Moses went down from the mountain to the people and consecrated the people, and they washed their garments. 15 He said to the people, “Be ready for the third day; do not go near a woman.” (NASB95)
The Lord says to Moses that He will come to him in a dense cloud so that the Israelites might hear when He speaks with Moses.
This would make clear to the Israelites that Moses was in fact speaking with God and God with him.
He wanted this confidence in Moses to be permanent.
Thus, the Lord takes this action.
Moses informs the Lord of the Israelites’ response.
He was formally delivering the Israelites’ message to the Lord as their mediator.
“Consecrate” is the piel form of the verb qā∙ḏǎš (קָדַשׁ) (kaw-dash´), which means “to set oneself apart to serve God exclusively” and speaks of sanctification and holiness.
This would be accomplished during a two day period and would involve washing one’s clothes and abstaining from sexual relations.
This does not imply that being holy is having your clothes clean or not having sex.
Rather, it simply means that one is deny self by avoiding the usual personal indulgences that are not sinful in themselves so as to give special attention to God.
Verses 12 and 13 tell the reader that neither the people nor their animals could touch the mountain otherwise they would suffer capital punishment.
The reason for this apparent harsh rule was to teach the people the seriousness of the situation.
It was to teach them to be serious about being in God’s presence.
It was designed to train them to show great respect for the Lord and to not be familiar with Him.
Verses 14 and 15 record Moses descending from the mountain and consecrating the Israelites as the Lord instructed him to do.
The people washed their clothes and abstained from sexual relations for two days as commanded by the Lord.
Exodus 19:16 So it came about on the third day, when it was morning, that there were thunder and lightning flashes and a thick cloud upon the mountain and a very loud trumpet sound, so that all the people who were in the camp trembled. 17 And Moses brought the people out of the camp to meet God, and they stood at the foot of the mountain. 18 Now Mount Sinai was all in smoke because the Lord descended upon it in fire; and its smoke ascended like the smoke of a furnace, and the whole mountain quaked violently. 19 When the sound of the trumpet grew louder and louder, Moses spoke and God answered him with 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. 21 Then the Lord spoke to Moses, “Go down, warn the people, so that they do not break through to the Lord to gaze, and many of them perish. 22 Also let the priests who come near to the Lord consecrate themselves, or else the Lord will break out against them.” 23 Moses said to the Lord, “The people cannot come up to Mount Sinai, for You warned us, saying, ‘Set bounds about the mountain and consecrate it.’ ” 24 Then the Lord said to him, “Go down and come up again, you and Aaron with you; but do not let the priests and the people break through to come up to the Lord, or He will break forth upon them.” 25 So Moses went down to the people and told them. (NASB95)
On the third day, the Lord descended from heaven and landed on Mount Sinai while displaying His power and majesty and holiness.
The people trembled in response to this awesome manifestation of God.
The Israelites heard thunder and saw flashes of lightning and a thick cloud upon the mountain and heard a very loud trumpet blast.
This manifestation of the Lord at Mount Sinai was a “storm theophany” meaning that God manifested Himself in a visible and auditory fashion by means of a storm.
Once the Lord had descended Moses brought the Israelites to the foot of the mountain, all the while making sure that they did not breach the boundaries set by the Lord.
The text says that the Lord descended upon the mountain in fire, which is often used to express God’s holiness.
It also says that Moses spoke with God and the Lord answered him with thunder.
The Lord called Moses up to the mountain.
Thus, he departed from the people who were at the foot of the mountain and ascended up the mountain to meet the Lord at the summit.
In verses 21 and 22, we have the Lord instructing Moses to warn the Israelites not to enter the holy area of the mountain itself.
The Lord needs to repeat this instruction since this awesome manifestation of God’s presence would have been irresistible to curiosity seekers.
The Lord not only repeated this warning to the people but He warns the priests to not approach the mountain.
So the Lord wants the Israelites to take very seriously the situation and be aware that they are in the presence of God and are to act appropriately according to His commands.
In verse 23, Moses tells God that the Israelites were taking seriously His commands as He instructed.
Moses assures God that the people will not disobey and violate the prohibition to not come up the mountain.
However, God knows the sin nature of man much better than Moses.
Verse 24 tells the reader that the Lord commanded Moses to go down and come back up again along with his brother Aaron.
He prohibits the priests and the people from coming with the two brothers.
Verse 25 records Moses obeying the Lord’s instructions to go down and repeat His warning to the Israelites to not breach the holy area of the mountain.
Again, these stringent regulations were designed to convince the Israelites that they were in the presence of the Creator and Redeemer who is all powerful and holy.
They are designed to inspire a healthy respect for the Lord while in His presence.
These regulations are absolutely necessary because of God’s holiness.
It teaches the Israelites the infinite gulf that separates mankind from a holy God.