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God’s Preparation For Right Living Exodus 19:16-25
to prepare to receive God’s holy law.
God Came Down Exodus 19:16-20a
Our text begins, “On the morning of the third day.” This becomes one of the many “three-day stories” of the Bible. One Bible scholar used to say, “If you understand the exodus and the Christ event, then you probably know the Bible.” The death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus is also a third-day story.
All of the majestic signs of God’s manifestation are pre- sent in this text: thunder, lightning, clouds, trumpet blasts, smoke, fire, and finally a voice. But notice a phrase that occurs twice in our text: “the Lord descended” (verses 18 and 20). No matter how high humankind attempts to get to God (see Genesis 11:1- 9), God still has to come down. The signs of his power indicate his immanence.
But the fact that he has to come down indicates his tran- scendence. He is separate from his creation.
Thunder and lightning are symbols of his power. Smoke and fire are indicative of his judgment. Trumpets announce
directions. Clouds, mountains, and voices become vehicles of revelation.
No wonder the people and the mountain trembled. This is not a lullaby; this is 76 trom- bones in a marching band. “Fear and trembling” was a phrase used in the ancient world for approaching deity (see Philippians 2:12). All Heaven was breaking loose. Heaven spilled over to earth when God came down. Moses spoke, but God’s powerful voice seemed to cover Moses’ voice (see Psalm 29; Reve- lation 1:15).
Moses Went Up—and Then Down Exodus 19:20b-25
God called Moses up to Mount Sinai to give him the Ten Commandments (Exo- dus 20:3-17; Deuteronomy 5:7-21). Moses was perfectly obedient. The text says, “So Moses went up.” But upon climbing to the top of Mount Sinai, God told him to go back down.
God had plenty of experi- ence with stiff-necked Israel. He knew their propensity to sin and complain. He wanted them warned, so that they did not force their way through to
see God (verse 24). There was even a caution to the priests, who represented the people to God, not to be casual in approaching God. This is, after all, God.
Moses reverently pushed back, perhaps similarly to when he received his call (Ex- odus 3–4). Moses seemed to have more confidence in the people’s obedience than God did. That confidence would wane as the Book of Deuteron- omy shows. Moses reminded God that he had put limits around the mountain (set a boundary). The mountain be- came holy because God came down.
But the Lord still said, “Go back down.” Up and down; up and down. Preparations mat- tered for this climatic moment in Israel’s history. God told Moses to bring Aaron with him when he came back up the mountain. So much of what God had to reveal to Moses would later involve Aaron’s work as high priest (Exodus 25–31). So Moses did go up— only to go back down to the people because part of prepar- ing for the covenant was for the people to acquire a respect for God’s majesty.
We live in a world of con- trasts. Light and dark; good and evil; in and out; deep and wide; forward and backward; over and under. In this week’s lesson, the contrast is between “down and up.” God came down and Moses went up.
Mt. Sinai is one of the most sacred locations in Israel’s his- tory. After escaping through the Red Sea, the Hebrews tra- veled through the wilderness and arrived at Sinai, God’s holy mountain. This mountain is where Moses met God in a burning bush, God made his convenant with Israel and Eli- jah heard God in the still small voice.
Mt. Sinai is where God gave his people the laws and guide- lines for right living, the Ten Commandments (chapter 20). They learned the poten-
tial blessings of evidence (chapter 34:4-28) and the tragic consequences of disobe- dience (chapter 32).
Exodus 19 is the account of God preparing Israel to re- ceive the Ten Commandments (the Mosaic covenant).
This is a high watermark in the Bible. Therefore it could not be entered into lightly or unadvisedly. Preparation mat- tered.
God announced his rescue, his calling. God had a reason for rescuing the Israelites from slavery, and he was about to tell them what it was. Israel was to become a holy nation, a kingdom of priests in which anyone could approach God freely. Moses was told to sanc- tify the people. This meant get- ting them physically and spiritually ready to meet God;
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