Exodus 19:1–19

They had started from Egypt for Sinai; for God had told Moses, "when you have brought the people out of Egypt, you shall serve God on this mountain" (Ex. 3:12). But called out as they were from Egypt to go to Canaan, their road to it was to be by the mount of God. So their arrival at Sinai was, as it were, the completion of the first stage of the journey. The second stage ended at Kadesh Barnea, before the end of the second year after they left Egypt. The third was the plains of Moab, reached when they crossed the brook Zered and left the wilderness for good (Deut. 2:13-14).

The length of the journey to Sinai also matters. "They departed from Rameses in the first month, on the fifteenth day of the first month" (Num. 33:3), and they came into the wilderness of Sinai on the first day of the third month, where a new order of things opened for them. Remember that the first stages of their journey were inside Egypt itself (vv. 5-7). That leaves about thirty-eight or forty days for the period in view — the same number in days as the years Israel later spent in the wilderness.

Up to this point all the dealings of God have been the simple application and outflow of His own grace. This is all the more striking, because even after the redemption of the people from Egypt there are grievous faults, unbelief, complaints, and murmurs. Still, not a blow, not a single answer on God's part except in tender mercy towards a poor and failing people. All changes now.

Sinai would make them remember those awe-inspiring displays of the holiness and majesty of that law. They had pledged themselves to obey it as the basis of their relationship with God, and that pledge proved fatal… From Sinai, by taking this place of responsibility, they completely changed the whole character of their relations with God and put it on an entirely different footing. It was no longer a question of what God was for them, but of what they should be for God.

It was a perfectly righteous thing for God to propose terms of law. If He had not, one solemn question would never have been squarely raised: can anyone stand before God on the ground of his own faithfulness?… Ever since man fell, God has presented grace as the only hope for a sinner. But man had no sense of this. His heart kept taking the place of self-righteousness, so God's law put him fully to the test.

The people are now at Sinai. The scene is still a wilderness, and the throne of the almighty Lawgiver is a barren mountain. Law cannot bring into the land, nor produce fruit from the barren heart of man; and God would surround us with reminders of this.

God promised Israel, on condition of obedience, "you shall be to me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation" (Ex. 19:6). They failed in obedience, and Levi's special priesthood was the result of that failure. As part of a failed people, not even the priests could go behind the inner curtain. Grace has now given us as Christians that access to God which was denied to them — access to God fully revealed as the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.

The opening verses of our chapter show God's faithfulness. They witness to the promise He gave Moses in Exodus 3:12: "And He said, Certainly I will be with you: and this shall be a token to you, that I have sent you. When you have brought forth the people out of Egypt, you shall serve God upon this mountain." Mount Sinai is a range of high hills. It is sometimes called Horeb, as in chapter 3. Horeb may be a more general name for the whole range, with Sinai as one of the peaks.

The Israelites camped in the wilderness of Sinai, which must have been a large place, able to hold two million people. Comparing Exodus 19:1 with Numbers 10:11 shows that they stayed there nearly a year. Modern surveys of the mountains in this area have found a plain about two miles long and half a mile wide. It gave ample room for the people to gather. There they could hear the thunder and see the fire and smoke coming out of the mountain. The plain is now called er Rahah.

The blood of the Passover lamb was the sign of their shelter from judgment. It was also the sign of their separation to God Himself. Then the crossing of the Red Sea brings out the song of salvation. And from the Red Sea to Sinai it was all grace. God dealt with them in grace. They murmured again and again, but they got the quails and the water without any reproach. It was perfect and unmingled grace.

Notice, it is "My voice" and "My covenant." What was that voice saying? And what did that covenant involve? Had the Lord's voice made itself heard to lay down the rules of a severe and unbending lawgiver? Not at all. It had spoken to demand freedom for the captives. It had spoken to provide shelter from the sword of the destroyer, to make a way for the ransomed to pass over, to bring down bread from heaven, and to draw water out of the hard rock. Such had been the gracious and clear words of the Lord's voice, up to the moment when "Israel encamped before the mountain."

A new dispensation is opened in these chapters. Up to the close of chapter 18, as pointed out before, grace reigned. It marked all God's dealings with His people. From this point on, the people came, with their own consent, under the strict requirements of law. Sinai is the expression of this way of dealing, and is linked with it for all time.

We shall see the terms of God's proposal to them. The enjoyment of blessing and relationship now depended on their obedience to the word of God, on their faithfulness. It no longer rested only on the faithfulness of God, as it had during the period of grace.

They left the ground of the grace of God, which they had in no way valued. Their conduct proved that His grace had not at all entered their hearts. It was therefore a perfectly righteous thing that God should propose terms of law. Had He not done so, one solemn question would never have come out into the open: can man stand before God on the ground of his own faithfulness?

These chapters begin a new dispensation. Up to the end of chapter 18 grace reigned, and it shaped all God's dealings with His people. But from this point on they were put, with their own consent, under the strict requirements of law. Sinai is the expression of this dispensation, and so is tied to it for all time… Grace had already searched them, and found nothing but disobedience, rebellion, and sin; and now they were to be tested by law. This has been God's object in all His dispensations — to test, and so to reveal, what man is. But — blessed be His name — if He has exposed the incurable corruption of our nature, He has revealed at the same time what He is. He taught that, if man is completely ruined and lost, help and salvation are to be found in Him, and in Him alone.

God called Moses up into the mountain, so that he might receive a fresh proposal from Him and carry it to the people.

God reminds them of His mercies… This is God's emphatic way of putting before them the two things — grace and law. Would they accept all as the gift of grace, or risk all upon their obedience? "Say to the house of Jacob" should have reminded them of Jacob's failures — they were of his house, and would fail just as he did. "Tell the people of Israel" should also have told them, loud and clear, that God gave the name "Israel" — prince — in pure grace. All Israel's prosperity was due to grace alone. The same grace was there for them. Their choice was a sad one.

There are two things in the message which the Lord commissioned Moses to carry to the people. First, He reminds them of what He had done for them. He does it in a way that should have taught them their own complete helplessness, and that all their resources were in God… He had rescued them from Pharaoh and destroyed him and his armies. He had carried His people by His might, brought them to Himself, and given them a place of nearness and relationship. He had done everything for them, and He appeals to their own knowledge in proof of it.

"I bore you on eagles' wings and brought you to Myself." This is the foremost thought in the salvation of God. In time they would indeed learn that the same work had brought them to the land they longed for. But this was the basis of every blessing right through to the end.

In Exodus the people were to be "a peculiar treasure," "a kingdom of priests," "a holy nation" — but only if they truly obeyed God's voice. In Peter, Christians of Jewish background are reminded what they are, without any "if." They are "a royal priesthood," "a holy nation," "a peculiar people" — three things almost identical with the three things of Exodus. But they are also a fourth thing, which does not appear in Exodus. They are "a chosen generation," and that made a difference of immense importance. They were a new generation of God's choice — a born-again people.

Here a huge change was taking place in Israel's position. Until then the promise made to them had no conditions. Look over chapters 15 to 19. You will find that God had given them everything freely, even while they complained — the manna, water to drink, the sabbath, and so on. He had also supported them in their fight with Amalek at Rephidim. He reminds them of all this: "You yourselves have seen," He says to them, "how I bore you on eagles' wings and brought you to Myself; now therefore, if…" This is the first time in God's dealings with Israel that the little word if appears.

These words point to divine power. In the deliverance out of Egypt God jealously shut out every other power. Israel was to learn the grace and might of a Saviour-God.

He brought Israel into the wilderness to have them completely alone with Himself. There He could teach them what He was. As He said later: "You yourselves have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I bore you on eagles' wings and brought you to Myself." He lets us pass through these trials so that we may fully understand that everything there comes from God. The eagle's wing never tires or fails.

Then we find redemption — the active intervention of God to make good the promises made. We do not now have a promise of something still to come, but actual deliverance, as Exodus 19:4 says. Peter says the same in 1 Peter 3:18: "For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God." The work done to put away sin is so complete that now not one thing stands — morally, I mean — between God and the one who has part in it.

Israel's special privilege was nearness to God: He "brought you to Myself." Compared with all the nations around them, this gave Israel a priestly standing before God.

In the very giving of the law, God spoke these words: "I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery." The ways of God are very precious; God must be true to Himself. He did not command obedience so that they might be redeemed, but because they were redeemed.

This is God's emphatic way of putting before them the two things — grace and law. Would they accept everything as the gift of grace, or risk everything on their obedience? "Say to the house of Jacob" should have reminded them of Jacob's failures. They belonged to his house, and they would fail just as he did. "Tell the children of Israel" should have told them in the loudest tones that God gave the name Israel — which means prince — in pure grace.

Here was an immense change taking place in the state of Israel: until then the promise made to them had been unconditional. Look over chapters 15 to 19. You will find that God had given them all things freely, even though they murmured — the manna, water to drink, the sabbath, and so on. He had also sustained them in their fight with Amalek at Rephidim. He recalls all this to their memory. "You have seen," He says to them, "how I bore you on eagles' wings and brought you to Myself; now therefore, if …" This is the first time, in the relationship between God and Israel, that the little word if appears.

Notice, it is "My voice" and "My covenant." What was the utterance of that "voice"? and what did that "covenant" involve? Had the Lord's voice spoken to lay down the rules of a severe and unbending lawgiver? Not at all. It had spoken to demand freedom for the captives. It had spoken to provide a refuge from the sword of the destroyer, and to make a way for the ransomed to pass over. It had spoken to bring down bread from heaven and to draw water out of the hard rock.

And as to His "covenant," it was one of unmixed grace. It proposed no condition. It made no demands. It put no yoke on the neck, no burden on the shoulder… His word to Abraham was, "I WILL GIVE." The land of Canaan was not to be bought by man's doings. It was given by God's grace.

They could not have forgotten what had already happened. In the short three months since they crossed the Red Sea, they had sinned again and again. Every fresh difficulty had only shown their failure and sin. So if they had gone over their past experience, they would have seen that accepting these new terms would cost them everything. They would surely have said to one another, "We have disobeyed time after time. We fear the same thing might happen again, and then we forfeit everything. No; we must throw ourselves without reserve on that same grace which has saved, led and preserved us." But instead they accepted the condition at once and said, "All that the Lord has spoken we will do." Their past experience counted for nothing… Their own felt helplessness should have made them cling to what God was for them, which is grace. Instead they foolishly offered to make everything depend on what they could be for God, which is the principle of law.

You could translate this expression as "My own possession." God used those very words of His people (see Exodus 19:5), if only they would hear His voice and keep His covenant.

When Abraham's nation appeared, the Lord had chosen them to be His witnesses. He put them in possession of a portion of the earth, to hold it under Him as their Lord. This showed that He, who took whatever portion He pleased, had title to the whole. Israel, established as God's people, should have stayed among the nations yet formally separate from them, reflecting the light of God's glory as King of all the earth.

Because of the people's transgressions under the first covenant, this purpose of God was never realised. That did not cancel it. It still holds good that the Lord "has chosen Jacob for Himself, and Israel for His peculiar treasure" (Ps. 135:4).

Had Israel obeyed the voice of God and kept His covenant, they would have been to God "a peculiar treasure", a kingdom of priests and a holy nation (Exodus 19:5-6). They failed. The nation was set aside, and believers are now seen as taking the place of Israel as a witness to God before the world.

Priesthood was what God proposed to Israel. It was what He had in mind in connection with redemption... This was His original thought for them, and He held to it all through, although it could not be carried out then. In Christianity the redeemed are in fact priests, as the apostle to the Jewish people shows. "I brought you to Myself," fully realised, is priesthood in at least one of its essential characters: the ability to draw near to God. "The priests who come near to the LORD" (Ex. 19:22) is one of the earliest titles describing them.

For this, holiness was an absolute requirement. A "kingdom of priests" implies a "holy nation." And so in Israel the official nearness was only outward, because the holiness was so largely outward. God was, as we know, teaching spiritual truths by means of outward representation. In Christianity we have the substance of these shadows.

Here was an immense change taking place in the state of Israel: until then the promise made to them had been unconditional. If you look over chapters 15 to 19, you will find that God had given them all things freely, even despite their murmurings — the manna, water to drink, the sabbath, and so on. He had also sustained them in their fight with Amalek at Rephidim. He recalls all this to their memory, and then adds: "now therefore, if…" This is the first time in the relationship between God and Israel that the little word if appears.

Notice, it is "my voice" and "my covenant." What did that voice say? Had it made itself heard to lay down the rules and regulations of a severe and unbending law-giver? By no means. It had spoken to demand freedom for the captives, and to provide a refuge from the sword of the destroyer. It had spoken to make a way for the ransomed to pass over, to bring down bread from heaven, and to draw water out of the hard rock. These were the gracious, clear words of the LORD's voice, right up to the moment when "Israel camped before the mount."

Israel was not willing to take this blessed position. Instead of rejoicing in God's "holy promise," they made the most presumptuous vow that human lips could utter. All the people answered together and said, "All that the LORD has spoken we will do." This was bold language. They did not even say "we hope to do" or "we will try to do." That would have expressed some measure of self-distrust. But no; they took the most absolute ground.

Israel never became a "kingdom of priests" under the law. The choice of Aaron and his family afterwards shows this fully. The people as a body were shut out of the priesthood. For anyone not of Aaron's line, entering the priestly office meant death.

It is a clear allusion to Exodus 19. It follows the Hebrew idiom in the true reading: not exactly "kings and priests" here, but "a kingdom, priests." There is of course this essential difference. There it was only an offer, conditional on Israel's legal obedience. Here grace has given us the position.

In that day Israel will stand in priestly nearness to God, compared with other nations. At Sinai He said, "If you will obey My voice… you shall be to Me a kingdom of priests" (Ex. 19:6). This has never yet been realised. In Hosea 4:6 we hear the voice of Israel's indignant God: "I reject you from being a priest to me." But in the day of kingdom-glory, "you shall be called the priests of the LORD; they shall speak of you as the ministers of our God" (Isa. 61:6).

There are two things in the message which the Lord commissioned Moses to carry to the people. First, He reminds them of what He had done for them. That reminder should have taught them how helpless they were, and that all their resources were in God. "You yourselves have seen," He says, "what I did to the Egyptians, and how I bore you on eagles' wings and brought you to Myself." … Then, secondly, He makes a proposal. "Now therefore, if you will indeed obey My voice and keep My covenant, you shall be My treasured possession among all peoples." … But now, to test them, He says: "Until now I have done everything for you. Now I propose to make My continued favour depend on your own works."

Notice, it is "My voice" and "My covenant." What had that "voice" been saying? And what did that "covenant" involve? Had the Lord's voice spoken to lay down the rules and regulations of a severe and unbending lawgiver? By no means. It had spoken to demand freedom for the captives. It had spoken to provide a refuge from the sword of the destroyer. It had spoken to make a way for the ransomed to pass over, to bring down bread from heaven, and to draw water out of the hard rock.

It proposed no condition — it made no demands — it put no yoke on the neck, no burden on the shoulder. … His word to Abraham was, "I WILL GIVE." The land of Canaan was not to be bought by man's doing, but given by God's grace.

And Moses faithfully carried out his mission. He "called the elders of the people and set before them all these words that the LORD had commanded him" (v. 7). Surely such a message would produce deep searching of heart. They could not have forgotten their own record. In the short three months since they crossed the Red Sea, they had sinned again and again. Every fresh difficulty had only exposed their failure and sin. If they had gone back over that past, they would have seen that accepting these new terms meant losing everything. They would say to one another, "We have disobeyed time after time, and we fear the same thing might happen again, and then we forfeit everything."

He proposes a condition to them: if they obeyed His voice, they should be His people. The people did not know themselves. They should have said, "We are bound to obey, but we dare not place ourselves under such a condition. It would risk our blessing — no, it would make sure of losing it." Instead, they undertake to do all that the Lord had spoken. The blessing now took the form of dependence, like Adam's, on the faithfulness of man as well as of God.

To see the difference between law and grace, compare verses 4 and 5 of this chapter with 1 Peter 2:9. In Exodus the people were to be "a treasured possession," "a kingdom of priests," "a holy nation," but only if they truly obeyed God's voice. Peter reminds Christians of Jewish background what they are, without any "if." They are "a royal priesthood," "a holy nation," "a people for His own possession" — almost the same three things as in Exodus. But they are a fourth thing that Exodus never names. They are "a chosen race," and that made a difference of immense importance. They were a new generation of God's choosing — a born-again people.

Law can only say, "Do and live," whereas grace says, "Live and do."

God brought the people out of Egypt in grace, and they stood in grace until they came to Sinai. But there they came under the covenant of works, and from that day everything changed. They came under law with a little grace added, or none of them would have left Sinai alive.

This was bold language. They did not even say, "we hope to do," or "we will try to do." That would have shown some distrust of themselves. But no; they took the most absolute ground: "We will do." And this was not the language of a few proud, self-confident people who dared to set themselves apart from the whole congregation. No; "all the people answered together."

They made this promise before they had heard what God required of them. How little they knew their own hearts! Moses took their answer back to the Lord.

The people accepted the terms of the covenant offered them, and it was certainly their duty to do so. But they went further. They declared that they were able to obey God's commands. In the light of their recent rebellions, that was without doubt a most serious misjudgement of human power.

If they had valued grace, that thing more precious than words can say, they would all have cried out with one heart: "Lord, do not put such terms to us; do not lay such responsibility on us. We dare not place ourselves under such conditions. We would surely lose our blessing. Your grace, O Lord, is our only hope as sinners." But no, they took it on themselves to do all that the Lord had spoken.

This was a very marked change. The One who had just said, "I bore you on eagles' wings and brought you to Myself," now wraps Himself in a thick cloud and says, "set bounds to the people round about." The sweet tones of grace and mercy give way to the thunder and lightning of the fiery mountain. Man had dared to talk of his own poor doings in the presence of God's magnificent grace. Israel had said, "we will do," and now they must be kept at a distance, so that everyone may see plainly what they are able to do.

They promised this in Exodus 19:8, before the law was given. Now that God had given it, they repeat their promise. In doing so they show us that they knew nothing of their own sinfulness and weakness. But God gave the law so that these painful facts would come to light.

Jeremiah follows. He predicts that these new things will rest not on the old covenant of law but on a new covenant of grace. Read Jeremiah 31:31-34 and notice how "I will" appears again and again, rather than the "If you will" of Exodus 19:8. In this new covenant God acts according to His own thoughts and purposes in grace, based on the work of Christ.

The very nature of a vow is that it assumes the ability to keep it. And where is man's ability? A man who is bankrupt might as well write a cheque on the bank, as a helpless sinner make a vow. A man who makes a vow denies the truth about his own nature and condition.

The moment Israel made their bold vow, the moment they undertook to "do," everything changed. The One who had just said, "I bore you on eagles' wings, and brought you to Myself," now wraps Himself in a thick cloud and says, "set bounds around the people." The sweet tones of grace and mercy give way to the thunder and lightning of the burning mountain. Man had dared to speak of his miserable doings in the presence of God's magnificent grace.

Moses carried the people's message back, and the Lord now sets up His new relationship with them on the ground of law. First of all, He puts Moses in the place of a mediator... He gives him a position the people would be forced to acknowledge... Everything commanded marked the change. Before, they had to do with a God of grace; now they have to do with a God of righteousness. So God had to keep His distance, for He was dealing with sinners. The people, on their side, had to be separate and clean. The "thick cloud" He said He would come in stood for the first of these.

God came out from the unapproachable light to make His law known. The law sets out His demands on man — what He asks of a man standing on his own responsibility. But God did not reveal Himself. He surrounded Himself with "a thick cloud" (Ex. 19:9). He spoke out of fire and smoke (v. 18) and thick darkness (Deut. 4:11). There was a display of majesty, power and authority. The storm and the shaking of the mountain were so great that the people trembled. Moses himself feared greatly (Heb. 12:21).

Their ruin soon appears. But the Lord shows that He knew from the first, before any result appeared, that they were unable to stand before Him. He says to Moses, "Behold, I am coming to you in a thick cloud, that the people may hear when I speak with you, and may also believe you forever." But in this chapter, and still more in the next, the people beg that God's voice should not speak to them any more.

What was the result of this? Did God express approval and appreciation of their promise? Far from it! Instead He told Moses, "Behold, I am coming to you in a thick cloud, that the people may hear when I speak with you, and may also believe you forever" (v. 9). The people had spoken, expecting God to believe their promise. Instead God would speak, and the people had better believe Moses, who would carry God's word to them. So they were to believe God.

When Moses took back their answer to the Lord, a deep change appears in His attitude toward His people. It was a necessary change, because the new terms were now the basis of God's relationship with them: no longer under grace, but under His government. Yet as God draws into the thick darkness, and as He sets up the distance that will mark all His dealings with them, one ray of divine grace lights up the whole dark scene. He appoints Moses as mediator... As we go on we shall learn the precious, far-reaching effects of this mediatorship. It also pictures our far nearer and closer place of blessing. Of us the apostle can say, "For you have not come to what may be touched, a blazing fire... But you have come to Mount Zion... and to Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant" (Heb. 12:18-24).

The meaning attached to this term is always decided by the setting in which it is found. Here it will mean the separation of the people — setting them apart to God on the ground of their promised obedience. It would involve outward separation from everything unsuited to the presence of a holy God. Everything, notice, now has to be done from their side. Moses was to sanctify them, and they were to wash their clothes. The moment they undertook to obey as the condition of blessing, they in fact accepted the responsibility of making themselves fit for God's presence.

It was always God's delight to have His people near Him, enjoying the precious fruits of His grace, rather than far off, reaping the bitter fruits of their works. This last state was simply the result of man's legal words, "All that the Lord has spoken we will do." Until the fatal moment when they spoke those words, God had been speaking and acting toward Abraham's descendants in the same unqualified grace He had shown to Abraham himself. But when Israel undertook to do, it was necessary to put them thoroughly to the test. This was done by the law.

To prove what was in their hearts, to bring fully into view what was hiding there, to expose the corruption of their nature, and so to teach them their ruined and guilty condition… It is often like this in the experience of sinners. Awakened to some sense of their condition, they begin to try to improve themselves, to purify their own hearts, and to qualify themselves in this way for the favour of God. But they soon discover that the only effect of all their efforts is to bring their own sin and vileness to light.

In their natural condition they were not fit to meet a God of absolute holiness. Sanctifying is setting them apart from the evil natural to them. Their clothes, which stand for their habits, were dirty too. We also need washing from defiling habits.

They might wash their clothes as carefully as they liked. They might make them so clean that no human eye could see a stain. But there was a deeper question for their consciences, if only they had understood it. Could they cleanse themselves well enough to bear the inspection of a holy God? … Man cannot cleanse himself for God. This is the lesson of the whole of Scripture.

The third day is often significant and typical; and so here it seems to speak in figure of death. It was on the morning of the third day that the Lord came down on Mount Sinai, with all that goes with His awe-inspiring majesty… Every possible solemnity surrounded His steps. All the people in the camp trembled, despite the preparations they had gone through. If they had confidence in themselves before, it must now have been badly shaken, if not destroyed. If they were prepared to meet God, why should they fear?

This must have sounded striking to anyone who remembered the command given to Israel at Sinai: do not go up the mountain, do not even touch its edge, on pain of death (Ex. 19:12). For believers are now urged to draw near to God, into His very presence. Why this difference in divine directions? Men are no better. God is unchanged. But Christ has died for sinners. That is the difference.

Notice that everything now has to be done from their side. Moses was to sanctify them, and they were to wash their clothes. The moment they undertook to obey as the condition of blessing, they in reality accepted the responsibility of fitting themselves for God's presence. No doubt they gained in this way a kind of ceremonial qualification to meet with God. But God kept them at a distance, and that distance proved at once how short their efforts fell.

In other words, in their natural condition they were not fit to meet a God of absolute holiness. Sanctifying is setting them apart from the evil natural to them. Their clothes stood for their habits, and those clothes were defiled. We too need washing from defiling habits. On the third day God Himself would come down on Mount Sinai to reveal Himself in a certain way. That revelation was not in grace, however, as it is today in the person of Christ, "God manifest in flesh."

The people had to be sanctified to meet God, and sanctified in His own way. As God said when some came near to offer strange fire before Him, "Among those who are near Me I will be sanctified" (Lev. 10:3).

For the same reason that He gave them the law — to test what was in their hearts, to bring out fully what was hidden there, to expose the corruption of their nature, and so to teach them their ruined and guilty condition. To some extent they learned how useless their own efforts were. Despite all their "sanctifying" and "washing" they could not draw near to God, and His voice terrified them. It is often like this in the experience of sinners… the only way to cleanse his robes from every spot and stain is in the blood of the Lamb. Only that makes them white enough to satisfy even the requirements of God's holiness.

The third day is often significant and typical; and so here it would seem to speak in figure of death. So on the morning of the third day the Lord came down on Mount Sinai, with all the marks of His awesome and terrible majesty. There were thunders and lightnings. They expressed judicial power — the attitude God's holiness must take when He comes into contact with sinners.

Look at that. "Draw near to me," says God, "and you die." And that is why the apostle says it was the "ministration of death" (2 Cor. 3:7).

As they were, and as Sinai was, they could not help shrinking back from God. There God was in His majesty of judgment — not in the love that comes down, puts itself under the burden, and takes it away. That could not happen at Sinai. There it was a just God in the presence of sinners only, so He could do nothing but overawe them and fill everyone with terror and the dread of judgment. Boundaries had to be set around the mountain… "But you have come," says the Spirit, "to Mount Zion." That is the mountain of God's intervention in grace, as Sinai was of man's responsibility.

The moment Israel made their vow, the moment they undertook to "do," everything changed. "And the LORD said to Moses, Behold, I am coming to you in a thick cloud... And you shall set limits for the people all around." This was a very marked change. The One who had just said, "I bore you on eagles' wings, and brought you to myself," now wraps Himself in a thick cloud. He says, "set limits for the people all around." The sweet tones of grace and mercy give way to the thunder and lightning of the fiery mountain. Man had presumed to talk about his miserable doings in the presence of God's magnificent grace. Israel had said, "we will do." So God put them at a distance, and then everyone could see in full what they were able to do.

There are no such words here as, "I will come to you." Quite the reverse. The word was, "Beware lest you come to Me." See Exodus 19:12, 24. It was impossible for man to get to God by way of law. Man could not climb over the barriers placed around that mountain. "By works of law shall no man living be justified." Under the law there is no possible way of access to God. "Keep off" is the stern utterance of the entire legal system.

All these details are deeply solemn. They show that man is utterly unable to stand on his own merits before God. They also teach that if the sinner ventures to come into contact with Him on that footing, it can only end in his own destruction. And God, apart from atonement, cannot meet the sinner on the ground of righteousness without destroying him. When will men learn that there is, and must be for ever, the most irreconcilable antagonism between holiness and sin? God must be against the sinner unless the claims of His holiness are met. And those claims are met only in the death of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Every detail in this introduction to the giving of the law did more than show the infinite majesty of God. It pressed on sinful man that his natural place is distance from the Holy One. The mountain "burned with fire." Its summit was wrapped in "blackness, darkness, and tempest." The command not even to touch its edge was urgent in the extreme — "If even a beast touches the mountain, it shall be stoned" (Hebrews 12:18-21). The offender was not only to die. His presumption was counted so gross that not even the men who put him to death were to touch him.

Notice that everything now has to be done from their side. Moses was to sanctify them, and they were to wash their clothes. The moment they undertook to obey as the condition of blessing, they really took on the responsibility of making themselves fit for God's presence. No doubt they gained a ceremonial qualification to meet with God. But the very distance God kept them at proved at once how inadequate their efforts were. Man cannot cleanse himself for God. This is the lesson of all Scripture.

This must have sounded striking to anyone who remembered the command given to Israel at Sinai: not to go up into the mountain, and not to touch the border of it, on pain of death (Ex. 19:12). Believers are now urged to draw near to God, into His very presence. Why this difference in divine directions? Men are no better. God is unchanged. But Christ has died for sinners. That is the difference.

The moment Israel spoke their "singular vow," the moment they undertook to "do," everything changed completely... This was a very marked change. He had just said, "I bore you on eagles' wings and brought you to Myself." Now He wraps Himself "in a thick cloud," and says, "set limits for the people all around." The sweet tones of grace and mercy give way to the "thunders and lightnings" of the fiery mount. Man had presumed to talk of his miserable doings in the presence of God's magnificent grace. Israel had said, "we will do." God must set them at a distance, so that everyone can see in full what they are able to do. God takes the place of moral distance, and the people are only too willing to have it so, for they are filled with fear and trembling.

Every incident in this introduction to the giving of the law showed the infinite majesty of God. It also pressed on sinful man that his natural place is distance from the Holy One... The command not even to touch the edges of the mountain was urgent in the extreme: "If even a beast touches the mountain, it shall be stoned" (Heb. 12:20; older Bibles add "or shot through with a dart"). The offender was not only to die. His presumption was reckoned so gross that even the men who killed him were not to handle him.

The display of Exodus 19 keeps the people at a distance... The prohibition included even beasts (v. 13). When the trumpet sounded long, they were to come near to the mountain, but no further — just near enough to be filled with awe and apprehension.

The first place in Scripture where we meet "the trumpet" is Exodus 19. It is introduced to us as "the herald of the presence of the divine Majesty." This was when the LORD formally displayed His glory on the top of Mount Sinai, to the people He had chosen for Himself to be their king... Here the trumpet was clearly God's.

There are no such words here as, "I will come to you." Quite the reverse. The word was, "Beware that you do not come to Me." It was impossible for man to get to God by way of law. No man could climb the barriers placed around that mount. "By works of the law no one will be justified." Under the law there is no possible way of access to God. "Keep off" is the stern word of the entire legal system.

Notice that everything now had to be done from their side. Moses was to set them apart for God, and they were to wash their clothes. The moment they undertook to obey as the condition of blessing, they in fact took on the responsibility of fitting themselves for God's presence. No doubt they gained a kind of ceremonial qualification to meet with God. But the very distance at which they were kept proved at once how inadequate their efforts were.

This must have sounded striking to anyone who remembered the order given to Israel at Sinai: do not go up into the mountain, and do not touch its border — or you die (Ex. 19:12). For believers are now urged to draw near to God, into His very presence. Why this difference in divine directions? Men are no better. God is unchanged. But Christ has died for sinners. That is the difference.

The setting in which this word appears always decides its meaning. Here it means the separation of the people — setting them apart to God on the ground of their promised obedience. No doubt it also meant separating them, in outward things, from everything unsuited to the presence of a holy God.

In other words, in their natural condition they were not fit to meet a God of absolute holiness. Sanctifying is setting them apart from the evil natural to them. Also, their clothes, speaking of their habits, were defiled, just as we too need washing from defiling habits.

Everything now had to come from their side. They had to learn what it means to deal with a God who is "of purer eyes than to see evil" and "cannot look at wrong" (Habakkuk 1:13)… Moses was to sanctify them. That meant setting them apart for God on the ground of their promised obedience. But it meant an obedience at a distance from God. This prescribed cleansing was only a ceremonial qualification. The distance from God remained. That was a solemn witness, as it was meant to be: outward cleansing could never give them a lasting place of nearness to God on the ground of their responsibility.

In measure they learnt how useless their own efforts were. Despite all their "sanctifying" and "washing" they could not draw near to God, and they were terrified at His voice. It is often so in the experience of sinners. They wake up to some sense of their condition. They begin to try to improve themselves. They try to purify their own hearts and so qualify themselves for the favour of God. But they soon discover that all their efforts only bring their own sin and vileness to light. Or suppose they do weave a robe of self-righteousness and cover their faults for a time. The moment they come into God's presence, that robe looks like nothing but filthy rags in the light of His holiness. Man has no power to help himself. Until he learns this, he can never understand the one way to cleanse his robes from every spot and stain: the blood of the Lamb.

They were set apart under flesh-and-blood conditions… The blood of Christ has not sanctified us outwardly. It has purged our consciences from dead works. That whole system was for man in the flesh; it did not deal with their souls or clear their consciences. The entire nation was sanctified when they came out of Egypt; it all had to do with their outward standing with God. Those sanctified were never free in heart and conscience, and were never able to worship God as we can today.

Only Moses and Aaron were to be allowed on the mountain; the priests and the people were to be kept at a distance. This clearly shows that the law did not bring men near to God. There was a mediator and a priest between them and God, but the people were kept away from God. How very different it is in Christianity, for our Mediator has brought God near to us in grace.

How precious it is to set these words of God, "I will," against the "we will do" of the people. God's "I will" is certain of fulfilment. The people failed in that promise again and again, and failed sadly. So they showed they had no power to enjoy relationship with God on the ground of their responsibility.

The people were to be "sanctified" for two days. The setting it appears in always decides what this word means. Here it means the separating of the people — setting them apart to God on the ground of their promised obedience. Everything, notice, now has to be done from their side. Moses was to sanctify them, and they were to wash their clothes. The moment they took on obedience as the condition of blessing, they in fact accepted the responsibility of making themselves fit for God's presence.

This required cleansing was only a ceremonial qualification. The distance from God was still kept. That distance was a solemn witness, and it was meant to be one: this outward cleansing could never give them a lasting place of nearness to God on the ground of their responsibility.

Why then did the Lord give this command to Israel? He gave it for the same reason that He gave them the law: to prove what was in their hearts. It brought into full view what was hiding there. It exposed the corruption of their nature, and so taught them their ruined and guilty condition. In some measure they learned how useless their own efforts were. Despite all their "sanctifying" and "washing" they could not draw near to God, and His voice terrified them.

For two days they were to be set apart. They were to wash even their clothes. Boundaries were to be set, stopping anyone from touching the mountain, on pain of death. God was now to give the law, and it was important that the people who received it should have a deep sense of the holiness of the One who gave it.

Moses brought this word to the people, so they were sanctified and washed their clothes (v. 14). He told them to be ready for the third day, keeping a sanctification even from a sexual relationship with their wives. Yet even these preparations did not soften the stern, forbidding character of God's display of awe-inspiring justice.

Note the expression "the third day." Set beside other similar scriptures, it would seem to picture the distance that death has brought in. Each passage, of course, must be taken in its own setting. Here it was on the morning of the third day that the Lord came down on Mount Sinai in the sight of all the people.

Every possible solemnity surrounded God's coming, and all the people in the camp trembled, despite the preparations they had gone through. If they had confidence in themselves before, it must now have been shaken, if not destroyed. If they were ready to meet God, why should they fear? Why then did they tremble at the signs of His presence? Because in their folly they had undertaken to meet Him on the ground of what they were in themselves and their own doings, instead of casting themselves on His mercy, His grace, and love.

This is often how it goes with sinners. Awakened to some sense of their condition, they begin to try to improve themselves, to purify their own hearts, and to qualify themselves this way for God's favour. But they soon discover that the only effect of all their efforts is to bring their own sin and corruption to light. Man is utterly helpless. Until he learns this, he can never understand that the only way to cleanse his robes from every spot and stain is in the blood of the Lamb.

There were thunders and lightnings. They expressed judicial power — the way God in His holiness must act when He comes into contact with sinners. There was also a thick cloud on the mountain, showing that He stayed at a distance and hidden from view. The sound of the trumpet was very loud. It announced that God was coming, and it called the people together. All the people in the camp trembled, in spite of the preparations they had gone through. If they had confidence in themselves before, it was now badly shaken, if not swept away. For if they were ready to meet God, why should they fear?

Along with other awe-inspiring displays, the blast of the trumpet not only continued long, but became louder and louder. This simply means that God was speaking to Israel so loudly as to totally silence any speaking on Israel's part, whether promises or anything else. The trumpet was an announcement for everyone to hear. Here God was announcing the giving of the law, which He was about to lay on the nation Israel as a stern demand. From the very start God was showing that He knew the law was a yoke of slavery Israel would not be able to carry.

The moment Israel undertook to "do," everything changed... The One who had just said, "I bore you on eagles' wings and brought you to myself," now wraps Himself in a thick cloud and says, set limits for the people all around. The sweet tones of grace and mercy give way to the thunder and lightning of the fiery mountain. Man had presumed to talk of his miserable doings in the presence of God's magnificent grace. Israel had said, "we will do," and so God put them at a distance, where everyone could see clearly what they are able to do.

God showed Israel His terrifying majesty there and then, in a way this world has never known before or since. So the Jews boasted that no other religion began like theirs. Only their ancestors stood around that mountain of God. But were they not standing there in utter fear and trembling? Where was there shown the least real knowledge of God? Where was there any true sense of their own state in His sight? What a contrast with Job, who said, "I had heard of you by the hearing of the ear, but now my eye sees you; therefore I despise myself, and repent in dust and ashes" (Job 42:5-6). How little they admitted that they were guilty sinners, and that there could be no approach to God until their sins were judged and taken away.

Hebrews 12:21 gives a detail that Exodus does not mention: "So terrifying was the sight that Moses said, 'I tremble with fear.'" Exodus tells us that the people trembled, but that Moses, along with Aaron, went up into the mountain. Hebrews tells us how he shook as he did so.

Israel had come to Sinai, and that was the mountain that marked their whole course from beginning to end. And what was the result of it? As it began with darkness and distance, so it ended with misery and death. Being what they were, and Sinai being what it was, they could not help shrinking back from God. There God stood in His majesty of judgment. He was not there in the love that comes down, takes the burden on itself and carries it away... "But you have come," says the Spirit, "to Mount Zion" — the mountain of God's intervention in grace, as Sinai was of man's responsibility.

All these details are solemn. They show that man cannot stand before God on his own merits. They teach at the same time that if a sinner dares to come into contact with Him on that footing, it can only end in his own destruction. Apart from atonement, God cannot meet the sinner on the ground of righteousness without destroying him... Seen in this light it is a moving scene. God was on Sinai in all the awful majesty of His holiness. The people stood in all their distance and guilt, trembling at what they saw and heard. They were shut off from the mountain, yet brought out of the camp to meet with God, and to receive the requirements of His righteous law which they had promised to obey.

The moment Israel made their vow, the moment they undertook to "do," everything changed... This was a very marked change. The One who had just said, "I bore you on eagles' wings and brought you to myself" now wraps Himself in a thick cloud. He says, "Set bounds around the people." The sweet tones of grace and mercy give way to the thunder and lightning of the burning mountain. Man had dared to talk about his wretched doings in the presence of God's magnificent grace. Israel had said, "we will do," so God set them at a distance, to show in full what they were able to do.

Their safety lay in distance. God set bounds around them. They were not to go up the mountain or touch its border — "not a hand shall touch it."

On the third day there was thunder and lightning and a thick cloud on the mountain. Then a trumpet sounded very loud, and the people trembled (v. 16). Yet Moses did not let them draw back. He brought them near to the foot of the mountain, to meet a God who was hidden behind the forbidding cloud... So God met their promise to obey Him!

This is shown from the outset. The people cannot draw near, not even through their representatives. The One who has come down to dwell among them must still hold them at a distance. God calls Moses alone to approach, as a picture of a greater Mediator.

In Hebrews 12 the Holy Spirit contrasts the position of Israel with that of the Christian. Israel had come to Sinai, and that was the mountain that marked their whole course from beginning to end. And what came of it? As it began with darkness and distance, so it ended with misery and death. Being what they were, and Sinai being what it was, they could not help shrinking back from God. There God was in His majesty of judgment — not in the love that comes down, takes the burden on Himself, and so takes it away. "But you have come to Mount Zion," says the Spirit — the mountain of God's intervention in grace, as Sinai was of man's responsibility.

The people were far off, the leaders were not to come near, and had to worship at a distance. The blood of the Lord Jesus Christ, however, brings us near, and we can draw near. The legal covenant always puts man at a solemn and guilty distance from God; the covenant of grace brings man near to God.

The first place in Scripture where we meet "the trumpet" is Exodus 19. It is introduced to us here as "the herald of the presence of the divine Majesty." This was when the LORD formally displayed His glory on the top of Mount Sinai, to the people He had chosen for Himself to be their king… Here the trumpet was clearly God's.

Along with other awe-inspiring displays, the blast of the trumpet not only continued long, but became louder and louder. This simply means that God was speaking so loudly that Israel could not speak at all — no promises, nothing else. The trumpet was an announcement for everyone to hear. Here God was announcing the giving of the law, a stern demand laid on the nation Israel. From the very outset God was showing that He knew the law was a yoke of bondage that Israel would not be able to bear. Yet despite these awesome signs, Israel still did not understand this lesson of their inability to keep the law.

He was then called up to the mount. What was the nature of the first message he received? Barriers already stood around the mount. The place where God stood was holy ground, and anyone — man or beast — who so much as touched the mount would die. But even this was not enough. The LORD told Moses to go down and warn the people not to break through to look at Him, or many of them would perish (v. 21). Priests and people alike had to stay at a distance, except Moses and Aaron — in case the LORD should break out against them (v. 24).

All these details are deeply solemn. They show that man cannot stand before God on his own merits. They also teach that if a sinner comes to God on that footing, it can only end in his own destruction. Apart from atonement, God cannot meet the sinner on the ground of righteousness without destroying him. When will men learn that holiness and sin are, and must be forever, utterly opposed? God must be against the sinner unless the claims of His holiness are met. And nothing can ever meet those claims except the death of the Lord Jesus Christ.

There was also a burning with supernatural fire, more terrible than anything ordinary, along with darkness and gloom and storm… There was a trumpet's sound, never heard before or since, which grew louder and louder in its awful summons. And there was a voice of words, heard by every soul as God's, more terrifying than all the rest in its majesty and its deadly meaning for the conscience! So they begged above all that they might hear this voice no more, asking that Moses speak for them instead… The scene was so fearful that the very mediator they set their hope on said, as the inspired writer could confirm, I am terrified and trembling.

So terrified were the people that they begged the LORD not to address them in that way any more. To this He graciously responded, promising to speak to them later in a man — a prophet raised up from among their brothers, like Moses. This is none other than the Lord Jesus, in whom — in His words and ways — all the heart of God has been expressed. Meanwhile, Moses was appointed to act as mediator between God and the people.