And set bounds round about the people, saying, Take heed to yourselves, [not] to go up unto the mountain nor touch the border of it whatever toucheth the mountain shall certainly be put to death
Israel had just promised to do everything the LORD commanded. God's answer was a line drawn around the mountain that no one could cross and live. Why did God fence Himself off from the people He had just rescued?
The fence came right after Israel promised to obey.
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.
Notice which way the command points. God is not inviting them closer.
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.
Why should one touch cost a man his life?
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.
The ban reached even an animal wandering onto the slope, and even the men who carried out the sentence.
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.
The people had washed their clothes and been set apart. The fence shows how far that got them.
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.
Believers are now told to draw near. One writer says what changed, and what did not.
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.
- Promise — Israel's "we will do" changed the tone at once. The God who had carried them on eagles' wings now hid Himself in thick cloud.
- Distance — the fence made visible what they had chosen: under law the word is not "I will come to you" but "keep off."
- Death — a touch was fatal because holiness and sin cannot meet without atonement. The sinner who comes on his own merit is destroyed.
- Inability — washed clothes and ceremonial fitness could not carry anyone over the line; the distance itself proved their efforts inadequate.
- Access — God has not lowered His standard, and men are no better. Christ died, and now the people once fenced out are told to draw near.
not a hand shall touch it, but it shall certainly be stoned, or shot through; whether it be a beast or a man, it shall not live. When the long drawn note of the trumpet soundeth, they shall come up to the mountain.
God fences the mountain, and crossing the line means death — by stone or arrow, never by a human hand. Yet the same verse ends with an invitation, so why does the God who brought Israel out of Egypt fence Himself off at all?
The fence follows Israel's promise to keep the covenant. One writer marks the exact point where the tone changes.
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.
The stones and arrows keep the executioners at a distance too. One writer takes that detail as a measure of the trespass.
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 ban covers animals as well as people, and the invitation at the end has its own limit.
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.
This is where the Bible's trumpet begins, and the sound belongs to God, not to Israel.
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.
The fence tells us what life under the law was like.
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.
Israel had been making themselves ready for the meeting. The fence showed how much that preparation achieved.
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.
The New Testament reverses this command, and the reversal is the point.
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.
- Distance follows the vow. The fence goes up right after Israel promises to obey. God steps back so they can see what their promise is worth.
- Distance is total. Man, beast, even the executioner's hand — nothing may touch the mountain. Distance is sinful man's natural place before the Holy One.
- Distance is the law's message. "Keep off" is the word of the whole system; no one gets to God by works.
- Distance is measured, not removed. The trumpet — Scripture's first, and God's own — lets them come only near enough to be filled with awe.
- Distance is ended by Christ. The same God now calls people to draw near. Men are no better and God is unchanged; Christ has died.