Exodus · chapter 19 of 40
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Exodus 19 tells how Israel arrives in the wilderness of Sinai three months after leaving Egypt. God proposes that his people be his treasured possession, a kingdom of priests and a holy nation, and the people promise to obey. After two days of preparation, the Lord descends on the mountain with thunder, a thick cloud, fire and the sound of a trumpet, and warns that no one may touch the mountain.
Exodus 19 marks the center of the book. Israel has left Egypt and reached Mount Sinai, the place where Moses saw the burning bush. God is about to give them the law, but before the commandments comes the relationship: he reminds them of what he did for them and invites them into covenant. The chapter prepares for the giving of the Ten Commandments in chapter 20.
In the third month after leaving Egypt, the Israelites came to the wilderness of Sinai and camped before the mountain. The Lord called to Moses from the mountain and told him to say to the house of Jacob that they had seen what he did to Egypt and how he bore them on eagles' wings and brought them to himself. If they obeyed his voice and kept his covenant, they would be his treasured possession among all peoples, a kingdom of priests and a holy nation. The elders and all the people answered together that they would do all the Lord had spoken.
The Lord said he would come to Moses in a thick cloud so that the people might hear when he spoke with him. He commanded the people to be consecrated and to wash their garments, for on the third day he would come down on the mountain in the sight of all. Moses was to set boundaries around the mountain: whoever touched it would die, with no hand touching him, stoned or shot. When the long trumpet sounded, they could go up.
On the morning of the third day there was thunder and lightning, a thick cloud on the mountain and a very loud trumpet blast, and all the people trembled. Moses brought them out to meet God, and they stood at the foot of the mountain. Mount Sinai was wrapped in smoke because the Lord had descended on it in fire, and the whole mountain shook. Moses spoke, and God answered him in thunder.
The Lord called Moses to the top and told him to go down and warn the people not to break through to gaze at the Lord, and that the priests must also consecrate themselves. Moses said the people could not come up because they had already been warned, but God told him to go down and come back with Aaron, and Moses went down to speak to the people.
References follow ESV book names and verse numbers. Read each verse in your Bible before the explanation.
The Lord reminds Israel that they saw what he did to Egypt and how he bore them on eagles' wings and brought them to himself. The law is founded on grace: first deliverance, then commandments.
If Israel obeys his voice and keeps his covenant, they will be his treasured possession among all peoples, a kingdom of priests and a holy nation. God chooses Israel to serve as a bridge between himself and the nations.
All the people answer together that they will do all the Lord has said. The promise is sincere, but later history will show how hard it is to keep without God's help.
Mount Sinai was wrapped in smoke because the Lord had descended on it in fire, and the whole mountain shook. The scene stresses God's holiness and that approaching him calls for reverence.
6 questions with answers and references, ready for Sunday school, small group or a Bible quiz night.
Answer: In the third month. — Exodus 19:1
Answer: On eagles' wings. — Exodus 19:4
Answer: His treasured possession, a kingdom of priests and a holy nation. — Exodus 19:5-6
Answer: That they would do all the Lord had spoken. — Exodus 19:8
Answer: Consecrate themselves and wash their garments. — Exodus 19:10
Answer: He would die; no hand was to touch him. — Exodus 19:12-13
Exodus 19 teaches that God begins with grace: he first rescued Israel and then gave them his law. In the Christian life obedience is the response to salvation received, not the way to earn it. This order frees us from legalism and guilt.
It also reminds us that God is holy. The mountain was ringed with boundaries, and the people had to prepare. In a class or small group you can talk about how we approach God in prayer and worship, with confidence and with reverence. The New Testament calls believers a royal priesthood and a holy nation, God's people to proclaim his works.
Exodus 19 ends with Moses going down to the people after the warnings about the mountain. In Exodus 20 God himself will speak the ten words, the commandments that sum up his covenant with Israel.
It means that all Israel would serve God among the nations, showing who the Lord is and drawing them to him. The New Testament applies these words to the church in 1 Peter 2:9, which speaks of a royal priesthood and a holy nation.
The mountain was holy because God descended on it, and the boundary taught that God cannot be approached lightly. Anyone who crossed it would die, and so was to be put to death without being touched, by stones or arrows.
It is a picture of God's care and power in bringing Israel out of Egypt. The eagle carries its young with strength and protects them, and the expression shows that God himself brought them.