Thursday Night Bible Study

Exodus 19

"We Are Standing..." • 1.27.10 • Calvary Christian Fellowship, Thursday Night Bible Study

Intro.

- The children of Israel need instruction and wisdom to live out their freedom before the Lord. They are His covenant community. Now they need to act like it.

- What we are about to look at is the foundation for Kingdom society. The law that will be written on tablets will one day be written on the hearts of men and women.

- One day, as an expression of love, men and women will live their lives in the way that is here laid out, not out of duty and desire to be saved, but out of love.

- In the chapter before us, we'll see the prelude to the law and the true condition of humanity before the Lord.

Text

• Exodus 19:1,2 : "In the third month after the children of Israel had gone out of the land of Egypt, on the same day, they came to the Wilderness of Sinai. For they had departed from Rephidim, had come to the Wilderness of Sinai, and camped in the wilderness. So Israel camped there before the mountain." : Three months have passed from their deliverance to the day that we are looking at now.

- They are are camped now in the wilderness of Sinai, which is now at the bottom of the "V" shape in the map of this region.

- When Moses was first called by God, the wilderness of Sinai is where it happened. Now, he and the people of Israel have come before what is called today Mt. Musa.

- It is a visual labyrinth with crags and cracks. It is a very imposing looking mountain just by itself. The very appearance of it is intimidating. This is where they made their camp.

• Exodus 19:3-6 : "And 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 children of Israel: ‘You have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I bore you on eagles’ wings and brought you to Myself. Now therefore, if you will indeed obey My voice and keep My covenant, then you shall be a special treasure to Me above all people; for all the earth is Mine. And you shall be to Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.’ These are the words which you shall speak to the children of Israel.'" : God has a message for the people of Israel. It begins with what He has done for them. Note first that most of the Bible's message is centered around this theme.

- The Bible does not celebrate what we have done for God. It tells us over and over again to celebrate what He has done for us! These people were helpless and hopeless without God.

- Our relationship with Him must begin with the understanding that we contributed nothing to this relationship until we apprehended everything that He had done to make a relationship a reality!

- "You have seen." These people could testify personally to what God had done.

- They saw a mighty nation fall before the true might of God. They were decimated before God and now God had brought them out to Himself on eagle's wings.

- Eagles can go where nobody can chase them! It seems to indicate both strength and speed, as well as safety. God had done this for the people of Israel.

- They had not delivered themselves. God had delivered them. Now, He desires to make them His people.

- They are to be people marked by obedience to His voice and to His covenant. They are not to be marked by excitement or flash. God says, "be obedient to my voice!"

- Being obedient to God, makes them His special treasure, or treasured possesion. God wanted Israel to be this above all other people.

- Does this mean that God excluded other nations from relationship to Him? No. It was not based on race then or now. It was based on relationship to His voice and His covenant.

- It just so happens that the Israelites were about to be the recipients of this covenant with God. They were going to be the first to rightly relate themselves to God.

- Did He want them to be the only nation that experienced this? Not at all. Notice what God tells them: They were to be a Kingdom of priests and a holy nation.

- There was a line of priests that will eventually be chosen among the nation of Israel. But all of Israel was called by God to be a priesthood.

- Each of them were called to represent God to men and then, men to God. That's what a priest does.

- A priest makes God's will plainly known and then bears the burden of concerning Himself with men who would want to know the Lord.

- Today, there are Pastors, teachers and evangelists, but all of us are priests! All believers are identified in this way.

- Finally, God tells them that they will be a holy nation. We are so out of touch with what the word "holy means." It simply means "unique." Set apart from other nations.

- As a people, Israel was unique in their nationality and set apart in the purpose for being. It's not that they were so moral or filled with virtue, though that is a by-product.

- They were unique in what they were called to and unique as to what that required of them.

- That same thing is true of us! We live, not according to the wisdom of this world, but according to a call that comes from Christ to represent His interests in the world.

• Exodus 19:7-9 : "So Moses came and called for the elders of the people, and laid before them all these words which the Lord commanded him. Then all the people answered together and said, 'All that the Lord has spoken we will do.' So Moses brought back the words of the people to the Lord. And the Lord said to Moses, 'Behold, I come to you in the thick cloud, that the people may hear when I speak with you, and believe you forever.' So Moses told the words of the people to the Lord." : The elders, likely the Jethro men, came and listened to what Moses had been given from the Lord. They agreed to do all that the Lord has spoken.

- Without thinking, the people of Israel promise to do what the Lord says to them. Maybe they were excited. Maybe they were overconfident. One thing is certain: They were eager.

- Moses went back to the Lord and told Him what had been said. I think it's interesting that this little interplay had to take place.

- There is something official about it, as I imagine that the Lord did not need to hear the report from Moses. Moses is acting as their priest, demonstrating the relationship that they would have.

- The Lord explains that He wanted the people to recognize His authority forever. What was about transpire in the thick cloud, would affirm His place of authority.

• Exodus 19:10,11 : "Then the Lord said to Moses, 'Go to the people and consecrate them today and tomorrow, and let them wash their clothes. And let them be ready for the third day. For on the third day the Lord will come down upon Mount Sinai in the sight of all the people." : The people are about to come as close to God physically, as any nation on earth would have the privilege of having.

- Moses was to consecrate them, which may have had some allusion to sacrifice.

- The other time that consecrate comes up in Exodus, it does so in chapter 13 where children and animals are redeemed by sacrifice.

- There will be a meeting that will take them two days to get ready for. They were to be consecrated or purified. They were to wash their clothes and ready themselves for the third day.

- God was going to come down upon Mt. Sinai, in view of all the people.

- One must be struck with the power of this concept: God was going to show Himself to people on Earth and it would take two whole days to prepare for it!

- To come before God was to come before the King of all the Universe. They could not come in just any way. They needed to approach with the appropriate reverance for Him.

• Exodus 19:12,13 : "You shall set bounds for the people all around, saying, ‘Take heed to yourselves that you do not go up to the mountain or touch its base. Whoever touches the mountain shall surely be put to death. Not a hand shall touch him, but he shall surely be stoned or shot with an arrow; whether man or beast, he shall not live.’ When the trumpet sounds long, they shall come near the mountain.'" : The people were restricted to a circumferance around the mountain. They would twist ropes to keep the people at bay. They were not to go near it under the penalty of death!

- If a person or an animal did touch even the base of of the mountain, they were to be killed from a distance and not touched.

- Today, in our western thinking minds, we have a hard time comprehending the separation between royalty and commoners. Why should there be such extremes? Why death?

- These are questions that we have only because we are completely unaware of the majesty of God to these people.

- We, in many ways, have come to see God through Jesus the One who presents grace and truth and who has opened the door to a close relationship to the Father.

- The access that we have as Christians blinds us to this moment when God demanded separation and it was not considered to be weird or out of place.

- Nobody on this day would have cried "foul" at what was being dictated to them.

- They were allowed to be in the vicinity, and to be near, but not to be close.

• Exodus 19:14-20 : "So Moses went down from the mountain to the people and sanctified the people, and they washed their clothes. And he said to the people, 'Be ready for the third day; do not come near your wives.'" : This was important enough to suspend marital intimacy!

- That third day, God was going to appear and Moses did not want to chance any sort of uncleanness among the people, including that which could possibly occur from such relations.

• Exodus 19:16-20 : " Then it came to pass on the third day, in the morning, that there were thunderings and lightnings, and a thick cloud on the mountain; and the sound of the trumpet was very loud, so that all the people who were in the camp trembled. And Moses brought the people out of the camp to meet with God, and they stood at the foot of the mountain. Now Mount Sinai was completely in smoke, because the Lord descended upon it in fire. Its smoke ascended like the smoke of a furnace, and the whole mountain quaked greatly. And when the blast of the trumpet sounded long and became louder and louder, Moses spoke, and God answered him by voice. Then the Lord came down upon Mount Sinai, on the top of the mountain. And the Lord called Moses to the top of the mountain, and Moses went up." : This third day was a day of glory unlike any other day in the history of the people of Israel to that point.

- There were physical manifestations of thunder and lightning and severe weather phenomena that covered the mountain. The people who sat there trembled, literally being terrified.

- At the end of this, God called Moses to go up the mountain to meet with Him. God would come down no farther. His presence would sit now upon the mountain.

- Everything in this section speaks to complete and utter separation.

• Exodus 19:21-25 : "And the Lord said to Moses, 'Go down and warn the people, lest they break through to gaze at the Lord, and many of them perish. Also let the priests who come near the Lord consecrate themselves, lest the Lord break out against them.' But Moses said to the Lord, 'The people cannot come up to Mount Sinai; for You warned us, saying, ‘Set bounds around the mountain and consecrate it.’ Then the Lord said to him, 'Away! Get down and then come up, you and Aaron with you. But do not let the priests and the people break through to come up to the Lord, lest He break out against them.' So Moses went down to the people and spoke to them." : It's amazing, but the people who had said that they would do all that God said were already doing something that God said not to do!

- They were coming upon on the mountain, pressing closer in upon the ropes. But God would have killed them!

- Moses says that they had set up the ropes. They had done what was said. But God knows what the people were doing. Even the priests were moving closer than they should have.

- God was saying that each of them, even the priests, needed to consecrate themselves and keep on their distance.

- Moses had to go down and tell them to keep their distance in order to save their lives! It's interesting to me that religion is all about setting up bounds around the place where God dwells.

- The heart of religion is to ever keep people at a distance from the Lord. Religion is the celebration of distance and the law is the marker of how much distance there should be!

- I say that because there are people who believe that they should try to keep the law in order to be saved or in order to placate God.

- If you want to live by law, enjoy the space and love the distance and get used to the ropes that are there to keep you back from the Lord.

Conclusion

- As we come to the end of this chapter, there is just too obvious a connection to miss. Mt. Sinai is where the law is given; Mt. Moriah is where the Savior was given!

- At Sinai, Moses acted as the mediator for the people and delivered them the law. At Moriah, Jesus acted as the sacrifice for the people and fulfilled the demands of the law.

- At Sinai, men were made aware of the distance between themselves and God. At Moriah, men are granted access into the most Holy place.

- At Sinai, men learned to fear God and to tremble at His sight. At Moriah, men learned to love God because He first loved them!

- Which mountain do you live at?