Did any of you come in here this morning fearful, frightened, or with a sense of great dread? Most all of you, would answer no to that question. But, what would you think if I said that to be afraid would be a good way to enter the worship of God?
Think of this. On one hand God is transcendent. For God to be transcendent means He is beyond anything we can ever imagine, He is bigger and grander, and wholly other than all else as God over all. Psalm 145 says this plainly, “God is great, and His greatness is unsearchable.” On the other hand God is immanent. For God to be immanent means God is near, close, concerned about all things, and intimately involved with all He has made.
Truly, God is transcendent and immanent. So the presence of God is both frightening and fascinating, dangerous and delightful.[1] Yet, while the Church throughout history has affirmed both God’s transcendence and immanence…we live in an age and culture that emphasizes God’s immanence to the neglect of His transcendence.[2] What does this do to us? It causes most of us to come into worship casually, as if we’re walking into God’s living room rather than coming into worship reverently, as if we’re coming before His throne.
Why begin with this today? Because our passage this morning, Exodus 19:7-25, will remind us who God is in His transcendent greatness, and it will force to ask the question of whether or not we are far too comfortable as we worship Him.
Last week we began Exodus 19, looking at v1-6, and saw the beauty of covenant. God Himself entering into covenant with Israel, promising that He would be their God and that, if they kept His covenant, that they would not only be His people, but be His treasured possession, a kingdom of priests, and a holy nation. Well, after such a glorious moment in v1-6. We turn today to see the rest of the story in v7-25.
See our first heading…
Preparing to Meet the Lord (v7-15)
“So Moses came and called the elders of the people and set before them all these words that the Lord had commanded him. All the people answered together and said, “All that the Lord has spoken we will do.” And Moses reported the words of the people to the Lord. And the Lord said 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.” When Moses told the words of the people to the Lord, the Lord said to Moses, “Go to the people and consecrate them today and tomorrow, and let them wash their garments and be ready for the third day. For on the third day the Lord will come down on Mount Sinai in the sight of all the people. And you shall set limits for the people all around, saying, ‘Take care not to go up into the mountain or touch the edge of it. Whoever touches the mountain shall be put to death. No hand shall touch him, but he shall be stoned or shot; whether beast or man, he shall not live.’ When the trumpet sounds a long blast, they shall come up to the mountain.” So Moses went down from the mountain to the people and consecrated the people; and they washed their garments. And he said to the people, “Be ready for the third day; do not go near a woman.”
After the glorious opening words of v1-6, we see Moses in v7 going back to the people and relaying all of this to them. What does Israel do? They respond in v8 saying, “All that the Lord has spoken we will do.” It’s good to see their response here, isn’t it? They’re eager for sure! But, I think we can also say that they have little idea about what’s really going on. They’re about to find out soon enough, because God is about to visit them.
Look at v8b. Moses turns back to God, tells Him of Israel’s desire to keep the covenant, and what does God say in response? In v9 God says two things. First, He says He’s going to come down in thick cloud. This shows us His transcendence. That He is God Almighty, high and holy. That any time He comes to visit His people, it's always a descent, always a coming down.[3] Yet, how wonderful to see His desire to come down and visit His people. His desire to descend shows us His immanence. Indeed, without His immanence and His coming to us, we wouldn’t know Him at all. Second, in v9 God says He’ll speak with Moses audibly so Israel will hear it and further believe in Moses’ leadership. In this we see God’s intention for Israel to trust Moses as their prophet, the one who goes to God on their behalf and comes back to them with God’s Word.
God responds to this in v10-15 by giving Moses instructions on how the people are to prepare to meet Him and come into His presence. He is giving them two days to prepare, for God will come down and visit them on the morning of the third day. Look at what kind of preparation God requires of them during these two days.
First, the general call to the people is they must consecrate themselves. This word consecrate means to set apart or to make holy or to purify. So the people will be doing the work of consecrating, not preparing some offering or anything else they will bring to this meeting, but preparing their own selves. For this great meeting, they are to be a people prepared by purification.
Second, they are to wash their garments. We modern Western people might find a command as this to be foreign to us, but to these Israelites, it would’ve made perfect sense. This ritual is common in the OT before solemn events, and in many cases one’s outward cleanliness was symbolic of one’s inner cleanliness and readiness to come into God’s presence.[4]
Third, boundaries were marked off to keep the people away from the mountain. Why do this? Because the mountain was God’s mountain, He would descend to it, and because He is holy, His very presence would make the mountain holy.[5] Thus, the unholy Israelites needed to be protected from the holy mountain. This was for their safety. So out came the caution tape and the ‘No Trespassing’ signs around the mountain to keep the people back. We also see the consequences for those who ignore these warnings. The violators, v13 says, will not be touched by anyone but will be stoned or shot with arrows.
Fourth, the final detail comes in v15 in the phrase, “Do not go near a woman.” This is not a general statement instructing Israelite men to avoid Israelite women, but it refers to sexual activity. Some wonder at this comment, thinking it’s proof that sex is in itself sinful or that sex is an unclean act. A better way to interpret this command is to see it as a call of temporary self-denial, meaning, the people are to put aside regular pleasures in order to prepare to meet with God so they can be entirely focused on God.
The people did these things and made themselves ready during these two days, waiting for the morning of the third day when the trumpet blasts.[6] This trumpet is a shofar, an ancient instrument which would become common to Israel. Notice that nowhere does it command anyone to blow a trumpet, it just says one will be blow. That means, I think, the trumpet will be blown in heaven, and it will be loud enough for everyone to hear it, over all the storm.
Two practical remarks flow from these requirements of preparation. The first practical remark is this, Israel cannot approach God in any way they so desired. Mention has already been of the age we live in and how the majority of Christians in the West emphasize God’s immanence to the neglect of His transcendence. That Israel could not come into God’s presence any way or at any time they so desired reminds us of the same thing. When we come to God we ought not come with a spirit of casual trivialness. We’re sinners! Only because of Christ can we come! Only because He made the way open can we come! We didn’t earn it, work for it, or deserve it! Church, kick back against the spirit of the age that thinks such low thoughts of God…and here in this passage be spurred on to think higher thoughts of God. To remember that He is God and we are not, to remember that He is Creator and we are creatures, that He alone is holy and we are sinful. Yes, Christ has made the way open for all who come to God through Him, but we dare not come before God with a casual spirit. Reverence needs to be recovered.
That leads me to a second practical remark, which is this, meeting with God demands our preparation.[7] Because God is who God is, and we are who we are, we need to prepare ourselves to meet with God. For far too many, the worship of God in the gathering of the Church has become a common thing. So common that we just waltz in here without giving a thought to what’s actually happening. If we would but take a moment before entering in here to remember what we’re doing, we would be overwhelmed with the magnitude of the moment! That we sinners redeemed by Christ and filled with the Spirit are gathering to worship God, to praise God, to seek God, and to sit at His feet and hear from His Word. The glory of the moment needs to fall on us, and if it does, you know what’ll happen? We’ll find ourselves worshiping God, because we who are redeemed by Christ not only know the greatness of God, we know the goodness of God too. So we come, in awe, we come in fear and trembling, we come in reverent rejoicing. Why? Because this great God has become our Father in the gospel.
It’s a moment worth preparing for.
The Lord Descends (v16-25)
“On the morning of the third day there were thunders and lightnings and a thick cloud on the mountain and a very loud trumpet blast, so that all the people in the camp trembled. Then Moses brought the people out of the camp to meet God, and they took their stand at the foot of the mountain. Now Mount Sinai was wrapped in smoke because the Lord had descended on it in fire. The smoke of it went up like the smoke of a kiln, and the whole mountain trembled greatly. And as the sound of the trumpet grew louder and louder, Moses spoke, and God answered him in thunder. The Lord came down on Mount Sinai, to the top of the mountain. And the Lord called Moses to the top of the mountain, and Moses went up. And the Lord said to Moses, “Go down and warn the people, lest they break through to the Lord to look and many of them perish. Also let the priests who come near to the Lord consecrate themselves, lest the Lord break out against them.” And Moses said to the Lord, “The people cannot come up to Mount Sinai, for you yourself warned us, saying, ‘Set limits around the mountain and consecrate it.’” And the Lord said to him, “Go down, and come up bringing 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 told them.”
The two days of preparation were over, the people were as ready as they were going to be, and the morning of the third day had dawned. And then we see it…God descends on Sinai. When He descended, v16 says, God descended in a storm. Pause right here and ask, have we seen this before? You might think of the Red Sea, or of the plagues against Egypt, but there is another moment when this occurs but you might not have recognized it. Right after Adam and Eve fell into sin Gen. 3:8 says God came to walk in Eden “in the cool of the day.” The Hebrew phrase there meaning “in the cool of the day” could also be translated “in the wind of the storm.”[8] This changes how we view God in the garden, doesn’t it? Instead of seeing God as casually walking into the garden calling out for Adam, it’s a picture of God coming in His stormy presence to meet Adam and Eve in their sin. This is likely another reason why Adam and Eve hid, because they were afraid, just like the Israelites were before the storm of God’s presence at Sinai. In a sense Israel now gets to experience for themselves what Moses experienced on this same mountain long ago before the burning bush.[9] Only a few other times in Scripture does such a scene occur. Here, the Isaiah 6 vision, Pentecost in Acts 2, and the Day of Judgment. This is a short list indeed. Let’s see it now.
This storm on Sinai had it all.[10] There was thunder and an earthquake to display God’s power. There was a dark cloud to display divine mystery, that there are aspects of God’s nature and being that man can never penetrate. There was fire and smoke to display God’s purity and blazing holiness, which would’ve attracted Israel due to its beauty but terrified Israel due to its danger. And there was a heavenly trumpet which could be heard over it all. This displayed God’s kingly sovereignty, for trumpets announce the coming of a king, and here descending on Sinai is infinite royal majesty. All of this glory put together would’ve frightened and fascinated the Israelites and all their senses and filled them with awe. Because God came down on it, Sinai looked scary, sounded scary, and felt scary, and yet…this was the God who saved them!
After they witnessed all of this, God called Moses up to meet Him in v20. And what follows can seem a bit confusing as God and Moses go back and forth. In v21 God warns the people for a second time to not come near the mountain. In v22 God says only the priests who have consecrated themselves can come near and we’re left wondering who the priests are. That role hasn’t really been defined yet, so opinions abound as to who the priests are. I think it’s the elders Moses just chose to serve with him. But then in v23 Moses seems to remind God of the warnings He’s already given, and God responds in v24 with a third warning to not come near. Three times Israel will hear to not come near lest the Lord break out against them. And in v25 Moses descends to tell the people all these things.
So the final word from God for Israel in Exodus 19 is simple but staggering, “Do not come near!”
Conclusion:
In our passage in Exodus, God was bringing His people close at Sinai, but the closer they came, the more His people knew the great distance between God and them. In that light, think of how great the gospel is?! Hebrews 12:18-24 makes this exact point. Listen to it, “For you have not come to what may be touched, a blazing fire and darkness and gloom and a tempest and the sound of a trumpet and a voice whose words made the hearers beg that no further messages be spoken to them. For they could not endure the order that was given, “If even a beast touches the mountain, it shall be stoned.” Indeed, so terrifying was the sight that Moses said, “I tremble with fear.” But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to innumerable angels in festal gathering, and to the assembly of the firstborn who are enrolled in heaven, and to God, the judge of all, and to the spirits of the righteous made perfect, and to Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel.”
Simply put, in this passage we read of the excellency, glory, and advantage we have in the New Covenant in comparison to those in the Old Covenant. We have not come to another Mount Sinai that may not be touched, no, we’ve come to God through Christ, the perfect Mediator whose blood speaks a better word. Back then God met Israel at a mountain burning with fire, storms, and the prospect of death warning all who come near. Now God meets us in Christ and all who come near and believe will never die.
Church, God is still God, and we ought never come into His presence casually, but now because of Christ we can come confidently.
John Newton wrote a hymn about this called “Let Us Love and Sing and Wonder.” I’ll end by reading some of it.
“Let us love and sing and wonder,
Let us praise the Savior’s name.
He has hushed the law’s loud thunder,
He has quenched Mount Sinai’s flame…
…Let us wonder grace and justice,
Join and point to mercy’s store.
When through grace in Christ our trust is,
Justice smiles and asks no more.”
[1] Victor P. Hamilton, Exodus: An Exegetical Commentary (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2011) 307.
[2] Philip Graham Ryken, Exodus – PTWC (Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2015) 463.
[3] Ryken, 465.
[4] John D. Currid, Exodus, vol. 2 (Grand Rapids, MI: EP Books, 2013) 22.
[5] Douglas K. Stuart, Exodus – NAC (Brentwood, TN: B&H, 2006) 426.
[6] Presumably, from heaven and not from anyone among Israel.
[7] Hamilton, 306.
[8] Stuart, 429, footnote 295.
[9] John I. Durham, Exodus – WBC (Waco, TX: Word Books, 1987) 273.
[10] Ryken, 474-475, grateful for his words here, he captures the awe and wonder well.
