Weekly Meditations: Exodus

Exodus 19

Main Idea/Themes

In Exodus 19, Moses has led Israel into the wilderness of Sinai. They stop in front of Mt. Sinai and camp at the base of the mountain while Moses goes up to speak with God. This is the narrative leading up to the decalogue, or ten commandments. A major theme in this chapter is holiness. The people are commanded not to come up the mountain, to wash their clothes, and abstain from sex in preparation for God’s presence to come down on the mountain. From this we may gather that holiness has to do with rituals and abstinence. Though it may take those external forms, holiness is more about actions and mindset. God calls Israel to be a “kingdom of priests and a holy nation” (v.5). Israel was called to be an entire nation that guided the world towards Yahweh and was set apart by and for Yahweh. 

This runs into the theme of covenant as well because Israel was to be this group of people only if they obeyed the terms of the covenant. The covenant blessings were dependent on covenant obedience which included staying faithful to Yahweh. As this narrative unfolds, Israel is fearful of Yahweh’s divine glory which should invoke faithfulness but they quickly turn away to worship idols (chapter 32). This chapter sets up a long section of law code in which Yahweh sets out the terms of the covenant they are to obey. It also sets up the covenant acceptance ceremony that they are to go through to agree to the covenant. 

The theme of testing has also been brought up when discussing this chapter because of the command to ascend the mountain when the horn sounds (v.13). When the horn sounds in v.16 instead of going up to meet with Yahweh, they tremble in fear and chapter 20 tells us they kept their distance. They have Moses intercede for them because they fear they will die if they go up. God wanted Israel to hear Him speaking to Moses so they would listen to him. This leads some to believe they failed the test since they stayed back. 

Others believe Israel did right by not going up and respected Yahweh’s presence by staying back and letting Moses intercede thus passing the test. They also claim that because God said not to go up and not to pass the boundary that they obey His command. Moses also says this was a test from God and that the test is to fear Yahweh so it will keep them from sinning. Well they were fearful and kept their distance but could it have made a bigger impact if they stayed closer at the base of the mountain? I think a simple solution is to say that Israel did obey the Lord’s command by not going up into his presence, but they failed in the sense that they should have drawn near to Yahweh at the base of the mountain instead of staying at a distance. When God commanded Moses to tell the people to come “up” the mountain, the Hebrew indicates “coming up to”, meaning the people were to come up to the mountain but not ascend the mountain. It seems the people did not hear the commands that were spoken to Moses and Moses had to repeat them (chapter 24). This is most likely because the people did not come close enough to hear God speaking with Moses as was intended. 

Literary Structure 

This structure of Exodus 19 can be broken down as follows: 

V.1-6 call to be holy nation and kingdom of priests

V.7-8 Israel agrees to obey

V.9-13 Command to consecrate and set up boundaries

V.14-15 People are consecrated 

V.16-19 God descends on Mt. Sinai

V.20-25 Israel stays at distance, Moses and Aaron ascend 

To complete this narrative scene, I include Exodus 20:18-21, where Moses intercedes on behalf of the people and God gives him the terms of the covenant. Throughout this scene, Moses ascends and descends the mountain 7 times, showing completeness. 

Context 

Exodus 19 is the hinge narrative between chapters 1-18 and 20-40. It bridges the narratives of the journey to Sinai and the law code that will follow. In the overall story of Exodus, this chapter is where the first 18 chapters lead up to and the place where Moses will receive the covenant terms. All of this will happen on this mountain.

Within Exodus, chapter 19 falls into a mini section of chapter 19-24. This section is often called the Sinaitic Covenant section since the covenant terms are explained and agreed upon in this section. Chapter 19 starts the narrative by Israel approaching the mountain where the ceremony will take place. The terms of the covenant are given, the ceremony is done, and Israel agrees to the covenant. This section will launch the rest of the Hebrew narrative with Israel being God’s covenant partners and all the chaos that follows. God has already brought them out of Egypt  and now they are called to be a kingdom of priests through this covenant. This is a step in fulfilling the Abrahamic covenant of being a blessing to the nations. It also reflects the desire for God to partner with humanity and to bring humanity back to their original vocational role in the garden, to be God’s representative here on earth and to rule the land as God rules the heavens. If Israel were to be a kingdom of priests and a holy nation it would allow a way for humanity to be brought back to God. Of course, Israel fails at this task and ultimately leads to Jesus being our mediator and representative we could never be. 

Language 

The rhythmic “going up” and “coming down” points to Moses being the mediator and having to go up to meet with God and come down to tell the people. It foreshadows Jesus in Daniel 7 going up to God and coming down in Matthew as a human mediator. 

The constant reference to the “mountain” builds on the theme of mountains in Scripture which are depicted as sacred spaces where the earthly and divine meet. This chapter clearly depicts God descending on the mountain and Moses going up to a sacred space to meet with God. It was a sacred space where the divine realm and earthly realm seemed to meet. 

The repetition of “consecration” and “boundaries” stresses God’s holiness and humanity’s need for reverent preparation. Gos was very clear the people were not to “break through” the boundary or they would die. This was not just to invoke a fear of distance but a reverence for a holy God and that they needed to take this covenant seriously.

The “voice” (qol) grows louder and more intense — it prepares readers for the direct speech of God in the Ten Commandments in Exodus 20. It also prepared the people of Israel to listen to God’s voice as God said that by hearing Him speak to Moses they would put their trust in Moses. The fact they stayed at a distance might help explain their fading lack of trust after they leave Sinai. 

Application

With all the testing theme going on in this chapter, it seems this is the most applicable part of Exodus 19. God came to test Israel whether or not they would remain faithful to Him. They did obey God with their words, they said everything right and did not cross the boundary God had Moses set up. They did revere God and fear Him in that manner. However, they stayed at a distance instead of staying at the base of the mountain so they could hear God’s voice. Moses said that God came to test them so that the fear of Yahweh would keep them from sinning. But they stood at a distance, too far to be captivated and influenced by God’s voice. They wanted Moses to do the listening for them so they could take it easy away from the mountain. I think we do this same type of thing today. We want to have a relationship with God and we may do all the things Christians are supposed to do (go to church, tithe, pray, etc) but we really are at a distance and there is no risk involved. We really need to surrender ourselves in prayer and action to God which would be like Israel staying at the base of the mountain. The less we read, the less we pray, the less involved we are, the more we stray away from the base of the mountain and the Spirit has less of an impact. We need to keep drawing near to God. We need to stay at the base of the mountain and listen to God and what he is telling us. We may think it scary or burdensome, but it will lead to life, especially life everlasting through Jesus Christ.