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Ex.19:1-25   Heb.12:18-24

We have to do in this chapter with an encounter with the LORD God and what a momentous thing that is! The Creator of the Universe condescends to reveal something of Himself to His people. Man's Maker prepares to provide man His creature with His blueprint for living: the 10 Commandments.

Moses who leads the Israelites must perform the function of a mediator between God and man thereby illustrating for us the absolute necessity we have of a mediator if we, in our turn, are to meet God.

vv.1-2 The chapter begins and the language shows us we are beginning a whole new section of the Book of Exodus. Indeed now that the people of Israel have arrived at Sinai all the subsequent events recorded for us in the Book take place here at Sinai.

It is around 7 weeks since the LORD brought Israel out of Egypt. Much has happened during that time to this people about to be welded into a nation. They have experienced first hand tremendous displays of divine power exercised on their behalf and in their favour. But now they are on the verge of something completely new – God is about to come to meet them!

There can be nothing greater in the life of a man or a woman than to meet with God and here is a little nation selected to benefit from the great and free grace of God Almighty.

It almost appears that Moses can't wait. The company are setting up camp in the wilderness in front of Mt. Sinai and Moses is off up the mountain to meet God.

Months earlier the LORD had told him that being present to worship God at this place with the liberated people of Israel would be the sign that the LORD was truly with Moses in His mission. Now Moses is back at the very place the LORD said that He would meet with Him again!

The LORD has kept His promises to Moses – God always does keep His promises! He doesn't always do what we want Him to do and He certainly doesn't feel obliged to do what we sometimes mistakenly imagine to be the content of His promises – but He does do what He has committed Himself to do and thus we are most certainly encouraged to place our trust fully in Him.

So Moses ascends the mountain and on the way up the LORD speaks to him giving him instructions as to what he is to say to Israel. Again and again we find Moses acting as the mediator, the go-between, speaking to the people with God's words and then taking the people's response back to the LORD before receiving a fresh message to communicate.

The first thing the LORD has him communicate is an explanation of what the LORD has been doing in their recent history:

Interpretation of history

1.       The LORD punished Egypt – as the Israelites were witnesses to just what He had done. Their deliverance was not to be put down to their own cleverness, their cunning or their diplomatic skills. Egypt had been dealt with for her rebellion against God and punished as the LORD rained a succession of catastrophic plagues down upon the proud stubborn nation.

2.       The LORD rescued Israel – Israel had not been destroyed by these plagues nor had she been destroyed in the Red Sea, nor in the wilderness. The people had repeatedly grumbled and moaned but the LORD had protected her as an eagle does her young on her wings.

3.       The brought Israel to Himself at Sinai. As we've already noted this was the place to which the LORD had told Moses months before that he would bring the people. They hadn't been wandering aimlessly in the desert and finally just happened upon this particular place – God had been at work to bring them there! If you are a believer have you learnt to look back on your life and trace the good hand of God at work in your life directing and leading every step of the way? Sometimes at the time we're not aware of His leading but afterwards we can see how seemingly chance events have all worked together to bring us to where we are today. The LORD was involved in the life of the people!

Surely if this was true for the people of Israel then their expectations concerning what would happen next should be God-focused. After all He doesn't begin a work to abandon it half-finished!

Stipulations

1.       Obedience is required of the people. The LORD is establishing a covenant with His people. He has dealt with them according to His promises to Abraham and now He is about to establish a further development of that covenant relationship at Sinai in giving them His most holy, righteous and good laws. The people must not be left in any doubt though He is the one who determines the terms and conditions of the covenant: the relationship is not established between equals but between the Sovereign LORD and His people! The people are to accept the conditions and obey the LORD! It is only after the pledge of obedience is given that the Law that specifies just what type of obedience will be required will be communicated. Here is a people brought into a covenant relationship and then given instructions on how to live. Away with the idea that men and women become God's people by legal obedience. Obedience is the appropriate response to God's gracious choosing!

2.       Great blessings are promised to the people as God establishes His covenant with them.

i.                     The people will belong distinctly to the LORD – they have already benefited in remarkable ways from His divine intervention and protection – what a privilege to belong to such a great and powerful God!

ii.                   They will function in the world as His priestly ambassadors – part of the promise given to Abraham was that he would be a channel through which blessings would flow to the nations. Now Israel is appointed to the priestly function. Election was not for their own private self-indulgence as a nation but for the benefit of others. The people who belonged to God were to live lives that so shone out that the rest of the world would sit up and take notice and be drawn to this small nation who knew God!

iii.                  They will form a holy nation, one uniquely set apart to the LORD. Alone amongst the nations Israel would receive and possess God's revealed Law – Israel was expected by her God not to imitate the nations which surrounded her but to shine as the light of the world – holy and set apart to serve her God.

These blessings and privileges are still in existence today and are applied to the church where Jew and Gentile come together in their common faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.

1Pet.2:9,12 "But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvellous light…  Keep your conduct among the Gentiles honourable, so that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day of visitation."

Are we living in such a way as to excite the envy of the world? In some parts of the world where there is persecution nevertheless the church grows because others see the quality of life the Christian church enjoys with their God.

Moses returns to the people and calls the elders together so that he might pass on what the LORD has said. The LORD has declared how He will form a covenant relationship with His people – not a bargain between equals but one between a superior and a vassal – it is a declaration of wonderful kindness and generosity but how will the people respond?

The response is found in v.8 and is unanimous, wholehearted and immediate. Is ours too?

Moses reported the people's response to the LORD and then received a further set of instructions designed to prepare the people to meet with the LORD.

There are going to be a series of visible and audible phenomena all designed to signify the presence of the LORD. These signs are also destined to establish Moses' authority in the eyes of the people so that the Israelites who only possessed a weak faith at this time might believe Moses and trust him as the mediator of God's appointing.

Nevertheless the people must be careful – it is no small matter to be in the presence of the Living God and they must both prepare themselves carefully for the encounter and respect the limits placed upon them.

The people must prepare carefully for this great and awesome encounter. They have a couple of days to get ready. They must consecrate themselves, they must wash and they must avoid any activity that would distract them from this great event.

At the same time boundary markers must be placed around the mountain at its base lest the people in their foolish enthusiasm/curiosity press in too close. The LORD God is holy! The penalty for failing to respect this restriction is serious – death. Indeed the guilty person is to be considered so guilty as not even to be touched by others but executed at distance – either by stones or arrows. How easy it is to be contaminated by another's disobedience and so the people are given very careful instructions concerning just how they should proceed.

Not even the animals were to be allowed to stray unto the Mountain of God. How little we understand this absolute and awesome holiness of God! The scheduled meeting was a truly solemn affair!

The fear in the Israelite in the Hebrew camp reaches its height on the third day.

As the LORD descends to make His presence evident to all who were there the whole mountain trembled – but it was not the mountain alone that trembled all the people, Moses included, did as well!

The writer to the Hebrews tells us of how those present that day were anxious, frightened and apprehensive! The events were simply terrifying!

Try to picture the scene: there is a thick smoking cloud that envelopes the mountain as the thunder rumbles and the lightning flashes.

A trumpet blast is heard – and it is a blast that goes on getting louder and louder.

God's presence is not in these things but they do point to it.

The darkness and the gloom are symbols of judgement and Mt Sinai becomes a symbol of judgement – the Law of God by which the hearts of men and women will be tried is about to be given on this Mountain of God.

This spectacle is fearsome and it is meant to be as Moses leads the people to meet their God! We must not imagine that Moses was carefree and fearless that day as he led the people but  he refused to shirk his responsibilities and fulfilled his duty.

One further time Moses goes up the mountain where he is immediately instructed by the LORD to go and warn the people of the dangers of the occasion. Is it necessary, hasn't the warning already been given? Moses doesn't think it important but the LORD does! What a testimony to His lovingkindness and compassion – He warns and warns again because He is not willing that any should perish. Some might be tempted to think it is safe to approach seeing as how Moses has been able to go up the mountain with impunity. But Moses is the mediator at this time and if he may approach the LORD that does not mean that others are free to ignore the restrictions that have been put in place – the place where God meets with His people is a holy place and must not be trampled upon.

So down goes Moses again to speak with the people. He will then have to go back up the mountain – Aaron alone will accompany him – but no-one else not even those already set aside for special religious purposes. God is holy and not to be trifled with!

The writer to the Hebrews compares and contrasts the position of those under the old covenant with those under the new. Under the old, under the law, the Israelites approached God at Sinai in terror and in dread. They couldn't even come unto the lower regions of the mountain let alone approach the summit – He was there but they were separated from Him, having to keep their distance. The dreadful sanction of death was in the air!

But how different things are under the new covenant! How much more glorious and advantageous are the blessings of the new! Christ has come and manifested God in the flesh – no longer was God hidden in the smoke and the clouds.

Jesus too was a mediator and He was the mediator of a far better covenant than was Moses. He had come and shed his own blood to answer for the guilt of the lawbreakers who trust Him! By His death on Calvary He redeemed us from our sin and lawlessness and enables us to commune with God!

The believer in the NT era doesn't approach now in abject terror but he may come with confidence to Mount Zion – the heavenly Jerusalem. Fear and dread do not characterise his coming now but he comes with great joy and rejoicing.

The angels are celebrating there – do you remember hearing that "there is joy before the angels of God over one sinner who repents." (Lk.15:10). Others have come before us and are now receiving their reward having been fully justified by God the Judge – "there is now therefore no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus"!

Have you drawn near to God?

·         Do you know that you don't draw near to God by desperately trying to keep the Law! If you're going to draw near to God you must have faith and He delights to reward those who seek Him.

·         Do you know that there is a throne of grace to which we may draw near and receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need?

·         Do you know that the LORD Jesus is able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them?

·         Do you know that if you draw near to God then he promises that He will draw near to you?

Amen.