Exodus 19

1 And in the third month of the departure of the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt, on the same day, they came into the wilderness of Sina.
2 And they departed from Raphidin, and came into the wilderness of Sina, and there Israel encamped before the mountain.
3 And Moses went up to the mount of God, and God called him out of the mountain, saying, These things shalt thou say to the house of Jacob, and thou shalt report them to the children of Israel.
4 Ye have seen all that I have done to the Egyptians, and I took you up as upon eagles' wings, and I brought you near to myself.
5 And now if ye will indeed hear my voice, and keep my covenant, ye shall be to me a peculiar people above all nations; for the whole earth is mine.
6 And ye shall be to me a royal priesthood and a holy nation: these words shalt thou speak to the children of Israel.
7 And Moses came and called the elders of the people, and he set before them all these words, which God appointed them.
8 And all the people answered with one accord, and said, All things that God has spoken, we will do and hearken to: and Moses reported these words to God.
9 And the Lord said to Moses, Lo! I come to thee in a pillar of a cloud, that the people may hear me speaking to thee, and may believe thee for ever: and Moses reported the words of the people to the Lord.
10 And the Lord said to Moses, Go down and solemnly charge the people, and sanctify them to-day and to-morrow, and let them wash their garments.
11 And let them be ready against the third day, for on the third day the Lord will descend upon mount Sina before all the people.
12 And thou shalt separate the people round about, saying, Take heed to yourselves that ye go not up into the mountain, nor touch any part of it: every one that touches the mountain shall surely die.
13 A hand shall not touch it, for shall be stoned with stones or shot through with a dart, whether beast or whether man, it shall not live: when the voices and trumpets and cloud depart from off the mountain, they shall come up on the mountain.
14 And Moses went down from the mountain to the people, and sanctified them, and they washed their clothes.
15 And he said to the people, Be ready: for three days come not near to a woman.
16 And it came to pass on the third day, as the morning drew nigh, there were voices and lightnings and a dark cloud on mount Sina: the voice of the trumpet sounded loud, and all the people in the camp trembled.
17 And Moses led the people forth out of the camp to meet God, and they stood by under the camp.
18 The mount of Sina was altogether on a smoke, because God had descended upon it in fire; and the smoke went up as the smoke of a furnace, and the people were exceedingly amazed.
19 And the sounds of the trumpet were waxing very much louder. Moses spoke, and God answered him with a voice.
20 And the Lord came down upon mount Sina on the top of the mountain; and the Lord called Moses to the top of the mountain, and Moses went up.
21 And God spoke to Moses, saying, Go down, and solemnly charge the people, lest at any time they draw nigh to God to gaze, and a multitude of them fall.
22 And let the priests that draw nigh to the Lord God sanctify themselves, destroy some of them.
23 And Moses said to God, The people will not be able to approach to the mount of Sina, for thou hast solemnly charged us, saying, Set bounds to the mountain and sanctify it.
24 And the Lord said to him, Go, descend, and come up thou and Aaron with thee; but let not the priests and the people force their way to come up to God, lest the Lord destroy some of them.
25 And Moses went down to the people, and spoke to them.

Exodus 19 Commentary

Chapter 19

The people come to Sinai, God's message to them, and their answer. (1-8) The people directed to prepare to hear the law. (9-15) The presence of God on Sinai. (16-25)

Verses 1-8 Moses was called up the mountain, and was employed as the messenger of this covenant. The Maker and first Mover of the covenant, is God himself. This blessed charter was granted out of God's own free grace. The covenant here mentioned was the national covenant, by which the Israelites were a people under the government of Jehovah. It was a type of the new covenant made with true believers in Christ Jesus; but, like other types, it was only a shadow of good things to come. As a nation they broke this covenant; therefore the Lord declared that he would make a new covenant with Israel, writing his law, not upon tables of stone, but in their hearts, ( Jeremiah 31:33 , Hebrews 8:7-10 ) . The covenant spoken of in these places as ready to vanish away, is the national covenant with Israel, which they forfeited by their sins. Unless we carefully attend to this, we shall fall into mistakes while reading the Old Testament. We must not suppose that the nation of the Jews were under the covenant of works, which knows nothing of repentance, faith in a Mediator, forgiveness of sins, or grace; nor yet that the whole nation of Israel bore the character, and possessed the privileges of true believers, as being actually sharers in the covenant of grace. They were all under a dispensation of mercy; they had outward privileges and advantages for salvation; but, like professing Christians, most rested therein, and went no further. Israel consented to the conditions. They answered as one man, All that the Lord hath spoken we will do. Oh that there had been such a heart in them! Moses, as a mediator, returned the words of the people to God. Thus Christ, the Mediator, as a Prophet, reveals God's will to us, his precepts and promises; and then, as a Priest, offers up to God our spiritual sacrifices, not only of prayer and praise, but of devout affections, and pious resolutions, the work of his own Spirit in us.

Verses 9-15 The solemn manner in which the law was delivered, was to impress the people with a right sense of the Divine majesty. Also to convince them of their own guilt, and to show that they could not stand in judgment before God by their own obedience. In the law, the sinner discovers what he ought to be, what he is, and what he wants. There he learns the nature, necessity, and glory of redemption, and of being made holy. Having been taught to flee to Christ, and to love him, the law is the rule of his obedience and faith.

Verses 16-25 Never was there such a sermon preached, before or since, as this which was preached to the church in the wilderness. It might be supposed that the terrors would have checked presumption and curiosity in the people; but the hard heart of an unawakened sinner can trifle with the most terrible threatenings and judgments. In drawing near to God, we must never forget his holiness and greatness, nor our own meanness and pollution. We cannot stand in judgment before him according to his righteous law. The convinced transgressor asks, What must I do to be saved? and he hears the voice, Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved. The Holy Ghost, who made the law to convince of sin, now takes of the things of Christ, and shows them to us. In the gospel we read, Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us. We have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins. Through him we are justified from all things, from which we could not be justified by the law of Moses. But the Divine law is binding as a rule of life. The Son of God came down from heaven, and suffered poverty, shame, agony, and death, not only to redeem us from its curse, but to bind us more closely to keep its commands.

Footnotes 2

  • [a]. lest he remove by destroying.
  • [b]. remove by destroying.

Chapter Summary

INTRODUCTION TO EXODUS 19

In this chapter we have an account of the coming of the children of Israel to Mount Sinai, Ex 19:1,2, of the covenant made with them there, the proposal on the part of God, and their acceptance of it, Ex 19:3-8, the previous notice God gave three days before of his appearance on the mount, the orders for their preparation to meet him, and the execution of them, Ex 19:9-15, the awful and tremendous appearance of God upon the mount, Ex 19:6-20 and the strict charge given, that neither people nor priests should come near and gaze, only Moses and Aaron with him were to come up, bounds being set to prevent the rest, Ex 19:21-24, and the chapter is closed with observing, that Moses went down from the mount, and delivered to the people what the Lord spoke to and by him, Ex 19:25.

Exodus 19 Commentaries

The Brenton translation of the Septuagint is in the public domain.