Exodus19
New American Standard
1In the third month after the sons of Israel had gone out of the land of Egypt, on that very day they came into the wilderness of Sinai.
2When they set out from Rephidim, they came to the wilderness of Sinai and camped in the wilderness; and there Israel camped in front of the mountain.
3And Moses went up to God, and the Lord called to him from the mountain, saying, “This is what you shall say to the house of Jacob and tell the sons of Israel:
4‘You yourselves have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I carried you on eagles’ wings, and brought you to Myself.
5Now then, if you will indeed obey My voice and keep My covenant, then you shall be My own possession among all the peoples, for all the earth is Mine;
6and you shall be to Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.’ These are the words that you shall speak to the sons of Israel.”
7So Moses came and called the elders of the people, and set before them all these words which the Lord had commanded him.
8Then all the people answered together and said, “All that the Lord has spoken we will do!” And Moses brought back the words of the people to the Lord.
9Then the Lord said to Moses, “Behold, I will come to you in a thick cloud, so that the people may hear when I speak with you and may also trust in you forever.” Then Moses told the words of the people to the Lord.
10The Lord also said to Moses, “Go to the people and consecrate them today and tomorrow, and have them wash their garments;
11and have them 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.
12But you shall set boundaries for the people all around, saying, ‘Beware that you do not go up on the mountain or touch the border of it; whoever touches the mountain shall certainly be put to death.
13No hand shall touch him, but he shall certainly be stoned or shot through; whether animal or person, the violator shall not live.’ When the ram’s horn sounds a long blast, they shall come up to the mountain.”
14So Moses went down from the mountain to the people and consecrated the people, and they washed their garments.
15He also said to the people, “Be ready for the third day; do not go near a woman.”
16So it came about on the third day, when it was morning, that there were thunder and lightning flashes and a thick cloud over the mountain and a very loud trumpet sound, so that all the people who were in the camp trembled.
17And Moses brought the people out of the camp to meet God, and they stood at the foot of the mountain.
18Now Mount Sinai was all in smoke because the Lord descended upon it in fire; and its smoke ascended like the smoke of a furnace, and the entire mountain quaked violently.
19When the sound of the trumpet grew louder and louder, Moses spoke, and God answered him with thunder.
20Then 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.
21Then the Lord spoke to Moses: “Go down, warn the people, so that they do not break through to the Lord to stare, and many of them perish.
22Also have the priests who approach the Lord consecrate themselves, or else the Lord will break out against them.”
23And Moses said to the Lord, “The people cannot come up to Mount Sinai, for You warned us, saying, ‘Set boundaries around the mountain and consecrate it.’”
24Then the Lord said to him, “Go down and come up again, you and Aaron with you; but do not let the priests and the people break through to come up to the Lord, or He will break out against them.”
25So Moses went down to the people and told them.
Study Guide
Public-domain commentary and original-language notes for Exodus 19.
Chapter Summary
In this chapter: 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).
vv1-8
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, Jer 31:33; Heb 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.
vv9-15
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.
vv16-25
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.
Key Words
שְׁלִישִׁי: third; feminine athird (part); by extension, a third (day, year or time); specifically, a third-story cell)
חֹדֶשׁ: the new moon; by implication, a month
בֵּן: a son (as a builder of the family name), in the widest sense (of literal and figurative relationship, including grandson, subject, nation, quality or condition, etc., (like father or brother), etc.)
יִשְׂרָאֵל: Jisrael, a symbolical name of Jacob; also (typically) of his posterity
יָצָא: to go (causatively, bring) out, in a great variety of applications, literally and figuratively, direct and proxim.
אֶרֶץ: the earth (at large, or partitively a land)
מִצְרַיִם: Mitsrajim, i.e. Upper and Lower Egypt
יוֹם: a day (as the warm hours), whether literal (from sunrise to sunset, or from one sunset to the next), or figurative (a space of time defined by an associated term), (often used adverb)
בּוֹא: to go or come (in a wide variety of applications)
מִדְבָּר: a pasture (i.e. open field, whither cattle are driven); by implication, a desert; also speech (including its organs)
Cross References
Exodus 19Directly applies the 'kingdom of priests, and an holy nation' covenant language to New Testament believers.
Supported by Matthew Henry, Matthew Poole, JFB
Contrast between the terrifying, untouchable Mount Sinai and the approachable grace of Mount Zion.
Supported by Matthew Henry, JFB
Priests must sanctify themselves; God will be sanctified in those who come near Him lest He break forth.
Supported by Matthew Poole
Expands on the metaphor of God bearing Israel safely on eagles' wings during the Exodus.
Supported by Matthew Poole
Echoes the 'kingdom of priests' designation as fulfilled in Christ's redeemed people.
Supported by Matthew Poole
Moses recalls the previous command to set bounds around the mountain to prevent any touch.
Supported by Matthew Poole, JFB
Contrasts the terrifying, unapproachable Sinai boundaries with the free access of the New Covenant.
Supported by Matthew Henry, JFB
Moses standing as mediator between God and the people to receive and report the law.
Supported by John Calvin
Connects Israel as God's 'peculiar treasure' with Christ purifying a 'peculiar people' zealous of good works.
Supported by Matthew Poole
Pentateuchal parallel identifying Israel as a holy, special people chosen above all others.
Supported by Matthew Poole
The broken national Sinai covenant contrasted with the promised internal, unbreakable New Covenant.
Supported by Matthew Henry
The lethal danger of irreverent looking or gazing into the holy things of God.
Supported by Matthew Henry
Explicit warning that even Levites must not go in to watch holy things being covered, lest they die.
Supported by Matthew Henry
The law was added because of transgressions and ordained through an intermediary, Moses.
Supported by John Calvin
Poetic affirmation of Israel chosen by the Lord to be His 'peculiar treasure'.
Supported by Matthew Poole
The formal ratification where the people again promise to do all that the Lord has spoken.
Supported by Matthew Henry, Matthew Poole, John Calvin, JFB
Solomon references God's dwelling in the thick dark cloud, echoing Sinai's manifestations.
Supported by Matthew Poole
The foundational instruction to draw not nigh hither and pull off shoes on holy ground.
Strict repetition of bounds during the second giving of the tables; no man may come up.
Uzzah's death serves as a historical example of the Lord breaking forth when holiness is breached.
Theological explanation that the law was added because of transgressions until the Seed came.
Supported by John Calvin
The bright cloud of the Transfiguration as the New Testament counterpart to Sinai's thick cloud.
Supported by JFB
Connects physical and ceremonial sanctification to God's inherent holiness.
Supported by Matthew Poole
The command for the people to prepare and wash their clothes before the Lord's descent.
Supported by Matthew Poole
God specifies who may come up the mountain (Moses, Aaron, Nadab, Abihu, and seventy elders).
Stephen's speech identifying Moses as the mediator with the angel in the Sinai wilderness.
Supported by Matthew Poole