Verses 1-2 In the third month, when the children of Israel were gone forth out of the land of Egypt, the same day came they into the wilderness of Sinai. 2 For they were departed from Rephidim, and were come to the desert of Sinai, and had pitched in the wilderness; and there Israel camped before the mount.
The name “Sinai” means “thorny”. Since the region was and is a desert, perhaps it referenced the plant life in the area. Why would the LORD place the Hebrew people in this desert place and give Moses the Law upon this mountain? Is there a spiritual application? Notice that the people reached this destination in the third month, the number of perfection.
Verses 3-6 And Moses went up unto God, and the LORD called unto him out of the mountain, saying, Thus shalt thou say to the house of Jacob, and tell the children of Israel; 4 Ye have seen what I did unto the Egyptians, and how I bare you on eagles’ wings, and brought you unto myself. 5 Now therefore, if ye will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant, then ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto me above all people: for all the earth is mine: 6 And ye shall be unto me a kingdom of priests, and an holy nation. These are the words which thou shalt speak unto the children of Israel.
In the Old Testament, the LORD’s promises began with the word “if”. In order to receive His promise, the people had to do something first. In the instance above, God’s promises were contingent on the people obeying and keeping a covenant or agreement. If they failed to do their part, then God was not obligated to keep His promise. Because a covenant was dependent on at least two parties in order for it to be binding and in effect, like a legal agreement or document today, failure by one party to keep the covenant made it null and void. The Hebrew people simply had to do the right thing and they would be:
1. a peculiar (valued, special) treasure (possession),
2. a kingdom of priests (sharing their knowledge about the one true God among the pagan nations),
3 and a holy nation (one that is set apart from all the other nations on the face of the Earth).
Notice that God reminds Moses and therefore the people that all the Earth is His.
Application: This writer is aware of the concept of “replacement theology” and will not discuss this teaching or endorse or condemn it. You, the reader, if you have an interest, need to research it for yourself and decide if it has merit or not based on the Word of God. However, that being said, the three (there is that number again) benefits of following and obeying the LORD that were promised to the Old Testament believers are the same as those promised to the New Testament believers or the Church today. 1 Peter 2:9 states, “But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people: that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light:” Just as the descendants of Abraham were chosen by God to give testimony of Him and to provide the line through which Jesus would come to the Earth as Savior, the believers in the Church were and are chosen by God to give testimony of Him and to share the truth about Jesus and His gift of salvation to all who will receive it.
Verses 7-8 And Moses came and called for the elders of the people, and laid before their faces all these words which the LORD commanded him. 8 And all the people answered together, and said, All that the LORD hath spoken we will do. And Moses returned the words of the people unto the LORD.
Well the elders agreed to this covenant and promised to do it even though it had been abundantly clear that the people rebelled and disobeyed their instructions right from the very beginning. Go back and review the chapters in which the people murmured and threatened Moses and Aaron and in which it is recorded that they disobeyed the commands regarding the gathering of manna.
Application: Notice that God spoke to Moses, Moses spoke to the elders/the people, they spoke to Moses, and he then spoke their words to God. In the Old Testament, there was always an intermediary between God and mankind. The prophets and the high priest were examples. Praise God that today, in the Church, believers can go straight to the LORD and speak their words directly to Him without a human mediator because Jesus is the go between for mankind and Father God. “For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus.” 1 Timothy 2:5 Believers can access the throne room of God spiritually through their prayers. There is no need for a priest, pastor or prophet to carry a believer’s word to the LORD. What a privilege to speak directly with the Creator God of the universe and to know He hears!
Verses 9-11 And the LORD said unto Moses, Lo, I come unto thee in a thick cloud, that the people may hear when I speak with thee, and believe thee for ever. And Moses told the words of the people unto the LORD. 10 And the LORD said unto Moses, Go unto the people, and sanctify them to day and to morrow, and let them wash their clothes, 11 And be ready against the third day: for the third day the LORD will come down in the sight of all the people upon mount Sinai.
How would a doubting people know that Moses was telling them the exact word of God? By hearing the voice of God there would be no doubt that Moses was indeed the prophet and the messenger of God.
In order to appear before a holy and perfect God, the people had to prepare themselves, both physically by having clean bodies and clothing, and mentally by thinking about what was to happen and by preparing their hearts so that they were right with God.
Application: In the third month since leaving Egypt, God was to manifest Himself in a cloud to the Hebrew people. They were to take three days to prepare for His visitation. Likewise, Jesus was three days in a tomb during which His followers were reliving the events of the crucifixion and the words that He had spoken to them for the past 3 1/2 years and preparing their hearts for His resurrection. Then He appeared to His people in a resurrected body, a visitation that was to change the world forever.
Verses 12-13 And thou shalt set bounds unto the people round about, saying, Take heed to yourselves, that ye go not up into the mount, or touch the border of it: whosoever toucheth the mount shall be surely put to death: 13 There shall not an hand touch it, but he shall surely be stoned, or shot through; whether it be beast or man, it shall not live: when the trumpet soundeth long, they shall come up to the mount.
Limitations had to be in place because Almighty God is a spirit and a consuming fire and flesh, whether mankind’s or animal, cannot survive in His presence. By occupying a human body, Jesus, Almighty God could walk among his created beings without destroying them with His presence.
Verses 14-15 And Moses went down from the mount unto the people, and sanctified the people; and they washed their clothes. 15 And he said unto the people, Be ready against the third day: come not at your wives.
The process of sanctification requires sacrifice of fleshly desires such as sexual relationships with one’s spouse. The purpose is to have the mind focused on God and not on the things of this world.
Verses 16-17 And it came to pass on the third day in the morning, that there were thunders and lightnings, and a thick cloud upon the mount, and the voice of the trumpet exceeding loud; so that all the people that was in the camp trembled. 17 And Moses brought forth the people out of the camp to meet with God; and they stood at the nether part of the mount.
Trumpets have been used down through the passages of time as instruments to get peoples’ attention. They have been used to announce danger, battles, military strategy, the presence of people of importance, to call an assembly, and in this case, to announce the presence of God. The word “nether” means the “lower part” of the mount.
The trumpet that sounded was the trump of God. This was not a trumpet being played by a person in the camp. This was supernatural and it, along with the thunder and lightning, must have been a fearful experience and should have instilled a healthy fear of God into the hearts and minds of all the people in the camp.
Application: Just as the trump of God heralded the descent of God upon Mount Sinai, the book of Revelation talks about the last trumpet sounding that will herald the end of time and the descent of the LORD Jesus Christ from Heaven to this Earth to establish His kingdom of righteousness and to judge and remove wickedness forever. Come LORD Jesus!
Verses 18-20 And mount Sinai was altogether on a smoke, because the LORD descended upon it in fire: and the smoke thereof ascended as the smoke of a furnace, and the whole mount quaked greatly. 19 And when the voice of the trumpet sounded long, and waxed louder and louder, Moses spake, and God answered him by a voice. 20 And the LORD came down upon mount Sinai, on the top of the mount: and the LORD called Moses up to the top of the mount; and Moses went up.
There is an area in the desert of Sinai that is today fenced off and out of bounds and guarded. Aerial photographs have shown the top of a mountain that is all black as if the rocks have been burned. Only one mountain is blackened. Although it cannot be said for certain that this mount was the site where God appeared and gave the ten commandments to Moses, one has to wonder why the area has been fenced off and why no one is allowed to access it.
Verses 21-23 And the LORD said unto Moses, Go down, charge the people, lest they break through unto the LORD to gaze, and many of them perish. 22 And let the priests also, which come near to the LORD, sanctify themselves, lest the LORD break forth upon them. 23 And Moses said unto the LORD, The people cannot come up to mount Sinai: for thou chargedst us, saying, Set bounds about the mount, and sanctify it.
Because Moses went up the mount into the smoke and cloud and was no longer visible to the people below, it was highly probable that some of the people would think that they could do the same thing. Obedience was not the children of Israel’s strong point, and this was such an awesome sight and experience, who would not want to follow Moses and go and see what he was experiencing?
Verses 24-25 And the LORD said unto him, Away, get thee down, and thou shalt come up, thou, and Aaron with thee: but let not the priests and the people break through to come up unto the LORD, lest he break forth upon them. 25 So Moses went down unto the people, and spake unto them.
God knew the hearts and minds of each person in the camp and He was concerned for their safety. He agreed to let Aaron come back up the mount with Moses, but no one else was to step on this holy ground.