Exodus 19

Exodus 19

I don’t think it would be overstating it to say that the events of the next few chapters are some of the most important events in all of the Bible; actually, in all of history.  God physically descends to Mount Sinai to talk to Moses and through him, make a covenant with the Israelites.  V 5 states this covenant quite clearly: “Now if you obey me fully and keep my covenant, then out of all nations you will be my treasured possession.”  Moses takes this covenant to the people of Israel, and they all respond “yes.”  In response, God tells Moses that He will be descending onto Mount Sinai so that the people of Israel will hear God speaking to Moses, and therefore obey Moses.  God also gives the people of Israel orders to not touch even the foot of the mountain, or they are to be killed; being in the physical presence of God is serious stuff, and Moses is one of the few who ever get to do it while on earth.  In vv 20-24 God is testing Moses when He tells them that “the priests, who approach the LORD, must consecrate themselves, or the LORD will break out against them.”  Moses properly responds that the priests aren’t allowed to go up the mountain, as God had warned them.  God tells Moses to bring Aaron with him, but the other priests were to stay off the mountain.  Over the next few chapters, God gives Moses the details of the covenant we saw in v 5 of this chapter; this was to become the Law and the basis of Judaism.