The Man Moses #8

The Lord said to me,.."I will test my people with a plumbline. Amos 7:8 (TLB)

The Plumbline is a blog to encourage the Body of Christ.

The Man Moses #8

Clayt Sheridan, II

This study leads up to the Ten Commandments issued by God.  Exodus 19:1 (NKJV) reports that after three months of travel since leaving Egypt the children of Israel came to Mount of Sinai.  God had redeemed His people from Egypt, “the land of slavery” (13:3, 14; 20:2;  through the sprinkling of blood (Ex. 12) and by the marvelous deliverance through the Red Sea (Ex. 14). Now He brought them to Sinai where He entered into a covenant with them. The Law was the nation’s “constitution” for their theocratic state under their great God, Yahweh.

Obey my voice and keep my Covenant: This proposal made by God (My covenant) would give Israel an exalted position among the nations in view of their acceptance of God’s righteous standards. If they accepted and obeyed the covenant stipulations, God promised to make them His treasured possession (cf. Deut. 7:6; 14:2; 26:18; Ps. 135:4; Mal. 3:17). They would be His own people, highly valued by and related to Him. Also they would become a kingdom of priests, that is, each member of the nation with God as his King would know and have access to Him and mediate on behalf of each other as did priests. Also they would be a holy nation, a nation morally pure and dedicated entirely to the service of God. God redeemed Israel so that she might be in touch with and separated to Him.

The preparations for the covenant (19:7-25) Moses then informed the elders of Israel and the people about God’s covenant and His plan to possess them uniquely. The people heartily responded by promising to obey His laws strictly. In anticipation of the covenant God ordered the people to separate themselves from impurity and to consecrate themselves to God. The three-day purification ritual included washing their garments and abstaining from sexual intercourse. Also during the three days no person or animal was to contact the mountain or he or it would be put to death. Such careful preparation underscored the significance of the event that was about to transpire. The God of the heavens was about to make a covenant with His people. Unlike pagan deities who supposedly dwelt in the mountains, the God of Israel descended from heaven (1 Kings 8:30, 49) to the mountains to converse with His people. Only when summoned by the blast of a ram’s horn (cf. Ex. 19:16, 19) were the people to go toward the mountain (v. 13).

Then on the third day of preparation the God of heaven descended to Sinai in a display of power and majesty. God demonstrated His holiness and awesomeness; little wonder that the people trembled, standing at the foot of the mountain (v. 16; cf. 20:18). The people heard crashing thunder and a very loud trumpet blast (cf. 19:13); they saw flashing lightning.... fire, and dense billowing smoke as from a smelting furnace; and they felt the mountain trembling in a violent earthquake. The “black cloud” of smoke brought “darkness” to the sky (Deut. 4:11; cf. Ex. 20:21).

Only Moses (19:20) and Aaron (v. 24) were permitted on the mountain; the priests and the people were to stand before it. If they in curiosity saw the Lord they would perish (cf. comments on 33:11, 20; and comments on John 1:18). Though the Levitical priesthood had not yet been established, the elders (Ex. 3:18) or some young men (24:5) served as priests. Moses made three trips to the mountaintop and back (19:3, 7; vv. 8-9; vv. 20, 25). These instructions vividly reminded the people of the immeasurable chasm between the divine and the human, as well as the miracle of divine revelation.

The first commandment (20:3) The first of the Ten Commandments is that Israel was to worship the one true God. Worshiping false gods would be setting up rivals to Him  and thus overlooking His uniqueness (cf. Vv. 22-23). Unfortunately Israel often disobeyed this very first command by worshiping the idols of other nations. This eventually resulted in her being exiled to Assyria and Babylonia.

The second commandment (20:4-6) The worship of God was to be spiritual, not material. Israel was forbidden from worshiping idols (v. 3) and also from making images of God. Since God is spiritual no material representation can possibly resemble Him. To make an idol of God like something in the sky (sun, moon, stars), or on the earth (animals), or in the waters below (fish, crocodiles, or other sea life) was forbidden because God is a jealous God (cf. 34:14; Deut. 5:9; 6:15; 32:16, 21; Josh. 24:19), that is, He is zealous that devotion be given exclusively to Him. His uniqueness (Ex. 20:3) requires unique devotion. Absence of such dedication is sin and has its effect on future generations. Those who thus are influenced to hate God will be punished by Him. By contrast He is loyal to those who love Him and who show that love by their obedience (cf. 1 John 5:3).

The third commandment (20:7) The name of... God should be honored and protected. The Israelites were not to use His name for any idle, frivolous, or insincere purpose (such as speaking His name when taking an oath with no intention of keeping it, Lev. 19:12). People should not use His name for selfish or evil purposes (cf. Ps. 139:20; also see comments on Deut. 5:11), thereby seeking to usurp His authority. Deuteronomy 5:11 (NKJV)  'You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain, for the LORD will not hold him guiltless who takes His name in vain.