Exodus 19:1-25

19:1-14 | God fulfilled His promise to bring the people to Mount Sinai to worship Him (3:12). As was ancient wedding custom, Israel was to purify themselves for three days prior to the Lord’s visitation, preparing their bodies, minds, and hearts for their covenantal marriage to the Lord. To ready oneself to meet with the Lord involves a person’s undivided attention.

19:5-6 | Because all the earth is the Lord’s, He can do with it as He pleases (Ps. 24:1) – and His covenant with Moses and Abraham, He designated a special people for Himself and a land for His people (Gen. 15:12-21). As a kingdom of priests and a holy nation (1 Peter 2:5-9), God planned to bless all the families of the earth through Israel (Gen. 12:2-3; John 4:22; Rom. 9:4-5).

19:16-20 | This appearance of the Lord was marked by extraordinary phenomena as He descended on Sinai in fire. That He physically spoke to Moses (by voice) in the people’s hearing was important so that they would “believe [Moses] forever”. Trumpets are sometimes associated with great pronouncements of God; the volume and intensity of this trumpet blast were unprecedented.

19:21-25 | To be in the presence of a holy God required boundaries. It was God’s mercy that had Moses warn the people so they would not die.