Israel’s arrival at Mount Sinai in Exodus chapter 19 is the fulfillment of a promise God made to Moses from the burning bush. In chapter 3, when the former prince-turned-sheepherder stands barefoot at the base of the mountain to receive his new commission, he asks, in a moment of understandable self-doubt, "Who am I, that I should go to Pharaoh, and that I should bring the sons of Israel out of Egypt?" (Exod. 3:11).1

God extends assurance of accompaniment, and then offers, as a sign of this promised presence, a return to Sinai with the entire nation of Israel, now free and ready to meet their Savior. Though chapters 20 through 23 contain God’s terms for covenant with the whole of Israel, chapter 19 is the fulfillment of a specific covenant between God and one man, and a validation of Moses as God’s chosen leader for his chosen people.

Though there often appear to be distinct differences between God’s behaviors in the Old and New Testaments, there are also several important consistencies. One of these unifying threads is the way in which God consistently values conversation. Throughout the book of Exodus, God is in constant conversation with Moses. Ten out of the sixteen chapters between the bush and the mountain begin with some variation on the words, "Then the Lord said to Moses." These talks take place out of earshot of the freed throngs.

However, when the promise of a return to Moses’ adopted homeland is fulfilled, God chooses to underscore the leader’s authority by staging a public conversation with him. God says, "Behold, I shall come to you in a thick cloud, in order that the people may hear when I speak with you, and may also believe in you forever" (Exod. 19:9, emphasis added). The quiet, tongue-tied man who worried in chapter 4 about his lack of eloquence now becomes the regular conversation partner of God.

Like many adults, I cringe as I recall my years in early elementary school. I was relentlessly teased and consistently exiled by those who were more popular and informed. I approached each school day with sickening dread. However, during the summer before my fifth-grade year, I was befriended inexplicably in Pathfinders by a much older and legendary high school freshman. Her friendship carried with it a promise of success and support.

The first day back at school, I was treated, as before, like an outcast by my classmates. I remember walking to recess, followed by whispering hecklers, when I saw, descending the steps in a cloud of power and authority, my summer friend. She stopped, looked at me, and in a loud voice said, "Hey Stef, how are you?"

"Good," I replied. In the face of this conversation with a high school deity, my classmates trembled, wide-eyed and suddenly respectful.

The exchange between God and Moses in Exodus 19 is a foreshadowing of the transfiguration of Christ in the Gospels. Though Christ is divine, he also needs his leadership to be dramatically underscored for his followers. God chooses here, again, to use cloud-shrouded mountaintop conversation as validation. Peter, James, and John, who undoubtedly know well the stories of Israel’s wilderness journey to the Promised Land, are impressed not only by God’s declaration of Jesus as his Son, but also by the fact that they are able to witness a conversation that Jesus has with Moses. God uses the human discussion leader from Exodus to empower the emissary of the Gospel by talking with him.

A second thread that connects God’s behavior in the Old and New Testaments is the way in which he divides covenant responsibility. Each participant in the agreement has specific responsibilities, which are separate and distinct. God’s covenant responsibility is salvation, both in the literal and spiritual senses of that word. The successful Exodus from Egypt represents the active fulfillment of God’s literal responsibility as savior to Israel. He points this out to Israel saying in chapter 19 verse 4, "You yourselves have seen what I did to the Egyptians and how I bore you on eagles wings and brought you to Myself."

However, though the responsibility for salvation is entirely God’s, this does not mean that there are no expectations of the saved. God follows the evidence of his actions with requirements for Israel. He says, "Now then, if you will indeed obey My voice and keep My covenant, then you shall be my own possession" (Exod. 19:5). God has demonstrated himself as Savior, and it is now the responsibility of the saved to respond to the grace that salvation represents. He requires, in chapter 19, that the Israelites cleanse themselves, meditate without distraction for three days, and remain at a respectful distance from God’s physical presence.

This division of responsibility between God and Israel outlined in Exodus 19:4–5 is echoed in Exodus 20:1–2 and the following four chapters of commandments and laws. It is also carried into the New Testament, where Jesus fulfills the responsibility of salvation, but requires specific behaviors of those who accept that gift. God’s covenant involves increased, not reduced, responsibility for the human participant.

In Exodus 19, the Israelites enthusiastically respond to the presentation of God’s saving deeds with unanimous agreement to join the covenant, saying, "All that the Lord has spoken, we will do!" (Exod. 19:8). They are human, and they will fail, as we, who live with the revelation of the Gospel continue to fail. However, as long as we remain actively committed to the covenant we continue to move toward the Promised Land with those chosen, not for our merit, but rather, by his grace.

Notes and References

1. All biblical quotes are from the New American Standard Version.

EMAIL THIS ARTICLE