The Story of Moses : Exodus 19-20
The Mountain
Pastor Jefferson M. Williams
Chenoa Baptist Church
06-29–2025
Awesome!
In this culture, we overuse words to the point they lose their power. One of those words is “awe.” When Pete Crow-Armstrong makes an amazing catch for the Cubs, we say it was “awesome.” When we find out that Barry Manilow will not be playing concerts in Illinois anymore, we [all] say that is awful.
The dictionary defines “awe” as “the rapt attention and deep emotion caused by the sight of something extraordinary.”
I’ve been following Hansel Emmanuel since he was in high school. He’s a basketball player from the Dominican Republic.
He was told to give basketball up. But he made his high school team. Then he showed out in several camps in the US. He was recruited by multiple schools. Played college ball at Austin Peay.
Many people told him to be content to have made it this far. He wasn’t satisfied. He wasn’t drafted in the NBA draft this week but on Thursday he signed a two-way contract with the Houston Rockets.This means that he can play for their G-League affiliate team. He’s a pro!
But why is this awesome?
Well he’s 6’6, 175. Tall and skinny. And, by the way, he only has one arm!
I asked friends on Facebook, when was a time they felt “awe.” Here’s what some of them said:
Several people wrote about being at Disney for the first time and seeing Cinderella’s castle.
Walking through Babylon in Iraq while serving in the Army. I had this sense of wonder of what was there before and what it now was.
Several people talked about the birth of their children.
Several others wrote about seeing the Grand Canyon, the ocean, Niagara Falls, or Yosemite valley for the first time.
One pastor friend wrote about walking into the cave on Patmos where John received the Revelation. As well as walking into Ephesus. That was just wow.
One person wrote about standing on top of Pikes Peak after hiking more than five hours and another wrote about seeing the pyramids in Egypt at night.
One young person wrote about the sense of awe and God’s presence as she sat with her father as he went to heaven.
Several others wrote about encounters with God that filled them with awe.
That’s what we will be looking at today. The Israelites are going to receive the Law, the master plan for their nation. But chapter 19 of Exodus has to come before chapter 20.
Remember, for over 400 years they had been slaves in a country that had thousands of gods. Now, at the foot of Mt. Sinai, they will learn experientially that Yahweh is the only true God and that being in His presence creates terror, dread, and awe.
We will start our study of the Ten Commandments next week. But before the wow there needs to be worship. Before the commandments there needs to be consecration. Before obedience there needs to be a sense of God’s ownership.
Please turn with me to Exodus 19.
Prayer
Are We There Yet?
When we last left Moses, they had gone through the Red Sea on dry land and witnessed the destruction of the Egyptian army.
In Chapter 16, Moses led the people in a song of victory that began with these words:
“I will sing to the Lord, for he is highly exalted. Both horse and driver he has hurled into the sea.” (Ex 15:1)
And then…the grumbling started. Only three days out of Egypt, and the people already began to grumble against Moses. They were thirsty and the only water they found was bitter. But
“Then Moses cried out to the Lord, and the Lord showed him a piece of wood. He threw it into the water, and the water became fit to drink.” (Ex 15:25)
The whole group then camped at the oasis of Elim.
And then…they grumbled again!
“If only we had died by the Lord’s hand in Egypt! There we sat around pots of meat and ate all the food we wanted, but you have brought us out into this desert to starve this entire assembly to death.” (Ex 16:3)
Despite their complaining, God provides them with manna and quail to eat.
At Rephidim, Moses recorded that people quarreled with him and were ready to stone him because there was no water.
God told Moses to strike a rock and fresh water flowed in abundance.
They had their first battle victory when the Amalekites attacked them.
Let’s pick the story up in verse one of chapter 19.
“On the first day of the third month after the Israelites left Egypt—on that very day—they came to the Desert of Sinai. After they set out from Rephidim, they entered the Desert of Sinai, and Israel camped there in the desert in front of the mountain.” (Exodus 19:1-2)
It’s been three lunar months (about seven weeks) since they left Egypt.
From Rephidim, they entered the Desert of Sinai. This desert is not just sand but also uninhabited grazing land.
They camped at the base of Mt. Sinai that rose over 7,500 feet into the sky.
They would be there over a year, so it was more like living there instead of camping there. In fact, the next 57 chapters of Scripture will cover those 12 months.
Then Moses went up to God, and the Lord called to him from the mountain and said, “This is what you are to say to the descendants of Jacob and what you are to tell the people of Israel: ‘You yourselves have seen what I did to Egypt, and how I carried you on eagles’ wings and brought you to myself.” (Exodus 19:3-4)
When Moses encountered God in the burning bush, Moses tried to convince God that he wasn’t the right man for the job.
But Moses said to God, “Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the Israelites out of Egypt?” And God said, “I will be with you. And this will be the sign to you that it is I who have sent you: When you have brought the people out of Egypt, you will worship God on this mountain.”
God promises him that He would lead and protect them and guide them right back to this mountain.
Notice that God describes them two ways:
descendants of Jacob. Remember that when Jacob came down to Egypt there were only 70 in their caravan.
People of Israel. Now, they are more than 2 million and are on their way to becoming a nation.
God tells Moses to remind the people what God did to Egypt. Nine months of plagues, each getting successively worse, until the last one took all the first born from those who didn’t have the blood of the lamb on their door posts.
When they were trapped and helpless, God split the Red Sea and they walked through on dry ground. They watched as the sea covered the Egyptian army and they were no more.
They had seen miracles, signs, plagues, and still grumbled. They needed to be reminded.
Then God gives him a beautiful word picture.
When an eagle builds a nest, she will find sharp sticks and point them inward. As the chicks grow larger, the nest becomes uncomfortable.
She will then shake the nest and push the eaglets out. They fall, and flutter, and cry out. Then the mother will swoop down and catch them on her wings. This happens again and again until the eaglets learn to fly.
Like an eagle, God carried the Israelites out of Egypt and to Himself. Like an eagle, He will teach them how to fly free.
A Conditional Covenant
“Now if you obey me fully and keep my covenant, then out of all nations you will be my treasured possession. Although the whole earth is mine, you will be for me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.’ These are the words you are to speak to the Israelites.” (Exodus 19:5-6)
In Wednesday morning Bible study, we’ve been studying Noah and the promise/covenant that God made with him to never destroy the earth by water. This was an unconditional covenant - God initiated it and God will keep His promise and we know that by the sign of the rainbow.
But this covenant is conditional - an “if/then” agreement.
If the Israelites obey God fully and keep the covenant, then God promises three amazing things:
out of all nations you will be my treasured possession
Moses writes nearly the same thing in Deuteronomy:
“For you are a people holy to the Lord your God. The Lord your God has chosen you out of all the peoples on the face of the earth to be his people, his treasured possession.” (Duet 7:6)
This is a word picture of the personal, private wealth of a King. A treasured possession would be handled carefully, guarded constantly, and shown off to those around him.
God makes it clear that their obedience will lead to radical protection, compassion and love.
Even though the whole world is His (Duet 10:14) You will be for me a kingdom of priests
In the Old Testament, a priest was a mediator between God and man. God’s intention for this group of people was to be His hands and feet to the nations, spreading the story of God’s deliverance far and wide.
One commentator writes:
“The whole nation was to act as mediators of God’s grace to the nations of the earth, even as Abraham had been promised that through him and his seed all the nations on earth would be blessed.”
You will be a holy nation.
By following the rules that God will give to Moses, they will stand out among the pagan nations in the areas of money, sex, power, family and more.
Let me stop here and make a point that I learned from the late Tim Keller.
Friday night, I went and saw Rick Springfield. I love getting really close to the stage and watching the guitar player. They brought him a new guitar, and immediately I knew that it was out of tune.
He knew it to and lean over and told the bass player. Rick had in-ear monitors, so when the guitar play played the first chord, that’s were he started. Which means that he was way off key.
We have to get the order right. If we don’t start with with the right key, we will be out of tunes our whole lives.
Saving acts of God leads to…
Obedience which leads to…
Blessings.
Many people believe that if they obey then they will be accepted. That’s not Christianity.
C.S. Lewis once wrote that we never really know how bad we are until we try to be really good.
Christianity teaches that we are accepted, therefore we obey.
We are in such awe of the saving acts of God, we are so overwhelmed by His majesty and mercy, we are so grateful for His extravagant love, that we obey freely, fully, and joyfully.
And from that kind of obedience flows His blessings.
“So Moses went back and summoned the elders of the people and set before them all the words the Lord had commanded him to speak. The people all responded together, “We will do everything the Lord has said.” So Moses brought their answer back to the Lord.” (Exodus 19:7-8)
Uggh. If you know the rest of the story you know that their mouths are writing checks their bodies can’t cash!
“The Lord said to Moses, “I am going to come to you in a dense cloud, so that the people will hear me speaking with you and will always put their trust in you.” Then Moses told the Lord what the people had said.” (Exodus 19:9)
God is up to something amazing. He’s going to come down.
By the way, the pagan nations built Ziggurats (towers) to try to search for God. But Yahweh came down to us!
He will come down in a thick cloud, His glory will be hidden. But He has an agenda.
God is establishing Moses as the recipient and mediator of the revelation of God. He will stand between the holy God and the sinful people.
Preparing for God’s Presence
“And the Lord said to Moses, “Go to the people and consecrate them today and tomorrow. Have them wash their clothes and be ready by the third day, because on that day the Lord will come down on Mount Sinai in the sight of all the people.” (Exodus 19:10-11)
In that culture, it was common to take a bath a few times a year. It was almost useless to wash your clothes because they will just get dusty again. And, in a desert, water is for drinking, not washing clothes.
But God is saying that there is way to approach Him. He is not one of the false gods of Egypt. He is utterly holy and they needed to cleanse their clothes and their hearts before He arrived.
“Put limits for the people around the mountain and tell them, ‘Be careful that you do not approach the mountain or touch the foot of it. Whoever touches the mountain is to be put to death. They are to be stoned or shot with arrows; not a hand is to be laid on them. No person or animal shall be permitted to live.’ Only when the ram’s horn sounds a long blast may they approach the mountain.” (Exodus 19:12-13)
God establishes a boundary around the mountain - don’t touch it. If you do, you will die. And you can’t even touch the dead bodies.
When they hear the shofar, then, and only then, can they approach.
We have to come to God on His terms not any way we want.
“After Moses had gone down the mountain to the people, he consecrated them, and they washed their clothes. Then he said to the people, “Prepare yourselves for the third day. Abstain from sexual relations.” (Exodus 19:14-15)
Anyone else getting tired just hearing Moses going up the mountain and then down the mountain over and over again?
The people are to prepare themselves for God’s arrival by focusing on on the spiritual, not the physical.
Let me stop here and ask a question - how do you prepare for our Sunday morning gathering? Do you come with a holy anticipation that God will be worshiped and by His Word He will change hearts, heal marriages, overcome addictions, and call people out of misery into ministry?
Pastor Jeff Browning gave us a great list of questions to prepare you spiritually for worship. Kim made copies and you can pick this up in the lobby.
God is a Consuming Fire
Would you close your eyes while I read these verses to you?
“On the morning of the third day there was thunder and lightning, with a thick cloud over the mountain, and a very loud trumpet blast. Everyone in the camp trembled. Then Moses led the people out of the camp to meet with God, and they stood at the foot of the mountain. Mount Sinai was covered with smoke, because the Lord descended on it in fire. The smoke billowed up from it like smoke from a furnace, and the whole mountain trembled violently. As the sound of the trumpet grew louder and louder, Moses spoke and the voice of God answered him.” (Exodus 19:16-19)
I’ll let Chuck Swindoll set the stage:
“Twilight descended on the Israelites as they camped at the foot of Mt Sinai. The setting sun cast a luminescent glow on the wisps of clouds turned from bright pink to deep burgundy.
In the last rays of light, the Hebrews made their final preparations for their meeting with God. Just as He had commanded, they washed their tunics and cloaks, stayed clear of the foot of he mountain, and abstained from sexual relations to avoid ceremonial defilement.
As sunrise broke over the horizon, claps of thunder began to wake the people and the ground started to shake. Emanating from the thick cloud that descended on the mountain were lightning bolts that violently struck the mountainside and came closer and closer to the camp. The thunder clapped louder and the earth quaked harder, as if trying to shake off the sting of the lightning.
Then grey smoke began to tumble down the slope of the mountain, and a trumpet roared from the peak. It sounded like the shofar - a long deep bellowing cry. The trumpet blared so loudly that the people covered their ears and yelled out for Moses.”
There before the mountain, the people learned a very important lesson - He is God and they are not!
The mountain shook and the people’s knees quaked. Why are we terrified in the presence of God?
Because we are in deep denial about how sinful we are. But when we step into the presence of a holy God, we are undone, as Isaiah said.
One of the people that responded to my Facebook question wrote:
“My encounter with the Lord was extremely powerful, and scary.”
I had my own encounter with God that was similar to Andrew’s.
Many years ago, I attended a worship leader’s conference . We spent three days worshipping God with some of the most gifted leaders in the nation.
Several times the presence of God was so overwhelming that our speakers would not begin their sermon. They simply read Scripture and told the band to keep on playing.
At one point on Friday night when we were focusing on God’s glory, there were several hundred people on the faces before God. The band stopped singing because human words seemed too shallow.
Later that night, I sat outside the hotel and wrote this poem:
Not Enough
Words – reaching, straining, pulling
not enough not enough
My lips move, my tongue wags
not enough, not enough
Palms out-turned, knees bruised
not enough, not enough
Fluid motion, flux-filled emotion
not enough, not enough
Mind-bending mystery
Soul-stretching intrigue
Kneeling, Dancing
Wistful Whispers, Subtle Shouts
not enough, not enough
Glory, Glory, Glory!
Holy, Holy, Holy!
Ruined! Woe to me.
Restoration, Reclamation
Incarnation – Jesus Christ
The lion and the lamb
Good, Good, Good
Enough!
When we worship God for who He really is we are changed by the experience. God is not “the big guy upstairs” and He is not a heavenly grandpa dispenses lifesavers. God is God and we are not!
God is teaching them that He is not to be trifled with. The writer of Hebrews describes God as a “consuming fire.”
The smoke, fire, earthquakes, and cloud all represent God’s awesome holiness.
“The Lord descended to the top of Mount Sinai and called Moses to the top of the mountain. So Moses went up and the Lord said to him, “Go down and warn the people so they do not force their way through to see the Lord and many of them perish.
Even the priests, who approach the Lord, must consecrate themselves, or the Lord will break out against them. Moses said to the Lord, “The people cannot come up Mount Sinai, because you yourself warned us, ‘Put limits around the mountain and set it apart as holy.’”
The Lord replied, “Go down and bring Aaron up with you. But the priests and the people must not force their way through to come up to the Lord, or he will break out against them. So Moses went down to the people and told them.” (Hebrews 19:20-25)
Moses goes up and then back down again! There aren’t “priests” yet so this is speaking of the first-born sons.
One commentator wrote:
“This repeated enforcement of the command not to touch the mountain, and the special extension of it, even to the priests, were intended to awaken in the people a consciousness of their own unholiness quite and much as the unapproachable holiness of God.”
The Old vs. New
In Exodus 19-20 we will witness the start of a covenantal relationship between God and the people of Israel.
We call this the Mosaic covenant, which was in effect from that day until the resurrection of Jesus. Jesus fulfilled the Law when we couldn’t. Jesus instituted a new covenant - the covenant of grace.
The old and the new are alike in that it
is centered on God’s Word.
It points out the distance between sinful man and a holy God.
It makes clear the wrath of God against sin.
But there are major differences as well.
The writer of Hebrews, looking back to Exodus 19 writes:
“You have not come to a mountain that can be touched and that is burning with fire; to darkness, gloom and storm; to a trumpet blast or to such a voice speaking words that those who heard it begged that no further word be spoken to them, because they could not bear what was commanded: “If even an animal touches the mountain, it must be stoned to death.” The sight was so terrifying that Moses said, “I am trembling with fear.” (Hebrews 12:18-21)
“But you have come to Mount Zion, to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem. You have come to thousands upon thousands of angels in joyful assembly, to the church of the firstborn, whose names are written in heaven. You have come to God, the Judge of all, to the spirits of the righteous made perfect, to Jesus the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel.” (Hebrews 12:22-24)
David Guzik comments -
“Therefore, we shouldn’t come to Zion as if coming to Sinai. We must put away our hesitation and get bold in coming to God. Even so, there is much for us to learn at Mount Sinai. We learn of God’s holy requirements and what we have to do before we can come to Him. In a similar manner to those at Mount Sinai, there are things we must do to meet with God.
• We must receive God’s word? • We must be set apart? • We must be cleansed? • We can only come after the third day? • We must respect God’s boundary? • We must restrain the flesh? • We must know we come to a holy God
Through the new covenant, Peter, thinking back to Exodus 19 writes that we are
“…a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.” (I Peter 2:9)
We are called to share the good new of the Gospel with the nations.
Another friend shared her awe moment.
“When Dad was dying and he was handing out Anchor for the Soul books. He truly wanted everyone to know and love Jesus the way he did.
Moses was the mediator of the Old covenant between a holy God and sinful man. This was to set a pattern going forward where there would be a group of people, starting with Aaron, that would be God’s representatives/mediators between God and the people. This is pointing toward a day when their will be a new mediator.
“But in fact the ministry Jesus has received is as superior to theirs as the covenant of which he is mediator is superior to the old one, since the new covenant is established on better promises.” (Heb 8:6)
Timothy writes:
“For there is one God and one mediator between God and mankind, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all people.” (I Tim 2:5-6a)
In the Old, lambs were sacrificed continually to give a visual picture of sin being atoned for.
In the new, Jesus, the passover lamb, was sacrificed once and for all in our place for our sins.
“The law is only a shadow of the good things that are coming—not the realities themselves. For this reason it can never, by the same sacrifices repeated endlessly year after year, make perfect those who draw near to worship. Otherwise, would they not have stopped being offered? For the worshipers would have been cleansed once for all, and would no longer have felt guilty for their sins. But those sacrifices are an annual reminder of sins. It is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins.
Therefore, when Christ came into the world, he said:
“Sacrifice and offering you did not desire, but a body you prepared for me; with burnt offerings and sin offerings you were not pleased.
Then I said, ‘Here I am—it is written about me in the scroll—I have come to do your will, my God.’”
First he said, “Sacrifices and offerings, burnt offerings and sin offerings you did not desire, nor were you pleased with them”—though they were offered in accordance with the law. Then he said, “Here I am, I have come to do your will.” He sets aside the first to establish the second. And by that will, we have been made holy through the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.” (Hebrews 10:1-10)
Ending Song: All my Boast is in Jesus
