Hearing God’s Voice

God to Moses:  Then Moses climbed the mountain to appear before God. The Lord called to him from the mountain and said, “Give these instructions to the family of Jacob; announce it to the descendants of Israel: ‘You have seen what I did to the Egyptians. You know how I carried you on eagles’ wings and brought you to Myself. Now if you will obey Me and keep My covenant, you will be My own special treasure from among all the peoples on earth; for all the earth belongs to Me. And you will be My kingdom of priests, My holy nation.’ This is the message you must give to the people of Israel.” Exodus 19:3-6 (NLT)

In the third month after the Israelites left Egypt – on the very day, the Israelites arrived at Mount Sinai (also called Mount Horeb) (Exodus 19:1-2). The arrival at Mount Sinai marked a significant landmark for the Israelites. After being graciously delivered from Egyptian slavery by God’s mighty hand and experiencing the care of God’s provision in the wilderness, the Israelites would now be brought into a special covenant relationship with Almighty God. Mount Sinai is also important because this mountain is where Moses met God in a burning bush (Exodus 3:1-2, 5) and where Elijah heard God’s voice in the gentle whisper (1 Kings 19:8, 12).

At Mount Sinai, Moses once again climbed the mountain to meet with God. This time Moses appeared before God with all of Israel at the foot of the holy mountain ready to worship the true and living God (Exodus 19:3; see also Exodus 3:12). God spoke to Moses telling Moses instructions to tell all of Israel. In these instructions, God had graciously carried the people of Israel on eagles' wings and redeemed the Israelites to Himself (Exodus 19:4). God had redeemed the Israelites from Egyptian slavery and bondage to become His people (Exodus 6:6-7). Now, God asked that Israel to always obey Him, serve His purpose, and keep all His instructions (Exodus 19:5). If Israel would faithfully and fully obey God, then Israel would be out of all the nations of the world God’s most treasured possession (Exodus 19:5; see also Deuteronomy 26:18; Psalm 135:4). “Now if you obey Me fully and keep My covenant, then out of all nations you will be My treasured possession” (Exodus 19:5, NIV). The key words of the instructions were if Israel will obey only then would God fulfill all the promises for protection and favor promised to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Israel was chosen by God not because of Israel's merits or goodness, but solely because God loved Israel and was faithful to the promises given to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob (Deuteronomy 7:6-9). “The Lord your God is God; He is the faithful God, keeping His covenant of love to a thousand generations of those who love Him and keep His commands” (Deuteronomy 7:9 (NIV).

Israel would be God’s “kingdom of priests and a holy nation,” although the whole earth belongs to God (Exodus 19:6; see also 1 Peter 2:9; Revelation 1:6). In other words, Israel was to become intermediaries or mediators between a holy God and a lost world and reveal God’s holiness and goodness to the world. In the covenant, Israel was considered God's possession (special treasure) and a kingdom whose citizens were all priests with access to God, and a holy nation devoted only to God.

In the New Testament, Peter borrowed the imagery of Exodus 19:5-6 and called believers of Jesus Christ “a holy priesthood... a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light” (1 Peter 2:5, 9, NKJV). Through our faith in Jesus Christ, believers are also “a kingdom and priests” to serve God and reflect God’s holiness and goodness to the world (Revelation 1:6; see also Revelation 5:10; Revelation 20:6). Jesus Christ has redeemed true believers in Him from slavery to sin through His sacrificial death on the Cross (Romans 3:24-25) and guaranteed believers a place in His kingdom, and making us priests to administer God's goodness to others and produce holy fruit (Ephesians 2:8-10; see also Galatians 5:22-23).

As “a kingdom of priests and a holy nation,” Israel was to be holy to the Lord God and totally devoted to God (see also 1 Peter 2:5). In other words, Israel was to render complete submission, allegiance, and obedience to the true and living God. The Israelites were to constitute God’s kingdom (the people who acknowledged God as their Lord and King) and wholly consecrated (holy, set apart, and sanctified for God’s service on earth). In their priestly role, Israelites were to be channels of God’s grace to the nations (see Genesis 12:1-3; Isaiah 42:1-4; Isaiah 49:6). Even more, Israel was to be God's “showcase,” proving to the world that there is but one true and living God and that serving Him is the way to fullness of blessing, joy and peace (Isaiah 42:6; Isaiah 49:6). In Egypt, the Israelites were nothing but slaves who did their masters' bidding. But now the Israelites, as descendants of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, would be God’s special people and God would use the Israelites to be a blessing to the whole world (Genesis 12:3). “All nations on earth” would be blessed through Abraham and his descendants (Genesis 18:18). Only as the Israelites obeyed God could they truly enjoy the privileges of being a kingdom of priests, God's special treasure and His holy nation (Exodus 19:3-6).

After speaking with God, Moses returned from the mountain top and told the Israelites everything God commanded and the people responded with shouts of obedience to God and Moses reported Israel’s words to God (Exodus 19:7-8). By agreeing to obey, Israel ratified the covenant (Exodus 19:8; see also Exodus 24:3. Next, God told Moses to tell the Israelites that He would visibly appear to all of them in the form of a thick dark cloud on the third day and personally speak to the people (Exodus 19:9, 11). To prepare the Israelites for His visible arrival, God told Moses to tell the people to consecrate themselves for worship of God (Exodus 19:10, 14). There were three things the Israelites had to do for preparation to meet the true and living God in worship:  washing of their clothes (Exodus 19:10), confining the people by placing barriers around the mountain (Exodus 19:12-13; cf. Exodus 19:21), and abstaining from sexual intercourse (Exodus 19:15). In essence, this meant Israel must devote herself to God and become physically (outwardly) and spiritually (inwardly) ready to meet God. As believers in Jesus Christ, when we meet God, we too must set aside the cares and preoccupations of everyday life and devote ourselves to meet God in worship. In a dramatic way, God was not only teaching the Israelites but all people the dangers of presumptuously rushing into the presence of a good and holy God.

On the morning of the third day, there was thunder and lightning with a thick cloud on the mountain. There was a very loud blast from a trumpet, and all the people in the camp trembled. Then Moses led the people out of the camp to meet God, and they stood at the foot of the mountain. Mount Sinai was covered with smoke, because the Lord came down on it in fire. The smoke rose from the mountain like smoke from a furnace, and the whole mountain shook wildly. The sound from the trumpet became louder. Then Moses spoke, and the voice of God answered Him. When the Lord came down on top of Mount Sinai, He called Moses to come up to the top of the mountain, and Moses went up. Exodus 19:16-20 (NCV)

On the morning of the third day, the true and living God visibly appeared to the Israelites as promised (Exodus 19:11, 16). God’s physical appearance is often called a Theophany. Thunder roared and lightning flashed from heaven, and a dense cloud came down on Mount Sinai. There was a long, loud blast from a ram’s horn, and Moses and the Israelites all trembled with fear (Exodus 19:16). All of Mount Sinai was covered with smoke because God had physically descended on Mount Sinai in the form of fire and the whole mountain shook violently (Exodus 19:18, 20; see also Genesis 15:17). The cloud and darkness, the thunder and lightning, and the earthquake and fire, all revealed the greatness and power of the true and living God (Deuteronomy 5:22-23, 27). God’s physical appearance was often accompanied by an impressive display of meteorological sights and sounds (e.g. see 1 Samuel 7:10; Job 38:1; Psalm 18:13-14).

Then, Moses spoke to God and God thundered His reply to Moses (Exodus 19:19). God called Moses to the top of the mountain to receive His instructions for the peopled (Exodus 19:20). At sacred Mount Sinai, God gave the Israelites the laws and guidelines for right living, often called the Sinai covenant (Exodus 19:3 – Exodus 24:19). The covenant between God and Israel at Mount Sinai was the outgrowth and extension of God’s covenant with Abraham and his descendants. Participation in the divine blessings of the Abrahamic covenant as well as the Sinai covenant was conditioned on obedience and faith (see Genesis 17:1-27; Genesis 18:18-19; Genesis 22:18; Genesis 26:4-5; Exodus 19:3-6; Romans 1:5).

In the Sinai covenant, the true and living God pledged (promised) to be Israel’s faithful Protector if the people promised to be faithful to Him as their covenant Lord and obedient to the requirements of the covenant. Exodus 19 gives the dramatic setting of the covenant’s introduction and Exodus chapters 20 through 23 contain God’s actual covenant. The covenant is actually a contractual agreement or treaty between God and the Israelites. Another word for covenant is “testament”. Exodus 24 shows the covenant’s confirmation. The rest of the Old Testament builds upon what took place at Exodus 19 through 24. Centuries later, biblical writers would dust off the old word covenant and apply the word covenant to Jesus Christ (e.g. see 1 Corinthians 11:25). Jesus Christ fulfilled and completed the reconciliation with God begun at Mount Sinai. The Sinai covenant had several later renewals, including Exodus 34; the whole book of Deuteronomy and Joshua 24. Sadly, the Israelites continually violated the Sinai covenant to faithfully obey God and God’s instructions. In His love and grace, God redeemed Israel and then called Israel to be a kingdom of priests (Exodus 19:1-6), but the ancients Israelites failed God to faithfully love, trust, and obey God. God disciplined the Israelites many times for their failure to obey the covenant, but they still persisted in sin (e.g., see Exodus 32). Today, Israel has no temple or priesthood. Today, God's people (believers by faith in Jesus Christ also called the church) are God’s kings and priests (1 Peter 2:1-10), exercising spiritual authority and serving God in this world.

The covenant at Mount Sinai eventually became known as the “old covenant” (2 Corinthians 3:14) or the “first covenant” (Hebrews 8:7; Hebrews 9:15, 18). Later, God would write this covenant on the people’s hearts through the inward working of the Holy Spirit (Jeremiah 31:31-34; Ezekiel 36:26-27; Romans 8:2-4; Hebrews 8:8-12). The written covenant at Mount Sinai was useful and God-given. But as the history of Israel proved, the Sinai covenant did not have the power to transform people’s lives. Something more was needed for the people. God would have to change His people from the inside out by placing His covenant into their hearts through His Holy Spirit. Amazingly, Jesus Christ completely fulfilled the Sinai covenant by living completely devoted, faithful, and obedient to God and God’s instructions. Jesus Christ’s life revealed the true intentions and will of the covenant (fairness, justice, mercy, humbleness, kindness, forgiveness, and compassion) (e.g. see Genesis 18:19; 2 Samuel 8:15; Psalm 119:121; Proverbs 1:3; Proverbs 21:3; Isaiah 56:1; Isaiah 61:8; Jeremiah 22:15; Micah 6:6-8 and Matthew 22:34-40).

The Israelites would remain camped at Mount Sinai for the next eleven months (Exodus 19:1 through Numbers 10:10–12). The Old Testament notes that the Israelites stayed encamped at Mount Sinai the rest of Exodus, all of Leviticus, and through Numbers 10:20. At Mount Sinai, the Israelites learned the potential blessings of obedience (Exodus 34:4-28) and the tragic consequences of disobedience to the true and living God (Exodus 34:32).

You are coming to Christ, who is the living cornerstone of God’s temple. He was rejected by people, but He was chosen by God for great honor. And you are living stones that God is building into His spiritual temple. What’s more, you are His holy priests . . .  for you are a chosen people. You are royal priests, a holy nation, God’s very own possession. As a result, you can show others the goodness of God, for He called you out of the darkness into His wonderful light. 1 Peter 2:4-5, 9 (NLT)

The equivalent of the phrase “out of all nations . . . My treasured possessions” found at Exodus (19:5) is used of all true believers in Jesus Christ (1 Peter 2:5, 9). With the coming of Jesus Christ, God has extended His plan to all true believers (see Romans 2:28-29; Galatians 3:6-9). Sincere believers in Jesus Christ are a “holy nation” and a “royal priesthood” (1 Peter 2:5, 9). The life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ allow all people to now approach God freely (Hebrews 4:14-16; see also 1 Timothy 2:1-8; Hebrews 10:19-25). Because Jesus Christ, the Great High Priest, is alive in heaven, interceding for believers, we believers can minister on earth as holy priests. Jesus Christ “gave Himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for Himself a people that are His very own, eager to do what is good” (Titus 2:14, NIV). The church is a nation of kings and priests (1 Pet. 2:5, 9) called to glorify God.

Like the ancient Israelites, believers today must also have complete allegiance, obedience and trust in God as well as revealing God’s nature through their good deeds (Matthew 5:13-16). All believers must “get rid of all evil behavior” and “be done with all deceit, hypocrisy, jealousy, and all unkind speech” (1 Peter 2:1, NLT). True believers in Jesus Christ are called to obedient people of God living to make God known to the world through our holy lifestyles (1 Peter 1:14-15). For the Scriptures say, “You must be holy because I am holy” (1 Peter 16, NLT).  As believers in Jesus Christ, we are cleansed from all unrighteousness through our faith and obedience in God (1 Peter 2:22; see also Romans 1:16-17; Romans 4:3). God’s good blessings cannot be obtained through magic and manipulation; instead, His blessings are free to those who lovingly obey and trust in Him.

References

King James Version Study Bible. Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson, 1988.

KJV Bible Commentary. Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson, 1994.

Life Application Study Bible. Carol Streams, IL: Tyndale House Pub., 2005.

New Student Bible. New York: Zondervan, 1992.

NLT Study Bible. Carol Streams, IL: Tyndale House Pub., 2008.

Ryrie Study Bible. Chicago, IL: Moody, 1995.

Zondervan NIV Study Bible. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2008.

Wiersbe, Warren W. Bible Exposition Commentary. Victor Books, 1989.