Summary:
In Exodus 19, the Israelites arrive at Mount Sinai three months after leaving Egypt.
God calls Moses up the mountain and reminds the people of His deliverance, proposing a covenant: if they obey His voice and keep the covenant, they will be His treasured possession, a kingdom of priests, and a holy nation.
The people agree, and Moses relays their response.
God instructs preparations for His descent on the third day—consecration, washing clothes, abstaining from sexual relations, and setting boundaries around the mountain to prevent unauthorized approach on pain of death.
On the third day, amid thunder, lightning, thick cloud, trumpet blasts, and trembling mountain, God descends in fire, and Moses ascends to speak with Him.
Pointing to Jesus:
God’s declaration that Israel will be a “kingdom of priests” (Exodus 19:6) foreshadows Christ’s role as the ultimate priest-king who confers this status on believers through the new covenant, making them a royal priesthood (1 Peter 2:9).
John Calvin connects this directly to Christ: “And, in fact, Christ appeared invested with the kingdom and the priesthood, that He might confer both of these privileges upon His members; whence it follows, that whosoever divorce themselves from Him, are unworthy of either honor, and are justly deprived of them.”
Reflection:
Exodus 19 underscores the holiness of God and the need for preparation to approach Him, reminding Christians that through Christ’s mediation, we can boldly access God’s presence (Hebrews 4:16) without the terror of Sinai. It calls believers to live as a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices (1 Peter 2:5), obeying God’s word in gratitude for redemption, and fostering awe, consecration, and covenant faithfulness in daily life amid the new covenant’s grace.
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