Well, it is Bible time again, if you have your Bible, open it to Exodus chapter 19. Exodus chapter 19. We're coming to the end of the pre-law section of Exodus. Chapter 20 is where the Lord begins to codify the law that he will give to Moses as he is Establishing his covenant his bilateral covenant with Israel The Mosaic Covenant different from the Noahic Covenant different from the Abrahamic Covenant Different from the Davidic Covenant and different also from the New Covenant that we find ourselves in The Mosaic Covenant was bilateral not unilateral All the other covenants, God declares what he will do and sets himself in a place of responsibility to fulfill what he has promised to do. But in the Mosaic covenant, he is setting up with these people, if you will do this, then I will do this. These are the things that I will do for you if you will just do this. If you will just do this, this is all that I will do for you. And as magnanimous as that sounds, it is still something that puts the That puts the sinfulness of man in its proper perspective because man couldn't begin to keep as much as they may have wanted to as much as you and I would like to. We cannot live up to any standard that God can set because we cannot do it. The only one that ever could keep God's standard is the only one that ever did. And it was the Lord Jesus Christ. As I told you this morning in our communion service, it is to remember his body that was given for us. Part of that is the obedience of his life, the perfect obedience of his life that he lived. We tend to focus merely on the cross and his death on the cross, and that's deserving of every bit of focus that you can put upon it. But that body that hung on that tree was the body that had lived out to perfection, the law of God on this earth, every step that he took, every breath that he took, every thought that he had. You and I can't even imagine that. There was, Bible says that he was tempted in all ways as we are yet without sin. He never sinned. He never did the wrong thing, never said a wrong word, never had a wrong thought, never said, hmm. We don't even imagine that. But that was what was going to be necessary in order for men to meet God's righteous standard. And that is the standard that he is about to lay out for these people, beginning in chapter 20. So chapter 19 is the last of his dealing with them before the law. And he makes a statement in chapter 19, so these people recognize and realize that this is not a God like any other. And this is not a call to obedience like any other. It is a standard like no other. Because there is only one in the universe that is holy. And so holy is he that it is declared in sets of three. He is not just holy, he is holy, holy, holy. And he's revealing himself to be such in this chapter. And what we're going to see through what the visual and perceptory experience that these people have of God coming before them in as much of a display as they could survive. Here's so many today talk about what they saw God and they see God and I just wonder why they're not a charcoal If they seen God Because the Bible doesn't give us a lot of option for anything else to happen He's gonna tell Moses subsequent to this Moses wants to see him show me your glory Son, it's my provision to you that you don't see my glory for no one can see my glory and live. I But what these people do see, shrouded in a dark, thick cloud, it is something that terrifies the socks off these people. As we'll see, we've looked at the first 16 verses, or first 15 verses here in chapter 19, and through the prism of the purpose of the Exodus. This is what God rescued them from Egypt. order to do. This is the reason that he has brought them out of Egypt. This is the reason that he has declared to Abraham that he will take Abraham's people to be his own. And he brought them out to establish this covenant with them. In the progressive revelation of God in his dealing with men, he's moving one step forward in moving forward in his Revelation to mankind of who he is and what he has in store for them what he has done for them and will do Moving marching forward toward the cross which will be the culmination of God's provision for man after the fall Let us read we'll read I'd like to read the entire chapter because we're gonna we're gonna pick up in verse 16, but for context I'd like us to know And just have our memories refreshed as to what we're dealing with What's happening on the third day in chapter in verse 16. So let's read it In the third month after the sons of Israel had gone out of the land of Egypt on this day They came into the wilderness of Sinai then They set out from Rephidim and came to the wilderness of Sinai and camped in the wilderness and there Israel camped in front of the mountain. Now Moses went up to God and Yahweh called to him from the mountain saying, thus you shall say to the house of Jacob and tell to the sons of Israel, you yourselves have seen what I did to the Egyptians and how I lifted you up on eagles wings and brought you to myself. So now then, if you will indeed listen to my voice and keep my covenant, then you shall be my treasured possession among all the peoples, for all the earth is mine. And you shall be to me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation. These are the words that you shall speak to the sons of Israel. So Moses came and called the elders of the people and said before them all these words, which Yahweh had commanded him. And all the people answered together and said, all that Yahweh has spoken, we will do. And Moses brought back the words of the people to Yahweh. Yahweh said to Moses, behold, I will come to you in a thick cloud so that the people may hear when I speak with you and may also believe in you forever. Then Moses told the words of the people to Yahweh. Yahweh also said to Moses, go to the people and set them apart as holy today and tomorrow and let them wash their garments and let them be ready for the third day. For on the third day, Yahweh will come down on Mount Sinai in the sight of all the people. and you shall set bounds for the people all around, saying, beware that you do not go up to the mountain or touch the border of it. Whoever touches the mountain shall surely be put to death. No hand shall touch him, but he shall surely be stoned or surely shot through, whether beast or man, he shall not live. When the ram's horn sounds a long blast, they shall come up to the mountain. So Moses went down from the mountain to the people and set the people apart as holy, and they washed their garments. And he said to the people, be ready for the third day. Do not go near a woman. So it happened on the third day when it was morning. that there were thunder and lightning flashes and a thick cloud upon the mountain and a very loud trumpet sound so that all the people who were in the camp trembled. And Moses brought the people out of the camp to meet God and they stood at the foot of the mountain. Now Mount Sinai was all in smoke because Yahweh descended upon it in fire. And its smoke ascended like the smoke of a furnace, and the whole mountain trembled violently. And the sound of the trumpet grew louder and louder. Then Moses spoke, and God answered him with thunder. And Yahweh came down on Mount Sinai to the top of the mountain. And Yahweh called Moses to the top of the mountain, and Moses went up. Then Yahweh spoke to Moses, go down, warn the people, lest they break through to Yahweh to see, and many of them perish. Also let the priests who come near to Yahweh set themselves apart as holy, lest Yahweh break out against them. And Moses said to Yahweh, the people cannot come up to the mountain, come up to Mount Sinai, for you warned us saying, set bounds about the mountain and set it apart as holy. And Yahweh said to him, go down and come up again, you and Aaron with you, but do not let the priests and the people break through to come up to Yahweh, lest he break out against them. So Moses went down to the people and told them. God has declared to these people in the first 15 verses the reason for the exodus. And rather than leave fine print, he puts it all out in the open. He tells them, you've seen what I did. In verse four, what I did to the Egyptians, how I lifted you up on Eagle's wings and brought you to myself. You've seen all that I've done and you see where I brought you. What you know about me is that I have the capacity to do these things, but you don't know who I am. So for him to say you will be my treasured possession among all the peoples of the earth because and look at what look at how they respond If indeed you will listen to my voice and keep my covenant Then you shall be my treasured possession among all the peoples for all the earth is mine And you shall be to me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation You mean we get to run with this dude? With all the things that he's done, we really get to get in league with this guy. It's not merely that he's done these things for us, but that we will be solidified in our relationship with him. In verse eight, the people all answered, all that Yahweh has spoken, we will do. Sign me up. Okay, now you need to know who you're hitching your wagon to here. That begins in verse 16. Now he's told Moses, in verse nine, I will come to you in a thick cloud so that, there's a purpose here, I'm going to come in a thick cloud. That's what we're gonna see develop beginning in verse 16, but there's a purpose behind it so that the people may hear when I speak with you. What the people have heard from Yahweh, we don't know at this point, but they haven't heard what they're about to hear because they don't respond the same way in this, that they've responded in the, in the previous chapters. Remember they come and say, well, well, where's God in this? Yahweh among us or not back in chapter 17 in verse 7. Well, where's God? Where's Yahweh? They're not gonna say that on this day beginning in verse 16 They're gonna know where's Yahweh and you know what they want to do. They're gonna want to run and hide much like what it tells us when the Lord descends from heaven with with the the church in tow with with the King of Kings and Lord of Lords on his robe and he comes to destroy the enemies of God on the earth and it says that the people are going to cry out for the rocks to fall on them to save them from the face of the one that's coming. That's the same reaction these people are going to have. They're going to tell him in chapter 20, we don't want to hear him speak anymore. Please, whatever he says, you come and tell us. We don't want to hear from him again or we're going to die. That's not the reaction that they have here in verse eight, but it will be the reaction that they have in chapter 20 because of what he says here in verse nine, a thick cloud so that they will hear when I speak and that they may believe in you forever. I'm going to, this is where Moses gets elevated to the position That we read about in the new testament where jesus refers to moses and he's referring to moses's writing and really just the whole the entire old testament is given moses's name because moses Is solidified as israel's leader and and their great prophet until the the messiah comes is right here in this chapter What we're about to read or what we just read what we're about to try to unpack What we see here It's not a declaration, it's a manifestation. It's a manifestation of Yahweh's holiness. He's going to show these people in an experience, in a visual, physical experience of the presence of God, the closest that man can get to Him, and it's going to terrify them nearly to death. And they still can't take the full-orbed holiness of God. The entire nation of people is trembling. Lucy when we get here and see their their reaction In verse 16 to 19 we see that consternation arrives or Terror these people are terrified. They don't know where to turn. They don't know what to do verse 8 They said yep, we're all in verse 16 shows up. They're starting as well. Maybe I'm gonna hold on now Maybe we are maybe we aren't Verse 16 and 17, we see a terrified people. There'll be a trembling mountain and a triumphant trumpet to follow, but a terrified people in verse 16. Look at verse 16. So it happened on the third day. So what happened on the third day? Exactly what he said would happen. It says when it was morning. And this gives us a visual picture. that as the sun comes up as these people begin to wake up on the third day that god has already arrived on the mountain they wake up to this visual spectacle of the mountain almost full volcanic eruption when it was morning that there were thunder and lightnings now this is a the word for thunder is not exactly what you think it is referring to thunder But the word is more accurate to say voice or noise, but it's coupled with the lightning. So there is the thunder coming and this unbelievably loud noise. You know what it's like to be in a thunderstorm. you hope that you can count the four five or six between the time you see the flash into you hear you want to be as far away as possible maybe even that you see the flash so far off in the distance that you never hears even better but when it's in your backyard when you see the flash and hear the and feel the boom and and the uh... if if you've ever been close enough to it to feel the heat it's it's not exist on our living to say the least and this is what they wake up to this Not a thunderstorm, but there are thunders and lightning flashes. One commentator said if they were asleep, the thunder woke them up. And if they were distracted by something over there, these flashes of lightning had these people's attention fully focused on this mountain. There was no ADD that day. These people are locked in. There were thunder and lightning flashes and a thick cloud upon the mountain. a very loud trumpet all of this is coming off of this the this mountain in this this visual scene this this physical experience that they can feel What it says at the end of verse 16 so that it created an effect in these people so that all the people who were in the camp trembled. This is a term for violent trembling. It's used when Isaac realized that Jacob had lied to him and had stolen Esau's birthright. Remember, he comes in and he's wearing one of the most, there are a lot of strange things in the Bible. This is one of them. God dressed up like a goat to pretend to be his brother to his blind dad and it worked. And he gives them all of the blessing and then Esau comes and he realizes that he was duped and it says that the old man began to tremble. There was a violent reaction. That's what we see here. Have you ever gotten an adrenaline rush where you were scared and you were trembling and trying to do something after? If you've ever been, hopefully none of you have been, but if you've ever been robbed at gunpoint, yeah, you kind of get like that. If they wanted you to sign your name, they're out of luck. It's just not happening. And if you've ever been in a car wreck or in a near car wreck and you tremble after it's it's it's a similar response, but these people are trembling and It was in It was in a verb tense rendered here that it didn't stop. It's not like they would tremble every now and then. Every bone is shaking. They can hardly stand. They're in a position of terror, and it's going to last all day long. These people must have slept for two days after this. The amount of stress that they're having to absorb while this is going on, just because they're getting to see At best the back parts of god god is on the mountain, but he is shrouded in a dark thick cloud up until now They've seen the shekinah glow. That's not what's here what they're seeing is this manifestation of of god's holiness that says that god had come down as fire on the mountain and and this This rocky mountain is seems to be just emblazed in in flame I've told you what I envision when I read this is the equivalent of an atomic explosion, more like an atomic eruption that just doesn't stop because it's gonna last all day long. Maybe for a few days, we don't know how long this took because Moses doesn't get the law in real quick. He's gonna spend 40 days on this mountain at some point in this dark, this thick cloud that's around the mountain. This is what they woke up to. What do you think they wanted to do when they saw that? I'll tell you what they wanted to do. They wanted to go back to Rephidim. Let's go back to that place we named Rest. Let's go back over there. You know, if we go over there, we can still see this from over there. I mean, I don't need a front row seat to this. I can take, I can watch this from the next county. It would be okay. They wake up to this, all of the people who are in the camp, They're still in the camp, they see this, they're trembling, and here comes Moses in verse 17. He brought the people out of the camp to meet God. Now, you've had to do this with your kids. Those of you that have had to bring your kids their first day of school, you gotta lead them in there. It's okay, come meet the teacher. First day in Sunday school, come to a new church, it's okay, we're gonna go meet the teacher, and the kid's afraid. Moses comes and takes him and says, hey, it may be okay. It may not, but this is what God said to do. We're going out to meet him and he leaves the people out. Now this would not have happened quickly. You're talking about millions of people having to go from the camp to whatever the foot of the mountain is. This may have taken a few hours. We don't know how long this took. They come out of the camp that says Israel camped in front of the mountain. So they were close to the mountain. But he's had Moses put borders around the mountain so that they can't get to whatever would be considered the mountain proper. I don't know where exactly it began, but Moses put a border and a boundary before that and told them not to cross the boundary. So they come out of the camp to the boundary and Moses had to lead them out. And you know, he's reminded them, hey, back in verse eight, remember all that Yahweh says we will do. This is what we're doing. Come on. So they come out. They stood at the foot of the mountain a Terrified people standing at the foot of a trembling mountain look at verse 18 Mount Sinai was all in smoke There's a thick dark cloud and there was smoke rising from this mountain and If there was an explosion, where was I? I was at a plant somewhere recently, and one of the signs was flashing, in case of explosion, go that way. I'm thinking, dude, wherever the explosion is, I'm going the opposite direction. You don't have to tell me that. Who needs this sign? I mean, you wonder, you buy hairspray, don't use near open flame. Who was the first one to find out that was a bad idea? You know, my one guy's talking about the shaving cream. Don't use near an open flame. He said, you can only imagine that some old boy was sitting around a campfire. He said, you know, I'm feeling a little bristly tonight. And that didn't turn out well. But this is like an explosion happening on this mountain. Nobody would want to go near that. They're looking at it. It is all in smoke. It is going up in smoke while it's surrounded by this cloud. The cloud is really doing two things one they realize and one they don't realize the thing that they realize it's doing is it's manifesting The the terribleness of the holy coming in contact with the unholy But what they don't realize it is doing is it is shielding them from the full orb? Visual presence of god he has put that barrier there to protect them from him They see this smoke And it's all in smoke because Yahweh descended upon it in fire. And its smoke ascended like the smoke of a furnace. That's why I tell you, I see this like the plume of smoke coming up from an atomic eruption before it reaches the point of the atmosphere where it begins to spread out and it gives that mushroom-like look to it, hence we call it a mushroom cloud. And the whole mountain trembled violently. So the people can hardly stand up and the mountain is trembling. This is an inanimate object. It's just a big rock. It's just a big pile of rocks. When the Holy one arrives, it begins to tremble violently. I think these people are beginning to get the point that maybe we signed up for something that we weren't really ready for. You're always giving them the expression of who he is. So this group of people, the majority of which will die in the wilderness wanderings because about a year from this day on Mount Sinai, they're gonna reject crossing the Jordan River. They're gonna reject doing what he said to do and they're gonna die in unbelief Wilderness 38 years in the wilderness And one of the One of the more astounding aspects of that is this is the same group of people that view this. They realize this is not one to trifle with. Friends, they should have crossed the Jordan River out of fear of disobeying him, if nothing else. If not cross the Jordan River and go in there as an act of faith, go in there as an act of self-preservation. What are you going to do against this God if you reject him? Now that is you and I looking at this from a new covenant perspective as a spirit and dwelt believer in the Lord Jesus Christ. Much of this looks very odd to us, but remember you have the Holy Spirit and they did not. And yet we still make the wrong choice most all the time. and still must run to the cross and cling to grace, even with the Holy Spirit. Just imagine if you were without the Holy Spirit attempting to live this life. They see this trembling mountain, this indescribable explosion. These people almost, it almost seems as though they had to be sustained by God so that they remain conscious during all of this. People get frightened into shock all the time. That's not what we see happening here. I would imagine there were some that passed out. I mean, this is an unbelievable sight. In verse 19, from this visual expression of the holiness of God, this dark cloud shrouding this mountain with the lightning and thunder exploding out of it in the midst of all of that we hear a triumphant trumpet and the sound of the trumpet grew louder and louder this is a different word for trumpet than what we read in verse 13 it says that when the ram's horn sound sounds a long blast come up to the mountain at some point That happened. Maybe it is that Moses blew the ram's horn to call them to the mountain in verse 17. Moses brought them out of the camp to meet God. But what they hear coming off the mountain is a different Hebrew word for trumpet. It is a shofar. And the question is, who's blowing it? Well, we don't need to get into a whole lot of discussion as to who was blowing it because it doesn't matter. God could have just made the shofar make the noise. But later on in Deuteronomy, and in the Psalms, it's going to reference that the holy ones were with him on the mountain in the cloud, so that there were myriads of angels there with him as he is giving the law. So how hard would it have been for Michael or Gabriel, one of the archangels, to blow that trumpet? and to blow the trumpet, and to blow the trumpet, so that it got louder and louder and louder. And these people become more and more intimidated and frightened. They are nearly scared to death at this point. If a minuscule version of this began to happen in this sanctuary, on this stage, it would cause most of us to try to run out of here. I think it would cause all of us to run out of here. Let me just say that Then it says this Now it loses a little bit in translation here. I'll explain to you what I mean It says Moses spoke to God and God answered him with thunder. He said well, what did Moses say to him? It's not that Moses said Hey y'all we're here In the Septuagint this is in I think it's in the perfect tense. Moses is having a conversation with God. Moses speaks, God responds. He's speaking to God and God is speaking to him out of the cloud. You say, well, what did he say? I have no idea. Doesn't matter. What does verse nine say? So that the people may hear when I speak with you, may believe in you forever. So the people see all of this, they're in terrified, trembling, Moses most likely is trembling it we we don't need to have the idea that Moses just walked into this Oh, come on, man. It's not that bad You ever been there with somebody something you've experienced is brand new for another person. They're terrified about it You say come on. It's not that bad go to the amusement park you crazy people that ride those things There's something wrong in your equilibrium. You can actually walk straight after you ride one of those things I don't know what's wrong with you, but fortunately there are a few of in my family like that so when those that want to ride go ride I'll stand there and hold the luggage and And you know it's luggage you're carrying around in the amusement park. But it's not that Moses said, hey, come on, it's not a big deal. Moses is a little bit afraid too, but Moses knows what he has been tasked with. This is what Moses has been called to do. So he's going to do it. He's leading these people. And he stands there and he begins to have a conversation with God in this cloud. And the people see all of this. Moses speaks to God and God speaks back. in a voice as loud as thunder, as it were. He's speaking to him from the cloud in this almost impossible to endure noise. Look at verse, chapter 20. Verse 19. Then they said to Moses, speak to us yourself and we will listen, but let not God speak to us lest we die. As Moses is having this conversation with God in verse 19, the people are, we're scared to death, we can't endure this anymore. This makes me wonder what our Supposed church friends in this day and age who think that God is their limp-wristed companion Makes me wonder what they think when they read this because God hasn't changed God is still this holy This display of God's holiness gives us some explanation for why the cross was necessary Because Peter said Christ died for the once for all to bring us to God, to bring the righteous and the unrighteous together. And it took that from Christ because this is what God is like, and we are not. It was a manifestation of the immeasurable grace of God that any of these people were able to survive this. Even the shrouded glory of God is causing these people to tremble to the point of passing out and begging not to hear from him again. You say, well, why is God doing this? Moses gives an explanation in verse 20 of chapter 20. Do not be afraid. What do you mean don't be afraid? Who's not afraid here? For God has come in order to test you. He's showing these people who he is so that they might know what they're getting into. And he says, in order that the fear of him may be with you so that you may not sin. Now I tell you, or maybe I'll ask you, I won't tell you, I'll ask you a question. Is it easier to get your children to do what you want them to do because they fear you and the repercussions of not doing it or do you get more out of your children when they do it because they want to? You get far more out of them, they're far more motivated by a pleasant desire to do it than they are motivated by fear. The same is true with God. The fear of God is just dumped all over these people. This is happening in order to test them and in order that the fear of God may be with them so that they may not sin. What's the first thing they do when they get a chance? They continue to sin and continue to sin and continue to sin. That is why in the New Covenant Christian life, it is not a matter of piling rules upon people. Rules don't keep people straight. Now, I'm not telling you not to have rules in your home for your kids. Your kids need to learn how to follow instructions. They need to learn how to submit to authority. That's necessary. There have to be rules, there have to be parameters, and there has to be punishment for stepping outside of those rules. But to live an obedient life to God and Jesus Christ is not giving people a list of rules. Rules have never done that. If rules could do that, there would never have been the new covenant. If rules could do that, the fear of God placed on people by God in a situation like this would lead to people living a sinless and holy life that pleases God, but it never has. In your own life, what motivates you to honor God with what you do? Is it a fear of God or is it a desire to please God because of the relationship that you have with him? And the relationship that you have with him is because of what he has already done for you. We serve God in this life in a way that is acceptable to him by doing it because it pleases him and we enjoy it rather than doing it because it gets him off of our back. I serve him because I want to, not because I have to. These people were put in a place where This is what I expect. And if I don't get it, this, this is who you answer to. And they couldn't keep it for, they couldn't keep it for an afternoon or for a month. Moses is about to go on the mountain. They see all of this. They're trembling in fear. The mountain is trembling. Moses is going to go on the mountain. Most likely the mountain is still trembling. And while Moses is on the mountain, they're going to go into full pagan mode, build us a calf. Let's have an orgy. That's what happens. right after this. So there has to be more motivation in a person's life than merely the fear of repercussion in order for them to obey what God has placed before them. And fortunately, God knows that as well, and he has sent his Holy Spirit into your life and mine as believers so that we have that constant companion that convicts us of sin and righteousness and judgment, or we would be just like these people. The consternation has arrived, and these people are going to recognize the holiness of God. The condition that is the characteristic of God is ascertained by these people. They begin to recognize what holiness means, that they have a firmer grasp on holiness than maybe a person in the modern age, as you try to describe to them that God is holy, he is sinless, his holiness is his otherness, his above and beyondness, if that's even an expression that we can accurately use. They see this condition of holiness and they recognize it. Verses 20 and 21. There's a dreaded presence. Yahweh came down on Mount Sinai to the top of the mountain and Yahweh called Moses to the top of the mountain and Moses went up. Now you can find charts and diagrams and timelines here that tell us of all the times that Moses went up and down this mountain. We see him called to go up and down three times in this, just in this short passage. I'll remind you, he is over 80 years old. He doesn't just climb a mountain, he goes up it and down it and up it and down it, maybe twice in this single day. Friends, when Yahweh came down on that mountain, these people were absolutely mortified. They wanted to run, Moses told them, you can't run, you have to stay right here. You said you would do it. This is what's the next step. In chapter 20, he's going to tell them, don't be afraid. Yes, you're supposed to be filled with awe, but don't run away from him. Verse 21, then Yahweh spoke to Moses. So they're having this conversation, and this is part of what God says to Moses. on the mountain, God has called him up. I wonder what that sounded like. Over the lightning and the thunder and the trumpet that's growing louder and louder, he calls out of the smoke and calls Moses up onto the mountain and he speaks to him and he says, go down, warn the people. Now this is interesting. I don't know what's actually going on with these people because in my mind, I'd wanna go the other way. But I also know that I'm a pretty curious guy. And there's sometimes I wanna get a little closer to stuff than I should. I just wanna find out what if, what's it like? I don't know that I would have done this here, but it's evident that there were some people in this group that were gonna come to that point. Because of what he says in verse 21, go down, so he's called him up to the mountain, tells him to go back down the mountain. Go down and warn the people lest they break through to Yahweh to see. Maybe the curiosity was about to get the best of some of them and they wanted to see. Now he's already warned him not to touch the edge of the mountain. How far out this smoke goes in covering this mountain, we don't know. Maybe you tend to want to see this as just the very top of the mountain. No, the entire mountain is surrounded in this thick cloud, and the smoke is rising from it. The reason they know that God came down as fire, Moses went in and saw it, but they see the smoke billowing up from the top of this mountain. They don't necessarily see the fire. But they want to see, what's it like? What's going on behind that curtain? What's going on over there? I want to know. And he always says, don't let them come. Why? Because if they do, many of them will perish. They're not going to survive. Moses, go down and warn them. Tell them again, don't let them come here. This is a gracious act by God. He's already told them, we put up the boundary, the yellow police tape is up, or whatever their equivalent was. Don't cross this boundary. Do not go across. What did I say? Don't go across the boundary, Don. You know how you are. And watch Beth, because we know that, too. He's already told him this. They see all this going on, but God, look, go down, warn him again. I'm not sure what was going on in anybody's mind that would think that they wanna go up to this mountain. Now, it may be this. It may be that these people trusted Moses because Moses has been their companion, Moses has been their leader, and Moses goes up onto this mountain in this cloud of smoke, and they say, you know what? I need to be where Moses is. Maybe that was part of it. But they need something to comfort them because they are in panic and terror mode and the dreaded presence of God arrives. He comes down on Mount Sinai. And he said, Moses, don't let them come up here because a bunch of them are gonna die. Then we see Moses. Moses realizes here that even the best of men can't stand before God. We see a doubtful possibility in verses 22 and 23. This dreaded presence has arrived and Moses is really putting the pieces together and assessing this entire situation. And Yahweh tells him something in verse 22. Go warn the people as they break through to Yahweh to see they're going to want to come and see. And if they see, they're gonna die. Also, let the priests who come near to Yahweh set themselves apart as holy, lest Yahweh break out against them. This expression, to break out against them, is what you remember in 2 Samuel when David went to get the ark of the covenant to bring it back to Jerusalem, and they put it on a cart. Now God had told him to take two acacia poles and run it through the rings on the ark and four priests to carry it, one in each corner. Much like you would carry a litter with a dignitary on it in that day and age. But instead of that, they carried it and they brought it and they put it on a cart and let the animals bring it. And you remember they'd go a few steps and sacrifice and a few steps and sacrifice. It was just the most audacious, if you want to put it in those terms, spectacular scene. But it's riding on a cart. And the cart, I think it says one of the oxen stumbled, and the cart jostled, and the ark went to fall off on the ground. And Uzzah put his hand up to stop it from falling on the ground, and it says that God killed him. Well, the expression that is used is this, that Yahweh broke out against him. And David got mad because Yahweh broke out against Uzzah. R.C. Sproul used to say that Uzzah's sin was to think that he was cleaner than the dirt. In his mind, he didn't want the ark to hit the dirt, but the dirt was less unholy than him. Don't let them come up here. unless they set themselves apart as holy, lest Yahweh break out against them. And this is where we find Moses is doubtful. I know we told him to be prepared, and I know we told him to consecrate themselves and set themselves apart as holy, but Moses says this. Oh, Lord, you told the people not to come up here. Now, one question arises here, who are the priests? Because this is before the Aaronic priesthood is established. Well, there were some priests somewhere, to some degree, there were some, maybe this is the, some of these judges that Moses is beginning to set up as his go-between between him and the people where he put them over thousands and hundreds and fifties and tens. When when Jethro's advice came to him that you're gonna wear yourself out You need to put some men under you that you can train that can be out to help To help keep things straight with this group of people Maybe this is them. I don't know it doesn't say that but I I don't have an explanation for who the priests are at this point, but Moses is telling the Lord, he said, well, wait, you said the people can't come up to Mount Sinai for you warned us saying set bounds about the mountain and set it apart as holy. Lord, I don't know of any of the priests that can make it up here and survive what you've, the mandate that you've given. Moses, I know these people, I can't bring them up here. I'm doubtful that if I bring them up that they're even going to survive. In verse 24, 25, you see a dreadful possibility. The possibility that these people would not survive this encounter with Yahweh, that they would do something to cause him to break out against them. There are some people in my life that I really don't want to have, have to get sideways with. There's some people in your life that you don't really want to get sideways with either But I'll tell you nothing begins to compare to the idea of you being on the wrong side. I'll get on God's bad side But the Creator to be your enemy is the most dreadful possibility that you can conceive of David as a glorified shepherd boy spent a decade running from the king of Israel. Saul chased him with all of the vehemence that he could muster. He wanted David dead. He didn't want him dead or alive, he wanted him dead. And David ran and David survived and that was a time in David's life that would have driven anyone to the breaking point, emotionally, mentally. But that can't begin to compare to being in that situation with God, the creator, Yahweh on the other side. Verse 24, he tells him to go down again. So this is the third time he's been told to go down. He says, go down and come up again, go down and come up again, but go down and get Aaron, come back with Aaron to this. This may have been in the same day. This may have been right at this moment, but this is likely when you come back up, bring Aaron with you, not necessarily keep running this elderly man up and down the mountain. He says to him, go down and come up again, you and Aaron with you, but do not let the priests and the people see this is where Where verse 23, we see that Moses is putting these people together, the priests and the people. You said for no one to come up. We know the people can't come up, but I'm not sure that the priests are even sufficient at this point. If I bring the priests up here, they're not gonna make it either. So he tells them, bring Aaron with you, but do not let the priests and the people break through to come up to Yahweh. Even if they argue with you, even if they push, even if they try, don't let them. Or else Yahweh will break out against them. This is the most serious thing that could ever have happened to these people. And he's conveying to Moses in these conversations that he's having, these people cannot survive me. No one can survive me on their own. God is having to make Not concessions. He's having to make provision for these people to be able to survive and they can't even get close to him And survive And it ends with this verse 25 moses went down to the people and told them So Moses comes down and he tells these people, listen, I know what I told you before, I cannot overstate the importance of this, do not come up to this mountain. Not the people, not the priest, the best of who you are cannot come onto this mountain or Yahweh will break out against you and you've seen what he did to Egypt, he will unleash that on you and maybe no one will survive. Do not come on this mountain. Verse 20, chapter 20 is gonna pick up where Moses goes back up to the mountain, but there is some going up and coming down that is going on here and Moses is giving us not necessarily a very meticulous chronological order of what's happening here, but he's telling us what does happen. He's gonna go up and God is gonna start giving him the law. These are my expectations, this is what Verse five, if you will indeed listen to my voice and keep my covenant, these are the things that I expect you to keep. This is the covenant. This is what you are to do. Eventually, this is gonna turn into the people's attempt to put God in a place where he has to do for them what they want. It's sad, Unfortunately untrue reality that people take the law of God and turn it into something that gives them some status rather than to see the law of God as Something that we cannot meet There will be men that will come along in in Israel's now history, but in Israel's future from this this time the Exodus 19 and 20 they're gonna be men that come along to think that they have figured out how men can keep the law they've they put the law into terms that men can keep and what that does is causes them to think that they have they have Come to a point where they are elevated above other men because they can keep this law. I Jesus's day we will refer to them as the Pharisees or in John's gospel. He refers to the Jews these religious leaders that looked down at the other people because We have this law that that we understand that we can keep and it has elevated us above you But it has not elevated man. It has denigrated God. You don't bring man up you bring God down Well, the law is not quite as heavy as you think that's why Jesus comes in in the Sermon on the Mount and he says I know what you've been told, but now I'm telling you. You've been told this. Let me set the record straight. You've been told not to commit adultery, but I'm telling you that even to have the thought in your mind is the same as the physical act. God, just what he tells David. He tells Samuel about David. God doesn't look as man looks. Man looks at the outside. God looks at the heart. He's always been more concerned with the heart than the outside. And it's a good thing for us, especially in the New Covenant, because there are times that we really want it to be right, and it just completely falls apart. But we have John's record of Peter being reinstated. He said, Peter, do you love me more than these? And Peter said, Lord, you know that I love you. Peter, do you love me more than these? Lord, you know that I phileo you. And the third time he says, Peter, do you even phileo me? Do you even have the love that you're claiming for me? Can you even claim that? And you remember what Peter's response was? Lord, you know how precious that is for us. Because even when we miss it, Lord, you know, I know what I did, but you know what is in my heart. And there are times that no one else knows that. The people that are around you, people that see what's on the outside, we've got to be very careful how we judge motives. Yes, we can judge behavior, but sometimes people just aren't doing what they intend to do. It's like you don't always end up doing what you intended to do. God has made it possible where he can look at us through the prism now, the prism of Jesus Christ, where he does not have to see us as the sinful being that we continue to be incarcerated in this flesh. That is what he is building toward as he reveals himself to these people in Exodus 19. And in the fallibility of their humanness, they take this and turn it into something that they can do. They see it as, well, God wouldn't have given it to us if we couldn't keep it. So maybe he meant something different than what he wrote. Maybe what he meant wasn't that, he meant it's not as deep or as heavy or as far reaching as it seemed in the beginning. Maybe he meant something different and they begin to mold and shape it into something that they like. Unfortunately, that happens a lot with the scripture. Rather than seeing this as something that is impossible and crying out to God for a remedy that he sent in the person of Jesus Christ to provide a righteousness for us that God will accept and to provide a payment for us that God will accept, that we might be joined to him for eternity, that we might become his prized possession on this earth. And eventually all Israel will, as Paul says, all Israel will be saved, you will be my treasured possession among all the peoples. And it won't be because they keep the law perfectly. It will be because their Messiah kept the law perfectly for them. God is a complicated dude, people. People try to, religious leaders try to put him into a box. He can't fit into your box. The heavens are his throne, the earth is his footstool. What is the house or the box that you could build for him? You just need to stand in awe of him and give him the praise and the honor and the adoration that he is due. He is still that holy, unapproachable God, but he has made it possible for us to approach him in the name of another for all of eternity. We serve a great God. Father, we praise you for being our God, praise you for allowing us to be here this night. Lord, I pray that the Holy Spirit will take our look at this and take these fumbling, mumbling words of my mouth and my mind and make it profitable for your people, make it honorable to you. And we might leave here this night with a greater appreciation for the God that we serve, the God that has called us out of darkness into the kingdom of his dear son. That you might be honored in our lives more now than ever. As the days grow darker, Father, may our testimony, may our light of the Holy Spirit produced in us shine brighter than ever. That you might receive the glory that you are due from every life that you have redeemed. Bless your people as they go home this night. We pray it in our Savior's name. Amen.