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Exodus 19:21–25
“The LORD said to Moses, ‘Go down and warn the people, lest they break through to the LORD to look and many of them perish’ ” (v. 21).
Reading the Old Testament can sometimes be a strange experience, especially when we encounter all the rules and regulations that were required for the old covenant people to encounter the Lord’s presence safely. After all, because of the greater access to God we have now that Christ has come and purchased eternal redemption for us who trust in Him (Heb. 10:19–23), it can seem odd that at one point in history, even believers were restricted from having a direct encounter with God. We might even think that the Lord was being cruel or at least standoffish not to have His people meet with Him directly. But that overlooks the reality of our sin, the perfect holiness of God, and His grace. After all, God is so pure as to be unable to even look upon evil (Hab. 1:13), not in the sense that He cannot see it but in the sense that He cannot tolerate it in His presence. When the Lord is approached in an unauthorized manner, the consequences are deadly, for no sinner can see God and live unless He makes a way by His grace (see Ex. 33:20; Lev. 10:1–3; Ps. 24:3–4; Heb. 10:19–23). Even under the new covenant, there are restrictions on coming into God’s presence, for we may come to Him only through Jesus Christ our Lord, and there are consequences for approaching our Creator without proper care (John 14:6; 1 Cor. 11:29–30). The various limits and warnings regarding our entering the presence of God are actually a fruit of His love and grace, for they serve to protect His people from His wrath.
We can see the protective nature of divine restrictions on coming before the Lord on display in today’s passage. God warns His people, through Moses, not to come close to Mount Sinai lest He break out in His wrath against them and they perish. He gave this warning even to the priests, who would be those to enter His presence regularly, telling them to not yet come near because they needed to consecrate themselves (Ex. 19:21–22). Moses’ response to this warning emphasizes the gravity of the situation, as he repeats what God has already said about encountering Him at Sinai (vv. 1–15).
The Lord told Moses that he was to come up on Sinai, bringing Aaron with him (Ex. 19:24). Apparently, He did not mean right then; rather, He was anticipating the role that He would give to Aaron and his sons as the priesthood of Israel (Ex. 28:1). Moses then delivered all the warnings to Israel at Sinai (Ex. 19:25).
Coram Deo Living before the face of God
Many people think of the rules and regulations in the law of God as overly restrictive and things that a gracious Lord would never put into place. As we see in today’s passage, however, God’s law is actually for our good, for it protects us from destruction when we seek to obey it. The Lord does not give laws arbitrarily or to keep us from enjoying life; rather, His commandments are for our good and protection.
For Further Study
- Psalm 1
- Proverbs 7
- Romans 7:12
- James 2:8