Read Exodus 18 and 19 at Bible Gateway.
Hebrew paragraph divisions:
Exo 18:1-27 {p} YHVH is greater than all the gods
Exo 19:1-25 {s} YHVH descended upon Mt Sinai in fire, to enact the marriage covenant with Israel
Exo 19 chiastic structures:
Exo 19:3-7a, Covenant proposed
1a) Exo 19:3, Moses went up to God;
1b) Exo 19:3, Thus you shall say to the house of Jacob;
central axis) Exo 19:4-6a, “You have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I bore you on eagles’ wings and brought you to Myself. Now therefore, if you will indeed obey My voice and keep My covenant, then you shall be a special treasure to Me above all people; for all the earth is Mine. And you shall be to Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation;”
2b) Exo 19:6b, These are the words which you shall speak to the children of Israel;
2a) Exo 19:7a, Moses went down to the elders of the people.
Exo 19:7b-9, Covenant accepted
1a) Exo 19:7b, Moses told the words of the Lord to the elders of the people;
1b) Exo 19:8a, Israel’s answer: “All that the Lord has spoken we will do;”
central axis) Exo 19:8b, Moses brought back the words of the people to the Lord;
2b) Exo 19:9a, YHVH’s answer: “Behold, I come to you in the thick cloud, that the people may hear when I speak with you, and believe you forever;”
2a) Exo 19:9b, Moses told the words of the people to the Lord.
Exo 19:10-25, Covenant consecrated
1a) Exo 19:10-15, Consecration + boundaries set, to meet with God on the third day;
1a) Exo 19:10-11a, Instruction: consecrate the people + wash their clothes/ be ready for the third day;
1b) Exo 19:11b, On the third day the Lord will come down upon Mount Sinai in the sight of all the people;
central axis) Exo 19:12-13a, “You shall set bounds for the people all around, saying, ‘Take heed to yourselves that you do not go up to the mountain or touch its base. Whoever touches the mountain shall surely be put to death. Not a hand shall touch him, but he shall surely be stoned or shot with an arrow; whether man or beast, he shall not live;’”
2b) Exo 19:13b, When the trumpet sounds long, they shall come near the mountain;
2a) Exo 19:14-15, Moses did so: sanctified the people + they washed their clothes/ be ready for the third day.
1b) Exo 19:16a, Thunder, lightning, thick cloud on the mountain;
1c) Exo 19:16b, Trumpet sound was very loud;
1d) Exo 19:16c, People in the camp trembled;
central axis) Exo 19:17-18a, And Moses brought the people out of the camp to meet with God, and they stood at the foot of the mountain. Now Mount Sinai was completely in smoke, because YHVH descended upon it in fire. Its smoke ascended like the smoke of a furnace;
2d) Exo 19:18b, Mount Sinai quaked greatly;
2c) Exo 19:19a, Trumpet sounded long and loud;
2b) Exo 19:19b-20a, Moses spoke + God answered him by voice/ YHVH came down upon Mount Sinai;
2a) Exo 19:20b-25, Warning to maintain the boundaries set around the holy mountain;
1a) Exo 19:20b, And the LORD called Moses to the top of the mountain, and Moses went up;
1b) Exo 19:21-22, Warn the people + priests lest they break through, lest the LORD break out against them;
central axis) Exo 19:23, But Moses said to the LORD, “The people cannot come up to Mount Sinai; for You warned us, saying, ‘Set bounds around the mountain and consecrate it;’”
2b) Exo 19:24, Away! Do not let the priests + people break through, lest He break out against them;
2a) Exo 19:25, So Moses went down to the people and spoke to them.
In the third month Israel came to Sinai. On the third day, Israel was to prepare to meet YHVH. In fact, being prepared to meet with YHVH on the third day is mentioned three times in Exo 19:11-16! Three is a sign of Messiah in Scripture. We have been taught to think that the covenant YHVH made with Israel at Sinai is the opposite of the covenant YHVH made with us at Calvary. Here, Scripture is teaching us, that this covenant prophesies of and reveals Messiah!
But what is revealed? Earlier in Exodus, Scripture showed us that Moses was a type of Messiah. In Exo 19, notice how many times Moses went up to God, and went down to the people – back and forth, back and forth. Moses is mediating between the people and God – just as Messiah is the Mediator between God and men. Furthermore, the covenant YHVH was enacting with Israel was not just any covenant, but a marriage covenant. The actions Moses takes, going back and forth from YHVH to the people, exactly mirrors the actions which are taken to enact a ketubah, a Hebrew betrothal and marriage contract, between a potential bridegroom and his potential bride. The key that this is in fact a marriage covenant that God is enacting, is found in His declaration of love for His people:
“You have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I bore you on eagles’ wings and brought you to Myself. Now therefore, if you will indeed obey My voice and keep My covenant, then you shall be a special treasure to Me above all people; for all the earth is Mine.” Exo 19:4-5
Notice that He introduces His declaration of love, by reminding them of their deliverance from slavery and kingdom of the Egyptians. This is a metaphor and type of our own deliverance from slavery to sin and the kingdom of darkness. It is the first part of His expression of love!
For when we were still without strength, in due time Christ died [our Passover Lamb was slain] for the ungodly. For scarcely for a righteous man will one die; yet perhaps for a good man someone would even dare to die. But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Rom 5:6-8
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