Preparing for the Third Day Exodus 19:1-15
5-2-2021
Exodus 3 begins with the words, “Moses was tending the flock of Jethro, his father in law, the priest of Midian, and he led the flock to the far side of the desert and came to Horeb, the mountain of God,” what is also known as Mount Sinai.
It was there that he encountered the Lord in the burning bush who told him to go back to Egypt and save his people from their bondage.
In Exodus 3:12, God promised that Moses wouldn’t have to do it alone but that he would be with him the whole way.
Because ultimately it was God not Moses that would save his people.
The proof that it was God who was sending him, the Lord says would be that after he had brought the people out of Egypt, they would worship Him on this mountain.
After their release from bondage, crossing of the Red Sea, and march through the wilderness, three months to the day later, that promise was fulfilled.
“On the first day of the third month after the Israelites left Egypt—on that very day— they came to the Desert of Sinai. After they set out from Rephidim, they entered the Desert of Sinai, and Israel camped there in the desert in front of the mountain.” (Exodus 19:1–2)
As he always does, God kept his word and any doubts about Moses and his God, should have now been settled!
Their journey wasn’t over, that was only the first stage.
Chapter 19 marks the beginning of the next stage, this one consisted primarily of defining their relationship with God and how they were to live.
The central element of this was to be the law which was to become the centerpiece of Jewish life and society.
Just as the first stage began with an encounter with God at this mountain, so too would the second.
Only this time God was not going to speak from a burning bush, but from a burning mountain covered, verse 18 says, in fire and smoke and trembling violently.
“Then Moses went up to God, and the LORD called to him from the mountain and said,
“This is what you are to say to the descendants of Jacob and what you are to tell the people of Israel: ‘You yourselves have seen what I did to Egypt, and how I carried you on eagles’ wings and brought you to myself. Now if you obey me fully and keep my
covenant, then out of all nations you will be my treasured possession. Although the whole earth is mine, you will be for me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.’ These are the words you are to speak to the Israelites.” (Exodus 19:3-6)
There are certain numbers in the Bible used to mark especially significant events. 40 is one of those numbers.
• 40 was the number of days and nights that it rained during the time of Noah
• 40 was the number of days and nights that Elijah travelled into the wilderness before he heard God speak in that still small voice.
• 40 was the number of days and nights Jesus spent fasting in the wilderness, being tempted by the devil after his baptism and preparing for his earthly ministry • 40 was the number of days Jesus continued to appear to his followers after his
resurrection and before his ascension into heaven
• 40 was the number of years Moses spent in the home of Pharaoh preparing for leadership
• 40 was the number of years he spent in the Midian wilderness learning to listen for the voice of God before the Lord called to him from the burning bush
• 40 was the number of years he spent leading the people of Israel through the wilderness in recent years churches have turned this into a variety of programs and special emphasis with names like 40 days of purpose, 40 days of community, 40 days of prayer, 40 days of life, 40 days of missions, and a number of others
• Exodus 24:17 says 40 was the number of days and nights Moses would spend with God on the mountaintop, receiving his word, of which the 10 commandments were the preamble.
According to Numbers 10:11, Israel would remain camped out at the foot of the mountain for the next 10 months and 19 days learning what it meant to be God’s treasured possession, a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.
they would need that much time and more to begin to learn the basics of what was expected. But first, preparations had to be made, which is where chapter 19 fits in.
It provides a transition between their salvation from Egypt and formation as the people of God I. An essential element of this is the recognition that salvation comes from God
Here is a reminder that it is God who saves not man.
Deliverance comes from the Lord not human effort and accomplishments.
Through the plagues in Egypt and wilderness crossing, God says he was carrying them as if on eagles’ wings
The reason he did this, it says, was to bring them to himself, to enter into what :5 calls a covenant relationship with them in which he would be their God and they were to be his people, his treasured possession, his chosen people set apart from all others and would live and build their society according to his word
His intent was not just to bless and make their lives easier but to make them into a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.
As priests, their role was to stand between the world and God, offering up prayers for the lost not condemnation and criticism
AND pointing people to God through their words and actions.
To be a holy nation doesn’t mean better but different, set apart from everything else That difference is the result of following a different set of values based on Gods word and Gods presence among them, a beacon of light revealing God to the world
because of all this, the fact that he saved and carried and called and set apart, they belonged to Him
these words are just as relevant for us as they were for the people of Israel
like ancient Israel, he is the one that saves us, we don’t save ourselves through our good work or human effort.
Salvation is not payment for our effort, it is a gift from God. It is by grace.
In saving us He has carried us on eagles’ wings, setting us free from bondage to sin and death He has brought us to himself, out of the darkness and into his wonderful light, into a
relationship with him through what Jeremiah called a new covenant
A new covenant written not on stone tablets but in our hearts and upon our minds
In alluding to this passage Peter says of Christs followers that we are a chosen people – in Christ we are Gods treasured possession
Chosen not to just to enjoy Gods blessings and keep him to ourselves but we have become Gods representatives to the world, Paul calls us his ambassadors, pointing the way to Him. In Christ, Peter also calls us a royal priesthood, called by God to stand between the world and him, offering up prayers not just for ourselves but the needs of the world and then pointing people to God through both our words and actions
Who live by a different set of values and actions which are to be shaped by God and his word, not conformed to the world but transformed by the renewing of our minds, Paul said in
Romans 12
This means that if people want to know what God is like, what Jesus is like, they are supposed to be able to look at and listen to us.
If we are not pointing the way or pointing the wrong way because we are not living according to his word, there is something seriously wrong
And just like Israel, because he saves us and carries us and calls us and sets us apart, Peter says we belong to him
Exodus 19 continues,
So Moses went back and summoned the elders of the people and set before them all the words the LORD had commanded him to speak. The people all responded together,
“We will do everything the LORD has said.” So Moses brought their answer back to the
LORD. The LORD said to Moses, “I am going to come to you in a dense cloud, so that the
people will hear me speaking with you and will always put their trust in you.” Then Moses told the LORD what the people had said. And the LORD said to Moses, “Go to the
people and consecrate them today and tomorrow. Have them wash their clothes and be ready by the third day, because on that day the LORD will come down on Mount
Sinai in the sight of all the people…Then he said to the people, “Prepare yourselves for the third day.”” (Exodus 19:7-11,15)
For on the third day, verse 18 says, “Mount Sinai was covered with smoke, because the LORD descended on it in fire. The smoke billowed up from it like smoke from a furnace,
and the whole mountain trembled violently.”
II. Not only does salvation come from God, a second essential element of this passage is also the reminder that salvation comes before law
I mentioned earlier that there are certain numbers in scripture which are especially significant, like the number 40.
Another, which is also found in this passage, is the number 3
The people are told to prepare themselves for the third day for that was when God was going give his law.
They were already saved from their bondage in Egypt before giving them the 10 commandments and rules for how to live as his people
This is something completely new and different from any other religion or system of belief We are saved by his choice not our work and effort or even how much we know or
understand.
We can come, Jesus said, with the faith of a child. Thus we find that grace was at work even back then
It’s grace that says there is nothing we have done or can do to earn God’s favor.
It’s grace that says forgiveness and salvation are a gift not a payment for services rendered It’s grace that says there is nothing special about any of us that makes God choose us but simply his love.
Christ died for all of us while we were all still sinners, the righteous for the unrighteous,
Colossians says he did it when we were alienated and even enemies of God because of our evil behavior
ancient Israel wasn’t saved from bondage by a law which hadn’t even been given yet, but grace pure and simple
that is the same way we are saved
For it is by grace, not law, that we are saved through faith and this not of ourselves it is a git of God not by works so none of us can boast about it
This often this gets turned around and people like the rich young ruler want to know what must I do to be saved.
That’s the law talking.
Unfortunately, what many hear are answers like don’t steal, don’t hurt others, don’t lie, and a whole slew of other rules with the thought that if they do that, God will accept and save them. In other words, clean up your life to make yourself acceptable for God
with this mindset, salvation becomes dependent on law rather than grace, a means to exclude and keep people out who may have something in their life we are not comfortable with
It refuses to acknowledge that all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.
That is why for many, the law is a burden to bear, something to dread, even fear, because it makes demands on our lives that can seem too much to bear
But grace seeks to build up and heal and restore what was lost and broken
What it means when I say salvation comes before law is that we don’t clean up our lives so God can save us, we get saved then God begins to work in our lives to clean them up
Salvation comes from God. Salvation comes before Law. And lastly, III. The reality of salvation will be expressed through the law. Like Jesus said if you love me you will obey me, this is how you show it
the law was given to describe how our relationship gets worked out in our daily lives It’s not given to restrict or take away our freedom to do and live as we please, just the opposite
Rather than a burden to bear, it defines our freedom and new life in Christ
God’s intent is for it to be liberating because in them, we know how to love God and others, how to live together
We don’t have to guess what he expects from us, whether our sacrifice will be accepted or good enough, whether we have done enough or forgotten something.
This becomes evident when we consider how it is described in scripture which treat it as liberating
The Psalms are filled with statements like • I rejoice in following your statutes • I delight in your decrees
• My soul is consumed with longing for your laws at all times • How I long for your precepts
• I delight in your commands because I love them
• At midnight I rise up to give you thanks for your righteous laws
• The law from your mouth is more precious to me than thousands of pieces of silver and gold
• Your statutes are the joy of my heart
• I open my mouth and pant, longing for your commands • Seven times a day I praise you for your righteous laws. • Oh how I love your law
And of course Jesus himself summed up all the law as loving God and loving our neighbor And how do we love God, how does he want to be loved?
Because love is primarily a relational term, lets put it in the context of a relationship. How do we love our spouse?
Well, if you love them there will be no one else competing for your affections. So the first command is you shall have no other gods before me.
Your spouse wants to be loved for who they are not just what they can do for us, not for some specific trait or how they look.
They shouldn’t have to compete with some imaginary or idealistic image we have made up in our minds, what we want them to be, or based on some model or picture we’ve seen
They want to be loved simply for who they are just as God wants to be loved for who he really is, not some idea or image we make up based on our desires or what he can do for us
the second command says you shall not make for yourselves any graven image, any idol, longing for some imaginary picture of God
that is why it is important for us to read and study his word for that is where we see who he really is
we show our love for our spouse by not misrepresenting them, attacking their character, misusing and abusing their trust through constant criticism
the third command says you shall not misuse Gods name
and for any relationship to thrive, time must be set aside and spent together and keep close the command says remember the Sabbath – time with your God
where the first 4 commandments deal with how to love God, the next 6 deal with how to love others and live together in community
the place for that to begin is with those we are closest to so God said honor your father and mother
if you love someone you are not going to try to hurt them - you shall not commit murder honor your marriage vows and do not commit adultery
do not take what doesn’t belong to you – do not steal don’t lie or gossip - do not give false testimony
and don’t become consumed by greed and wanting what others have – do not covet
Randolf Richards and Brandon O’Brian have written, “We must be careful not to begin describing our connection with God primarily in terms of rules and laws rather than relationship. As Preben Vang argues, grace and faith are relationship markers and not forensic decrees. Paul used these terms (grace and faith) to define a relationship, not explain a contract or a court ruling. Likewise, holiness is a relational and not a forensic term. Imagine a wedding ceremony in which the groom vowed, “I will kiss you twice daily, with one kiss lasting at least two seconds. I will make at least one statement implying thoughtfulness every morning. I will provide three hugs per week of medium
snugness, lasting three second. Flowers will be provided on four dates a year of your choosing. Candy will be given with flowers on one occasion per year.”
Such a vow doesn’t arouse love. Rules never do. While a loving husband may perform those actions, they are the result of the relationship, not the rules that establish it. You don’t earn salvation you receive it
That doesn’t mean the rules aren’t important just don’t put the cart before the horse. The law was given to help us know how to live because we love God, not to earn it.
In the law, Israel knew the boundaries and were now free to live without fear of unknowingly offending god.
It was like putting up a fence in the yard for your child’s safety. You know that within the fence you don’t have to worry about them running out in the street in front of an oncoming car.
As I said, three is also a significant number in the Bible. John Ortberg wrote,
• when a hero name Joseph was in prison he said to Pharaohs cupbearer, in three days Pharaoh will lift up your head and restore you to your job.
• When Israel was trapped in slavery, Moses asked Pharaoh, Let us go three days into the wilderness
• When the Israelites arrived at Sinai god said, Consecrate the people and make them ready for the third day, because on that day, the Lord will come down. And on that morning of the third day, it came to pass.
• When Israel was threatened by genocide, a harem girl, Esther, said that she would fast for three days. Then she would go to the king to seek deliverance for her people. • When Jonah was swallowed and in the belly of the big fish, want to guess how many
days he spent there? Three days. I imagine his prayer the whole time inside that big fish was, God, just let me go out the way I came in.
• When Israel was afraid to go into the promised land, God said don’t be afraid. Don’t be discouraged. Three days from now, you will cross the Jordan to possess the land the Lord has given you.
• And of course, three days was the number of days Jesus spent in the tomb before he rose and conquered death.
Hosea said, come let us return to the Lord…after two days he will revive us. On the third day, he will restore us that we may live in his presence.
