A Kingdom of Priests
1 In the third month after the children of Israel had gone out of the land of Egypt, on that same day they came into the wilderness of Sinai. 2 When they had departed from Rephidim, and had come to the wilderness of Sinai, they encamped in the wilderness; and there Israel encamped before the mountain. 3 Moses went up to God, and Yahweh called to him out of the mountain, saying, “This is what you shall tell the house of Jacob, and tell the children of Israel: 4 ‘You have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I bore you on eagles’ wings, and brought you to myself. 5 Now therefore, if you will indeed obey my voice and keep my covenant, then you shall be my own possession from among all peoples; for all the earth is mine; 6 and you shall be to me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.’ These are the words which you shall speak to the children of Israel.” 7 Moses came and called for the elders of the people, and set before them all these words which Yahweh commanded him. 8 All the people answered together, and said, “All that Yahweh has spoken we will do.” Moses reported the words of the people to Yahweh. 9 Yahweh said to Moses, “Behold, I come to you in a thick cloud, that the people may hear when I speak with you, and may also believe you forever.” Moses told the words of the people to Yahweh. 10 Yahweh said to Moses, “Go to the people, and sanctify them today and tomorrow, and let them wash their garments, 11 and be ready for the third day; for on the third day Yahweh will come down in the sight of all the people on Mount Sinai. 12 You shall set bounds to the people all around, saying, ‘Be careful that you don’t go up onto the mountain, or touch its border. Whoever touches the mountain shall be surely put to death. 13 No hand shall touch him, but he shall surely be stoned or shot through; whether it is animal or man, he shall not live.’ When the trumpet sounds long, they shall come up to the mountain.” 14 Moses went down from the mountain to the people, and sanctified the people; and they washed their clothes. 15 He said to the people, “Be ready by the third day. Don’t have sexual relations with a woman.”
The covenant is offered to a people already rescued, and what they are asked to become is a nation of intermediaries for everyone else.
In the third month after the children of Israel had gone out of the land of Egypt, on that same day they came into the wilderness of Sinai.
Seven weeks from the Passover to the mountain. Everything from here to the end of the book, and the whole of the next one, happens at this one location; the nation will not move again for almost a year.
‘You have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I bore you on eagles’ wings, and brought you to myself.
The covenant opens with history, not with terms. Before a single requirement is stated, God recites what he has already done for people who did nothing to earn it, and the destination named is not Canaan but himself. Then, and only then: now therefore, if you will indeed obey my voice and keep my covenant Exodus 19:5.
The order is the doctrine, and it is the same order the commandments will follow two chapters later. Rescue first, obedience after, as response rather than as price.
5 Now therefore, if you will indeed obey my voice and keep my covenant, then you shall be my own possession from among all peoples; for all the earth is mine; 6 and you shall be to me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.’ These are the words which you shall speak to the children of Israel.”
The middle clause prevents the misunderstanding the outer ones invite. Israel is chosen from among all peoples, and the reason given for the choosing is that all the earth belongs to God — which is to say the selection is not a narrowing of his interest but the method of pursuing it. The role assigned makes this explicit. A priest exists for the sake of people who are not priests; a whole kingdom of them exists for the sake of the nations. Election here is a job description, and Peter later applies the same words to the church without alteration 1 Peter 2:9.
All the people answered together, and said, “All that Yahweh has spoken we will do.” Moses reported the words of the people to Yahweh.
The promise is unanimous, immediate, and made before the terms have been read. It is sincere, and within six weeks they will be dancing around a metal calf.
10 Yahweh said to Moses, “Go to the people, and sanctify them today and tomorrow, and let them wash their garments, 11 and be ready for the third day; for on the third day Yahweh will come down in the sight of all the people on Mount Sinai.
Three days of preparation for an appointment, which is the first thing the passage teaches about approaching God: it is not casual and it is not spontaneous. Then the boundary, and the penalty attached to it: be careful that you don't go up onto the mountain, or touch its border. Whoever touches the mountain shall be surely put to death Exodus 19:12.
The severity is easily misread as distance for its own sake. It is the opposite problem. God is coming down onto that mountain, and the danger is proximity rather than absence — the barrier exists because he is arriving, not because he is remote. Everything the rest of the book builds, the tent and the veil and the priesthood and the blood, is an answer to the difficulty this fence states in its crudest form: how a holy God lives in the middle of a camp without destroying it.
settled What this mark means