Speaker 1: Life Audio The Bible Study Podcast, Episode nine hundred and
Speaker 1: seventy eight. Today, The Bible Study Podcast continues the study
Speaker 1: of the Book of Exodus with chapter nineteen. Welcome to
Speaker 1: the Bible Study Podcast. I'm your host, Chris Kristensen. We're
Speaker 1: going to continue on with chapter nineteen, which begins a
Speaker 1: very very large section of the book about Mount Sinai.
Speaker 1: But first a word from this sponsor. So I mentioned
Speaker 1: that this is a very large portion of the book
Speaker 1: talking about Mount Sinai. There are forty chapters in the
Speaker 1: Book of Exodus. We're almost at the halfway point so far.
Speaker 1: All the rest of this book happens at the foot
Speaker 1: of Mount Sinai. So there are twenty one different chapters
Speaker 1: in the Book of Exodus that have nothing to do
Speaker 1: with moving around the Sinai And that may come as
Speaker 1: a surprise to you. It actually comes as a surprise
Speaker 1: to me, even though I've read this book before, just
Speaker 1: to look at it that way. And really, this book
Speaker 1: and then the Book of Leviticus all happen here at
Speaker 1: Mount Sinai. It's not till we get to numbers that
Speaker 1: we finally move on from this location. So this is
Speaker 1: a very critical time here as God is taking this
Speaker 1: people that He's brought out of Egypt and trying to
Speaker 1: turn them into Israelites, trying to turn them into his people.
Speaker 1: At Mount Sinai chapter nineteen, on the first day of
Speaker 1: the third month, after the Israelites left Egypt, on that
Speaker 1: very day, they came to the desert of Sinai. After
Speaker 1: they set out from Rifidim, they entered the desert of Sinai,
Speaker 1: and Israel camped there in the desert in front of
Speaker 1: the mountain. Then Moses went up to God, and the
Speaker 1: Lord called to him from the mountain and said, this
Speaker 1: is what you are to say to the descendants of Jacob,
Speaker 1: and what you are to tell the people of Israel.
Speaker 1: You yourselves have seen what I did to Egypt, and
Speaker 1: how I carried you on eagle's wings and brought you
Speaker 1: to myself. Now, if you obey me fully and keep
Speaker 1: my covenant, then out of all nations, you will be
Speaker 1: my treasured possession, although the whole earth is mine. You
Speaker 1: will be for me a kingdom of priests and a
Speaker 1: holy nation. These are the words you are to speak
Speaker 1: to the Israelites. So Moses went back in some of
Speaker 1: the elders of the people and set before them all
Speaker 1: the words the Lord had commanded him to speak. The
Speaker 1: people all responded, together, we will do everything the Lord
Speaker 1: has said. So Moses brought their answer back to the Lord.
Speaker 1: The Lord said to Moses, I'm going to come to
Speaker 1: you in a dense cloud, so that the people will
Speaker 1: hear me speaking with you and will always put their
Speaker 1: trust in you. Then Moses told the Lord what the
Speaker 1: people had said, and the Lord said, to Moses, go
Speaker 1: to the people and consecrate them today and tomorrow. Have
Speaker 1: them wash their clothes and be ready by the third day,
Speaker 1: because on that day the Lord will come down on
Speaker 1: Mount Sinai in the sight of all the people. Put
Speaker 1: limits for the people around the mountain, and tell them
Speaker 1: be careful that you do not approach the mountain or
Speaker 1: touch the foot of it. Whoever touches the mountain is
Speaker 1: to be put to death. They are to be stoned
Speaker 1: or shot with arrows. Not a hand is to be
Speaker 1: laid on them. No person or animals should be permitted
Speaker 1: to live. Only when the rams horned sounds a long blast,
Speaker 1: may they approach the mountain. After Moses had gone down
Speaker 1: the mountain to the people, he consecrated them, and they
Speaker 1: washed their clothes. Then he said to the people, prepare
Speaker 1: yourselves for the third day, abstain from sexual relations. On
Speaker 1: the morning of the third day, there was thunder and lightning,
Speaker 1: with a thick cloud over the mountain and a very
Speaker 1: loud trumpet blast. Everyone in the camp trembled. Then Moses
Speaker 1: led the people out of the camp to meet with God,
Speaker 1: and they stood at the foot of the mountain. Mount
Speaker 1: Sinai was covered with smoke because the Lord descended on
Speaker 1: it in fire. The smoke builded up from it like
Speaker 1: smoke from a furnace, and the whole mountain trembled violently.
Speaker 1: As the sound of the trumpet grew louder and louder.
Speaker 1: Moses spoke, and the voice of God answered him. The
Speaker 1: Lord descended to the top of Mount Sinai and called
Speaker 1: Moses to the top of the mountain. So Moses went up,
Speaker 1: and the Lord said to him, go down and warn
Speaker 1: the peoples so they do not force their way through
Speaker 1: to see the Lord, and many of them perish. Even
Speaker 1: the priests who approached the Lord must consecrate themselves or
Speaker 1: the Lord will break out against them. Moses said to
Speaker 1: the Lord, the people cannot come up Mount Sinai because
Speaker 1: you yourself warned us, put limits around the mountain, set
Speaker 1: it apart as holy. The Lord replied, go down and
Speaker 1: bring erin up with you. But the priests and the
Speaker 1: people must not force their way through to come up
Speaker 1: to the Lord, or he will break out against them.
Speaker 1: So Moses went down to the people and told them.
Speaker 1: So there's a lot of Moses going up and down
Speaker 1: the mountain here. Now, Moses in an old man here.
Speaker 1: I don't know how long it takes him to get
Speaker 1: up to the top of the mountain. And it's not
Speaker 1: that God lives here at the top of the mountain.
Speaker 1: God is the God of the whole earth. But God
Speaker 1: has descended, It says, to the top of Mount Sinai
Speaker 1: from the heavens. And Moses goes up to the top
Speaker 1: of Mount Sinai to meet with God and to hear
Speaker 1: God and to hear what he has to say. So
Speaker 1: there's a number of different things that are going on here,
Speaker 1: and there are a number of things we're going to
Speaker 1: try and accomplish before the people leave Mount Sinae. But
Speaker 1: the first thing that we get is why these people right,
Speaker 1: I'm going to take you and make you my people,
Speaker 1: my treasured possession out of all the nations. If you
Speaker 1: if you do what I said, if you obey me
Speaker 1: fully and keep my covenant. Now they're not even gonna
Speaker 1: wait until they leave Mount sun I to disobey. So
Speaker 1: we're gonna have some problems with this the whole way along.
Speaker 1: And that's still true for us as well. I don't
Speaker 1: know about you, but I am not perfect. I do
Speaker 1: not obey even the things that I know that God
Speaker 1: wants one hundred percent. I am flawed. I am in
Speaker 1: need of grace, and so were these people. But yet,
Speaker 1: even knowing that God is calling them to be a
Speaker 1: kingdom of priests and a holy nation in the same
Speaker 1: way that God is calling us, even though he knows
Speaker 1: that we are flawed, even though he knows that we
Speaker 1: need grace and that we need forgiveness. So he sends
Speaker 1: Moses down with that word. He comes and summons the elders,
Speaker 1: and they say, we're gonna do everything. We're gonna do everything.
Speaker 1: God says, well, we'll see how well that goes. But
Speaker 1: that's their current thought is we're going to do everything.
Speaker 1: So they say, prepare yourself, don't have sex, wash your clothes,
Speaker 1: get ready as if you were getting ready to meet
Speaker 1: the king. Right, and get ready as if you were
Speaker 1: going to meet someone very, very, very important, and that
Speaker 1: is God in this case. And don't touch the mountain,
Speaker 1: but gather around when you hear the rams horns sound,
Speaker 1: when you get a signal, come and approach the mountain.
Speaker 1: And so everybody gets ready. They consecrate themselves, they make
Speaker 1: themselves holy, They put aside those things that are not holy.
Speaker 1: And then there's thunder and lightning, thick cloud. The mountain
Speaker 1: is trembling, and that is how the people come to Sinai.
Speaker 1: The whole mountain is trembling violently. Can you imagine how
Speaker 1: this would be to you if you were standing here
Speaker 1: at the base of Sinai. You've already seen the power
Speaker 1: of God in Egypt. You saw all the different place
Speaker 1: that God unleashed on the Egyptians, but not on you,
Speaker 1: including finally, that plague of the death of the firstborns.
Speaker 1: You saw God save you at the waters of the
Speaker 1: Red Sea, part of the waters that wasn't something you expected,
Speaker 1: it wasn't something you knew could happen. And now you're
Speaker 1: standing here at the mountain of God again. Not that
Speaker 1: God lives here in this mountain, but you're standing here
Speaker 1: because God has called you to this place to meet him,
Speaker 1: to be his people. And there is smoke, and there
Speaker 1: is thunder, and there is lightning, and there are earthquakes,
Speaker 1: and you have got to be scared. When we say
Speaker 1: that God is awesome, God's awesome power, it is power
Speaker 1: that makes us that should make us in awe, and
Speaker 1: that's what these people are. Awe and fear. And then
Speaker 1: again go down and warn the people not to force
Speaker 1: their way up because they might do that. No, don't worry,
Speaker 1: we told them to put the limits around it. Will
Speaker 1: go get erin. But again tell the priest not to
Speaker 1: come up. And so Moses goes down again. Don't come up,
Speaker 1: don't touch the mountain or you will die. And I
Speaker 1: would have to think that if the mountain is trembling
Speaker 1: and there is thunder and lightning, maybe in my case,
Speaker 1: touching the mountain wouldn't be top of my list. Next week,
Speaker 1: we're going to deal with a very very important chapter
Speaker 1: in the Bible, and that is the Ten Commandments, So
Speaker 1: come back for that. But with that, we're going to
Speaker 1: end this episode of the Bible Study Podcast. If you
Speaker 1: have any questions, send an email to Chris two exitgmail
Speaker 1: dot com, or, better yet, leave a comment on this
Speaker 1: episode at the Bible Study podcast dot com. And as always,
Speaker 1: thanks so much for listening. I want to take just
Speaker 1: a second to thank the team at Life Audio for
Speaker 1: their partnership with us on this podcast. If you go
Speaker 1: to lifeaudio dot com, you'll find dozens of other faith
Speaker 1: centered podcasts in their network. They've got shows about prayer,
Speaker 1: Bible study, parenting, and more.