November 11, 2024 • 16 mins
It is based on Exodus 19. This story recounts Israel’s first experience as soon as it got into the wilderness after being rescued from Egypt. Moses makes several trips up and down the mountain to communicate with God. God wants the people to prepare for a theophany, in which God will come in a thick cloud, accompanied by smoke, fire, thunder, and other phenomena. Moses is instructed to prepare the people for this by consecrating them. There are requirements to be observed, since getting close to a holy God can be dangerous. Eventually, God comes to the mountain and speaks to the people directly. This is one of the few times that God does not speak through a mediator. What he says is the ten words, or ten commandments. This theophany emphasizes the significance of those commandments.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:04):
The Bible is full of stories that we all know
and love, but how well do we know? That the
answer might surprise you. The Bible you thought you knew
is going to dive deep into the exquisite details of
the Biblical stories that make them fascinating and transforming. In
(00:27):
this week's podcast, we're going to take a look at
a story featuring Moses and Israel's first mountaintop experience with
the Israelite deity. A story like this is usually referred
to as a theophony, a Greek word for divine appearance.
Needless to say, mountains and mountaintops are a veritable trope
(00:50):
in the Biblical tradition. Think of Jesus's famous Sermon on
the mount or the mountain involved in the Transfiguration story
in the Gospels. Exodus nineteen is such a story. This
narrative begins with a specific time reference on the third
New Moon, after Israel had escaped from Egypt, and escape
(01:15):
that God had orchestrated. This was Israel's first day in
the wilderness of Sinai. When Israel entered the wilderness, setting
out from Rifidim, they set up camp in front of
a mountain that's in verses one and two of Chapter
nineteen of the Book of Exodus. Immediately Moses quote unquote,
(01:40):
went up to God, at which point God spoke to
the great Prophet out of the mountain. This was Moses'
first assent. God told Moses that he was to speak
to the House of Jacob another way of referring to
the people of Israel. That's in verse three. Moses was
(02:01):
to remind the people that God had decimated the Egyptians
and that God had transported Israel on eagle's wings and
quote brought you to myself. End of quote that's in
verse four. We dare not miss the implication of that
last statement. Israel was not simply freed from bondage, but
(02:24):
they were brought to God. Their identity, their community, their
way of life was intricately died at tide to the
deity who had rescued them. Now that God has so
graciously freed Israel from Egyptian slavery, the deity has expectations
of them. God wants Israel to be obedient and keep
(02:47):
the covenant that God is about to make with them.
That will ensure that Israel will be God's quote unquote
own possession among all peoples. This is related to the
fact that the whole earth belongs to God. The end
result of this agreement will be that Israel will become
(03:07):
a kingdom of priests and a holy nation. This is
the precise message that God wants Moses to deliver to Israel.
That's in verses five and six of Chapter nineteen. To comply,
Moses descended the mountain. Even though the descent is implied
(03:30):
rather than stated, The text simply notes that Moses came
and called the elders, telling them everything that God had said.
That's in verse seven. Of course, having gone up the mountain,
Moses had to come down in any case. The people
responded wonderfully. They readily agreed to honor everything that God
(03:52):
had said. This time, however, the tetragrammaton why hwh is
used for God's name, that is, God's distinctive name in
all of the Old Testament. That's in verse eight. Moses
reported to the Lord again, y hwh is used what
(04:13):
the elders had said. Apparently Moses had to go up
the mountain again, for in this story that was where
God was. God's ubiquity is backgrounded in this text. When
Moses makes his report. The Lord says that he is
about about to come to you. The pronoun is singular,
(04:40):
thus relating only to Moses, although it might be ambiguous
because later on, when Israel is clearly referenced, the second
person pronoun is still used, sort of as a personification
of Israel. This divine appearance, this theophany, will be in
(05:00):
the form of a thick cloud. The purpose for this
epical visit is to let the people know that God
speaks to Moses, and that the people are consequently to
believe Moses from now on. That's verse nine. Keep in
mind that previously sometimes the people did not listen to Moses.
(05:23):
After this we are told again that Moses informed God
what the people had said. At this juncture, the Lord
instructs Moses to go back to the people, consecrate them
today and tomorrow, and let them wash their garments. The
people are to be ready by the third day, because
(05:47):
that would be when the Lord would come down on
Mount Sinai in the sight of all the people. That's
in verses ten and eleven. Of course, stringent requirements are
necessary to be this close to divine presence. This ritualistic
cleansing and consecration was designed to keep the people safe,
(06:10):
so to speak, Being in the presence of a holy
God can be dangerous. One does not approach casually. This
occasion required that the people honor other stipulations. The people
are not to ascend the mountain or touch its edges
that would be extremely dangerous, even death inducing. Anyone who
(06:36):
violates this stricture is not even to be touched. Even
animals cannot cross this boundary. Death by stoning is the penalty.
When the trumpet sounds, that will be the signal for
the people to approach the mountain. That's in verses twelve
to thirteen. Of course, this seems bizarre to our modern ear,
(07:01):
but in the biblical world, God is alternately comforting and discomforting,
approachable and aloof and frightening, offering safety and seeming dangerous.
A story like this has to do with a transcendent
and holy God. Per God's instructions, Moses went down from
(07:25):
the mountain, consecrated the people, had them wash their garments
and tell them to be ready on the third day.
In addition, no sexual activity was permitted. That's in verses
fourteen to fifteen. On the third day, there was thunder
and lightning, a thick cloud enveloped the mountain, and a
(07:48):
loud trumpet blast occurred, making everyone in the Israelite camp tremble.
When this happened, Moses brought the people out to meet God.
They stood at the foot of the mountain. That's in
verses sixteen through seventeen. Then Mount Sinai was in gulf
(08:09):
with smoke because the Lord came down in fire. The
smoke and fire intermingled as it arose. It was like
a kiln. The whole mountain quaked, and the sound of
the trumpet got much louder. Moses deigned to speak, whereupon
God answered in thunder a lot of special effects and
(08:37):
a lot of sound. At that time, the Lord came
down upon Mount Sinai at the very top of the mountain. Immediately,
the Lord called for Moses to ascend the mountain, which
he did. That's in verse twenty. The Lord spoke to Moses,
presumably here in a regular voice. The Lord wanted Moses
(08:59):
to go down the mountain and warn the people not
to break through in an attempt to look at the Deity,
which would have been fatal. That's his verses twenty through
twenty one. Also Moses was to have the priests who
were approaching to consecrate themselves, otherwise the Lord would come
(09:20):
down on them. That's in verse twenty two. Moses may
have been a little confused because he reminded God that
the deity had previously warned that the people cannot ascend
Mount Sinai. Those were the Lord's own instructions. Moses pointed
out that God had said that boundaries had to be
(09:43):
put around the mountain and that it was consecrated, thus
making it holy ground. That's in verse twenty three. God
issued another instruction. Then the Lord told Moses to go
down and return, this time with Aaron, his brother in tow.
But neither priests nor the people are to go up
(10:05):
the mountain lest they face divine wrath. Again, Moses went
down and told the people what God had said. However,
he did not go back up the mountain accompanied by Aaron.
That's in verse twenty five. Nothing could be stranger than
what happened next. God spoke not to Moses, not to elders,
(10:31):
but evidently to the people of Israel as a whole.
This is one of very few times that God speaks
to Israel as a whole. Throughout Torah, God speaks to
a variety of mediators, most especially Moses, but not in
this case. In this case, God speaks to Israel. What
(10:53):
did the Lord say? For the next seventeen verses, the
Lord issued what are commonly called the Ten Commandments. God
speaking directly doubtlessly magnifies their significance. Even the introduction is
extremely important. When God spoke, there was this preference preface.
(11:18):
I am the Lord, your God, who brought you out
of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.
That's in verse two of chapter twenty of the Book
of Exodus. A couple of comments are appropriate at this point. One,
the pronoun you is singularly singular, evidently because Israel is
(11:41):
being persified personified. I mentioned that earlier. Two. God is
summarizing the great grace God had shown in rescuing Israel
from Egyptian bondage. Three. That great act of grace deserves
a response. Obeying the commandments is that response. This is
(12:05):
the biblical pattern. God acts graciously, the people respond. It
is never the other way around. God does not first
make demands and then promise benefits. In case obedience ensues,
God on God's initiative, acts graciously in Israel's behalf, and
(12:28):
then points out what the response should look like. Of course,
rescue from Egypt was not God's first gracious act on
Israel's behalf. God had already elected Israel's ancestors Abraham, Sarah, Rebecca, Isaac, Jacob, Leah, Rachel,
(12:50):
and all the other matriarchs and patriarchs. That story is
told in Genesis, but that was when the ancestors were
a family, an extended family, a clan perhaps, But in
Exodus they had become a people. Their growth was what
made the pharaoh so paranoid that he enslaved them. But
(13:14):
when the people cried out, God knew. Soon came the
burning bush and Moses telling the Egyptian king that God
had said, let my people go. That led to the
events being recounted on Mount Sinai. This great Theophany was
(13:36):
a sort of prototype or adumbration of the many divine
appearances on mountains or mountaintops throughout the Bible. These theophanes
are extraordinary, accompanied by fierced weather, earthquakes, smoke, clouds, fire,
and the sound of thunder and trumpets when a transcended
(14:00):
odd comes near. What else would you expect. Consecration was necessary,
Garments had to be washed, boundaries had to be maintained,
ordinary activities had to be canceled. A little fright was
not even a bad thing. In this instance, God was
(14:20):
not seen, but the phenomena that accompanied the Lord's appearance
were seen, heard, and felt. As bizarre as this seems
to our modern sensibilities, many of us might have wanted
to be around on that eventful third day when Israel
(14:43):
got to the wilderness. Let me encourage you to go
to my website Faspoina dot com. Let me know what
your email is. If you'd like me to answer a
question in a Q and A session, email me at
f Spina one zero six gmail dot com. I want
(15:14):
to thank you so very much for listening to the
Bible you thought you knew. I have a question for you.
Do you have a question or topic that you'd like
me to cover on the podcasts. If so, all you
need to do is head over to Apple Podcasts and
do two simple things. One, leave a rating and review
(15:36):
telling me what you think of the podcasts. Two, In
that review, ask anything you want related to the Bible.
That's all you have to do. Then listen in to
hear your question answered on a future episode. Join us
next time on the Bible You thought you knew when
(15:56):
we discuss Jesus' personal Bible god Blekes
The Bible is full of stories that we all know
and love, but how well do we know? That the
answer might surprise you. The Bible you thought you knew
is going to dive deep into the exquisite details of
the Biblical stories that make them fascinating and transforming. In
(00:27):
this week's podcast, we're going to take a look at
a story featuring Moses and Israel's first mountaintop experience with
the Israelite deity. A story like this is usually referred
to as a theophony, a Greek word for divine appearance.
Needless to say, mountains and mountaintops are a veritable trope
(00:50):
in the Biblical tradition. Think of Jesus's famous Sermon on
the mount or the mountain involved in the Transfiguration story
in the Gospels. Exodus nineteen is such a story. This
narrative begins with a specific time reference on the third
New Moon, after Israel had escaped from Egypt, and escape
(01:15):
that God had orchestrated. This was Israel's first day in
the wilderness of Sinai. When Israel entered the wilderness, setting
out from Rifidim, they set up camp in front of
a mountain that's in verses one and two of Chapter
nineteen of the Book of Exodus. Immediately Moses quote unquote,
(01:40):
went up to God, at which point God spoke to
the great Prophet out of the mountain. This was Moses'
first assent. God told Moses that he was to speak
to the House of Jacob another way of referring to
the people of Israel. That's in verse three. Moses was
(02:01):
to remind the people that God had decimated the Egyptians
and that God had transported Israel on eagle's wings and
quote brought you to myself. End of quote that's in
verse four. We dare not miss the implication of that
last statement. Israel was not simply freed from bondage, but
(02:24):
they were brought to God. Their identity, their community, their
way of life was intricately died at tide to the
deity who had rescued them. Now that God has so
graciously freed Israel from Egyptian slavery, the deity has expectations
of them. God wants Israel to be obedient and keep
(02:47):
the covenant that God is about to make with them.
That will ensure that Israel will be God's quote unquote
own possession among all peoples. This is related to the
fact that the whole earth belongs to God. The end
result of this agreement will be that Israel will become
(03:07):
a kingdom of priests and a holy nation. This is
the precise message that God wants Moses to deliver to Israel.
That's in verses five and six of Chapter nineteen. To comply,
Moses descended the mountain. Even though the descent is implied
(03:30):
rather than stated, The text simply notes that Moses came
and called the elders, telling them everything that God had said.
That's in verse seven. Of course, having gone up the mountain,
Moses had to come down in any case. The people
responded wonderfully. They readily agreed to honor everything that God
(03:52):
had said. This time, however, the tetragrammaton why hwh is
used for God's name, that is, God's distinctive name in
all of the Old Testament. That's in verse eight. Moses
reported to the Lord again, y hwh is used what
(04:13):
the elders had said. Apparently Moses had to go up
the mountain again, for in this story that was where
God was. God's ubiquity is backgrounded in this text. When
Moses makes his report. The Lord says that he is
about about to come to you. The pronoun is singular,
(04:40):
thus relating only to Moses, although it might be ambiguous
because later on, when Israel is clearly referenced, the second
person pronoun is still used, sort of as a personification
of Israel. This divine appearance, this theophany, will be in
(05:00):
the form of a thick cloud. The purpose for this
epical visit is to let the people know that God
speaks to Moses, and that the people are consequently to
believe Moses from now on. That's verse nine. Keep in
mind that previously sometimes the people did not listen to Moses.
(05:23):
After this we are told again that Moses informed God
what the people had said. At this juncture, the Lord
instructs Moses to go back to the people, consecrate them
today and tomorrow, and let them wash their garments. The
people are to be ready by the third day, because
(05:47):
that would be when the Lord would come down on
Mount Sinai in the sight of all the people. That's
in verses ten and eleven. Of course, stringent requirements are
necessary to be this close to divine presence. This ritualistic
cleansing and consecration was designed to keep the people safe,
(06:10):
so to speak, Being in the presence of a holy
God can be dangerous. One does not approach casually. This
occasion required that the people honor other stipulations. The people
are not to ascend the mountain or touch its edges
that would be extremely dangerous, even death inducing. Anyone who
(06:36):
violates this stricture is not even to be touched. Even
animals cannot cross this boundary. Death by stoning is the penalty.
When the trumpet sounds, that will be the signal for
the people to approach the mountain. That's in verses twelve
to thirteen. Of course, this seems bizarre to our modern ear,
(07:01):
but in the biblical world, God is alternately comforting and discomforting,
approachable and aloof and frightening, offering safety and seeming dangerous.
A story like this has to do with a transcendent
and holy God. Per God's instructions, Moses went down from
(07:25):
the mountain, consecrated the people, had them wash their garments
and tell them to be ready on the third day.
In addition, no sexual activity was permitted. That's in verses
fourteen to fifteen. On the third day, there was thunder
and lightning, a thick cloud enveloped the mountain, and a
(07:48):
loud trumpet blast occurred, making everyone in the Israelite camp tremble.
When this happened, Moses brought the people out to meet God.
They stood at the foot of the mountain. That's in
verses sixteen through seventeen. Then Mount Sinai was in gulf
(08:09):
with smoke because the Lord came down in fire. The
smoke and fire intermingled as it arose. It was like
a kiln. The whole mountain quaked, and the sound of
the trumpet got much louder. Moses deigned to speak, whereupon
God answered in thunder a lot of special effects and
(08:37):
a lot of sound. At that time, the Lord came
down upon Mount Sinai at the very top of the mountain. Immediately,
the Lord called for Moses to ascend the mountain, which
he did. That's in verse twenty. The Lord spoke to Moses,
presumably here in a regular voice. The Lord wanted Moses
(08:59):
to go down the mountain and warn the people not
to break through in an attempt to look at the Deity,
which would have been fatal. That's his verses twenty through
twenty one. Also Moses was to have the priests who
were approaching to consecrate themselves, otherwise the Lord would come
(09:20):
down on them. That's in verse twenty two. Moses may
have been a little confused because he reminded God that
the deity had previously warned that the people cannot ascend
Mount Sinai. Those were the Lord's own instructions. Moses pointed
out that God had said that boundaries had to be
(09:43):
put around the mountain and that it was consecrated, thus
making it holy ground. That's in verse twenty three. God
issued another instruction. Then the Lord told Moses to go
down and return, this time with Aaron, his brother in tow.
But neither priests nor the people are to go up
(10:05):
the mountain lest they face divine wrath. Again, Moses went
down and told the people what God had said. However,
he did not go back up the mountain accompanied by Aaron.
That's in verse twenty five. Nothing could be stranger than
what happened next. God spoke not to Moses, not to elders,
(10:31):
but evidently to the people of Israel as a whole.
This is one of very few times that God speaks
to Israel as a whole. Throughout Torah, God speaks to
a variety of mediators, most especially Moses, but not in
this case. In this case, God speaks to Israel. What
(10:53):
did the Lord say? For the next seventeen verses, the
Lord issued what are commonly called the Ten Commandments. God
speaking directly doubtlessly magnifies their significance. Even the introduction is
extremely important. When God spoke, there was this preference preface.
(11:18):
I am the Lord, your God, who brought you out
of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.
That's in verse two of chapter twenty of the Book
of Exodus. A couple of comments are appropriate at this point. One,
the pronoun you is singularly singular, evidently because Israel is
(11:41):
being persified personified. I mentioned that earlier. Two. God is
summarizing the great grace God had shown in rescuing Israel
from Egyptian bondage. Three. That great act of grace deserves
a response. Obeying the commandments is that response. This is
(12:05):
the biblical pattern. God acts graciously, the people respond. It
is never the other way around. God does not first
make demands and then promise benefits. In case obedience ensues,
God on God's initiative, acts graciously in Israel's behalf, and
(12:28):
then points out what the response should look like. Of course,
rescue from Egypt was not God's first gracious act on
Israel's behalf. God had already elected Israel's ancestors Abraham, Sarah, Rebecca, Isaac, Jacob, Leah, Rachel,
(12:50):
and all the other matriarchs and patriarchs. That story is
told in Genesis, but that was when the ancestors were
a family, an extended family, a clan perhaps, But in
Exodus they had become a people. Their growth was what
made the pharaoh so paranoid that he enslaved them. But
(13:14):
when the people cried out, God knew. Soon came the
burning bush and Moses telling the Egyptian king that God
had said, let my people go. That led to the
events being recounted on Mount Sinai. This great Theophany was
(13:36):
a sort of prototype or adumbration of the many divine
appearances on mountains or mountaintops throughout the Bible. These theophanes
are extraordinary, accompanied by fierced weather, earthquakes, smoke, clouds, fire,
and the sound of thunder and trumpets when a transcended
(14:00):
odd comes near. What else would you expect. Consecration was necessary,
Garments had to be washed, boundaries had to be maintained,
ordinary activities had to be canceled. A little fright was
not even a bad thing. In this instance, God was
(14:20):
not seen, but the phenomena that accompanied the Lord's appearance
were seen, heard, and felt. As bizarre as this seems
to our modern sensibilities, many of us might have wanted
to be around on that eventful third day when Israel
(14:43):
got to the wilderness. Let me encourage you to go
to my website Faspoina dot com. Let me know what
your email is. If you'd like me to answer a
question in a Q and A session, email me at
f Spina one zero six gmail dot com. I want
(15:14):
to thank you so very much for listening to the
Bible you thought you knew. I have a question for you.
Do you have a question or topic that you'd like
me to cover on the podcasts. If so, all you
need to do is head over to Apple Podcasts and
do two simple things. One, leave a rating and review
(15:36):
telling me what you think of the podcasts. Two, In
that review, ask anything you want related to the Bible.
That's all you have to do. Then listen in to
hear your question answered on a future episode. Join us
next time on the Bible You thought you knew when
(15:56):
we discuss Jesus' personal Bible god Blekes
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