The Lord brought the Israelites out of slavery in Egypt around 1446 B.C. Repent of your sins and trust alone in what Jesus did on the cross for your salvation. If you do, then you will also be brought out of slavery, the slavery of sin. God has delivered us from Satan through the blood of our Lord Jesus Christ, not through our own works. We don't earn our salvation. We do the right things in response to and out of thankfulness for what God has already done. It is Jesus' righteousness that gives us eternal life that is a relationship with God, not our own. And it is Holy Spirit that empowers us to do those right things to say "thank you" to Christ.
It has been three months since the Israelites were delivered from the bondage of slavery by the time we get to Exodus 19:1. That would also be a couple of weeks after the Lord first started providing manna in the wilderness in Exodus 16:1. Mount Sinai (or Horeb as it is also called) gets its name from the desert where it is located (Exodus 19:2). God said that after the people had been camping at Mount Sinai for three days, he would come down on Mount Sinai in a cloud and in the sight of all the people (Exodus 19:11). After three days, Mount Sinai was wrapped in smoke because the Lord descended upon it in a fire. Its smoke ascended like the smoke of a furnace, and the whole mountain quaked with great violence (Exodus 19:18). When the Lord came down to the top of Mount Sinai, he called Moses up there, and Moses went (Exodus 19:20). The people could not come up to Mount Sinai because God had warned them to set boundaries around the mountain and set it apart for God (Exodus 19:23). Before the New Covenant and before you personally accepted Christ as your savior (if you have), there were barriers between you and God. The picture of the people being separated from God depicts that spiritual reality.
So to set the scene again, the Israelites left the land of Egypt three months before arriving in the wilderness of Sinai. They encamped around the mountain once they got there. All the instructions that God gave to Moses were to be given to the people. God said he had brought them out of Egypt on eagles' wings and brought them to himself. The language God uses stands out to me because of what God reveals in Revelation 12:14. In the middle of the seven-year Tribulation before the return of Christ, Israel will flee from the Satan-indwelt Antichrist and flee "on eagles' wings" to Petra. God doesn't change, and his covenant does not change either. That being said, God does give Israel a promise here, but it does have some fine print. Israel could be God's treasured possession IF they obeyed God fully and kept his covenant. They would be considered a kingdom of priests and a holy nation. When the people heard this, Israel said it would do everything the Lord said.
The next thing the Lord did was for the benefit of Moses, although it was spoken so that the people could hear it. God did this so the people would finally respect Moses' authority and listen to him rather than always grumbling against him. Remember in earlier chapters how many times they complained against Moses. Now, God was communicating directly with Moses. The Lord was cementing in the minds of Israel that Moses was their leader. One of the things that God makes clear to Moses, the priests, and the nation is to be careful about coming into the Lord's presence. Anyone who gazes upon the Lord without having been set apart for him will surely die. So, the Lord warned the people for their own sake to be careful and to consecrate themselves before coming into his presence.
It is different under the New Covenant. When Jesus died on the cross, the temple sanctuary's curtain was torn in two from top to bottom, and the rocks were split because of an earthquake (Matthew 27:51). Now anyone who has had their sins washed away by the blood of Jesus does not have to approach him with fear and trembling. We can draw near to the throne of grace with confidence and boldness. We do not have to fear, not because we merit God's favor, but because the blood of Jesus allows the Father to grant us mercy and grace (Hebrews 4:16). Let us view this in a balanced way. Before the cross, we could not even gaze upon the Lord. Now, if you are covered by the blood of Christ, you are invited into his presence without restriction. But let us not approach him flippantly. Let's come near to him with the love, honor, respect, and reverence that he deserves. And if you are still not covered by the blood of Christ, then you are still under the wrath and judgment of the Lord. Pastor Craig Groeschel of Life Church has a new sermon this week called "A Voice from Hell." You can watch it all week at https://live.life.church/. I encourage you to check it out. God offers mercy and grace to ANYONE no matter how evil they may have been, but you must come to God on his terms. Acknowledge and confess with your mouth that Jesus is your Lord and master. And believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead. Getting saved from the eternal wrath of God is that simple (Romans 10:9-10). And don't put it off. You never know how much time you have left. Your next breath could be your last.
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