Moses came and called for the elders of the people, and set before them all these words which Yahweh commanded him.
Parallel Translations
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Moses came and called for the elders of the people, and set before them all these words which Yahweh commanded him.
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And Moses came and called for the elders of the people, and laid before their faces all these words which the LORD commanded him.
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And Moses came and called for the elders of the people, and set before them all these words which the LORD commanded him.
Cross-references (3)
Passages linked to Exodus 19:7 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, ordered by reader-vote popularity; verse text shown in World English Bible.
- Exodus 4:29-30 Moses and Aaron went and gathered together all the elders of the children of Israel. Aaron spoke all the words which Yahweh had spoken to Moses, and did the signs in the sight of the people.
- Exodus 3:16 Go and gather the elders of Israel together, and tell them, ‘Yahweh, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Jacob, has appeared to me, saying, “I have surely visited you, and seen that which is done to you in Egypt.
- 1 Corinthians 15:1 Now I declare to you, brothers, the Good News which I preached to you, which also you received, in which you also stand,
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
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John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain Exo 19:7 And Moses came and called for the…
Exo 19:7 And Moses came and called for the elders of the people, and laid before their faces all these words which the LORD commanded him.
Ver. 7. Laid before their faces.] Or, Plainly proposed the mind of God. So did Paul. {παρατιθεμενος, Act 17:3} So must ministers.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain And Moses came and called for the elders of…
And Moses came and called for the elders of the people,.... After he had heard the above words from the mouth of God, he came down from the mount into the camp of Israel, and sent for the elders or principal men of the tribes and families of Israel to come to him:
and, being gathered together:
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laid before their faces all these words which the Lord commanded him; expressed them in the plainest manner, set them in the clearest light to their minds and consciences; so that they thoroughly understood them, were fully convinced of the propriety of these things God required of them, and their obligation to observe them, and saw plainly the greatness and importance of what he promised unto them.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain And Moses laid before their faces all these words…
And Moses laid before their faces all these words - He not only explained to them what God had given him in charge, but put it to their choice, whether they would accept these promises upon these terms or no. His laying it to their faces speaks his laying it to their consciences.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain Verse 7. The elders of the people] The head…
Verse 7. The elders of the people] The head of each tribe, and the chief of each family, by whose ministry this gracious purpose of God was speedily communicated to the whole camp.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain Exo 19:7-8. And Moses laid before their faces all…
Exo 19:7-8. And Moses laid before their faces all these words — He not only explained to them what God had given him in charge, but put it to their choice, whether they would accept these promises upon these terms or not. His laying it to their faces speaks his laying it to their consciences. And they answered together: All that the Lord hath spoken we will do — Thus accepting the Lord to be to them a God, and giving up themselves to be to him a people.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain Moses came and called for the elders of the…
Moses came and called for the elders of the people--The message was conveyed to the mighty multitude through their elders, who, doubtless, instructed them in the conditions required. Their unanimous acceptance was conveyed through the same channel to Moses, and by him reported to the Lord. Ah! how much self-confidence did their language betray! How little did they know what spirit they were of!
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain 7. Called for the elders of the people —…
7. Called for the elders of the people — Observe that this was no public address to an assembled nation, but a relatively private communication to their chiefs, who acted as their representatives. Hence an address delivered to them might be properly spoken of as addressed to all the people. See next verse.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain 7–8. Moses communicates Jehovah’s purpose to the people. They…
7–8. Moses communicates Jehovah’s purpose to the people. They express their readiness to fulfil the conditions imposed.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain (7) Moses . . . Called for the elders-The…
(7) Moses . . . Called for the elders-The “elders” formed the usual channel of communication between Moses and the people, reporting his words to them, and theirs to him. (See Exo_4:21; Exo_12:21; Exo_17:5-6; Exo_18:2; Exo_24:14, &c.) On their position and authority, see Note on Exo_3:16.
Before their faces.—This translation is a curious piece of literalism. Liphney, in the time of Moses, was a mere preposition, signifying “before.”
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain And Moses came. Moses descended from the point of…
And Moses came. Moses descended from the point of the mountain which he had reached, and summoned a meeting of the elders of the people. When they were come together, he reported to them totidem verbis the message which he had received from God. He is said to have laid the words "before their faces a Hebraism, meaning simply "before them.
HOMILIES BY J. URQUHART
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Vers. 7-25. The revelation of Jehovah.
I WHAT IS DEMANDED ERE THE REVELATION CAN BE IMPARTED.
1. The will must be surrendered to God, "All that the Lord hath spoken wewill do" (ver. 8).
2. The filthiness of the past must be put away; "Sanctify them" (ver. 10).There must be loathing of, and separation from, sin.
3. There must be a sense of the distance sin has put between the soul andGod; "Take heed to yourselves that ye go not up into the mount, or touch the border of it" (vers. 12, 13).
II HOW THE REVELATION IS IMPARTED.
1. In the awful manifestation of his majesty (vers. 16-19). The first step isthe recognition of the livingness and greatness and holiness of God. Hitherto he has been to the soul a name only; now the Creator, the Holy One, against whom and in whose sight all sin has been wrought, the Righteous Judge from whom there is no escape, from whose face death itself affords no covering.
2. In the glorifying of a Mediator, to whom he speaks, and who shalldeclare him to us. This is reflected in the Christian"s experience
(1) Sinai, the knowledge of sin;
(2) Calvary, peace through the blood of Jesus, acceptance in the Beloved. U.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Biblical Illustrator 1887 · Public Domain All that the Lord hath spoken we will do.
Exo_19:7-8
All that the Lord hath spoken we will do.
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Lessons
1. Command received from God by His ministers--they must go and call them whom they must bespeak.
2. Orderly proceeding to acquaint the people of Gods will by their heads is rational.
3. Proposition and exposition of Gods words must be made to souls that they may know them.
4. All Gods words, and no more but His, Jehovah commands His ministers to speak to His people (Exo_19:7). (G. Hughes, B. D.)
Gods revelation of Himself, etc
The subject of this paragraph (Exo_19:7-24) is Gods revelation of Himself,--the call to receive it, the manner in which it was made.
I. When God reveals Himself man is summoned to attend. This is uniformly Gods method. First the call, then the revelation. Hear, O Israel, then, the Lord thy God is one Lord. This is My beloved Son, hear ye Him, then the New Testament dispensation. Moses was a type of the ministry of the Son of Man, and an example to Christian ministers in the manner in which he summoned men to God. He spoke--
1. Authoritatively.
2. Clearly.
3. Completely.
4. Successfully.
5. Moses spoke for the people to God.
So does Christ combine our poor prayers with the mighty eloquence of His intercession.
II. When God reveals Himself, man must be prepared for the revelation (verse 10-15).
1. Man must attend to the herald who proclaims Gods coming.
2. Man must be prepared by personal sanctification.
3. Man must be prepared by a ready acquiescence in all that God commands.
4. Man must be prepared at the appointed time. Be ready against the third day.
(1) God has now appointed times in which He promises to reveal Himself to men. The Lords day. All times of duty and religious privilege. Let no man be unprepared, or plead excuses, or make other engagements.
(2) God has now appointed times which He has not chosen to reveal. Death, judgment. We know not the day nor the hour when the Son of Man cometh. Hence the wisdom of immediate and constant preparation. Watch and pray.
III. When God reveals Himself it is in a manner suited to the occasion. It was necessary that He should speak to men who for years had been surrounded by idolatrous associations, and who had become debased by years of servitude, in a most solemn, startling, and impressive form. God has other methods than those employed here. Abraham, Elijah. Bethlehem, Pentecost, Patmos, etc. So in each individual ease. Learn then--
1. To listen when God speaks. Faith has a faculty not only of sight, but of hearing.
2. When God calls obey that call, and be prepared for the public revelation which that call precedes. God now commandeth everyman to repent (2Co_7:1).
3. Receive Gods revelation of Himself in His own way, (J. W. Burn.)
A commendable engagement rashly made and repeatedly broken
I. Commendable engagement.
1. Because of its righteousness.
2. Because of its advantageousness.
(1) The highest character. A holy nation.
(2) The highest service. Unto Me a kingdom of priests.
(3) The highest privilege. A peculiar treasure unto Me.
3. Because of its unanimity. All the people answered together.
II. A commendable engagement rashly made.
1. Without due consideration.
2. Without earnest purpose,
3. Without hearty concurrence with the will which they promised to obey.
4. Without any realization of their need of Divine help in order that they may keep it. How easily overween we our own abilities!
III. A commendable engagement repeatedly and terribly broken. Their sin in violating this solemn promise was the more heinous because of
(1) Gods great goodness to them.
(2) His invariable faithfulness in His portion of the covenant.
(3) The comparatively trivial circumstances and slight influences which proved sufficient to induce them to break their engagement.
Notwithstanding the strongest obligations to fulfil their promise, they broke it upon the slightest provocation. Conclusion--
1. Let us heed well our obligation to do all that the Lord commands.
2. Let us be careful in the utterance of religious vows.
3. Let us be humbled by the recollection of the many religious vows we have made but not kept, and seek forgiveness for our failures.
4. Let, us endeavour to perform our vows, looking to God for strength to enable us to do so. (William Jones.)
The response of the people to Gods call
I. The call (Exo_19:7).
1. The elders represented the people. In dealing with so great a multitude some such arrangement was necessary. So it is in many things--in the nation, the family, the Church.
2. Gods commands were faithfully communicated. Laid before their faces all, etc.: nothing was added and nothing kept back. The will of God was made known so plainly that none could plead ignorance; so particularly that none could plead excuse. The truth was communicated to every mans conscience in the sight of God.
II. The response (Exo_19:8). And all the people answered together, etc.
1. Prompt. There was no hesitancy.
2. Hearty. There was no reservation.
3. Unanimous. There was no dissentient voice (Act_2:1). How grand the spectacle! The mighty multitude aa with one heart and voice proclaimed their submission to God. But, alas! the sequel showed, that mixed with their apparent sincerity and enthusiasm there was much of ignorance, presumption, and self-conceit.
III. The report to God. And Moses returned the words of the people unto the Lord (cf. Exo_19:9). Such report was necessary to secure the favour of God and the faith of the people. It tended to--
1. Exoneration of conscience.
2. Relief of the heart.
3. Invigoration of hope.
4. Accrediting of character.
5. Success of ministry, Nothing works more to give a man power with men than the belief that he has power with God. (William Forsyth.)
The preparation for meeting with God
Moses acted throughout according to Divine command.
I. The people were called to sanctify themselves. There must be separation from what is not of God, in order to fellowship with what is. Self-consecration required (Psa_26:6; Isa_1:16-18; Rom_12:1; 1Co_6:9-20).
II. The people were charged to re ready at the appointed time (Exo_19:11). Come into Gods presence with humility, prayer, hope.
III. The people were commanded to observe the prescribed laws and ordinances as to approach to God. Bounds fixed as to place, action, behaviour (Exo_19:12-14; see 1Co_14:10). (William Forsyth.)
Pleasantness of obedience
The pleasantest thing in the world is to be obedient.
1. Because it is so pleasant to know what we have to do. The word law comes from the verb to lay; it means something laid down. The law is something that God has laid down quite plain for us to do.
2. Because it is a proof that God loves us. Do you remember, whets Peter was so unhappy, Christ said to him: Peter, feed My sheep, feed My lambs? Christ said that to show that He trusted Peter again. Therefore, if God, tells you to do anything, be sure God loves you.
3. Because it is practising for heaven. To obey the law is to prepare for heaven. There all will be obedience. Sir Henry Lawrence said, just before he died, I wish this to be on my tombstone: Here lies Henry Lawrence, who tried to, do his duty. Duty is preparing for heaven. Somebody perhaps will say, Oh, but it is so difficult to do ones duty--to love the law. Listen to what a little girl said to her brother: I tried with all my might to be good, and I prayed and read my Bible, but I was no better. At last I found Christ, and when I found Christ it was all easy; and from that time I have been so happy. (Prof. Drummond.)
Disobedience unhappy
A boy, when he entered his first place of employment, made an engagement with his master that he was to be in his place at nine oclock in the morning, For a while the boy was always to be found at his post at the appointed hour, but he began to notice that his master did not come in until a quarter to ten, and he thought it would not matter if he did not come in until ten minutes past nine, for his master would never know. He got on very well for a time, but at length he began to grow very miserable. He had a feeling that he was cheating his master, consequently he was unhappy; he felt he had lost his faithfulness, and made up his mind to go in at the hour appointed, and when he did so his peace and joy returned, because he was conscious that he was doing right. It is the same with Christians in their daily life. As long as they are obeying Gods commandments they are happy, but whenever they break one of them they become miserable. Want of faithfulness in the most trivial things often breaks our peace, and stops communion with God. (George Muller.)
An inconsiderate promise
A story is told of a gentleman who visited President Lincoln, and who was in the habit of making promises more freely than he kept them. In order to induce one of Mr. Lincolns boys, to sit on his lap, the gentleman offered to give him a charm which he wore on his watch chain. The boy climbed into his lap. Finally the gentleman arose to go, when Mr. Lincoln said to him, Are you going to keep your promise to my boy? What promise? said the visitor. You said you would give him that charm. Oh, I could not, said the visitor. It is not only valuable, but I prize it as an heirloom. Give it to him, said Mr. Lincoln, sternly. I would not want him to know that I entertained one who had no regard for his word. The gentleman coloured, undid the charm, and handed it to the boy, and went away with a lesson which he was not likely soon to forget, and which others may profit by learning.
The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Preacher's Complete Homiletical Commentary 1892 · Public Domain MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH.—Exo_19:7-24
MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH.—Exo_19:7-24
The subject of this paragraph is God’s revelation of Himself,—the call to receive it, the manner in which it was made.
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I. When God reveals Himself man is summoned to attend. This is uniformly God’s method. First the call, then the revelation. “Hear, O Israel,” then, “the Lord thy God is one Lord.” “This is My beloved Son, hear ye Him,” then the New Testament dispensation. This was “one of the sundry times and divers manners” in which “God spake to the fathers by the prophets.” Moses was His minister here. “In these last days,” He “hath spoken unto us by His Son.” The aim of Moses is to call Israel’s attention to God. So Christ, in answer to the prayer, “Show us the Father,” says, “I am the way,” &c. Moses was a type of the ministry of the Son of Man, and an example to Christian ministers in the manner in which he summoned men to God. He spoke—
1. Authoritatively. “Moses came and called for the elders of the people.” He spoke for God. He knew that he spoke for God. His message was no trivial speculation of his own about which there might be two opinions. God’s truth, his own conviction of it, and its great importance, invested him with authority.
2. Clearly. He “laid it before their faces.” In order for a declaration to be clear, the speaker must see it clearly himself, or he will never make it plain to his hearers. He who has never seen Christ will never be able to proclaim Him to others. In order to see a thing clearly one must contemplate it for a sufficient length of time, till all its points and bearings are fully understood. Then, in order to convey it clearly to others, an intellect capable of more or less concentrated thought and power of distinct articulation are indispensable. All these qualifications Moses possessed in an eminent degree.
3. Completely. “All these words.” This needed courage; a weak man would have suppressed or toned down what was likely to be unpalatable. Memory, unselfishness, fidelity, a habit of accurate statement, and a sense of the vast importance of his message. Peter, “All the words of this life.” Paul, “I have not shunned to declare unto you all the counsel of God.”
4. Successfully.
(1.) It was successful in producing the desired effect upon the people (Exo_19:8). This is the true test and seal of a faithful ministry. If men will deliver “all the words of the Lord” without adulteration in all their Divine power, they will do their appointed work. The result may not be seen, but that is God’s matter (Ecc_11:1; Isa_55:10-11).
(2.) It was successful in securing the people’s confidence; “that the people may … believe Thee for ever.” Another test and seal of a faithful ministry. Men will honour those who honour the truth. Men will trust those who are true to their own convictions. All workers for God should aim at these elements of success. “Seals for their ministry and souls for their hire” and the confidence of their fellow-men.
5. Moses spoke for the people to God. “Moses told the words of the people back to God.” So does Christ combine our poor prayers with the mighty eloquence of His intercession.
II. When God reveals Himself man must be prepared for the revelation (Exo_19:10-15). This is natural. Men prepare themselves for a visit from their fellow-man. Much more so should man be prepared for the revelation of God. It were an insult to receive any superior otherwise; much more so when that superior is God (Ecc_5:1). In order to be prepared man must—
1. Attend to the herald who proclaims God’s coming. It was Moses in this instance. God announces Himself through many agencies. His Son, His Spirit, His Providence, His Word, the means of grace, the Christian ministry, &c., are ever telling man to “prepare to meet” his “God.” Hence the importance of treating them with due respect. Learning and dignity sink into insignificance before the humblest of God’s messengers (Heb_12:25).
2. Man must be prepared by personal sanctification. “Sanctify them.” “And Moses … sanctified them.” Sanctification in its Biblical sense means—
(1.) Separation from sin; for only “the pure in heart shall see God.”
(2.) Separation to God, or else God cannot be seen. These two ideas must never be disassociated. There can be no real separation from sin which is not at the same time separation to God. Some men deny this, and call the outcome of their discipline virtue and morality. But these are only artificial flowers, fading and perishable, without life, having no root in the ground of true virtue, and no spring in the source of true morality. On the other hand, no amount of asceticism, praying, psalm singing, or ecstasy will impart sanctity to a life which harbours or practises any form of sin. “Wherefore come out from among them,” &c. (2Co_6:17).
3. Man must be prepared by a ready acquiescence in all that God commands. Some of the commands here indicated may seem trivial; but they are not really so. They involve great principles, and that God commands them invests them with importance. One of the first was personal cleanliness. Discomfort, disease, death, are God’s retribution on those who deem this trivial. Again, they were not to presume to over step a prescribed boundary. Those who would enjoy God’s revelation of Himself must remain humbly and patiently in the sphere which God sees fit to appoint.
4. Man must be prepared at the appointed time. “Be ready against the third day.”
(1.) God has now appointed times in which He promises to reveal Himself to men. The Lord’s day. All times of duty and religious privilege. Let no man be unprepared, or plead excuses, or make other engagements. “Be not deceived, God is not mocked.”
(2.) God has now appointed times which He has not chosen to reveal. Death, judgment. We “know not the day nor the hour when the Son of Man cometh.” Hence the wisdom of immediate and constant preparation. “Watch and pray.” Ten virgins. “Blessed is the man who, when his Lord cometh,” &c.
III. When God reveals Himself it is in a manner suited to the occasion. It was necessary that He should speak to men who for years had been surrounded by idolatrous associations, and who had become debased by years of servitude, in a most solemn, startling, and impressive form. God has other methods than those employed here. Abraham, Elijah. Bethlehem, Pentecost, Patmos, &c. So in each individual case.
1. God here revealed Himself in a cloud, luminous, but still a cloud. So He does now in many instances. Doubt, adversity, depression. But every cloud is luminous that has God in it. Christians, therefore, should not “fear to enter into the cloud.”
2. God revealed Himself within a Divine enclosure (Exo_19:12-13). So He does always. God ever says, “Hitherto shalt thou go and no further (Job_38:11). Hence the sinfulness of undue speculations about the Divine existence—of spiritualistic prying into the mysteries of the unseen world (Deu_29:29). God has made all things plain that are necessary to life and godliness. Let us be satisfied with that.
3. God revealed Himself with terrible manifestations of His power. It was needful under the circumstances. It is often needful now. It is perilous for man to prescribe to God. He could be as tender in His dealings with His people then as He usually is now (Deu_1:30; Deu_1:33; Psalms 103; Isaiah 54). And God never, under the Old Testament dispensation, revealed Himself more terribly than He has through loving lips in Matthew 24; Matthew 25; 2 Thess., Heb_12:28-29, Jude and Revelation, and in some of the events of modern history.
4. God revealed Himself after He had minutely ascertained that all preparations were complete (Exo_19:21-25). This reveals to us God’s careful attention to detail, and affords us many thoughts for edification and comfort. He studies the safety of His people. It is for their temporal and eternal safety that there is so much minute detail in the dispensation of—
(1.) Creation (Isa_40:12-31).
(2.) Providence (Mat_6:25-30).
(3.) Grace. Promise in the garden, types, prophecies, incarnation, crucifixion, Pentecost, means of grace, ministry, &c. Learn then:
1. To listen when God speaks. Faith has a faculty not only of sight but of hearing.
2. When God calls obey that call, and be prepared for the public revelation which that call precedes. “God now commandeth every man to repent” (2Co_7:1).
3. Receive God’s revelation of Himself in His own way.—J. W. Burn.
A COMMENDABLE ENGAGEMENT, RASHLY MADE, AND REPEATEDLY BROKEN.—Exo_19:8
The covenant between God and Israel was, in general, made at this time. Its particulars were entered into subsequently (Exo_30:27-28). A clear and correct idea of how the term covenant is here used is important. When applied to relations subsisting between God and man, the word is evidently used by way of accommodation; because man is in no respect in the position of an independent covenanting party in relation to God. He cannot say upon what terms he will render obedience, &c. Compliance with the Divine requirements is a most binding obligation, from which there is no possibility of escape for man. “Generally, however, the form of a covenant is maintained by the benefits which God engages to bestow being made by Him dependent upon the fulfilment of certain conditions which He imposes on man.” Two points are clear.
1. The covenant does not originate in human obligation to render to God loyal obedience. It recognises it, enforces it; but its origin is coeval with human existence, and springs out of man’s relation to God as a dependent moral creature.
2. The covenant is an act of grace and condescension on the part of God towards man. In assuming the attitude of a contracting party with us He generally stoops to our weakness, &c. Our text is the response of Israel to the general terms of the covenant as stated by Moses. We have in the text—
I. A commendable engagement. “All that the Lord hath spoken we will do.” This promise is commendable.
1. Because of its righteousness. To do what God commands is our sacred duty. Even if there were no heaven for the loyal and obedient, and no hell for the rebellious and incorrigible, still it would be our binding duty to seek truth, practise righteousness, reverence holiness, love moral beauty.
2. Because of its advantageousness. In keeping the commands of God there is great reward. The Lord promised to bestow the choicest blessings upon Israel if they would obey His voice indeed (Exo_19:5-6). He engaged to grant unto them
(1.) The highest character: “a holy nation.”
(2.) The highest service: “unto Me a kingdom of priests.”
(3.) The highest privilege: “a peculiar treasure unto Me,” &c. How very much is included in the last-named assurance. The path of obedience to God is the path of safety and blessedness for man. “In the way of righteousness is life.” “He that keepeth the law, happy is he” (Pro_3:13-27; 1Ti_4:8; 1Ti_6:6).
3. Because of its unanimity. “And all the people answered together,” &c. Such harmony in making this holy engagement is admirable. In itself it is commendable. Union in a holy enterprise is beautiful. In its tendency it is commendable. The natural tendency of this union would be to promote the fulfilment of this engagement.
II. A commendable engagement rashly made. The Israelites entered into this engagement—
1. Without due consideration. They had not weighed the character or measured the extent of the obligations which they undertook. Had they considered what was involved in being unto God “a holy nation”? Or estimated the comprehension of their promise, “All that the Lord hath spoken we will do”? Their haste in making so vast and solemn a promise reminds us of the scribe who said unto Jesus, “Master, I will follow Thee whithersoever Thou goest.” In making religious vows, serious and thorough thought should be exercised.
2. Without earnest purpose. As the subsequent history shows with painful copiousness and conclusiveness, they entered into this engagement without any high and earnest resolution to keep it. Sacred promises should not be uttered without a sincere and firm purpose to fulfil them.
3. Without hearty concurrence with the will which they promised to obey. In their after history they manifested an almost utter absence of sympathy with the will of God. They had little or no love for either God or His will, although they so readily promised to obey it in all things. Make no religious resolutions except your heart be in them.
4. Without any realisation of their need of Divine help in order that they may keep it. The ring of self-confidence is in their words “How easily overween we our own abilities!” The most ready promisers are often the slowest performers. He who makes religious promises in his own strength is deplorably self-ignorant. Peter is a conspicuous example of this (Mat_26:33-35; Mat_26:69-75). “Apart from Me ye can do nothing.” “When I am weak, then am I strong.” “I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.”
III. A commendable engagement repeatedly and terribly broken. They seem to have forgotten the promise as readily as they made it. They violated their engagement.—
1. With great frequency. Many instances in the following history (32; Numbers 11; Numbers 14; Numbers 16; Num_20:1-7; Num_21:4-6; et al).
2. With great unanimity. The great majority of the people united in practically repudiating the solemn obligations of the covenant. In the narrative of their rebellions we meet with some of these words frequently—“the people gathered themselves together;” … “all the people;” … “all the congregation;” et al. The breakers of the engagement were not the exception, but the rule.
3. With great aggravations. Their sin in violating this solemn promise was the more heinous because of
(1.) God’s great goodness to them.
(2.) His invariable faithfulness in His portion of the covenant.
(3.) The comparatively trivial circumstances and slight influences which proved sufficient to induce them to break their engagement. Notwithstanding the strongest obligations to fulfil their promise, they broke it upon the slightest provocation. CONCLUSION.—
1. Let us heed well our obligation to do all that the Lord commands.
2. Let us be careful in the utterance of religious vows.
3. Let us be humbled by the recollection of the many religious vows we have made but not kept, and seek forgiveness for our failures.
4. Let us endeavour to perform our vows, looking to God for strength to enable us to do so.—William Jones.
THE RESPONSE OF THE PEOPLE TO GOD’S CALL.—Exo_19:7-9
Moses was God’s minister. In a sense, he spoke for God to the people, and for the people to God. “I stood between the Lord and you” (Deu_5:5).
I. The call (Exo_19:7).
1. The elders represented the people. In dealing with so great a multitude some such arrangement was necessary. So it is in many things—in the nation, the family, the Church.
2. God’s commands were faithfully communicated. “Laid before their faces all,” &c., nothing was added and nothing kept back. The will of God was made known so plainly that none could plead ignorance; so particularly that none could plead excuse. The truth was communicated to every man’s conscience in the sight of God.
II. The response (Exo_19:8). “And all the people answered together,” &c.
1. Prompt. There was no hesitancy.
2. Hearty. There was no reservation.
3. Unanimous. There was no dissentient voice (Act_2:1). How grand the spectacle. The mighty multitude as with one heart and voice proclaimed their submission to God. But, alas! the sequel showed, that mixed with their apparent sincerity and enthusiasm there was much of ignorance, presumption, and self-conceit. Like myriads since, they had not rightly counted the cost. They professed more than they felt; they promised more than they could perform; they needed further and deeper instruction, both as to God’s law and their own hearts. How penetrating and wise are the words of Joshua at a similar juncture, “Ye cannot serve the Lord, for He is a holy God” (Jos_24:19).
III. The report to God. “And Moses returned the words of the people unto the Lord” (cf. Exo_19:9). Such report was necessary to secure the favour of God and the faith of the people. It tended to—
1. Exoneration of conscience.
2. Relief of the heart.
3. Invigoration of hope.
4. Accrediting of character.
5. Success of ministry. Nothing works more to give a man power with men than the belief that he has power with God.—William Forsyth.
THE PREPARATION FOR MEETING WITH GOD.—Exo_19:10-14
Moses acted throughout according to Divine command.
I. The people were called to sanctify themselves. This work was to be done thoroughly. Both inward and outward defilement were to be put away (Lev_11:44-45; Heb_10:22). There must be separation from what was not of God, that there might be fellowship with what was of God. To this end self-consecration was required (Psa_26:6; Isa_1:16-18; Rom_12:1; 1Co_6:9-20).
II. The people were charged to be ready at the appointed time (Exo_19:11). The fixing of times and seasons for worship belongs to God. Unquestioning obedience is ours. Thus we receive the blessing. But times of special manifestation and privilege require special preparation. The soul must be in readiness, the ear open to hear, the reason quick to apprehend; the conscience, the heart, and the will ready to bow in homage and submission. Come into God’s presence careless or preoccupied, and you can expect no benefit; but come with humility, prayer, and hope, and you will not come in vain. Instructed and refreshed, your grateful song will be, “This is none other but the house of God; this is the gate of heaven!”
III. The people were commanded to observe the prescribed laws and ordinances as to approach to God. Bounds were fixed as to place, action, and behaviour (Exo_19:12-14). These restrictions were not arbitrary. They proceeded from the wisdom and love of God. They were necessary to check vain curiosity and unhallowed licence, and to preserve due order and reserve at a time of extraordinary excitement and peril. The lesson for all time is that found in the counsels of St. Paul, “Let all things be done decently and in order” (1Co_14:10). “Wherefore we receiving a kingdom which cannot be moved, let us have grace, whereby we may serve God acceptably, with reverence and godly fear. For our God is a consuming fire” (Heb_12:28-29).—William Forsyth.
SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS ON THE VERSES
Exo_19:7-15. Orderly proceeding to acquaint the people with God’s will by their chiefs is reasonable.… Proposition and exposition of God’s words must be made to souls that they may know them all to be God’s words, and no more but His.… Jehovah commands His ministers to speak to His people. Universal and free must be the confessions of the Church visible to the demands of God.
Mediators can return no other but what they receive from people unto God.
Upon people’s readiness to obey, God is willing to make known His law.
People must hear God’s speech by ministers, that they may believe it.
Sanctification of the people by the mediators is commanded by God before He deal with them.… Due preparation must be performed by souls against the time of meeting with God.
Exo_19:16-25. God on Mount Sinai. With what eager hearts would the people hail the dawn of the third—the appointed day. Doubtless they must have had many strange thoughts, and much talk one with another of what was to come to pass, but who could have conceived the reality? Fathers and mothers were there by thousands who had seen the wonders of the Lord in Egypt, and His works in the wilderness; but now something more sublime and terrible by far was to be revealed to their eyes. What excitement there must have been when they were commanded to leave their tents! What an awful pause of stillness and suspense as they stood marshalled in the plain before the Mount of God! And then—Exo_19:16-20. This manifestation was fitted to give an awful sense of—
I. The greatness of God. The most tremendous powers of nature were under His control. They were His servants, to do His pleasure (Exo_20:20; Psa_96:4; Psa_97:1-6; Psa_104:4).
II. The nearness of God. The thunder was near, but nearer seemed the lightning. The lightning was near, but nearer still seemed the trumpet. The trumpet was near, but nearest of all was “The Voice.” It was the Voice of Jehovah, and spoke to the hearts of the people, thrilling them through and through (Deu_4:7-12).
III. The mysteriousness of God. Though much was revealed, more was unrevealed. “Clouds and darkness are round about Him. Righteousness and judgment are the habitation of His throne” (Psa_97:2; cf. Job_12:7; Isa_45:5; Deu_29:29; Rom_11:33-35).
IV. The holiness of God. Everything proclaimed the holiness of God (Exo_15:11; Isa_6:1-2; Rev_4:8; 1Pe_1:16).
V. The sovereignty and mercy of God (Deu_5:24). It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God. How great our privileges under the Gospel of Jesus Christ (cf. Heb_12:18-29).—William Forsyth.
Exo_19:17. The highest ministry. The ultimate and supreme object of man is to be united to God. But we forget this. The things of this world for countless powers and agencies are constantly at work to hide God from us, and to make us feel and act as if there were no God. The essence of religion is to realise the presence of God. Therefore we should hail as our highest benefactor the man who does for us as Moses did for Israel. “And Moses brought forth the people out of the camp to meet with God.”
I. In the operations of nature. Poets have sung of the sublimities and beauties of nature, and philosophers explain her secrets, but he does the noblest work who brings us face to face with nature’s God.
II. The events of providence. Many writers have done well in history and fiction, and have depicted with wondrous skill the varieties of character and incident, and the strange vicissitudes of human life; but he does best who shows us that there is a providence in the affairs of men, and that the Lord our God ruleth over all in righteousness and love.
III. The ordinances of the Gospel. Preachers may be learned and eloquent, but it is only as they manifest God’s law to the conscience and God’s love to the heart that they do us real good. Prayer and praise are proper duties, but unless in them we rise to God they are meaningless and vain. We should remember the words of Christ, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no man cometh unto the Father but by Me.” “Without Me ye can do nothing.” Only through Christ can men be brought to God, united to God, and blessed in God.—William Forsyth.
Exo_19:21. Vain curiosity. There is a curiosity which is just, and which lies at the foundation of all science and research. But there is a curiosity which is vain and productive of much evil.
I. It pries into secrets.
II. Breaks through boundaries.
III. Sacrifices reverence and self-respect.
IV. Recklessly rushes into danger.
V. Multiplies confusions and perils.
Remember Eve, Uzziah.
According to this agreement, ratified by God, in which the mediatorship between God and the people was conferred upon Moses, the latter now approached the darkness in which God dwelt. Who does not stand amazed at the admirable confidence exemplified by Moses under such terrific circumstances—a confidence so filial and fearless! Who does not rejoice at the power which God can bestow upon the children of men, filially and confidentially to converse with Him, as a man with a friend. If such was the case under the Old Testament, where a spirit of fear predominated, and the true way of holiness was not yet thrown open, what cannot, what ought not, to take place under the New Testament which bestows a filial spirit, by which we cry, “Abba, Father!” and are encouraged to come boldly to the throne of grace; whilst at that period the people were told not to come near, but to stand at a distance.—P. Krummacher.
ILLUSTRATIONS
BY
THE REV. WILLIAM ADAMSON
Divine Republics! Exo_19:5-9. When the freed negroes arrived on the West Coast of Africa, as the Republic of Liberia, they received certain laws and regulations. These were established amid the firing of cannon, the flaunting of flags, and the flashing of firearms. But when Jehovah constituted the legislation of Israel’s Divine Republic, the eye was arrested by darkness that defied the gaze, and by lightning and tempest that played about the summit of Sinai, while the ear was thrilled by the trumpet-blast, and appalled by the thunder. The great mountain rocked to and fro, and burned like a furnace. Then, piercing through cloud and camp, was heard the trumpet-blast pealing out above the thunder, that “the laws of the Divine Republic were about to be promulgated.” Glorious was this Divine legislation ceremony! The Lord came from Sinai, and rose up from Seir unto them. From His right hand went a fiery law for them: Deu_33:2.
“The terrors of that awful day, though past,
Have on the tide of time some glory cast.”
Oath of Allegiance! Exo_19:7-8. When a kingdom is established, an oath of allegiance is required. Napoleon the Great, when he founded his empire on the ruins of the great “French Revolution,” required this. And when Victoria was proclaimed the Empress of India at Delhi, it was accompanied by a similar requirement. God was now about to become the King or President of Israel, and required a voluntary self-surrender to His holy law. With a view to this, the hosts were marshalled, and by some suitable arrangement Moses communicated all the words of the Lord. They were good precepts and gracious promises, and the people took the preliminary oath of allegiance, “All the words which the Lord hath said will we do.” Such supreme self-surrender is still required. Matthew Henry wrote as follows: “Oct. 20, 1686.—I take God the Father to be my chiefest good and highest end. I take God the Son to be my Prince and Saviour. I take God the Holy Ghost to be my Sanctifier, Teacher, Guide, and Comforter. I take the Word of God to be my rule in all my actions, and the people of God to be my people in all conditions. And this I do deliberately, sincerely, freely, and for ever.” This Divine oath of allegiance need not be written. “To whom shall we go but unto Thee! Thou hast the words of eternal life.”
“Lord, Thou art mine, and I am Thine,
If mine I am; and Thine much more,
Than I or ought or can be mine.
If I without Thee could be mine,
I neither should be mine nor Thine.”
—Herbert.
Divine-Division! Exo_19:12. An eminent war-correspondent describes his first sensations during the Crimean war in beholding a shell fired from an English mortar. He watched it as it issued from the mortar, and admired the sublime rapidity with which it cuts through the air. While he followed the deadly missile, an explosion far off in the enemy’s earthworks attested at once its gunner’s purpose and unerring aim. The terrors of Sinai were a sublime spectacle, but their design was to shatter Israel’s earthwork of self-confidence; to show men in all ages of the world that no citadel of self-righteous dependence was proof against the Divine law.
“Hence shall dividing hills and rents
Between my soul and Thee,
Be to my faith but arguments
To haste thy march to me.”
—Erakine.
Divine Monitions! Exo_19:16. There is a quaint fable of the archer who went to the mountains in search of game. All the beasts of the forest fled at his approach. The lion alone challenged him to combat. The bow-man shot an arrow at the monarch of the wild, who fled in pain and panic. Met by a fox, who exhorted him to take courage and not give up at the first onset, the king of beasts replied, “You advise to no purpose, for if you archer sends so fearful a messenger before him, who will be able to contend when the man himself draws near?” If the bolts and arrows of Sinai were so terrible to Israel, what must be the appalling terrors of His arm when He draws near at the last day! Sir F. Henneker says that “so great is the wildness of this region that if he had to represent the end of the world, he would model it from Mount Sinai.”
“Then the trumpet’s pealing clangour
Through the earth’s four quarters spread,
Waxing loud and even louder,
Shall convoke the quick and dead.”
—Latin.
Fire-Symbolism! Exo_19:18. The lamp of fire was an emblem of the Divine presence in Gen_15:17. That presence was connected with covenant, and was indicated by the fire that passed between the pieces of the victims sacrificed. In the literature and customs of the East, the same thing is still asserted; and at the celebration of respectable marriages, it is a general practice to have a fire as a witness of the transaction. This fire is made of the wood of the mango-tree, and intimated that the vow was taken in the presence of the God of fire, whose vengeance was thereby invoked upon the breaker of the covenant. The Sinaitic covenant was entered into with all the sacred accessions of the most solemn invocation; and Jehovah’s judicial presence at the last day will be linked with fire.
“Flame, and fire, and desolation
At the Judge’s feet shall go;
Earth, and sea, and all abysses,
Shall his mighty sentence know.”
Fiery-Clouds! Exo_19:16-18. Brydone relates that in his tour through Malta, in 1757, a great black cloud was visible, which, as it settled, changed colour, till at last it became like a flame of fire mixed with black smoke. In 1772, in the island of Java, a bright cloud was observed covering a mountain in the Cheriton district. It was seen rising and falling like the waves of the sea, and emitting globes of fire, while loud reports as of cannon terrified the natives. Sir Charles Lyell says that Commander Murray observed, at Bagdad in 1857, a huge black cloud like a pall over the heavens. Afterwards, the black darkness was succeeded by a red lurid gloom.
“Ye fearful saints, fresh courage take;
The clouds ye so much dread
Are big with mercy, and shall break
In blessings on your head.”
Divine Forces! Exo_19:23. A traveller relates that—when passing through an Austrian town—his attention was directed to a forest on a slope near the road. He was told that death was the penalty of cutting down one of those trees. He was incredulous, until he was further informed that they were the protection of the city, breaking the force of the descending avalanche, which—without this natural barrier—would sweep over the quiet home of thousands. When a Russian army was marching there, and began to cut away the defence for fuel, the inhabitants besought them to take their dwellings instead. Alas! men are not so anxious to preserve those moral fences which God sets up for the preservation of their souls from His righteous judgments.
Law Functions! Exo_19:25. Wandering last year over the South Downs with my daughter, we came upon a model farm, under whose open outhouses were ranged the various implements of husbandry. It was no difficult task to explain to the young inquirer what the “drill” was. She could understand why it was necessary to plant the seed, and, under the blessing of God, ensure a golden harvest to a full garner. But the “plough,” with its shining, terrible coulter, called for greater and more careful explanation. Why should it be required? To upheave the hard clods of earth—to uproot the tangled thistles and weeds. Are men not more readily disposed to believe in the “Gospel Drill” than in the “Legal Plough”! And yet both conserve the same purpose—both conduce to the same result. The Law ploughs conviction deep in the hard, weed-grown human heart; while the Gospel follows in due time, casting in seeds of saving grace. And the deeper the plough is put in beforehand, the better the crop afterwards.
“So the hearts of Christians owe
Each its deepest, sweetest strain
To the pressure firm of woe,
And the tension tight of palm.”
THE TEN COMMANDMENTS.—Exo_20:1-17
These words stand out from all others in the Old Testament. Other things God spake to mankind through men,—these were spoken by Him through the nobler ministry of angels (Heb_2:2; Gal_3:19; Act_7:53). They were uttered, not by the Divine spirit in the stillness of a prophet’s soul, but audibly, as voices coming from heaven (Deu_5:22-26). They may be said to have been the only direct utterance made by God to men under the old covenant (Deu_5:4). As if to mark the special sacredness that belonged to them, they were, moreover, Divinely recorded (Exo_31:18; Exo_32:15-16). But what were the words that were uttered under circumstances so solemn, and recorded in a manner so special? When we compare the two versions of the Ten Commandments (Exo_20:1-17; Deu_5:6-21), we find some important variations such as the reason assigned for the sanctification of the seventh day. Probably all were originally given with the same brevity as the first, sixth, seventh, and eighth; and all else that we now find included in them is amplification, command, and explanations which Moses was Divinely authorised to make in order to render their meaning more plain. Concerning these great commandments, I observe—
I. That they are of universal obligation. They thus differ from many ceremonial injunctions afterwards given to the Jews. They are intrinsically and therefore eternally right. They have their foundation in the nature of God and of man, and therefore can never be abrogated while God and man continue what they are. This is true of the fourth. “The Sabbath was made for man” (Mar_2:27) by his Creator, who best knows what his needs are; and while man continues what he is, he cannot neglect to consecrate to rest and worship without sinning against himself, as well as against God.
II. They are universal in their scope. They cover the whole range of duty, at least to the prohibition of every kind of wrong-doing. Consider what would be the state of society were they universally obeyed!
III. They reach to the heart, as well as the outward life. They are completed by One that teaches the heart alone. Christ teaches us that all the other commandments were intended to forbid, in like manner, not merely the actions named in them, but the cherishing in the heart of those evil thoughts which are the germs of crime (Mat_5:21-28). Hence, if we would know if we have kept these great commandments, we must examine our heart as well as our outward life. In that solemn day, when the secrets of all hearts shall be known, it will be seen that some of the blackest criminals who ever trod this earth were men whose outward lives were blameless, and upon whom their fellow-men looked with a respect that almost amounted to veneration (Mat_23:27-28).
IV. Nevertheless they are the most elementary that can be conceived of. If God undertook to give men any intimation at all as to their duty towards Him and each other, He could not have said less than He did from Mount Sinai. A man may keep all these commandments from his youth up, and yet lack the “one thing needful” (Mar_10:1-20). Nay, he may do so, and yet be far from being a good man. Now, with one exception—the command to honour father and mother—they are all negations. They tell us what we must not do. Even the command to keep holy the Sabbath day is explained by a series of negations. To abstain from evil is better than to commit it. But abstinence from evil is by no means all that is demanded from moral agents. Otherwise, even an atheist who worked only six days in the week might be said to keep all the commandments of the first table, and a harmless idiot all the commands of the second. Remember, you may abstain from all forms of crime, and yet not be a good man. Were I to propose to erect a statue in honour of a man who had never been known to be guilty of any violation of the letter of the Ten Commandments, you would laugh at me. You would ask me what good he did—what benefactions he conferred on society—that he should be thus honoured. The barren fig-tree did no harm; it brought forth no poisonous fruit, as do some trees, that smite all who partake of them with madness and death: it simply brought forth no fruit—it did no good; and that was reason enough for condemning it (Luk_8:7). If we would be loved of men and commended of God, we must not only eschew that which is evil: we must follow that which is good (Rom_5:7). Before we can even thus secure the commendation of God, we must be restored to a right relation to Him. Through Jesus Christ, we must obtain the pardon of our first transgressions, and our acceptance with God or His children. Then our acts of faith and love will be sacrifices well pleasing in His sight; and even the imperfections of our services will be passed over in His fatherly pity (Psa_103:13-14).—R. A. Bertram.
The Preacher's Complete Homiletical Commentary (gen. ed. Joseph S. Exell; Funk & Wagnalls, c. 1892) — public domain (pre-1929). A full-Bible homiletical/sermon-outline anthology covering 65 of 66 books (2 John is absent from the source module). Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 set before them all these words
set before them all these words
The author writes of Moses telling people things as if he were setting the words before them. AT "told them all these words" (See: Metaphor)
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all these words that Yahweh had commanded him
"all that Yahweh had commanded him"
Moses came to report
Where Moses went can be stated explicitly. AT: "Moses went back up the mountain to report" (See: Go and Come and Assumed Knowledge and Implicit Information)
the people's words
The word "words" refers to what the people said. AT: "what the people said" (See: Metonymy)
translationWords
elder
command
believe
eternity
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 19:7-8 The first phase of preparation was successful. The…
19:7-8 The first phase of preparation was successful. The people agreed to do everything the Lord has commanded.
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.