10 And Jehovah saith unto Moses, 'Go unto the people; and thou hast sanctified them to-day and to-morrow, and they have washed their garments, 11 and have been prepared for the third day; for on the third day doth Jehovah come down before the eyes of all the people, on mount Sinai. 12 'And thou hast made a border 'for' the people round about, saying, Take heed to yourselves, going up into the mount, or coming against its extremity; whoever is coming against the mount is certainly put to death; 13 a hand cometh not against him, for he is certainly stoned or shot through, whether beast or man it liveth not; in the drawing out of the jubilee cornet they go up into the mount.' 14 And Moses cometh down from the mount unto the people, and sanctifieth the people, and they wash their garments; 15 and he saith unto the people, 'Be ye prepared for the third day, come not nigh unto a woman.'
16 And it cometh to pass, on the third day, while it is morning, that there are voices, and lightnings, and a heavy cloud, on the mount, and the sound of a trumpet very strong; and all the people who 'are' in the camp do tremble. 17 And Moses bringeth out the people to meet God from the camp, and they station themselves at the lower part of the mount, 18 and mount Sinai 'is' wholly a smoke from the presence of Jehovah, who hath come down on it in fire, and its smoke goeth up as smoke of the furnace, and the whole mount trembleth exceedingly; 19 and the sound of the trumpet is going on, and very strong; Moses speaketh, and God doth answer him with a voice. 20 And Jehovah cometh down on mount Sinai, unto the top of the mount, and Jehovah calleth for Moses unto the top of the mount, and Moses goeth up. 21 And Jehovah saith unto Moses, 'Go down, protest to the people, lest they break through unto Jehovah to see, and many of them have fallen; 22 and also the priests who are coming nigh unto Jehovah do sanctify themselves, lest Jehovah break forth on them.' 23 And Moses saith unto Jehovah, 'The people 'is' unable to come up unto mount Sinai, for Thou—Thou hast protested to us, saying, Make a border 'for' the mount, then thou hast sanctified it.' 24 And Jehovah saith unto him, 'Go, descend, then thou hast come up, thou, and Aaron with thee; and the priests and the people do not break through, to come up unto Jehovah, lest He break forth upon them.' 25 And Moses goeth down unto the people, and saith unto them:—
Matthew Henry's Commentary on Exodus 19:10-25
Commentary on Exodus 19:9-15
(Read Exodus 19:9-15)
The solemn manner in which the law was delivered, was to impress the people with a right sense of the Divine majesty. Also to convince them of their own guilt, and to show that they could not stand in judgment before God by their own obedience. In the law, the sinner discovers what he ought to be, what he is, and what he wants. There he learns the nature, necessity, and glory of redemption, and of being made holy. Having been taught to flee to Christ, and to love him, the law is the rule of his obedience and faith.
Commentary on Exodus 19:16-25
(Read Exodus 19:16-25)
Never was there such a sermon preached, before or since, as this which was preached to the church in the wilderness. It might be supposed that the terrors would have checked presumption and curiosity in the people; but the hard heart of an unawakened sinner can trifle with the most terrible threatenings and judgments. In drawing near to God, we must never forget his holiness and greatness, nor our own meanness and pollution. We cannot stand in judgment before him according to his righteous law. The convinced transgressor asks, What must I do to be saved? and he hears the voice, Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved. The Holy Ghost, who made the law to convince of sin, now takes of the things of Christ, and shows them to us. In the gospel we read, Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us. We have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins. Through him we are justified from all things, from which we could not be justified by the law of Moses. But the Divine law is binding as a rule of life. The Son of God came down from heaven, and suffered poverty, shame, agony, and death, not only to redeem us from its curse, but to bind us more closely to keep its commands.