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Commentary Index | Return to PrayerRequest.com | DownloadPaul Kretzmann Commentary - Exodus 19:10 - 19:15
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The Special Instructions
v. 10. And the Lord said unto Moses, Go unto the people, and sanctify them today and tomorrow, and let them wash their clothes,
v. 11. and be ready against the third day; for the third day the Lord will come down in the sight of all the people upon Mount Sinai. The people were to be set apart, consecrated, to the Lord, the washing of the clothes being a symbol of the inner purity which should be found in every believer. They should place themselves in the proper attitude of mind to hear the terms of the covenant which the Lord would announce on the third day, when He intended to descend upon Mount Sinai in such a manner as to make His glory visible to all the children of Israel.
v. 12. And thou shalt set bounds unto the people round about, have a fence made all around the base of the mountain, saying, Take heed to yourselves that ye go not up into the mount, or touch the border of it, the end, or foot, of the mountain. Whosoever toucheth the mount, the throne of God's legislation, shall be surely put to death.
v. 13. There shall not an hand touch it, but he shall surely be stoned or shot through; being on the other side of the fence, such a person could not be apprehended without making him that attempted to seize him guilty likewise, therefore he should be killed from a distance with stones or darts; whether it be beast or man, it shall not live. When the trumpet soundeth long, they shall come up to the mount, the long-drawn blast on the horn was the signal for the representatives of the people, the elders, to approach, Exo_24:1.
v. 14. And Moses went down from the mount unto the people, and sanctified the people; and they washed their clothes, they performed the ceremonial purifying as they had been ordered.
v. 15. And he said unto the people, Be ready against the third day; come not at your wives, all marital relations were to be suspended for the time being. All these preparations show that Israel was still a sinful, unclean people. And sinners may not appear before the face of the holy God in their natural sinfulness.