The Lord Visits Sinai

the priests. With the law still to be given, no priesthood had been established in Israel. These priests must have been the firstborn in each family who served as family priests because they had been dedicated to the Lord

New Living Translation Study Bible Chapter 19

In the Bible, such phenomena are often associated with a theophany, which is a visible manifestation of God’s holy presence.

Then on the third day of preparation the God of heaven descended to Sinai in a display of power and majesty. God demonstrated His holiness and awesomeness; little wonder that the people trembled, standing at the foot of the mountain

2.Moses spoke and God spoke’with thunder. 18 19

2.Moses spoke and God spoke.

ting with God

The text literally says, “As for Mount Sinai, smoke, all of it,” suggesting that when the Israelites looked up the mountain, they saw virtually the whole engulfed in smoke rather than simply seeing smoke surrounding the pinnacle.

The smoke also billowed upward as would be the case when smoke came out of the chimney/ceiling hole of a furnace ... (not just “inside” some fire but “in fire” in the sense of “in the form of fire”)

Then as the sound of the trumpet kept getting much louder, Moses was speaking and God was answering him”). The Israelites saw all of this happening at once.

.3.God call Moses. 20

oses spoke and God spoke

While the people stayed at the bottom of the mountain, Moses was called by God to meet with him at the top. God descended and Moses ascended to the point of contact

The summit of Mount Sinai thus became a temporary meeting place, a “sanctuary,” where God and humans connected through the representation of Moses

4.Boundary set as holy 23.

served as priests. Moses made three trips to the mountaintop and back (19:33

These instructions vividly reminded the people of the immeasurable chasm between the divine and the human, as well as the miracle of divine revelation