Peter Pett's Commentary on the Bible
Exodus 19:3-9
Yahweh Declares His People To Be A Holy People And His Treasured Possession, A Kingdom of Priests (Exodus 19:3).
This may be analysed as follows:
a Moses goes up to God and Yahweh calls to him from the mountain (Exodus 19:3).
b Thus shall you say to the house of Jacob and tell the children of Israel, “You have seen what I did to the Egyptians and how I bore you on eagles' wings and brought you to myself” (Exodus 19:4).
c “Now therefore if you will obey my voice indeed” (Exodus 19:5 a).
d “And keep my covenant,” (Exodus 19:5 b).
e “Then you shall be a special possession to me from among all people” (Exodus 19:5 c),
f “For all the earth is mine” (Exodus 19:5 d).
e “And you shall be to me a kingdom of priests, and a holy nation” (Exodus 19:6 a).
d These are the words (of My covenant) which you will speak to the children of Israel (Exodus 19:6 b).
c And Moses came and called for the elders of the people and set before them all these words which Yahweh commanded him, and all the people answered together and said, “All that Yahweh has spoken we will do.” And Moses reported the words of the people to Yahweh (Exodus 19:7).
b And Yahweh said to Moses, “Lo I come to you in a thick cloud that the people may hear when I speak with you, and may also believe you for ever” (Exodus 19:9 a).
a And Moses told the words of the people to Yahweh (Exodus 19:9 b).
Note how in ‘a' Yahweh calls to Moses from the mountain, while in the parallel Moses replies to Yahweh and tells Him words of the people. In ‘b' Yahweh declares in a short covenant form what He had done to their oppressors, the Egyptians, and how He had borne them on eagles' wings and brought them too Himself, while in the parallel He will come in a thick cloud (the cloud that has ever been their protector and has gone with them) so that the people might hear Him and believe, being thus brought to Himself. In ‘c' the call in the covenant is to obey Him while in the parallel the people respond in promising obedience. In ‘d' He calls on them to keep His covenant while in the parallel His covenant words are to be spoken to the children of Israel. In ‘e' they are to be a special possession and in the parallel they are to be a kingdom of priests and a holy nation. These are the central promises of the covenant. While ‘f' is central to the whole covenant.
‘And Moses went up to God, and Yahweh called to him out of the mountain, saying, “Thus shall you say to the house of Jacob, and tell the children of Israel. You have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I bore you on eagles' wings and brought you to myself.”
Having arrived at the mount and encamped Moses went up into the mountain to meet with God (it is the mountain of God), as Exodus 3:12 had promised he would. And as he ascended Yahweh spoke to him from the mountain above.
The words that follow are in the form of a covenant. They are addressed to the people, they declare what Yahweh has done for them and how He has cared for them, they further declare what privileges will be theirs if they hear and obey Him. And Moses is then called on to report His words to the people, to which they make a specific covenant response. This is preparing them for the greater experience that they will shortly have, a kind of preparation before the main event.
“The house of Jacob --- the children of Israel.” This demonstrates how closely the phrase ‘the children of Israel' still refers back to Jacob as their patriarchal figure. They are of the household of Jacob, one people. Thus are the mixed multitude (Exodus 12:38) ensured of their place in Jacob's household, and among the children of Israel if they respond to His covenant.
The reference back to the wonders He wrought in Egypt and the way He had brought them through the wilderness is preparatory to this covenant but is also preparing for the great covenant that is coming. These events are the basis of the covenant, the reason why He demands that they accept it.
“Went up to God (Elohim).” Here ‘God' is probably used instead of Yahweh to stress a movement into the supernatural sphere. ‘Elohim' stresses the sphere of the supernatural and can be used of angels and spirits. Thus it stresses that Moses was moving into a higher sphere, where he met God. But it is Yahweh Who speaks to him.
“Bore you on eagles” wings.' The eagle flew swiftly (Deuteronomy 28:49; 2 Samuel 1:23) and bore its young on its wings (Deuteronomy 32:11). So has Yahweh borne His people through the wilderness. They are His ‘young'. (In the Bible the term ‘eagle' is used of large birds generally and often refers to vultures).
“Brought you to myself.” These words are indicative of the importance of this moment. They have been brought to Him as His own chosen people. And now, as a result of His sovereign choice, revealed by His actions on their behalf, He will have dealings with them.
In Exodus 19:9 we have the parallel thought that He has been with them in His thick cloud in which His presence is made known to them, from which He will speak to them so that they might hear and believe
“Now therefore if you will indeed obey my voice and keep my covenant, then you will be my treasured personal possession from among all peoples. For all the earth is mine.”
Having first stated why they should be grateful to Him, He now declares that if they will obey Him and observe the requirements of His covenant, then He will treat them in turn as special and unique. As we shall see, this gratitude for what He has done for them, and the subsequent demand for obedience to His terms, is the basis of the covenant in Exodus 20 that we call the Ten Commandments, but Exodus calls ‘the ten words' (we call it that because we have partly missed the point of what it is really saying. We stress the commandments as permanent principles and tend to ignore the covenant).
“My treasured personal possession.” (Hebrew ‘segulah'). Compare its use in 1 Chronicles 3 where it differentiates David's own treasure from the general treasure. All the earth is Yahweh's but they will be specially His own. There for His joy and delight and cared for as none other.
“For all the earth is mine.” A clear declaration that He is God of the whole earth and can do with it as He will. That is why what He is doing will affect all peoples.
“And you shall be to me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation. These are the words that you will speak to the children of Israel.”
While certainly forward looking this promise is intrinsic in the covenants made with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. If the whole world was to be blessed through them, and through His covenant with them, there had to be some means of it reaching to the world and in those days this would be accomplished through teaching priests. Thus God's destiny for Israel was that they should be priests to the nations. They were to be holy to Yahweh, separated and true to Him, and finally to minister to the nations.
“A kingdom of priests.” As Yahweh's subjects they were later to have priestly responsibility towards the nations. No other description of a whole people who were to evangelise the world would have been conceivable at that time. In the terms of the day it would include sacrificial responsibilities, including the ministering of the benefits of those sacrifices, and teaching responsibilities so that men may know and understand Yahweh's covenant (the teaching responsibilities of priests are referred to in Deuteronomy 33:8; see also Jeremiah 31:34 for the future hope that all Israel will qualify as teachers. Compare 2 Chronicles 17:7; Nehemiah 8:7; Malachi 2:6). What Moses at present did for them acting as their priest they would do for the nations. The later fulfilment of this through the ministry of the cross and the true Christian church is the quite remarkable result (1 Peter 2:5; 1 Peter 2:9; Revelation 1:6).
“A holy nation.” A nation set apart to Yahweh for a holy purpose, sharing His sanctity and uniquely in a position to dispense His mercy to the world. This, as the covenant makes clear, includes purity of living, something unique in regard to the concept of ‘holiness' in the ancient world. They were ideally to present to the world the essence of what Yahweh was in visible form, and were separated off for this purpose which would be accomplished by their obedience to the covenant, which in itself would reveal Yahweh's uniqueness and purity to the world.
“These are the words that you will speak to the children of Israel.” So Yahweh begins preparations for what is about to happen by outlining His final purposes for them. From the beginning they are shown the distant objective and their glorious destiny. Before the detail they are shown the final overall plan.
‘And Moses came and called for the elders of the people, and set before them all these words which Yahweh commanded them, and all the people answered together and said, “All that Yahweh has said, we will do.” And Moses reported the words of the people to Yahweh.'
Moses reported back to the elders all that Yahweh had said, and his requirement that the people should see themselves as priests to the nations, with their lives dedicated to this responsibility. The people themselves were then informed and brought together en masse. And there they declared their intent to do what Yahweh had said.
Then Moses returned into the mountain and told Yahweh what the response the people had made. There was an offer, and an acceptance, and the acceptance of the covenant was now communicated to the offerer.
‘And Yahweh said to Moses, “Lo, I am coming to you in a thick cloud, so that the people may hear when I speak with you, and may also believe you for ever.” And Moses told the words of the people to Yahweh.'
The cloud was already the visible sign of Yahweh's presence with His people. Perhaps it had already gone to the top of the mountain when Moses went there. Now Yahweh promises that when He speaks the words of His great covenant the cloud will appear so that all the people will see that He is speaking to Moses and will hear His words. Then their faith will not just rest on what Moses tells them but also on what they themselves have heard and seen.
“And may also believe you for ever.” This was one thing on which future generations of Israel would never be in doubt, that Yahweh had given His covenant on the Mount and had revealed His demands through Moses.
“And Moses told the words of the people to Yahweh.” This may well have been for a second time. Possibly it was like the responses in a consecration service, with the replies often repeated (compare Exodus 24:3; Exodus 24:7). If so, to this new approach from Yahweh he repeats the words of the people, “All that Yahweh has said, we will do.” It was important that they should voluntarily indicate their willingness to be a kingdom of priests and a holy nation as Yahweh desired, and a thing repeated twice was especially binding.
However, repetition was commonplace in ancient narratives and this may simply be a repeat intended to stress that Moses did give the peoples' reply to Yahweh, binding them to His requirements, thus making their responsibility doubly clear.