Exodus 19:1-25 Study Guide: A Covenant People

Community Group Study Guide — A Covenant People 
Exodus 19:1-25

Study Information:
Our scripture picks up three months after the Red Sea!The people of Israel have gone through a lot in that time including being desperate with no water and food, seeing God’s miraculous provision with water and manna in the wilderness, and then they were attacked by another army and God provided miraculous victory. Over and over again they were in a place of need and God showed up. To say God showed up in Exodus 19:1-25 would be an understatement! 

God’s victory of Pharaoh and Egypt led to this moment where they’d receive his Law and be called to be a people of his own possession. God promised this to Moses when he first called Moses to go back to Egypt, that they’d be set free and serve God at Mount Horeb, the same place where God met Moses in the burning bush (Exodus 3:12). The Law of God would mark the people of Israel as distinct and different so they’d be a light to the surrounding nations and be holy as God is holy. In this study guide we will explore what a covenant is and what it means for them to be a holy people as they follow a holy God. 

Grace and Covenant
Exodus 19:1-9
Israel was camped at the base of Mount Sinai and God called Moses to go up and speak with him and receive the instruction for how to prepare to receive God’s covenant Law. Their freedom had led to this moment. 

God reminded Israel of his power and unconditional love that led to their freedom. Important to note is that Israel contributed nothing to their freedom besides faith in God’s promise. God brought them out on eagle’s wings and brought them to himself (Exodus 19:4). They were not freed for themselves and by their own effort, they were freed by God and for God. It is important to notice this, grace comes before the Law. This does not make the Law unimportant, but grace comes first because God’s covenant begins and is founded on the reality that God is able, powerful and loving in his intentions towards his people. 

What is a covenant? A covenant is a relationship based contract. It is more than a business deal, it is a set of promises rooted in commitment and relationship. Often in the Bible we read of covenants that are unconditional meaning that God alone will do it regardless of how well the other party keeps their end of the deal. An example of this is God’s promise to Abraham in Genesis 12:1-3. God promised to bless Abraham and his offspring and bring about blessing to the world through them. The covenant of the Law that Israel would soon receive was a different in that it was a conditional covenant. Nothing would change their identity as his people and God’s promise to Abraham, however the Sinai covenant would be very specific and very detailed and come with blessings and curses for following it. We see this condition in Exodus 19:5-6, “If you indeed obey my voice…” This law would make them a treasured possession among all the peoples and a kingdom of priest and a holy nation. This same language gets picked up by Peter to describe the church in 1 Peter 2:8-10, that in Christ we are set apart to be distinct from the world. 

The conditional aspect of the Law is crucial to understand, the goal of God’s law was to help Israel walk in righteousness and holiness and for them to model God’s holiness to the world. If they kept the Law they’d be like a light shining to the world as they showed God’s holiness and called others to follow the Lord. At various times in their history they were better at keeping the Law than at other times, but throughout the story of the Old Testament we see their failure to be a light to the nations. Ultimately this promise from God was fulfilled by God himself in Jesus Christ. 

Holy People, Holy God
Exodus 19:10-25
They would be his people and God would be their God. This was a pledge of ownership and committed love rooted in the holiness of God. Similar to a pledge or promise made at a wedding ceremony, they were to be holy and dedicated to the Lord. The whole scene of Mount Sinai emphasized the gravity of this call. 

To be holy is to be set apart for a specific purpose. God is set apart and holy and calls his people to be his through a series of actions and images. 

First, the people were called to consecrate themselves through washing their clothing. Something we take for granted in our day and age is access to clean clothing! If you spill something on your shirt you can quickly throw some soap on and run it to the washing machine. In the ancient world this would be a big endeavor, especially since their only water source was the water from the rock we learned about back in Exodus 17:1-7. Hundreds of thousands of people would devote time over the next three days to get cleaned up as a way to show their need to be clean before God.

Second, they’d also abstain from sexual activity, not because married sex was bad or dirty but rather because of the need to focus on the Lord and be dedicated to him at this moment (Exodus 19:15). Paul made a similar connection in 1 Corinthians 7 as he expounded the goodness of sex in marriage, but also said that married couples should sometimes abstain for a short season to focus on prayer (1 Corinthians 7:5).

Third, Israel was to stand back and not get too close to the mountain. Moses would meet with God at the top of Mount Sinai and bring down the Law, but the people were to stand back lest they die when touching the mountain (Exodus 19:21). 

Finally, the scene of God’s holiness were imaged through thunder, lightning, smoke, trumpets and the mountain quaking. God manifested his holy power in these visible signs reminding the people that he was the same God who defeated the gods of Egypt and Pharaoh. We often need to be reminded of God’s power and that he should not be taken casually. This is a concept often referred to as the fear of the Lord in the scripture. God was not trying to flippantly terrorize his people and make them afraid, instead the fear of the Lord is a joyful awe rooted in his power, might and holiness. 

This covenant promise is rooted first in their freedom and second in the specific ways they’re called to follow God and model his holiness to the watching world. As we explore the Ten Commandments (Ten Words) over the next few months we will see how a love for God leads to a love for neighbor and then we will get into some of the specific ways they were to be different than the surrounding nations. 

At your community group:
Take 15-20 minutes to share about how God has been at work in your life, prayer concerns and pray for one another.

How did God speak to you through the scripture and the sermon this week? 

Discussion Questions:
Read Exodus 19:1-25
 
Why did God begin by reminding Moses that the Israelites contributed nothing to their freedom?

What are some reasons God gave the Israelites the Law? What promises were they given if they kept this Law?

How did the scene at Mount Sinai show God’s holiness? What specific actions was Israel called to and why were those actions singled out?

A key theme at Mount Sinai is that grace and freedom came before the Law. We will learn during the series on the 10 commandments that the Law was not given to control us but to free us to love and serve God. 1 John 5:3 talks about how the love of God is keeping his commandments and that those commandments are not burdensome. Have you found God’s commands to be burdensome at times? How have you experienced freedom through following God’s commandments?