Fear, Love, and Trust in God Above All Things – Exodus 19-20

“In the third month after the children of Israel had gone out of the land of Egypt, on the same day, they came to the Wilderness of Sinai. For they had departed from Rephidim, had come to the Wilderness of Sinai, and camped in the wilderness. So, Israel camped there before the mountain. And Moses went up to God, and the Lord called to him from the mountain, saying, ‘Thus you shall 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. Now therefore, if you will indeed obey My voice and keep My covenant, then you shall be a special treasure to Me above all people; for all the earth is Mine. And you shall be to Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation. These are the words which you shall speak to the children of Israel.” Exodus 19:1-6

Suddenly, it was done! As though an eagle had swept down from the sky, picked them up and carried them away to a better place. Their bondage to idolators and slavers was over. They left Egypt with gold, silver, and precious jewels, but better yet, with a new opportunity to be close with God and to walk in His ways. The Lord brought them away from idols to be with Him.

“If you will indeed obey My voice and keep My covenant...” Paradise departed and problems arrived when Adam and Eve disobeyed God’s voice in the Garden. Now, God was giving their descendants a great opportunity to obey Him.

They had just witnessed what happened to Pharaoh and his men when they defied God’s voice.

God opened the door for Israel to hear His voice and be in a covenant relationship with Him. To be His special treasure! A light on a hill! Salt of the earth! A kingdom of priests! A holy nation!

“So, Moses came and called for the elders of the people and laid before them all these Words which the Lord commanded him. Then, all the people answered together and said, ‘All that the Lord has spoken we will do.’ So, Moses brought back the words of the people to the Lord. And the Lord said to Moses, ‘Behold, I come to you in the thick cloud, that the people may hear when I speak with you and believe you forever.’ So, Moses told the words of the people to the Lord. Then, the Lord said to Moses, ‘Go to the people and consecrate them today and tomorrow and let them wash their clothes. And let them be ready for the third day. For on the third day the Lord will come down upon Mount Sinai in the sight of all the people. You shall set bounds for the people all around, saying, take heed to yourselves that you do not go up to the mountain or touch its base. Whoever touches the mountain shall surely be put to death. Not a hand shall touch him, but he shall surely be stoned or shot with an arrow; whether man or beast, he shall not live. When the trumpet sounds long, they shall come near the mountain.’ So, Moses went down from the mountain to the people and sanctified the people, and they washed their clothes. And he said to the people, ‘Be ready for the third day. Do not come near your wives.’” Exodus 19:7-15

The people promised to obey God. They washed their clothes and the men abstained from intimacy with their wives for three days.

According to verse 1, the Israelites arrived at the wilderness of Sinai in the third month after leaving Egypt. On the 15th of Nisan, they left Egypt. On the 1st of Sivan they arrived at Mount Sinai. That’s between 45-50 days or seven weeks. This 50-day gap parallels with the gap of time between Passover and Pentecost (Shavuot). The receiving of the Torah/Ten Commandments is celebrated on Shavuot (Pentecost). [1]

They had been walking in the wilderness for seven days. Now, they are stopped. As Jesus taught His followers from a mount, God is preparing to teach them His laws at Mount Sinai. First, He provided for them time to freshen up. Washing their clothes was symbolic of their souls’ need for cleansing with God’s Word. They had been living in a land of idols for 430 years. Abstaining from physical intimacy was symbolic of their need to be laser focused on their soul’s wellbeing.

God called for three days of consecration. After three days, God would provide Moses with His new mandate for Israel. In John 20:22, Jesus Christ resurrected from the dead on the third day, and afterward, breathed on His disciples and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit.” In Genesis 2:7, “The Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being.” God’s breath (His Spirit) and His Word (Christ) bring forth divine life in people who receive Him.

“Then, it came to pass on the third day, in the morning, that there were thunderings and lightnings, and a thick cloud on the mountain; and the sound of the trumpet was very loud, so that all the people who were in the camp trembled. And Moses brought the people out of the camp to meet with God, and they stood at the foot of the mountain. Now, Mount Sinai was completely in smoke because the Lord descended upon it in fire. Its smoke ascended like the smoke of a furnace, and the whole mountain quaked greatly. And when the blast of the trumpet sounded long and became louder and louder, Moses spoke, and God answered him by voice. Then, the Lord came down upon Mount Sinai, on the top of the mountain. And the Lord called Moses to the top of the mountain, and Moses went up.” Exodus 19:16-20

Acts 7:53 says that the Law was given by the disposition of angels. Revelation 4:5 speaks of lightnings and thunderings and voices proceeding from God’s throne. In Revelation 1:10, when Christ began to reveal to John the judgments of the last days, he heard a great voice as of a trumpet. Hebrews 12:21 says, “So terrible was the sight, that Moses said, ‘I exceedingly fear and quake.’” [2]

The fear of God is one of the spiritual anointings that was on Jesus during His earthly ministry. Isaiah 11:1-2 says, “There shall come forth a Rod from the stem of Jesse, and a Branch shall grow out of his roots. The Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon Him, the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and might, the Spirit of knowledge and the SPIRIT of the FEAR of the LORD.” [3]

People who do not fear the Lord are dangerous. In Genesis 20:11, “Abraham said, ‘Because I thought, surely the fear of God is not in this place; and they will kill me on account of my wife.’” [4]

“And the Lord said to Moses, ‘Go down and warn the people, lest they break through to gaze at the Lord, and many of them perish. Also let the priests who come near the Lord consecrate themselves, lest the Lord break out against them.’ But Moses said to the Lord, ‘The people cannot come up to Mount Sinai; for You warned us, saying, set bounds around the mountain and consecrate it.’ Then, the Lord said to him, ‘Away! Get down and then come up, you and Aaron with you. But do not let the priests and the people break through to come up to the Lord, lest He break out against them.’ So, Moses went down to the people and spoke to them.” Exodus 19:21-25

When Jesus was baptized, the Holy Spirit descended upon Him in the form of a dove. When the apostles were baptized in the Holy Spirit, tongues of fire appeared over their heads. When the Lord gave His Law to Moses, Exodus 19:18 says that Mount Sinai was completely enveloped in smoke because the Lord descended upon it in fire. Thus, Moses created a boundary line at the foot of the mountain that the people should not crossover, lest they perish. [4]

“The Lord said to him, ‘Away! Get down and then come up, you and Aaron with you.’” God wanted a second witness with Moses. Later, in Deuteronomy 19:15, the Lord will say, “At the mouth of two witnesses, or at the mouth of three witnesses, shall a matter be established.”

“And God spoke all these words, saying: ‘I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. You shall have no other gods before Me. You shall not make for yourself a carved image—any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. You shall not bow down to them nor serve them. For I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children to the third and fourth generations of those who hate Me, but showing mercy to thousands, to those who love Me and keep My commandments. You shall not take the Name of the Lord your God in vain, for the Lord will not hold him guiltless who takes His Name in vain.’” Exodus 20:1-7

The first commandment calls us to focus on pleasing God above all others. Don’t let leisure, pleasure or things or people displace Him. I see honoring “Easter bunny” on Resurrection Day and Santa Claus at Christmas as an insult to God’s glory! In Isaiah 42:8, God says, “I will not give My glory to another.”

In Martin Luther’s Small Catechism, he wrote that we should, “fear, love, and trust in God above all things.” He stated that if the heart is right with God, all other commandments follow. Idolatry is misdirecting the fear, the love and the trust that should be to God alone. [5]

“You shall not take the Name of the Lord your God in vain [as empty or nothing לַשָּׁ֑וְא], for the Lord will not hold him guiltless who takes His Name in vain!” [6]

In Martin Luther’s Small Catechism, he wrote, “We should so fear and love God as not to curse, swear, conjure, lie, or deceive by His Name, but call upon Him in every time of need, and worship Him with prayer, praise, and thanksgiving.”

The Israelites had recently come out of Egypt where the ruler there said to Moses in Exodus 5:2, “Who is the Lord, that I should obey His voice to let Israel go?” Pharaoh did not revere the name of God. Although mighty in the eyes of many, he was a pawn of the devil to incite people to despise God their Creator. He competed with God just as the devil does.

Acts 4:12 says that the Name of Jesus is the only Name by which people can be saved. In John 14:13-14, Jesus taught us to ask God for help in His Name. In John 17:6, just before He was arrested, He declared to His Father, “I have manifested Your Name to the people whom You gave Me out of the world.” In Luke 10:17, the disciples casted out demons in the Name of Jesus. In Acts 4:10, they made a lame man to walk again in His’ Name. Philippians 2:7-11 says that every knee will bow and tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God our Father.

“Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord your God. In it you shall do no work: you, nor your son, nor your daughter, nor your male servant, nor your female servant, nor your cattle, nor your stranger who is within your gates. For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested the seventh day. Therefore, the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and hallowed it.” Exodus 20:8-11

In Martin Luther’s Small Catechism, he wrote, “We should so fear and love God as not to despise His Word and the preaching of the Gospel, but deem it holy, and willingly hear and learn it.”

In John 12:26, Jesus said, “If anyone serves Me, the Father will honor him.” Therefore, the best thing we can do for any community is to teach people to serve the Lord Jesus Christ.

“Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long upon the land which the Lord your God is giving you. You shall not murder. You shall not commit adultery. You shall not steal. You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor. You shall not covet your neighbor’s house. You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, nor his male servant, nor his female servant, nor his ox, nor his donkey, nor anything that is your neighbor’s.’ Now, all the people witnessed the thunderings, the lightning flashes, the sound of the trumpet, and the mountain smoking; and when the people saw it, they trembled and stood afar off. Then, they said to Moses, ‘You speak with us, and we will hear; but let not God speak with us, lest we die.’” Exodus 20:12-19

Commandments five through ten are about honoring parents, not murdering, not committing adultery, not stealing, not bearing false witness and not coveting. The great commission of Jesus surpasses the commandments that forbid hurting others. He calls us to share the Gospel with sinners so that they have an opportunity to receive the life changing power of His Spirit.

“And Moses said to the people, ‘Do not fear; for God has come to test you, and that His fear may be before you, so that you may not sin.’ So, the people stood afar off, but Moses drew near the thick darkness where God was.” Exodus 20:20-21

It seems that Moses is contradicting himself, saying, “Do not fear” – “that His fear may be before you.” The meaning here is not to fear that God is angry at you or hates you but do have a healthy respect of God so that you do not sin against Him. No human being is in a position to negotiate a compromise with God. He is holy. He does not compromise with sin, but He is forgiving and gracious to us if we confess our sins to Him, trust, love and serve Him.

“Then the Lord said to Moses, ‘Thus you shall say to the children of Israel: you have seen that I have talked with you from heaven. You shall not make anything to be with Me—gods of silver or gods of gold you shall not make for yourselves. An altar of earth you shall make for Me, and you shall sacrifice on it your burnt offerings and your peace offerings, your sheep, and your oxen. In every place where I record My Name I will come to you, and I will bless you. And if you make Me an altar of stone, you shall not build it of hewn stone; for if you use your tool on it, you have profaned it. Nor shall you go up by steps to My altar, that your nakedness may not be exposed on it.’” Exodus 20:22-26

Right after God gave Moses the Law, He alludes to the Gospel by speaking to Moses about sacrifices, burnt offerings and peace offerings. Until Christ appeared, God accepted the sacrifice of sheep and oxen to atone for the sins of the people. No descendant of Abraham, Isaac or Jacob kept the Law perfectly. The greatest heroes of the faith all fell short of God’s glory, that is until Christ was conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary. Jesus fulfilled the Law. His blood was untainted by sin. Therefore, He was able to be the perfect sacrifice for our sin. Jesus is the rock that was not hewn by man. That is why God told Moses not to build altars out of hewn stones.

C. F. W. Walther wrote, “In the Law we hear the tenfold summons, ‘Thou shalt.’ The Gospel does not require anything good that man must furnish: not a good heart, not a good disposition, no improvement of his condition, no godliness, no love either of God or men. It issues no orders, but it changes man. The Gospel plants love into his heart and makes him capable of all good works. It demands nothing, but it gives all. Should not this fact make us leap for joy?” [7] Martin Luther wrote, “The Law discovers the disease, the Gospel gives the remedy.”

The Gospel according to Luke 24:46-49 is, “It was necessary for the Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead the third day, and that REPENTANCE and REMISSION of SINS should be preached in HIS NAME to all nations... tarry... until you are ENDUED with POWER from ON HIGH.”

In JESUS’ NAME, there is forgiveness of sins and enduement of power from on high. The Holy Spirit creates within us a new heart to fear, love and trust God above all things.


[1] Referred to Google sources to determine the time gap between Egypt and Mt. Sinai

[2] Referred to Matthew Henry Commentary

[3] Ibid

[4] Ibid

[5] Martin Luther’s Small Catechism, first published in 1529, various language editions available at Concordia Publishing House, and online free

[6] Jameison Fausset Brown Commentary

[7] “The Proper Distinction between Law and Gospel,” by C. F. W. Walther, Concordia Publishing House, 1929. C. F. W. Walther founded and served as the first president of the Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod (LCMS). He established Concordia Seminary in St. Louis.