Living Life With God | Exodus 19:7-25

As a father to sons, I have found myself, over the years, having watched many movies from the superhero genre. I’m pretty sure I’ve seen most, if not all, of the Avengers series. Prior to that it was the X-Men series – including X-Men, X-2, X-Men The Last Stand, X-Men Origins, X-Men First Class, The Wolverine, X-Men Days of Future Past, X-Men Apocalypse, and Logan. 

And in the X-Men series, I found myself drawn to certain characters, like Charles Xavier. I’ve always thought he resembled my friend CJ Mahaney. Cyclops seemed to be a decent and less complicated character. But for some reason, it’s the relationship between Rogue and the Iceman that stays with me. Rogue, as I’m sure that every person in this room knows, is the mutant who not only possesses the unique ability to fly, but also, the nature to take the life of others by mere physical touch. And this attribute, this taking of life by touch, is, let’s just say, a significant limiting factor when one longs for intimacy, longs for relationship, longs for love, and the physical touch of another. Rogue is simply too dangerous for basic friendship. How does one live life with another who is, literally, too hot to handle?

Such is the question answered by our text today. If God’s purpose is to gather God’s people in God’s place in order to enjoy God’s presence forever, how is that even possible? How can a holy God, whose very presence is a consuming fire, fulfill his purpose to dwell among an unholy people without destroying them? How do God’s people live life in God’s presence? Let’s find out. Please follow along as I read Exodus 19:7-25.

“So Moses came and called the elders of the people and set before them all these words that the LORD had commanded him. All the people answered together and said, “All that the LORD has spoken we will do.” And Moses reported the words of the people to the LORD.

And the LORD said to Moses, “Behold, I am coming to you in a thick cloud, that the people may hear when I speak with you, and may also believe you forever.” When Moses told the words of the people to the LORD, the LORD said to Moses, “Go to the people and consecrate them today and tomorrow, and let them wash their garments and be ready for the third day. For on the third day the LORD will come down on Mount Sinai in the sight of all the people.

And you shall set limits for the people all around, saying, ‘Take care not to go up into the mountain or touch the edge of it. Whoever touches the mountain shall be put to death. No hand shall touch him, but he shall be stoned or shot. Whether beast or man, he shall not live. When the trumpet sounds a long blast, they shall come up to the mountain.’”

So Moses went down from the mountain to the people and consecrated the people, and they washed their garments. And he said to the people, “Be ready for the third day. Do not go near a woman.”

On the morning of the third day there were thunders and lightnings and a thick cloud on the mountain and a very loud trumpet blast, so that all the people in the camp trembled. 

Then Moses brought the people out of the camp to meet God, and they took their stand at the foot of the mountain. Now Mount Sinai was wrapped in smoke because the LORD had descended on it in fire. The smoke of it went up like the smoke of a kiln, and the whole mountain trembled greatly. And as the sound of the trumpet grew louder and louder, Moses spoke, and God answered him in thunder. The LORD came down on Mount Sinai, to the top of the mountain. And the LORD called Moses to the top of the mountain, and Moses went up.

And the LORD said to Moses, “Go down and warn the people, lest they break through to the LORD and many of them perish. Also let the priests who come near to the LORD consecrate themselves, lest the LORD break out against them.”

And Moses said to the LORD, “The people cannot come up to Mount Sinai for you yourself warned us, saying, ‘Set limits around the mountain and consecrate it.’” And the LORD said to him, “Go down, and come up bringing 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 told them.”

—Exodus 19:7-25

One way to think about Ex. 19 is that what we are seeing and hearing is the prelude to a wedding. And if this is, in fact, the prelude to a wedding, it is going to be the most spectacular wedding the world has ever seen. And I say what’s happening here is like the prelude to a wedding, because God himself is going to come down. And his people are about to get their “first look” at the one, who, in the next chapter, Ex. 20, is going formalize his covenant relationship with his people. If Ex. 19 is the processional, Ex. 20 is when God and his bride exchange vows. Ex. 19 is the grand prelude to the ceremony when God places a ring on his bride’s finger, as it were, and formalizes his death-do-us-part vow to love her, and forgive her, and take responsibility for guiding her, and providing for her, and unreservedly giving his whole self to her. 

 Ex. 19 sets the stage for that. And it answers the very crucial question, “How is it possible for a holy God to be joined to an unholy people? How can God, in white-hot purity, be wed to us, and dwell among us without destroying us? And how do God’s people live in God’s presence? Now if it seems unclear, at this moment, whether what we’re about to witness is a celebration or a cremation, let’s not forget – 

It Is God’s Pleasure to Give His Presence to His People

God’s great joy is to reside among his people. God’s passion is to be known and experienced by his people. God’s covenant is to live vitally, dynamically, discernibly with his people. How is this even possible? What do we need to live life with God as his bride? Well, first,

 God’s People Live In God’s Presence Through FAITH

Our covenant relationship with God must be taken hold of by faith. Look again at vv. 7-8. 

“So Moses came and called the elders of the people and set before them all these words that the LORD had commanded him. All the people answered together and said, “All that the LORD has spoken we will do.” And Moses reported the words of the people to the LORD.”

—Exodus 19:7-8

Do you notice how in vs. 8 the people respond to God's gracious offer of this covenant by saying, "All that the Lord has spoken, we will do." What words is he referring to? They haven't even heard Ex. 20 yet. Aren’t these spoken words referring to what God said in Ex. 19:4-6? “God said, You yourselves have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I bore you on eagle’s wings and brought you to myself . . . you shall be my treasured possession . . . you shall be to me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.”

When God establishes His covenant, He does all the heavy lifting. He is the eagle. All we do is ride. He is the groom who makes promises and offers blessings to His bride. And He communicates these promises and blessings through His eternal Word spoken through His appointed messengers. V. 9, “I am coming to you . . . that the people may hear when I speak with you, and may also believe you forever.”

Faith comes by hearing. Faith is a gift. And hearing comes through the covenant promises and blessings God speaks. So, the wedding of God to His people begins with the LORD declaring, “I have loved you. I have for delivered you. I have carried you. I have forgiven you. I have provided for you. All that I am and all that I have is yours. Do you trust me? Will you have me? Will you take me and no other – to have and to hold from this day forward?” 

So, when the children of Israel say, "All that the Lord has spoken we will do," among other things, they are confirming that they corporately embrace the promises and the favors of this covenant with which God has blessed them in the past, and is faithful to fulfill in the future. They trust in Him, they acknowledge Him to be who He says He is, and they acknowledge Him to be their God. They are embracing the covenant.

And that is not something that has passed away with the days of the Old Testament. Today, in order to have a vital saving relationship with God, and to experience his active presence in one’s life, one still must embrace the covenant by grace through faith. 

I’m sure there are people with whom you are friends, who believe that God exists. They may believe that He is a God of love and of mercy and of compassion. They may even believe some, perhaps many of the things that the Bible says about Him. But they have never embraced Him. They have never entrusted themselves to him. They’ve never taken hold of him the way a bride takes hold of her groom. When God is offering his gracious, living, active presence, it must be embraced. The way God’s people do that, is by entrusting themselves to all that God has promised to be for them. God’s people live in God’s presence through faith. Second, 

God’s People Live in God’s Presence Through CONSECRATION

Clearly living life in the presence of God is serious business. Experiencing the active presence of God is nothing to be trifled with. Look again at vv. 10-13.

 “The LORD said to Moses, “Go to the people and consecrate them today and tomorrow, and let them wash their garments and be ready for the third day. 

 For on the third day the LORD will come down on Mount Sinai in the sight of all the people. And you shall set limits for the people all around, saying, ‘Take care not to go up into the mountain or touch the edge of it. 

 Whoever touches the mountain shall be put to death. No hand shall touch him, but he shall be stoned or shot. Whether beast or man, he shall not live. When the trumpet sounds a long blast, they shall come up to the mountain.’”

—Exodus 19:10-13

What does it mean to “consecrate” something or someone? We get a sense of it through three particular acts. First, the act of “washing garments.” God is holy. People are not. God is clean. People are not. To live life in God’s presence, you must be made clean, acceptable, and holy. 

Second, to engage with God, one must be ready. It requires a singular, dedicated focus. In vv. 14-15, it says, “So Moses went down from the mountain to the people and consecrated the people, and they washed their garments. And he said to the people, “Be ready for the third day. Do not go near a woman” (Exodus 19:14-15).

Wash. Be ready. Don’t go near a woman. There are times when husbands and wives pause from conjugal relations in order to focus all their attention on their life with the Lord. It’s not because conjugal relations are unlawful, or sinful, or dirty. It’s because our relationship God is the most important relationship in our lives. The apostle Paul refers to this in 1 Cor. 7:3-5.

“The husband should give to his wife her conjugal rights, and likewise the wife to her husband . . . Do not deprive one another, except perhaps by agreement for a limited time, that you may devote yourselves to prayer.”

—1 Corinthians 7:5

And it’s all because engaging with God requires focused devotion. In Christ, we are a kingdom of priests, a holy nation, and as such, we shall have no other gods before us. We shall forsake all others. Are you ready to meet with God? How do you prepare yourself to do life with God? It requires God’s grace. It requires faith. And it requires taking intentional steps to be ready. 

And thirdly, consecration means accepting God’s divinely established boundaries and limits. God cares about how we approach him. It matters to God how we worship him. It matters to God how we draw near to him. God compassionately and gently and wonderfully swoops down, and lifts his people up as if on eagle’s wings. But he is NOT our little buddy. Life with God is holy ground. And accepting his boundaries and his limits means humble acknowledgment that He is God and we are not. Humble acknowledgement that we need a righteousness not of our own doing, in order to experience the God’s nearness. Therefore, 

God’s People May Only Live in God’s Presence Through A MEDIATOR

This necessity permeates this text.

“Moses came . . . and set before them all these words that the LORD had commanded him. (8) All the people answered together and said, “All that the LORD has spoken we will do.” And Moses reported the words of the people to the LORD.

(9) And the LORD said to Moses, “Behold, I am coming to you in a thick cloud, that the people may hear when I speak with you . . . When Moses told the words of the people to the LORD, the LORD said to Moses, “Go to the people and consecrate them today and tomorrow, and let them wash their garments and be ready for the third day. For on the third day the LORD will come down on Mount Sinai in the sight of all the people . . .

(17) Then Moses brought the people out of the camp to meet God . . . (20) The LORD came down on Mount Sinai, to the top of the mountain. And the LORD called Moses to the top of the mountain, and Moses went up.”

—Exodus 19:7-20

Without a God-appointed, God-approved mediator, God’s people cannot approach, much less live in God’s presence. The Psalmist writes, “If God were to mark our iniquities, who could stand?” Answer? Nobody. None could stand. And yet here we are – standing. Or living. And we’re only living because we have a mediator. We have a better mediator. The author of Hebrews recounts the events of Ex. 19. He writes,

 “You have not come to what may be touched, a blazing fire and darkness and gloom and a tempest and the sound of a trumpet and a voice whose words made the hearers beg that no further messages be spoken to them. For they could not endure the order that was given, “If even a beast touches the mountain, it shall be stoned.” Indeed, so terrifying was the sight that Moses said, “I tremble with fear.” But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God . . . and to Jesus the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word.”

—Hebrews 12:18-24

How do God’s people live in God’s presence? Through faith in all that God has promised to be for us. With consecration – humble confession and honest repentance for sin. And with hopeful confidence in a better mediator, by whose blood we enter into the very presence of God.  

Now, not every day is like a wedding day with God. Not every moment, not every quiet time, not every worship gathering is like standing on the edge of an active volcano. How God chose to reveal himself to his people in Ex. 19 has never happened the same way since. Today, God has chosen to make His living, active, dynamic presence known to us through the work of the Holy Spirit. Today, the Holy Spirit’s job is to make the presence of God real to us in our experience, so that we know God’s presence, and we feel God’s presence. 

There is only one way we can know and feel and experience the presence of God – only one way – and that is by God giving us the Holy Spirit.

But there’s a problem. Because we all have sinned, God has to punish us. It would be unjust for him to give something as precious as his Holy Spirit. God has to punish us. But in mind-blowing love, God was willing to punish his own Son in our place for our sins. And Jesus, God’s own Son, was willing to be punished in our place for our sins.

So here’s what happens. You’re going through life ignoring God, rebelling against God, trying to find your satisfaction in your job, or your achievements, or by getting thin and ripped and tan, or finding your soul-mate, or by sipping on the richest, most complex sauvignon blancity, blanc, blanc, blanc. But you’re not satisfied. And you’re just not all that interested in Jesus. 

But then one day, someone tells you about Jesus. And as they tell you about Jesus, your heart changes. And you see Jesus as he really is – infinite in love, astonishingly merciful, incredibly good, and heart-satisfying. And you turn from the other things that you had trusted to fill you, and you turn to trust Jesus to fill you, and forgive you, and provide for you, and guide you. 

And then God does something crazy, wonderful, and amazing. He doesn’t come down with thunder, and lighting, and a loud long trumpet blast. He doesn’t drop in with fire, and smoke and earthquake. Rather, He gives you the gift of the Holy Spirit, the third person of the Trinity, whose job it is to make God’s living and active presence real to you. 

The NT teaches us is that whenever someone turns to trust Jesus, and takes an intentional step of consecration – repentance from sins – and accepts Jesus as their mediator, God gives them his presence. God gives them the Holy Spirit. Listen to the kinds of things that happen. The Spirit illuminates the presence of God. Jesus says, “I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever, even the Spirit of truth” (Jn. 14:16-17).

By the Spirit, God makes his love real to us. Rom. 5:5. “And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us” (Romans 5:5).

By the Spirit, God gives us assurance that we truly belong to him. Rom. 8:15, “For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, “Abba Father!” 

The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God. (Romans 8:15-16)

It may not be a display of pyro-technics, but when the Spirit moves, God’s presence is like rivers of living water in our hearts. John 7:37-39, “Jesus stood up and cried out, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink. ‘Whoever believes in me’, as the Scripture has said, ‘out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.’ Now this he said about the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were to receive” (John 7:37-39).

It is the Spirit who produces discernible evidences of God’s presence in our lives. “The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control” (Galatians 5:22-23).

How do God’s people live in God’s presence today? It is through the empowering and ongoing work of the third person of the Trinity. I end with this word from J.I. Packer.

“What is the essence of the heart, and core of the Spirit’s work today? . . . Presence . . . Since the Pentecost of Acts 2, this, essentially, is what the Spirit is doing all the time as he empowers, enables, purges, and leads generation after generation of sinners to face the reality of God. And he does it in order that Christ may be known, loved, trusted, honored, and praised, which is the Spirit’s aim and purpose throughout as it is the aim and purpose of God the Father too.”

—J.I. Packer

 Friends, brothers and sisters, loved ones, it is God’s pleasure to give God’s presence to God’s people.