Exodus 19:21-25

"And Jehovah said unto Moses, Go down, charge the people, lest they break through unto Jehovah to gaze, and many of them perish. And let the priests also, that come near to Jehovah, sanctify themselves, lest Jehovah break forth upon them. And Moses said unto Jehovah, The people cannot come up to mount Sinai; for thou didst charge us, saying, Set bounds about the mount, and sanctify it. And Jehovah said unto him, Go, get thee down; and thou shalt come up, thou, and Aaron with thee, but let not the priests and the people break through to come up unto Jehovah, lest he break forth upon them. So Moses went down unto the people, and told them."

Back of the instructions regarding the people breaking through to gaze is the fact that no man could see the face of God and live. Also, it should be noted that Moses said in effect in Exodus 19:23, "Look, God, what you suggest is not necessary, for we have already obeyed your order to sanctify the mountains." However, God did not allow Moses' evaluation of the situation, and ordered him to "Go." "Get with it, and do what I commanded." Whereupon, Moses did so. It is certain that God had a better understanding of what men will do out of curiosity than did Moses. The idea of the people "breaking through to gaze" is confirmed as valid every time there is a traffic accident, and the "lookers" (rubberneckers) tie up the roads in all directions for an hour!

"Let the priests ... sanctify themselves ..." Who were these priests? Certainly not the Levitical order, for they had not come into existence at this time. Furthermore, if this marvelous passage had been "an editorial creation,"[23] fabricated by 9th century B.C. priests, we could rest assured that "the priests" would have had a lot more to do with this than what is indicated here!

Well, who were they? The priests mentioned here were, "either the first-born or heads of families."[24] "Every nation in ancient times had priests, and the Levitical priesthood must be regarded as superseding one that previously existed."[25] Fields refused the idea that these were "the first-born." "Their exact identity is not made clear. We can only say that they were the ones who had been discharging the office previously."[26]

One thing that stands out in this entire chapter is the absolute HOLINESS of God and the necessity of those who worship him maintaining to the very best of their ability the holiness to which they were called. Note that the whole of Israel were to be a "holy nation" (Exodus 19:6).

The Jews placed an inordinate amount of importance on holiness with reference to its necessity in the observance of ritual and ceremonial ordinances, but there is no indication that holiness of life in the ordinary pursuits of life was so stressed. We have, from a former Jewish Rabbi, this example of the former:

"When the high priest entered into the holy of holies on the Day of Atonement, if he was not right with the Lord, he would die instantly. Since nobody could enter the Holy of Holies to take him out, he had a rope tied around his ankles when he entered in. That way, he could be dragged out if necessary."[27]

The reiterated command of God concerning their not touching the mountain was designed, not only to impress the people with God's holiness, but, as Keil suggested, "also to awaken in the people a consciousness of their own unholiness."[28] All who ever were truly conscious of the presence of God, at once confessed their sin, as when Peter, on the occasion of the great catch of fishes, said, "Depart from me; for I am a sinful man, O Lord" (Luke 5:8).

Exodus 19:24 settles the question of who went up into the mountain with Moses, only Aaron being mentioned; and even Moses and Aaron could not go up until the trumpet sounded exceedingly loud.

All was then in readiness for God to speak to the people. It was not to Moses and Aaron alone that the words came, but they were spoken in the hearing of the whole multitude. There promptly ensued the giving of the sacred Decalogue.