The agreement at Sinai continued.
At Sinai, God reminded the people that He was the One who delivered them out of slavery in Egypt. Therefore, they should have no other gods besides Him. Exodus 20:2. God then spoke the first two commandments in hearing by the people. God’s voice and the display of His glory terrified the people. Accordingly, they asked Moses not to bring them again to listen to God and observe God’s glory. Instead, they demanded that Moses goes to the Mountain and listen to what God had to say to the people. The people were convinced they would die if they kept hearing God’s voice and saw His glory. Therefore, God spoke the remainder of the Commandments to Moses on the Mountain. The first two Commandments are written in the first person, while the other eight Commandments are written in the third person. The first person indicates that God spoke the first two to the people and the rest to Moses.
As seen previously, the grants or covenants God gave to His loyal ones were unilateral and unconditional. However, the agreement on Mount Sinai involved two parties, God and the people. Accordingly, God included in the agreement conditions for a successful agreement. First, God required the people to obey His words and remain loyal to Him always. Second, God promised that He would make the people his treasured possession in return for perfect obedience. “Now if you obey me fully and keep my covenant, then out of all nations you will be my treasured possession. Although the whole world is mine, you will for me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation. These are the words you are to speak to the Israelites.” Exodus 19:5 – 6.
When Moses came down from Mount Sinai, he related everything God told him to the people. “When Moses told the people all the Lord’s words and laws, they responded with one voice, “Everything the Lord has said we will do.” Exodus 24:3. The people thought that God’s requirement was easy. They were sincere, and they intended to obey God fully. However, they could not obey God’s commands when they attempted to obey them. The people did not know that they were sinners by nature and could not obey the commands perfectly. God’s ten statements, or requirements, were to teach the people that they cannot be good. Therefore, God had to make them good.
The agreement at Mount Sinai will continue in the next blog.
