Read Exodus 19 here or at Bible Gateway.
The Hebrew paragraph:
19:1-25 {s} YHVH descended upon Mt Sinai in fire, to enact the marriage covenant with Israel
Exo 19:20b-25 forms a Chiastic Structure, with a puzzle:
Has anyone else wondered, along with Moses, why God repeated this instruction to have Moses go back down again, when Moses had already done it? There is not a single accidental letter in Torah, and this is here for a reason also.
But this is an unusual central axis. Why would God put neon flashing lights around Moses repeating YHVH’s instruction, which they had already done, that bounds were set around the mountain and the mountain consecrated?
Let’s think for a moment what Mount Sinai represents. The mountain symbolizes the Ten Commandments. If we refer to one, we automatically think of the other, because they are forever and indelibly linked in our minds. The way Torah relates this history, with its numerous repetitions, caused us to link them.
The Ten Commandments, moreover, represents the entire Torah. The Ten Commandments are the covenant (Deu 4:13) Israel was commanded to perform. The rest of the statutes and judgments of Torah, explain how to keep the Ten.
We are to set a boundary around Mount Sinai and consecrate it. We are to set a boundary around the Ten and consecrate them. We are to set a boundary around Torah and consecrate it. We are not to add to Torah or take away from it, but we are to sanctify God’s word in our hearts and keep it set apart, to observe it.
If there are questions, these are good resources:
The Torah is the Ten Commandments – Christine Miller
Finding Messiah in Exo 18:1-20:26 – Christine Miller
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