Why God Leads Us Into the Desert First | Exodus 19 Explained | Timothy Keller

The provided source is a transcript of a sermon on Exodus 19, delivered by Tim Keller, which he divides into three main sections: the history and order of grace, the terrifying and beckoning God, and the going down of Moses.
I. The History and Order of Grace (Exodus 19:1–8)
This section focuses on the sequence of God's actions and humanity's response, which Keller and biblical scholar Alec Motyer argue is essential for understanding the entire Bible.
A. History of Grace (The Desert is the Way): God led the Israelites out of Egypt, not toward the Promised Land directly, but into the desert of Sinai, a place worse and further away than Egypt. This illustrates a common pattern in the history of grace: when individuals trust God, things often seem to get worse or take a detour, moving in the opposite direction from what was hoped for.
• Examples: Joseph was taken into slavery in Egypt, seemingly moving away from his destiny, but this period of suffering was necessary for God to break him and his family open to grace. Jesus Christ's path to resurrection required going through the suffering of the cross, the ultimate ""desert"". This pattern suggests that ""Everything is needful that he sends, nothing can be needful that he withholds"".
B. Order of Grace (Sequence is Crucial): The sequence of events—Deliverance, then Law, then Blessing—is paramount.
1. Saving Acts of the Lord (Grace): God saved Israel by ""sheer grace,"" carrying them ""on Eagle wings"" out of Egypt without any performance or effort from them. This entire narrative arc, from Passover to Exodus to Sinai, is considered the largest nd most extended visual aid of the gospel.
2. Responsive Obedience (Obedience): Because God has saved them by grace, he now commands them to obey and keep his Covenant.
3. Blessing: The obedience brings forth blessings.
• Gospel Distinction: The gospel is ""I'm accepted therefore I obey,"" based on Jesus Christ's blood, not ""I obey therefore I'm accepted,"" which is law. Obedience motivated by grace and love seeks to ""get God"" and please him, whereas obedience motivated by fear or self-centeredness seeks to get things from God.
C. The Blessings of Obedience: Obedience enables the people to realize the blessings that are already theirs in principle through salvation.
• Treasured Possession: They will be God's segulah (personal, private wealth), symbolizing an intimate love relationship. Obedience in this context is ""seeking the will of the Beloved"".
• Holy Nation: They will be a distinct, separate kind of human society. When the gospel sorts the human ego (humbling it as a sinner, affirming salvation status), it leads to a beautiful, candid community where money, sex, and power operate differently, showing God's glory to the world.
II. The Terrifying and Beckoning God (Exodus 19:9–20)
A. The Terrifying Presence: God appeared with astonishing visual and auditory effects: thunder, lightning, thick clouds, fire, trumpet blasts, and a voice that terrified the people. They were strictly warned not to approach or touch the mountain, lest they be killed.
• Holiness and Self-Quake: The terrifying nature of God stems from his Holiness, which reveals human sinfulness. Encountering God's greatness makes people feel small, and his holiness makes them feel ""impure and flawed"". The presence of God forces a ""self-quake"" that disintegrates a person's self-image, which is often based on their own perceived virtue or goodness. Even reading the moral perfection demanded by the Sermon on the Mount, without thunder and lightning, is terrifying because it exposes one's sinfulness.
B. The Beckoning Presence: Despite being terrifying, God is also beckoning. He came in a dense cloud and fire, indicating that he was shrouding, not abandoning, his glory. He accommodated himself so he could live among his people, granting them a presence that would otherwise spell their destruction. God wants his people in his life, even though a sinner cannot live in the presence of a holy God.
III. The Going Down of Moses (Exodus 19:20–25)
The problem of the terrifying and beckoning God requires a solution.
• Moses as Mediator: Moses was called to go down and warn the people to keep their distance, preventing them from perishing. He served as a mediator, keeping the people in some relationship with God.
• Jesus Christ, the Ultimate Mediator: The New Testament (Hebrews 12) contrasts Mount Sinai with Mount Zion, where Christians have access to ""Jesus the mediator of a New Covenant"". Unlike Abel's blood, which cried out for justice, Jesus's sprinkled blood cries out ""Grace, Grace, Grace"".
• The Torn Veil: On the cross, the darkness, gloom, and judgment that struck Mount Sinai came down upon Jesus, causing the veil (which represented the cloud and protection) in the temple to be torn. Because Jesus was judged, Christians can live unshakable lives and experience the intimacy of being God's treasured possession without condemnation.