Exodus 19:9 - Exposition

I came unto thee in a thick cloud . Literally, "in the thickness of a cloud." God must always veil himself when he speaks with man, for man could not bear "the brightness of his presence." If he takes a human form that form is a veil; if he appears in a burning bush, the very. fire is a shroud. On the present occasion it was the more needful that he should cover himself up, as he was about to draw near to the whole congregation, among whom were many-who were impure and impenitent. It was necessary, in order that all might be convinced of the Divine mission of Moses, for all to be so near as to hear him speak out of the cloud; but sinners cannot abide the near presence of God, unless he is carefully hidden away from them. Probably, the cloud out of which he now spoke was that which had accompanied the Israelites out of Egypt, and directed their march ( Exodus 13:21 , Exodus 13:22 ), though this is not distinctly stated. That the people may believe thee for ever . In "the people" are included their descendants; and they are to "believe Moses for ever , because the law is in some sense of eternal obligation on all men" ( Matthew 5:18 ). And Moses told the words of the people unto the Lord. It is not easy to assign a reason for the repetition of this clause from Exodus 19:8 , in almost identical terms. There were no fresh "words of the people" to report. We can only say that such seemingly needless repetitions are in the manner of archaic writers, who seem to intend in this way to emphasise a fact. The acceptance of the covenant by the people beforehand, completed by Moses reporting it to God, is the necessary basis of all that follows—the required preliminary to the giving of any covenant at all.