Meeting God at Sinai: Exodus 19 is the theological and literary pivot of Exodus. Nowhere do we find a fuller revelation of God in relation to the people. In the preceding chapters Israel had been “let go” from serving the pharaoh so that they might serve/worship the Lord. Here they serve/worship at the place of Moses’ original calling and receive their own call to be God’s “kingdom of priests” to the world (chs. 25–31; 35–40).

The larger literary structure of Exodus 19–24 comprises a chiasm (see below) and gives a context for the meeting between the people and God at Sinai. There is a close relationship between the laws and the story of the people’s redemption. This relationship is critical for a more general interpretation of the function of law. In addition, the proximity of the giving of…