Exodus 19:13-25 - There were thunders and lightnings

19:13-15

If someone was to be put to death they were to be stoned or “shot” (as the ESV puts it!) “Shot here means shot with an arrow. The key thing was that no one was to touch them. The probable reason for this is not that the person was defiled as such, but that they would be within the boundary, so if someone touched them they too were liable to die.

The people were to come up the mountain when they heard a trumpet blast. Moses went down and told the people, he also told the men to abstain from sexual relations.

19:16-20

The day came, and it was accompanied with thunder and lightning. There was also the thick cloud and the trumpet. Moses brought the people out to stand at the foot of the mountain. God had descended on the mountain. There was fire along with the cloud, the mountain also trembled. In short it was obvious that something was happening. Moses spoke to God and God answered him, and called him to go further up the mountain.

19:21-25

People being people, there was a risk that they would be carried away by the situation and would break through the demarcation lines, so God tells Moses to warn the people again. God did not want the people to perish. The priests were also told to consecrate themselves. Now this was all before the Law was given, so the Levitical priesthood did not yet exist in a formal sense. However, remember that Jethro was called the “priest of Midian”, so the concept of priest was known at this stage. Aaron and Moses were to go up to the Lord, but first Moses went down to warn the people not to transgress.