Verses 7 through 9 describe the Israelites agreeing to what Moses presented to them as his message from the Lord. Moses presented the message to specifically the elders as elderly people are usually viewed to be wiser and more intelligent. After Moses delivers this message, he goes back to the Lord, telling him they agreed to what he has offered them. The Lord then tells Moses, “Behold, I come to you in the thick cloud, that the people may hear when I speak with you and believe you forever.” Using what we already know about clouds, they rest in the sky and connect the earth to the heavens. The Lord does this as it makes it easier for both himself and Moses to communicate with each other and for others to listen in.

Verses 10 through 13 were for the Lord to tell Moses what to have Israel do over the next three days until the third day he would descend down for all the people of Israel to see. When telling Moses this, he presents one of the many laws for the Israelites to help keep intact that covenant with them and the Lord. This law tells Israel that they should not touch nor go up Mount Sinai (the mountain), as if they do, they will surely die. He then further clarifies that no hand will touch him, but he will surely be killed either stoned or shot with an arrow. He tells this to Moses for two specific reasons; for obedience (obeying God depicts one’s feelings) and to set boundaries. He ends the verse by telling him when the “trumpets sound long”, they will receive his invitation for them to come to the mountain, but not pass it as it will always be a sacred space for the Lord to connect the earth and heavens.

The 14th and 15th verses tell of Moses coming back with the second message for the next three days and telling the people to have their clothes cleaned and not to go near their wives to prepare for the Lord’s arrival. Both of these things relate to the idea of purity. Purity can later be described as adultery, which is one of the ten commandments of the decalogue we learn about later on in Exodus. So we can infer that this is an early example of one of the ten commandments for adultery as he is telling the people to stay away from their wives so they will not be tempted.