After Israel came to the mountain of God, YHWH spoke to Moses to tell them to remember what He did to the Egyptians and how He brought them on the wings of eagles to Himself. Now, if they obey His voice (Strong’s H6963) and keep His covenant, then they would be a peculiar treasure to Him above all the people of the earth. They would be to Him a kingdom of priests and a holy nation. When Moses laid all these words before Israel’s elders, all the people together answered, “All that YHWH has spoken, we will do.” And so Moses consecrated the people to YHWH, and they washed their clothes in readiness for the third day’s meeting with Him. On the third day in the morning, amid an awesome display of thunder sounding (Strong’s H6963) and lightning, the trumpet’s voice (Strong’s H6963) was exceedingly loud. Why was there the blowing of trumpets?

In Exodus 19:16–19, both the noise of thunder and the trumpet’s voice (Strong’s H6963) were not mere natural phenomena but powerful symbols equated with the sound of God speaking (Strong’s H6963, qowl, also Gen 3:8). At Sinai, YHWH covenant law was not just spoken, but thundered. When Yeshua spoke with a loud voice in Revelation 1:10 and 4:1, it was “like a trumpet speaking.” Psalm 18:13 noted, “YHWH also thundered from the heavens, and the Most High uttered His voice.” The Hebrew words ra’am (Strong’s 7481), meaning “to crash thunder, roar,” and qowl, meaning “voice,” indicate God speaking by utterance or written word (Job 37:5).

Hear attentively the thunder of His voice and the sound of rumbling that goes out of His mouth! Under the whole heaven, He lets it loose and sends His lightning to the ends of the earth. After it, His voice roars; He thunders with the voice of His majesty, and He restrains not [His lightnings against His adversaries] when His voice is heard. God thunders [Strong’s H7481] marvelously with His voice [Strong’s H6963]; He does great things we cannot comprehend. (Job 37:2–5, AMP, emphasis [i] mine)

The escalating sounds of the trumpets, growing louder and longer, marked the seventh Sabbath event of Exodus 19. In the context of Ancient Near East culture, blowing trumpets was a proclamation of the king’s arrival. Similarly, in Israel, the priests would blow trumpets from Jerusalem’s wall, signaling the approach of the weekly Sabbath or festival Sabbath. The first trumpet call would beckon those farthest away to start their journey; the second would summon those in the outer camp, and each subsequent trumpet call would draw the people closer to the Sabbath. Finally, at the last trumpet, all would gather in the city of His Presence, and the gates would be closed. In Exodus 19, the trumpet blasts heralded the arrival of Israel’s holy King on Mount Sinai and called the people to draw near the mountain on the seventh Sabbath.

Still following Genesis 1:1’s foundational narrative where God spoke ten times, bringing creation out of chaos, in Exodus 20, the Creator YHWH spoke ten Words in the hearing of the people, the commands of Israel’s covenant with Him. He began with His identity, “I am YHWH, your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage” (Exo. 20:2).

YHWH’s ten words rang out. “Do not worship other gods.” “Do not make any image for worship.” “Do not bring reproach to YHWH’s name.” “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.” “Honor your mother and father.” “Do not murder.” “Do not commit adultery.” “Do not steal.” “Do not lie.” “Do not covet.” All of Israel witnessed the cracking thunderclaps, lightning flashes, and the trumpet’s ear-splitting blasts and heard YHWH’s voice. With the mountain smoking in fire, the trembling people stood far off in fear and said to Moses, “You speak with us, and we will hear; but let not God speak with us, lest we die.” But Moses told them, “Do not be afraid, for God has come in this way to show you his awesome power. You will remember it, and your fear of Him will keep you from sin.” As the people stood in the distance, Moses entered the deep darkness where God was (Exo. 20:18-21, NLT).

Through Moses, YHWH said to Israel: “You are witnesses that I have spoken to you from heaven. Remember, you must not make or worship idols of silver or gold. And the altars you make for Me must be altars of earth or unhewn stone solely built where I put My name, and I will come to you and bless you” (Exo. 20:22-26). And Moses set before Israel YHWH’s forty-two judgments He gave to them, and they answered with one voice, “All the words which YHWH has said we will do.” Then Moses wrote YHWH’s words in the “Book of the Covenant” (Exo. 21- 24:1–4, 7).

From Adam to Abraham to Israel hearing YHWH’s voice at the foot of Edenic Sinai, YHWH’s covenant faithfulness has been the lifeblood of the Torah, which continues to the end of Revelation’s narrative. His covenant faithfulness is the beginning, the middle, and the end of the story, and picked up by the New Testament writers, concluding in a new beginning of the new heavens and new earth. YHWH brought Israel out of Egypt at a precise time and date promised to Abraham, making a name for Himself before all the nations that they may know He alone is God.

Takeaway:
The significance of the Day of YHWH’s voice is unveiled on the seventh Sabbath. Like God spoke ten times in Genesis 1, YHWH spoke ten words, highlighting His covenant faithfulness to rescuing His creation. He is the Creator who brought the world out of chaos and brought Israel out of the house of bondage. YHWH is YHWH-Nissi, our Warrior King, who destroyed Egypt’s armies in Yam Suph and Amalek at Rephidim, our enemies without and within. He alone is our faithful covenant God and asks us to enter into life with Him.

Fun Factors:
Exodus 20 has 1143 letters (3² × 127) in 312 words (8 × 39), totaling 86389, the 8402^nd prime and 4189^th Pythagorean prime, 230² + 183²; 230 = 23 × 10 and 183 = 3 × 61. The product of 86389’s digits, 8 × 6 × 3 × 8 × 9 = 10368, 72² + 72², and the digit sum is 34, 2 × 17.

God choreographed the journey to the mountain of God with a specific number of days, 7², and Israel’s stay at Mount Sinai was designed precisely 371 days, 7 × 53, saying “Garden” (53) completeness (7). See chart below.