We are in chapter nineteen of Exodus with our word for today. פָּרַץ break out, break through, burst out, erupt, make a split, break down, destroy. It is used 46 times in the Old Testament, twice in our chapter. We find our word used to describe God’s power over his enemies in battle. 2 Samuel 5:19-20 The Lord answered him, “Go, for I will surely deliver the Philistines into your hands.” So David went to בְּבַֽעַל־פְּרָצִים֮ Baal Perazim [literally Lord breaks out this is a different word than YHWH usually translated LORD. It is the general word for master or lord], and there he defeated them. He said, “As waters כְּפֶ֣רֶץ break out, פָּרַ֨ץ יְהוָ֧ה the Lord has broken out against my enemies before me.” So that place was called בַּ֥עַל פְּרָצִֽים Baal Perazim [literally Lord breaks out this is a different word than YHWH usually translated LORD. It is the general word for master or lord].
Our word is used to describe God’s anger because of sin being experienced in an intense and fatal way. 2 Samuel 6:6-8 When they came to the threshing floor of Nakon, Uzzah reached out and took hold of the ark of God, because the oxen stumbled. The Lord’s anger burned against Uzzah because of his irreverent act; therefore God struck him down, and he died there beside the ark of God. Then David was angry because פָּרַ֧ץ יְהוָ֛ה the Lord’s wrath had broken out against Uzzah, and to this day that place is called פֶּ֣רֶץ Perez Uzzah. So the translators help us understand how the word is used here by supplying the word wrath, which I agree with because this is why God is bursting forth because he is angry that Uzzah did not respect him. This is how our word is used in our passage today. Exodus 19:22-24 Also let the priests who come near to the Lord consecrate themselves, פֶּן־יִפְרֹ֥ץ בָּהֶ֖ם יְהוָֽה lest the Lord break out against them.” And Moses said to the Lord, “The people cannot come up to Mount Sinai, for you yourself warned us, saying, ‘Set limits around the mountain and consecrate it.’” And the Lord said to him, “Go down, and come up bringing Aaron with you. But do not let the priests and the people break through to come up אֶל־יְהוָ֖ה to the Lord, פֶּן־יִפְרָץ־בָּֽם lest he break out against them.” God is wanting to make sure that the people know what is expected of them ahead of time. We don’t always understand the dangers of sin which is why God goes out of his way to make himself and his will known to us. When sin is punished in a fatal way it can seem harsh to us like with Uzzah touching the cart. It looked like he was just trying to help in keeping the ark from falling off the cart. But he knew better that it was so holy that no one was suppose to touch it. Because he was familiar with the ark he forgot how special and separate it was from everything else. We also see this happen in the New Testament. Barnabas gave a large gift so that people who came to Jerusalem for a short trip could stay longer than they had planned. A couple noticed that Barnabas got a lot of recognition for doing this so they devised a plan to make themselves look good before the church. Acts 5:1-11 Ananias...also sold a piece of property. With his wife’s full knowledge he kept back part of the money for himself, but brought the rest and put it at the apostles’ feet. Then Peter said, “Ananias, how is it that Satan has so filled your heart that you have lied to the Holy Spirit and have kept for yourself some of the money you received for the land? Didn’t it belong to you before it was sold? And after it was sold, wasn’t the money at your disposal? What made you think of doing such a thing? You have not lied just to human beings but to God.” When Ananias heard this, he fell down and died. …Great fear seized the whole church and all who heard about these events. We don’t always know why God choses to act in these ways because only he knows a person’s heart. This is why the greatest commandment is so important for our benefit (Matthew 22:37-38).
