Upon arriving at Mount Sinai YHVH presented Israel with a proposition, relating to His covenant with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.  

"If you will obey Me faithfully and keep My covenant
Then you shall be for Me a Kingdom of priests and a Holy nation."   
(Ex 19:4-6) 

Before Israel could receive the Torah they had to confirm their readiness to obey YHVH's commandments.

"The people answered together and said, Everything that YHVH has spoken we shall keep; and Moses brought the people's answer back to YHVH."   (Ex 19:7-8) 

Next, YHVH told them His plan to use Moses as an intermediary to convey His laws to the people.  Nonetheless, He insisted that the people 'overhear' His communion with Moses, so that they truly believe that these laws originated from HIM and not Moses.  .

"YHVH said to Moses, I will come to you in the thickness of a cloud, in order that the people hear when I speak with you, and in order that they believe in you that you are My messenger forever.  Then Moses reported the people's words to YHVH."  (Ex 19:9)  

We're not told what the people said but infering from YHVH's response they may have said:  'We don't want Moses to be our intermediary.  We want to hear directly from YHVH'.  In essence, they didn't like nor accept YHVH's original plan. 

"YHVH told Moses; go to the people and get them ready, for on the third day He will reveal Himself in view of all the people on Mount Sinai."   (Ex 19:10-11)

These instructions seem to describe a new plan so Israel could see and hear YHVH for themselves, in contrast to the original plan that Moses would act as an intermediary.  The people's response led YHVH to change His plan - from His "Perfect will" to His "permissive will", to allow Israel to hear directly from Him.  This explains the need for the three days of preparation.  (Ex 19:10-15)  

"And it came to pass on the third day in the morning, there were loud sounds and lightening, and a thick cloud on the mountain, and the shofar sounded very strong, and the people in the camp all became frightened."  (Ex 19:16) 

Frightened by the 'loud sounds and lightening', the people refused to leave the camp and Moses had to go and bring them from the camp to the foot of the mountain to watch YHVH's revelation unfold.  (Ex 19:16-17) 

"And Mount Sinai was full of smoke, for YHVH had descended upon it in fire, and its smoke was like a furnace, and the entire mountain shook violently."  (Ex 19:18)

The stage has now been set for giving of the Torah and YHVH descended upon Mount Sinai with a final warning.

"The sound of the shofar grew louder and louder; as Moses would speak, YHVH would answer him with an audible voice.  YHVH descended upon Mount Sinai to the top of the mountain and called Moses to come to the top of the mountain, and Moses ascended. Then YHVH told Moses: Go down and warn the people lest they break through to see, and many of them will perish.  Even the priests who are permitted to come closer must prepare themselves."   (Ex 19:19-22) 

YHVH appeared at the top of the mountain to Moses only, while everyone else kept their distance down below.  Only Moses witnessed the descent of the Shechinah (the Presence and Glory of YHVH) at the top of the mountain, while the Israelites were prohibited from seeing, "lest they die".  Sudden we are back to the original plan.  It seemed as though YHVH decided to limit His revelation to the top of the mountain. 

But why?  What happened?  What made YHVH change His plan again?  

The 'Complete'  Story

Exodus chapter 19 does not provide any explanation for what motivated this change. The details in Exodus chapter 20  however, provide us with a clue.

Immediately following the Ten Commandments, we read:  

"And the people all saw the thunderings and the lightnings, the sound of the trumpet and the mountain smoking;  the people saw and moved back and stood at a distance and they told Moses, why don't you speak to us, and we will listen to you, but YHVH should not speak to us, lest we die.  Moses responded saying: do not be fearful, for YHVH is coming to 'test' you and instill fear within you so that you will not sin.  But the people stood at a distance, and Moses alone entered the cloud where YHVH was."   Ex 20:18-21 

This narrative provides us with an explanation for why YHVH chose to revert from 'plan B' back to 'plan A' - the people were frightened and overwhelmed by the intensity of The Revelation and changed their minds.

The Ten Commandments - First or Third Person

The text of the Ten Commandments shifts from first to third person after the second commandment.  Whereas the first two commandments (Ex 20:2-6) were written in first person, indicating that YHVH spoke them directly to the people (at the people's request) the last eight commandments (Ex 20:7-17) were written in third person, suggesting a less direct form of communication.  Apparently, Moses conveyed the final eight commandments to the people, as YHVH originally proposed. 

Proof from the Book of Deuteronomy

"Face to face YHVH spoke to you on the mountain out of the fire." Plan B  "I stood between YHVH and you at that time to convey YHVH's words to you for you were afraid of the fire and did not go up the mountain."  Plan A   (Deut 5:4-5)    

Here we find proof that both plans were carried out side by side - there are no contradictions in scripture! 

Approaching YHVH - Love And Fear

This experience reflects the very nature of encountering the Divine.  On the one hand we must constantly strive to come as close to YHVH as possible - out of Love.  On the other hand, we must constantly retain an awareness of YHVH's greatness and recognize our own shortcomings and unworthiness - the fear of YHVH.  Awed by His infinity and humbled by our own imperfection, we must respectfully keep our distance.  (Deut 5:25-26) 

Israel, eager to become an active covenantal partner with YHVH, desired to come as close as possible to Him. 

Could YHVH say no to this sincere zeal and expression of love?  Of course not!  Yet saying yes could place the people in tremendous danger.  YHVH's plan reflected reality while the people's plan signified their zeal.  The Torah emphasizes the need to find the proper balance between reality and idealism when serving YHVH.

'Daddy' Knows Best

Although YHVH knew that Israel could not possibly sustain a direct encounter with the Shechinah, He nonetheless conceded to their request.  This can be compared to a relationship between parents and their children.  As children grow up, there are times when they wish to do things on their own.  Despite their clear inability to perform the given task, the desire to accomplish is the key to their growth.  Wise parents will allow their children to try even when they know that their children will probably fail.  Better the children recognize the limits of their capabilities on their own rather than be told by others that they can't.  Although a child's desire to grow should not be inhibited by an overprotective parent, a responsible parent must also know when to tell his child 'no' and 'stop'. 

YHVH knows our shortcomings, nevertheless He encourages us to reach our highest potential, and we will be wise to let HIM be our guide as we strive to follow.