Moses said to the Lord: the people cannot come up Mount Sinai, because you yourself warned us, put limits around the mountain and set it apart as holy. Moses' response is not disobedience but a reminder — the limits already exist, already established by God's own command. He is clarifying: the people already know the boundary. The reminder serves as advocacy for Israel: Moses is telling God that the people are not at risk of violating the boundary because the boundary is already in place. This is Moses functioning as intercessor — standing between God and the people, managing the communication in both directions. The mediatorial posture of Exodus 19:23 is the posture Moses will maintain throughout the Torah.

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