1. J. G. McConville raises the tantalizing question whether Deuteronomy's preference for the name Horeb instead of Sinai has to do with the fact that "in itself it [Horeb] seems to be non-specific about location, a 'waste-place', possibly intending thus to detract from the idea that even the 'mountain of God' par excellence had any intrinsic significance." See "Time, Place and the Deuteronomic Altar-Law," in J. G. McConville and J. G. Millar, Time and Place in Deuteronomy (JSOTS 179; Sheffield: Sheffield Academic Press, 1994), 138 n.128.
2. Not that such a seclusion in the presence of God was itself a guarantee that Israel could or would not sin. Israel's orgy with the golden calf at Mount Sinai would be recalled in Moses' second address (Deut 9-10; to preview it click ☰), and set at the centre of a chiastic whorl to emphasize the heart of Israel's character as a rebellious people. This emphasis on Israel as a recalcitrant people is already evident in the manner the record in Exo.25-40 is structured—their orgy with the golden calf is highlighted by being flanked by the instructions for, and the building of, the tabernacle, the Sabbath, and the tablets of the law:
A. Moses ascends Mt Sinai and is immersed in the Cloud and Glory of God, 24:15-18,
B. Instructions for Building the Tabernacle, 25:10-30:38,
C. The Architects: Bildad and Oholiab, 31:1-11,
D. The Sabbath, 31:12-17,
E. The First Tablets of Stone, 31:18,
F. The Orgy with the Golden Calf, 32:1-33:23,
E'. The Second Tablets of Stone, 34:1-35,
D'. The Sabbath, 35:1-3,
C'. The Architects: Bildad and Oholiab, 35:30-36:7,
B'. The Tabernacle Built according to the Instructions given, 36:8-39:31,
A'. Moses sets up the Tabernacle, which is then immersed in the Cloud and Glory of God, 39:37-40:38.
In that Israel continued to exist and, additionally, continued to enjoy divine blessings, is the clear and incontrovertible fact that the torah (often translated 'law'), and therefore the Old Testament, is about sheer grace.