A Kingdom of Priests and a Holy Nation

Exodus 19:1-25

Key Verse 19:5-6

“Now if you obey me fully and keep my covenant, then out of all nations you will be my treasured possession. Although the whole earth is mine, you will be for me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.” These are the words you are to speak to the Israelites.

In the U.S., so far 8 presidential candidates are running for the presidency. People wonder, “Who will be the next president of the U.S.? Hilary Clinton? Barack Obama? Who?” In considering whom to vote for, we ask questions like, “Is Hilary Clinton qualified? What about Obama? What about McCain? More importantly, “What do they believe in? Does anyone of them have a clear direction and purpose for this great nation America?” 

When we study the Bible we quickly learn that God has a clear direction and purpose for each nation. Certainly God has a purpose for this great nation. Where in the Scriptures can we find God’s direction and purpose for this nation? In the passage for today we can find the answer to this question. With this in mind, let us think about the passage in two parts: first, on eagles’ wings; second, my treasured possession.

First, on eagles’ wings (what God has done so far)

Look at verses 1-4. “In the third month after the Israelites left Egypt—on the very day—they came to the Desert of Sinai. After they set out from Rephidim, they entered the Desert of Sinai, and Israel camped there in the desert in front of the mountain. Then Moses went up to God, and the LORD called to him from the mountain and said, ‘This is what you are to say to the house of Jacob and what you are to tell the people of Israel: “You yourselves have seen what I did to Egypt, and how I carried you on eagles' wings and brought you to myself.”’”

This passage shows us that the Lord God liberated the Israelites from Pharaoh’s rule in Egypt and brought them to himself. 

The Israelites had lived in Egypt as a slave nation for 430 long years. Egypt is symbolic of this mundane world that is still ruled by the ruler of the air - the devil. Indeed, as the Israelites stayed in Egypt, Pharaoh held an iron grip on them. Pharaoh was so powerful that on their own the Israelites could not free themselves from his rule. But by God’s power, the Lord God gave Pharaoh a knock out punch; the Lord humbled Pharaoh and he let the Israelites go and worship the Lord. Now that they entered the desert area, and arrived at the foot of Mt. Sinai, the Israelites got liberated from the iron rule; they now came to enjoy the freedom to worship God.  

In the same way, in Jesus, the Lord God has granted believers living on this American soil the freedom to worship the Lord God. If you go to Boston you can still see virtually everywhere historical sites on how, in the early 16^th century, the Puritans came to this land. They came not for money or any other secular reasons, but for the freedom to worship the Lord. Having landed in this free land, the first thing they did was to build churches and Bible based schools, such as Harvard, all to worship the Lord. 

Look at verse 4 again. “You yourselves have seen what I did to Egypt, and how I carried you on eagles' wings and brought you to myself.” Notice the word “myself.” God brought the Israelites to himself—not to his mountain, nor to an organization, nor to some religious tenets, but to God himself – the God who called Abraham, the God who fathered over Isaac, the God who was with Jacob and shepherded over him until Jacob was changed into a spiritual man, Israel.  

“'You yourselves have seen what I did to Egypt, and how I carried you on eagles' wings and brought you to myself.” The point of arrival is a person, not a location nor a system nor anything else. This is a very important point, which we should never forget. 

This practically means that the Israelites became the luckiest of all peoples. Likewise, if one is saved and has been brought to God the Father, one thing stands out as the most astonishingly glorious truth: he has been brought to the presence of the maker of the Universe. What a glorious work it is! 

It has been said, “If you want to catch fish, you had better go to the place where fish abound.” Likewise, if you want life, you better go to the place where life abounds.” And the Israelites came to God who is the author of life. A lot of people say, “I don’t know who God is,” or, “I don’t know where to meet God.” But, historically, God revealed himself to a selected group of people. God revealed himself to Abraham. He revealed himself to Isaac. He revealed himself to Jacob. God even changed Jacob’s name to Israel. But for a while the Israelites forgot God. They left God for a distant country. Like a prodigal son they strayed into Egypt. Then they got stuck in Egypt. Not knowing how to get out, day and night they cried out for help. God heard their cry and now, by his power, he brought them to himself. 

Second, my treasured possession (what we ought to do)

Having been brought to God himself, what then did God exhort the Israelites to do? Look at verse 5a. “Now if you obey me fully and keep my covenant, then out of all nations you will be my treasured possession.” This is what they were supposed to do: obey God fully and keep his covenant. 

We can easily understand what it is to obey him. But what does “my covenant” mean? At first glance, it appears that obeying God fully is enough of a requirement. Why did he add an additional requirement, that is, to keep his covenant? The expression, “my covenant,” itself answers the question, for the word covenant refers to the relationship, and the adjective “my” suggests that God is involved in the relationship as much as the Israelites were involved in it. 

Obedience to God has to do with what the Israelites are supposed to do, whereas the expression “my covenant” has to do with what God is going to do for them, in view of what they are called to do; so the deal is that God wants to strike up a relationship which runs “both” ways: the way of God and the way of his children. So the call to keep “my covenant” is the call for his children to remember the promise God is making. 

“Now if you obey me fully and keep my covenant, then out of all nations you will be my treasured possession.” God does not treat his children as a dictator does his subjects. God treats his children as human beings with the right to make his or her own choice and decide according to his or her own choice. God cannot violate what he did in creating man. God created man in his image. One of the key features of God’s image is the ability to make a decision of one’s own choice. For this reason God says, “If you obey me fully and keep my covenant…” The word “if” indicates that I can either obey him or disobey him. It is up to me. If I disobey him, it is my choice. If I obey him, it is also my choice. I have been in a marriage relationship with one woman named Rebekah. From day one of my marriage life with her to this very date, it has been my own choice to stay married with her. Likewise, God gave the Israelites the choice to marry him, so to speak. If they say, “All right, we will marry you and obey whatever you say,” it is going to be based on their own choice. 

In the passage for today we see that because the Israelites said “Yes,” to God’s offer, the Lord God came down the mountain. God and the Israelites entered into a covenant (or marriage, if you will) relationship. In this way, a nation where God is the husband, Lord and king was born. 

This transaction is however a pre-figure of our relationship with God the Father in and through Jesus Christ. When we believe in Jesus, God forgives us of our sins. As we put trust in him, God gives us the right to become his children. God then gives us the Holy Spirit, so we can call God, “Abba, Father.”

Now, let us go back to the requirement that is, “obey me fully,” and think about the call to obey God fully. This command is doubly scary. First, because we do not like the word “obey” and second because the word “fully” is overwhelming. The Israelites were steeped in a slave mentality. How can they obey God fully? It has been said, “Even if you bury the tail of a wolf in the ground for seven years, it will never turn into the tail of a dog.” A wolf is a wolf, a dog is a dog. But this is only a human thought. God’s thought is different. Often times, a wolf’s tail can turn into a dog’s tail. Have you ever seen a lion eating grass? In God even the diet of a lion changes. During a Safari in Kenya we saw a lion eating grass. Here is the picture. Listen to what Isaiah 11:6-9 says, for Isaiah prophesied that in the day the Savior comes for good, something miraculous will happen: 

“The wolf will live with the lamb,
       the leopard will lie down with the goat,
       the calf and the lion and the yearling together;
       and a little child will lead them. 

     The cow will feed with the bear,
       their young will lie down together,
       and the lion will eat straw like the ox. 

      The infant will play near the hole of the cobra,
       and the young child put his hand into the viper's nest. 

      They will neither harm nor destroy     
       on all my holy mountain,
       for the earth will be full of the knowledge of the LORD
       as the waters cover the sea.” 

[During the safari the guide said each time a lion or leopard is around, we must stay inside the vehicle; otherwise we will easily turn out to be a breakfast for the lion or leopard, but see what Isaiah says when the Lord is with them.] My point here is that knowing God is the key to obeying him fully. Notice what God says before calling the Israelites to obey him fully: “You yourselves have seen what I did to Egypt, and how I carried you on eagles' wings and brought you to myself.” God prefaced the call to obey him fully with what he did for the Israelites, that is, God did what was considered as impossible. By God’s mighty power he humbled Pharaoh, and Pharaoh let the Israelites go. It was by God’s power that the Israelites were brought out of Egypt to God himself. This indicates that we are called to live by faith in God with whom nothing is impossible. All things are possible with him. When we put trust in him, God even changes a man of disobedience into a man of perfect obedience. 

So we are called to obey God fully not according to our own integrity or will power or anything human but according to God’s grace, love, and power. The Apostle Paul expressed the same truth when he said, “We received grace and apostleship to bring all the Gentiles to the obedience that comes from faith.” Say, “Obedience comes from faith.” So faith produces obedience. 

We can easily understand this truth when we think about what we do each and every day. Last Monday was Labor Day. We had a children’s conference in a mountain area. There I saw children spending time with parents. At the conference I tried to strike up a conversation with David Tonne. He was with his father Jim. I established eye contact with him for a while. Then I said, “Hi, David,” and I extended my hand for a handshake with him. But he did not extend a hand back to me. Rather, he hid himself behind Jim. I could see that because he trusts Jim, he is obedient to Jim, but not to me. When we trust God as much as David Jr. trusts his daddy, we too can obey God as much as David, Jr. gets along with his father Jim with joy and in peace. 

Now, let us think about God’s promise (God’s end of the deal). When we obey him fully and keep his covenant, what will he do for his children? Look at verses 5-6, “Now if you obey me fully and keep my covenant, then out of all nations you will be my treasured possession. Although the whole earth is mine, you will be for me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation. These are the words you are to speak to the Israelites." 

This passage indicates that God is going to establish his children as his divine instruments to carry out his will among all nations. Possession is an instrument. This is like a man using a hammer to build a house. Imagine a man whose trade is to frame a house. In doing his job, he must carry instruments, such as a hammer or a nail gun. With a hammer or a nail gun he drives nails through two by fours. God is like a framer and we are like either a hammer or a nail gun placed in God’s hand. 

God uses his servants to build a house, but not the kind of house made of two by fours or nails made of iron, but a spiritual house – a house built not on an earthly foundation, but a house built in man’s heart. 

How then are we to build spiritual houses among all nations? Look at verse5b-6a, “Although the whole earth is mine, you will be for me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.” Here the word “priests” has to do with the process, whereas the expression “a holy nation” talks about the purpose. The process consists of priests fulfilling the priestly duty, that is, to lead sinful men to a holy God according to the way prescribed by God. In the New Testament context, the priestly duty given to all believers is to lead people to God the Father in and through Jesus, the high priest of all, so that the whole earth would be filled with children of God whose inner character has been made to fit God’s holy name. This venture requires each believer needing to grow up in the grace and knowledge of Jesus, and serve the Lord as Jesus’ servants, praying for sheep, teaching them the Bible, so they would repent and turn to God in and through Jesus. .  

This is the most glorious work one can ever be called to serve. And God’s purpose for this great nation America is for God to establish her as his treasured possession, so that this nation would be filled with shepherds and shepherdesses who in turn would send out missionaries to the four corners of the world.

In verses 7-25 we see the Lord God entering into a covenant relationship with the Israelites. The Lord God wooed the Israelites to love him and obey him. The Israelites heard the Lord and said, “Okay, you have been gracious to us. We will obey whatever you say.” God was pleased with their response. So he came down from heaven to Mt. Sinai. Initially, God had to command them not to come close to the mountain until there was a long blast of the ram’s horn. Look at verses 12 and 13. “Put limits for the people around the mountain and tell them, 'Be careful that you do not go up the mountain or touch the foot of it. Whoever touches the mountain shall surely be put to death. He shall surely be stoned or shot with arrows; not a hand is to be laid on him. Whether man or animal, he shall not be permitted to live.' Only when the ram's horn sounds a long blast may they go up to the mountain." Here the ram’s horn is symbolic of the power of Jesus’ blood sacrifice. In the Bible it is first seen in Genesis 22:13 where it is written: “Abraham looked up and there in a thicket he saw a ram caught by its horns. He went over took the ram and sacrifice it as a burnt offering instead of his son.” In Genesis, Abraham played the role of God the Father, and Isaac played the role of Jesus the Son. The expression “instead of his son,” refers to Jesus who is going to be the real sacrifice. As these expressions suggest, at God’s appointed time he sent Jesus the son of God. Jesus obeyed God’s will to die on the cross for the sins of the world. God then opened the way for sinners to have all of our sins forgiven. And as we put trust in Jesus we are no longer condemned. Rather, we can claim God’s promised gift, that is, the Holy Spirit, who in turn sets us free from the power of sin and Satan, and leads us to the presence of God. This is the good news. This is the message God wants all peoples on earth to hear. 

In conclusion, we learn that in Jesus we are saved from the power of sin and Satan, into God’s presence. Then we are called to live as his instruments – instruments of righteousness, called to spread the gospel to all peoples on earth, and thereby build God’s kingdom in the hearts of all peoples on earth. May the Lord bless America to be a kingdom of priests and a holy nation! Amen. 

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