Exodus 19:1-13 Click here for Bible Verses
Hi GAMErs!
Today’s passage is Exodus 19:1-13. Let’s go!
Exodus 19:1-4 (NIV)
1 In the third month after the Israelites left Egypt–on the very day–they came to the Desert of Sinai.
2 After they set out from Rephidim, they entered the Desert of Sinai, and Israel camped there in the desert in front of the mountain.
3 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:
4 ‘You yourselves have seen what I did to Egypt, and how I carried you on eagles’ wings and brought you to myself.
On verses 1-4: Verse 3 suggests that Moses went up to God on the mountain and then God called to Moses from the mountain. What can we learn from this? If you want to hear from God, take the initiative, get yourself in position and draw close to God. Don’t just wait for God to speak to you before you go up to Him. Come near to God and He will come near to you (James 4:8).
Exodus 19:5-8 (NIV)
5 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,
6 you will be for me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.’ These are the words you are to speak to the Israelites.”
7 So Moses went back and summoned the elders of the people and set before them all the words the LORD had commanded him to speak.
8 The people all responded together, “We will do everything the LORD has said.” So Moses brought their answer back to the LORD.
On verses 5-8: Although all the earth belongs to God, God’s desire has always been to have a people that He could emotionally call His very own, His “treasured possession”. That is the way God loves to see you: as His treasured possession. God’s desire is also to have those same people be set apart for Him as “a kingdom of priests and a holy nation”. What is a priest? A priest is someone who represents God before the people and who represents the people before God. God made you to be a priest in His kingdom. That is why in 1 Peter 2:9-10 Peter writes to Christians everywhere and says, “But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.”
How can you and I be God’s treasured possession, priests and a holy nation before God, especially after all the mistakes we have made? Doesn’t God make it conditional – that only if the Israelites fully obeyed God and kept His covenant would they be His treasured possession, a kingdom of priests and a holy nation (see verse 5)? The answer is in Jesus Christ.
Just like the Israelites in verse 8, no matter how well-intentioned we might be and what promises we might make in the moment, on our own we could never fully obey God. But Jesus Christ stood in our place. Jesus lived the perfect life that met all of God’s requirements and then He paid the death penalty for our sins, so that we could be forgiven and declared righteous before God. That is why Revelation 5:10 describes Christians by saying “You [i.e. Jesus] have made them to be a kingdom and priests to serve our God”. Because Jesus Christ lived and died for us, you are God’s treasured possession and a holy priest in God’s kingdom.
Exodus 19:9-13 (NIV)
9 The LORD said to Moses, “I am going to come to you in a dense cloud, so that the people will hear me speaking with you and will always put their trust in you.” Then Moses told the LORD what the people had said.
10 And the LORD said to Moses, “Go to the people and consecrate them today and tomorrow. Have them wash their clothes
11 and be ready by the third day, because on that day the LORD will come down on Mount Sinai in the sight of all the people.
12 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.
13 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.”
On verses 9-13: When you love someone, you want to reveal yourself to that person. Because God loved the Israelites, He desired to reveal Himself to them “so that people will hear me speaking with you” (v9). In so doing, it would also reinforce Moses as their God-appointed leader. So the LORD through Moses tells the people to get ready to encounter God (v10-11).
At the same time, the LORD tells Moses to put barriers around the mountain so that the people will not touch it, warning that anyone who did would be put to death. Why? Didn’t God want to get close to the people? It’s because as much as God wants to reveal Himself to the people, God is also holy, so holy that anyone with sin would perish in His presence.
That was our predicament. God longed to be close to us and to reveal Himself to us, but us being sinners, we would perish in the presence of a holy God unless atonement was made for our sins. Jesus would be make that atonement for us. When verse 13 says that “only when the ram’s horn sounds a long blast may they go up to the mountain”, I think about how when Abraham was about to sacrifice his son Isaac, Abraham found a ram whose horns were caught in thorns and God told him to sacrifice that ram in place of his son Isaac (Genesis 22). In turn I think about how Jesus, the lamb of God, wore the crown of thrones and went to the cross on our behalf. When verse 13 says that the long blast of the ram’s horn means the people can approach the mountain of God, it’s a reminder that the finished work of Jesus Christ the lamb of God gives us access to God’s presence.
Thank You Jesus that all because You lived for me and died for me, I am God’s treasured possession, a priest in His kingdom and I can belong to You. In Jesus’ name, AMEN!
