{"id":19783,"date":"2022-01-12T22:00:57","date_gmt":"2022-01-13T05:00:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/exodus-18_13-27-copy\/"},"modified":"2022-01-07T18:56:58","modified_gmt":"2022-01-08T01:56:58","slug":"exodus-19_1-13","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/exodus-19_1-13\/","title":{"rendered":"Through Jesus You Are A Priest and God\u2019s Treasured Possession"},"content":{"rendered":"

Exodus 19:1-13 Click here for Bible Verses<\/a><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Hi GAMErs!<\/p>\n

Today\u2019s passage is Exodus 19:1-13.\u00a0 Let\u2019s go!<\/p>\n

Exodus 19:1-4 (NIV)<\/em><\/strong>
\n1\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0In the third month after the Israelites left Egypt–on the very day–they came to the Desert of Sinai.
\n2\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0After they set out from Rephidim, they entered the Desert of Sinai, and Israel camped there in the desert in front of the mountain.
\n3\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0Then Moses went up to God, and the\u00a0LORD\u00a0called to him from the mountain<\/u>\u00a0and said, “This is what you are to say to the house of Jacob and what you are to tell the people of Israel:
\n4\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0‘You yourselves have seen what I did to Egypt, and how I carried you on eagles’ wings and brought you to myself.<\/em><\/p>\n

On verses 1-4:\u00a0\u00a0Verse 3 suggests that Moses went up to God on the mountain and\u00a0then<\/em>\u00a0God called to Moses from the mountain.\u00a0\u00a0What can we learn from this?\u00a0\u00a0If you want to hear from God, take the initiative, get yourself in position and draw close to God.\u00a0\u00a0Don\u2019t just wait for God to speak to you before you go up to Him.<\/strong>\u00a0\u00a0Come near to God and He will come near to you (James 4:8).<\/p>\n

Exodus 19:5-8 (NIV)<\/em><\/strong>
\n5\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0Now 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,
\n6\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0you will be for me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.’ These are the words you are to speak to the Israelites.”<\/em><\/p>\n

7\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0So Moses went back and summoned the elders of the people and set before them all the words the\u00a0LORD\u00a0had commanded him to speak.
\n8\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0The people all responded together, “We will do everything the\u00a0LORD\u00a0has said.” So Moses brought their answer back to the\u00a0LORD.<\/em><\/p>\n

On verses 5-8:\u00a0\u00a0Although all the earth belongs to God,\u00a0God\u2019s desire has always been to have a people that He could emotionally call His very own<\/strong>, His \u201ctreasured possession\u201d.\u00a0\u00a0That is the way\u00a0God loves to see you: as His treasured possession<\/strong>.\u00a0\u00a0God\u2019s desire is also to have those same people be set apart for Him as \u201ca kingdom of priests and a holy nation\u201d.\u00a0\u00a0What is a priest?\u00a0\u00a0A priest is someone who represents God before the people and who represents the people before God.\u00a0\u00a0God made you to be a priest in His kingdom.<\/strong>\u00a0\u00a0That is why in 1 Peter 2:9-10 Peter writes to Christians everywhere and says, \u201cBut 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.\u201d<\/p>\n

How can you and I be God\u2019s treasured possession, priests and a holy nation before God, especially after all the mistakes we have made?\u00a0 Doesn\u2019t God make it conditional \u2013 that only\u00a0if\u00a0<\/em>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)?\u00a0\u00a0The answer is in Jesus Christ.<\/p>\n

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.\u00a0\u00a0But Jesus Christ stood in our place.\u00a0\u00a0Jesus lived the perfect life that met all of God\u2019s requirements and then He paid the death penalty for our sins, so that we could be forgiven and declared righteous before God.\u00a0\u00a0That is why Revelation 5:10 describes Christians by saying \u201cYou [i.e. Jesus] have made them to be a kingdom and priests to serve our God\u201d.\u00a0\u00a0Because Jesus Christ lived and died for us, you are God\u2019s treasured possession and a holy priest in God\u2019s kingdom.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Exodus 19:9-13 (NIV)<\/em><\/strong>
\n9\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0The\u00a0LORD\u00a0said 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\u00a0LORD\u00a0what the people had said.
\n10\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0And the\u00a0LORD\u00a0said to Moses, “Go to the people and consecrate them today and tomorrow. Have them wash their clothes
\n11\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0and be ready by the third day, because on that day the\u00a0LORD\u00a0will come down on Mount Sinai in the sight of all the people.
\n12\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0Put 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.
\n13\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0He 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.”<\/em><\/p>\n

On verses 9-13:\u00a0\u00a0When you love someone, you want to reveal yourself to that person.\u00a0\u00a0Because God loved the Israelites, He desired to reveal Himself to them \u201cso that people will hear me speaking with you\u201d (v9).\u00a0\u00a0In so doing, it would also reinforce Moses as their God-appointed leader.\u00a0\u00a0So the LORD through Moses tells the people to get ready to encounter God (v10-11).<\/p>\n

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.\u00a0\u00a0Why?\u00a0\u00a0Didn\u2019t God want to get close to the people? It\u2019s because\u00a0as 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<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

That was our predicament.\u00a0\u00a0God 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.\u00a0\u00a0Jesus would be make that atonement for us.\u00a0\u00a0When verse 13 says that \u201conly when the ram\u2019s horn sounds a long blast may they go up to the mountain\u201d, 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).\u00a0\u00a0In turn I think about how Jesus, the lamb of God, wore the crown of thrones and went to the cross on our behalf.\u00a0\u00a0When verse 13 says that the long blast of the ram\u2019s horn means the people can approach the mountain of God, it\u2019s a reminder that\u00a0the finished work of Jesus Christ the lamb of God gives us access to God\u2019s presence<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Thank You Jesus that all because You lived for me and died for me, I am God\u2019s treasured possession, a priest in His kingdom and I can belong to You.\u00a0\u00a0In Jesus\u2019 name, AMEN!\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div><\/section><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Hi GAMErs!<\/p>\n

Today\u2019s passage is Exodus 19:1-13.\u00a0 Let\u2019s go!<\/p>\n

Exodus 19:1-4 (NIV)
\n1\u00a0\u00a0In the third month after the Israelites left Egypt–on the very day–they came to the Desert of Sinai.
\n2\u00a0\u00a0After they set out from Rephidim, they entered the Desert of Sinai, and Israel camped there in the desert in front of the mountain.
\n3\u00a0\u00a0Then Moses went up to God, and the\u00a0LORD\u00a0called to him from the mountain\u00a0and said, “This is what you are to say to the house of Jacob and what you are to tell the people of Israel:
\n4\u00a0\u00a0‘You yourselves have seen what I did to Egypt, and how I carried you on eagles’ wings and brought you to myself.<\/p>\n

On verses 1-4:\u00a0\u00a0Verse 3 suggests that Moses went up to God on the mountain and\u00a0then\u00a0God called to Moses from the mountain.\u00a0\u00a0What can we learn from this?\u00a0\u00a0If you want to hear from God, take the initiative, get yourself in position and draw close to God.\u00a0\u00a0Don\u2019t just wait for God to speak to you before you go up to Him.\u00a0\u00a0Come near to God and He will come near to you (James 4:8).<\/p>\n

Exodus 19:5-8 (NIV)
\n5\u00a0\u00a0Now 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,
\n6\u00a0\u00a0you will be for me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.’ These are the words you are to speak to the Israelites.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":19786,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[28],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-19783","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-gametime-sharing"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19783","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=19783"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19783\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":19784,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19783\/revisions\/19784"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/19786"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=19783"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=19783"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=19783"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}