A Kingdom Of Priests and a Holy Nation

Exodus 19:1-25

Key Verse 19:5-6

This passage describes God’s will to lead all peoples on earth through the people chosen by him (i.e., believers). You are saved not just for you but for all who are yet to be saved. God is like a man with ten fingers. When one finger hurts all the rest hurt. When there is one person remaining in sin, God is the first one who hurts. So he desires to save people from the power of sin and death. 

1. Read verses 1-2 and think about the following expressions: 1) The Israelites left “Egypt”; 2) they entered the “desert” of Sinai; and 3) Israel camped in the desert in front of the “mountain” (of God). What do these expressions indicate about the environment in which the Lord called the Israelites as a kingdom of priests and a holy nation? What spiritual applications can we find for our life in the Lord? 

** Egypt represents the world which is contaminated by man’s sinful disobedience. Desert denotes the area which is free of man’s wickedness. God chose Mt. Horeb as the place for the Israelites to meet with Him; God is like a man extending courtship to Israel, wooing them to get into a marriage relationship with Him, so that the Israelites would produce good fruit (spiritual children) that lasts forever. God does not want to see the planet earth populated with a bunch of idol worshipers. God wants to see his children filling the earth, children bearing His image. 

** In order for us to bear fruit in the Lord, we need to rid ourselves of worldly influence. Rather we need to be faithful to the Lord, so that the Lord would mold us into His image, doing His will. 

Bible passages to read: Jer 2:13.18; 6:7; 8:14 etc. 

2. Read verse 3. Jacob means a “deceiver” (Genesis 25:26), whereas Israel means “the one who struggles with God and with men and has overcome” (Genesis 32:28). What do the names indicate about God’s purpose in calling his children? 

** God wants to see his children be transformed into His likeness. The Israelites were steeped in a slave mentality due to their long sojourn in Egypt. By first describing them as the house of Jacob, the Lord reminded them of their wicked condition; the Lord reminded them of his shepherding for Jacob from whom the twelve tribes of Israel were originated, for God shepherded over him, so that Jacob would overcome his sinful character, and be transformed into a man of God. In the same way God wants the Israelites not to be like Jacob a deceiver but Israel the one who overcomes one’s evil nature, attaining to God’s level. 

3. Read verse 4. What did God do to Egypt? How did God carry the Israelites to himself? Why is this knowledge (or experience) important in responding to God’s call upon his children?

** God caused His judgment to fall upon them. God meted out his punishment via the ten plagues culminating in the deaths of all the firstborns of Egypt. God also judged the gods of Egypt. 

** God carried them according to his mercy and grace. They were as wicked as the Egyptians, yet in God’s mercy, God provided them with the way out, that is, the Passover Lamb. As they applied the Lord’s instructions on the Passover Lamb, they were exempt from God’s judgment. Then the Lord gracefully led them to himself.

** This is important because it motivates them to go for the lofty purpose of their calling. The contents of God’s calling are so lofty and glorious that everyone might feel overwhelmed saying, “Oh, no. This call is too holy for me. I am not fit for this calling. I’d rather indulge in who I am and perish.” When one remembers what God did to Egypt and for his children, one can overcome negative ideas, for attaining to God’s level does not depend on one’s own human abilities but on the power of God. After all it is by faith in God that the Israelites were saved. So from first to last they are to live by faith in God who enables them to fulfill God’s purpose for them. 

4. Read verses 5 and 6 and think about the requirements: “obey me fully”; and “keep my covenant”. What does “my covenant” refer to? Why are both (requirements) necessary? What would it be like for one to be: 1) “God’s treasured possession”; and 2) “a kingdom of priests and a holy nation”? 

** My covenant refers to the word of God (namely the Bible). 

** God considers not only His person but also His Word as equally important. We cannot say, “I obey God, but I do not like what God says in the Bible.” 

God and God’s word are one and the same, and both supplement each other. 

** It is to be an instrument of God operating as God’s agents (or mouthpiece). Of course the whole earth belongs to God. But unlike all other peoples on earth who are outside of the relationship with God, the Israelites were to operate as God’s direct servants, working as the main characters on God’s stage. Practically they are the direct recipients (or beneficiaries) of God’s provisions and protections whereas the remainder of people serve as means by which God’s provisions and protections arrive at the door of God’s children; they become beneficiaries of God’s blessings only in so far as they come into a personal relationship with God. 

** A kingdom of priests: this title refers to the function of the Israelites (believers). The word “priests” can best be translated to read “ministers”; this position comes with the task of getting all peoples on earth to come to the understanding of God and His will, so they would get to know God, love him, worship Him, obey Him, and be blessed by Him. The priestly duties then include the duty to pray for them, the duty to teach the Bible, the duty to shepherd over them, the duty to lead them to God, the source of life. 

A holy nation: this title goes to the result of the children of God functioning as God’s servants, that is, a nation who is like God. 

5. Read verses 7-8. What did the people say? What can we learn from them? 

** They all said, “Amen, we like your proposal. We hereby accept your courtship.” This is like a woman saying to a man courting her to marry him, “Yes. I will marry you.” 

** They did not ask for a prenuptial agreement nor ask God “What is in it” (in the document called covenant) for us?”; They did not ask God, “What can we get out of it?” or “What can you do for us”? They did not even fully understand what is involved in being a kingdom of priests and a holy nation. By faith and in simple obedience, they accepted. This is truly great point of the Israelites. The key thing is that they did not calculate. They simply trusted God and accepted the offer. 

6. Read verses 9-25. On what condition did God allow the people to approach the mountain? (13) What is the significance of the ram’s horn? (Genesis 22:13) What does this passage tell us about God? 

      ** A long blast of the ram’s horn.

** It is a prefigure of Jesus’ atoning sacrifice, the ultimate provision of God for mankind. 

** God is the holy God; yet he is a merciful God; he is full of love. In love and in humility, he made a way for him to come down to the level of fallen men, and for fallen men to come to Him to form a unity of love, and through this unity to fulfill God’s vision to save all peoples one earth. This historical event (God wooing the Israelites to Him) looks forward to the reality to come that is found in Jesus. God’s advent here resulted in the birth of Israel as a holy nation, which corresponds to the coming of the Holy Spirit in Acts 1, giving birth to the church, the body of Jesus Christ. 

The end

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