What value does God set on your life? The world may measure it in terms of money or possessions but what does God say about your value? Let's look at how God values his people. And we read in Exodus 19, as we continue our series in the book of Exodus, and learn about our value.
Exodus 19 (NIV84) 1In the third month after the Israelites left Egypt—on the very day—they came to the Desert of Sinai.
2After they set out from Rephidim, they entered the Desert of Sinai, and Israel camped there in the desert in front of the mountain.
3Then 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.
5Now 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,
6you will be for me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.’ These are the words you are to speak to the Israelites.”
7So Moses went back and summoned the elders of the people and set before them all the words the Lord had commanded him to speak.
8The people all responded together, “We will do everything the Lord has said.” So Moses brought their answer back to the Lord.
9The 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.
10And the Lord said to Moses, “Go to the people and consecrate them today and tomorrow. Have them wash their clothes
11and 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.
12Put 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.
13He 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.”
14After Moses had gone down the mountain to the people, he consecrated them, and they washed their clothes.
15Then he said to the people, “Prepare yourselves for the third day. Abstain from sexual relations.”
16On the morning of the third day there was thunder and lightning, with a thick cloud over the mountain, and a very loud trumpet blast. Everyone in the camp trembled.
17Then Moses led the people out of the camp to meet with God, and they stood at the foot of the mountain.
18Mount Sinai was covered with smoke, because the Lord descended on it in fire. The smoke billowed up from it like smoke from a furnace, the whole mountain trembled violently,
19and the sound of the trumpet grew louder and louder. Then Moses spoke and the voice of God answered him.
20The Lord descended to the top of Mount Sinai and called Moses to the top of the mountain. So Moses went up
21and the Lord said to him, “Go down and warn the people so they do not force their way through to see the Lord and many of them perish.
22Even the priests, who approach the Lord, must consecrate themselves, or the Lord will break out against them.”
23Moses said to the Lord, “The people cannot come up Mount Sinai, because you yourself warned us, ‘Put limits around the mountain and set it apart as holy.’ ”
24The Lord replied, “Go down and bring Aaron up with you. But the priests and the people must not force their way through to come up to the Lord, or he will break out against them.”
25So Moses went down to the people and told them.
Some of the most exciting types of people to be around are new Christians. New Christians have all sorts of questions that they are bubbling over to ask. What is God like? How does this work? What should I do with that? I would encourage you, if you're a mature Christian, find a new Christian that you can walk alongside and encourage because new Christians remind us again of the wonder of who God is, of the magnificence of our Saviour. New Christians, like new babies, are such beautiful things. They keep us on our toes, spiritually speaking, in a sense. Find a new Christian to encourage, as you may be a few steps further along the path with Jesus.
In this passage we encounter a people who are busy experiencing God. And the date is about 1500 BC. From our day, about 3500 years ago give or take a few. They are at the foot of Mount Sinai or what is called Jebel Musa today. It is soaring up 2250 meters above them. It's over two kilometres, as a mountain, towering above them. They as a people heard that God appeared to Moses on this very mountain and they had seen God's judgment in Egypt in the 10 plagues. They had experienced God's salvation at the Red Sea, as He parted the sea and they walked through as on dry land. They had seen his provision in their life now for three whole months, manna in the morning, quail in the evening.
If God is their Saviour, if God is their daily provider, the question then arises what must they do? How must they now live as God's people? What about you? Do you know God and do you know how God wants you to live? You say, “Well the Bible says, ‘Love the Lord your God with all your soul, your heart, your mind, your strength.’ That's great but how do you love?” What does God want you to do for your neighbors? How do you love your neighbor? What does that look like? We're going to look at: the “what” and the “how” of what God has taught us here.
This whole passage shows us that God makes you his treasured possession to live up to your value as one of his people. Like a rich king, getting onto his knee to propose to a poor common girl, for marriage (and all that will mean for her and her value and changed circumstances.)
We see in this passage, firstly, the presentation of an agreement to the people. The presentation of an agreement is between God and Israel and this presentation takes place at the end of a natural corridor of land that's reaching from Rephidim to Mount Sinai. Here on this yellow plain of about three kilometers long and one kilometer wide with just a few sparse tamarisk trees around. It is in the natural amphitheatre at the foot of Mount Sinai, where God gives the Ten Commandments to his people. He presents this agreement to them, what has been called the old covenant.
In a temple not made with human hands, here in a shrine of natural majesty, God gives the presentation of this agreement based on his past track record. Just as God saved his people out of Egypt so he has also carried them on wings like eagles. It's a beautiful picture of course, if you know anything about how mother eagles and father eagles train their little eaglets. They will eventually push them out of the nest and as they dive down they will open their wings and fly. If they don't fly properly, the mother or father will fly underneath them and lift them and take them back to the nest until they're stronger to fly. There's a process of carrying them. And this picture of spiritually young people, or in the case of Israel, God coming underneath like an eagle and carrying them. This tender picture set before the people as they look up into the mountains and see eagles circling there above. What a beautiful picture God gives them. Here he brings them to the nest of Mount Sinai.
Verse 5 he gives them the terms and the rewards of this promise, of this agreement, of this covenant, that he makes with them. From them, he expects full obedience, and after that full obedience, he promises blessings upon them. The greatest of all blessings is the blessing of being God's treasured possession. The word ‘treasured possession’ in Hebrew, is a beautiful word. In the Bible, it's used very rarely, but it's the word “segullah” in the Hebrew language. A “segullah” meant a treasure that was kept usually by a king. It was usually to designate his personal treasure or private assets. Think of the story of King David who later on in his life wanted to build a temple for the Lord. Then he taught his son, Solomon, “I will not only use state funds and the taxes we've collected from the people that are in the state treasury but I will use my money from my own treasury, my ‘segullah.’” The picture is of a “segullah” often being in a box beneath the throne where the king would sit. This is the picture of the people of Israel in this passage and of us Christians in the New Testament, are God's treasured possession. We are in a sense under his throne. This of course explains that picture we have of the martyrs under the throne in the book of Revelation 7.
We are God's treasured possession and that's what he calls us here. We become that treasured possession by God's grace and his work in our lives. We're not just the general state treasures but we who know him, to us He gives this promise, as to Israel, if they will obey his law they will be in a relationship with him. This law was meant to lead them to a relationship with Jesus and ultimately to the Saviour, the Messiah, and to reveal their continued need for God's ongoing grace every day. That as they were tempted to covet they would rely on God and find his strength. As they were tempted to lie they would turn to the truth, who is Jesus Christ. They were already saved, just as Jesus saves us, they were saved out of Egypt. God was showing them that they are to live in a particular way. As older Christians, we are to teach the new Christians how they are to live as a Christian. God was teaching his people here at the foot of Mount Sinai. But this law of course as we know by the New Testament times got twisted and people thought they could be saved by obeying the law. No, it's not the law that saves you. It's Jesus that saves you and now once you are saved he gives you a pattern for living, even in the law. The law cannot save anyone. Only Jesus Christ can save.
As Vernon McGee so beautifully puts it when he contrasts law and grace he says: “The law demands. Grace gives. The law says, ‘Do.’ Grace says, ‘Believe.’ The law exacts but grace bestows. The law says, ‘Work.’ Grace says ‘rest.’ The law threatens and pronounces a curse. Grace entreats and pronounces a blessing. The law says, ‘Do and you will live.’ Grace says, ‘Live and you will do.’ Law condemns the best person. Grace saves the worst person.” What a beautiful picture of grace.
The presentation of an agreement (a covenant) by God, was to save people. They were saved already by Him. It was not a means to be saved! Remember Jesus said the same thing: If you are already saved, then “if you now love me [because I have saved you,] if you love me, you will do what I command.” If Jesus has transformed you, you will want to obey what he teaches you. This is what God wanted from Israel, that it was to be a kingdom of priests and a holy nation. It's the very description that is given of you and me as Christians, in 1 Peter 2:9. You have been set apart by God to serve. You are his treasured possession and you are to serve Christ the King as a priest, as a princess, and a prince, set apart. Praying for the people. Praying for the church. Praying for the community. Praying for the country and all the rulers in our country and in the world. We are God's treasured possession. Do you want to know your value? You are God's treasure. That's why in verse 8 the people naively agree to obey everything. Much the same way we read in the New Testament when Peter said he would never deny Jesus and of course, as Jesus foretold, we know that he did. They did not understand and know their weakness, or their need to for daily grace. We are all daily in need, moment by moment, of the grace and the strength of God. God here presents an agreement with his people.
The second thing in this passage is that there is a preparation to receive this agreement. Notice how God says they are to prepare themselves. Verse 9 tells us that God would appear in a dense cloud so that the people could hear him and trust Moses as his servant. I must tell you that just like the people of Israel many years ago battled to trust Moses and they questioned him and complained about him so through the ages people have questioned Moses. God specifically says here that he appeared that people might trust what he said. Moses wrote the first five books of the Bible and the liberal scholars, and theologians, through recent centuries have questioned Moses’ authorship. The reality is God spoke through Moses to us that we might know what God has said and we might trust his word. The Bible that you hold in your hand is God's word recorded for us by his prophets of old, like Moses and others. We are to trust what God has said. God is no fool. He has correctly and accurately recorded everything you need to know in his word. He has given us his word to trust and that's why as we prepare to receive this agreement. We need to know that there are some requirements from our side, as people. For the people in those days, they were to consecrate themselves.
What does it mean to consecrate yourself? For them, it meant cleaning up their lives, washing their bodies, washing their clothes, and notice also abstaining from sexual intercourse in the period leading up to standing before God in his presence. It's a little bit like these great sportsmen who take part in Olympic Sports and International events. They are told by their coaches to be mentally focused, physically focused, psychologically focused, and even spiritually focused. How? By abstaining from sex before the matches, before the tournaments, that they might be focused 100%. It's a similar principle. Don't we when we come to worship God put on our clean clothes or maybe wash up before the time? God also says don't watch TV late and come to church bleary-eyed and tired and too exhausted to even hear my word through the preacher. Rather come focused on listening for Jesus. Make sure you, if you're married, to abstain from sex. If you are unmarried, definitely abstain until you're married. God calls you to be set apart, consecrated. Make sure you come to God's word with an expectant heart. A heart that's there to be transformed, by the washing of the word of God week by week. Now does being “consecrated” save you? No, that doesn't save you. Let me emphasize that abstinence and cleanliness cannot save you, but it is a way of making sure your mind and your body are focused on what God has to say to you.
Thirdly, notice the person making this agreement. If there's the presentation of the agreement and the preparation to receive the agreement the third thing we need to see is the Person making the agreement. This person is God and God cannot fail. He made this agreement with Israel and he makes an agreement with you and me in Jesus, in a new covenant (which we call the new testament) that we might be saved.
Notice some things about God here. This passage teaches us firstly, the majesty of God. As God descends on Mount Sinai, this is no circus event, this is no spectacular laser show, this is not special effects done on a movie computer or something like that on the TV, this is a terrifying encounter with the living God who created this whole universe. This is God our Creator coming down and causing thunder on one of the mountains He created. With much lightning He appears hidden in thick clouds, which are accompanied by loud trumpets that get louder and louder. There is smoke and there is fire. There is an earthquake that shakes the whole earth. Then God who created us to speak and to hear, speaks audibly in their language that they might understand everything He has for them.
The Bible reminds us that it is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God. And as John records for us in John 1:18 that nobody has seen God except Jesus Christ who has made him known. You and I, can thank God that we no longer have to come to a mountain smoking and shaking as Hebrews 12 puts it, to this terrifying mountain, but we now come to Jesus Christ our Saviour, who puts us in the church of the firstborn. We come to Jesus who is the mediator of a new covenant, a new promise that God makes with you if you will put your trust in Jesus Christ alone to save you. We serve an awesome and fearful God. He is a majestic God.
Notice also that he is Spirit. God is Spirit. God is there and he spoke but no one saw his likeness. There was no outward form for the eye to discern on the mountain. It's very hard for us in a materialistic age to grasp, but God is Spirit and that is why God commands that no idols be formed in his image. No statue be carved to represent him. God is Spirit and he is not composed of matter. God does not possess a physical nature like you. God is invisible. God is not limited by time or limited by space. God is Spirit and he created the entire universe of all the galaxies and stars. He created this planet. He came down on a mountain by his Spirit and met with his people. That is why no physical object should be made in his likeness. God is Spirit and we need to remember that.
Thirdly, if God is majestic and God is Spirit, God is also Holy. God is Holy and set apart from his creation. God is distinct. The pantheists and the Buddhists say that God is in the trees and God is in the water and God is in the air. No, everything exists in God but God is not in those things. God is separate and distinct from his creation. He created everything and we live and we move and we have our being in God. God is not only different and distinct from His creation, He is the God who is without any moral defect. The Bible says He is Holy, completely morally pure, and completely set apart. That's why God calls you and me to be holy. God says to you: “Be holy as I am holy.”
It is this person, this majestic God, this God who is Spirit, this God who is Holy, that makes an agreement with you. A new covenant with you in Jesus Christ and invites you into his family, if you will trust him. That tells you how valuable you are. You are called a treasured possession of God. You have been bought by Jesus Christ at great cost to him personally on the cross. You have been won in the battle against Satan. You have been bought out of sin. You have been won as a prize against death. Christ has rescued you.
Now having been forgiven and cleansed and made to be a new creation, God says to you: “Present yourself as a holy, living sacrifice.” Clean and fully focused on hearing him speak to you. Make it your goal week by week to be there for God. As you sin, ask him to forgive you and cleanse you, and re-cover you in His righteousness. To clothe you in his white robes and enable you to worship him in spirit and truth. God makes you his treasured possession so that you can live up to your value. You are to be morally pure. You are to be set apart and holy. You are to follow God because he is moral. He has integrity. He calls you to integrity and to be his child. You are God's treasure. That means that you need to sparkle where he has put you. You need a sparkle for him in your home. You need to sparkle at work for him, or at school for him, or play. You are his treasured possession and God who is Spirit is always with you. God is always in you. He will work in you and work out his will according to his good purposes, in your life. That's why God makes you his personal treasure so that you might live up to his value of you. Trust him now with all your life.
Let us pray. Oh, Lord Jesus. Thank you so very, very, much for what you have done for us in dying for us on that cross that we might be forgiven, that death may be conquered, and sin paid for, and Satan may be defeated. We thank you, Lord Jesus. Thank you that you have bought us and placed us in a sense, as your treasured possession under your throne, that we of all people on this planet are truly a blessed people and blessed persons. Thank you, Lord. Now we pray that by your Holy Spirit, by your grace, you might empower us to sparkle for you, to shine for you in a dark world. To be salt in a tasteless environment. Oh, Lord Jesus, change us continually. Keep us walking with you, obeying you, and doing it not because our obedience saves us, but out of love for you. Oh, Lord Jesus thank you for what you've done. Meet with us each one personally as we go into life shining for you and sparkling wherever you place us. In your name, we ask this, Lord Jesus. Amen.
May God strengthen you. If I can encourage you, please share your prayer needs in the comments below. May God go with you, and may your life shine and sparkle to his praise and his glory now and forevermore. Amen.