"You shall be a special treasure to Me above all people; for all the earth is Mine. And you shall be to Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.”
Exodus 15:1-18
“Then Moses and the children of Israel sang this song to the Lord, and spoke, saying:
I will sing to the Lord, for He has triumphed gloriously!
The horse and its rider He has throne into the sea!
The Lord is my strength and song,
and he has become my salvation;
He is my God, and I will praise Him;
My father's God, and I will exalt Him.
The Lord is a man of war; The Lord is His name.
Pharaoh's chariots and his army He has cast into the sea;
His chosen captains also are drowned in the Red Sea.
The depths have covered them;
They sank to the bottom like a stone.
'Your right hand, O Lord, has become glorious in power;
Your right hand, O Lord, has dashed the enemy in pieces.
And in the greatness of Your excellence
You have overthrown those who rose against You;
You sent forth Your wrath;
it consumed them like stubble.
And with the blast of Your nostrils
the waters were gathered together;
The floods stood upright like a heap;
The depths congealed in the heart of the sea.
The enemy said, 'I will pursue,
I will overtake, I will divide the spoil;
My desire shall be satisfied on them.
I will draw my sword, my had shall destroy them.'
You blew with Your wind, the sea covered them;
They sank like lead in the mighty waters.
Who is like You, O Lord, among the gods?
Who is like You, glorious in holiness,
fearful in praises, doing wonders?
You stretched out Your right hand;
the earth swallowed them.
You in Your mercy have led forth
the people whom You have redeemed;
You have guided them in Your strength
to Your holy habitation.
'The people will hear and be afraid;
Sorrow will take hold of the inhabitants of Philistia.
Then the chiefs of Edom will be dismayed;
The mighty men of Moab,
trembling will take hold of them;
All the inhabitants of Canaan will melt away.
Fear and dread will fall on them;
By the greatness of Your arm they will be as still as a stone,
Till Your people pass over, O Lord,
Till the people pass over whom You have purchased.
You will bring them in and plant them
in the mountain of Your inheritance,
In the place, O Lord, which
You have made for Your own dwelling,
The sanctuary, O Lord, which Your hands have established.
The Lord shall reign forever and ever.”
One thing is certain, it was God's power at work and not man's in the deliverance of His people out of the bondage of Egypt. Moses and Aaron were spokespeople for God's purposes. The first time Moses put his hand to delivering his brothers from slavery, it was his idea and his way. The result was a disaster. Moses killed an Egyptian slave driver and hid him in the sand only to find that the very people he wanted to deliver were far from grateful to him and made the matter known. He ended up having to leave everything and flee for his life to Midian.
In Midian, God called Moses. This time it was God's idea and God's way. He set a bush on fire and then called Moses over to it so He could tell him all about His plan. He told Moses, “I have surely seen the oppression of My people who are in Egypt, and have heard their cry because of their taskmasters, for I know their sorrows. So I have come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians, and to bring them up from that land to a good and large land, to a land flowing with milk and honey, to the place of the Canaanites and the Hittites and the Amorites and the Perizzites and the Hivites and the Jebusites. Now therefore, behold, the cry of the children of Israel has come to Me, and I have also seen the oppression with which the Egyptians oppress them. Come now, therefore, and I will send you to Pharaoh that you may bring My people, the children of Israel, out of Egypt.” (Exodus 3:7-10)
God led them out in power. He told Moses, “So I will stretch out My hand and strike Egypt with all My wonders which I will do in its midst; and after that he will let you go. And I will give this people favor in the sight of the Egyptians; and it shall be, when you go, that you shall not go empty-handed. But every woman shall ask of her neighbor, namely, of her who dwells near her house, articles of silver, articles of gold, and clothing; and you shall put them on your sons and on your daughters. So you shall plunder the Egyptians.” (Exodus 3:20-22)
In Psalm 114 it says about the power of God in His deliverance of Israel,
“When Israel went out of Egypt, the house of Jacob from a people of strange language, Judah became His sanctuary, and Israel His dominion. The sea saw it and fled; Jordan turned back. The mountains skipped like rams, the little hills like lambs. What ails you, O sea, that you fled? O Jordan, that you turned back? O mountains, that you skipped like rams? O little hills, like lambs? Tremble, O earth, at the presence of the Lord, at the presence of the God of Jacob, who turned the rock into a pool of water, the flint into a fountain of waters.”
“Savior, I'm overcome with Your great love for me.”
God was passionate about freeing His people from oppression. One of my pastors, Steve Wiens, noted this weekend: God's wrath, orge, Strong's #3709, as used in Col. 3:6, Romans 1:18, and Ephesians 5:6, means a passionate desire (to desire earnestly) mixed with intense grief for the way things are. God passionately desires us to be free from idols and oppression, free to serve Him as His children. He wants our faces toward him and nothing to come in between us being face to face with him [1].
God told Moses to say to Pharaoh, “Thus says the Lord: 'Israel is My son, My firstborn. So I say to you, let My so go that he may serve Me. But if you refuse to let him go, indeed I will kill your son, your firstborn.'” As many sources note, God confronted Israel's oppression by sending plagues that confronted each one of Egypt's false gods the Egyptians bowed down to until Pharaoh agreed to let His people go.
One Bible Dictionary reference notes that wrath is:
When David was in bondage to the enemy, he cried out to the Lord and the Lord saved him from his oppressors. God acted in wrath against towards David's enemies.
In Psalm 18:4-19 David proclaims, “The pangs of death surrounded me, and the floods of ungodliness made me afraid. The sorrows of Sheol surrounded me; The snares of death confronted me. In my distress I called upon the Lord, and cried out to my God;
He heard my voice from His temple, and my cry came before Him, even to His ears. Then the earth shook and trembled; The foundations of the hills also quaked and were shaken, because He was angry. Smoke went up from His nostrils, and devouring fire from His mouth;
Coals were kindled by it. He bowed the heavens also, and came down with darkness under His feet. And He rode upon a cherub, and flew; He flew upon the wings of the wind. He made darkness His secret place; His canopy around Him was dark waters and think clouds of the skies. From the brightness before Him, His thick clouds passed with hailstones and coals of fire.
The Lord thundered from heaven, and the Most High uttered His voice, Hailstones and coals of fire. He sent out His arrows and scattered the foe, lightnings in abundance, and He vanquished them. Then the channels of the sea were seen, the foundations of the world were uncovered, at your rebuke, O Lord, at the blast of the breath of Your nostrils.
He sent from above, He took me; He drew me out of many waters. He delivered me from my strong enemy, from those who hated me, for they were too strong for me. The confronted me in the day of my calamity, but the Lord was my support. He also brought me out into a broad place; He delivered me because He delighted in me.”
In the same way, God had heard the cries of his people in bondage in Egypt and delivered his children by His strength and brought them into a broad place. In Exodus 6:6-8, God tells Moses to say to the children of Israel who were in bondage, “I am the Lord; I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians, I will rescue you from their bondage, and I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and with great judgments. I will take you as My people, and I will be your God. Then you shall know that I am the Lord your God who brings you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians. And I will bring you into the land which I swore to give to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; and I will give it to you as a heritage. I am the Lord.”
“I know I am weak, I know I am unworthy to call upon your name. But because of grace, because of Your mercy, I stand here unashamed.”
In bringing the children of Israel out of bondage, God guided the people in His strength to His holy mountain to worship Him. He went before them as a cloud by day and fire by night. He wanted to meet face to face with them. After he led them out of bondage to Mount Sinai he told Moses to tell the children of Israel: “You have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I bore you on eagles' wings and brought you to Myself. Now therefore, if you will indeed obey My voice and keep My covenant, then you shall be a special treasure to Me above all people; for all the earth is Mine. And you shall be to Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.” (Exodus 19:4-6)
In His lovingkindness for the children of Israel, God was claiming a people to be His treasured possession. Psalm 114:2 says, “Judah became His sanctuary, and Israel His dominion.” And He called them to serve them as a kingdom of priests and a holy nation. As one commentary notes, he was “building them into a people whose hearts beat to the same rhythm as His own.” [3]
“Savior, I am overcome with Your great love for me.”
Commentary notes about this, “When he delivered them out of the hand of their oppressors it was that they might serve him both in holiness and in righteousness...” [4]
God wanted a holy people for Himself. Jesus says in Matthew that blessed are those who are pure in heart because they will see God. And in Hebrews 12:14 it says, “Pursue peace with all people, and holiness, without which no one will see the Lord."
“Holiness, Holiness is what You want from me” sings.
David cried out in Psalm 24:3-6, Who may ascend into the hill of the Lord? Or who may stand in His holy place? He who has clean hands and a pure heart, Who has not lifted up his soul to an idol, nor sworn deceitfully. He shall receive blessing from the Lord, and righteousness from the God of his salvation. This is Jacob, the generation of those who seek Him, who seek your face.”
When the Israelites came to the mountain, they were consecrated and went to the foot of the mountain to meet with God. They could not come any closer, touching the mountain or they would die. Only Moses and Aaron could come up on the mountain (Exodus 19:10-25).
“Come just as you are before Your God” sings in the background.
Consecrate is the Hebrew word qadash, Strongs #6942. It means "to make holy,' 'to declare distinct,' or 'to set apart.' The word describes dedicating an object or person to God. By delivering the Israelites from slavery in Egypt, God made the nation of Israel distinct. Through His mighty acts of deliverance, God demonstrated that the Israelites were His people, and He was their God (6:7). By having the people wash themselves at Mount Sinai, the Lord made it clear that they as a people were being set apart for Him (19:10)." [5]
Psalm 119:9 says, “How can a young man keep his way pure? By living according to your word.” At Mount Sinai God gave the people the law. He presented the ten commandments and many laws on how to worship God in their day to day activities.
After giving the law, God tells the children of Israel that He is sending and Angel before them to keep them in the way and to bring them into the place which God prepared, the Promised Land. And God tells them how to go about serving Him – by obeying His commands and utterly overthrowing the gods of the land He brings them into. He called them to be "a holy nation and kingdom of priests."
One commentary notes, "On the one hand, Israel would become holy—or distinct and separate from all other nations—because of its special relationship with God. But on the other hand, Israel, in its separation, was to be the means by which the other nations would learn of the living God. This nation of priests would lead others to a correct worship of the true God (Ps. 117)."
He says to the people in Exodus 23:21-33,
The Angel going ahead of them to keep them in the way and bring them in the place God prepared for them, the promised land, is a type and shadow that points us to Jesus. God sent His only Son to go ahead of us to provide a way that we could keep His commands and enter into the broad place He had prepared for us – fullness of life in Christ.
God made the way for us to draw near, face to face with Him through His Son. Hebrews 12:18-24 says,
“For you have not come to the mountain that may be touched and that may be touched and that burned with fire, and to blackness and darkness and tempest, and the sound of a trumpet and the voice of words, so that those who heard it begged that the word should not be spoken to them anymore. (For they could not endure what was commanded: 'And if so much as a beast touches the mountain, it shall be stoned or shot with an arrow.” And so terrifying was the sight that Moses said, “I am exceedingly afraid and trembling.”)
But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, to an innumerable company of angels, to the general assembly and church of the firstborn who are registered in heaven, to God the Judge of all, to the spirits of just men made perfect, to Jesus the Mediator of the new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling that speaks better things than that of Abel."
And in the same way that God called the children of Israel to be a kingdom of priests and a holy nation, Christ makes the way for all who choose to serve Him. 1 Peter 2:9 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."
And Titus 2:14 (NLT) says, "He gave his life to free us from every kind of sin, to cleanse us, and to make us his very own people, totally committed to doing good deeds." In the same way as the Isrealites, God calls us to serve Him in holiness, setting us apart from the world and then uses us as a means by which others can "learn of the living God." (Not serving him out of our own self effort.) Set apart in holiness, we " lead others to a correct worship of the true God."
So what can I learn from this?
Too often I still feel like the Israelites standing at the bottom of the mountain. I feel like seeing God face to face is just out of my reach and I need to work harder to get it all right. I think I have to work hard so He will approve of me. To some extent, I think I need to be of value to Him or He will leave me at the bottom of the mountain while He calls those who get it right up the mountain to draw near to Him.
I think that God may be speaking to me that like Moses in Egypt, I share His heart for His purposes but too often I go about it too much my own way. I push myself to work hard at it in my own effort, making a mess of things rather than letting Him lead. I'm not sure if I know right now what it looks like to let Him lead and not work hard at things. Maybe it starts with repenting the best I know how and realizing that I am not at work bringing about His purposes - He is.
Lord, I don't know where to start. I don't know how to let go of my own self effort. Would you lead me?
“I know that God is able, I know that He still reigns, I know that Love has found a way” sings
I think I am learning more and more that God is the one who is making the plans and implementing them by His power -out of His mercy and compassion and in His great affection for us.
I do not need to strive to try to get Him to act by getting everything right. His power is at work all around me and He will bring forth His purposes in His timing. God has me on a journey that will lead me along a path to greater holiness. It's a journey that He goes with me every step of the way. And the way I serve Him is to embrace what He has for me, walking in obedience and dealing with my sin and idols. Micah 6:8 say, He has showed you, O man, what is good. And what does the LORD require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.”
By embracing all He is working in me as He leads me along a path of greater holiness, I am being set apart from the world. And as I am set apart, God can use me as a means by which others can "learn of the living God."
Lord, thank you that in your lovingkindness, You go before us and make the way. You are great, and mighty in power. Your understanding is infinite. Thank you that you provide all that we need. You cover the heavens with clouds, you prepare rain for the earth, you make grass grow on the mountains, and you give food to the hungry (Psalm 147:8-9). My heart cries, Emmanuel! God with us! We are Your treasured possession. Make us wholly yours! That we may serve You with our whole hearts. May we be a people whose hearts beat to the same rhythm as Your own.
1. Wiens, Steve. Jerub-Baal. September 19, 2010. Church of the Open Door. Located at: http://www.thedoor.org/ Last Accessed: 9/21/10
2.Youngblood, R. F., Bruce, F. F., Harrison, R. K., & Thomas Nelson Publishers. (1995). Nelson's new illustrated Bible dictionary. Rev. ed. of: Nelson's illustrated Bible dictionary.; Includes index. Nashville: T. Nelson.
3. The Maxwell Leadership Bible, Second Edition (NKJV). Maxwell Motivation, Inc. 2007.
4. Henry, M. (1996, c1991). Matthew Henry's commentary on the whole Bible : Complete and unabridged in one volume (Ps 114:1). Peabody: Hendrickson.
5. Radmacher, E. D., Allen, R. B., & House, H. W. (1999). Nelson's new illustrated Bible commentary (Ex 19:10-11). Nashville: T. Nelson Publishers.
6. Radmacher, E. D., Allen, R. B., & House, H. W. (1997). The Nelson study Bible : New King James Version. Includes index. (Ex 19:9). Nashville: T. Nelson Publishers.
a. Referring here not to people who Christ gave His life to save, but spiritual forces of evil. Ephesians 6:12 says, “For our struggle is not against human opponents, but against rulers, authorities, cosmic powers in the darkness around us, and evil spiritual forces in the heavenly realm.” God is longsuffering towards us, desiring none to perish (see 2 Peter 3:9).
b. Our sins are not overlooked. God is holy. Forgiveness is given freely by our repentance and faith in Christ.
Hebrews 3:7-19 says, “Wherefore (as the Holy Ghost saith, To day if ye will hear his voice, Harden not your hearts, as in the provocation, in the day of temptation in the wilderness: When your fathers tempted me, proved me, and saw my works forty years. Wherefore I was grieved with that generation, and said, They do alway err in their heart; and they have not known my ways. So I sware in my wrath, They shall not enter into my rest.) Take heed, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief, in departing from the living God. But exhort one another daily, while it is called To day; lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin. For we are made partakers of Christ, if we hold the beginning of our confidence stedfast unto the end; While it is said, To day if ye will hear his voice, harden not your hearts, as in the provocation. For some, when they had heard, did provoke: howbeit not all that came out of Egypt by Moses. But with whom was he grieved forty years? was it not with them that had sinned, whose carcases fell in the wilderness? And to whom sware he that they should not enter into his rest, but to them that believed not? So we see that they could not enter in because of unbelief."
And Hebrews 10:26-31 says,
For if we sin wilfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins, But a certain fearful looking for of judgment and fiery indignation, which shall devour the adversaries. He that despised Moses’ law died without mercy under two or three witnesses: Of how much sorer punishment, suppose ye, shall he be thought worthy, who hath trodden under foot the Son of God, and hath counted the blood of the covenant, wherewith he was sanctified, an unholy thing, and hath done despite unto the Spirit of grace? For we know him that hath said, Vengeance belongeth unto me, I will recompense, saith the Lord. And again, The Lord shall judge his people. It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.
“Then Moses and the children of Israel sang this song to the Lord, and spoke, saying:
I will sing to the Lord, for He has triumphed gloriously!
The horse and its rider He has throne into the sea!
The Lord is my strength and song,
and he has become my salvation;
He is my God, and I will praise Him;
My father's God, and I will exalt Him.
The Lord is a man of war; The Lord is His name.
Pharaoh's chariots and his army He has cast into the sea;
His chosen captains also are drowned in the Red Sea.
The depths have covered them;
They sank to the bottom like a stone.
'Your right hand, O Lord, has become glorious in power;
Your right hand, O Lord, has dashed the enemy in pieces.
And in the greatness of Your excellence
You have overthrown those who rose against You;
You sent forth Your wrath;
it consumed them like stubble.
And with the blast of Your nostrils
the waters were gathered together;
The floods stood upright like a heap;
The depths congealed in the heart of the sea.
The enemy said, 'I will pursue,
I will overtake, I will divide the spoil;
My desire shall be satisfied on them.
I will draw my sword, my had shall destroy them.'
You blew with Your wind, the sea covered them;
They sank like lead in the mighty waters.
Who is like You, O Lord, among the gods?
Who is like You, glorious in holiness,
fearful in praises, doing wonders?
You stretched out Your right hand;
the earth swallowed them.
You in Your mercy have led forth
the people whom You have redeemed;
You have guided them in Your strength
to Your holy habitation.
'The people will hear and be afraid;
Sorrow will take hold of the inhabitants of Philistia.
Then the chiefs of Edom will be dismayed;
The mighty men of Moab,
trembling will take hold of them;
All the inhabitants of Canaan will melt away.
Fear and dread will fall on them;
By the greatness of Your arm they will be as still as a stone,
Till Your people pass over, O Lord,
Till the people pass over whom You have purchased.
You will bring them in and plant them
in the mountain of Your inheritance,
In the place, O Lord, which
You have made for Your own dwelling,
The sanctuary, O Lord, which Your hands have established.
The Lord shall reign forever and ever.”
One thing is certain, it was God's power at work and not man's in the deliverance of His people out of the bondage of Egypt. Moses and Aaron were spokespeople for God's purposes. The first time Moses put his hand to delivering his brothers from slavery, it was his idea and his way. The result was a disaster. Moses killed an Egyptian slave driver and hid him in the sand only to find that the very people he wanted to deliver were far from grateful to him and made the matter known. He ended up having to leave everything and flee for his life to Midian.
In Midian, God called Moses. This time it was God's idea and God's way. He set a bush on fire and then called Moses over to it so He could tell him all about His plan. He told Moses, “I have surely seen the oppression of My people who are in Egypt, and have heard their cry because of their taskmasters, for I know their sorrows. So I have come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians, and to bring them up from that land to a good and large land, to a land flowing with milk and honey, to the place of the Canaanites and the Hittites and the Amorites and the Perizzites and the Hivites and the Jebusites. Now therefore, behold, the cry of the children of Israel has come to Me, and I have also seen the oppression with which the Egyptians oppress them. Come now, therefore, and I will send you to Pharaoh that you may bring My people, the children of Israel, out of Egypt.” (Exodus 3:7-10)
God led them out in power. He told Moses, “So I will stretch out My hand and strike Egypt with all My wonders which I will do in its midst; and after that he will let you go. And I will give this people favor in the sight of the Egyptians; and it shall be, when you go, that you shall not go empty-handed. But every woman shall ask of her neighbor, namely, of her who dwells near her house, articles of silver, articles of gold, and clothing; and you shall put them on your sons and on your daughters. So you shall plunder the Egyptians.” (Exodus 3:20-22)
In Psalm 114 it says about the power of God in His deliverance of Israel,
“When Israel went out of Egypt, the house of Jacob from a people of strange language, Judah became His sanctuary, and Israel His dominion. The sea saw it and fled; Jordan turned back. The mountains skipped like rams, the little hills like lambs. What ails you, O sea, that you fled? O Jordan, that you turned back? O mountains, that you skipped like rams? O little hills, like lambs? Tremble, O earth, at the presence of the Lord, at the presence of the God of Jacob, who turned the rock into a pool of water, the flint into a fountain of waters.”
“Savior, I'm overcome with Your great love for me.”
God was passionate about freeing His people from oppression. One of my pastors, Steve Wiens, noted this weekend: God's wrath, orge, Strong's #3709, as used in Col. 3:6, Romans 1:18, and Ephesians 5:6, means a passionate desire (to desire earnestly) mixed with intense grief for the way things are. God passionately desires us to be free from idols and oppression, free to serve Him as His children. He wants our faces toward him and nothing to come in between us being face to face with him [1].
God told Moses to say to Pharaoh, “Thus says the Lord: 'Israel is My son, My firstborn. So I say to you, let My so go that he may serve Me. But if you refuse to let him go, indeed I will kill your son, your firstborn.'” As many sources note, God confronted Israel's oppression by sending plagues that confronted each one of Egypt's false gods the Egyptians bowed down to until Pharaoh agreed to let His people go.
One Bible Dictionary reference notes that wrath is:
The righteous rejoice in God's wrath against His enemies [a]. David proclaimed in Psalm 68:1-3, “Let God arise, Let His enemies be scattered; Let those also who hate Him flee before Him. As smoke is driven away, so drive them away; As wax melts before the fire, So let the wicked perish at the presence of God. But let the righteous be glad; Let them rejoice before God; Yes, let them rejoice exceedingly.”“the personal manifestation of God’s holy, moral character in judgment against sin. Wrath is neither an impersonal process nor irrational and fitful like anger. It is in no way vindictive or malicious. It is holy indignation—God’s anger directed against sin. God’s wrath is an expression of His holy love.
If God is not a God of wrath, His love is no more than frail, worthless sentimentality; the concept of mercy is meaningless; and the Cross was a cruel and unnecessary experience for His Son.
The Bible declares that all people are 'by nature children of wrath' (Eph. 2:3) and that 'the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who suppress the truth in unrighteousness' (Rom. 1:18). Since Christians have been 'justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him' (Rom. 5:9). The magnitude of God’s love is manifested in the Cross, where God’s only Son experienced wrath on our behalf.” [2]
When David was in bondage to the enemy, he cried out to the Lord and the Lord saved him from his oppressors. God acted in wrath against towards David's enemies.
In Psalm 18:4-19 David proclaims, “The pangs of death surrounded me, and the floods of ungodliness made me afraid. The sorrows of Sheol surrounded me; The snares of death confronted me. In my distress I called upon the Lord, and cried out to my God;
He heard my voice from His temple, and my cry came before Him, even to His ears. Then the earth shook and trembled; The foundations of the hills also quaked and were shaken, because He was angry. Smoke went up from His nostrils, and devouring fire from His mouth;
Coals were kindled by it. He bowed the heavens also, and came down with darkness under His feet. And He rode upon a cherub, and flew; He flew upon the wings of the wind. He made darkness His secret place; His canopy around Him was dark waters and think clouds of the skies. From the brightness before Him, His thick clouds passed with hailstones and coals of fire.
The Lord thundered from heaven, and the Most High uttered His voice, Hailstones and coals of fire. He sent out His arrows and scattered the foe, lightnings in abundance, and He vanquished them. Then the channels of the sea were seen, the foundations of the world were uncovered, at your rebuke, O Lord, at the blast of the breath of Your nostrils.
He sent from above, He took me; He drew me out of many waters. He delivered me from my strong enemy, from those who hated me, for they were too strong for me. The confronted me in the day of my calamity, but the Lord was my support. He also brought me out into a broad place; He delivered me because He delighted in me.”
In the same way, God had heard the cries of his people in bondage in Egypt and delivered his children by His strength and brought them into a broad place. In Exodus 6:6-8, God tells Moses to say to the children of Israel who were in bondage, “I am the Lord; I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians, I will rescue you from their bondage, and I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and with great judgments. I will take you as My people, and I will be your God. Then you shall know that I am the Lord your God who brings you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians. And I will bring you into the land which I swore to give to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; and I will give it to you as a heritage. I am the Lord.”
“I know I am weak, I know I am unworthy to call upon your name. But because of grace, because of Your mercy, I stand here unashamed.”
In bringing the children of Israel out of bondage, God guided the people in His strength to His holy mountain to worship Him. He went before them as a cloud by day and fire by night. He wanted to meet face to face with them. After he led them out of bondage to Mount Sinai he told Moses to tell the children of Israel: “You have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I bore you on eagles' wings and brought you to Myself. Now therefore, if you will indeed obey My voice and keep My covenant, then you shall be a special treasure to Me above all people; for all the earth is Mine. And you shall be to Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.” (Exodus 19:4-6)
In His lovingkindness for the children of Israel, God was claiming a people to be His treasured possession. Psalm 114:2 says, “Judah became His sanctuary, and Israel His dominion.” And He called them to serve them as a kingdom of priests and a holy nation. As one commentary notes, he was “building them into a people whose hearts beat to the same rhythm as His own.” [3]
“Savior, I am overcome with Your great love for me.”
Commentary notes about this, “When he delivered them out of the hand of their oppressors it was that they might serve him both in holiness and in righteousness...” [4]
God wanted a holy people for Himself. Jesus says in Matthew that blessed are those who are pure in heart because they will see God. And in Hebrews 12:14 it says, “Pursue peace with all people, and holiness, without which no one will see the Lord."
“Holiness, Holiness is what You want from me” sings.
David cried out in Psalm 24:3-6, Who may ascend into the hill of the Lord? Or who may stand in His holy place? He who has clean hands and a pure heart, Who has not lifted up his soul to an idol, nor sworn deceitfully. He shall receive blessing from the Lord, and righteousness from the God of his salvation. This is Jacob, the generation of those who seek Him, who seek your face.”
When the Israelites came to the mountain, they were consecrated and went to the foot of the mountain to meet with God. They could not come any closer, touching the mountain or they would die. Only Moses and Aaron could come up on the mountain (Exodus 19:10-25).
“Come just as you are before Your God” sings in the background.
Consecrate is the Hebrew word qadash, Strongs #6942. It means "to make holy,' 'to declare distinct,' or 'to set apart.' The word describes dedicating an object or person to God. By delivering the Israelites from slavery in Egypt, God made the nation of Israel distinct. Through His mighty acts of deliverance, God demonstrated that the Israelites were His people, and He was their God (6:7). By having the people wash themselves at Mount Sinai, the Lord made it clear that they as a people were being set apart for Him (19:10)." [5]
Psalm 119:9 says, “How can a young man keep his way pure? By living according to your word.” At Mount Sinai God gave the people the law. He presented the ten commandments and many laws on how to worship God in their day to day activities.
After giving the law, God tells the children of Israel that He is sending and Angel before them to keep them in the way and to bring them into the place which God prepared, the Promised Land. And God tells them how to go about serving Him – by obeying His commands and utterly overthrowing the gods of the land He brings them into. He called them to be "a holy nation and kingdom of priests."
One commentary notes, "On the one hand, Israel would become holy—or distinct and separate from all other nations—because of its special relationship with God. But on the other hand, Israel, in its separation, was to be the means by which the other nations would learn of the living God. This nation of priests would lead others to a correct worship of the true God (Ps. 117)."
He says to the people in Exodus 23:21-33,
“Beware of Him and obey His voice; do not provoke Him, for He will not pardon your transgressions; for My name is in Him.[b] But if you indeed obey His voice and do all that I speak, then I will be an enemy to your enemies and an adversary to your adversaries. For My Angel will go before you and bring you in to the Amorites and the Hittites and the Perizzites and the Canaanites and the Hivites and the Jebusites; and I will cut them off. You shall not bow down to their gods, nor serve them, nor do according to their works; but you shall utterly overthrow them and completely break down their sacred pillars.The people gaining possession of the land was not by their own might, but by the power of God. He went before them and made the way. Psalm 44:3 says, “For they did not gain possession of the land by their own sword, nor did their own arm save them; But it was Your right hand, Your arm, and the light of Your countenance, because you favored them.”
So you shall serve the Lord your God, and He will bless your bread and your water. And I will take sickness away from the midst of you. No one shall suffer miscarriage or be barren in your land; I will fulfill the number of your days.
I will send My fear before you, I will cause confusion among all the people to whom you come, and will make all your enemies turn their backs to you. And I will send hornets before you, which shall drive out the Hivite, the Canaanite, and the Hittite from before you. I will not drive them out from before you in one year, lest the land become desolate and the bests of the field become too numerous for you. Little by little, I will drive them out from before you, until you have increased, and you inherit the land. And I will set your bounds from the Red Sea to the sea, Philistia, and from the desert to the River. For I will deliver the inhabitants of the land into your hand, and you shall drive them out before you. You shall make no covenant with them, nor with their gods. They shall not dwell in your land, let they make you sin against Me. For if you serve their gods, it will surely be a snare to you.”
The Angel going ahead of them to keep them in the way and bring them in the place God prepared for them, the promised land, is a type and shadow that points us to Jesus. God sent His only Son to go ahead of us to provide a way that we could keep His commands and enter into the broad place He had prepared for us – fullness of life in Christ.
God made the way for us to draw near, face to face with Him through His Son. Hebrews 12:18-24 says,
“For you have not come to the mountain that may be touched and that may be touched and that burned with fire, and to blackness and darkness and tempest, and the sound of a trumpet and the voice of words, so that those who heard it begged that the word should not be spoken to them anymore. (For they could not endure what was commanded: 'And if so much as a beast touches the mountain, it shall be stoned or shot with an arrow.” And so terrifying was the sight that Moses said, “I am exceedingly afraid and trembling.”)
But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, to an innumerable company of angels, to the general assembly and church of the firstborn who are registered in heaven, to God the Judge of all, to the spirits of just men made perfect, to Jesus the Mediator of the new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling that speaks better things than that of Abel."
And in the same way that God called the children of Israel to be a kingdom of priests and a holy nation, Christ makes the way for all who choose to serve Him. 1 Peter 2:9 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."
And Titus 2:14 (NLT) says, "He gave his life to free us from every kind of sin, to cleanse us, and to make us his very own people, totally committed to doing good deeds." In the same way as the Isrealites, God calls us to serve Him in holiness, setting us apart from the world and then uses us as a means by which others can "learn of the living God." (Not serving him out of our own self effort.) Set apart in holiness, we " lead others to a correct worship of the true God."
So what can I learn from this?
Too often I still feel like the Israelites standing at the bottom of the mountain. I feel like seeing God face to face is just out of my reach and I need to work harder to get it all right. I think I have to work hard so He will approve of me. To some extent, I think I need to be of value to Him or He will leave me at the bottom of the mountain while He calls those who get it right up the mountain to draw near to Him.
I think that God may be speaking to me that like Moses in Egypt, I share His heart for His purposes but too often I go about it too much my own way. I push myself to work hard at it in my own effort, making a mess of things rather than letting Him lead. I'm not sure if I know right now what it looks like to let Him lead and not work hard at things. Maybe it starts with repenting the best I know how and realizing that I am not at work bringing about His purposes - He is.
Lord, I don't know where to start. I don't know how to let go of my own self effort. Would you lead me?
“I know that God is able, I know that He still reigns, I know that Love has found a way” sings
I think I am learning more and more that God is the one who is making the plans and implementing them by His power -out of His mercy and compassion and in His great affection for us.
I do not need to strive to try to get Him to act by getting everything right. His power is at work all around me and He will bring forth His purposes in His timing. God has me on a journey that will lead me along a path to greater holiness. It's a journey that He goes with me every step of the way. And the way I serve Him is to embrace what He has for me, walking in obedience and dealing with my sin and idols. Micah 6:8 say, He has showed you, O man, what is good. And what does the LORD require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.”
By embracing all He is working in me as He leads me along a path of greater holiness, I am being set apart from the world. And as I am set apart, God can use me as a means by which others can "learn of the living God."
Lord, thank you that in your lovingkindness, You go before us and make the way. You are great, and mighty in power. Your understanding is infinite. Thank you that you provide all that we need. You cover the heavens with clouds, you prepare rain for the earth, you make grass grow on the mountains, and you give food to the hungry (Psalm 147:8-9). My heart cries, Emmanuel! God with us! We are Your treasured possession. Make us wholly yours! That we may serve You with our whole hearts. May we be a people whose hearts beat to the same rhythm as Your own.
1. Wiens, Steve. Jerub-Baal. September 19, 2010. Church of the Open Door. Located at: http://www.thedoor.org/ Last Accessed: 9/21/10
2.Youngblood, R. F., Bruce, F. F., Harrison, R. K., & Thomas Nelson Publishers. (1995). Nelson's new illustrated Bible dictionary. Rev. ed. of: Nelson's illustrated Bible dictionary.; Includes index. Nashville: T. Nelson.
3. The Maxwell Leadership Bible, Second Edition (NKJV). Maxwell Motivation, Inc. 2007.
4. Henry, M. (1996, c1991). Matthew Henry's commentary on the whole Bible : Complete and unabridged in one volume (Ps 114:1). Peabody: Hendrickson.
5. Radmacher, E. D., Allen, R. B., & House, H. W. (1999). Nelson's new illustrated Bible commentary (Ex 19:10-11). Nashville: T. Nelson Publishers.
6. Radmacher, E. D., Allen, R. B., & House, H. W. (1997). The Nelson study Bible : New King James Version. Includes index. (Ex 19:9). Nashville: T. Nelson Publishers.
a. Referring here not to people who Christ gave His life to save, but spiritual forces of evil. Ephesians 6:12 says, “For our struggle is not against human opponents, but against rulers, authorities, cosmic powers in the darkness around us, and evil spiritual forces in the heavenly realm.” God is longsuffering towards us, desiring none to perish (see 2 Peter 3:9).
b. Our sins are not overlooked. God is holy. Forgiveness is given freely by our repentance and faith in Christ.
Hebrews 3:7-19 says, “Wherefore (as the Holy Ghost saith, To day if ye will hear his voice, Harden not your hearts, as in the provocation, in the day of temptation in the wilderness: When your fathers tempted me, proved me, and saw my works forty years. Wherefore I was grieved with that generation, and said, They do alway err in their heart; and they have not known my ways. So I sware in my wrath, They shall not enter into my rest.) Take heed, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief, in departing from the living God. But exhort one another daily, while it is called To day; lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin. For we are made partakers of Christ, if we hold the beginning of our confidence stedfast unto the end; While it is said, To day if ye will hear his voice, harden not your hearts, as in the provocation. For some, when they had heard, did provoke: howbeit not all that came out of Egypt by Moses. But with whom was he grieved forty years? was it not with them that had sinned, whose carcases fell in the wilderness? And to whom sware he that they should not enter into his rest, but to them that believed not? So we see that they could not enter in because of unbelief."
And Hebrews 10:26-31 says,
For if we sin wilfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins, But a certain fearful looking for of judgment and fiery indignation, which shall devour the adversaries. He that despised Moses’ law died without mercy under two or three witnesses: Of how much sorer punishment, suppose ye, shall he be thought worthy, who hath trodden under foot the Son of God, and hath counted the blood of the covenant, wherewith he was sanctified, an unholy thing, and hath done despite unto the Spirit of grace? For we know him that hath said, Vengeance belongeth unto me, I will recompense, saith the Lord. And again, The Lord shall judge his people. It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.
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