You will be a kingdom of priests and a holy nation (Exo 19)

You will be a kingdom of priests and a holy nation

Exodus 19:1-25; 20:18-21
Key verse 14:5-6a

Last Friday Supreme Court ruled in favor of same-sex marriage. Now same-sex marriage is legal nationwide. Same-sex marriage has been already legalized in many states, including Maryland. But the impact of the Supreme Court’s ruling will be much greater and bring about huge ramifications. Almost everyone will be affected in many aspects of life by this ruing. Our children will study in school with textbooks that support the same-sex marriage and they will take same-sex marriage as a norm and even a right thing. Churches and pastors will be forced to endorse same-sex marriage. Otherwise, there would be a lot of lawsuits against them. In the near future it will be not uncommon to see same-sex couples in church.

Most protestant leaders still oppose same-sex marriage. However, that is not the case anymore with many of Christians. Thirty six percent of mainline Protestants supported same-sex marriage in 2003 but now sixty two percent do. (CNN) Seven in ten millennial support same-sex marriage. (CNN) This is actually what worries me the most. What is going on in this country? How come this nation has become a secular nation from a Christian nation? I was shocked and very disappointed and worried by the Supreme Court’s ruling. While studying today’s passage, I have learned that the fundamental problem of this nation is not that same-sex marriage, however. The real problem is that we are losing the fear of God. Same-sex marriage is just the tip of the iceberg of the world without the fear of God. I pray that though this passage God may give us the fear of God once again so that we can live holy as God’s people. Let’s read 19:5,6.

God brought the Israelites out of Egypt with his great power and then led them toward Mount Sinai where he had said to Moses that they would worship the LORD (3:12). On the first day of the third month after the Israelites left Egypt, they came to the Desert of Sinai and then camped in front of Mount Sinai. At this mountain, the most memorable and historical event took place for Israel. God made a covenant with them. He gave them the laws, including the Ten Commandments, and also his promises. The details of the law are covered in chapters 20-23. Today’s passage shows how God initiated his covenant with the Israelites.

Let’s look at 19:1-3. While the Israelites camped in front of the mountain, God called Moses up to the mountain and told him to speak to the Israelites the words he was about to say. Let’s read verses 4-6.

4 ‘You yourselves have seen what I did to Egypt, and how I carried you on eagles’ wings and brought you to myself. 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.”

God first reminded them of what he did to Egypt. God punished Egypt with ten plagues, which showed his great power and protection for Israel and his faithfulness to his covenant made with their forefathers. God also said that he carried them on eagles’ wings and brought them to himself. In Deut 32:11, he said, “like an eagle that stirs up its nest and hovers over its young, that spreads its wings to catch them and carries them aloft.” Probably, the eagle refers to griffon vulture, which is about 37-48 inches long with a 7.5-9.2 feet wingspan. When its young grow big enough to learn to fly, it stirs up its nest to push them to come out of the nest. In case they fall down while flying, it carries them on its big wings. Likewise, God stirred up Israel to come out of Egypt with his great power and protected Israel from Pharaoh. In this way, God showed his care for Israel and established his personal relationship with them. Based on this, he wanted to make a covenant with them.

What is a covenant? A covenant was a legal agreement between two parties in ancient time. It was comprised of identification of the two parties and their relationship, obligations, witnesses, blessing and curses, and ratification (confirmation). Using their familiarity with this form of formal agreement, God wanted to further develop and continue his relationship with them. Initially, God made a proposal to them that they would be his treasured possession, a kingdom of priests and a holy nation if they obeyed his words.

Here we can learn God’s desire for Israel. God delivered Israel from Egypt so that they might live as his people and play as a priestly nation to bring other nations to God. His treasured possession means to be a kingdom of priests and a holy nation. What is the kingdom of priests and a holy nation then?  

Deut 26:18-19 read, “¹⁸ And the Lord has declared this day that you are his people, his treasured possession as he promised, and that you are to keep all his commands. ¹⁹ He has declared that he will set you in praise, fame and honor high above all the nations he has made and that you will be a people holy to the Lord your God, as he promised.”

The whole earth is God’s. Everything in it is his. But Israel would be God’s most treasured possession. She would be famous and highly honored above all the nations. She would be used to bring all other nations to God as a priest does. She would be the source of blessing to other nations. So, Israel should be a holy people representing God. God’s vision for Israel “a kingdom of priests and a holy nation” shows his ultimate purpose for Israel and his desire to save the whole world through her.

So, Moses went down to his people with God’s proposal. He summoned the elders of the people and set before them all the words God had commanded him to speak. What was their response?

8 The people all responded together, “We will do everything the Lord has said.” So Moses brought their answer back to the Lord. 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.

They agreed to God’s proposal. So, Moses brought their answer back to God. And God said he would come to Moses in a dense cloud so that they would hear him speaking with Moses and thus believe God’s words Moses delivered to them. Now God arranged the meeting with them so that they should be ready to make a covenant with him on the third day. He commanded them to do two things in preparation for the meeting.

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 approach the mountain or touch the foot of it. Whoever touches the mountain is to be put to death. 13 They are to be stoned or shot with arrows; not a hand is to be laid on them. No person or animal shall be permitted to live.’ Only when the ram’s horn sounds a long blast may they approach the mountain.”

First, they should consecrate themselves, washing their clothes and abstaining from sexual relations. Second, Moses should put limits around the mountain so that they should not touch the mountain over the limits. If they did so, they would be punished to death. Only when the ram’s horn sounded a long blast, they would be allowed to approach the mountain. Why did God give such commands? It was because God is holy and he would come down on Mount Sinai in their sight. We take showers and dress up when we meet with important people. But some people don’t and it does not hurt them. But meeting with God is very serious because their ungodliness and rash action toward God could cause death. The Israelites needed to prepare themselves by consecrating themselves so that they would not die before Holy God. So, Moses followed through God’s commands and consecrated them.

Finally, the third day came when they would meet with God. And they heard and saw an amazing scene over the mountain, which had never been unfolded to any nations and any men.

16 On 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.

This was a very dramatic and historical moment. Since the fall of Adam, God had not been with mankind. But now he showed his presence to Israel for the first time in their sight. God wanted to come close to humankind as much as he could.  But his presence was so holy and overwhelming that everyone in the camp trembled. They were extremely nervous and scary to see God’s presence on the mountain even at a distance. This is a natural reaction when we see and feel God’s presence with us. One day while I was praying, I strongly felt God’s presence with me. My natural reaction was fear. I found myself trembling. I could not control my body. God is love but he is so holy that we cannot but fear him.  

Now it was time for the Israelites to meet with God. Moses led them out of the camp and came to the foot of the mountain. What did they see as they approached the mountain?  

18 Mount Sinai was covered with smoke, because the Lord descended on it in fire. The smoke billowed up from it like smoke from a furnace, and the whole mountain trembled violently.

They saw God’s glory in the smoke and fire. (24:16-17) They felt God’s holiness. It was so dreadful that they could not speak and even breathe well. Their hearts were pumping so rapidly and their limbs were shaking. Heb 12:21 reads that the sight was so terrifying that even Moses was trembling with fear.

Then, they heard the sound of the trumpet. It grew louder and louder. Moses spoke and the voice of God answered him. He represented the people, serving as the mediator between God and the people. God descended to the top of Mount Sinai and called Moses to the top of the mountain. Moses went up to the mountain. God made sure again that the people must not force their way to see him out of curiosity or by their own righteousness. God did not want anyone there to die by coming to him in an improper way. Moses said that they could not because God already warned them. Then, God commanded Moses to bring Aaron, who would be the high priests later. So Moses went down again to the people and told them God’s words, which was called the Ten Commandments. The Ten Commandments are the most important laws applied not only to Israel but also to us today. As mentioned earlier, today we are focusing on the process how God made a covenant with Israel. Next week we are going to study the Ten Commandments in a separate lesson.

Look at 20:18-19.

¹⁸ When the people saw the thunder and lightning and heard the trumpet and saw the mountain in smoke, they trembled with fear. They stayed at a distance ¹⁹ and said to Moses, “Speak to us yourself and we will listen. But do not have God speak to us or we will die.”

Seeing the thunder and lightening and the mountain in smoke and hearing the trumpet, the people trembled with fear. They dared not to come closer to the mountain. When they heard God’s voice, the Israelites were so fearful that they stayed at a distance and told Moses not to have God speak to them. They were afraid that they would die otherwise. What did Moses say to them?

²⁰ Moses said to the people, “Do not be afraid. God has come to test you, so that the fear of God will be with you to keep you from sinning.”²¹ The people remained at a distance, while Moses approached the thick darkness where God was.

This explains why God appeared to them in such a way. In the process of making the covenant with them, God warned them that they consecrate themselves and not go over the limits on the mountain. He showed his presence in thunder, smoke and fire. Through all these, God wanted them to know whether they feared him or not. He wanted them to have the fear of God so that they could keep themselves from sinning.

Now let’s think about the fear of God in connection with the covenant God would make with Israel. Israel was making a covenant with God, so they should know who God is. He is Holy God. He manifested his holiness to them so that they might know how to live as a holy nation. A holy life comes from the fear of Holy God. For Israel to be a kingdom of priests and a holy nation, they must keep the words of God and it is possible only with the fear of God. The word of God and the fear of God go side by side. For example, Deut 6:24 reads, “The Lord commanded us to obey all these decrees and to fear the Lord our God, so that we might always prosper and be kept alive, as is the case today.”

John Bunyan, the author of the book The Pilgrim’s Process, said, “this word FEAR is sometimes to be taken for THE WORD, the written Word of God; for that also is, and ought to be, the rule and director of our fear.” (The Fear of God)

The fear of God gives us wisdom and discernment so that we can keep ourselves from sinning. Again the fear of God comes from knowing God’s holiness and thus his righteousness and judgment on our sins. He demonstrated to Israel his holiness in thunder, smoke and fire, which denoted God’s holiness, so that they might keep his words and live holy in the fear of God. God is holy so his people should be holy too.

Many people think that God is friendly, loving, caring, patient, tender, and forgiving. They are absolutely right. However, such understanding of God will not help you live as God’s people unless you know God’s holiness. In fact, God’s holiness is the most fundamental attribute we should know about God. Our relationship with him should be founded on knowing God’s holiness and so we should fear him. If we lost holiness, we are like salt without saltiness. Sadly, that is what is happening in this country. In the name of love and individual right, people, including some Christians, allow even same-sex marriage. What does the Bible say about this?

²¹ For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened. ²² Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools…²⁴ Therefore God gave them over in the sinful desires of their hearts to sexual impurity for the degrading of their bodies with one another. ²⁵ They exchanged the truth about God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator—who is forever praised. Amen. ²⁶ Because of this, God gave them over to shameful lusts. Even their women exchanged natural sexual relations for unnatural ones. ²⁷ In the same way the men also abandoned natural relations with women and were inflamed with lust for one another. Men committed shameful acts with other men, and received in themselves the due penalty for their error… ³² Although they know God’s righteous decree that those who do such things deserve death, they not only continue to do these very things but also approve of those who practice them. (Rom 1:21-27, 32)

In the book of Leviticus, God said how much he hated homosexuality like this.

“Do not have sexual relations with a man as one does with a woman; that is detestable.” (18:22)
“If a man has sexual relations with a man as one does with a woman, both of them have done what is detestable. They are to be put to death; their blood will be on their own heads.” (20:13)

People are losing spiritual discernment because they are losing the fear of God and this God’s holiness. Without holiness, how can we be God’s people? Holiness is the core of God’s people. Without this, we have nothing to do with God and we are far from being the kingdom of priests and a holy nation.

In today’s passage, God met with Israel to make a covenant with them. He said that if they keep his covenant they would be a kingdom of priests and a holy nation. Their meeting with God on Mount Sinai was the most important event to Israel. Holy God came down to humankind for the first time. However, the covenant with Israel was just the shadow of the new covenant that has been presented in a new and better way through Jesus Christ. (Hebrews 8:6) Through the new covenant, we, who were once Gentiles, have become a kingdom of priests and a holy nation. So, 1 Peter 2:9 reads,

⁹ But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. 

What is the foundation of being a kingdom of priests and a holy nation? How can we declare the praises of the Lord? A holy life in the fear of God! Through our holy life, people can see God’s holiness through us and repent of their sins. This age will get more sinful and unspiritual. Our children will live in a more hostile and sinful environment. You do not want our children to conform to the worldly value system and life style, do you? You and I are a kingdom of priests and a holy nation. So, we should pray for our children and our Bible students to live as a kingdom of priests and a holy nation too. This is the most difficult and confusing time for this nation. Let’s pray for this nation to be a kingdom of priest and a holy nation once again. May the fear of God be in us! May God’s holiness be revealed through our holy life!

Let’s read 19:5,6a one more time.

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.”

By David Yun