"And Moses went up to God, and the LORD called to him from the mountain, saying, “Thus you shall say to the house of Jacob, and 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.’ These are the words which you shall speak to the children of Israel.” Exodus 19:3-6
How many times do we read Old Testament passages and skim over them because we do not see their significance or importance because we are no longer under the Old Covenant? But when we do this we miss the beautiful life giving pictures that God is trying to show us. There isn’t a word written in the Bible that does not have a meaningful message for us to learn from. God speaks through His Word and His Word is alive! That is why the writer of Hebrews said, “For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.” (Hebrews 4:12)
Since I have allowed the Holy Spirit to teach me the Word I no longer skim over any passage. I ask the Holy Spirit to reveal the hidden truths that apply to me and I wait on Him to reveal them. Sometimes it comes quickly and other times I have to wait a long time; but He is always faithful to reveal it in His time. This passage of Scripture is one of those passages that I used to skim over but not anymore. In order to understand this passage we have to look back at other passages of Scriptures so that we can gain a full view of the beauty within its verses. As we know the covenant came through Abraham and then God spoke it to Isaac in Genesis 26:1-5. Now Isaac’s son Jacob was also visited by God in a dream and God spoke the covenant promise to him.
Genesis 28:12- 15 says, “Then he dreamed, and behold, a ladder was set up on the earth, and its top reached to heaven; and there the angels of God were ascending and descending on it. And behold, the LORD stood above it and said: “I am the LORD God of Abraham your father and the God of Isaac; the land on which you lie I will give to you and your descendants. Also your descendants shall be as the dust of the earth; you shall spread abroad to the west and the east, to the north and the south; and in you and in your seed all the families of the earth shall be blessed. Behold, I am with you and will keep you wherever you go, and will bring you back to this land; for I will not leave you until I have done what I have spoken to you.”
Now in Exodus 19:3-6 we see God confirming His covenant once again to Moses at Mount Sinai by reminding him of what He did for the children of Israel, outlining what they need to do, and then establishing a promise of reward for their obedience. What a beautiful image of a loving God! As New Covenant believers this is what the Holy Spirit does for us each and every day. He reminds us of what Christ did for us on the Cross, outlines what we need to do; which is to believe by faith in the finished work of the Cross. Then He establishes His promise: “But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light; who once were not a people but are now the people of God, who had not obtained mercy but now have obtained mercy.” (1 Peter 2:9-10)
But for the children of Israel and for many people today they miss the point of what God is saying. He is saying, “I Am the One who has done it all for you and all that I ask of you is to believe.” Where people got confused then and where they continue to be confused today is in thinking that it is something they can do themselves. They read the commandments of God and the requirements of the laws and work in their own strength to keep them perfectly. But that was never and is not today what God asks of anyone. He is asking us to believe by faith that what He has promised He will perform and to bring to remembrance His goodness in delivering us out of slavery and into His glorious freedom.
We see this play out in the next passage of Scripture in Exodus 19:7-9. It says, “So Moses came and called for the elders of the people, and laid before them all these words which the LORD commanded him. Then all the people answered together and said, “All that the LORD has spoken we will do.” So Moses brought back the words of the people to the LORD. And the LORD said to Moses, “Behold, I come to you in the thick cloud, that the people may hear when I speak with you, and believe you forever.” So Moses told the words of the people to the LORD.” Do you see it? The people said, “We will do” but then God says, “Behold, I come to you in a thick cloud, that the people may hear when I speak with you, and BELIEVE you forever.” God was looking for a people who would allow Him to speak to them and then believe His voice and that is what He is looking for today.
Now read what happens next in verses ten and eleven. “Then the LORD said to Moses, “Go to the people and consecrate them today and tomorrow, and let them wash their clothes. And let them be ready for the third day. For on the third day the LORD will come down upon Mount Sinai in the sight of all the people.” In His loving response to the people’s “do” mentality He doesn’t punish them. No, He instructs Moses to consecrate them. What a beautiful picture of love and grace! Consecrate means to set apart, make holy. Even then God was trying to convey a message to the people that He had a desire to speak to them plainly and openly and that He would make them a holy people, set apart for Him! But they missed it then and today many believers miss it even under the New Covenant!
We have to come to the place where we understand that there is nothing anyone can do for God that God has not already done for us! When we understand this, then everything that God asks us to do is birthed out of His Spirit giving us the desire to do it; not us striving in our own strength to obey perfectly. Jesus Christ obeyed perfectly, even to the point of death on the Cross to amplify this truth for us! As we will see in the next few chapters of Exodus and you can see throughout the entire Old Testament; the children of Israel missed it and they suffered grave consequences as a result. Let’s pray that we learn from their mistakes so we do not miss it in our own lives today! God is speaking, are you listening?
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