KINGDOM OF PRIESTS AND A HOLY NATION

Exodus 19:3-6

Key Verse: 19:5-6a "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, you will be for me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation. These are the words you are to speak to the Israelites."

During this Summer Bible Conference, 2004, we have been thinking about the prayer topic Jesus gave u s, "Your Kingdom Come." Jesus t aught u s t o p ray t hat God's kingdom might come and his will be done on earth as it is in heaven. This prayer topic is full of hope. It means that we must not despair when the world seems to be becoming worse and worse. It means that we must not abandon the world for which Jesus died. God is working and he has a place for each of us in his redemptive history. When God rescued the Israelites from slavery in Egypt he had a secret plan for them. He told them about it, but they didn't understand. He wanted them to be his own people in the world. He wanted to make them a Kingdom of Priests and a Holy Nation. Through them he wanted to extend his kingdom to all people of the world.
We are Jesus' people, a part of his Church universal. We are a kingdom of priests and a holy nation. The words, "A Kingdom of Priests and a Holy Nation," are familiar to us in UBF. It is the prayer topic which Dr. Lee left for us just before he went to heaven. We pray for the nations of the world. We pray that each nation may become a holy nation and a kingdom of priests. Let's think about what this meant to the Israelites of the Exodus and what it means for us to pray for America, Korea, Canada, Europe, Russia, Latin America and all the nations in which we live and work to be kingdoms of priests and holy nations.
Read verse 3. "Then Moses went up to God, and the Lord said, 'This is what you are to say to the house of Jacob and what you are to tell the people of Israel."' On Mount Sinai God gave the Bible to Moses, and Moses became a Bible teacher.

First, a history lesson (3,4)
God is a God of history. God wants us to have a sense of history. A sense of history comes from remembering what God h as d one and from remembering God's grace. Read verse 4. "You yourselves have seen what I did to Egypt, and how I carried you on eagles' wings and brought you to myself."
(1) "You have seen what I did in Egypt." What did God do in Egypt? The Israelites were groaning under the yoke of Egyptian bondage. Moses spoke God's word to Pharaoh, "Let my people go." Pharaoh would not listen to Moses. He said, "Who is God that I should listen to him? I will not let the people go." Moses prayed. God struck Egypt nine times. Then, the tenth time, angel of death passed through Egypt and all the firstborn of Egypt died. Only those who obeyed God and put the blood of the Passover lamb on their doors lived. Pharaoh surrendered and drove the Israelite slaves out of Egypt. The Israelites saw God's mighty hand strike Egypt to set them free. They experienced God's grace. History reminded them of God's love and grace and of his mighty power.
We also must remember God's grace. We have been set free from the chains of sin and death by the power that raised Jesus Christ from the dead. We are set free by God's grace alone. When we remember God's mercy and grace, we must live thankful lives.

(2) "I carried you on eagles' wings." Verse 4 says, "I carried you on eagles' wings and brought you to myself." What does it mean that God carried the Israelites on eagles' wings? For God to carry his people on eagle's wings meant both rescue and training. First, he led them across the Red Sea as if on dry land. It was like flying over the sea. Then God trained them on the desert road. A mother eagle trains her young eaglets to fly by dropping them and catching them. They learn to use their wings. God trained this great multitude as they traveled to Sinai by a dry and empty desert road for three months. They were hungry and thirsty. God gave them water and food. God was teaching them to love and trust him. He brought them to himself--to the holy mountain. They pitched their tents there before the mountain and remained there for a year. Here God gave them his law. Moses was their Bible teacher.

Second, God's purpose for his people (5,6a)

God's history is a purpose-driven history. God's purpose and plan for his people is revealed in verses 5-6a. "Now if you obey me fully and keep my covenant out of all nations you will be my treasured possession. Although the whole earth is mine, you will be for me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation." God taught them that his plan for them was very big. It was beyond their imagination. God loved the people of Israel, but God also loves all the people of the world.

(1) The whole earth is mine. The whole world belongs to God. He is the Creator. "In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. God made a beautiful world. He blessed mankind. He blessed the world. But when Adam disobeyed God and broke spiritual order, the world became full of sorrow and trouble. Men and women became like animals. Once God wept when he saw how corrupt the world had become. John 3:16 tells us that he loves the world so much that he sent his one and only Son to suffer and die for the sins of the world. God does not want anyone to be lost (1 Ti 2:4). He wants all men to be saved. So he made a plan. He called Abraham and promised to bless him and make him a blessing. It was a promise to make a way of salvation and life for all people through Abraham's offspring, Jesus (Gal 3:8).

(2) God's treasured possession. The people of Israel belonged to God in a special way. He not only created them; he also ransomed them. He brought them out of bondage and slavery to be his own possession. We who have been ransomed by the blood of Jesus also belong to God in a special way. We once belonged to the devil. But God purchased us by his Son's blood and we belong to him (1 Pet 1:18-19). The Bible says that we are Jesus' possession. We belong to Jesus (Ro1:6). This means that we do not belong to the world. We belong to God. Some people want to belong to themselves. They don't want to belong to anyone else. Sometimes people fall in love and think that they belong to the one they love, or that the one they love belongs to them. But this is not true. If we do not belong to God, then we belong to the devil. It is a strange paradox that we are truly free only when we belong to God.

(3) A holy nation. Read verse 6a again. "Although the whole world is mine, you will be to me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation." Verse 6 says, "be a holy nation." Why must we be holy? God's people must be holy because God is holy. Without holiness no one can see the Lord (Heb 12:14). To be holy means to be separate, set apart. We are set apart from the world if God's kingdom is in our hearts. If our hearts are full of anger, jealousy, lust, hatred, slander, gossip, then God is not in our hearts. Verse 5 says, "if you obey me fully and keep my covenant.." We can be God's holy people when we obey God's word instead of following the desires of our sinful nature. At Mt Sinai the people promised that they would keep the covenant and obey the law. So Moses sprinkled the people with the blood of the covenant. But they could not keep the covenant. They broke it before they left the holy mountain. Man cannot overcome his sinful nature by himself. So God promised to make a new covenant (Jer 31:31). This covenant is established by the blood of Jesus. By the blood of Jesus we are cleansed and set free from sin. Jesus' blood purifies our hearts. The Holy Spirit comes in to dwell. With pure hearts we can reveal God's love and righteousness and holiness in our lives. This is what it means to be a holy nation.

(4) A kingdom of priests. Verse 6 says: "you will be for me a kingdom of priests„,." God didn't say anything about milk and honey. He told them that they would be a kingdom of priests. God revealed his great purpose for them. This is God's real heart.

Throughout history, God worked through people who believed his promises. God keeps his promises. He sent Jesus. Even though Israel rejected Jesus and rejected God's mission to be a kingdom of priests, God did not fail. Through Jesus he raised up a new people of God, spiritual descendants of Abraham. Jesus commanded his disciples: "Go and make disciples of all nations.." Peter told the scattered church, the people who belong to Jesus, "You are chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God." (1 Pe 2:9)

God wants all people everywhere to repent and worship him (1 Ti 2:4). He wants all people to forgive each other and love each other. He wants his world to be at peace. There is no peace without Jesus. God calls his people in every nation to be a kingdom of priests to bring the good news of his love and forgiveness to all people. Let us thank God for working in the Muslim world of Central Asia. Let us continue to pray for the Muslim world and North Korea. God has enabled us to send 1300 missionaries to 75 countries. May he enable us to send 100,000 missionaries to the 233 nations of the world by 2043. May he establish 10 thousand Jesus-centered house churches in the nations of the world. May God help us to continue to pray and teach the Bible and be shepherds and disciple makers for the students of the world. Praise God who made us a kingdom of priests and a holy nation. May his kingdom come and his will be done.