GOD STATES HIS PURPOSE IN REDEEMING ISRAEL

Part 18

Exo. 19:3-8

Morning Meditation 11/19/16

Verses 3-8 say, “And Moses went up unto God, and the LORD called unto him out of the mountain, saying, Thus shalt thou say to the house of Jacob, and tell the children of Israel; Ye have seen what I did unto the Egyptians, and how I bare you on eagles' wings, and brought you unto myself. Now therefore, if ye will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant, then ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto me above all people: for all the earth is mine: And ye shall be unto me a kingdom of priests, and an holy nation. These are the words which thou shalt speak unto the children of Israel. And Moses came and called for the elders of the people, and laid before their faces all these words which the LORD commanded him. And all the people answered together, and said, All that the LORD hath spoken we will do. And Moses returned the words of the people unto the LORD.”

The Lord leads His people away from Rephidim and into the desert of Sinai and Israel camped before the Mount where they will receive the law. They have not learned much about God’s ways. Even though they have seen His miracles, experienced His deliverance from Pharaoh and the Egyptians and have witnessed His provision for their daily needs, they have not learned much. God will begin to unfold His will to them now through Moses.

God had made a promise to Moses about this mountain when He called him: Exo. 3:12, “And he said, Certainly I will be with thee; and this shall be a token unto thee, that I have sent thee: When thou hast brought forth the people out of Egypt, ye shall serve God upon this mountain.” It has been a while since God had made this promise. A lot has happened. But Moses remembers the promise God made. Verse 3 says, “And Moses went up unto God, and the LORD called unto him out of the mountain. God then begins to instruct him concerning the things that he will say to the Children of Israel. “Thus shalt thou say to the house of Jacob, and tell the children of Israel.”

Now let’s look at what God said. He said to Moses, “Thus shalt thou say to the house of the “crook, cheat, thief” (this is what Jacob means) and tell the children of “the prince with God” (this is what Israel means). God rehearses the history of Jacob’s conversion in this brief statement. God is going to give the law to the children of the converted patriarch. His descendants are important to God. The covenant has to do with the descendants. They are going to be blessed because of the relationship their father had with God. This is the way it is today. If the father has the proper relationship with God, his whole family will be blessed.

Verse 4 says, “Ye have seen what I did unto the Egyptians, and how I bare you on eagles’ wings, and brought you unto myself.” God has done great things for the people that He has claimed for His own. He reminds them of the mighty miracles that He did in Egypt. The judgments that fell on Egypt did not fall on them. God wants them to see that while He has unlimited power, He makes choices and draws lines as to where that power is exercised, i.e.., God made a difference between Israel and the Egyptians. God compares the deliverance to a flight on eagles’ wings, i.e., they just sat and enjoyed the ride. This is salvation. Paul said in Titus 3:5, “Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost.” Salvation is a gift of God. It is like riding on eagles’ wings. Jesus is not a crutch to help us limp into heaven. He is the Eagle on whose wings we ride.

The words, “ . . . I brought you unto myself” pictures the LORD gathering His children to His bosom. Jesus wept over Jerusalem and said, “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not!” (Matt. 23:37). God saved Israel and us for His glory. He loves us and has such an interest in us that He gave His only begotten Son to die on a cross for our sins that He might redeem unto Himself a peculiar people. Only grace (the unmerited favor of God) could be the reason for our salvation. This will be brought out over and over again in God’s dealings with His people Israel. The twenty four elders in Revelation 4:10 fall down in worship before the throne in heaven and say in verse 11, “Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created.” God created for His pleasure. And every saved person is a new creation of God (2 Cor. 5:17). God says, “I didn’t bring you out just because I sympathized with your situation. I brought you out unto myself. I had a personal motive in doing this.” Man, isn’t that interesting and wonderful!

Then God says through Moses, “Now therefore, if ye will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant, then ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto me above all people; for all the earth is mine” (vs.5). These are promises made to a saved people. These people are already under the blood of the Lamb. They have already been through the Red Sea (a type of baptism; 1 Cor. 10:2). THEY ARE HIS PEOPLE BY REDEMPTION AND THESE PROMISES ARE TO SAVED PEOPLE WHO WILL NEVER BE ABANDONED BY GOD. If you have the slightest doubt about this statement, turn in your Bibles and read Romans 11:26. I’m not going to insert it for you. I want you to read it right out of your Bibles. Let me clear up any misunderstanding. No unbelieving Jew will be saved. The Jew is saved exactly like the Gentile. God has removed the middle wall of partition that divided Jew and Gentile and has reconciled both unto God in one body by the cross (Eph. 2:14-18). But the nation of Israel will be saved as a people and there has always been a believing remnant.

Verse 6 says, “And ye shall be unto me a kingdom of priests, and an holy nation. These are the words which thou shalt speak unto the children of Israel.” I believe this has a two-fold fulfilment. It will be fulfilled in the nation literally during the millennial kingdom. There will be a literal thousands years where Jesus will sit on David’s throne and rule the entire world. The nation of Israel will be a kingdom of priests ministering to the world for Him during this period of time. Then there is a spiritual fulfilment at the present time in the Church. 1 Pet. 2:9-10 say, “But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvelous light: Which in time past were not a people, but are now the people of God: which had not obtained mercy, but now have obtained mercy.” We are a “royal priesthood” among the other things that are mention here. A priest intercedes. We are to be a people of prayer in behalf of one another and of a lost world. If being a priest today means we have a ministry of prayer, why is their so little praying in contrast to other priorities to which the Church is giving herself today?

Verse 7 says, “And Moses came and called for the elders of the people, and laid before their faces all these words which the LORD commanded him.” This is the preachers job. Paul talked about declaring the whole counsel of God. I’m afraid some have only one string on their fiddle and they have not discovered that it is supposed to have four!!! I better leave that. I do want to have some friends left!

Verse 8 says, “And all the people answered together, and said, All that the LORD hath spoken we will do. And Moses returned the words of the people unto the LORD.” Moses was a faithful man of God. This was a good service. After Moses had declared all the Words that God had spoken to him, the people responded the way every God called preacher wants his people to respond, “And all the people answered together, and said, All that the LORD hath spoken we will do.” Amen! Listen, this was one service where the people were not sitting before Moses deciding which part of the message they were going to accept and which part they are going to reject. They all said, “Amen!”

Then Moses goes back before the LORD and tells Him what a good service He had just had with the people! It says, “And Moses returned the worlds of the people to the LORD.” This is still what the man of God must do. He does not only say, “Thus saith the Lord,” he must also go to God and say to the LORD, “This is how the people are responding.” Let me ask you a question. Does it make you a little nervous to know that the preacher has the responsibility of informing God about your response to His Word? I am finding that there is less and less respect for the preacher as God’s man. We may deserve it. Preachers don’t always act right. Sometimes the so-called preacher is not even God called or even saved (Matt. 7:22-23). But, if he is, well, you don’t want him telling on you if you don’t act right.

May the Lord bless these words to our hearts.

In Christ

Bro. White