This is a beautiful place to be in our Exodus story. We have seen the Lord intentionally care for His people, hearing their cries, and rescuing them from what looked like an impossible situation. We have seen the Lord work mighty miracles on behalf of His people for His glory and for their benefit. We have seen the Lord provide for His people every step of the way, despite their complaining and lack of trust in Him. God’s character has been on full display and still is.
God’s Special People
In chapter 19, God confirms His purpose to His people. In other words, God reminded the Israelites why He saved them. God wanted the Israelites to be His people, set apart for His good work. He desired the nation of Israel to be distinct from other nations, a people who would point the world to Him. But He asked for their obedience and trust. He asked them to listen to His voice and not get distracted by the voices of the world or even their own desires.
This is what the Israelites could not understand fully. God wanted the Israelites to uniquely be in the middle of His plan, enjoying and participating in the beautiful salvation work He was accomplishing. For us reading this story thousands of years later, we get to see how beautiful and perfect God’s plans are. We see that God was actively working out His plan for the redemption of all people through Jesus.
God’s Fulfilled Promise
This is an opportunity for us to strengthen in faith as we witness God’s perfect love on display. Let’s sit here in this passage and remember God’s faithfulness.
All the way back in Genesis 17, God made a covenant with Abraham. He promised Abraham abundant offspring, a lineage from which kings would come, and land that would be his (even though he was currently a foreigner in that land!). In Exodus 19, God is reminding Moses and the people of His promises. He wants them to keep trusting His good work on their behalf. In Luke 3, we read of the lineage of Jesus Christ, who is noted as the son of Abraham and the son of God.
God fulfilled His promise to the Israelites and to us. God wanted to bless every nation through Israel, bringing about salvation through their lineage, and He did. Through the whole story of Scripture, God is encouraging our hearts of His perfect love. We can see God’s loving hand and perfect plan at work. We know God is trustworthy and faithful because of everything He has already done. Therefore, He is deserving of our full trust.
Grafted into God’s Family
For us on the other side of the promise, we can be grafted into God’s family. This is a miracle all in itself. 1 Peter 2:9-10 beautifully articulates this awesome and life-changing truth:
“But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people of his own, so that you may proclaim the virtues of the one who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. You once were not a people, but now you are God’s people. You were shown no mercy, but now you have received mercy.”
Just like God chose Israel, He has chosen us to be His people. Because of Jesus, we have received this beautiful invitation to the marriage of the Lamb. We can become God’s own daughters, temples of the Holy Spirit, and part of the bride of Christ, the Church. These spiritual blessings are ours so that we may share God’s goodness with the world.
I was encouraged by our pastor recently that God will not stop working, and He wants us to be right in the middle of all He is doing. He wants us to experience the joy of His work and the fullness of His power. The question is, will we give Him our full faith? He gave everything to make us His own people. He deserves it all.
