Exodus 19:5 ESV – Now therefore, if you will indeed obey my voice and keep my covenant, you shall be my treasured possession among all peoples, for all the earth is mine;
I tend to sarcasm at times. It comes out of me at times of tiredness or frustration. So I must have been tired last Monday as I was on my way to work. I found my mind wandering a bit, and as the narrator was reciting Exodus 19, he came to verse 5, (in the Message translation below) and as he recited the verse, I repeated, in a sarcastic manner – “But your special”
Exodus 19:3-6 Message – Moses went up to meet God, God called down to him from the mountain: “Speak to the House of Jacob, tell the People of Israel: ‘You have seen what I did to Egypt and how I carried you on eagles’ wings and brought you to me. If you will listen obediently to what I say and keep my covenant, out of all peoples you’ll be my special treasure. The whole Earth is mine to choose from, but you’re special: a kingdom of priests, a holy nation.’
The phrase “you’re special” reminded me of the common message heard in the modern church of how each believer is so special to the Lord. That every believer is very special to the Lord. Each of us is so very special to the Lord. Each individual believer, apart from any devotion or commitment, any acts of obedience or sacrifice is just soooo special.
The term actually becomes meaningless in my mind!
Am I saying that individual believers are not special?
Sort of, for this passage does not speak of individual believers, but of the nation of believers, of the community of believers before God. The church in the wilderness before the Lord was a community God saved out of the prison of Egypt, and that was the only community that had seen the works of God in their salvation as described in the passage.
This group of believers saw what God did to Egypt and how God carried them on eagles’ wings and brought them to Him. This group of believers were the generation that witnessed the works of God that following generations only heard of.
May I suggest this group were special at least for that reason, but there may be more.
Note that the Lord speaks of His ownership of the entire world and that this group of people had been culled out of the world population by a promise to a man many, many years previously, which would provide the ultimate blessing of the Messiah to the world.
They were chosen by God, and that alone is what made them special. Was it due to their obedience to the Lord? Duh – think again, for they were a rebellious stiff necked people. Was it due to their inherent specialness? Again, that story doesn’t sell!
Note that even within our passage, the Lord speaks of their required decision to follow, of their ongoing commitment to the Lord, when He speaks
….if you will indeed obey my voice and keep my covenant, you shall be my treasured possession among all peoples, (ESV)
…If you will listen obediently to what I say and keep my covenant, out of all peoples you’ll be my special treasure. (Message)
Can you see the if/then argument provided in this passage?Their specialness is dependent on their obedience.
Sometimes the message I hear in the modern church is that there is something in our lives, in our soul, in our personality or character, independent of God, that make us so special to God. Let us remember that we were enemies of God when He delivered us from the selfish life, and that our “self”, (especially the polished up religious self) is not appealing to the Lord, but actually set against the Lord. Paul makes this abundantly clear in Romans.
Romans 8:6 For to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace.
Romans 8:7 For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God’s law; indeed, it cannot.
Romans 8:8 Those who are in the flesh cannot please God.
Yet the Scripture speaks of His love for us, even despite ourselves. The Lord chose a group of ragtag men and women millennial ago that would rebel and rebel and rebel. His love was steadfast, constant and faithful. Their commitment to Him was sometimes thin, sparse and occasionally convenient.
Moses gives us additional input, correcting our thinking in Deuteronomy 7, defining our specialness, not based on our talents, character, personality, sacrifice, or nice perfume.
Deuteronomy 7:6 “For you are a people holy to the LORD your God. The LORD your God has chosen you to be a people for his treasured possession, out of all the peoples who are on the face of the earth.
Deuteronomy 7:7 It was not because you were more in number than any other people that the LORD set his love on you and chose you, for you were the fewest of all peoples,
Deuteronomy 7:8 but it is because the LORD loves you and is keeping the oath that he swore to your fathers, that the LORD has brought you out with a mighty hand and redeemed you from the house of slavery, from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt.
Nothing we do, nothing we are, nothing we own can attract the Lord to us. We are dependent only on the love that is resident in Him alone. It is simply because the Lord Almighty loves us. This is the bedrock of our relationship with the Everlasting God!
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