“You Will Be My Treasured Possession” (Exodus 19:1-25)

You Are God’s Treasure

This is one of the profound truths of the Christian faith that should make the soul glad. It speaks to a profound longing for love and identity that is universal to all human beings, whether we are followers of Jesus or not. It is simply one of those things that want to be true, whatever we believe. The great joy of the Christian is that for us it is indeed true. 

But for God to declare his people to be his treasured possession is not simply to say that he delights in his people in the condition that they are, or that it enables his people to be whoever they want to be, or do whatever they want to do. Because God has set his love upon his people so that they may ascend to a high calling, to trust his voice, and to draw near to him. 

The Connection Between God and His People(vv.1-8)

God is the one who takes initiative to be near his people. It is not the people who take initiative to draw near to God. Because of the sin that separates man from God, God must draw near to his people through a connection. This is the mediator Moses whom he has chosen. 

Through Moses God connects with Israel. Through Moses, Israel connects with God. And through Moses, God promises to make this people his very own treasured possession if they in turn would trust and obey his word. 

Through Moses, the people promise to trust and obey God at his word. But everything must go through Moses, the mediator between God and Israel. This point forward to Jesus, the one greater than Moses, who makes God known to us in his flesh, and who represents us to God. It is through Christ that we come to understand God’s word, and it is in Christ’s name that we may speak to God in prayer.

Trust the One to Whom God Speaks (vv.9-15)

Israel were to put their trust in Moses because they would see that God himself has spoken to him. Whatever Moses says is regarded as the word of God and it must be obeyed as though God himself were speaking. This is also what it means for Christians to put their trust in Jesus because we have seen that God himself has spoken to him. Whatever Jesus says is regarded and obeyed as the very word of God itself, for Jesus is greater than Moses, the inheritor of all God’s household of which Moses was only a steward.

Meet With God on God’s Own Terms (vv.16-25)

To fulfill God’s calling upon Israel to be a kingdom of priests and a holy nation, Israel was to only approach God on God’s own terms, which were clear and strict. To come near to God was a fearful thing that would result in death for anyone who would disregard God’s word on how they might come near to him. This calling remains true for us as God’s people today, but the promises we have entered into are better than the ones that Israel entered into at Mount Sinai. 

For while Israel entered into a covenant of righteousness that comes by the law, we have come into a covenant of grace that comes by faith. It is this grace through Jesus Christ to which we as God’s treasured possession have become priests, called to make this grace known to the world. We today invite all people to meet with God on God’s own terms, which is to believe in the name of the Lord Jesus in order to be saved and become God’s own treasured possession.