Bible Readings
Reading 51: Yahweh establishes a covenant with Israel
Read Exodus 19:1–25.
It’s been two months since Israel left Egypt. Yahweh led the people all the way to the foot of Mount Sinai where He had earlier commissioned Moses to lead the people.
Earlier, God had promised Moses He would bring the people to Mount Sinai so they could worship Him there. This would be a sign for Moses that Yahweh was trustworthy.
“And God said, ‘I will be with you. And this will be the sign to you that it is I who have sent you: When you have brought the people out of Egypt, you will worship God on this mountain.’” (Exodus 3:12.)
Now here they were! Yahweh truly keeps all His promises.
Yahweh had powerfully and singlehandedly saved Israel and made them His people. He didn’t require any effort from them to make this happen. They simply trusted what He said. He called Israel His firstborn son.
Through them, Yahweh would demonstrate to other nations what it is like to live with the Creator-God.
God called them by three special names. They were:
God’s own possession (They belonged to God and no one else.)
A kingdom of priests (They had a special job—to mediate between Yahweh and the other nations, bringing God’s message of reconciliation to the world.)
A holy nation (They were to be set apart to live differently. They were to be loyal to God and live in the way He taught them.)
Yahweh didn’t leave them to make up their own ideas of how their relationship with Him would work. He brought them to Mount Sinai so He could tell them how to live with Him and each other. He did this by making a contract, or covenant with them.
We have already seen God make two covenants: the covenant with Noah and mankind, where He promised not to overwhelm the earth with another global flood judgment; and the covenant with Abraham, where Yahweh promised Abraham land, many descendants and that through Abraham’s family, He would deliver a worldwide blessing. These two covenants were unconditional, meaning Yahweh alone would fulfil these covenants.
Now God was entering into another covenant, this time with the nation of Israel. This covenant was different, for God had obligations for the people to fulfil. They had to obey the law that He gave them in order for them to enjoy life with Him. Now that they were His people, He had expectations of how they were to live righteously before Him with a heart of gratitude for what He had done for them.
Throughout the books of Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy, Yahweh gave a compact set of 613 laws that governed all aspects of their society and life.
These laws explained how to relate to God, how to relate to each other and how to take care of creation. Obeying these laws would not only allow them to live, but thrive. Yahweh would be the centre of everything. He was their sovereign God and they were His people, accountable to Him. They had a unique position in the world and a unique responsibility towards the rest of mankind.
For them to enjoy their relationship with Him, Yahweh required that they know and respect who He is and they were to recognise who they were to Him. So Yahweh had Moses prepare the people to meet Him.
God got the people to wash their clothes and abstain from sexual relations. They were physically setting themselves apart from ordinary life and getting into the right frame of mind, to have the right attitude of awe. They had to be set apart, purified and cleansed in other to be in God’s presence.
God was demonstrating to them how He Himself, as the all-righteous God, is set apart and very different from the fallen creation. This being set apart is simply called holy.
When Yahweh came to them, it truly was such a majestic and powerful appearance. His presence was seen and felt through a huge cloud that covered the mountain. There was continuous lightning and thunder and also smoke. The mountain and the ground rumbled with an earthquake and there was the sound a ram’s horn (that is, a horn made from the horn of a sheep).
God had told Moses to put a boundary line of stones around the mountain that the people could not cross. God was demonstrating that He was set apart from them and they could not approach Him casually. Yahweh was demonstrating two truths: He would be near His people, and at the same time He was above and beyond them for He is all-righteous.
In our own lives, we too, can have an intimate, personal Father-and-child relationship with the Creator-God of the universe. In fact, God wants to be the central part of our lives where He not only leads us, but supplies us with what we need to thrive. Reflect on how our relationship with God is like. Do we want that kind of deeply personal and precious relationship with Yahweh? Pray and tell Him what you are thinking.
As believers of the church age, we also are called to be His representatives to the world. He wants us to show others who He is and what He is like. And so He tells us the way to live. Think about who we would like to share the love of God with. Pray and ask God for opportunities to tell them about Him. Also ask God for help so we can live our lives in a way that would attract them to Him.