In the third month
after the sons of Israel had gone out of the land of Egypt,
on that very day they came into the wilderness of Sinai.
Exodus 19:1
The children of Israel have finally made it to the mountain. In Exodus 3:12 God spoke to Moses through a burning bush and told him, “Certainly I will be with you, and this shall be the sign to you that it is I who have sent you: when you have brought the people out of Egypt, you shall worship God at this mountain.” Now here they are camped at the foot of this very mountain.
When Moses went to Pharaoh he asked permission for the children of Israel to be allowed a three day journey into the wilderness in order to go and worship their God. Three months later and many signs and wonders later, the people gather to hear from their God. It just hit me as I write this, that all that Moses did before this moment was by faith. The sign that it was indeed God who sent him to Pharaoh has just now occurred over three months later.
I wonder how many nights Moses lay in bed tossing and turning wondering if he had lost his mind, wondering if he was indeed a fool who had just brought millions of people out into the wilderness to die. I would like to think that he was this mighty man of faith, but the truth is, he was human like you and I. He was flesh, sinful, weak flesh. He was just a man. I love how our God does not hide the weaknesses and failures of His servants. It gives me hope that maybe, just maybe, God could use me too.
In Exodus 19:3 we read that Moses has gone up to God and the LORD has called to him from the mountain with the message He has for the house of Jacob, the children of Israel. The message is:
You yourselves have seen what I did to the Egyptians,
and how I bore you on eagles’ wings, and brought you to Myself.
Now then, if you will indeed obey My voice and keep My covenant,
then you shall be My own possession among all the peoples,
for all the earth is Mine;
and you shall be to Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.
Exodus 19:4-6
This was God’s plan. This entire nation was to be a kingdom of priests to the entire earth. Every nation was to learn how to worship the One True Living Creator God, the I AM, through the house of Jacob, through the children of Israel. This was God’s offer to this people He had redeemed from under the hand of Pharaoh and the false gods of Egypt.
Moses came to the people and he delivered God’s message to them and the people responded, “All that the LORD has spoken we will do!” (Exodus 19:8).
Yes Lord, we agree to your offer. We accept it willingly. Their journey was just now about to begin. They had accepted an awesome honor, but with this honor come grave responsibility. To whom much is given much is required (Luke 12:48).
Oh Father,
Our journey of faith does not really begin until we answer that call from You and say “Yes, Lord all that You have spoken I will do.” It is Your grace that comes to us and approaches us and it is Your grace that gives us the mustard seed amount of faith to say yes. It is then by Your grace through that given faith that we walk this journey. Just as You called Israel to be Your priest so You have called me to be in Christ. “But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God’s own possession, so that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light.” (1 Peter 2:9)
My Jesus it is in Your name I pray,
Amen