Download Building A Godly Nation Exodus 19:1-6 How old is the United States

Building A Godly Nation
Exodus 19:1-6
How old is the United States? (R) 237 years, going on 238.
Last week we looked at God's plan: God would take one person who obeys him and bless
him so much that he would form a whole nation from him. That nation would then be a blessing
to all the other nations. But God is a patient God. His timing is totally different than ours. He
told this man Abram that his descendants would not stay in the country where God promised.
His descendants would leave that country, and then for 400 years they would be enslaved in that
nation - the nation Egypt. Did you hear that? 400 years. Can you imagine that? Our nation just
crossed the halfway point. Four hundred years ago was 1614. Just think what has happened in
that time period.
Well, we are jumping way ahead time-wise today to continue our story of God and how
he revealed himself in the Scriptures. We are now 400 plus years later, probably closer to 500.
We are at the foot of Mt. Sinai. The descendants that came from Abraham through Isaac had
greatly increased, and they have just left their captivity to the Egyptians, and they have made
their way to Mt. Sinai. They are almost 2 million strong. And now, at the base of Mt. Sinai,
where God spoke to Moses, their leader, and called him to lead the Hebrew people out of a
burning bush, God now speaks again. He is about to establish a new covenant with them which
is to result in them becoming a godly nation. As we look at what he says about them, think about
what it would take for this nation to be godly. Also, think about what it would take for this
church to be godly. And not only that, what would it take for you to be godly.
First of all, God tells Moses to tell the people of Israel this: "You yourselves have seen
what I did to Egypt, and how I carried you on eagles' wings and brought you to myself" (vs. 4).
In other words, think about what God has done for you. Think about how God saved you.
For the people of Israel, that meant remembering how God heard their cries in slavery and then
sent Moses to lead them out of Egypt. They were also to recall how God delivered them from
the Egyptians, first of all by providing the 10 plagues which culminated in the Passover. That
night the firstborn of Egypt died, and the Israelites escaped slavery in Egypt. The armies of the
Egyptians came after them, but many died in the Red Sea. They were now free of Egypt.
They saw challenges, but God met every challenge. They were trapped by the Red Sea.
God parted it. They had bitter water to drink. God made it sweet. They were hungry. God
provided manna every day, and he also gave them quail. Again, they were thirsty. At God's
instruction, Moses struck a rock and out came water. They were attacked by an army from
Amalek, and the Israelites defeated them. It was God who carried them here to Mt. Sinai. He
carried Israel on eagles' wings. God uses the eagle because it was the most powerful bird. The
eagle is known for its powerful wings. It was God who enabled the Israelites to be where they
were, before Mt. Sinai. It was by his strength that brought them safely out of Egypt.
He brought the people of Israel to himself. Here on Mt. Sinai, the people were going to
meet with God. Thus, the people were to think about what God has done for them - how he
saved them.
For us to be a godly nation, or for us to be a godly church, or for us to be a godly
individual, we need to think about what God has done for us - how he saved us. We need to
think often of the love of God and how he provided salvation for us in Jesus Christ. We need to
be grateful for Jesus' life, his death, and his resurrection and that that means for us.
Maybe you have experienced a child questioning you about why they should obey.
Maybe you have answered, in some form or another, look at all that I have done for you. Maybe,
you even made a list- I changed your diapers, I played ball, I did your laundry, I fed you, and so
forth. I believe it was Bill Cosby who started the phrase, "I brought you into the world and I will
take you out." So, as you may have experienced those conversations as a parent or as a child, so
God is saying, think about what I have done for you.
After this, God states, "Now if you obey me fully and keep my covenant" (vs. 5). In
other words, to be a godly nation, one obviously needs to obey God. The Israelites were called
not to obey just some of things God said, but all. Not just halfheartedly but wholeheartedly.
How can one be godly without obeying God?
Much could be said about this covenant. This covenant was about to be given to the
Israelites. Who wrote it? God. Did Israel get a say in what was in the covenant? Not at all.
Notice, God said it was "my covenant." This is called a suzerain treaty. When a superior power
makes a treaty with a weak nation, the superior power states all the things the weak power needs
to do. Yet, the superior power also promises to protect the weak power. More could be said
about this treaty, but the superior power is God and asks for Israel, the weak power, to obey the
covenant he is about to tell them. The treaties set up with Germany after the first and second
world war would have some similar qualities, not totally.
All of this to say, God expected obedience. A godly nation has to be obedient. That is
what is hurting our nation, is it not? We are rejecting more and more of God's commands. We
are showing him more and more disrespect. The ways we do so are endless. To be a godly
nation or to be a godly church or to be a godly person, we need to obey God.
If they obey God and keep his covenant, then God has a powerful promise, "then out of
all the nations you will be my treasured possession. Although the whole earth is mine, you will
be for me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation" (5-6). In other words, a godly nation is
highly valued and prized by God. They will be a treasured possession. Out of all the nations
that exist, and remember the whole earth is God's, this nation of Israel will be valued and
cherished and treasured by God. He will honor Israel in a special way.
This nation will be a kingdom of priests. A priest is one who is set apart to serve God,
and he has direct access to God unlike other people. So, this whole kingdom will have access to
God. If this nation obeys God, they will have direct access to God, and they will serve and
worship him.
This nation will also be called a holy nation. The word "holy" means to be set apart for
God. Thus, this is similar to being a kingdom of priests. But this whole nation will be set apart
for God to serve him and to do his will.
This nation will be distinctive in the world, unlike any other nation. They will be
different. They will be peculiar. Yet, they will be prized and valued by God. As the Amish live
distinctively from the rest of the world, so Israel was to be distinctive. They were not to try to be
distinctive. They were to focus on obeying God. Their obedience would make them distinctive.
If our nation, if our church, if we as individuals would love God fully and keep his covenants,
then we would be prized by God as a nation or as a church or as an individual.
Well, much of the rest of Exodus describes the covenant that God established with Israel
at Mt. Sinai. Leviticus emphasizes the work of the priests along with other issues. It's main
emphasis is the call to be holy. We see in the book of Numbers how this nation did not obey
God, and thus they had to wander in the wilderness for 40 years. And then, right before they
may enter the Promised Land, Moses addresses them and challenges them to love God fully. He
reviews some of the covenant. He then dies and cannot enter the promised land. However,
Joshua describes how Joshua, the new leader, leads them into the promised land and how each
tribe gets part of the land. Yet, in Judges, the Israelites are disobeying God, and thus the people
of the land regain power over the Israelites. It becomes so bad, in the book of Ruth, a woman
and a foreigner is the heroine. From her there will be a hope for the nation in a man named
David.
So, let me close with these observations which we will later see in Jesus:
1) Grace precedes command. God delivers us and saves us first. Obedience comes from
knowing God's grace. Thus, the phrase we have been using lately from Romans 5:8, "But God
demonstrates his own love for us in this, while we were still sinners Christ died for us." Look
and be thankful for what God has done for us.
2) Seek to obey God. Whether God speaks through the Bible, prayer, church or
circumstances, listen and obey God. We are called to do this fully. In other words, we must be
prepared to radically adjust our lives to obey God. Don't worry about maintaining your situation
or your comfort zone, worry about obeying God. Jesus said, "If you love me, you will obey my
commands" (John 14:15). "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself, take up his
cross and follow me."
3) Our value and worth should come from what God thinks of us. Secular counselors
may tell you differently. They want you to think a lot of yourself. However, the key to
knowing your worth is knowing what God thinks of you. Discover your worth in God's eyes.
By the way, that will be hard to find if you don't value God and seek to obey him. But the "Spirit
testifies with our spirit that we are God's children" (Romans 8:16). Who can beat that?
So, let us push on to know God and his grace. As we do, we will surrender our lives to
him. We will then discover how much he values us.