God's Covenant with Moses - Being a "Treasured Possession" (Exodus 19:1-9)

(1) Introduction / Revision

I came to this passage with a measure of excitement. I can actually be God’s “treasured possession”. Whether or not we feel treasured by other people, we can be considered by God as a “treasured possession”. I say “can be considered” rather than ‘are’ considered (which we might prefer) on the basis of this text, because there seems to be clear qualifications to this. But of course where there are qualifications, we are not left to qualify in our own strength, God himself is able to get us across the line … if we are willing!

We have previously looked at the covenants made by God with Noah and with Abraham. With Noah, God expressed His unconditional love for humankind – in saying that never again would God destroy the earth. With Abraham, God showed that if people would just respond to His call, then God would bless them with descendents, land, nationhood and well-being. Now, in interacting with Moses, God will establish more of what it means to live in relationship … relationship with God and relationship with fellow human beings.

So successive covenant statements made by God, first offered the people a future, then great hope within that future, and then an opportunity to participate in bringing about God’s future through trusting in Him! First comes God’s creative and graceful actions, then the taking up of our assigned responsibilities naturally follows. Ultimately God’s covenant with humanity, and everything God was seeking to achieve, would be fulfilled through the coming of Jesus and our response to him.

(2) Question

The covenant God was offering through Moses brought with it some very direct initiatives (referred to as the ‘ten commandments’). What would be some of the primary reasons why God would give us commandments to follow???

· to keep us on track
· so we know our responsibilities to others
· to be a ‘spoil-sport’ or a controlling ogre ?!?; or
· to help us reach our potential and be described as ‘treasured possessions’.

(3) Background

God had called Moses to be the leader of the people of Israel in bringing Abraham’s descendants out of slavery in Egypt. God’s direction in the people’s escape from Egypt proved everything that God had committed to in the earlier covenants with Noah and Abraham.

But the human side of these covenant relationships always seemed to be lacking. Moses, under God’s leading, had acted with great integrity, yet when any little thing went wrong on their journey toward the ‘promised land’, the Hebrew people would moan and groan, and blame Moses and doubt God, be rebellious and disloyal, and even ridiculously wish that they had stayed in Egypt. This, despite being miraculously provided with water and food when it was most needed.

No wonder they needed more divine guidance and some sort of framework for living. We know in the post-Jesus era a lot more about the sort of living God requires, but back then God would have to deliver some basic commandments that in a real sense protected people from the worst side of themselves.

The pastor came over to visit the home of members of the congregation. Wanting to make a good impression, the lady of the house asked her little daughter to run away and get that ‘good book’ that the family loved so much and gained so much inspiration from. Imagine how the mother felt when the daughter returned with a Myer catalogue in her hands.

(4) Commandments

God had shown complete loyalty to His creation and His promises. Now it was time for the people to step up! Yet we know that God was always more on about the forming of relationship with Him, than imposing a whole lot of rigorous rules. So any biblical commandments that we encounter, whether the ‘ten’ in the old testament, or the ‘greatest’ commandments in the new testament, we know that these were to serve a greater purpose than just abiding by rules for their own sake.

Having said this, we also know that the commandments that most of us have read and heard many times are very sensible and life-giving. Like the ancient people of Israel, we have to learn the simple truth that God always knows best. Life will work out a whole lot better if we rely on God rather than our limited selves, and take God’s advice on things like taking Sabbath rest. God’s covenant desires and resultant commandments are all about the sort of lifestyle and ethics that we should embrace, that in turn influence our openness to God’s presence and leading in our lives.

Such commandments are the proving ground of our faith; abiding in God’s ways allows us to experience God in personal ways. Even the covenants of the ‘old testament’ speak of grace leading to salvation, but increasingly also speak of the obligations of being recipients of God’s unconditional favour. We read in Deuteronomy chapter 7 verse 9: “Know therefore that the Lord your God is God, the faithful God who maintains covenant loyalty with those who love him and keep his commandments, to a thousand generations”; yet we also read of the very natural implications of not choosing to love God through following His ways … it will not go so well for them (and we have seen how this is true)! Yet ultimately God is not defeated, and God’s plans go forward and His purposes are fulfilled … through perennial patience and amazing grace.

(5) Text of Exodus 19

In verse 4 of chapter 19, we have the beautiful picture of the Hebrew people being carried on eagle’s wings out of Egypt into the heart of God. Here would be yet another opportunity for the people to wholly appreciate God. Without the weight of slavery and torture bearing down on them, they would have the opportunity to experience God’s provision and guidance afresh and embrace God’s attitudes and way of being. Could these people truly be God’s “treasured possession” through a two-way intimate relationship? Wouldn’t you want to be regarded as God’s “treasured possession”??

To be regarded as a “treasured possession” is to be ‘valued property’. For God to regard us as such is like the diamond miner who picks up what just seems to be a rough and dull stone but shouts with delight because he knows the value of what is within. So, what’s our part in this, in dispensing with the rough and the dull exterior to reveal the gem inside? What does it seem that we have to do (v.5) to be regarded as God’s “treasured possession”??? Praise God … it’s not rocket science!

How does being a “treasured possession” play out in life? During these ancient times, God was seeking the Hebrew people to collectively be God’s “treasured possession” amongst all the nations of the earth. Bringing this up to date would mean all those who have accepted God’s grace, become Jesus followers, and identified with God’s Kingdom by being involved in the church of Jesus. This ‘plays out’ through such people like you and I declaring (in their very lives) the praises of God, in such a way that all the people around will know (by our conduct and our words) that we belong to God, that we have indeed moved from darkness to light. We are “holy” through continually receiving the forgiving, cleansing and transforming nature of God; we are “priestly” as we serve the spiritual needs of others as representatives of God. We are ‘set apart’ by God for special purposes; not separated from those around us, but with a defined mission in the midst of community.

When Moses explained all this to the elders amongst the people (v.8), there was a good response: “Everything that the Lord has spoken we will do”. We know that the people of Israel, and then the people of the Christian church, have failed so often to live the way they should, even when they started out with words like this; but they remain good words for us to say, to mean, and to seek to live up to.

(6) Major Themes of the Ten Commandments

What can we see in the famous ‘ten commandments’ (listed in Exodus 20:3-17) that would lead to being regarded as one of God’s “treasured possessions” [or maybe, ‘good and faithful servants’]?

The first three deal primarily with our relationship with God. With having no other god, not making any idols for ourselves, and not making any wrongful use of God’s name – we are placing God in the right place in our lives … right in the centre. God does not want us to be distracted by either:
· an undue trust in anything that is not God, especially things that are only material and not of ultimate value; but this would also include putting other people or belief systems on pedestals from which they can only fall and let us completely down; nor
· devaluing God by taking our relationship with God anything other than completely seriously.

The fourth commandment sets sensible parameters around our own life (“remember the Sabbath day and keep it holy”). If we keep firmly in mind that we are not meant to be robots bent on 24/7 activity, rather that we are flesh, blood and spiritual beings that need nourishment and rest if we are going to grow and flourish, then we will experience much greater well-being. We will not ask others to work beyond their capacity, nor will we demand this of ourselves. If we understand that our ‘spirits’ first and foremost need to be attended to through being involved in worship, prayer and scripture study; and that being social beings we need to also be involved in Christian community and the mission of the Church – then we will notice that our lives experience purpose, hope and a sense of peace.

Commandments five to ten refer to the basic responsibilities of community life, from which most of our criminal and civil law have come from. Being connected to God, and understanding the sacredness of life and the everyday needs of other people, of course we will –
· not neglect to look after our parents, those who have come before us and usually deserve respect and care.
· not take away any one else’s life (because of our own anger, self-centredness, or desire for power and control).
· not compromise anyone else’s or our own sexual boundaries, in our thinking as well as in our behaviour. The only way to completely embrace this and guard this … is to affirm that all sexual intimacy belongs in the context of committed marriage relationships only.
· not take what does not belong to us.
· not even be jealous about what another person has (that we haven’t), lest this negatively influences us in our thinking, and then subtly changes our behaviour.
· not tell untruths / lies about others.

Following this would be a reasonable test of how serious we are about being God’s person, and a very fine start to being regarded as a “treasured possession”.

(7) Conclusion

Will you receive God’s covenant promises, as being promises being made directly to you? Will you affirm the importance of all the ethical and life-giving covenantal commandments and take them on board as priorities in your life? Can you say that you are God’s “treasured possession” as the days of your life unfold? Will you open up to God and allow Jesus to transform you into the person you were created to be?

This will take humility; this will take courage; this will take a hunger and a thirst for change! This will take a preparedness for risk-taking and for trust!

Later in Exodus (34:10) we read God's words of encouragement to Moses and the Hebrew people: “I hereby make a covenant. Before all your people I will perform marvels, such as have not been performed in all the earth or in any nation; and all the people among whom you live shall see the work of the Lord; for it is an awesome thing that I will do with you”.