February 22, 2009 · Exodus 19:1–6

Prepare to Meet Your God

In the third month after the Israelites left Egypt — on the very day — they came to the Desert of Sinai. After they set out from Rephidim, they entered the Desert of Sinai, and Israel camped there in the desert in front of the mountain.

“Most of the world had forgotten the Creator. So when he calls him a kingdom of priests and a holy nation, we have to keep in mind some few things. First of all, these are the exact words that Peter will use to describe the church. [1 Peter 2:9] We are a kingdom of priests, a holy nation. Very interesting. What does that mean? Well, let's look at this first. God's plan that he sets up a Sinai — it gets updated a little bit from time to time. We'll see it with the Davidic covenant. There's a few new covenants that God lays down, and ultimately, obviously, the new covenant of Jesus Christ. It gets updated. It gets expanded upon. But it's still the same basic plan that God sets up from the very beginning, when he had creation. What God does is he unfolds a step-by-step plan for his kingdom to be manifest on the earth. He always had it in mind, but it takes a few people by surprise time and time again. So I think what we need to do is see in the words that we've just read that although this is a very small group of people — let's think about it, this is a small group that escapes from Egypt, they're not that numerous — what God shows that he loves the small group. He loves this small entity. It's just like he loves individuals. It doesn't matter how small the group is, if they enter into an agreement with God. It doesn't matter how small the person you are, if you enter into agreement with God as your king. See, they have God's full attention. They're not secondary. … He will protect you. He will watch over you.”