A Kingdom of Priests

⁜ Prayer ⁜

Intro

Alright! So last week we were in Exodus ch. 3, and now we have whirl-winded past 16 chapters of material! Whoah! Not only are we on quite a ride here, but so have been the Israelites. Right!?

But why did we skip over all the material with the plagues, the parting of the sea, the defeat of the Egyptians, God providing manna and quail to his people in the wilderness?

Well... All of that is important, it truly is... but - since we only have a limited amount of time to explore the major themes in our God Redeems a People for Himself series, it seemed important to jump over all that material (not because I wanted to!) but because as we explore today's Scripture reading we will see that it actually reveals WHY GOD DID ALL OF THAT in those last 16 chapters!

And that is what we are trying to do in this sermon series... we're trying to get a birds-eye view of what the story of the whole Bible is driving at!

So today, we find ourselves exactly where we saw God promise Moses and the Israelites he would bring them. So we read last week, in Ex. 3:12: "When you have brought the people out of Egypt, you will worship God on this mountain." And how did our Scripture today start? "On the first day of the third month after the Israelites left Egypt... they came to the Desert of Sinai... and Israel camped there in the desert in front of the mountain."

Notice that little detail! They are at the mountain... not simply any mountain, but the very one that God had promised to bring them to all those months ago.

So the question is: Now what?

Well, remember last week when we were exploring Exodus 2 and 3? What was it we saw that God was doing as he revealed himself to Moses and through Moses to his people?

Right! He issued a call. And what was at the heart of that call?

Yes, that they bear witness to him!

To summarize last week's sermon: "The ancient Israelites, and all of us reading the Bible today, are seeing God reveal himself to us as he tells us his name and does great wonders, and as God reveals himself to us we become the bearers of his promises and are invited to be witnesses of his great love and mighty power before the world."

And, so last week, I ended that sermon by pointing out that the Bible reminds us over and over that we are a missionary people! And that theme - that we are a missionary people - is heightened in today's Scripture.

But it does so in a way that may strike us as a bit odd, when God says: in Ex. 19:6: "Although the whole earth is mine, you will be for me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation." That may sound odd to us as a call to mission right?

What does this have to do with being a missionary people!

Well, that is what we are going to explore today!

Pt. 1 ~ Our Priesthood

Now the first thing we need to ask is - why that word priests? What does it mean to be a kingdom of priests! If God wanted us to be a missionary people, why wouldn't he just say it that way, instead of call his people a kingdom of priests?

Well, to get at that we need to figure out what a priest is and what they do. But we also need to acknowledge that for us Protestants the word "priest" is often an odd one - we don't really use the word unless we are speaking of the Old Testament priests, Jesus our High Priest, or the priesthood of all believers. But we generally feel somewhat uncomfortable with the word.

Perhaps some vague images of a figure in a long robe, swinging incense, in a gothic style cathedral comes to mind. And on some level, that does touch on what the Bible is trying to get across here. Indeed, one of the defining elements of being a priest - as we clearly see in the role of the Levites - is leading in worship.

We see this clearly in Ex. 29 where God gives specific instructions for the ordination of the Levitical priests and their duties... and their leading Israel in their life of temple worship and the sacrifices is essential.

But that is not all that priests do! One biblical scholar, John Goldingay, helps us understand what priests do when points out that as we read through the Old Testament we see that the duties of priests include many things. These duties include: "priests... hav[ing] a ministry of worship, supervision, music, blessing, and teaching."

So now we are starting to see the meaning of priesthood in light of the whole Old Testament. And we are starting to gain a proper sense of what exactly God is getting across to his people.

The Bible Background Commentary also helps us understand a bit more of what God means when he calls his people a "kingdom of priests". That commentary notes that: God is "[identifying] the nation [of Israel] as serving a priestly role among the nations, as intermediary between the peoples [they will live among] and God."

And how do they serve as intermediaries, sharing the Good News of what God had done for them and will do for the whole world? By living in a priestly way... by bearing witness, to God, before the world by their life of worship, teaching, blessing, and way of life.

That is why as we read in Ex. 19:6, God defines his people as "his treasured possession" and a "kingdom of priests and a holy nation."

First, notice that God describes his people as a "treasured possession." This is not because this people is anything special on their own! (Even a casual reading of the Old Testament shows that God's people - apart from their relationship to God - is far from special!

They are actually insignificant in light of the other more wealthy and powerful nations around them. Even the Bible - as we see in Deut. 7:7 -reminds God's people: "The Lord did not set his affection on you and choose you because you were more numerous than other peoples, for you were the fewest of all peoples."

And we also see throughout the Old Testament that they are just as sinful as the nations around them!

So what makes them God's "treasured possession?"

Well, simply the fact that God chose them to be so! As we see, this people doesn't particularly deserve to be God's treasure... he simply decides that he will chose them.

This is what is called the doctrine of election - God choosing people to be his, not because of any worthiness of their own, but simply because God graciously decides to draw them to himself, though they are unworthy. That is how great God's love is!

And this doctrine of election is taught throughout the whole of Scripture - which is why it is a central doctrine of Protestant faith; precisely because of the fact that we find it taught throughout the Bible. And while we don't have the time to dive deep into that doctrine now, if you want to explore it on your own Paul offers a beautiful summary of it in Chapter 9 of his Letter to the Romans. And if you want to explore that doctrine further, let me know! I am always happy to talk theology!

But returning to our passage, we see revealed for us that: God by his grace alone makes people to be his own "treasured possession." If we say that we can do anything to earn or deserve being called God's "treasured possession" we are contradicting what the Bible itself teaches!

Let us take that to heart! Let us be satisfied to rest in his grace alone, granted through the blood Jesus shed on the Cross!

But notice that God does not simply stop at calling his people his "treasured possession!"

No, he goes on to describe why he has elected this people to be his own! He draws this people to him with a purpose!

And what is that purpose? Well... he calls them to be "for me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation." Notice what God says here.

(1) First, he calls them to be a kingdom of priests and a holy nation" for himself.

Let's make note of that! They are not called to be all of this for their own sake!

God calls them into existence as a people - he redeems them to be his people - for his own sake. In other words, God's people exist for the sake of God's glory!

That is the whole point of our existence... we are called to glorify him and to point all the people of the world to him so that they may glorify him!

(2) Following on that we see that God sets his people apart with the purpose that they be be:

(a) a kingdom of priests (each person is a priest), and

(b) a holy nation (each person is called to be holy).

And so we return to our earlier definition of God's people: That they are a kingdom of priests for the sake of being God’s witnesses before the pagan nations. And they do this in their life of worship, teaching, blessing, and way of life. Or as John Goldingay writes: they were commissioned by God to be "...messengers, announcing [God's] requirements... desires... [and] intentions. They are also... empowered to act on the [God's] behalf."

But how does that connect with them being a holy nation?

Pt. 2 ~ The Law and Our Mission

Well, that is where the Ten Commandments come in. So we see in Chapter 20, v. 1 today, the Bible laying out very clearly that "God spoke all these words:...". Notice how specifically this is laid out for us. Moses and the Holy Spirit want us to know that what follows comes directly from God.

Of course the whole Bible comes directly from God, but from time to time we see God reemphasize this fact for us! And he usually does so right before saying something of particular importance.

And that is exactly what we see happening here, as God gives the Ten Commandments to Moses. He emphasizes that these words come directly from him - and as he does so, he is reminding us to continue to pay careful attention to what we are reading!

But why is it that what we read here is so important?

Because it is connected intimately with God designating his people both "a kingdom of priests and a holy nation." In other words, these Ten Commandments can be described as the Charter of God's People.

They act as a guide to how they are to live. They describe what holiness looks like. And they do that so that both the people's lives and their words may represent to the world God's own holy nature and his plan for humanity!

In short, the way God's people live - by his grace - reveals to the world the transformation that God desires to bring about in peoples lives.

And as God's people live personal lives of holiness, it shows to the world that it is actually possible to live in a holy manner - not because we have any natural ability to do so, but because God's grace is transformative!

And so our lives themselves are intended to become a proclamation of God's redemptive plan!

Now, In order to understand how God guides us into that, let's briefly take a look at what our priestly calling looks like!

First, notice how the Ten Commandments open up! We see in ch. 20, v. 2 "I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery."

This is how God begins defining what his people's priestly and holy lives are to look like! And what is that?

Yes! Our lives are centered around the one who is "the Lord your God" the one who with mighty deeds brought his people out of Egypt and their enslavement!

That is the defining characteristic of the people God has redeemed for himself. Their lives are no longer centered upon themselves, but upon God - who has proven himself worthy of being the center of our lives by the fact that he has called us and saved us even though we did not deserve that.

That is why the Ten Commandments begin telling us how to rightly live in relationship with God! So, as the Heidelberg Catechism notes: "the first four commandments teach us what our relationship to God should be."

And why do we need to be taught this (even to this day)?

Well, first, as we saw last week - we need God's revelation, because due to sin's effect on our hearts and minds, we too easily get God wrong. And so, God teaches us in these first four commandments: (1) Who he is - that he is the only true God, (2) how we rightly serve him, (3) how we rightly honor him, (4) and finally how we rightly worship him!

But all of that also has a missional focus! God teaches us all of that because of the fact that as his people learn who he is, and serve him, honor him, and worship him alone, and as they live into that reality, they begin to bear witness to exactly who this God is!

And the people of the world not only learn who this God is - they are also invited into the story he is weaving as they witness our lives!

But God does not leave things off there. No! He follows the commandments about what our relationship with him is to be like, with another six commandments, which - as the Heidelberg Catechism summarizes - "show us what we owe our neighbor."

So why does he give us these commandments?

Well, I would suggest that just as our life of worship, reverence, honor, and service to God is a missionary act, because it teaches the world who God truly is, and that there is no other God before him. So too, how we live in relationship towards our neighbor is also a missionary act!

Christopher Wright - one of my favorite theologians - writes in his book, The Mission of God's People that: as God teaches us how to live, and gives us the grace to live in accordance with that teaching, our changed lives, values, and priorities actually present a radical challenge to the sins, injustices, and dissoluteness of the society we live in!

And so, as the Bible shapes our understanding of how we are to live in relationship with our neighbors and as we begin to live lives transformed by God's grace, we actually are acting as missionaries!

God is showing the world - through us - that he can transform the life of even the most sinful person, and make them live in a radically new way. In other words, we become a sign of God's kingdom breaking forth into this world!

What is more missional than that!

This is why Jesus himself repeated the teaching of the Ten Commandments in his own teaching. Each one of the Ten Commandments is taught and explained by him. (Please see the photo copies you were handed on your way in, which show that Jesus actually taught his followers the ten commandments! I hope those handouts help you see the continuity between the Old and the New Testaments.)

So why did Jesus teach the ten commandments, and deepen his disciples understanding of them? Because as he himself notes, in Mt. 5:14-16: "You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven."

That is missional language!

And notice the joy here! This is not set before us - either in Exodus or in Jesus's words - as a heavy burden! No!

Indeed, notice the sense of holy joy that permeates our Lord's word. There is a sense of urgency, yes. But it is an urgency driven by the desire to "glorify your Father in heaven!"

And that is the central point that Moses emphasizes in today's reading as well. So we find him saying to the people in Ex. 20:20 - as John Durham translates it - "Don’t be afraid, for it is with the purpose of giving you the experience [of his presence] that God has come, so that reverence for him might grip you and prevent you from sinning."

Notice what is happening - this is not a heavy burden! As God's people experience his transformative presence, they are gripped with loving reverence for their God, which then leads them to live holy lives which glorify him.

So, my brothers and sisters, as we read the words of today's Scripture, and ponder their meaning, let us remember that God had made us into a kingdom of priests whose whole lives point the world to God so that everyone around may come to know and worship God.

And this is not just a message for the Israelites, it is for us as well! As Philip Ryken has written: Jesus has given us today the same priestly task that his Father gave to Israel. This is why Peter, in Ch. 2 of his First Letter, v. 9, 11-12, reminded the early church of the missional nature of their lives when he wrote:

You are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a God's special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. ...Dear friends, I urge you, as foreigners and exiles in the world, to abstain from sinful desires, which wage war against your soul. Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us.

Yes, like the Israelites, we are a kingdom of priests. God has made us his treasure and set us apart so that we may bear witness to him. Since we are saved for God’s glory, our service is to worship God and to glorify him. But we also have a mission to the world — to serve it. And the way we serve is by leading holy lives.

Yes, holiness will distinguish us from the rest of the world. But it is exactly in being distinct from the world that we give witness to God and also invite those we meet to encounter the living God who is at work, here and now, establishing his kingdom of righteousness and holiness.

That is at the heart of what God means when he calls his people a kingdom of priests! And that is what God says you and I are! Isn't that AWESOME?!

⁜ Let us Pray ⁜