A Holy Group Of People
God had an amazing purpose for the Hebrew people after He brought them out of their bondage in Egypt. He was not going to just give them a land and fulfill His other promises to their forefathers, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. His purpose was to reach the world through them. They were to obey His commands and be to Him "a kingdom of priests and a holy nation."(Exodus 19:6) If they followed His desires, the whole world would come to see that He was the Only True God, like the Egyptians did.
Think about it. What does a priest do? He stands between God and the person who has come to connect with God through a sacrifice or through worship. The priest is able to lead the other person to the Lord, because he already knows the Lord, and he knows what it takes for others to know Him. Also, they were to be a holy nation. The word holy means "set apart." They were to be set apart from sin. They were to be different, because they did things God's way. The word nation means a "people group." It is not talking about government and boundaries around a land. It is a group of people who have common bonds. In this case the bond was to be their faith in God.
Sadly, the children of Israel did not fulfill their purpose. Instead, they were a poor witness most of the time, because they chose to neglect God's laws and follow the idols their neighbors worshiped, They led people away from the Lord. It broke God's heart.
The interesting thing about this truth is that the Bible says the same thing about us, as Christians.(I Peter 2:9) We are called to be a "royal priesthood, a holy nation." We are priests of the King of Kings, and we are a people group set apart for our Lord Jesus Christ. People should be able to see the difference, and we should be leading them to know Christ. I pray that we will not fail like the Israelites did, but it seems that is the case at the present time. We have our sights on so many other things, instead of God's purpose for us.
Tomorrow, I intend to read Exodus 20-22.
Think about it. What does a priest do? He stands between God and the person who has come to connect with God through a sacrifice or through worship. The priest is able to lead the other person to the Lord, because he already knows the Lord, and he knows what it takes for others to know Him. Also, they were to be a holy nation. The word holy means "set apart." They were to be set apart from sin. They were to be different, because they did things God's way. The word nation means a "people group." It is not talking about government and boundaries around a land. It is a group of people who have common bonds. In this case the bond was to be their faith in God.
Sadly, the children of Israel did not fulfill their purpose. Instead, they were a poor witness most of the time, because they chose to neglect God's laws and follow the idols their neighbors worshiped, They led people away from the Lord. It broke God's heart.
The interesting thing about this truth is that the Bible says the same thing about us, as Christians.(I Peter 2:9) We are called to be a "royal priesthood, a holy nation." We are priests of the King of Kings, and we are a people group set apart for our Lord Jesus Christ. People should be able to see the difference, and we should be leading them to know Christ. I pray that we will not fail like the Israelites did, but it seems that is the case at the present time. We have our sights on so many other things, instead of God's purpose for us.
Tomorrow, I intend to read Exodus 20-22.