Exodus 19:1-25

Pastor Todd introduced this chapter by saying that it describes three expressions of God’s grace toward His people: salvation in vv 1-8, revelation of Himself in vv 9-15, and mediation in vv 16-25.

Salvation (v4) and the response of obedience God requires of those He saves (v5a) both come from God’s grace. Human beings do not deserve and cannot achieve salvation or sanctification. The culmination of this gracious process is blessing for us. What does it look like? We think first of material abundance and an easy life as marks of blessing. But the passage describes blessing as being God’s “treasured possession” and “a kingdom of priests, a holy nation.” (vv5b-6) Before the Lord, examine your own definition of blessing. Do I rank being cherished by God above a promotion at work or a new car? Do I consider representing God in a dark world a blessing … or a duty I try to avoid? Ask God to help you – and all of us – prize most highly the less tangible but ultimate blessings He offers.

The scene on Mt. Sinai – God descending on the mountain in fire and smoke to speak to His terrified people, trembling behind the caution tape – illustrates the transcendence and immanence of God. He is transcendent; He is holy, “other,” and exalted. But He is also immanent; He is near to His people. The tension between these two divine attributes is reflected in the people’s preparation for their meeting with God. Todd challenged us to consider how our lives balance this tension. Do we fall into the error of thinking that God is so far above us that, while He might deign to meet with us during worship on Sunday, He is otherwise uninvolved? Or do we take the time to seek Him every day, asking Him to reveal Himself to us by His Spirit and in His word? Do we err in the other direction by thinking of God as our buddy, approaching Him with a casual, almost flippant attitude? Or do we approach Him with awe and reverence, offering Him our best, preparing our hearts with humble confession? Tell God you want to honor Him by treating Him both as immanent – with us and involved in our lives at all times – and also as transcendent – far above us in holiness.

Moses was the mediator between Yahweh and His people. This was Moses’ unique, God-given calling, but he was neither a perfect nor an eternal mediator. Jesus is the great, the ultimate, the capital-M, mediator. Jesus – his perfect life as a man, his death for our sins, his triumph over the grave – is the ultimate expression of God’s grace. Take time to savor God’s grace, as Todd aptly expressed it. Let His grace penetrate your being and then spill out to the people around you.

In Christ,
Carol Gilbert
Calvary Community Church of Brea

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