Exodus 19:1-8
In the third month, when the children of Israel were gone forth out of the land of Egypt, the same day came they into the wilderness of Sinai. 2 For they were departed from Rephidim, and were come to the desert of Sinai, and had pitched in the wilderness; and there Israel camped before the mount. 3 And Moses went up unto God, and the Lord called unto him out of the mountain, saying, Thus shalt thou say to the house of Jacob, and tell the children of Israel; 4 Ye have seen what I did unto the Egyptians, and how I bare you on eagles’ wings, and brought you unto myself. 5 Now therefore, if ye will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant, then ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto me above all people: for all the earth is mine: 6 And ye shall be unto me a kingdom of priests, and an holy nation. These are the words which thou shalt speak unto the children of Israel. 7 And Moses came and called for the elders of the people, and laid before their faces all these words which the Lord commanded him. 8 And all the people answered together, and said, All that the Lord hath spoken we will do. And Moses returned the words of the people unto the Lord.
We are all familiar with the words of what we call The Great Commission that is found in Matthew 28:18-20. Jesus met His disciples in Galilee and issued to the group His charge before He left them. There are four key points to it. First, the commission was given in light of His authority; He has “all authority.” Second, the commission consisted of one goal: making disciples. Third, the commission consisted of two steps: baptizing and teaching His followers everything He has commanded. Lastly, the commission has a promise: He will be with His church until “end of the world.” We talk about it a lot and are very familiar with it. We all hear about the need to witness for Jesus and many of us carry out that task faithfully. However, it often feels as though something is missing, or lacking in a genuine zeal for getting the gospel into the lives of others and helping them to walk with Christ. Could it be that our obedience has become routine and talk about the Great Commission become just another Christian thing that we do? What if God, throughout the Bible, has demonstrated for us His own heart as that of a God on mission. His mission in the world is to redeem a people for Himself. He has accomplished and is carrying that out through His Son. While this is clear in the New Testament, the Old Testament itself establishes God as a missionary God. Way back in Genesis 3, when Adam and Eve first sinned, God came for them. He didn’t leave them to themselves and gave them an amazing promise to one day fix what they had done (Genesis 3:15). This same missionary heart is expressed all through the Bible. This week, we will look at another passage that reveals the heart of God for people in Exodus 19. We have been in a series on David, who was a man after God’s own heart, and it is the goal of this week’s message to help us to see God’s missionary heart for people and to burn with passion for what He is passionate about. In Exodus 19:1-8, Israel had been miraculously brought out of Egypt by God and they had come three months later to Mount Sinai. In this passage, when God speaks to His people from the mountain, we learn three ways in which God’s missionary heart is on display in the world then and now.
First, we see God’s missionary heart on display in His speaking to His people. God brought Israel out of Egypt with a mighty display of His power and yet they failed to trust Him in the wilderness. They had journeyed three months from Egypt to Mount Sinai. Verse 2 mentions that they had moved from Rephidim which is the location where Moses struck the rock and God provided water for the grumbling multitude. Now, they had come to Mount Sinai. Don’t miss God’s heart on display here. He spoke. He spoke when He could have been silent. He could have left us all to ourselves, but He has spoken. Just as God had called to Moses from the burning bush at that same mountain roughly a year before, so now He would speak to Moses in front of all of Israel again and give them the requirements of His covenant. One of the greatest graces is that our God speaks. He has ultimately spoken through the person of His Son (Hebrews 1:1-3) and He has given us His Holy Word that we might know Him. His Word should be a driving passion in our lives because we must recognize that it is only by His Word that we know of salvation (2 Timothy 3:14-17). God’s heart is revealed in that He has spoken. What is your heart toward His Word? Do you know it? Do you study it? Do you love it? Do you treasure it? Do you share it?
Next, we see God’s missionary heart on display in His saving of His people. Verse 4 is God’s reminder to His people of what He had done for them. He first reminded them of what He did to their enslavers; He destroyed them. Egypt as a nation was devastated by the plagues and Pharaoh and his army were destroyed in the Red Sea. The whole world looed on and took notice of God’s great power in saving His people from bondage. He also reminded them of how He carried Israel out and along to the mountain. He gave them Moses to lead them and then provided for them every step of the way, like eagles taking care of their young (see Deuteronomy 32:9-12 and Isaiah 40:28-32). Lastly, He reminded them of how He had “brought” them to Himself. His purpose in salvation is to reconcile people to Himself. Likewise, in our salvation God has conquered our enemies of sin, death, and Satan (even embarrassed them openly – see Colossians 2:13-15) and He has brought us to Himself. We were dead in our sin, but now alive and in the heavenlies (positional speaking) in Christ (Ephesians 2:1-7). God’s missionary heart has been demonstrated once for all in the gospel. Christ died to save sinners. His heart is evident in our lives who have trusted in Him. He has saved us from sin, made us new creatures by putting His Spirit within us, and He has reconciled us to Himself. We now enjoy true fellowship with God because of what He has done. Is it our desire to share that blessing with others; to make sure that they are reconciled to God? God has given us the ministry of reconciliation (2 Corinthians 5:17-21).
Lastly, we see God’s missionary heart on display in His sanctifying of His people. Verses 5-6 reveal that God had chosen and set Israel apart for special purposes. They were to be His “holy” people that would be His “peculiar [unique] treasure” in all the earth. God would make it clear through Moses in Deuteronomy 7:6-8 that God did not choose Israel because they were special or better than any other people on earth. He chose them because He loved them and because He made a promise to their ancestor Abraham. As a part of them being God’s possession, they would be a “kingdom of priests.” Priests were mediators between God and man. Israel would be an entire kingdom (with God as King) of priests. They would serve that role in three ways. First, they would be the people through whom God would bring His Savior into the world. This was promised to Adam and Eve in Genesis 3:15 and Abraham in Genesis 12. Second, they would serve that role as a people called to be in obedience to God; possessors of His law, will and Word; and keepers of His covenant. They were thus to reveal His glory to the whole world as a people in covenant relationship to God. Lastly, they would be given unique access to the presence of God. The whole purpose of Mount Sinai and the law was not only to reveal God’s moral will, but the book of Leviticus is given for the purpose of showing what is required for God to dwell with fallen people in relationship. While the people committed themselves to obey all that God said, we know from Israel’s history that they did not. God’s missionary heart is to set a people apart for Himsef; apart from sin. Right now, God is at work in His church, purifying and sanctifying a people that He is conforming into the image of His Son. What is the goal of our lives? Is it to be holy or just happy? What about for other people? Do we want to see Jesus formed in them (Galatians 4:19)?
It is in knowing God and what He desires that you and I are given proper motivations and passion in this life as we serve Him. Otherwise, our obedience to Him, even sharing the gospel, becomes a cold, dead, and callous ritual that we do because we know we’re supposed to. Instead, our lives are meant to be passionately and sacrificially lived on mission for Him. He has us here for a purpose. His heart is revealed in His speaking, His saving, and His sanctifying. He has entrusted to us the truth of His Word to teach us and to share with others. He has committed to us the great ministry of reconciliation to take the gospel to a lost world. He has called each of us to serve the body of Christ and help others grow in Christlikeness as they are conformed to His image. What is your passion in life? What really excites you, drives you, and motivates you? Ask God to burden you with what burdens Him. May God give each of us a missionary heart after His own heart. When we love what He loves and we get our minds on what’s on His mind, He powerfully uses us for His glory.