Costly Sacrifice (March-May 2025)
Unit I: Tabernacle, Sacrifices, and Atonement
Lesson 1/5: A Kingdom of Priests, A Holy Nation
Daily Bible Meditations by Beth Brown
Sunday, 23rd Februar 2025: Revelation 1:3-8
Jesus is coming again, He who released us from our sins by His blood. This passage tells us that if we have accepted Him as our Savior, we are already a part of God's Kingdom, and more than that, we are priests. We do not have to take our requests or praises to another person who can relay it to God for us. No, we have been blessed with the ability to communicate directly with our Heavenly Father. Praise God, we will not be among those who mourn over seeing Him in the clouds. Please take some extra time today to commune directly with the Lord.
Monday, 25th February 2025: Psalm 106:36-48
What happens to God's people when they do not follow His plan? In Psalm 106:35, "they got involved with the nations and learned their practices," resulting in serving idols, sacrificing their sons and daughters, and shedding innocent blood, among other things. So understandably, in verse 40, "the anger of the Lord was kindled against His people." But even though God had every right to just wipe them off the face of the earth, He instead chose to rescue them. Then they rebelled.again. And then He heard their cry and rescued them.again. Thank God for His mercy and His patience. He is waiting and will hear your cry, even if you think you have done the unforgivable.
Tuesday, 25th February 2025: Leviticus 19:1-10
God instructed the Israelites that they were to be holy be- cause He is holy. And He did not make them guess how to do it. He laid out steps: revere your parents, keep His Sabbaths, do not turn to idols, etc. He went on to tell them that even in their regular workday life, holiness meant to leave a little extra for the poor and needy-and not just the poor and needy of their own nation, but the "stranger" (v.10) (i.e. the foreigner living among them) as well. Who is the stranger in your life that needs some of God's holiness to rub off of you and onto them?
Wednesday, 26th February 2025: Leviticus 19:11-18
God showed us quite literally how to treat our neighbors in His instruction to Israel here. How would you feel if you were lied about behind your back; or were promised wages at the end of the day and did not get paid; or if you did not get admitted into a program simply because your parents were either doctors or homeless? We can tell how to treat our neighbor because we know how we would want to be treated. Our "neighbor" is whoever we can either help or hurt by our action or inaction. Be the one who helps with God's help.
Thursday, 27th February 2025: Revelation 20:1-6
I don't know about you, but I want to be counted among those in the first resurrection. To be able to be called "blessed" (or "happy" in some translations) is what we are all search- ing for, isn't it? And then to reign with Him and be to priests of God and Christ? What a privilege to be able to live for a thousand years as a part of the family of God in order to reign and to communicate directly with our God as priests. It can sound very official, but to me it sounds like my forever home of which I cannot wait to be a part.
Friday, 28th February 2025: Micah 6:1-8
Verse 6 asks, "With what shall I come to the Lord?" Then verse 8 reminds us that He has already told us what to do: "to do justice, to love kindness (or "mercy" (KJV)), and to walk humbly with your God." Earlier this week, we talked about being good neighbors. A good neighbor would be just and merciful. We also need to work on walking with God-not just on Sabbath, but daily, hourly, always. And remember, He is God and we are not. If we can keep that in mind, we are sure to become more humble.
Sabbath, 1st March 2025: Exodus 19:1-14
The key verse for this week is Exodus 19:5b-6a: "for all the earth is Mine; and you shall be to Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation." But to understand it, we should read the beginning of verse 5: "Now then, if you will indeed obey My voice and keep My covenant, then you shall be My own pos- session among all the peoples." So, for Israel to be a kingdom of priests and a holy nation was conditioned upon their obey- ing His voice and keeping His covenant. I particularly like to linger on the fact that all of the earth belongs to Him. Whether we are born of Abraham's lineage or not, we can be counted among His people.
Reading:
Study: Exodus 19:1-14
Background: Exodus 19
Devotional: Leviticus 19:1-10
Key Verses:
"Now then, if you will indeed obey My voice and keep My covenant, then you shall be My own possession among all the peoples, for all the earth is Mine; and you shall be to Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation" (Exodus 19:5-6a).
Heart of the Lesson:
People know that relationships come with responsibilities. How can we best honor our relationships? Yahweh called Israel a treasured possession, a kingdom of priests, and a holy nation.
Questions for Studying the Text:
- How do we show we value our most committed relationships? What responsibilities come along with these relationships?
- Woher kamen die Israeliten und wie lange war es her, dass sie Ägypten verlassen hatten (Vers 1)? Welche Bedeutung hatte der Berg Sinai für die Reise Israels und seine Bundesbeziehung mit Gott? Warum wählte Gott den Berg Sinai deiner Meinung nach als Ort für diese Begegnung?
- What instructions did God give Moses to deliver to the Israelites (v.3-6)? How important is it for us to remember, like Israel, what God has graciously done for us in cultivating hearts of obedience to honor and serve Him? How is responding in obe- dience a condition for receiving covenant blessings from God?
- What does it mean for Israel to be "My own possession" and a "kingdom of priests and a holy nation" (v.6)? What significance can we find in Peter's application of those phrases to Christian believers in 1 Peter 2:1-10? How can you reflect this in your daily life?
- Why did God instruct the people to consecrate themselves and avoid approaching the mountain (v.12-13)? What physical and spiritual preparations were the Israelites to make before God appeared to them (v.10-11, 14)? What principles of sanctifica- tion in preparation for corporate worship can the Church today glean from the instructions given to Israel in this passage?
Understanding and Living - Jerry Johnson
A Turning Point
Exodus 19 marked a turning point in the account of God delivering the children of Israel from Egypt. It begins a narrative section of six chapters that gives context for God meeting with His newly freed people at Mt. Sinai. The basic content is a conversation between God and Moses that sets the stage for the giving of the Law, establishing the Mosaic covenant, which "is not all that distant and unrelated to the Abrahamic covenant. Given the gracious promises of the Abrahamic covenant and the deliverance from Egypt under Moses, the grace of the Abrahamic promise fits the laws of Moses in the same way that Romans is related to James" (Expositor's Bible Commentary: Exodus, p.297).
Israel likely arrived "in the southeast region of the Sinai peninsula traditionally identified as Jebel Musa, a mountain with a broad plain at its base that seems to fit the biblical evidence" (Reformation Study Bible, ESV Edition, p.123). "Three moons" is in indication that about seven weeks had passed since the exodus itself, and harmonizing the account with Numbers 10:11 leads to the conclusion that the people would spend almost eleven months camped out. This fulfilled God's promise to Moses in Exodus 3:12: "Assuredly I will be with you, and this shall be the sign to you that it is I who have sent you: when you have brought the people out of Egypt, you shall worship God at this mountain."
Eagle's Wings
Beginning in Exodus 19:3, Moses ascended the mountain for a return meeting with God to receive the terms of this covenant between God and Israel. God affirmed to Moses that these were "the house of Jacob" and "the people of Israel" to establish their identity as a nation under His rule. The metaphor of the "Eagles Wings" speech (v.3-6), "is developed most extensively in Deuteronomy 32:9-11, where the loving compassion, protection, strength, and watchfulness of God are compared to the majestic bird's attributes. As the young eagles are carried on the adult wings and brought out of their nests and taught to fly, so Yahweh has lovingly car- ried and safely delivered Israel" (Expositor's Bible Commentary: Exodus, p.299).
Two major features can be seen: God's faithfulness to the people, and their covenant obligations. Terms like "My own possession" (v.5), with the parallel descriptors "kingdom of priests" and "holy nation", were firmed by Peter when he related how Christ is the ultimate fulfillment of God's dealing with His people in the Old Testament (1 Peter 2:9-10). John also related that Christ is "the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth.who loves us and released us from our sins by His blood and made us into a kingdom, priests to His God and Father" (Revelation 1:5-6a).
God's covenant with Israel had both conditional and unconditional elements. Obedience on their part would allow them to enjoy its benefits, much in the same way that under the New Covenant, Christians must live faithfully as a response to God's grace in order to experience blessings. God affirmed that "all the earth is mine" (v.5) to declare to them through Moses that they were specially chosen to receive these blessings and de- sired that they keep their portion of the covenant by responding in obedience. James Bruckner aptly noted, "The result of their acceptance of the covenant was not, as is sometime assumed, simply their salvation. Rather, it indicated something that encompassed the Lord's mission for the whole earth and all the peoples" (Understanding the Bible Commentary: Exodus, p.240).
Meeting with God
Moses reported to the Lord the people’s emphatic response, "All that the Lord has spoken we will do!" (v 8) Note that they would repeat the same commitment after the giving of the Ten Commandments (Exodus 24:3). The people would be able to see God’s presence and hear His voice when He spoke to Moses (v.9,11,16-19). Moses, in forth- telling God's instructions and serving as an intermediary be- tween God and the people, was a preincarnate type of Christ in the roles of prophet and priest. In Mark 9:2-8, Moses appeared along with Elijah at the mount of Transfiguration. In that instance, the voice from heaven referred the disciples to Christ instead of the Old Testament forebearers, saying, "This is My beloved Son, listen to Him!" It can be well said that Moses points God’s people towards Jesus.
After their response, God in- structed Moses to give the people two full days of consecration to prepare to meet Him: washing their clothes, abstaining from any sexual activity, and establishing a boundary from the mountain. Notice that these barriers could not be crossed, under the penalty of death. This is also a picture of the importance of holiness in preparing to meet with God. In making application to New Testament believers concerning these instructions, Henry and Richard Blackaby emphasized:
How do you prepare for your times of worship? What fills your mind the night before? Often the last thing you put into your mind at night is still on your mind the next morning. Genuine worship requires spiritual preparation. Your experiences of worship reflect your spiritual preparation. Prepare yourself now for your next encounter with God. (Experiencing God Day by Day Devotional, p.30)
On the third day, the Lord descended in fire and the people witnessed the terrifying power of God through the signs of thunder, lightning, and a thick cloud with a very loud trumpet sound. Tony Merida noted, "Now to lead us to the most holy place, we have a high priest whom God has chosen: Jesus. And we too should stand in awe of God's holiness. Further, the New Testament teaches that actually we have more to stand in awe of, as new covenant believers, since we come into the presence of God through Jesus" (Exalting Christ in Exodus, p.122). Hebrews 12 highlights the contrast: "But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to myriads of angels, to the general assembly and church of the first- born who are enrolled in heaven, and to God, the Judge of all, and to the spirits of the righteous made perfect, and to Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood, which speaks better than the blood of Abel" (v 22-24).
Hints for Teaching:
Lesson Goals:
- Review and evaluate the obligations implicit in covenant relationships.
- Commit to corporate worship as a ministry of proclaiming Yahweh's sovereignty to the world.
- Express our identities as members of a "kingdom of priests" and a "holy nation."
Teaching Activity:
Create a map activity showing the Israelites' journey from Egypt to Mount Sinai. Have students trace the path and discuss key events leading up to Exodus 19. Next, divide the class into groups to role-play different parts of the narrative. Assign roles such as Moses, the elders, and the Israelites. Re-enact the moment Moses delivered God’s message and the people’s response. Discuss the boundaries God set around Mount Sinai. Use this to lead into a conversation about boundaries in our spiritual lives and their importance.
Looking Forward:
We considered the privileges and expectations of being God's covenant people. Next, we will appreciate God's holiness by investigating building of the tabernacle.
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