We Are God's Treasured Possession Series

Scripture reading:

Exodus 19:3-6 (NIV) "3 Then Moses went up to God, and the Lord called to him from the mountain and said, “This is what you are to say to the descendants of Jacob and what you are to tell the people of Israel: 4 ‘You yourselves have seen what I did to Egypt, and how I carried you on eagles’ wings and brought you to myself. 5 Now if you obey me fully and keep my covenant, then out of all nations you will be my treasured possession. Although the whole earth is mine, 6 you[a] will be for me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.’ These are the words you are to speak to the Israelites.”

Introduction:

We are now in chapter 19 of the Book of Exodus.

God told Moses to go up to the Mountain so that he could give the Israelites a covenant.

A covenant is an agreement or pledge between two parties to commit themselves to each other.

God wants to commit Himself to the Israelites as His very own treasured possession.

This is His new covenant to the nation of Israel after they had been liberated from the bondage of Egypt.

They will become God's own special people and God will bless them fully if they submit themselves to God.

God will take authority over them from now on.

God promised to take care of them and to make them a kingdom of priests and a holy nation separate from all the kingdoms of this world.

Israel will now be in a covenant relationship with God.

When Moses received all these words from God, he went down from the mountain and told the people all that God said.

When the people heard about this, they were excited and responded by declaring their allegiance to God's Word.

They accepted the covenant fully and consecrated themselves to God.

But they must not approach the mountain or touch the foot of it lest they die.

God is a holy God and the people must keep their distance because of their sins.

On that day when the covenant was ratified, there was thunder and lightning with a thick cloud engulfing the mountain.

It was the symbol of God's overwhelming presence towards His people.

There was even very loud trumpet blast heard by all the people in the camp.

The Lord descended on the mountain in the form of fire as the sound of the trumpet grew louder and louder.

The people trembled because of the thunder and the trumpet sounds but they knew God was in their side from now on.

Then, Moses went up again to the mountain as he prepares himself to receive the Ten Commandments.

The Ten Commandments was the symbol of the legal documents of the new covenant between God and man.

As long as the people of God obeyed the Ten Commandments, they will be blessed.

We we will study this next week.

But today, we will look at the covenant that God initiated with His people.

God pledged to commit Himself to His people.

He called them as His "treasured possession" if they obey fully and keep the covenant.

Even if the whole earth is owned by God, yet, these people are special to Him.

They will become a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.

This is the same thing that Peter told the Christians that had been scattered in the various regions of the Roman Empire in AD 67.

There was an intense persecution of Christians that was happening at that time.

They were rejected and despised by society and considered as strangers and exiles of this world.

But Peter told them that they are special people before God.

1 Peter 1:9-11 (NIV) "9 But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. 10 Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy. 11 Dear friends, I urge you, as foreigners and exiles, to abstain from sinful desires, which wage war against your soul."

Hence, regardless of how this world look at them, what matters most is how God regarded them.

They are God's chosen people, a royal priesthood and a holy nation.

They belong to God and they have a purpose on this earth.

This is who we are and this is our destiny.

We are God's treasured possession.

Let us look for a moment at these word's "Treasured possession."

What does that mean?

Do you have something that you consider as your treasure?

I was told of a story of a man who owned a twenty two year old Toyota Celica.