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A Kingdom of Priests and a Holy Nation

Exodus 19:5,6

“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, you will be for me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.”

For 430 years the people of Israel suffered in slavery under the Pharaohs of Egypt. God heard their groaning and crying out, and through Moses, he set them free from the chains of their slavery. (Ch 1-13) But the people of Israel were still bound by a slave mentality and were full of sinful desires. Only 3 days after leaving Egypt they began to complain about having no water. They also complained about the food. There was no meat and no bread. God supplied their daily bread. He gave them manna and quail. He gave them water out of a rock. They continued to complain because they had no vision of the land flowing with milk and honey. They only saw the present hard reality.

What kind of hope could God have for these people? They were crippled by a slave mentality. Their spiritual level was very low. Look at verse 5. “Now if you obey me fully and keep my covenant, then out of all nations you will be my treasured possession.” God promised that if they would listen to God’s word and obey it, he would choose them out of all the nations on earth to be his treasured possession. In Hebrew, the word for “my possession” means “special treasure.”God promised to take these people corrupted by a slave mentality and make them his special treasure. What does it mean to be a special treasure? Look at verse 6. “You will be for me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation”A special treasure means a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.

God had the great hope for the people of Israel. What did God promise to the Israel people?

First, A kingdom of priests. (6a)

He is saying that his people Israel are given the duty to be a priestly nation for all the nations of the world. From the point of view of the New Testament, this means to be a shepherd nation for the world. What is the duty of a priest? A priest must stand as a mediator between the people and God. According to the Old Testament, God wanted Israel to lead the nations of the world to God. He wanted Israel to be a shepherd nation who would teach the true knowledge of God to the world. What is the task of a priest?

The first task is to teach the word of God. (Lev 10:11) God chose Israel to be kingdom of priests. He wanted them to be a shepherd nation. He wanted them to teach God’s word to the Gentile nations who were ignorant of God. We pray that the USA and Canada may be priestly nations which can teach the word of God to those living in spiritual darkness. What is the task of a priest?

The second task is Intercessory prayer (Nu 6:23-27) In order to be priests, we must earnestly pray for those living in darkness. We must pray earnestly for 561 campuses in the USA, 252 campuses in Canada, the Muslim countries, North Korea and Cuba.

What did God promise to the Israel people?

Second, A holy nation. (6b)

What is a holy nation? A holy nation is separated from the world. In order to be a kingdom of priests, the people of Israel must be a holy, separated people. At that time the people of Israel still had a slave mentality. Their hope was to eat as much as they wanted and satisfy their physical desires. Even humanly, they had no hope. God gave them manna and quail to eat and water to drink. They continually complained because the manna was not tasty. There was no garlic and no spices. Whenever they opened their mouths, complaints come out. But God had great hope for them to be a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.

In spite of our sinfulness, God also has great hope for us to be a kingdom of priests and a holy nation. Dr. Lee gave the prayer topic for America and Canada to be a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.