Today, on day six we read about God's interaction to solidify Israel's identity with Him through National distinction. Exodus 17-29, 90-day bible read-through. Exodus 19:4 "‘You yourselves have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I bore you on eagles' wings and brought you to myself. 5 Now therefore, if you will indeed obey my voice and keep my covenant, you shall be my treasured possession among all peoples, for all the earth is mine; 6 and you shall be to me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.’ " After setting the goal God had with Israel, He warns them of what they can and cannot do to wait on HIs instructions, commands and laws for their National Identity, as One Nation Under God, literally. They would become a theocratic nation, the Only One of its kind in the land.
God reminds them of what He's done, "I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery." God, therefore, had the right to set up His commands and expectations for His rule and their obedience. The first command that governed the people was, "You shall have no other gods before me." Due to God's lordship over them, He required Himself to be the single focus of their worship, provision, protection, and care. God set up stringent rules, but with these rules, He provided faithfulness towards them. "You shall not make other gods besides Me; gods of silver or gods of gold, you shall not make for yourselves. 24 You shall make an altar of earth for Me, and you shall sacrifice on it your burnt offerings and your peace offerings, your sheep and your oxen; in every place where I cause My name to be remembered, I will come to you and bless you." In setting up a national identity, God sets up a relationship with them; they bless Him through obedience and faithfulness, and He, in turn, will be their God. The latter would bring comfort with actions against Egypt at the top of their minds.
They knew what God offered: protection and deliverance from enemies, plundering of their enemies, water when they were thirsty, food when they were hungry, and the presence of God, day and night. An omnipotent God choosing to be in an exclusive relationship with those who "feared the Lord" (Egyptians who listened and acted) discovered He was faithful. The nation of Israel found favor with God because of the covenant He made with their fathers Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. He would be their God and anyone who'd join them through the covenant and live faithfully with them for Him. Today, folks say to be in a relationship with God is so restrictive and exclusive. They are not wrong, but the side of the coin they don't want to communicate is His promise "to be remembered and "come to you and bless you." This promise is repeated in the New Testament book John 14:21. An exclusive, obedient relationship with the Sovereign God is intimacy, Him coming to make Himself known by us. He did that first, in the Nation He was Lord over in this Exodus story
This National Identity included a command for obedience and exclusive worship of Him alone. The Lord Himself communicated how His people should live, delineating ordinances so that He could require, "You shall holy people to Me..." And the people would understand what the expectations for their lives would be, "You shall not follow the masses in doing evil..." God would be intimately involved with the Justice System among His people, "You shall not pervert the justice due to your needy brother in his dispute. 7Keep far from a false charge, and do not kill the innocent or the righteous, for I will not acquit the guilty." God set up a Nation for a Just and Holy people, a Nation to attract the world to the One and Only True God.
This story is a powerful showing of God's interaction with mankind
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