Exodus 19 • Be Light-Bearers to the World

Have you been in a really dark setting? Maybe it is your house at night when the power is out after a storm. Do you use a flashlight or candles so you and your family can see again? Another dark setting is in a cave. When the lights are turned off, some caves have glowworms on the ceiling that provide unexpected light like tiny stars. Physical darkness is scary, but so is spiritual darkness. The Bible teaches that every human is born into the kingdom of darkness as though being born blind. But our God wants to rescue everyone from that darkness and bring people into His wonderful light. And He uses us as a flashlight or glowworm to lead others to Him. That’s what we are called to do: Be light-bearers to those who are spiritually blind in our world. That was Israel’s mission as well. But first Israel needed to know the light herself. God used Moses to accomplish the task. In this blog, we will look at Exodus 19 to see what God wanted from them and what He wants from us as well.

The Misery of Living in Darkness

For those of us who have been Christians for a long time, we can forget or not realize how dark it is for those who don’t know Jesus, who haven’t experienced His wonderful light. We expect them to act like people who live in the light. But they are people living in the darkness, as blind people live. If you work through our Ephesians Bible Study, you will see how bad living in darkness really is.

Paul described this blindness for us:

The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. (2 Corinthians 4:4)

There are a lot of blind people walking around. In their blindness, they are groping along the walls to find their way to the door that will give them purpose in life. Most don’t even know they’re blind until they see a light illuminating the way to something more beautiful than what they’ve ever known. God wants them to see that light, and He is available to anyone who wants Him. God draws people to Himself through Jesus (John 6:44). Jesus said He came to give sight to the spiritually blind (“I am the light of the world” in John 8:12). And He chooses to use us—frail, faltering, headstrong, self-centered humans—to be His light-bearers and messengers of love to the blind people on this earth.

But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. (1 Peter 2:9)

Our message should be, “The light is this way. Let me help you find the light. God is waiting to rescue you from your prison of darkness and bring you into His wonderful light.”

That’s what we are called to do: Be light-bearers to those who are spiritually blind in our world. That was Israel’s mission as well. God called a community of people out of darkness into His wonderful light so that they would be able to lead others to Him as light-bearers to the world. That community of people was the nation of Israel. But first Israel needed to know the light herself. God used Moses to accomplish the task.

A Community Born

The descendants of Abraham and Sarah spent 400 years in bondage to the Egyptians. God called a man named Moses to lead them out of that slavery and to establish them as a new nation that would live in a new land—the Promised Land. From his exile in Midian, God sent Moses back to Egypt on God’s errand to deliver His people from their bondage. I’m going to recap what happened in that process, using the analogy of pregnancy and giving birth. In this birth scenario, God is the parent, Egypt is the surrogate womb, and Israel is the baby.

The Baby Forms in the Egyptian Womb

At the beginning of the book of Exodus, we learn that Israel was a group of tribes with one common heritage—descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Moving from the land of Canaan, 72 people came to live in northeastern Egypt in a region called Goshen along with their flocks of sheep and goats. There, they stayed separated from the rest of Egypt because Egyptians didn’t like shepherds. God through Joseph (Jacob’s son) had arranged their new territory to call home. You can read about it in Genesis 46:33-34. Once settled in Goshen, the Israelites multiplied like crazy like a baby growing in its mother’s womb. But after many years, the “baby” was too big to stay in the mother. It was time for the baby to be born.

Labor Pains Begin

God brought plagues onto Egypt that were like labor pains. Moses was the midwife! The Egyptians had to deal with bloody water, frogs, flies, hail and 6 other very painful experiences because stubborn Pharaoh wouldn’t obey God and let the baby be born after just 1 or 2 plagues. Moses told Pharaoh that his people are going to really hurt from all this, but there won’t be any flies in Goshen, no sick or dead animals, not even a dog will bark from fear or discomfort. You can read about this in Exodus 8:22-23; 9:4; 11:7. The baby was protected and kept safe. That was not so for the Egyptians as people and animals got sick and died.

Let me remind you that God is good all the time and in different ways to different people. There is always a purpose behind His actions even with what He brought onto the Egyptians. God told Moses the purpose for the “labor pains” for Egypt.

And the Egyptians will know that I am YHWH when I stretch out my hand against Egypt and bring the Israelites out of it. (Exodus 7:5)

The word “know” comes from the Hebrew word “Yada,” meaning to know by observation and experience. It’s like saying, “Hey, blind person, here I am.” This was repeated each time a plague was predicted or withdrawn. Look at these examples:

…that you may know there is no one like YHWH” (Exodus 8:10)

…so you may know that there is no one like me in all the earth. (Exodus 9:14)

God wanted the Egyptians to know that He is real, better than their false gods, and worthy of their worship (Exodus 14:4,18). Some of them got it and left with the Israelites.

Many other people went up with them. (Exodus 12:38)

Even though maybe 99% of the baby was Abraham’s seed, God opened His arms to anyone else who wanted to believe in Him.

What did it take for you to know that God is real and worthy of your worship? A dream? A hard time? A miracle? Jumping in and trusting Him with your heart? I love hearing everyone’s stories, because our God is both creative and personal in how He makes Himself known to individuals.

Birth of the Baby

The last plague was the death of the firstborn of humans and animals throughout Egypt but protection of all of Goshen wherever blood was spread around the door to every house (Exodus 12). The angel of death passed over that house so all were safe inside and the animals as well. Pharaoh said, “Enough already, push that baby out!” The Israelites and their friends left the Egyptian womb. They were almost free. They experienced final delivery crossing through the Red Sea (Exodus 14). God put Himself between the Egyptian army and His people, cutting the cord. God was saying, “The baby is mine now!” The newborn community began to know who their God was. This was God’s plan all along. See how God used women as part of His plan in our Everyday Women Bible Study.

In Exodus 6, God told Moses to tell the Israelites,

I am going to bring you out with might and miracles. I will take you as my own people, and I will be your God. Then you will know that I am the LORD your God. (Exodus 6:6-7)

They put their faith in God as their deliverer.

And when the Israelites saw the great power the LORD displayed against the Egyptians, the people feared the LORD and put their trust in him and in Moses his servant. (Exodus 14:31)

The Israelites got it—for a few months at least! But like all newborns, they needed some “infant” care from their Father God.

Infant Care

A newborn requires lots of care. God stayed with His infant nation by day in a pillar of cloud to guide them and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light.

Neither the pillar of cloud by day nor the pillar of fire by night left its place in front of the people. (Exodus 13:22)

You and I who believe in Jesus have that same LIGHT with us day and night, don’t we? We have God’s very Spirit living within us who is with us constantly.

The first three months of infant care are the hardest, aren’t they? “Wahh, wahh, we’re hungry. Wahh, wahh, we’re thirsty.” God fed the whiney baby Israel with manna in the morning and quail in the evening and water from a rock. Now we get to Exodus 19, three months after baby Israel came out of Egypt.

Here’s a universal truth: Children are not born knowing everything. They need parents to teach them how to do everyday things that are for their good. Parents show babies how to eat with a fork or spoon, nap, brush teeth, and put on shoes. Parents teach children how to sit and listen, obey and trust their parents, and who God is. Parents are the teachers of these everyday things.

Baby Israel did not know its God or the way to live on a day-to-day basis as children of God. God began the teaching process.

A Community Called

In the third month after the Israelites left Egypt — on the very day — they came to the Desert of Sinai. After they set out from Rephidim, they entered the Desert of Sinai, and Israel camped there in the desert in front of the mountain. (Exodus 19:1-2)

The Israelites were camped in the desert in front of the mountain where God first appeared to Moses (Exodus 3). The people had traveled 225 miles to get to Mt. Sinai. The shortest route to the Promised Land was along the Mediterranean shore. God didn’t take them that way but chose the road through the uninhabited territory of Sinai because He knew the people weren’t ready to fight to get their land. The Israelites were still babies who needed some growing up time. They needed to get to know their God “parent” and find out who they were and what they were being called to do.

New believers also need that growing up time. Sometimes we expect new Christians to know how to tie their shoes right away. Instead they need to get to know who God is and what kind of life He offers them. I remember Jennifer O’Neil saying that her pastor gave her wise counsel as a new believer, “Lay low for a few years, and get to know your God.”

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 house of Jacob and what you are to tell the people of Israel: ‘You yourselves have seen what I did to Egypt, and how I carried you on eagles’ wings and brought you to myself.” (Exodus 19:3-4)

Moses was commissioned by God to tell the Israelites, “You have seen what I did to Egypt.” The plagues, the pillars of cloud and fire, and the Red Sea parting and closing were pretty visible evidence, weren’t they? Anyone with eyes to see can see the evidences of God and know Him through that. And Moses was to say, “You have seen how I carried you on eagle’s wings and brought you to myself”

God used an illustration they must have recognized. I read the description of a mother golden eagle teaching her young eaglet how to fly. She lets the eaglet do some free falling for 90 to 150 feet! The mother then flies under her baby with her wings spread out to catch it. This is a picture of God’s power and His love.

Can you recall a time when God carried you like that? When you felt like you were plunging to the ground, but you didn’t hit? I think He’s been carrying me over the past couple of years. He’s the same tender God. He teaches us who He is. He might even push us out of the nest. We can’t do anything to help ourselves. We learn to trust Him. God was appealing to Israel to trust Him.

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.’ These are the words you are to speak to the Israelites. (Exodus 19:5-6)

God had promised Abraham a nation and land. Those were unconditional promises. At Mt. Sinai, God was offering more if they were obedient to Him. If Israel would be obedient to God, she as a nation would become a treasured possession, a kingdom of priests, and a holy nation. Let’s look at what each of those mean.

A Treasured Possession—Treasured by Love

A treasured possession is treasured by love. What would you consider a treasured possession? Those are the things we would grab in case of a fire. People aren’t really our possessions, but our family members are treasured because of our love for them. What do you do for treasured possessions? You protect them and take care of them. That’s what God was promising to the Israelites.

God chose to love these people. He told them this,

You are made children of God by My own will and pleasure. (Deuteronomy 14:2)

They were God’s children, not just the children of Abraham. They had been adopted because they were loved and wanted. They had a unique relationship with God compared to all other nations. Israel would be treasured by love.

You may have adopted babies or children and instantly loved that baby or that child. You can understand adoptive love. Everyone who trusts in Jesus is adopted in God’s family also. Your birth certificate says a child of God, totally loved and accepted by God. As 1 Peter 2:9 says, we are a chosen people and a people belonging to God. Treasured by love.

A Kingdom of Priests—Priests by Calling

If Israel obeyed God, they would also become a kingdom of priests. God was their king. They would be God’s priests. A priest stands between God and people. He ministers to people on behalf of God. God wanted this nation to be filled with His faithful servants.

Peter called Christians a royal priesthood. In Israel, only members of the tribe of Levi could minister directly before God. In Christ, every believer is a priest before God—we can go directly to God for anything and everything. We don’t have to go through any human to reach God. We can minister directly to one another—teaching, exhorting, and bringing others to Jesus. We, too, are priests by calling.

Think about the one who was the light-bearer for you. My first small group Bible study leader at LSU showed me how I could open the Bible and study it for myself. Blinders feel off of my eyes. I began to see what a rich banquet was before me. And I could see what was there before but unknown.

A Holy Nation—Holy by Lifestyle

If Israel obeyed God, she would also become a holy nation, one that is holy by lifestyle. Holy means to be set apart and, therefore, different. God is set apart from anything sinful or evil. That is His holiness. Israel would be different from other peoples because they would devote themselves to God and separate themselves from sin as they obeyed the Law of God. As such they would be holy by lifestyle in the Promised Land. God would attract others to them and to Himself.

Peter called the Church a holy nation. Individual believers in Jesus are made holy by faith. In God’s eyes believers are set apart from the rest of the world. The Church isn’t tied to a physical land. Our land is the whole earth. We are told to go and be light-bearers to all nations.

We are also called to be set apart from deliberate sin in our lives — to be holy by lifestyle. We have been made free from the bondage to sin by a greater power moving in—God’s Spirit. He also guides us to live in a way that pleases God. Our Graceful Living Bible Study will teach you more about what this means and how to do it.

Back to Exodus, how would God’s children know what was sin and not sin? What did holiness mean? In the rest of Exodus 19, the people get ready to hear directly from God. Let’s see what happened, beginning with verse 7.

So Moses went back and summoned the elders of the people and set before them all the words the Lord had commanded him to speak. The people all responded together, “We will do everything the LORD has said.” (Exodus 19:8)

After Moses told the people what God said, they responded with a promise of obedience. 

Then the LORD told Moses,

 I am going to come to you in a dense cloud, so that the people will hear me speaking with you and will always put their trust in you. (Exodus 19:9)

Moses was God’s human representative with God’s authority. Children need to learn to respect authority, don’t they?

In verses 10-15, God said for them to get all cleaned up by taking a bath and putting on freshly washed clothes. They had three days to do this. Then, something happened on the third day:

On the morning of the third day there was thunder and lightning, with a thick cloud over the mountain, and a very loud trumpet blast. Everyone in the camp trembled. Then Moses led the people out of the camp to meet with God, and they stood at the foot of the mountain. Mount Sinai was covered with smoke, because the LORD descended on it in fire. The smoke billowed up from it like smoke from a furnace, the whole mountain trembled violently, and the sound of the trumpet grew louder and louder. Then Moses spoke and the voice of God answered him. (Exodus 19:16-19)

Doesn’t this remind you of the trumpet sounding at Christ’s return with the fire representing THE LIGHT (Jesus) and a voice being heard? The smoke and quaking and fire and trumpet certainly got their attention! This was an awesome moment in Israel’s young life.

Then, they heard the Ten Commandments. Like any parent, God expected their obedience and love. These 10 things plus the other 600+ commands given afterwards would help them to know what holiness is. Those were everyday things to do and how to live life so they would be a holy and separate people who could represent God well to a world that needed to know God.

And all the people said, “We will do all that.” Sadly, forty or so days later, they got tired of waiting for Moses to come down from the mountain, threw a temper tantrum, and forced Aaron to make a golden calf for them to worship. But God spent 40 years teaching them and testing them and teaching them again and testing them again until a nation dedicated to Him grew up ready to go into the land.

A New Community Commissioned

Israel didn’t do so well with her mission. She could have become a testimony to the whole world of how glorious it can be to live under the government of God. Sadly, the people experienced these blessings only partially because their obedience was partial.

God created a new community of people called the Church, born at Pentecost in early May somewhere around 30AD. God’s fire was present then, too. The description is in the book of Acts.

By the way, the 10 commandments were given to Israel, not to the Church. We can learn from them what holiness looks like. But who is our best example of what holiness looks like? Jesus. And we find out what a holy lifestyle for a Christ-follower looks like in the rest of the New Testament writings.

Through the Church community, God wants to accomplish the same purposes He sought to achieve through Israel. The Church has taken up the mission, but the Church is not the new Israel. The Church does not replace Israel in God’s overall plan. Paul wrote in Romans 11 that God is not finished with the nation of Israel. Revelation teaches that the nation of Israel plays a big part in the end times before Jesus returns to earth. That’s the only explanation for its existence today because many other nations have tried to wipe out Israel over the past two thousand years. God has preserved the nation for His own purpose. It’s not a godly nation at all today.

Be that Light-Bearer

God’s mission for His people is the same.

But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. (1 Peter 2:9)

We are to represent God to the world, telling them that our God is calling people out of their darkness into His wonderful light. We are the people of God with the message of God. Our message now includes salvation by faith in Jesus Christ.

You might be thinking, what part can I play as a light-bearer? If you do anything that draws the blind person to the LIGHT at the door, you’ll be part of the mission God has given to His people. Check out the resources we have below to help you be that light-bearer to the world.

Resources to Help You Become a Light-Bearer to the World

• Live Out His Love Bible Study on Amazom.com (has applications that prepare you to share your faith with others)
• Prepare to Share Your Faith…Then Do It! blog (with training included)
• Be a Designated Engager—Turn your radar on! Blog
• Disciple-Making Resources
• Lead a Bible Study Resources 
• Hot to Add a Disciple-Making Focus to Your Women’s Ministry blog

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