A PEOPLE BELONGING TO GOD1 Peter 2:9 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.
If someone discovers you are a Christian, they will ask you which church you go to, what denomination you belong to, what ministry you are involved in, what are your spiritual gifts, what doctrinal position you hold on too. Is that what defines a Christian?
Today Christianity has become a sub-culture with its own banners and labels. We can look like a Christian if we speak the right lingo and wear the right t-shirt. We have Christian entertainment, Christian jewelry, Christian TV/radio, Christian books, cards, mugs, ringtones etc. But just what is it that sets us apart from the rest of the world? Is it our baptism certificate, Sunday attendance and praying before our meals and such?
To look for the answer to that question, we have to look at the Old Testament. What set the nation of Israel apart from other nations? What was unique about the people of God? What gave them their identity (character and personality)? What made them unique from all other communities and inhabitants of the land they were called to possess?
It’s true; they shared a history and a heritage (birthright, legacy). Their past and their future united them and made them a family. But what distinguished them from the rest of the world was much more than that.
1. GOD’S PRESENCE – Deuteronomy 4:7 what other nation is so great as to have their gods near them the way the Lord our God is near us whenever we pray to him? 8. And what other nation is so great as to have such righteous decrees and laws as this body of laws I am setting before you today?
From the time God had delivered his people from the hand of Pharaoh, He had led them through the Red Sea through the wilderness right to the Promised Land. God’s presence in their midst is described as a pillar of cloud and pillar of fire. (
Exodus 13:21-22 By day the LORD went ahead of them in a pillar of cloud to guide them on their way and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light, so that they could travel by day or night. 22Neither the pillar of cloud by day nor the pillar of fire by night left its place in front of the people.)
The people of God had a visual that reminded them God was with them and was leading them on their journey. It shaded them from the heat of day and kept them warm them at night. It went ahead of them to show them the way and withdrew to the back to protect them from enemy attacks. (
Exodus 14:19Then the angel of God, who had been traveling in front of Israel's army, withdrew and went behind them. The pillar of cloud also moved from in front and stood behind them, 24During the last watch of the night the LORD looked down from the pillar of fire and cloud at the Egyptian army and threw it into confusion.
Read Numbers 9: 15ff. If the pillar moved, they followed suit. If it stayed, they stayed put. It did not matter how long it took. They depended on that pillar to show them what to do.
[After God gave Moses the plan for the tabernacle, this ‘Tent of Meeting’ became the place where God met with His people. The tent stood in the center of the camp with the various tribes camped around it. Moses would go to the tent of Meeting to speak with God and from there God would instruct His people]
In Ex 33, the people of Israel foolishly make themselves gods of gold while waiting for Moses to return from Mt Sinai. God was so angry that He told Moses that He was withdrawing His presence from among His people. However He would send them an angel who would escort them to the Promised Land.
It was a solemn and sobering moment for all Israel. The people were devastated and began to mourn. They knew they were nobody without God’s presence. It was the relationship they had with God that made them great. The secret of their success was their dependence on Him. [You see, WHERE you are going is not as important as WHO is going with you] It would have been so easy. No God to offend, no commandments to keep, no laws to break, no punishment to face. God Himself was guaranteeing them safe passage and success.
In v15 Then Moses said to him, "If your Presence does not go with us; do not send us up from here. How will anyone know that you are pleased with me and with your people unless you go with us? What else will distinguish me and your people from all the other people on the face of the earth?” At this God relents and promises to go with them.
From the beginning, God has desired to live among His people. Not in a casual relationship or like an uninvolved benefactor but a father who loves his children, leads and instructs them, rewards obedience and disciplines the ones who disobey Him.
God’s Presence was conditional on Israel obeying the laws He gave to them. Exodus 19: 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 6you will be for me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation. Their obedience would ensure they stood blameless before God and man. The law would govern every area of their lives, their relationships (with God, spouse, family, neigbour, slave, judge/ruler, enemy and needy) their livelihoods/jobs, their civil obligations, their possessions, their diet and their justice system.
So the 2nd distinguishing factor of God’s people was the Laws of God.
2. GOD’S LAWS The laws God gave to Israel were unique; expressive of God’s Holy character. As God’s people, they were subject to the laws that were not binding on any community of people (Leviticus 18:1-5). The laws of Moses were many but Jesus summarized them to simply two. He said the books of the Law and Prophets hung on these two commandments. Matthew 22: 37-39 Jesus replied, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.” 38This is the first and greatest commandment. 39 and the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself’
God promised His Presence to His people who made a covenant with Him to obey Him fully. The first time God made a covenant with Abraham, He commanded Abraham and his household to be circumcised. The rite of circumcision was passed down to all his male descendants and dependents. Circumcision was the outward physical sign of the eternal covenant between God and His people. The Jews still practice it today. There was nothing extraordinary about it. Ancient civilizations also practiced it before Abraham. It was not the act itself that made Israel unique but failure to be circumcised meant certain expulsion from God’s community (Ex 17:14)
The apostle Paul wrote to the Galatians that circumcision itself had no value unless one observed the law. And the one who observed the law was as good as one who was circumcised.
The act entailed the permanent cutting away of the flesh. It was to be made carefully and with great deliberation. Metaphorically, it meant the decision to obey God’s Word is a personal one; not to be taken lightly. [Reciting the sinner’s prayer does not automatically include you in the community of God’s people] We also need to note that the Covenant was made first and foremost to God. Not to a set of rules and certainly not to a man or the community. Each male was responsible to make the covenant on behalf of the family he was raising and leading.
RELATIONSHIP vs. RELIGION
But before long, Israel starts to wander away from God. It began harmlessly enough but carelessness and complacency eventually leads to compromise and corruption. The more they prospered, the less they thought about Him. Pride filled their heart and they became unthankful. Soon they started to worship other gods and pervert the laws God had given them. Instead of justice and mercy, they practiced evil and wickedness in the very land God had given them. The temple King David had built remained standing, the daily sacrifices went on, and the priests continued to minister. But something had changed. Religion had replaced Relationship. Israel thought it was the structure that God was looking to make his dwelling but they were wrong. While the temple – a structure of brick and stone was beautiful to behold, God was not in it. The people continually rebelled against God and His ways and resisted the warnings of the OT prophets. God gave them many opportunities to repent and return to Him but they just hardened their hearts. Ezekiel had a vision in which he saw the Glory of God departing from the temple in Jerusalem. God was withdrawing His presence from His people. The judgment of God fell heavily on the very nation God had chosen to represent Him to the world. The people had wrongly presumed that religion could save them.
WORD vs. WORKS
Moses warned the people against finding substitutes for the word of God. Deuteronomy 4:12 ff. He reminded them that it was God’s voice and commands they had heard so watch that you don’t try to make an image of something you did not see (anything) and claim it is god. Don’t be enticed to worship what you create with your own hands. Don’t exchange the Glory of the Immortal God with that which will soon decay. Don’t give up the Eternal God for lesser gods. The worship of the golden calf/ bull idol was especially heinous because that which God had provided as animal sacrifice was set in gold and made the object of worship. The works of our hands must not be worshiped but offered to Him a sacrifice.
Are we a people of His presence or do we want His blessings more than the relationship He offers? Have we become unthankful and self-sufficient that we have no need for Him? Have we substituted His voice for the philosophy and ideas of man?
