For the Sake of Fellowship

“In the third month after the children of Israel had left the land of Egypt, the very same day, they came into the Wilderness of Sinai. When they moved out from Rephidim, they came to the Wilderness of Sinai and they camped there; Israel camped at the base of the mountain [of Sinai]. Moses went up to God [on the mountain], and the Lord called to him from the mountain, saying, “Say this to the house of Jacob and tell the Israelites: ‘You have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I carried you on eagles’ wings, and brought you to Myself. Now therefore, if you will in fact obey My voice and keep My covenant (agreement), then you shall be My own special possession and treasure from among all peoples [of the world], for all the earth is Mine; and you shall be to Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation [set apart for My purpose].’ These are the words that you shall speak to the Israelites.” (Exodus 19:1-6, AMP)

It took Israel three months from their exodus of Egypt until they took up residence around Mount Sinai. In those three months, they saw the end of their slavery, deliverance from Egypt, they walked across the Red Sea, witnessed God’s miraculous provision of food and water, and won a war in God’s name. They saw evidence upon evidence of God’s love and care for them; His strength and power over their enemies and yet His protection over this chosen nation.

Israel would go on to spend a long time in the wilderness of Sinai and a lot of their societal structure would be established there. Nevertheless, God wanted to meet His people at Mount Sinai the way He met Moses from within the burning bush. 

Which, it just so happens, also happened at Mount Sinai. This time, however, God was planning on meeting the Israelites in a much more extravagant way than simply speaking from within a burning bush. When God spoke this time, He wanted the people to be consecrated, pure, and prepared to meet Him and be in His presence. 

The funny thing is, as God speaks to Moses about His coming appointment with Israel, there is a lot of language that is very familiar. In many ways, it seems that God, although speaking directly and presently with Israel in the midst of the Book of Exodus, is also foreshadowing the nature of our relationship with Him in light of the cross.

For Israel, in that moment, God reminds them of the events of their leaving Egypt– how He brought them out of slavery, delivering them with the highest level of supernatural protection– between shielding them from plagues, creating an impossible escape route, and crushing their enemy. It really is as if He physically carried them out of Egypt in the way that a whole nation was able to leave with no one left behind, lost, or killed. God likens this deliverance to being carried like an eagle’s babies mounted on her wings.

This metaphor is deep and worth taking a small pit stop to dig into. Did you know that an eagle will not carry its young in their talons? Because it’s not safe to do so. Instead, an eagle allows its young to attach themselves and mount the mother eagle’s back and they ride between her wings. This is the safest place for the babies to be, since an arrow would have to completely pierce the mother through before the baby would be harmed.

So when God talks about how He delivered Israel and carried them on eagles wings, He is saying that Israel was truly nestled in the most protected place they could have been. God delivered them to such a degree that the only way Israel could have been destroyed is if God Himself were to go first.

An impossible feat, indeed. Which is why, when God then asks for Israel’s obedience and their willingness to keep His covenant, it is a solemn and holy process. But if followed and upheld, God will make Israel a special possession among the rest of the world, a kingdom of priests, and a holy nation set apart for His will. 

Are you hearing 1 Peter 2:9, or is that just me?

These are the moments in the Bible that give me chills. Because yes, God is speaking to Israel here. Their residing in Sinai has nothing to do with me. I am not a child of Abraham, Isaac, or Jacob. I am not included in that covenant made to the Hebrew nation that was born out of them.

But I have been included via the cross. In the same way that God saved Israel from the Angel of Death during the First Passover using blood spread across the horizontal threshold of each home, I have been saved under the blood shed on the threshold of the cross. Just as Israel passed through a sea torn in two and walked out of their dark bondage to slavery, the veil in the temple was torn in two when Christ died– officially closing the separation of His Spirit and me. He led me out of my dark bondage to sin and unholiness and He set me apart for Himself. 

“But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a consecrated nation, a [special] people for God’s own possession, so that you may proclaim the excellencies [the wonderful deeds and virtues and perfections] of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light.” (1 Peter 2:9, AMP)

The promises God made Israel millenia ago at the base of a mountain are the same promises He gave to us after the cross. They are the same words in the Old and New Testaments. Yes, Israel was God’s chosen people, but after His work on the cross, that nation was opened up to anyone who believes in Him and has been redeemed by His blood.

In our own way, He brought us out of our Egypt. He carried us on eagle wings and brought us to Himself. Your salvation is not about bragging rights or a cool story. Your salvation and deliverance from sin is in the name of something much more meaningful– it is for the sake of fellowship with God.

If you have been delivered, then it’s high time to bring your whole obedience and commitment to the new covenant He made with you from the moment you were saved. There is nothing and no one that is worth more than that promise made to you. In that moment, you were set apart with a purpose. You were grafted into the kingdom He is making for Himself. 

There are no tiers in heaven, friends. There is not a VIP section for the Israelites under the Old Covenant. We are not held on the outside looking in. The cross made it so that we could enter into His presence and be with Him. Not as obligations, not as slaves, and not as second-class citizens. We are His children, fully part of a royal, sanctified priesthood, and a special, holy nation unto God.