You Shall Be a Special Treasure to Me Above All People: Exodus 19:1-25

Exodus 19:1-25: "1 In the third month after the children of Israel had gone out of the land of Egypt, on the same day, they came to the Wilderness of Sinai. 2 For they had departed from Rephidim, had come to the Wilderness of Sinai, and camped in the wilderness. So Israel camped there before the mountain. 3 And Moses went up to God, and the LORD called to him from the mountain, saying, 'Thus you shall say to the house of Jacob, and tell the children of Israel: 4 "You 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, then you shall be a special treasure to Me above all people; for all the earth is Mine. 6 And you shall be to Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation." These are the words which you shall speak to the children of Israel.' 7 So Moses came and called for the elders of the people, and laid before them all these words which the LORD commanded him. 8 Then all the people answered together and said, 'All that the LORD has spoken we will do.' So Moses brought back the words of the people to the LORD. 9 And the LORD said to Moses, 'Behold, I come to you in the thick cloud, that the people may hear when I speak with you, and believe you forever.' So Moses told the words of the people to the LORD. 10 Then the LORD said to Moses, 'Go to the people and consecrate them today and tomorrow, and let them wash their clothes. 11 And let them be ready for the third day. For on the third day the LORD will come down upon Mount Sinai in the sight of all the people. 12 You shall set bounds for the people all around, saying, "Take heed to yourselves that you do not go up to the mountain or touch its base. Whoever touches the mountain shall surely be put to death. 13 Not a hand shall touch him, but he shall surely be stoned or shot with an arrow; whether man or beast, he shall not live." When the trumpet sounds long, they shall come near the mountain.' 14 So Moses went down from the mountain to the people and sanctified the people, and they washed their clothes. 15 And he said to the people, 'Be ready for the third day; do not come near your wives.' 16 Then it came to pass on the third day, in the morning, that there were thunderings and lightnings, and a thick cloud on the mountain; and the sound of the trumpet was very loud, so that all the people who were in the camp trembled. 17 And Moses brought the people out of the camp to meet with God, and they stood at the foot of the mountain. 18 Now Mount Sinai was completely in smoke, because the LORD descended upon it in fire. Its smoke ascended like the smoke of a furnace, and the whole mountain quaked greatly. 19 And when the blast of the trumpet sounded long and became louder and louder, Moses spoke, and God answered him by voice. 20 Then the LORD came down upon Mount Sinai, on the top of the mountain. And the LORD called Moses to the top of the mountain, and Moses went up. 21 And the LORD said to Moses, 'Go down and warn the people, lest they break through to gaze at the LORD, and many of them perish. 22 Also let the priests who come near the LORD consecrate themselves, lest the LORD break out against them.' 23 But Moses said to the LORD, 'The people cannot come up to Mount Sinai; for You warned us, saying, "Set bounds around the mountain and consecrate it."' 24 Then the LORD said to him, 'Away! Get down and then come up, you and Aaron with you. But do not let the priests and the people break through to come up to the LORD, lest He break out against them.' 25 So Moses went down to the people and spoke to them."

Our Lord God prepares to meet His people. This preparation is necessary because of the uncleanness and sinfulness of the Israelites, and on account of the holiness and righteousness of our Lord God. For that which is unclean, cannot come in contact with that which is clean. Therefore the Israelites must prepare to meet the Lord. This is done through washing. They must wash their bodies, wash their clothes, and they must not have sexual intercourse for the three days prior to the meeting with God. In addition to this, they must set boundaries around the mountain so that no one would on purpose, or accidently, touch the mountain, and be killed.

This is in a sense a baptismal rite for the Israelites, for they are washing themselves. That is, of course, what Holy Baptism is, a washing of regeneration, and a renewal of the Holy Ghost. We'll see this over and over again throughout the Book of Moses, commonly called Exodus, where the people are being cleansed in some way. Even when they are being cleansed by blood.

The most significant thing to observe from this pericope, however, is the barrier that is set up between the Israelites and the Lord God. This is the barrier that exists between God and man since the fall of Adam into sin. This barrier, prevents that which is holy from coming in contact with that which is unholy. That is, we cannot approach God, who is holy, on account of our sin, which makes us unholy. The other aspect of this, is the context of this pericope, for this reading comes directly before the receiving of the Ten Commandments by Moses. Therefore, we see that even though the Law has not been officially given, we can still see that the penalty for disobedience to God still exists.

This Law will serve to create an even deeper rift between God and man. Not because the fault lies within the Law, but because the fault lies within man who constantly breaks that Law. This brings up another point, for the Law of God was only officially given to the people of Israel. Therefore, according to reason, it would only apply to them, right? It does not. This Law given to the people of Israel, applies to all mankind, therefore, no one is excused from it. There may be those who ignore it, or think it doesn't apply to them, or even those who try to change the tenets of the Law, saying that somethings are not a transgression against the Law. But the Law still applies to them too. And the breaking of the Law, and its penalty, eternal death, still applies to them as well.

Therefore, the command has been put out by our Lord God in this pericope, that no one should approach or touch the mountain, or they will die. We are not told if any one tried, and one would think that we would be as an eternal example of our Lord's righteousness, but this rule was a test to the people of Israel to see if they would obey the command.

Unfortunately, we know the history of the Israelites, for even though they have consecrated themselves to the Lord, and washed themselves in order to appear in God's presence clean, they would break His commandments before they were even given, by worshipping a golden calf, which was made by the chief priest, Aaron.

Through the Law, there would be no salvation for the Israelites, nor is there salvation through the keeping of the Law for us. Therefore, from before the foundation of the world, the Lord planned our salvation, knowing full well, that Adam would sin, that the Israelites would turn their back on Him time and again, and knowing that even us today, would sin greatly and much, breaking His commandments often. His plan was to send to Earth in our flesh, His One and Only Son, our Lord Jesus Christ. He would fulfill the Law perfectly, and He would satisfy the penalty of breaking the commandments of God for us by suffering and dying on the cross of Calvary. Having done so, He consecrates and purifies all those who believe, by washing us with Holy Baptism, wherein we are crucified with Him, so that just as He rose from the dead, we too, may forever live free from sin, and in holiness before Him. And because of this we are a special treasure to the Lord, above all people.

May God be with you!

Deacon Dulas

The LORD Is My Banner: Exodus 17:1-16

Exodus 17:1-16: "1 Then all the congregation of the children of Israel set out on their journey from the Wilderness of Sin, according to the commandment of the LORD, and camped in Rephidim; but there was no water for the people to drink. 2 Therefore the people contended with Moses, and said, 'Give us water, that we may drink.' And Moses said to them, 'Why do you contend with me? Why do you tempt the LORD?' 3 And the people thirsted there for water, and the people complained against Moses, and said, 'Why is it you have brought us up out of Egypt, to kill us and our children and our livestock with thirst?' 4 So Moses cried out to the LORD, saying, 'What shall I do with this people? They are almost ready to stone me!' 5 And the LORD said to Moses, 'Go on before the people, and take with you some of the elders of Israel. Also take in your hand your rod with which you struck the river, and go. 6 Behold, I will stand before you there on the rock in Horeb; and you shall strike the rock, and water will come out of it, that the people may drink.' And Moses did so in the sight of the elders of Israel. 7 So he called the name of the place Massah and Meribah, because of the contention of the children of Israel, and because they tempted the LORD, saying, 'Is the LORD among us or not?' 8 Now Amalek came and fought with Israel in Rephidim. 9 And Moses said to Joshua, 'Choose us some men and go out, fight with Amalek. Tomorrow I will stand on the top of the hill with the rod of God in my hand.' 10 So Joshua did as Moses said to him, and fought with Amalek. And Moses, Aaron, and Hur went up to the top of the hill. 11 And so it was, when Moses held up his hand, that Israel prevailed; and when he let down his hand, Amalek prevailed. 12 But Moses' hands became heavy; so they took a stone and put it under him, and he sat on it. And Aaron and Hur supported his hands, one on one side, and the other on the other side; and his hands were steady until the going down of the sun. 13 So Joshua defeated Amalek and his people with the edge of the sword. 14 Then the LORD said to Moses, 'Write this for a memorial in the book and recount it in the hearing of Joshua, that I will utterly blot out the remembrance of Amalek from under heaven.' 15 And Moses built an altar and called its name, 'The-LORD-Is-My-Banner;' 16 for he said, 'Because the LORD has sworn: the LORD will have war with Amalek from generation to generation.'"

The-LORD-Is-My-Banner in Hebrew is Jehovahnissi, which in the King James Version is left untranslated. This altar that Moses built would stand as a memorial to the people of what happened there that day. And it would serve as a marker of knowledge for all those who would pass by this memorial. In our society, we are quite familiar with memorials. They are all over the place. As one drives down the road, one often sees a sign that states, "historical marker ___ miles." This historical marker probably contains a sign or plaque that states what took place on that spot of historical significance. Sometimes one sees crosses, or flowers, or other markers along the road as memorials to some event taking place on that spot. There are even memorials that are sponsored by civil government to mark important things happening. Therefore, the concept of a memorial is not uncommon to us.

This memorial however, is different, for it states something about Who the Lord God is, and who His people are. This altar would proclaim that Jehovah was the God of the people of Israel, and they were His people whom He fights for, and anybody that messed with them, would be messing with their God. Hence the name, Jehovahnissi, The-LORD-Is-My-Banner. This brings us to a discussion on banners.

In most parishes there are banners that hang in the nave, or other parts of the church, and they either have symbolic pictures or words from Scripture, or both. These banners add color to the church, and provide some instruction. But these banners, although pictures and figures of the true banners of God, are not the type of banner that is being spoken about here. For a banner is an instrument of war. It would serve as a rallying point for the army if the battle became to fierce. The troops would be able to rally back to the banner, or ensign, and they would find strength to continue on in the battle. In the Greek language of the Septuagint, the Greek version of the Old Testament and Apocrypha, the word for banner is "katarefuge." In that Greek word we can see our English word "refuge." A refuge is a place where we go to "recharge our batteries" so to speak. It is a place where we retreat from the troubles of this life, to find some relaxation, and respite.

For the Istraelites, this is where they were shown by God that He fights for them, and protects them, and will be their God. For us, our refuge is the Word of God. And the enemy that we fight, is not Amalek, who was destroyed by the Israelite army, but it is sin, death, and the devil. Our banner, our rallying point is the Word of God, wherein we hear over and over again, that our Lord Jesus fought and won the battle for us, and now gives us forgiveness, and through that promise of forgiveness we have hope and comfort in eternal life and salvation. Our Lord Jesus, even as He fought the war for us, and won the victory, just like for the Israelites against Amalek, and gave them an altar as a memorial for all generations, has also given us a memorial of His victory over sin and death in the Sacrament of the Altar.

In this Sacrament of the Altar, our Lord Jesus gives us His very Body and Blood as a memorial of His victory in bread and wine. And this meal is not just a memorial, that is, we don't just remember the cross and what our Lord did for us, but it actually grants forgiveness of sin, eternal life, and salvation, through the working of the Holy Ghost in this meal.

So, here we have again, another reminder of our sin, and our Lord's cross in the Book of Moses, commonly called Exodus. And these reminders are leading us into the Lenten season with Ash Wednesday coming just next Wednesday. This coming Sunday, Quinquagesima, is sometimes called, the Sunday before Lent. Therefore, this penitential season fast approaches (pun intended). Therefore in this Lectionary we can see how our eyes are slowly being directed from the Incarnation and Revelation of our Lord Jesus in the flesh, to His purpose and work, that is, His cross for our forgiveness.

Let us give thanks this day, that our Lord has fought the battle with sin, death, and the devil, and has given us the victory, so that we need not fear these enemies of God. And let us give thanks for the grace that He bestows upon us every day.

May God be with you!

Deacon Dulas