Exodus 19:7-9 – God wants to be involved in our life

Instructed by God, Moses came to the people and called the elders and told them what the Lord had said. The exact words recorded in Exodus 19:4-6 are, “You yourselves have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I bore you on eagles’ wings and brought you to Myself. Now then, if you will indeed obey My voice and keep My covenant, then you shall be My own possession among all the peoples, for all the earth is Mine; and you shall be to Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.” The elders then brought and conveyed the word to the people. What’s heartening that day was that the people agreed and unitedly responded saying, “All that the Lord has spoken we will do!” This must be our response too.

In essence, what the Lord wanted was for the people to be His. And being His people required total and absolute obedience. For God had rescued them, drew them out and carried them as it were on eagles’ wings as if they were faltering eaglets. He took them as His own treasured possession. They as a people were to be to God a kingdom of priests and a nation set apart for His purpose. This is also what we are to do today. In Christ Jesus our Lord, we became God’s treasured possession and priests of the Kingdom. Alongside the privilege of being God’s priest comes with responsibility. Like them, we must respond by being obedient, keep the faith and place our absolute trust in the LORD.  

God had a great intention for them after they swore to stay in a covenant relationship with Him. When Moses relayed to God the response of the people, God told him that He would pay them a visit. He said, “Behold, I will come to you in a thick cloud, so that the people may hear when I speak with you and may also believe in you forever.” What a God! Undeniably God is transcendent. What does that mean? It means that this God we worship is grand, great, high, lofty and holy. Hence, there will always be a distance between Him and His creatures. His transcendence helps us to see how majestic He truly is. It helps us to approach Him with awe and wonder. But though He is transcendent, we know He also wants us to know His immanence. This is the other aspect of God. The word immanent means “to stay in or inherent.” Though He is great and holy and beyond His creatures, yet He wants to stay close and be part of His creatures’ life. It tells us that God wants to be personally involved with His people. It is true that our God is both transcendent and immanent. While He is so holy and grand yet He comes to be involved with us. 

So, in verse 9 God made His intention known. He said, “Behold, I will come to you in a thick cloud, so that the people may hear when I speak with you and may also believe in you forever.” This grand and lofty God desires to communicate with His creatures. He would stoop down and speak with us. His other intention At Mount Sinai was also to authenticate the leadership of Moses. He wanted the people to hear Him speak to Moses so that they too would acknowledge His leadership. What a glorious God! In His greatness yet He takes particular interest in our life. In Christ Jesus, He became man so that He could be understood and His love for us can be personally felt. He is worth our every adoration. It will be a great travesty if we do not offer Him our wholehearted commitment. Yes, He deserves our very best surrender!