Exodus 19 – Invitation to a Wedding, Covenant (Hesed) of Love (Bobby Valentine)
Texts to Know
Deuteronomy 4.32-40
Deuteronomy 7.7-9, 12 (NIV)
Psalm 67
Isaiah 61.1-6
Hebrews 12.18-24
1 Peter 2.9-10
(Structural Note: We need to remember that the Book of Exodus is itself part of a larger Story of the Torah: Genesis to Deuteronomy. When the freed slaves arrive at Mt. Sinai the narrative slows down. Israel will remain camped at the foot of Sinain from Exodus 19 to Numbers 10.11. All the material from Exodus 19 to Number 10 takes place at Sinai.)
This is Holy Ground – Mt. Sinai/Horeb – the Mountain of God (Setting)
The liberated by Hesed slaves from Egypt have journeyed under the guidance of the Pillar of Cloud/Fire to the very spot we find Moses when he received his call. God said to Moses, on this mountain, “I will be with you, and this shall be a sign for you that it is I who sent you: when you have brought the people out of Egypt, you shall worship God on this mountain” (Exodus 3.12).
Recalling the Story thus far sheds much needed light on the events of Exodus 19-24. Liberated slaves will as a collective whole have a “Burning Bush” incident. Where God is there is “sacred/holy space.” Moses could not profane the soil with his dirty shoes, so the Israelites cannot approach the Mountain until they are consecrated (by grace). As Moses received a unique calling in his encounter with God on the mountain, so Israel will also receive a unique status and vocation according to the infinite grace/Hesed of Yahweh.
Exodus comes before Sinai, this is the structure of the Book of Exodus, but it is also the structure of the theology of the Exodus event. But Israel did not become God’s people at Sinai. Israel has repeatedly been termed “my son” “my firstborn” or “my people” 13 or 14x prior to chapter 19 (Exodus 3.7, 10; 5.1; 7.4, 16; 8.1, 20-22; 9.1, 13, 17; 10.3-4).
Mt. Sinai continues the Story that began with Abraham and his descendants in Genesis. There is a kind of wedding ceremony in Exodus 19 so we might construe Israel’s relationship as moving from a betrothal to marriage. We must understand though that a betrothal was a legal, binding relationship making a “couple” a husband and wife as they wait to “live together.” The “moving in” takes place in what follows in Exodus 19 to 40.
Carrying the Bride to Himself (19.1-8)
“The people I made for myself that they may proclaim my praise” (Isaiah 43.21)
Exodus 19 is, like the salvation by the Red Sea in chapter 14, of prime importance not only for the Book of Exodus but biblical theology as a whole. Its themes and images show up throughout the biblical canon to the very end in the Revelation of John.
“On the third new moon” (v.1), or what will become termed “Shavuot” or “Pentecost” these events become part of the life of every generation of believers through worship.
Verses 4-6 are the “meat” of the ceremony. They are the voice of God and proclaim three epic words of grace. They look to the past; they look to the future; and they look at the present.
1) “You have seen” the freed Israelite slaves are witnesses. This recalls the past. They were in a state of torment and death. Harsh labor. Slaughter of innocents. They saw – experienced – the God of the Exodus do unheard of things. This God kept a promise (2.24); acted out of compassion for creation’s suffering (2.25; 3.7-9) and they saw God’s saving righteousness, his justice in action (6.6). They saw how this played out in the “wonders” of defeating Pharoah, his army and the Egyptians. They saw the “gods of Egypt” destroyed and themselves led by the Pillar through the Sea.
2) “I bore you on eagle’s wings and brought you to myself”
This is not only a powerful image, but it is moving in its beauty. Yahweh is invested in this relationship with the liberated nobodies of Israel.
The wording describes divine work and grace. “I bore you.” The verb “bore”
( נָשָׂא) meaning to “lift” or “carry” in the imperfect means Yahweh continues to do the carrying. Imagine a mother getting her infant child out of a crib, lifting the child to herself and walking around with her.
And “brought you.” Here again Moses stresses the action of God. This is in fact a very beautiful way of describing the Exodus itself. This is all Yahweh. I בּוֹא you to myself. Here the English of “brought you” fails greatly to catch the force of the Hebrew verb. The Hiph’il has the force of “I caused you to come to me.” As when in Amos Yahweh says “I will cause the sun to go down” (8.9).
“To myself.” The text does not say “I brought you here” or “I brought you to a holy place” or the like. This is highly personal, “I brought you to myself.” Yahweh wants and keeps the ones that no one else in all creation wanted (see Psalm 121 and Psalm 124).
3) “My treasured possession” Future reality. Israel confessed in the Song by Ike & Tina that Yahweh reigns (15.18). Yahweh is King. He OWNS EVERYTHING. Yahweh looking down on Sinai is the ruler and owner of all creation and every nation. But Israel, the rejected slaves, will be what they never were, treasured. Like Yahweh promised Abram that his name will be great (Gen 12.1-3) so Israel by grace is God “prized possession.”
This has nothing whatsoever to do with Israel’s righteousness. In fact, nothing in the Hebrew Bible has to do with Israel’s righteousness. It is the goodness, the grace, the Hesed of Yahweh pure and simple. Moses reminds Israel they have no righteousness, they don’t even have “integrity” but Yahweh simply LOVED them and kept his promise (Deuteronomy 9.4-6).
This is a covenant, a covenant of love that Israel has been granted and bound to by Yahweh at Sinai.
A Kingdom of Priests (cf. Psalm 67; Isaiah 61.6)
The “prized possession” of Yahweh is created to be a kingdom of priests. On the holy mountain where Moses received his special calling, Israel the liberated slaves have also received the calling. As God’s prized possession they will be a kingdom of priests.
Israel as a whole will function in regard to all creation in a way analogous to the tribe of Levi will function in regard to Israel herself. Levi is “set aside.” Israel is “set aside.” They are “holy” and dedicated to a purpose. They were created to be priests.
1) Priests, according to the Torah, were called to be instructors of God’s word. They are “to teach the people of Israel all the statutes of Yahweh” (Lev 10.11; Deuteronomy 33.10; etc). In this way priests represent God to the people. So Israel will function as a beacon of justice, righteousness and shalom within God’s world among the nations. They represent Yahweh to the nations. Ezekiel will make much of their failure and God’s name being profaned among the nations.
2) Priests lead God’s people in worship. They bring sacrifices, lead songs, hymns and spiritual songs (heading of Psalm 67) from the people to God. So Israel as a whole is to be instrument of drawing the nations, the gentiles, into the orbit of the God of Israel.
A Story Gentiles are Part (1 Peter 2.8)
Peter, much like Paul, a Messianic Jew embraces the vocation of Exodus 19. In that vocation gentiles are now called to be part of God’s Israel to share in the same mission of bearing witness to God’s mighty acts of Hesed.