A kingdom of priests and a holy nation (Exod 19:1-6)

One of the questions that Christians face in connection with the Old Testament is how to understand the role of the Mosaic Law. The Law for us evokes the hypocrisy of some Pharisees condemned by Jesus and pernickety rule-following that misses the heart of the matter. Add to that Paul’s emphasis that the Law can only make us aware of sin (Rom 3:20) and that salvation is by faith alone and not by works (Gal 2:16; Eph 2:8-9) and our negative impressions of the Law are complete. Thus, when we come to God’s revelation of the Law at Sinai, we are hard put to know what to make of it, all the more so as at first glance Exod 19:5 seems to affirm that the relationship with God is conditional on obedience. What is this if not earning salvation by works? Yet, it will not do to dismiss the Law as entirely negative and simply assume that the New Testament trumps the Old.[1] After all, God gave the Law and this is the same God who speaks through both Testaments. How can we resolve the tensions here?

First, we need to step back and notice that the law-giving is hugely significant judging by the space given to it in Scripture. Israel arrives at Sinai and will spend the best part of a year here (Exod 19:1; Num 10:11-12). The rest of Exodus, all of Leviticus and almost a third of Numbers cover this period. Secondly, Israel has already been saved out of slavery and brought to God in relationship (Exod 19:4), not to mention the Lord’s prior commitment to the patriarchs (Exod 2:24) so that obedience to the Law is not about salvation. Grace always comes first!

However, God offers a special role for Israel to be a kingdom of priests and a holy nation. The language evokes the Garden of Eden, where humanity was made in the image of God (Gen 1:27). In the ancient world, kings were the image of a god and represented the order and reign of that god. Likewise, Adam and Eve had royal duties to represent God to creation. Further, it has long been recognised by commentators that Genesis 2 describes humanity as priests in a temple (Gen 2:15). The words ‘to keep/guard’ (shamar) and ‘to work/cultivate’ (avad also means ‘to serve’ and by extension ‘worship’) are key priestly tasks, which involve guarding the sanctuary’s holiness and serving God in it. Since humanity failed in the role, Israel is offered it, and the Law helps them to understand God’s character and conform to His standards.

It speaks of God’s amazing love that He saves a slave people and offers them the dignity of royalty and the special status of priests. They may be nobodies and insignificant in the eyes of the Egyptians, but to God they will become a special treasure, His exclusive possession (the sense of the Hebrew segullah – Exod 19:5). It is not that the Lord had no relationship with them before, He did of course, but as they work together in partnership that bond was meant to strengthen further. As Christians, we cannot help but see the continuation of that story. Israel as a nation could not fulfil the role God had given them. Although the Lord did not demand sinless perfection from them, their consistent unfaithfulness to Him led to the loss of their witness. Only in Jesus Christ did the world receive the perfect, sinless Priest and King who truly represented God (Col 1:15). By His grace, however, He offers to all (Jews and Gentiles alike) a share in that role. As Christians then we are called to a new dignity and into that special relationship with the Lord to mediate Him to the world (1 Pet 2:9). May we live up to the high calling we have received.

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[1] This summary is actually a caricature of what the Law is about even in the NT, but sadly many Christians live with this view. For some very positive statements about the Law see e.g. Matt 5:16, 17, 19; Matt 7:21; James 2:14, 21, 24, 26.