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This people I have formed for Myself; they shall declare My praise.
Isaiah 43:21 (NKJV)
In the latter chapters of the book of Exodus, we find that God provides meticulous instructions for building the Ark of the Covenant, the Tabernacle, and its entire contents. In addition, Scripture tells us that the Spirit of God came upon Bezalel and Oholiab, supernaturally gifting these craftsmen with the ability to carry out their work in accordance with His specifications:
See, the LORD has chosen Bezalel son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah, and he has filled him with the Spirit of God, with skill, ability and knowledge in all kinds of crafts – to make artistic designs for work in gold, silver and bronze, to cut and set stones, to work in wood and to engage in all kinds of artistic craftsmanship.
And he has given both him and Oholiab son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan, the ability to teach others. He has filled them with skill to do all kinds of work as craftsmen, designers, embroiderers in blue, purple and scarlet yarn and fine linen, and weavers—all of them master craftsmen and designers.
Exodus 35:30-35
Why did God choose to superintend this process? Because quite simply, excellence and beauty glorify God! So by taking an active role in the construction of the Tabernacle that was to bear His name, God was merely ensuring that it properly reflected His glory—call it divine “quality control.” For just as creation was meant to remind us of God’s majesty and His all-surpassing greatness, so too is our worship of Him.
Certainly the same concern is what motivated God to provide the plans for the first Temple, and it will also govern the coming act of re-creation that is foretold in Scripture. But aside from mountains, trees, tents, robes, and tables, there is a more profound application of this principle that cannot be overlooked. Because the premium that God places upon excellence not only applies to everything that bears His name, but also to everybody.
Wayward Children
Just prior to giving the Ten Commandments to the nation of Israel, God gave the people a promise…as well as an obligation:
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. And you shall be to Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.
Exodus 19:5-6 (NKJV)
We see the same mandate reiterated in Leviticus:
I am the Lord who brought you up out of Egypt, to be your God; therefore be holy, for I am holy.
Leviticus 11:45
As His special treasure, God promised the Israelites that they would receive His favor in a way that would set them apart from the other nations of the world; however, He also made it clear that if they wanted to avoid His discipline then they needed to faithfully keep their end of the covenant. In other words, because they were different—chosen and specially favored by God—He expected the Israelites to live in a way that actually differentiated them from their neighbors:
You should know in your heart that as a man chastens his son, so the Lord your God chastens you. Therefore you shall keep the commandments of the Lord your God, to walk in His ways and to fear Him.
For the Lord your God is bringing you into a good land, a land of brooks of water, of fountains and springs, that flow out of valleys and hills; a land of wheat and barley, of vines and fig trees and pomegranates, a land of olive oil and honey; a land in which you will eat bread without scarcity, in which you will lack nothing; a land whose stones are iron and out of whose hills you can dig copper.
When you have eaten and are full, then you shall bless the Lord your God for the good land which He has given you. Beware that you do not forget the Lord your God by not keeping His commandments, His judgments, and His statutes which I command you today.
Deuteronomy 8:5-11 (NKJV)
Now we need to be careful at this point, because God did not command Israel to be holy so that they might earn His blessing—for that was already given! Indeed, just as no one deserves the gift of forgiveness that we have been given through Christ, the Israelites had not somehow earned their status as God’s chosen people. Simply put, the point wasn’t that Israel’s obedience gained them anything, but rather that their disobedience would incur His displeasure, His wrath. Why? Because as the people who were chosen to bear His name to the ancient world, God wanted other nations to understand that Israel was different because He was different:
“You are My witnesses,” declares the Lord, “and My servant whom I have chosen, so that you may know and believe Me, and understand that I am He. Before Me no god was formed, nor will there be one after Me. I, even I, am the Lord, and apart from Me there is no savior. I have revealed and saved and proclaimed—I, and not some foreign god among you. You are My witnesses,” declares the Lord, “that I am God. Yes, and from the ancient days I am He. No one can deliver out of My hand. When I act, who can reverse it?”
Isaiah 43:10-13
Unfortunately, God’s instructions didn’t seem to register with the children of Israel, and we don’t get very far into the story before they turn back to the gods of Egypt. Moses goes up Mount Sinai to meet with God, and after the space of forty days he returns to find Israel worshipping a golden calf. It’s an ominous sign of things to come, and much of the Old Testament is spent chronicling Israel’s inability to faithfully represent God for more than the space of a generation.
Just look at the Israelites who came out of Egypt in the first place. Even though they witnessed the plagues, were spared during the Passover, and then walked through the Red Sea on dry land, their
grumbling and doubt disqualified them from entering the Promised Land. And later on, when their children finally take possession of the land, each generation seems to bring with it a new level of disdain for the God of their fathers. In the book of Judges alone there are at least a half dozen occasions where we find an indictment along these lines:
The Israelites did evil in the eyes of the Lord; they forgot the Lord their God and served the Baals and Asherahs.
Judges 3:7
Not a pretty picture. Now read through 1 & 2 Kings…it gets even worse! To put it bluntly, the record clearly demonstrates that Israel utterly failed to be the kingdom of priests that God had intended, conforming more to her neighbors than vice versa. This presented God with a dilemma.
At issue was the fact that both Israel and Judah repeatedly accommodated their behavior, their morals, and their worship to be more like the practices of those who worshipped Baal, Molech, or a host of other gods. Accordingly, Israel’s actions sent the message that there was fundamentally no difference between their God and the myriad of other gods that were worshipped throughout the ancient world. This in turn devalued and disgraced God’s name, even though He told them clearly that:
- They were to have no other gods
- They were to shun all forms of idolatry, and
- They were to hold His name in the highest esteem
Remember the first three commandments?
Thus, instead of living in a manner that was holy and set apart, Israel (and later Judah) began to blend in. Compromise and complacency were the norm throughout Israel’s history, and the universal indictment of God’s people is that rather than exalting and glorifying His name, they consistently blasphemed it. They repeatedly adopted the customs and religious beliefs of their neighbors, even as they convinced themselves that their growing immorality wasn’t really that big of a deal. It was a very big deal to God, though, and their willing indifference to Him and to their calling cost them dearly…time and time again.
Salt and Light
Clearly, God chose Israel to bear witness to His glory and to proclaim His holy name. God didn’t shower His blessings upon Israel because they deserved them, He didn’t reveal Himself through
miracles and signs just to impress them, and He didn’t grace them with His very presence just to keep them company. He blessed them that they might stand out as a visible testimony to His greatness and to His glory: He wanted them to be a light to the Gentiles. So in the same way that Solomon’s God-given abilities drew kings and queens to his presence, God wanted Israel to be the beacon that would draw other nations to Him.
Rather than being the light that drew the Gentiles out of the shadows, though, Israel turned its back on the Light and embraced the darkness. They stopped seeking after God and instead sought out only His blessings, so He had no choice but to take drastic measures. Because if Israel continued to enjoy His favor in spite of their disobedience, they bore false witness to God by sending the message that He did not care about sin and would always bless them…regardless of their actions.
Moreover, Israel’s favored position led them to become self-righteous and to look down their spiritual noses at the “Gentiles.” They lost sight of the fact that God had chosen them to serve as
ministers of His grace to those on the outside of the covenant, and not merely to reap the blessings of their status. In other words, God called Israel to be “servants” to those around them, rather than their “lords.” And isn’t this the essence of Jesus’ life and His teaching to the disciples? That to whom much is given, much is required? That the first will be last?
So Jesus called them together and said, “You know that the rulers in this world lord it over their people, and officials flaunt their authority over those under them. But among you it will be different. Whoever wants to be a leader among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first among you must be the slave of everyone else.”
Mark 10:42-44 (NLT)
Like the nation of Israel, then, God doesn’t redeem us so that we can coast through this life until we hit “retirement,” for this mindset demonstrates a spirit of presumption…not faith. On the contrary, our status as God’s “elect” carries with it the obligation to give back, to reach out and to minister to others. He didn’t save us so that we could waltz around like the Pharisees and bask in the knowledge that we are special, He saved us so that we could be His witnesses:
But Peter and the apostles replied, “We must obey God rather than any human authority. The God of our ancestors raised Jesus from the dead after you killed him by hanging him on a cross. Then God put him in the place of honor at his right hand as Prince and Savior. He did this so the people of Israel would repent of their sins and be forgiven. We are witnesses of these things and so is the Holy Spirit, who is given by God to those who obey him.”
Acts 5:29-32 (NLT)
In fact, when you consider our mission as those who are elect today, you see that it’s not all that different from the mandate given to Israel. We are likewise called to be holy, to shine as lights in the darkness, and to reach out to those who still do not know Christ. And should we really be surprised? God doesn’t change with time, so why would His expectations?
But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of Him who has called you out of darkness and into His wonderful light. Once you were not a people but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.
1 Peter 2:9-10
Sound familiar? Isn’t this precisely God’s commission to the nation of Israel? Indeed, God commands His elect in every age to be holy because we are His ambassadors to a world that does not know Him. For that reason, then, God doesn’t want us to simply blend in with our culture, He calls us to be set apart. We’re supposed to be different, we’re supposed to be salt and light:
You are the light of the world—like a city on a hilltop that cannot be hidden. No one lights a lamp and then puts it under a basket. Instead, a lamp is placed on a stand, where it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your good deeds shine out for all to see, so that everyone will praise your heavenly Father.
Matthew 5:14-16 (NLT)
And everyone else is supposed to know why:
I tell you, whoever acknowledges Me before men, the Son of Man also will acknowledge him before the angels of God. But he who disowns Me before men will be disowned before the angels of God.
Luke 12:8-9
Without a doubt, we are called to be holy today for the same reason that God called Israel to be holy under the “Old Covenant”: as those who bear Christ’s name, the world is supposed to see Jesus when they look at us. Unfortunately, we also suffer from the same moral deficiencies as our Old Testament counterparts. For this reason, then, it should be easy to see why God chastens us today: He is working to sanctify our hearts and thereby conform us to the likeness of His Son.
And the Lord—who is the Spirit—makes us more and more like him as we are changed into his glorious image.
2 Corinthians 3:18 (NLT)
To put it differently, the way we live our lives conveys messages about God to those around us. Sometimes those messages are true and therefore glorify Him, whereas other times those messages are false and therefore malign His name and His character. So whether we like it or not, our missteps as Christians reflect directly upon Christ just as Israel’s disobedience brought dishonor to God. Therefore, it is incumbent upon all Christians to remind ourselves daily of this
truth that Israel neglected or otherwise forgot: as God’s representatives, He expects us to be different.
Set your mind on things above, not on earthly things. For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is your life appears, then you also will appear with Him in glory.
Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry. Because of these, the wrath of God is coming. You used to walk in these ways, in the life you once lived.
Colossians 3:2-7
Do not be fooled into thinking that being “under grace” implies a lack of terms and conditions! On the contrary, we must uphold our end of the New Covenant just as Israel was required to be obedient under the Old. Not because our compliance gains us anything more from God, though, for He clearly demonstrated His love for us when He gave us His Son. Rather, our obedience is how we honor God and show our love for Him:
If you love Me, keep My commandments.
John 14:15 (NKJV)
Furthermore, as Christ’s disciples under the New Covenant, it is quite possibly more important for us to be obedient than it was for the nation of Israel! Why? Because we are clearly the recipients of a better covenant:
But now [Jesus] has obtained a more excellent ministry, inasmuch as He is also Mediator of a better covenant, which was established on better promises.
Hebrews 8:6 (NKJV)
And since the Bible also tells us that to whom much is given much is expected, in a very real sense the bar has actually been raised! Just read through the Sermon on the Mount if you have any doubts about the high calling that Jesus places upon those who would follow Him.
Therefore, we need to recognize the tremendous responsibility borne by each person who claims the name of Jesus. For even though God calls us His “friends” and His “children,” we must remember that we are children of a King—the King of Kings, no less! And as God’s children, it is both our duty and privilege to offer Him our willing obedience as we serve Him with all of our hearts. Indeed, our example should be none other than our “elder Brother,” the Lord Jesus Christ, and His priorities were crystal clear: “What would Jesus do?” Whatever glorifies God!
For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many.
Mark 10:45
It is our willingness to put God first that truly honors Him, so as we strive to become faithful disciples of Christ we must remember that we are here to serve the One who has saved us. In other words, we are not supposed to become self-righteous or presumptuous on account of being “elect”; rather, we are called to live each day in grateful submission to our Lord and Savior. Only by adopting this mindset do we have any hope of growing in the grace and knowledge of Jesus Christ, because any other point of reference inevitably robs God of His glory and takes us down the same deceptive paths that led Israel astray…and ultimately to judgment.
Will we be perfect? Clearly not. We will still occasionally stumble and fall short of the glory of God, but it’s far better to keep falling down along the straight and narrow path than to sprint down the broad road that leads us away from Christ. For any road that does not lead to God is a path to idolatry, which eventually leads to the kind of glory that we would be wise to avoid: the glory of God’s holy wrath.
It was a path that the nation of Israel knew all too well.
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