God wanted the whole nation to be priests, serving near Him. What would Israel decide?
Now back to the thrilling story in Exodus. Imagine that you were one of the children of Israel. A few months ago, you were a slave making mud bricks under the sweltering Egyptian sun. You watched, from the safety of Goshen, a pyrotechnic display never seen before or since. Blood river. Flaming hailstones like comets falling. Mega-swarms of little critters. And the final showdown that brought the leader of the world’s great superpower to his knees. Imagine the walk through the Red Sea, water in walls on either side. And then a river bursting out of a rock and bread delivery from heaven. Any of this getting your attention? Enough to convince you that this deity who calls Himself “the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob” (Ex 3:6) is legit when He offers to be your God, too? The only thing… There’s this matter of God being holy. He isn’t like the other gods; He doesn’t wink at sin. No paying Him off like you do with Egyptian deities. No pushing Him around like their idols. This God knows your thoughts before you think them; a relationship with Him means we need to be honest. How did Israel respond? “They said to Moses, ‘You speak with us, and we will hear; but let not God speak with us’” (Ex 20:18-19). This new nation decided they would not have a personal relationship with God. Moses would be their go-between. Just tell us what He wants, Moses, and they promised, “All that the Lord has spoken we will do” (19:8). But the people did not understand. Holiness is a love relationship with God! Only in drawing near to Him do we find the resources to live a happy, contented, obedient life. Here is the sweet promise: “Draw near to God and He will draw near to you” (Jas 4:8).