Now therefore, if ye will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant, then ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto me above all people: for all the earth is mine: And ye shall be unto me a kingdom of priests, and an holy nation. These are the words which thou shalt speak unto the children of Israel. – Exo. 19:5-6 KJV
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The people of Israel had arrived the Desert of Sinai from Rephidim (Exo. 17:1-16), three months after their departure from Egypt, and decided to camp in front of the mountain there – Exo. 19:1-2. Moses, in what seemed like he was reporting their arrival to the Lord, went up to meet with Him, after all, He had earlier told him that they were going to meet with Him (Lord) at that location after their departure from Egypt, when he was being commissioned for the task – Exo. 3:12. In that second meeting of Moses with God and the first since he took over the leadership of the Israelites, the Lord had a simple message for the Israelites. In the scripture that is the foundation of today’s Devotional, he stated that, though the entire earth belonged to Him, they were always going to be a treasured possession, a kingdom of priests and a holy nation to Him, only if they fully obey and keep His commandments. Of course, under the euphoria of receiving such promises and like most human beings do, they quickly responded positively and indicated their willingness to do everything that the Lord had and will command – Exo. 19:3-8.
Moses thus returned to the Lord with the response and willingness of the people to observe all He was going to command them and to walk in His statutes, in what was his third meeting with the Lord, and the second after taking over the leadership of the Israelites. Jehovah then informed him of the manner in which He planned to communicate His Laws to the people. He was going to come in form of a dense cloud on Mount Sinai, so that the people will hear Him speak to Moses, and so will put their trust in Him as His choice of leader for them, but that will be after they would have consecrated themselves for three days. Even in their consecrated state, they were still to avoid moving close to the Mount, more so touching or climbing it, unless the ram’s horn sounds a long blast, as the punishment for such a breach will be stoning or being shot with arrows to death. No one was allowed to lay hands on such a person – Exo. 19:9-13. At that point, it was not only about their spiritual state, but obedience to His instructions.
The people up until that moment remained compliant with all the instructions and just as He said, the Almighty God descended on Mount Sinai on the morning of the third day, in a dense cloud accompanied by thunder and lightning. The Almighty God invited Moses up the mount in what became the fourth meeting between him and Lord, and the third since he took over the leadership of Israel, where He not only re-affirmed His instructions for them and also asked that Aaron be invited along side, probably as a witness – Exo. 19:14-25.
Thus, in a back and forth process that involved the Lord making His conditions very clear to the Israelites through Moses, it was evident that the people had several opportunities to review their decision on whom to worship. That this opportunity was available, even after their successful escape from the oppression of Pharaoh and the Egyptians made it apparent that their decision was not due to any form of emotional blackmail or compulsion by the Lord but yet, they reneged on every promise they made with regards to strict compliance to the Laws of God. They just could not remain faithful to a promise they freely made, but yet, they expect to continue to enjoy the reward of obedience as promised by Jehovah, which was dependent completely on their faithfulness to Him. Even their children could not excuse themselves from this promise made by their fore-fathers, simply on the fact that, they were not the ones that made the promise, as the Almighty God could also then argue that they were also not the ones that He made those promises to and so should not expect such rewards. If they were going to inherit the promises which was an asset to them, then they should also be prepared to fulfil the conditions for its fulfilment, which they may want to see as liabilities.
Similarly, today’s Christian is always quick to lay claim to these promises but, either due to ignorance of not been aware of the conditions for its implementation or in a deliberate act of disobedience to them, does not fulfil the role that has to be played for the actualisation of such promises. The people of Israel, on the four occasions that Moses related the wish of God to them, willingly submitted and agreed to operate in them just as the Christian today is made aware of the conditions that must be met for the promises of God to be available, only for them to become comfortable and begin to seek to undermine Jehovah. Even the one who is birthed into Christianity, is made to re-confirm at some stage, whatever promises to obey the laws of God, that Christian god-fathers and god-mothers may have made during their christening ceremony, so such can equally not claim ignorance. Several sources such as sermons, Christian literatures, word Ministrations on print and electronic media, and similar platforms, have also become available to the one who sincerely wishes to know and operate in the laws of God, and have knowledge of what His standard for the Christian is.
Even the devil can no longer be blamed by the Christian who is not operating in the Will of God as the Almighty God had provided for the true Christian, the ability to withstand the Devil, by making supernatural ability available to such through the receiving of the Holy Spirit – Acts 1:5; 8.
So it can be concluded that the Christian today has no valid excuse for failing to walk in the laws and instructions of God and still desire to lay claims to the Promises of God. If He punished those who were made aware of His instructions, only on a possible maximum of four occasions but refused to walk in them, one wonders how those who are hearing these instructions on a more regular basis hope to escape His wrath. It is only the foolish that will think that the Sovereign God can be outsmarted.
Stop deceiving yourself, thinking that you can outsmart Him. That may just be the reason for all those events going on around you that people cannot see but they continue to have compassion for you, on the basis that you are a true believer. Although men cannot see your acts of disrespect and disregard for the laws and instructions of the Lord, the Almighty God who is the El-Roi sees all. The pity you receive from such ignorant people or your claim to being ignorant of His laws, will not move the Almighty God into changing that negative situation. Only your honest and sincere desire to walk in His instructions will do that. You took a voluntary decision to worship Him and you can also choose to discontinue your worship of Him, but saying one thing and doing another is an attempt at deceit. Only men will be deceived and not Jehovah. May God help us all to worship Him honestly and truthfully in Jesus name. Amen.
