Sunday School Lesson: A Kingdom of Priests, A Holy Nation

By Elder Richard Wayne Wood

Scriptures: Exodus 19:1-14 

By the end of this lesson, we will:  

*Summarize God’s expectations as expressed through Moses; 

*Explain the concept of “covenant” in its original context;   

*Declare God’s praises as one of His treasured people. 

Background: Exodus 19 tells when God spoke to His people at Sinai. In Exodus, God appears to Moses and gives him his charge in chapter 3. Moses’ response is to object five times to his assignment, but God overcomes each of his objections and assures Moses of His presence to aid him. Our lesson is about God’s faithfulness to His word. God reveals Himself at Mount Sinai, establishing it as a place of worship where God resides. Important to Moses is that He solidifies Moses as His prophet. It is here that God proposes a covenant relationship. Covenants were sacred oaths made between two parties. These could be made between two people or between a person and God. A covenant could be unilateral, meaning there were no obligations by the other party. Other covenants had obligations. The Mosaic covenant was based on the law. God proposes a covenant relationship with specific, detailed obligations and, in return, promises Israel an especially close relationship with Him. 

Lesson: Coming to Sinai (Exodus 19:1-2). “In the third month, when the children of Israel were gone forth out of the land of Egypt, the same day came they into the wilderness of Sinai” (verse 1). After leaving Egypt, it took three months of trusting God to get the Israelites to the “wilderness of Sinai” surrounding Mount Sinai, where Moses had his first meeting with God. They would remain there for almost a year. “For they were departed from Rephidim, and were come to the desert of Sinai, and had pitched in the wilderness; and Israel camped before the mount” (verse 2). This is an interim location for a nation being formed. 

God’s Chosen People (verses 3-6). “And Moses went up unto God, and the LORD called unto him out of the mountain, saying, thus shalt thou say to the house of Jacob, and tell the children of Israel” (verse 3). Moses was led by God to meet with Him as he had before to receive instruction. The LORD sends a reminder to Israel of their humble beginnings as descendants of Abraham through Isaac and Jacob, who had been with them in Egypt, and of their new status as a nation. According to the Jewish Bible, the house of Jacob refers specifically to women, while the children of Israel refer to the men. “Ye have seen what I did unto the Egyptians, and how I bare you on eagles’ wings, and brought you unto myself” (verse 4). God reminds Israel of what He had already done (the plagues). “On eagles’ wings” is a metaphor for how swiftly and safely God had led them through the wilderness. “Brought you unto myself” – to Mount Sinai, “the mountain of God.” “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” (verse 5). Although God owns all things, if Israel accepts His covenant, He will cherish Israel because of His personal relationship with it. “And ye shall be unto me a kingdom of priests, and a holy nation. These are the words which thou shalt speak unto the children of Israel” (verse 6). “A kingdom of priests and a holy nation,” each of the two phrases expresses both sides of Israel’s future existence. They will be a nation with social and political structure; they will also, through their nationhood and state structures, be dedicated to God as priests. Jewish tradition converted this promise to a responsibility, “requiring” the entire Jewish people, not just the priests, to live by a code of holiness – God’s commandments – and to serve as priests, bringing knowledge of Him to the world. The New Testament records this designation –  “a royal priesthood, a holy nation” (1 Peter 2:9). 

God Shall Come (verses 7-14). “And Moses came and called for the elders of the people and laid before their faces all these words which the LORD commanded him” (verse 7). Moses conveyed all that God had said in verses 3-6 to a chosen group of elders who communicated the information to everyone else. “And all the people answered together, and said, All that the LORD hath spoken we will do. And Moses returned the words of the people unto the LORD” (verse 8). Even having not heard the terms of the covenant, the people willingly and unanimously accepted God’s proposal and promised to obey Him (see 24:3,7). Moses ascends the mountain to speak to God again, and God responds in verse 9. “And the LORD said unto Moses, Lo, I come unto thee in a thick cloud, that the people may hear when I speak with thee and believe thee forever. And Moses told the people unto the LORD” (verse 9). God tells Moses in this visit that He would come and speak to him in the people’s hearing in order to confirm Moses’ credibility. (Note: the term for a divine appearance is “theophany,” – a visible manifestation of God.) “Believe thee forever” -Monce the people personally overhear God and Moses conversing, they will be convinced that Moses is indeed God’s prophet. “And the LORD said unto Moses, Go unto the people, and sanctify them today and tomorrow, and let them wash their clothes, and be ready against the third day: for the third day the LORD will come down in the sight of all the people upon Mount Sinai” (verses 10-11). Proper preparation for the appearance of God includes ritual consecration and cleansing of the people. Two days are prescribed because of the “momentousness of the event” – the LORD will come down from heaven. “And thou shalt set bounds unto the people round about, saying, Take heed to yourselves, that ye go not into the mount, or touch the border of it: whosoever toucheth the mount shall be surely put to death” (verse 12). Inappropriate contact with God carries the threat of death. Moses calls for clear boundaries between the mountain and the people to avoid any contact. “There shall not a hand touch it, but he shall surely be stoned or shot through; whether it be beast or man, it shall not live; when the trumpet soundeth long, they shall come up to the mount” (verse 13). The warning is emphasized and made clear. Notice that the methods are by methods that do not require touching those who have violated God’s space. “When the trumpet sounds long” – the people never went up the mountain; they went up to the boundaries. “And Moses went down from the mount unto the people and sanctified the people; and they washed their clothes” (verse 14). After coming down from the mountain, Moses “sanctified” the people, making them ritually clean to stand before God. Part of the ritual cleansing was abstaining from sexual relations for three days. Dirty clothes were not sinful, but the ceremonial cleansing also involved washing clothes. Sanctification is twofold – outward and inward. The real essential preparation for approach to God is inward sanctification; but no external command can secure this. Moses was only instructed to issue directions for outward purification. (Standard Lesson Commentary 2024-2025, The MacArthur Study Bible, The Jewish Study Bible, Experiencing God Bible, The Wiersbe Study Bible, The New Interpreters Study Bible, Ellicott’s Bible Commentary, and The Oxford Bible Commentary). 

For Your Consideration: Why do you think the Israelites were so eager to accept the covenant God offered? Do you think they made a wise decision? 

Application: Compare the Old Testament covenant to Israel to the New Testament covenant priesthood. 

FYI: Forsyth County Sunday School Union meets in person every third Sunday at 1:30 p.m. at a member church. Contact your Sunday School superintendent for more information.