In Egypt, the Jews were nothing but weary bodies, slaves who did their masters’ bidding, but the Lord had better things planned for them. They were to be His special people, and He would use them to be a blessing to the whole world (Gen. 12:3).
God’s treasured possession (v. 5 niv). All the nations of the earth belong to the Lord, because He’s their maker and their sustainer (9:29; Ps. 24:1; 50:12; Acts 14:15–17; 17:24–28), but He’s chosen Israel to be His treasured possession (Deut. 7:6; 14:2; 26:18; Ps. 135:4; Mal. 3:17). This choice was not because of Israel’s merits, because they had none (Deut. 26:5–11), but because of God’s love and sovereign grace (7:6–8).
That the Jews are God’s chosen people doesn’t mean they’re better than any other nation, only that they’re different, set apart by the Lord for His special work. Romans 9:4–5 reminds us of some of the spiritual treasures God has given Israel that they might be a blessing to the whole world, for “salvation is of the Jews” (John 4:22). Because Israel has these treasures and privileges, they also have a greater responsibility to love and obey God; for “from the one who has been entrusted with much, much more will be asked” (Luke 12: niv).
A kingdom of priests (v. 6). Aaron and his sons would be consecrated later to serve as priests to the nation (Ex. 28—29), but it was God’s intent that all Israel live as priests, manifesting His truth and sharing His blessings with the world. Israel was to be God’s “showcase” to the Gentiles, proving to them that there is but one true and living God and that serving Him is the way to fullness of blessing (Isa. 42:6; 49:6). Unfortunately, instead of Israel influencing the nations to worship Jehovah, the nations influenced Israel to worship idols! The Jews adopted the religions and lifestyles of the Gentiles and so desecrated themselves, their land, and the temple that God had to chasten them severely and send them into Babylonian captivity. The day will come, however, when Israel will see her Messiah, be cleansed of her iniquities (Zech. 12:10–13:1), and become a nation of holy priests to serve the Lord (Isa. 61:6).
A holy nation (v. 6). “You are to be My holy people” (22:31), that is, a people set apart for God, a people who are different. “Be holy, for I am holy” is found at least six times in Leviticus (11:44–45; 19:2; 20:7, 26; 21:8) and is repeated twice in 1 Peter 1:15–16. In every area of life, Israel’s activities were governed by the fact that they belonged to God, and that included what they ate, what they wore, who they married, how they buried their dead, and especially how they worshipped.
During the plagues in Egypt, God put a difference between them and the Egyptians (Ex. 11:7), because the Jews were not to live like the pagan Gentile nations. The Jewish priests were to set the example and also teach the people to “put a difference between holy and unholy, and between clean and unclean” (Lev. 10:10; 11:47). The priests failed to do this (Ezek. 22:26; see 42:20; 44:23; 48:14–15), and their sin helped to lead the nation into defilement and destruction (Lam. 4:13).
When Moses shared this good news with the people, they enthusiastically promised to obey everything God told them to do (Ex. 19:7–8). They may have been sincere, but God knew that their hearts were prone to do evil (Deut. 5:27–29). The fact that they repeated this vow two more times didn’t change their hearts or strengthen their wills (Ex. 24:3, 7), and it wouldn’t be long before Israel would succumb to the idolatry that lurked in their hearts and make a golden calf and worship it (Ex. 32).
God’s people today (1 Peter 2:5, 9). Peter borrowed the imagery of Exodus 19: and called the church today “a holy priesthood … a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light” (1 Peter 2:5, 9 nkjv). Like Israel of old, God’s people today must point people to the Lord and reveal by their words and deeds how wonderful He is. We’re to be “living advertisements” of the grace and power of God. Are we?