Exodus 19:2-8a (NRSV)
Read Exodus 19:2-8a on biblegateway.com
Verse 2They had journeyed from Rephidim, entered the wilderness of Sinai, and camped in the wilderness; Israel camped there in front of the mountain. Verse 3Then Moses went up to God; the Lord called to him from the mountain, saying, "Thus you shall say to the house of Jacob, and tell the Israelites: Verse 4You have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I bore you on eagles' wings and brought you to myself. Verse 5Now therefore, if you obey my voice and keep my covenant, you shall be my treasured possession out of all the peoples. Indeed, the whole earth is mine, Verse 6but you shall be for me a priestly kingdom and a holy nation. These are the words that you shall speak to the Israelites." Verse 7So Moses came, summoned the elders of the people, and set before them all these words that the Lord had commanded him. Verse 8The people all answered as one: "Everything that the Lord has spoken we will do." Moses reported the words of the people to the Lord.
Devotion
The Promised Land; release from captivity; a wilderness of uncertainty. What do we emphasize in the Exodus story? Today’s reading points to God’s action and God’s purpose. While we must be very careful how we claim parallels in, or precedents from, the past, we who live in the United States might ask if there is anything we should learn as we prepare to celebrate fundamental events of our nation’s origins.
History shows it is one thing to be rid of an oppressive ruler. It is so much harder, then to establish true freedom. Our reading suggests that honoring a covenant is necessary to create and preserve such a nation. The Creator of the Universe set an enslaved people free so that they could become a people, a nation governed by God’s intent for the good of all. It is one thing to celebrate a claim to independence. It is another to continue to “form a more perfect union.”
Prayer
Thank you, O God, for the gift of your covenant. Open our hearts, transform our wills so that your law guides our work for the common good. Amen.
Interested in digging deeper into today’s text?
Read more here.