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If you are unfamiliar with who I am, I’m Lincoln Hughes. I’m the youth pastor here. Been here for a while now. And today, what I wanted to do was take a break from Genesis and go back to our series on the Ten Commandments. And if you’re like, what are you talking about? You probably are correct to think that because over the past six, five years, we’ve done this series completely, sporadically and randomly, and there’s reasons why I want to go back to this first. It remains unfinished. We have not gone through all the Ten Commandments, and I don’t know when it will ever be finished. But number two, while we’ve been going through the book of Genesis on Sundays, Wednesday nights at youth group most of our year, this year was taken up by going through the book of Exodus, and while going through the book of Exodus, we got to see the surrounding context and I got to study what was surrounding what happened in the Ten Commandments. And it has made me think again about their significance and importance to the people of Israel, as well as to us. And I want to be able to share with you all what God has been teaching me for these past six months, past year or so. And I’m sure most of you are familiar with the Ten Commandments. This is the summary of them. The first one is you shall have no other gods before me.
The second you shall not make idols. You shall not bear the Lord’s name in vain. You shall keep the Sabbath holy. You shall honor your father and mother. You shall not murder. You shall not commit adultery. You shall not steal. You shall not bear false witness. You shall not covet. Now when we come to the Ten Commandments, and when we talk about the Ten Commandments, what we’re usually talking about is this is what’s right. This is what’s wrong. This is good, this is bad. The good person is the person who upholds the Ten Commandments, and the bad person is the person who breaks one of the Ten Commandments, and we view them as a bar we need to cross to be good. And certainly the Ten Commandments have something to say on what is good and what is bad, what is moral and what is immoral. For God in his character are the measure of what is good, and they are reflected in the Ten Commandments, right? So why is bearing false witness wrong? It is because God is truth. Why is adultery wrong? God is faithful. Faithful to his promises. Not faithless. But after studying the book of Exodus this past year, what I really think the Ten Commandments are about is something more than just what we should and shouldn’t do. But in fact, is God calling the people of Israel for the purpose in which they were created. He is calling them to true worship.
And why do I say that? Hopefully I will be able to explain that to you with our time together. And if you have your Bibles, you can open up to Exodus chapter 19, verses three through six. That will be our main text that we will go back to time and time again today. But before we do, let’s remind ourselves of what’s happening around this. Moses has just brought the people of Israel out of slavery in Egypt and brought them into the wilderness, in fact, to the very mountain where God first had appeared to him in a burning bush. And it called Moses to that mission to redeem his people out of slavery and bring them to himself. Why did God redeem the people of Israel? First of all, it is because God is faithful to his promises and he had promised to do such. Back in Genesis 1513, we read that God tells Abraham that your descendants will be enslaved in a foreign nation for 400 years, but after those 400 years, I will bring them back to the land that I promised to you. That was the promise and God’s plan from the beginning. But for what? Why? Well, God tells Moses, and he tells Moses to declare to the Israelites why he is saving them, why he is bringing them to himself. And it’s found in Exodus 19 three through six. It says this Moses went up to God, and the Lord called to him from the mountain, saying, thus you shall say to the house of Jacob, and tell the sons of Israel, you yourselves have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I bore you on eagles wings, and brought you to myself.
Now then, if you indeed obey my voice and keep my covenant, then you shall be my own possession among all the peoples. For all the earth is mine. And you shall be to me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation. These are the words that you shall speak to the sons of Israel. He saved them to bring them to himself, to make a covenant with them, for them to be his special possessions amongst the whole earth. Even though he is sovereign over the whole earth, he has chosen them to be a holy nation, his people to be a kingdom of priests. Question that we should ask when we read that is, you know, what is a priest? What is a role of the priest? What are they supposed to do? Well, a priest is fundamentally and most importantly, a representative between God to man and man to God. When you might say, when I think of a priest, I think of one who is. Authorized to conduct ceremonies or rituals or sacrifices. And you would be correct. And the reason why you’re correct is because they are authorized to do so, because they are a recognized representative between man and God, just as a lawyer is a recognized representative for a client towards a judge or a senator is a recognized representative before Congress.
So is a priest, a recognized representative before God and Moses on Mount Sinai in Exodus 19 and 20 is doing exactly that. He is representing both God to man and man to God. And if you were to read all of Exodus 19, you will see him scrambling around a lot, going back and forth, mediating and conducting what many commentators, commentators have equated to a marriage ceremony, discussing terms and conditions, or maybe more accurately, vows between the people of Israel and the Lord, eventually enacting in this covenant between the people of Israel and God, in God’s expressed reason for choosing Israel, for making this covenant with him, is that they would be his special possession, a holy nation set apart for his purposes to be a kingdom of priests, and in other words, his representatives in the world. Now, this idea of representation is going to be key to what we’re talking about today. And hopefully it doesn’t get too repetitive with me saying it, but I think it’s important. Before we go any further to define what that means, right? We use the word all the all the time representative or representation, but we rarely define what it means. And if we were to go to Google or Dictionary.com or an actual dictionary, I know some of you guys are like, what’s that? But when you look at it, it’s subdefinitions.
There’s a lot of sub definitions of particular types of representations. But representation, although multifaceted, is connected because essentially all types of representation are about making what is invisible visible, what is absent present, or making what is unknown known. Take the Mona Lisa, for example. I’m sure you guys have all seen this picture before, and I didn’t even have to put it on the slide because of how familiar you are with it. We are familiar with her image and how she looks, even though none of us have ever seen her before. None of us have ever met her before. The lady that Da Vinci painted. But we see her and know her face because of her representation. What is a job of a congressman? A representative in Congress? Officially It’s to make the voice and will of their constituents who are currently absent present. That is unknown, known in the chamber. And, you know, I think some of you guys are going to be surprised to hear this, but sometimes I don’t know what my wife is thinking or feeling and that’s crazy. Maybe some of you guys can relate, but what is remarkable is that I can know the way she is feeling in thinking what is hidden from me, what is invisible to me. Maybe not that invisible. She, you know, likes to wear it on her face sometimes. I’m just kidding.
Um, but what’s crazy is that I can know what she is thinking and what she is feeling because of language. And it’s because language is representative. And I’m no longer in the dark in how she feels. Possibly right. In fact, every creative endeavor and thing that people love to do and that we engage with has something, and I’ve tried to think about it, has something to do with some sort of representation, whether it’s books, poetry, music, movies, art, even non-representative art. Right? Modern art still represents something, whether that is meaninglessness or chaos or how someone’s feeling. And even athletics, whether you are representing a team, a town, a city, a high school or a country, there is no game or sport where the idea of representing either yourself, your neighborhood, your family is absent. And what makes any of these things relatable and interesting and inspiring and moving and transcendent to us is what they represent. And it is, though we as human beings are hardwired for this very thing. And I believe that to be the case, because all of us were created from the very beginning to do this. Genesis 126 through 27 says this. Then God said, let us make man in our image, according to our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea, and over the birds of the sky, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every other creeping thing that creeps on the earth.
God created them male O God created man in his own image. In the image of God he created him, male and female. He created them. What is an image? What is the purpose of an image? Why would God create a living being in his own image, set apart from all other creation? Special, even though he is sovereign over all things as he did? And I’d like to. I would like to tell you it’s because he wanted to make what is invisible, wanted to make what is invisible, visible, to make himself known, to be his representatives for his glory in his creation from the very beginning. That is what God created people to be and what he called them to do. And though Adam and Eve never formally received the title as priest, the language in Genesis one shows us that that is what they were made to be. And of course they fail. They fail as God’s priests because sin enters the picture in Genesis chapter three, and with it the distortion of the image of God. And because of that they become separated from his presence. And death is the result. Sin is missing the mark. The mark of what? The mark of God’s character. Why is sin so serious, and why does God take it so seriously? It is because it destroys the very purpose for which we were created. For when we sin, we misrepresent our creator and we project a false image of who God is.
We miss the mark of what we were created to be. And Romans 512 relays to us the scale of the problem. It says this therefore, just as through one man sin entered into the world and death through sin. And so death spread to all men, because all have sinned. Right? We all have fallen short of the image that God has given us in Exodus 19, where God calls Israel to be his priest, a special possession amongst the whole earth. Echoes Genesis chapter one. Right. Exodus 19 verse five says this. Now then, if you indeed obey my voice and keep my covenant, then you shall be my own possession among all the peoples. For all the earth is mine. And you shall be to me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation. These are the words you shall speak to the sons of Israel. What words? Well. Exodus 20. You shall have no other gods before me. You shall worship the Lord your God alone. How are you to do that? You shall not make for yourself an idol, or any likeness of what is in heaven, above or in earth, beneath or in the water, under the earth. You shall not worship them or serve them, for I am the Lord your God. Am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children on the third and fourth generation. Those who hate me, showing loving kindness to thousands, to those who love me and keep my commandments.
What is an idol? Or in other translations, a graven image? It is a false representation of who God is and if his priests worship a false representation of who he is, what does that say to the people they are supposed to be showing God to? Whether that be to an idol, to Baal, or a golden calf, or something even made to represent the Lord. Nothing made with human hands can truly represent him. They are called to be his priests, and they are in the world to make him known. Not statues of silver or gold or anything else. Next commandment you shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain, for the Lord will not leave him unpunished, who takes his name in vain. Now this commandment is probably one of the most misunderstood commandments of all time. Usually it’s boiled down to do not use the Lord’s name as profanity. And although that is taking the Lord’s name in vain, this commandment has much more to do with proclaiming the Lord with your mouth, saying, I belong to God, but with your actions and how you live, you prove him to be worthless. His name as. Meaningless. And what God is telling the people of Israel is. Do not make my name the same as the gods around you. The gods of Canaan or Egypt. Do not take my name in vain.
The next one remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work. But the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord your God. In it you shall not do any work, you or your son or your daughter, your male or female servant, or your cattle, or your sojourner who stays with you. For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day, and made it holy. The Sabbath day is made set apart because it represents how God created the world. And they are to show that to the world by honoring the Sabbath. Next one. Honor your father and mother, that your days may be prolonged in the land which the Lord your God gives you. Your mother and father gave you life. And they have authority over you, just as God has given us all life, and is our rightful authority as the author of life. You shall not murder. God is the giver of life. You shall not commit adultery. God is faithful. You shall not steal. God is gracious. You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor. God is truth. You shall not covet your neighbor’s house. You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, his male servant, or his female servant, or his ox, or his donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor.
God is just demonstrate that you trust in his justice. And if we were to look at Exodus 19 again, it says, now then, if you will indeed obey my voice and keep my covenant, then you shall be to me a kingdom of priests, a holy nation. As you can see, if is a key word. And of course, if you’ve been in a part of church for any amount of time or are familiar with your Bible at all, you will know that Israel, just like Adam and Eve, failed to live up to the calling that they were given the purpose for which they were created. They constantly fell into idolatry and worshiped other gods and represented them in their lives, and misrepresented the Lord to the nations around them. And we are not different. As the Bible proclaims in Romans three, for all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. We have all gone our own way and have pursued idols or gods of our own making, and of our own desires of one stripe or another, and a good way of knowing what you worship and what your God is, who your God is. Is this what you desire most in your life? To be known? What you most desire to be represented to other people, whether that is power or status or wealth or success, or the glory or goodness of God.
Yet where we have failed, where Israel, where Adam, where ourselves have failed, Christ has prevailed. John 114 through 18 says this. And the word became flesh and dwelt among us. And we saw his glory, glory as the only begotten from the father, full of grace and truth. John testified about him and cried out, saying, this was he of whom I said, he who comes after me has a higher rank than I For for he existed before me. For of his fullness we have all received grace upon grace. For the law was given through Moses. Grace and truth were realized through Jesus Christ. No one has seen God at any time. The only begotten God who is in the bosom of the father, he has explained him. Jesus has made God’s glory known. Colossians 113 through 15. For he has rescued us from the domain of darkness, and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation in Hebrews one three and he is the radiance of his glory and the exact representation of his nature, and upholds all things by the word of his power. When he made purification of sins, he sat down at the right hand of the majesty on high. Jesus perfectly represented God to us as God’s true high priest that Hebrews 414 declares to us, and he is also the true Adam according to first Corinthians 15 and we can witness the glory of God, because Jesus has made him known in the world as God in the flesh and as a man fully human.
He is our high Priest who represents those who belong to him, to God. As Hebrews 724 through 25 says, but because Jesus lives forever, he has a permanent priesthood. Therefore he is able to save completely those who come to God through him, because he always lives to intercede for them. In first Timothy two four through five this is good and pleases God our Savior, who wants all people to be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth. For there is one God and one mediator between God and mankind, the man Christ Jesus. What the Bible tells us is that for those who are in Christ, God no longer sees our unrighteousness, our sin, our failing to live up to the image that God has given us, he recognizes, recognizes the righteousness of Christ as our high priest, as our sufficient sacrifice who lived the perfect life that we could never live and died so that we would not have to bear the penalty for our false misrepresentation of who God is, where man has failed, Christ has prevailed, and he offers mercy and grace and new life to those who believe. And those things are connected, as you see with all those verses, as it talks about Jesus’s image being that of God.
The gospel is right there next to it. First Corinthians 1521 through 22 says this for as by a man came, death, by a man has also come the resurrection of the dead. For in Adam all die, so also in Christ all shall be made alive. And what Jesus offers to all of us isn’t just life after we die. He offers true life, a restoration of the life that we were always created for all the way back in the garden. Eternal life with God now no longer enslaved to sin and death, but alive to God through the power of the Holy Spirit. As Romans eight one through two says, therefore there is now no condemnation at all for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and death. And with this new life Jesus has called us and called us to something, just as in the garden, just as in Exodus, God calls us all a bunch of times in Scripture saints. We don’t use that word a lot today. But saints means those who are sanctified, set apart, holy to God. For what purpose? To be the body of Christ. To be his hands and feet in the world. To show the love and grace and truth of Jesus to a dying and hurting world. In other words, we are called to be his representatives in the world as salt and light, as his ambassadors, as Second Corinthians calls it, as though God was making his appeal through us.
Maybe you’ve heard this before. Maybe you haven’t. But the church is not a building. Why? Because it is the people who are called to represent God, not the stained glass or the altar, or all the different things. Christ has called the church the gathering of his people to be his hands and feet in the world. And this is what Christians are called to be what Christ has redeemed us to be. No longer living for our own glory. No longer worshipping our own gods and idols, but as his priests. Drawing near to God and drawing those who do not know him to know him. Peter, when writing first Peter talks about this, and I think it’s a perfect way of summing up all that we have talked about here. And it’s first Peter chapter two nine through ten, and it says this, but you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession. To do what? That you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness and into his wonderful light. Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God. Once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.