a very serious moment
This is the moment in the story where God is hovering over mount Sinai giving Moses the ten commandments. God has shown up as a thick hovering darkness of cloud followed by thunder and lighting. People are not allow to touch the mountain. Instead, they must have prepared themselves for this moment: washed and ready, no sexual activity. Preparations are like training for the big day: a big game, a wedding day, a graduation, a first date, an interview at your first job.
Translation: what's about to happen is very serious.
a rescued people, a holy nation, followed by "if…then…"
God begins by reminding them what he's done for them. He tells the story of how he bore them on eagles' wings. He tells them all of this is so he can make them his, "treasured possession among all peoples...you shall be to me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation (Exodus 19:5-6)."
Notice how God presents his people with two identities followed by an "if…then..." statement. The two identities are "a rescued people" and "a holy people". The narrative of Exodus flows as Israel moves from one to the other with the following statement: "…if you indeed obey my voice and keep my commandment, then I will…." God is telling them that obedience is the outward expression of what it means to become the people of God.
The point: obedience is a very important part of what it means to be the people of God.
a couple of questions
Let me pause here and ask a couple of questions:
Does God need us to obey in order move, save us, bring peace, etc.? The answer is no. The historical narrative of scripture is full of men and women who did not obey and yet God moved. This is the story of salvation. This the story of the old testament leaders: Abraham, Jacob, David…these are not heroes. These are stories of God moving despite their inability to fully obey. Even Paul admits: "no one does good, not one. They have all turned aside and together become worthless (Romans 3)." Our obedience does not somehow magically allow God to be able to move; he moves despite our inability to fully obey.
So then, why should we obey? The Bible has three reason why we should obey:
why we should obey
1. Relationship. Obedience shows relationship; and relationship is king. Think about salvation for a moment. It's more about who you know than what you do. When you obey God you are showing that your relationship with him is more important than any other relationship in the world (e.g. Abraham's conversation with God in Genesis 15).
2. Way of Life. Obedience is not just for show. God cares about how you live. He wants you to live well. He's shaped a way of life to help you flourish. It's hard. It may be different than how other people live; but it's also full of adventure and character building. The incredibleness of this story is that the God of the universe is calling you to live life with him (e.g. The call for scripture to influence every aspect of life in Deuteronomy 6:4-9).
3. Mission. You are called to a place. You are called to a people. You are called to do something. Obedience means you are listening to the Holy Spirit's leading in the context he's placed you. When God speaks, we obey, and the world is changed. It's an amazing paradigm. Obedience makes us prepared and ready for the mission (e.g. The entire book of Acts and the explosion of the Church).
obedience and the Christian life
Obedience is one of the most important aspects of the Christian life. It is to be seen as a gift, rather than a curse; an adventure, rather than a list of things to get done; a world changing moment; rather than a dreaded activity.
AB.
