Exodus 19:1-8. God Carried You On Eagle’s Wings -my devotional

Exodus 19:1-8                                                                                       Kevin E. Jesmer

Key Verse: 19:4                                                                                  9-13-15

“You yourselves have seen what I did to Egypt, and how I carried you on eagles’ wings and brought you to myself.” (NIV)

 Part 1: God Will Raise You Up On Eagles’ Wings (1-4)

God led them to Mount Sinai. Verses 1-4 read, “On the first day of the third month after the Israelites left Egypt—on that very day—they came to the Desert of Sinai. 2 After they set out from Rephidim, they entered the Desert of Sinai, and Israel camped there in the desert in front of the mountain. 3 Then Moses went up to God, …”

The desert in front of Mount Sinai is about 2 miles by ½ a mile. It is flat, a perfect staging area for God to communicate with 3 million people. There Moses did what every leader of people must do. He sought the face of the Lord. Moses was eager to meet God. He knew the importance of his relationship with God, for not only his own life, but for the life of his people.

It was true that they knew the grace of God. Verse 3b-4 reads, “…and the Lord called to him from the mountain and said, “This is what you are to say to the descendants of Jacob and what you are to tell the people of Israel: 4 ‘You yourselves have seen what I did to Egypt, and how I carried you on eagles’ wings and brought you to myself.” God made his grace clear. They saw what God did for them in Egypt. They survived for three months in the barren and howling wasteland. In the desert they faced hunger, thirst and enemies. It was all because of the love of God. No one could survive three months in that harsh environment without God being with them. God taught them his power and his love. They have experienced grace. They knew God’s love.

God further describes his grace to his people in verse 4b, “…and how I carried you on eagles’ wings and brought you to myself.” God brought his people out of Egypt and led them through the desert to Mount Sinai on eagles’ wings. What does it mean to be carried on eagle’s wings? I think it has to do with how mother eagles get their baby eagles to fly. They drop their eaglets from the heights and then swoop down and catch them on their backs. The do this over and over again until the eaglet can fly.

Dt 32:10-11, “In a desert land he found him, in a barren and howling waste. He shielded him and cared for him; he guarded him as the apple of his eye, 11 like an eagle that stirs up its nest and hovers over its young, that spreads its wings to catch them and carries them aloft.”

God was helping his people to mature and fly. They needed spiritual training, just as a eagle gives it’s little one’s training. How hard it would be for a young eagle, with weak wings, to actually fly. How terrified they would be! But just as the momma eagle was there to help her chicks, God is there to help his people.

On eagles wings can also refer to their ability to soar. An eagle can soar for hours in the wind gusts. Eagles can also reach great heights. I remember an eagle with a go-cam on its back, being let go from the tallest building in Dubai. It had no problem soaring at that height. I think that God was bringing his people to greater heights, and in a metaphorical sense, closer to himself. God was helping his people to have strength and endurance.

God does that with individuals. There is a purpose for everyone’s life in God. But we are not ready to serve that purpose. As a young man of 22 years old, I could never stand as a husband and father and a fruitful man in society and in the church. I was running here and there as a destructive hedonist. How could I ever think I could survive in this fallen world without God’s grace? But Jesus saved me. he brought me to himself. That is the most important thing. How did he do it? He forgave me of my sins and set my feet upon the rock of Christ. That was 29 years ago. He trained me in so many ways, strengthening my weak arms and legs. By his grace I could stand in faith and remain in Jesus. Now I could soar in his strength. I have endurance in Christ. By his grace I can serve his purpose. I thank God for saving and strengthening a little of eaglet of man and helping him to fly.

Part 2: God’s Glorious Purpose For His People (5-8)

God reveals his purpose for delivering his people. It was to make them into a Kingdom of Priests and a holy nation. Look at verses 5-6, “Now if you obey me fully and keep my covenant, then out of all nations you will be my treasured possession. Although the whole earth is mine, 6 you will be for me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.’ These are the words you are to speak to the Israelites.”

God had a reason for rescuing the Israelites from slavery in Egypt. Israel was to be for the Lord a kingdom of priests and a holy nation where anyone could come and approach God freely. It didn’t take long for the people to corrupt God’s plan. God’s plan was not thwarted. He established the Levites as priests, representing what the entire nation should have been.

He wanted them to be a Kingdom of priests in order to represent his way of life and to teach his word and to be an agent of salvation to the world. Gentiles and kings would come to the Lord through Israel, as predicted by the prophet Isaiah in Isaiah 60:3. Through the nation of Israel the Savior, Jesus would be born,. God chose Israel and put them through a rigorous training program so that tone day they would be a channel of his blessing to the whole world.

God’s calling to his people was full of hope and grace. God knew that no nation on earth was good enough to deserve to be called his people, his “treasured possessions” Yet he chose Israel…not because of anything they had done, but in his love and mercy he chose them despite their wrong doings. This is unwarranted grace.

God was faithful to his promises to Abraham. In genesis 15 and 17, God made a covenant with Abraham, promising to make his decedents into a great nation. That promise was being realized as God stated his agreement with the Israelite nation. God promised to bless and care for them.

There were many nations in the world, but God chose Israel. He wanted to give them his word, and make a covenant with them–an extension of his promise to Abraham. He wanted to bless them and train them to live by his word so that they could become a holy nation. He wanted to use them as a kingdom of priests–his missionaries to bring the rest of the world back to himself.

Since Jesus came into the world, God has extended his plan to all believers to become a royal priesthood. (1 Peter 2:9). The death of Jesus has allowed each of us to approach God freely. Christians are to stand as a royal priesthood, teaching people about God and encouraging them to come to Christ, by faith, through the Gospel.

The people promised to obey him. The covenant was thus sealed. Look at verse 7-8,  “So Moses went back and summoned the elders of the people and set before them all the words the Lord had commanded him to speak. 8 The people all responded together, “We will do everything the Lord has said.” So Moses brought their answer back to the Lord.” The elders responded well. They came and quietly listened. They agreed and entered into a covenant relationship with God. In this time, it was through obedience to God that they could enter into a covenant relationship. Now it is by faith in Christ. They were full of good intentions. But their good intentions didn’t last long, as we will learn. They were never able to obey God fully. God would deal with that later. It was all part of their journey.

Prayer: Lord, thank you for carrying me on eagle’s wings, strengthening me to stand as a Christian this fallen world. Work through me to reveal yourself and your Gospel.

One Word: God carries on eagle’s wings to help us to stand as a royal priesthood.