In Exodus 19 God wants Moses to tell the people that if they keep his covenant with them they will become his treasured possession. He emphasizes that the whole earth belongs to him, but Israel will be separated out to be a holy nation, priests of the world. Moses relays God’s message and the people say they will do what God says.

It is unfortunate that they never really understood what this phrase meant. We, too, are called out to be a holy nation, a royal priesthood (1 Peter 2:9). Do we comprehend what this means for us in any better way than the Israelites understood God?

The people are gathered near Mount Sinai. God has Moses prepare the people to meet God on the mountain. They are consecrated, wash their clothes and gather at the foot of the mountain. God comes onto the mountain in fire and smoke. The mountain shakes and a loud trumpet sounds. The people are warned not to come close to the cloud or they will die. Only Moses is allowed to come to the top of the mountain. God has Moses go down the mountain again and repeat the warning.

In Exodus 20, God lays out his covenant with the people Israel. Remember a covenant is a contract between someone of power with the people under his power. God establishes the reason he is in charge: he is the one who brought the people out of Egypt. He then lays out the conditions of the covenant.

These conditions are known as the Ten Commandments. They set up the relationship we are to have with God, keeping him first in our faith life, including setting aside a day each week to give to the Lord. The commandments, also, set up the way we are to relate to others, treating them with respect and consideration.

The people are frightened to hear and see God in all of his power and glory. They ask Moses to be the one to relay what God says. They are afraid to hear it directly from God. Moses tells them not to be afraid because God just wants them to know who he is so they will keep the covenant.

The people move away from the mountain and Moses goes into the cloud. God gives Moses a message for the people that he does not want any idols made. He wants them to simply build an altar to him wherever they are and to worship him with sacrifices and offerings of well-being.

Spend some time looking at the Ten Commandments. You will see that they are divided into to classes: dealing with God and dealing with other people. In between these two sections is the command to remember the sabbath. God knows that in order for us to truly be able to keep the other commandments, sabbath rest and worship is key. We need to take time each week to remember our relationship with God and to contemplate how he wants us to live with people. If we do not do this we will lose our way.

Matthew 25 continues Jesus teachings on the kingdom of heaven and the end of the world. He exhorts his followers to be prepared and vigilant. The parable of the bridesmaids emphasize that he wants us to always be ready because we do not know when this day will come.

In the parable of the talents Jesus tells us that we need to continue to do the work we have been called to do. We need to keep bearing fruit. We are not to shut ourselves away and wait until he comes. We should be about his business until the end.

The final parable in this chapter speaks of the kind of work we are called to do. We will be judged by our deeds of compassion and living out the faith that we proclaim.

Both our Old and New Testament lessons speak about what it takes to be a person chosen by God. Our lives must reflect the words we speak. If we say that we believe and are willing to obey then the way we live our lives must bear this out: we need to keep God first in our lives; we need to devote time to God in sabbath rest and worship; we need to treat others with care and compassion, regardless of whether they are family, friends, or strangers. Reading these scriptures, we learn how we are to live, we cannot remain ignorant of God’s expectations.