Prepare: Put away all uncleanness to worship a holy God.
Read: Exodus 19:1-15
The Israelites found themselves in the desert of Sinai in the third month after leaving Egypt. God had a special message for Moses. He was to tell the people that they were precious to God; they were to be a holy nation on the condition that they obeyed God fully.
When God came down on Mount Sinai to talk to Moses in the presence of the people, they were to observe cleanliness and keep to the limits around the mountain; thus God impressed on them that they worship a holy God.
A special people: At the Red Sea, God separated His people from their old life; at Sinai, He brought them into a new life, a covenant relationship with Himself. It was like a wedding ceremony, with God as the Husband and Israel as the wife. Whenever the nation turned from God to idols, God accused them of committing adultery (Isa. 1:21; Jer. 3:1-5). Believers today must also beware of this sin (James 4:4). As God called the Israelites a kingdom of priests, He calls the believers in Jesus Christ to a holy priesthood interceding for others.
A sanctified people: Because we belong to God, we must be separated from sin (w.10, 14, 22). God's people are set apart from the world and unto the Lord. Conscience, the Word, and the Holy Ghost within us always print to the way we should go.
For the transgressor, the Decalogue serves as a deterrent to sin. For the Christian, it serves a a benchmark which must be regarded.
Respond: Be ye holy for I am holy.
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