Exodus 6:7 reads, "I will take you as my own people, and I will be your God. Then you will know that I am the LORD your God, who brought you out from under the yoke of the Egyptians." The Hebrews were in slavery 430 years in Egypt. Then God sent Moses and set the people free (Exodus 16:35). God's presence was with the people in the desert wanderings for 40 years -- a pillar of fire in the night and a cloud by day.
Hit the rewind button some 500 years and Abraham is just appearing on the scene of God's redemptive story. Adam and Eve and Noah and the Ark are long gone (like 800 plus years past, Genesis 7:6). God's story is just beginning. Adam, Eve, and Noah are just one act in a grand play. Now Abraham takes center stage.
Genesis 12:4 tells us that Abraham was 75 years old when he set out to follow God's call. The preceding three verses are pivotal. In Genesis 12:1-3, Abraham receives the call to leave his country and head out to the "promised land"(12:1). God promises to make him into "a great nation" (12:2) and to bless him and make him a blessing to all peoples on the planet (12:3). The second part of 12:3 reads, "and through you all the people of the earth will be blessed." Imagine that - God was choosing Abraham and promising to make him a great nation so that "all peoples" (literally all ethnic groups) would be included in God's plan and promise of blessing.
The rest is history so to speak . . . Israel does become a great nation and in Christ Jesus, the church becomes the people of God witnessing to the power and presence of God in the world today. In 1 Peter 2:9, Peter writes, "But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God's special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light." You might think Peter is referring to the Israelites, but no . . . he is referring to the church (the people of God).
The biblical pattern is clear - 1) God is a people choosing God, 2) God blesses his people so that they might be a blessing, and 3) the presence and the people of God belong together. I began with a passage from Exodus so I will leave you with Exodus 33:14 says - "The LORD replied, "My Presence will go with you, and I will give you rest."
I'm grateful that God has a people called the church. We are far from perfect and more importantly we are dependent on God's presence in our lives. As I look at how God has worked in the past, I am reminded that God still has a people today--a people of the presence. May God help each of us to cherish the presence of the Holy Spirit in our lives and seek to share him with those we meet. Pastor Tom
Christianity teaches that God
people of God
presence of God
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