Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Exodus 19:5
Now therefore, if ye will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant, then ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto me above all people: for all the earth [is] mine:
5. obey ] lit. hearken to. So always. Cf. Exo 15:26; Deu 13:4; Deu 13:18; Deu 27:10, &c.; and especially Deu 11:13, Deu 15:5, Deu 28:1 (in these three passages hearken diligently unto is in the Heb. the same as obey indeed here), Exo Exo 30:10.
my covenant ] the covenant of Exo 24:7-8, described there as concluded on the basis of the ‘Book of the Covenant’ (i.e. the injunctions in Exo 20:23 to Exo 23:19): if Israel observes the terms of this covenant, Jehovah promises that He will bring it into a relation of special nearness to Himself.
This is a point on which the representation of both J and E differs from that of P. Both J and E speak of a covenant concluded between Jehovah and Israel at Sinai: P says nothing of such a covenant; the only covenant mentioned by him in this connexion is the covenant with the patriarchs, to which Jehovah gives effect by delivering their descendants from Egypt, and settling them in Canaan (see Exo 6:4-8).
a peculiar treasure ] Heb. s e gullh, i.e. a special possession; see 1Ch 29:3, Ecc 2:8, where the word is used of a private treasure (of gold, silver, &c.) belonging to kings. The rend. ‘peculiar’ we owe to Jerome, who states that Symmachus had used peculiaris in one place: it means ‘specially one’s own,’ being used in its old etymological sense, derived from the Lat. peculium, the private property of a child or slave. With the addition of ‘people,’ ‘a people of special possession,’ the word occurs, borrowed from here, in Deu 7:6; Deu 14:2; Deu 26:18; and alone also in Psa 135:4: in Mal 3:17 (RV.) it is transferred to the faithful Israelites of the future. The LXX. here, Exo 23:22 (in an addition to the Heb.), Deu 7:6; Deu 14:2; Deu 26:18, render by ; and in Psa 135:4, Ecc 2:8 by : hence in Tit 2:14. in 1Pe 2:9 (cf. Eph 1:14) is also based upon the same expression: cf. for s e gullh in Mal 3:17 LXX., and in 1Ch 29:3. ( means apparently being over and above, and so exceptional, special; see Lightfoot, On a Fresh Revision of the Engl. N. T., p. 234 ff.)
from among ] lit. out of; but as what is taken specially out of a number is preferred to the rest (cf. , ex imius, e gregius), the meaning above (marg.) is also implied. So Deu 7:6; Deu 14:2.
for all the earth is mine ] and so I can choose which I will of the nations upon it. Cf. Exo 9:29, Deu 10:14.
On the ‘covenants’ mentioned in the Pentateuch
A ‘covenant’ is a compact or agreement, concluded at least on important occasions under solemn religious sanctions, and implying mutual undertakings and obligations. For instances of covenants between men, see Gen 26:26-31; Gen 31:44-54, 1Ki 15:19 (‘league’), 1Ki 20:34. In a religious sense, a ‘covenant’ is the most formal, and, so to say, official expression of the gracious relation subsisting between God and men: God promises that, if man observes the conditions laid down by Him, He will bestow upon him certain specified blessings. In references to a covenant of this kind, the stress may rest, according to the context and purpose of the writer, either on the Divine promise (e.g. Deu 4:31), or on the human obligation (e.g. Deu 4:23). The following are the ‘covenants’ referred to in the Pentateuch:
In J: 1. The covenant with Abraham, Gen 15:18.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
5, 6. The promise. The high privileges in store for Israel, if it but listens to Jehovah’s voice, and observes His covenant. The verses, in style and thought, approximate to Dt. (cf. on Deu 12:25-27 a), and may have been expanded by the compiler of JE.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
A peculiar treasure – A costly possession acquired with exertion, and carefully guarded. The special relation in which Israel stands, taken out of the pagan world and consecrated to God, as His slaves, subjects, and children, determines their privileges, and is the foundation of their duties. The same principle applies even in a stronger sense to the Church. See Act 20:28; 1Co 6:20; 1Pe 2:9.
All the earth is mine – It was a point of great practical importance, to impress upon the Jews that their God was no mere national Deity. Compare Deu 10:14; Psa 24:1.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Exo 19:5-6
A peculiar treasure unto Me.
Gods people His treasure
1. A treasure is something searched for. The Holy Spirit is ever diligently seeking after Christians.
2. A treasure when found is carefully guarded. As the apple of His eye God protects those who trust Him.
3. The finding of a treasure is the occasion of rejoicing. There is joy in heaven, etc.
4. To obtain a treasure we will make great sacrifices. God gave His only begotten Son, etc. (Homiletic Review.)
National ideals
The problem was: How to convert a horde of demoralized slaves into a nation of virtuous freemen, paying a free obedience to law, as they had before paid a forced obedience to the lash of the taskmaster? The practical solution of the problem involved the application of three spiritual forces or living principles. We may describe them thus:–
1. The revelation of the new name of God, Jehovah, the Eternal, the unchangeable, the self-same.
2. The revelation of the ideal or standard, which the nation is to keep steadily before mind and conscience, as the thing to be aimed at and striven after. This revelation is given most explicitly and clearly in the words of our text: A kingdom of priests, and an holy nation.
3. The actual legislation which is founded upon these two revelations:–of which legislation the law of the Ten Commandments is the eternal and indestructible substructure–as strong and durable now as when it was first uttered by the voice of God to Israel–as much the foundation of all legislation now as of the distinctively Mosaic legislation then. It was under the operation of these three forces that Israel became and continued to be a nation. It is under the operation of the same or analogous forces that any nation becomes and continues to be a nation. When such forces cease to operate upon a nation, it dies.
To prove and illustrate this point must form the remainder of our subject.
1. It is impossible for any of us to overlook the importance of the words which introduce the Ten Commandments. I am the Lord.–that is, the Eternal–thy God. They are not an ornamental flourish or accidental prefix. They are the living root of all that follows. Again and again, in the course of the subsequent legislation, the words recur; even in those parts of the legislation which are most minute and temporary, sanitary or ceremonial. The new name, upon which the nation is to be built, is the name Jehovah, the Eternal; to which is added the old name, thy God, as a name to be cherished and dear as ever. Now, in this name Jehovah is involved the notion of permanence, unchangeableness; and this notion lies at the root of law, whether laws of man, or laws of nature, or laws of God. But to this tremendous, this oppressive, notion of unchangeableness, there is added the tender grace of the old name, Thy God–One with whom every Israelite and every human being may plead, as the Psalmist does, O God, Thou art my God. It is the blending of the two together; it is the intertwining of the two subtle and mighty spiritual forces, implied in the two names, that made the revelation so potent for its great purpose–the creation of a nation, that should be a kingdom of priests, a holy nation. And just in proportion as the hold of those names upon heart and conscience relaxed, the nation decayed and died. For, indeed, it is everlastingly true, as one of our own poets has said, that by the soul only the nations can be great and free. Any one can see, that a really free people must be a loyal or law-abiding people; and that laws, which are to receive the willing obedience of such a people, must be founded on the immutable principles of truth and justice and morality. Nor can any one doubt that the Mosaic legislation is founded on such principles.
2. But now I wish to speak to you about the second of those three spiritual forces, in the strength of which Israel was to be moulded into a nation. I have already described it as the revelation of the ideal which the nation was to keep steadily before mind and conscience, as the thing to be aimed at and striven after. Our text words it thus: Now, therefore, if ye will obey My voice indeed, and keep My covenant. The destiny–the calling and election–of the nation of Israel was higher and holier than the destiny of any other nation. It was chosen to bear witness to the kingdom of God and His righteousness, before all the nations of the earth; a kingdom of priests, a royal and priestly race, each member of it uniting in his own person the attributes of a king and a priest: a king, to rule right loyally over his own lower and baser nature; a priest, to offer himself up in willing sacrifice to God. This pattern of righteousness the most choice and elect members of the nation did exhibit. You have only to think over the long list of truly kingly and priestly characters–from Moses to John the Baptist–to be satisfied of this. The fact that the election of Israel was what it was, does not deprive all other nations of an election of their own. On the contrary, tile very words of our text, which affirm most strongly the election of Israel, do at least suggest the thought of a corresponding, though inferior, election of all other nations. At this distance of time we have not the data for determining the special calling of Egypt, for example, or of Assyria. But we can discern with very tolerable clearness the election, the manifest destiny, of Greece and of Rome; the call of Greece to catch the inspiration of beauty, and to be the nurse of freedom; the call of Rome to be the schoolmaster of the nations, with its iron rod of law and order. We can discern, also, with perfect clearness, the vast inferiority, even of such a calling and election as this, to the calling of Israel; and can therefore fully justify the language of our text: Ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto Me above all people. But if this principle of a calling and election of nations holds true of the whole ancient world, why should it not hold true of the whole modern world also? So long as national distinctions and national characteristics exist at all, there must exist along with them corresponding national duties and national responsibilities. What is it, then, for England and for us? It may be said, that it is the manifest destiny of England to colonize and subdue the earth–to girdle it with rails of iron and steel, and lines of telegraph wire. It is in words like these, Duty and Justice-in the response which they awaken in our hearts–that we English people find the revelation of our national calling and election of God. As a nation, we are called, in a special sense, to be just and dutiful. And if our children are to go out into distant lands, and among subject peoples, to be models of duty and justice there, they must be nursed and trained in those principles first at home. A kingdom of priests:–yes–and that title belongs also to us, as well as to Israel; though to us, not as Englishmen, but as Christians. For is it not written: Unto Him who loveth us, and washed us from our sins in His own blood, and hath made us kings and priests unto God and His Father: to Him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen. I need not say that there is no discrepancy whatever between our special calling as Englishmen, and our more general calling as disciples of Christ. On the contrary, the latter must and does sustain and verify the former. Just in proportion as we learn to rule, as kings, over our lower, baser, selfish nature; and to offer ourselves up as priests, living, reasonable, and spiritual sacrifices, in the power and virtue of the one perfect Sacrifice, to God; just in this proportion shall we be enabled to do justice and judgment, and to walk dutifully and uprightly, and so to uphold the true glory of the English name, in whatever circumstances we may be placed–whether at home, or amongst strangers and foreigners in some far distant land. It was so with the heroes of England in the past. (D. J. Vaughan, M. A.)
Lessons
1. In covenant-making or lawgiving from God there is need of some mediator to be with God.
2. Gods call alone can qualify or authorize a mediator between Him and sinners.
3. It is incumbent on the mediator to declare fully Gods mind unto His people.
4. A due recognition of Gods gracious acts for souls against enemies is a good preparation to receive His law.
5. Gods securing providence as well as selecting a people to Himself prepare them to hear His covenant (Exo 19:4).
6. Gods covenanted people are His peculiar treasure in the world.
7. It is Gods free grace who owneth all nations on earth to make one His peculiar above another (Exo 19:5).
8. Royalty, near communion with God, and sanctity are the privileges of Gods peculiar ones. Kings, priests, and saints.
9. The words of duty and privilege must be spoken and made known unto the Church (Exo 19:6). (G. Hughes, B. D.)
Gods promise to the Jews
I. The recital of His works.
II. The proposes of His love.
III. The promises of His grace. (T. Mortimer.)
All the earth is Mine
I. Gods assertion of universal possession in the earth
1. Nations.
2. Lands.
3. The animal and vegetable kingdoms.
II. Gods assertion excludes every other being from universal possession.
1. It is not mans earth.
2. It is not the devils.
3. It does not belong to any created intelligence.
III. Gods assertion should awaken confidence in His saints and terror in sinners.
1. All forces are under His control.
2. Everything that is not of Him must fail.
3. His possession of the earth will be fully manifest in the end. (J. S. Exell, M. A.)
Explanation of the Divine preferences
Here is the explanation of the Divine preferences which have distressed so many hearts under the cruel name of sovereignty and election. There need be no torture in using those words. II we feel distressed by them, it is because we have come upon them along the wrong path. They are beautiful and noble words when set in their places according to the Divine intent. Then ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto Me above all people. Is that partiality in any exclusive sense? Not at all; it is really meant to be inclusive. God elects humanity. And ye shall be unto Me a kingdom. In what sense? In the ordinary sense–namely, a great aggregate of subjects ruled by one arbitrary and despotic king? In no such sense. The literal meaning is, ye shall all be kings. Now ye see the meaning of that great name, King of kings–not king of an individual monarch here and there, as in Britain, or Russia, or China, but of all believers. All obedient souls are lifted up unto kinghood. We are royal equals if we obey Heavens will, and God is King of kings–King of all. We are a royal generation. All this language is typical. Beautiful is the historical line when seized and wisely applied. Let us attempt such seizure and application. The firstborn were chosen, and the firstborn were to be priests. In what sense are the firstborn chosen? Not as relegating the afterborn to positions subordinate and inferior; but in the sense of being their pledge and seal. God has the eldest Son, and therefore–that is the sacred logic–He has all the other children. Then the laws regarding the priesthood underwent a change, and the family of Aaron was called. We proceed from an individual, namely, the firstborn, to a family, namely, the Aaronic stock. But why were they chosen? That all the children of Aaron might also be priests, in the truly spiritual and eternal sense, though not in official and formal name and status. Then the family was deposed and a tribe is chosen–the tribe of Levi. Mark how the history accumulates and grows up into a prophecy and an argument! First the individual, then the family, then the tribe, then the Son of Man–absorbing all the past, gathering up into its true and official meaning all priesthood, aH intercession. There is one Advocate with the Father, the Man Christ Jesus. A new light thus begins to dawn upon the cloud. There is nothing arbitrary in the movement of God when we can penetrate its infinite philosophy. Will God have the first-fruits of the harvest field? He claims all such. Why will He claim the first-fruits? That in having the first-fruits He might have all the field. He will not take the whole wheat acreage of the world into His heavens and devour our poor loaf of bread; but He will take the first ear of corn that we can find in all the fields, and, having taken that, He says: In giving Me this you have given Me all. (J. Parker, D. D.)
Gods peculiar treasure
Exotic flowers or foreign plants, if seeded on the mountain side, or inserted in the meadow amongst the promiscuous herbage growing there, soon become choked and disappear. Those who wish to preserve the flaming glories of the Cape, or the rich fruits of the tropic, must provide a garden enclosed–must keep out the weeds and rough weather. And so God, anxious to preserve His Holy Law, fenced in the Hebrew nationality. He secluded them, and wailed them in, and made them, as it were, His own conservatory–a conservatory where Divine truth should survive uninjured until Messiah should come.
Gods covenant uniform
What covenant could this be, containing such promises, and by which a people should be a peculiar treasure to God, and above all others upon the earth; yea, a royal priesthood, a holy nation? This could be no other than the covenant of redemption by Christ, to the blessings of which man has no claim but in grace. The covenant of God, as the Church of God itself, under every diversity of dispensation has been the same. Whatever of a national character was peculiar to Israel, and that ceased under a better economy, was extraneous to this, and not an essential constituent or feature thereof. Uniformity of design is discoverable through the whole progress of Divine revelation, and under every form of religious ceremony. God has not at any period contradicted Himself, or set before man a covenant of grace at one time, and a covenant of works at another, for the hope of life. It would have been contrary to all that God had done, and to all that He yet promised to do, as also a break of an awful character, and the introduction of confusion into the whole system of redemption, to have here brought the nation under a covenant of works, by which they had virtually perished. True it is, that Sinai and Zion are, by the apostle, placed in contradistinction: the one as gendering to bondage; the other as free: the one as characterized by the law of condemnation; the other by the law of righteousness: but it is in certain respects only that that contrast holds good, not in the essential intention of things. The whole fabric of their ecclesiastical polity, conjoined in all its parts with exquisite wisdom, was the workmanship of mercy. By redemption it was that God claimed Israel as His own, a treasure, His best and greatest treasure, a treasure containing a treasure, His grace, His glory, the promised seed His Son. All the earth was His; yet in all the earth was nothing He so valued, nothing He held so dear. Still this treasure so great had been lost but for the security and grace of the covenant. The intrinsic value of His people was enhanced beyond all price by what this covenant embraced and required. It cost much to make them His people, and to secure them to Himself–a treasure for ever. (W. Seaton.)
The spirituality of the old covenant
The characteristic feature of the Sinai revelation is the law; but it is important to observe that it is not law as a means of salvation, but law as a sequel of salvation. If this simple and evident fact were only borne in mind in the reading of the Old Testament, endless perplexities and confusions of thought would be avoided. Observe, also, the kind of blessings which are promised. How many are there who will persist in maintaining that the old covenant offered mere temporal blessings, while it is the distinctive feature of the new to promise spiritual blessing. It is true that temporal blessings were included under the old covenant, just as they are under the new; and though they do hold a more prominent place in the old, as was indeed to be expected, yet it is a slander upon that covenant to say that these were the blessings it offered. The great blessings of the old covenant were undoubtedly spiritual, as is manifest here: If ye will obey My voice and keep My covenant, then ye shall be to Me a peculiar treasure above all people; and ye shall be unto Me a kingdom of priests, and an holy nation. Nearness to God, dearness to God, holiness–these were the characteristic blessings of the old covenant. These promises are among the richest and most deeply spiritual in the whole Bible; and it is with great reluctance that, yielding to the exigency of our plan, we refrain from entering into the wealth of meaning which each separate word conveys. Let me only notice in leaving it, that when the apostle Peter wishes to express in the very strongest terms the highest privileges of the children of God under the new dispensation, he can do nothing better than quote these old but exceeding great and precious promises (1Pe 2:9). (J. M. Gibson, D. D.)
Holiness ensured
A writer tells of going down with a party into a coal mine. On the side of the gangway grew a plant which was perfectly white. The visitors were astonished that there, where the coal-dust was continually flying, this little plant should be so clean. A miner who was with them took a handful of black dust and threw it on the plant, but not a particle of it adhered. There was a wonderful enamel on the plant to which no finest speck could cling. Living there, amid clouds of dust, nothing could stain its snowy whiteness. This is a picture of what every Christian life should be. Unholy influences breathe incessantly about us and upon us. But it is our mission to be pure amid all this vileness, undefiled, unspotted from the world. If God can make a little plant so wondrously that no dust can stain its whiteness, surely He can, by His grace, so transform our heart and life that sin shall not cling to us. He who can keep the plant stainless and white as snow amid clouds of dust, can guard us in purity in this world of sin.
A kingdom of priests.—
Priests to the world
They were to be the trustees, for humanity at large, of the revelations, promises, and ordinances which God communicated, and they were to keep them for the benefit of all mankind. For a time, indeed, these heavenly communications were to be reserved to themselves; only, however, that they might be the more securely preserved; but at length all restrictions would be broken down, and that which, in its ritual exclusivism, had been confined to them would, in its spiritual persuasiveness, become the heritage of every true believer who should, like them, enter into covenant with the Lord, not over a merely typical sacrifice, but over the true and real atonement which Christ would make for the sins of men. Thus, in this peculiar promise, which looks at first as if it conferred a patent of protected privilege, we see that the present protection is in order to the future diffusion; and we have an echo of the Abrahamic blessing, In thee and in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed. What the Levitical tribe ultimately was among the Israelites themselves, that the Israelites were to be among the nations; and the more faithfully they performed their duties, the richer would be the ultimate blessing to the Gentiles. Reading these words in the light of the history to which they form the introduction, it needs no keenness of insight to perceive the bearing of these principles upon ourselves; for we Christians are now the worlds priests, custodians of those spiritual blessings by which our fellow-men are to be benefited; and only in proportion as we maintain holiness of character shall we discharge our duties to mankind at large. (W. M. Taylor, D. D.)
Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell
If ye will obey my voice indeed; Heb. obeying ye will obey; i.e. if ye will obey me sincerely, diligently, and constantly.
A peculiar treasure, highly prized and loved, and carefully kept by me, as mens treasures generally are. For all people upon earth are mine by creation and dominion, and I can dispose of them all as I please, and either choose or refuse any of them as I think fit; and therefore though I might refuse you, as well as any others, yet it is my pleasure to single you out of all the world, upon whom to confer my chiefest and peculiar blessings. Or, though all the earth be mine, by general right, yet you only are mine by special title and privilege.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
Now therefore,…. Since they had received such marks of his favour, and were laid under great obligations to him:
if ye will obey my voice indeed; truly, sincerely, and heartily; or “in hearkening hearken”, or “in obeying obey” g; that is, closely and attentively hearken to what he should say to them, and thoroughly and constantly yield a cheerful obedience to his commands:
and keep my covenant; now about to be made with them, which would consist of promises of good things to be done to them on his part, and of duties to be performed by them on their part, and so would constitute a formal covenant by stipulation and restipulation:
then ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto me above all people; be as highly valued by him, and as carefully preserved as the richest treasure among men; even as the treasure of princes, consisting of gold and silver, precious stones, pearls and jewels, and everything that is valuable; and of this he would give such proof and demonstration, as would make it appear that they were esteemed by him above all people upon the face of the earth; being chosen for his peculiar treasure, and redeemed out of the house of bondage and slavery to be his peculiar people, and distinguished from all others by particular favours and blessings:
for all the earth is mine; as it is, and the inhabitants of it, by creation, sustentation, preservation, and dominion, all being made, upheld, preserved, and governed by him; and therefore, as he had a right to all, could choose what part he pleased for his special use and service; or “though all the earth is mine” h, as Marinus in Aben Ezra, which yet the latter does not seem to approve of; and then the sense is, though the whole world was his, and all that is in it, yet such was his special affection, and peculiar regard to Israel, as to choose them, and esteem them as his portion and inheritance, his jewel, and peculiar treasure.
g “obediendo obedieritis”, Pagninus, Montanus; “audiendo audiveritis”, Drusius; “auscultando auscultabitis”, Piscator; so Ainsworth. h “tametsi”, Vatablus; “quamvis”, Piscator, Drusius.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
This manifestation of the love of God to Israel formed only the prelude, however, to that gracious union which Jehovah was now about to establish between the Israelites and Himself. If they would hear His voice, and keep the covenant which as about to be established with them, they should be a costly possession to Him out of all nations (cf. Deu 7:6; Deu 14:2; Deu 26:18). does not signify property in general, but valuable property, that which is laid by, or put aside ( ), hence a treasure of silver and gold (1Ch 29:3; Ecc 2:8). In the Sept. the expression is rendered , which the Scholiast in Octat. interprets , and in Mal 3:17 : hence the two phrases in the New Testament, in Tit 2:14, and in 1Pe 2:9. Jehovah had chosen Israel as His costly possession out of all the nations of the earth, because the whole earth was His possession, and all nations belonged to Him as Creator and Preserver. The reason thus assigned for the selection of Israel precludes at the very outset the exclusiveness which would regard Jehovah as merely a national deity. The idea of the segullah is explained in Exo 19:6: “ Ye shall be unto Me a kingdom of priests.” signifies both kingship, as the embodiment of royal supremacy, exaltation, and dignity, and the kingdom, or the union of both king and subjects, i.e., the land and nation, together with its king. In the passage before us, the word has been understood by most of the early commentators, both Jewish and Christian, and also in the ancient versions,
(Note: lxx: , a royal priesthood, i.e., a priestly nation of royal power and glory. : Kings-priests ( Onkelos). – “ Eritis coram me reges coronati ( vincti coronis ) et sacerdotes ministrantes ” ( Jonathan). – “ Eritis meo nomini reges et sacerdotes ” ( Jer. Targ.).)
in the first or active sense, so that the expression contains the idea, “Ye shall be all priests and kings” ( Luther); praeditos fore tam sacerdotali quam regio honore ( Calvin); quod reges et sacerdotes sunt in republica, id vos eritis mihi ( Drusius ). This explanation is required by both the passage itself and the context. For apart from the fact that kingship is the primary and most general meaning of the word (cf. , the kingship, or government of David), the other (passive) meaning would not be at all suitable here; for a kingdom of priests could never denote the fellowship existing in a kingdom between the king and the priests, but only a kingdom or commonwealth consisting of priests, i.e., a kingdom the members and citizens of which were priests, and as priests constituted the , in other words, were possessed of royal dignity and power; for , , always includes the idea of or ruling ( ). The lxx have quite hit the meaning in their rendering: . Israel was to be a regal body of priests to Jehovah, and not merely a nation of priests governed by Jehovah. The idea of the theocracy, or government of God, as founded by the establishment of the Sinaitic covenant institution in Israel, is not at all involved in the term “kingdom of priests.” The theocracy established by the conclusion of the covenant (Exo 24) was only the means adopted by Jehovah for making His chosen people a royal body of priests; and the maintenance of this covenant was the indispensable subjective condition, upon which their attainment of this divinely appointed destiny and glory depended. This promise of Jehovah expressed the design of the call of Israel, to which it was to be fully conducted by the covenant institution of the theocracy, if it maintained the covenant with Jehovah. The object of Israel’s kingship and priesthood was to be found in the nations of the earth, out of which Jehovah had chosen Israel as a costly possession. This great and glorious promise, the fulfilment of which could not be attained till the completion of the kingdom of God, when the Israel of God, the Church of the Lord, which Jesus Christ, the first-begotten from the dead, and prince ( , ruler) of the kings of the earth, has made a “kingdom,” “priests unto God and His Father” (Rev 1:6 and Rev 5:10, where the reading should be ), is exalted to glory with Christ as the first-born among many brethren, and sits upon His throne and reigns, has not been introduced abruptly here. On the contrary, the way was already prepared by the promises made to the patriarchs, of the blessing which Abraham would become to all the nations of the earth, and of the kings who were to spring from him and come out of the loins of Israel (Gen 12:3; Gen 17:6; Gen 35:11), and still more distinctly by Jacob’s prophecy of the sceptre of Judah, to whom, through Shiloh, the willing submission of the nations should be made (Gen 49:10). But these promises and prophecies are outshone by the clearness, with which kingship and priesthood over and for the nations are foretold of Israel here.
This kingship, however, is not merely of a spiritual kind, consisting, as Luther supposes, in the fact, that believers “are lords over death, the devil, hell, and all evil,” but culminates in the universal sway foretold by Balaam in Num 24:8 and Num 24:17., by Moses in his last words (Deu 33:29), and still more distinctly in Dan 7:27, to the people of the saints of the Most High, as the ultimate end of their calling from God. The spiritual attitude of Israel towards the nations was the result of its priestly character. As the priest is a mediator between God and man, so Israel was called to be the vehicle of the knowledge and salvation of God to the nations of the earth. By this it unquestionably acquired an intellectual and spiritual character; but this includes, rather than excludes, the government of the world. For spiritual and intellectual supremacy and rule must eventually ensure the government of the world, as certainly as spirit is the power that overcomes the world. And if the priesthood of Israel was the power which laid the foundation for its kingship, – in other words, if Israel obtained the or government over the nations solely as a priestly nation, – the Apostle Peter, when taking up this promise (1Pe 2:9), might without hesitation follow the Septuagint rendering ( ), and substitute in the place of the “priestly kingdom,” a “royal priesthood;” for there is no essential difference between the two, the kingship being founded upon the priesthood, and the priesthood completed by the kingship.
As a kingdom of priests, it was also necessary that Israel should be a “holy nation.” Gens sancta hic dicitur non respectu pietatis vel sanctimoniae, sed quam Deus singulari privilegio ab aliis separavit. Verum ab hac sanctificatione pendet altera, nempe ut sanctitatem colant, qui Dei gratia eximii sunt, atque ita vicissim Deum sanctificent ( Calvin). This explanation is in general a correct one; for these words indicate the dignity to which Israel was to be elevated by Jehovah, the Holy One, through its separation from the nations of the earth. But it cannot be shown that ever means “separated.” Whether we suppose it to be related to , and the newly shining moonlight, or compare it with the Sanskrit dhusch , to be splendid, or beautiful, in either case the primary meaning of the word is, “to be splendid, pure, untarnished.” Diestel has correctly observed, that the holiness of God and Israel is most closely connected with the covenant relationship; but he is wrong in the conclusion which lie draws from this, namely, that “holy” was originally only a “relative term,” and that a thing was holy “so far as it was the property of God.” For the whole earth is Jehovah’s property (Exo 19:5), but it is not holy on that account. Jehovah is not holy only “so far as within the covenant He is both possession and possessor, absolute life and the source of life, and above all, both the chief good and the chief model for His people” ( Diestel), or “as the truly separate One, enclosed within Himself, who is self-existent, in contrast with the world to which He does not belong” ( Hoffmann); but holiness pertains to God alone, and to those who participate in the divine holiness-not, however, to God as the Creator and Preserver of the world, but to God as the Redeemer of man. Light is the earthly reflection of His holy nature: the Holy One of Israel is the light of Israel (Isa 10:17, cf. 1Ti 6:16). The light, with its purity and splendour, is the most suitable earthly element to represent the brilliant and spotless purity of the Holy One, in whom there is no interchange of light and darkness (Jam 1:17). God is called the Holy One, because He is altogether pure, the clear and spotless light; so that in the idea of the holiness of God there are embodied the absolute moral purity and perfection of the divine nature, and His unclouded glory. Holiness and glory are inseparable attributes in God; but in His relation to the world they are so far distinguished, that the whole earth is full of His glory, whilst it is to and in Israel that His holiness is displayed (Isa 6:3); in other words, the glory of God is manifested in the creation and preservation of the world, and His holy name in the election and guidance of Israel (compare Ps 104 with Ps 103). God has displayed the glory of His name in the creation of the heavens and the earth (Psa 8:1-9); but His way in Israel (Psa 77:14), i.e., the work of God in His kingdom of grace, is holy; so that it might be said, that the glory of God which streams forth in the material creation is manifested as holiness in His saving work for a sinful world, to rescue it from the of sin and death and restore it to the glory of eternal life, and that it was manifested here in the fact, that by the counsels of His own spontaneous love (Deu 4:37) He chose Israel as His possession, to make of it a holy nation, if it hearkened to His voice and kept His covenant. It was not made this, however, by being separated from the other nations, for that was merely the means of attaining the divine end, but by the fact, that God placed the chosen people in the relation of covenant fellowship with Himself, founded His kingdom in Israel, established in the covenant relationship an institution of salvation, which furnished the covenant people with the means of obtaining the expiation of their sins, and securing righteousness before God and holiness of life with God, in order that by the discipline of His holy commandments, under the guidance of His holy arm, He might train and guide them to the holiness and glory of the divine life. But as sin opposes holiness, and the sinner resists sanctification, the work of the holiness of God reveals itself in His kingdom of grace, not only positively in the sanctification of those who suffer themselves to be sanctified and raised to newness of life, but negatively also, in the destruction of all those who obstinately refuse the guidance of His grace; so that the glory of the thrice Holy One (Isa 6:3) will be fully manifested both in the glorification of His chosen people and the deliverance of the whole creation from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God (Rom 8:21), and also in the destruction of hardened sinners, the annihilation of everything that is ungodly in this world, the final overthrow of Satan and his kingdom, and the founding of the new heaven and new earth. Hence not only is every person, whom God receives into the sphere of His sin-destroying grace, , or holy; but everything which is applied to the realization of the divine work of salvation, or consecrated by God to this object. The opposite of , holy, is , , profanus (from , to be loose, lit., the unbound), not devoted to holy purposes and uses (cf. Lev 10:10); and this term was applied, not only to what was sinful and unclean ( ), but to everything earthly in its natural condition, because the whole earth, with all that is upon it, has been involved in the consequences of sin.
Fuente: Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament
5. Now, therefore. God declares that He will ever be the same, and will constantly persevere (209) (in blessing them), provided the Israelites do not degenerate, but remain devoted to their Deliverer; at the same time, He reminds them also, wherefore he has been so bountiful to them, viz., that they may continually aspire unto the end of their calling; for He had not willed to perform toward them a single act of liberality, but to purchase them as His peculiar, people. This privilege he sets before them in the word סגלה, (210) segullah, which means all things most precious, whatever, in fact, is deposited in a treasury; although the word “peculium,” a peculiar possession, by which the old interpreter (211) has rendered it, is not unsuitable to the passage; because it is plain from the immediate context, that it denotes the separation of this people from all others; since these words directly follow: “for,” or, although “all the earth is mine;” the particle כי, ki, being often taken adversatively, and there is no doubt but that God would more exalt His grace, by comparing this one nation with the whole world, as it is said in the song of Moses,
“
When the Most High divided to the nations their inheritance, when he separated the sons of Adam, he set the bounds of the people according to the number of the children of Israel; for the Lord’s portion is his people; Jacob is the lot of his inheritance.” (Deu 32:8.)
The sum then is, that whilst the whole earth is in God’s dominion, yet the race of Israel has been chosen by Him to excel all nations. Whence it is evident, that whereas the condition of all is alike, some are not distinguished from others by nature, but by gratuitous adoption; but, in order that they should abide in the possession of so great a blessing, fidelity towards God is required on their part. And, first, they are commanded to listen to his voice, (since no sacrifice is more pleasing to him than obedience, 1Sa 15:22😉 and then a definition of obedience is added, viz., to keep His covenant.
(209) Added from Fr.
(210) סגלה, S. M. says this is equivalent to אוצר חביב, a beloved treasure, The root סגל does not occur in Hebrew, but in Arabic it signifies to mark with the owner’s seal; so that the noun should mean, a possession on which the owner has stamped his mark. Comp. 2Ti 2:19, and Eze 9:4. — W
(211) i.e., The Vulgate. Our A.V. combines both ideas.
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
(5) A peculiar treasure.The Hebrew sgullah is from a root, found in Chaldee, signifying to earn, or acquire, and means primarily some valuable possession, which the owner has got by his own exertions. (Comp. 1Ch. 29:3, where the English Version translates it by mine own proper good.) God views the Israelites as made His own by the long series of mighty works done for their deliverance, whereby He is sometimes said to have redeemed (Exo. 6:6; Exo. 15:13), or purchased them (Exo. 15:16). The word sgullah is here used for the first time. Later it be comes an epitheton usitatum of Israel. (See Deu. 7:6; Deu. 14:2; Deu. 26:18; Psa. 135:4; Mal. 3:17; and comp. also Tit. 2:14; 1Pe. 2:9.)
Above all people: for all the earth is mine.While claiming a peculiar right in Israel, God does not mean to separate Himself from the other nations, to cease to care for them, or give them up to their own devices. He is always the Most High over all the earth (Psa. 83:18), a light to lighten the Gentiles, one who judges the people righteously, and governs all the nations upon earth (Psa. 67:4). Israels prerogative does not rob them of their birthright. He is the favoured son; but they, too, are, all of them, children of the Most High (Psa. 82:6).
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
5. Obey my voice keep my covenant These two expressions denote the twofold idea of giving obedient attention to each new word that Jehovah speaks, and at the same time guard sacredly the terms of the covenant as already established, or about to be established in fuller form .
A peculiar treasure unto me The Hebrew word is happily rendered by peculiar treasure, for it denotes more than the mere word property or possessions. In Mal 3:17, it is translated jewels, and in 1Ch 29:3, it means a special private quantity of gold and silver which Solomon amassed for himself, and so, also, probably, in Ecc 2:8, where mention is made of “the peculiar treasure of kings . ” In all other places (Deu 7:6; Deu 14:2; Deu 26:18; Psa 135:4) the word represents Israel as a peculiarly precious possession of Jehovah. Comp. Tit 2:14; 1Pe 2:9.
Above all people Or, from all the peoples, as being chosen out from all the peoples of the earth . Being thus selected out of the nations, Israel would be esteemed above the other peoples, who, nevertheless, were all possessions of God, for it is added, as if to offset the idea that Israel’s God was merely a national deity, all the earth is mine, for Jehovah God is its creator and ruler .
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Exo 19:5. Ye shall be a peculiar treasure The word segulah, signifies a peculium; an appropriated treasure, or peculiar propriety: GOD, to whom belong all the people upon earth, being determined to select and set apart one nation, as the repository of his law, and the subjects of his most immediate government, was pleased to choose the Israelites above all people, because he had a delight in their fathers to love them, Deu 10:15; Deu 7:6-8.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
Deu 32:9 . See under the gospel state more of the same precious tokens. 1Pe 2:9 ; Rev 1:6 .
Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Exo 19:5 Now therefore, if ye will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant, then ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto me above all people: for all the earth [is] mine:
Ver. 5. If ye will obey my voice indeed. ] As I am good to you in deed, and not in pretence or profession only. Nathanael was “an Israelite indeed.” Joh 1:47 And Caleb fulfilled after God, or fully followed him; so did not Solomon. 1Ki 11:6
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
peculiar treasure = a treasure acquired for a possession. Compare 1Ch 29:3. Ecc 2:8. 1Pe 2:9. Hebrew. segullah. First occurance. Eight times: Exo 19:5, and Deu 7:6; Deu 14:2; Deu 26:18. Psa 135:4, Ma1 Exo 3:17, where it is used of Israel; and in 1Ch 29:3 and Ecc 7:8, where it is used of purchased and personal property. It denotes a treasure reserved for one’s self. The Latin sigillo, to seal up, is from this Hebrew word. Compare Mat 13:44.
people = peoples. God’s People are
A separated People. Exo 33:16.
A People of inheritance. Deu 4:20.
A special People. Deu 7:6.
A purchased People. Exo 15:16; Psa 74:2. A holy People. Deu 7:6; Deu 7:14.
A redeemed People. Exo 15:13.
A sanctified People. Isa 63:18.
all the earth is Mine. Compare Psa 24:1; Psa 50:12.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
if ye will obey
(Cf) 1Pe 2:9; Rev 1:6; Rev 5:10. What, under law, was condition, is under grace, freely given to every believer. The “if” of Exo 19:5 is the essence of law as a method of divine dealing, and the fundamental reason why “the law made nothing perfect”; Rom 8:3; Heb 7:18; Heb 7:19.
The Abrahamic: (See Scofield “Gen 15:18”) and
New (See Scofield “Heb 8:8”)
covenants minister salvation and assurance because they impose but one condition, faith.
Fuente: Scofield Reference Bible Notes
if ye: Exo 23:22, Exo 24:7, Deu 11:27, Deu 28:1, Jos 24:24, 1Sa 15:22, Isa 1:19, Jer 7:23, Jer 11:4-7, Heb 11:8
keep: Deu 5:2, Psa 25:10, Psa 103:17, Psa 103:18, Isa 56:4, Jer 31:31-33
a peculiar: Deu 4:20, Deu 7:6, Deu 14:2, Deu 14:21, Deu 26:18, Deu 32:8, Deu 32:9, 1Ki 8:53, Psa 135:4, Son 8:12, Isa 41:8, Isa 43:1, Jer 10:16, Mal 3:17, Tit 2:14
all the earth: Exo 9:29, Deu 10:14, Job 41:11, Psa 24:1, Psa 50:11, Dan 4:34, Dan 4:35, 1Co 10:26, 1Co 10:28
Reciprocal: Gen 17:7 – and to Gen 34:7 – wrought Exo 4:22 – Israel Exo 6:7 – will take Exo 15:16 – which thou Exo 19:22 – sanctify Exo 22:31 – holy Exo 28:2 – glory Exo 33:16 – separated Exo 34:9 – take us Lev 20:24 – which Lev 22:32 – hallow you Lev 26:12 – will be Lev 26:15 – break Lev 26:45 – for their Num 23:9 – dwell alone Deu 4:13 – And he Deu 28:9 – establish Deu 29:12 – thou shouldest Deu 33:3 – he loved Jdg 20:7 – ye are all 1Sa 10:1 – his inheritance 1Sa 12:12 – when the Lord 1Sa 12:22 – it hath 2Sa 7:23 – went 2Sa 20:19 – the inheritance 2Sa 23:3 – God 1Ki 3:8 – thy people 1Ki 11:38 – if thou wilt 2Ki 17:35 – With whom 1Ch 16:13 – his chosen 1Ch 17:22 – thy people 2Ch 5:10 – the Lord 2Ch 8:9 – But of the 2Ch 13:10 – the Lord 2Ch 20:7 – our God Psa 33:12 – Blessed Psa 50:7 – O my Psa 50:12 – world Psa 68:10 – Thy congregation Psa 74:12 – God Psa 114:2 – General Psa 115:9 – Israel Psa 148:14 – a people Isa 43:4 – precious Isa 45:4 – Jacob Isa 63:8 – Surely Jer 2:3 – holiness Jer 11:2 – General Jer 13:11 – I caused Jer 31:32 – Not Jer 51:19 – the rod Eze 20:12 – I am Eze 23:4 – they were Hos 2:1 – Ammi Amo 3:2 – only Amo 6:1 – named Zec 2:12 – inherit Mal 2:11 – profaned Mat 20:2 – he had Act 27:23 – whose Heb 8:9 – to lead Heb 8:10 – they shall 1Pe 2:9 – a royal
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
GODS PECULIAR TREASURE
Ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto Me.
Exo 19:5
Israel was called to infinite privilege. She was called to be:
I. Gods choice possession.Ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto Me. As jewels worn upon the person, as the pick of all His wealth, His chosen treasure, were they to be. Even so, the Spiritual Israel, the Church, is called to be His Body, the fulness of Him who filleth all in all; and His Bride, destined to a glorious beauty that even He will rest in and rejoice over, for ever and ever.
II. A royal priesthooda kingdom of priests (v. 6). A priest is one who stands midway as a medium between God and man, being one with both. He is appointed of God to be the channel of His blessing to others. A glorious calling! It is yours, as well as mine, for every believer is in one sense a priest. To him has the Lord said:I will bless you, and make you a blessing.
III. An holy nation.The Hebrew word has two ideas bound up in it;(a) Holyseparated. The Blood, the Covenant, and the Presence of God separate from the world and unto God. (b) Holysplendid, beautiful, pure. So believers are called to (a) separation and (b) beautythe splendid loveliness of God.
IV. The response, alas! was that of the self-sufficient. All that the Lord hath spoken unto us will we do. Here is the secret of their terrible failure. Had they but known and confessed their inability to do, God would have shown them His way of grace. But, not knowing, they chose the law, to their undoing.
Illustration
(1) The excessive care about invading the sanctity of the mount was the beginning of a vast system of ceremonial design, by outward symbols to teach the people the holiness of God, as being altogether apart from their own conceptions and habits of life. It is only thus that we can acquire any conception of the nature of that holiness which is Gods distinctive property.
(2) Out of cloud-mists God weaves rainbows. He puts His bow in the cloud. Be of good cheer, the storm shall not overwhelm, for the clouds are as the dust of His feet.
Fuente: Church Pulpit Commentary
Exo 19:5. Then ye shall be a peculiar treasure to me He doth not instance in any one particular favour, but expresseth it in that which was inclusive of all happiness, that he would be to them a God in covenant, and they should be to him a people. Nay, you shall be a peculiar treasure: not that God was enriched by them, as a man is by his treasure, but he was pleased to value and esteem them as a man doth his treasure; they were precious in his sight. He took them under his special care and protection, as a treasure that is kept under lock and key. He distinguished them from, and dignified them above all people, as a people devoted to him and to his service.