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Good morning dear friends…it’s finally here, the day of the Exodus!
This has to be one of the most powerful chapters in the Bible. Are you ready?
Notice 12:1,2 “The LORD said to Moses and Aaron…’This month is to be the first month of your year...” The Jewish calendar was birthed, by God Himself! The first month is “Abib”, normally our March/April. Remember it’s a lunar calendar.
Look closely at the instructions given regarding the lamb chosen, and cared for, and then at a precise time, sacrificed. The 10th day; a 1 yr old lamb without blemish; cared for until the 14th day; then sacrificed. The blood, smeared on the OUTSIDE of the door frame of that house in faith, will be a sign, for the angel of death. The angel will PASS OVER all houses with blood on the door frames! . . .each house, each family, who will believe in God’s promised deliverance from the angel of death! This had never been seen or heard of before. What would you have done my friends?
Friends, part of the reason I’ve longed to walk through Exodus with you is that it is a remarkably vivid picture of our salvation. You see it don’t you? Hebrew babies were born into inescapable slavery, with no hope other than living a painful, dreadful life as a slave, and dying a slave. We are each born into slavery to our sinful nature, with no hope of escape from sin, or sin condemnation.
But God is deeply moved by the painful cries of those Hebrew slaves and He INITIATES a love reach to them, through Moses, and by His Almighty power God defeats the prideful Pharaoh. But God is a just and holy God. Sin, rebellion against God, must be paid for and death is the just punishment. The angel of death comes, but an innocent lamb is sacrificed and people who trust God to be truthful, do as He says, and by faith, put the blood on their door-frames, and wait…for their redemption, their deliverance. And as the angel of death passes over them, they are set free! Do you see the story of Jesus here?
Look closely at Exodus 12:12 “On that same night I will pass through Egypt and strike down every firstborn – both men and animals – and I will bring judgment on all the gods of Egypt. I am the LORD.” This is more than a showdown with the prideful, arrogant Pharaoh. This is a showdown with every idol, every supposed god the people of Egypt worship. This is one final statement of Divine superiority. One final show of unquestionable power, that belongs to the Creator and Sustainer of the Universe, Almighty God Himself. The deities of Egypt are unable to protect the Egyptians, as they have been unable in each preceding plague, proving their worthlessness.
“The blood will a sign for you, on the houses where you are, and when I see the blood, I will pass over you. No destructive plague will touch you when I strike Egypt.” Sometimes people ask why Christians have so many worship songs which speak of the blood of Jesus, shed on the cross for us? Or why the universal symbol for Christianity is the cross? This is why my friends. Jesus’ voluntary death on the cross, bearing your sins and mine, and the sins of the whole world, and taking the punishment, the wrath of God in our place. . .that is why the cross is so powerfully precious to us, who are redeemed by the blood of the Lamb, Jesus the Christ! Do I hear Amen?
Do you see God instructed them to celebrate this Passover event annually, as a memorial to this historic night…the night a nation of God’s people was redeemed, delivered, by their faith in God, and their obedience, to shed the blood of an innocent lamb and proudly display it on their doors, for all to see. Even today Jews around the world have a very special evening with a ‘Sedar’ meal, with each element representing a distinct part of this story. If you’ve participated in these meals, you remember it begins with a child asking the oldest man in attendance… “why is this night different from all others”? And that begins the re-telling of this epic story of God’s great deliverance of His people.
You may also know there are several parts of the Sedar meal which point forward to the long awaited Messiah. We Christians, of course, celebrate that Jesus is the Christ, the Messiah, and He came, born of Mary in a Bethlehem stable, in fulfillment of several prophecies, including Micah 5:8. Do you remember in His infancy, Jesus was whisked away, by Mary and Joseph in the middle of the night, for an angel had warned Joseph that King Herod’s soldiers were coming to kill baby Jesus? And do you remember WHERE they went to escape death? Yes, that’s right… Egypt! And they remained there as refugees, for many months, perhaps a few years, until another angel visited Joseph with the news King Herod had died and they were able to leave Egypt and return to live in Israel…Nazareth. You’ll find that story in Matthew 2. Interesting isn’t it? By the way, Bible scholars date the Exodus to be about 1446bc.
Notice in vs. 21 Moses challenges the elders to lead the Hebrews in understanding God’s instructions, and making every effort to obey, in detail, and with great faith. Most of you are parents who are reading/hearing this. Put yourself in their shoes. How would you explain this to your children? How would you help them understand all the powerful plagues; the Pharaoh’s refusal to release the slaves; Almighty God’s superiority to Egyptian gods, and that this Almighty God is the God of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph and Moses? How would you explain to your children the angel of death and the power of faith in God, and therefore the reason for putting the blood of the lamb on the outside of the door-frame of your house?
That’s why Exodus 12:26 is so important to Jews the world over…“And when your children ask you, ‘what does this ceremony mean to you?’, then tell them ‘It is the Passover sacrifice to the LORD, who passed over the houses of the Israelites in Egypt, and spared our homes when He struck down the Egyptians.”
“Then the people bowed down and worshiped. The Israelites did just what the LORD commanded Moses and Aaron…”
Just SELAH here for a moment. Let it simmer, let it penetrate your heart and mind. History is being re-written in Egypt, in these hours of decision. You see, every home needed to decide. Do we believe God? Do we go find a lamb, and then sacrifice it and paint our door frame? No partial obedience… all the way to the door-frame, and then eating the roasted lamb in anticipation, with bags packed, ready to go. OR… is it ridiculous and we just sit down to our slave dinner as normal tonight?
Look closely at the painful reality of Exodus 12:29&30. Remember I told you yesterday, God had given the Pharaoh till 11:59pm to repent, to bow his arrogant heart in submission to God.
“At midnight the LORD struck down all the firstborn in Egypt…Pharaoh and all his officials and all the Egyptians got up during the night, and there was loud wailing in Egypt… During the night Pharaoh summoned Moses and Aaron and said “Leave my people, you and the Israelites! Go, worship the LORD as you have requested. Take your flocks and herds…and go… The Egyptians urged the people to hurry and leave the country.” (12:29-33)
And suddenly…it was time, to go. This was not a reluctant release. This was not a ‘maybe tomorrow’. This was a passionate, ‘get out, leave here, fast, now, no delay’. Remember, they were slaves, and therefore what little they had was likely precious to them… what do you take when you have only hours to pack and you are leaving for good? Do pictures of the long lines of refugees streaming on foot out of South America or Syria come into your mind? I think that is a very accurate picture!
Except for one thing… look at vs. 35 & 36 “The Israelites did as Moses instructed and asked the Egyptians for articles of sliver and gold and for clothing. The LORD had made the Egyptians favorably disposed toward the people, and they gave them what they asked for; so they plundered the Egyptians.“ Now please remember this part of the Exodus story. It will be very important when they get to Mount Sinai and God instructs Moses to take an offering from those whose hearts are willing, to build a Tabernacle of worship, and fabricate a variety of artifacts for worship. Artifacts like the Ark of the Covenant, and the Golden Lampstands, and the Altar of Incense and the Table of Shewbread…all covered with gold! It was this gold and silver of Egypt, leaving in the pockets of fleeing Hebrew slaves, that would build that portable tent of worship, the Tabernacle, for Holy, Almighty God, at Mount Sinai!
Several times I’ve used the number 1 million Hebrew slaves, and perhaps you’ve wondered where I got that number? Here it is, vs. 37: “There were about 600,000 men on foot, besides women and children.” Do the math, how many Hebrews would you calculate were fleeing Egypt that night?
And look at the next line “Many other people went up with them…” Remember that for later. We can understand it, can’t we? Hebrews were not the only slaves of Pharaoh, and with the door of escape open, many others took advantage of the moment.
Friends, God is both strategic and a God of detail. Look closely at vs. 40. “Now the length of time the Israelite people lived in Egypt was 430 years. At the end of 430 years, to the very day, all the LORD’s divisions left Egypt.” We presume that time frame was measured from the day Jacob moved his family of 70 from Canaan to Egypt, at Joseph’s invitation, during the famine found in Genesis 46. Remember the famine lasted only 5 more years, after they arrived in Egypt. They’d come to escape the famine and intended to return home. But they settled in ‘the best of the land’ and it was 430 years, 20 generations later, that finally their descendants ran out of Egypt, in their slave rags. It was a night unlike any other in the history of humanity. . .the Passover.
As you read Exodus 12 today, reflect back on your life story. Do you see how you were born into sin slavery and are destined to live & die in sin, unless a more powerful Savior rescues you? Do you see Jesus in all His power, is the only One who can defeat Satan, and break the stronghold of sin in your life? Do you understand how Jesus’ death on the cross paid your full sin debt price, and therefore if you fully trust in Jesus, to save you, you will never suffer the eternal death, separation from God for all eternity, which is the ‘wages of sin’, perish (Romans 3:23). Rather, you will have been set free, and granted eternal life with Jesus in His heaven (John 3:16)! Can you say…amen, that’s me!? Do you remember the day of your Exodus, your deliverance? If not, then why not right now? If yes, then why not thank Jesus right now? If I can be of any help to you in this, please write me… pastordougmanderson@gmail.com
Oh God, how we thank you for this powerful chapter and Your rescue of the Hebrew slaves through Passover. But we thank you even more for the rescue of Jesus, available to EVERY person, anywhere in the world!
Pastor Doug Anderson 262.441.8785
“Let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, with our eyes fixed on Jesus…” (Heb. 12:1,2)
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