The following is Pastor Nate’s teaching transcription from Calvary Monterey’s 2/16/21 Tuesday Night Service. We apologize for any transcription inaccuracies.
Hey, Calvary family. Thanks for joining us in our study through the book of Exodus. And today we're in Exodus chapter 12 and 13. If you want to turn there in your Bible if you're watching this and are seated. If you're driving right now, just listen on in and don't turn anywhere because I'll read the verses to you as we move through the text. But thanks so much for joining us.
[If you're watching this, you probably notice I'm wearing the Life Groups T-shirt because we're getting ready for our Life Group quarter that is coming up and I pray that all of you will be able to get re-plugged in or plugged in to a Life Group for the first time in this coming season. We gather together to discuss the previous Sunday's text and teaching, to encourage each other, and to pray together.
There are groups that are meeting exclusively online. Some that are meeting outdoors, and some that are meeting in safe cohorts together. So if you'd like to get into a group, we'd love to have you get plugged in as soon as possible. Signups are going to happen here in the next few weeks. So keep your eyes peeled for that.]
Exodus 12
Here we are in Exodus chapter 12, and there is tension now in the text. God has unleashed His wrath upon the Egyptians. Plague after plague has come down upon Pharaoh and his people. And Pharaoh's heart has been hardened. And God is part of that process, but Pharaoh himself has hardened his heart as well. But God had declared in the 11th chapter that in the final plague, the pharaoh would tell the people of Israel to go. He would let His, God's people go. And the reason that Pharaoh would let the people go is because God had promised that in this final plague, every firstborn son in Egypt would die. This is a catastrophic plague that God is going to bring upon the Egyptian people.
The Passover
Now, what we're going to discover is that the people of Israel are saved from this plague. And really, anyone could be saved from this plague by taking the blood of a sacrificial lamb who had dwelt in the home for 14 days and sacrificing that animal and cooking it as a meal, eating it but placing its blood upon the doorpost of the home. The people of Israel will be delivered, so to speak, by the Passover lamb. You might remember way back in our study in Genesis, there came a moment where Abraham was greatly tested by God, asked to sacrifice his son Isaac. God said, "Take your son, your only son Isaac whom you love and offer him on the mount that I show you for a sacrifice." And as they ascended that horrible mountain in that terrible moment Isaac asked, "Father, I see the wood. I see the fire, but where is the sacrifice?" And Abraham said, "Son, don't worry. God will provide for himself the lamb for a burnt offering, my son."
Of course, God did not want Abraham to go all the way through with that act of sacrifice. Though Abraham believed that God would raise Isaac from the dead to fulfill His promises, instead, causing a ram to come in the thicket and be sacrificed instead. The Ram was not the ultimate fulfillment. The Lamb of God would come to take away the sin of the world. God would provide himself as the lamb, so to speak. So here in the Passover which we're going to read about, part of that fulfillment has come. God has provided a lamb to the people of Israel to protect them, and to guard them so that they might be set free.
Now here in this chapter, chapter 12, we're going to see two speeches separated by some days by Moses. In the first speech he's going to declare how to keep the Passover. And then the second speech, he's going to exhort them on the day of the actual Passover. So he prepares them and then he'll tell them, "All right. Now is the time." And both of these speeches and by him explaining that they will commemorate the Passover forever. They'll commemorate it in a Passover meal. They'll also commemorate it in a Feast of Unleavened Bread that lasts for seven days around the feast of the Passover. And they will celebrate it or remember it by consecrating future firstborns, firstborn sons to the Lord. And so we'll read about that in this passage.
Now, of course, like I said, this Passover speaks much of Christ. Jesus was betrayed after eating a last supper with his disciples, which was a Passover meal. He is, as I already quoted, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world, according to John The Baptist. When he died, John 19:36 records for us that he died with no broken bones. This is important because Jesus was the perfect lamb. And the Lamb that was sacrificed on the Passover had to be without blemish. Jesus had no blemish, no broken bones. And, frankly, and straightforwardly, Paul tells us in 1st Corinthians 5:7, "Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed." So, who is our Passover lamb? Well, it's Jesus Christ. I'm saying all of these things because as we pass through this chapter I'm going to point out various elements of the original Passover that have application to us because Jesus is our current Passover lamb. And unless you think that I'm overly spiritualizing the text I want you to see that the New Testament makes it clear that Jesus is our Passover lamb.
1 The Lord said to Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt, 2 “This month shall be for you the beginning of months. It shall be the first month of the year for you.
All right, with that, let's read the first verse, the Lord said to Moses, and Aaron in the land of Egypt, this month shall be for you the beginning of months, it shall be the first month of the year for you. So here, what we learn at the outset of the chapter is that God is rearranging the Israelite calendar. This event, this Passover event is going to be now for them the marker of the beginning of their year. It's the beginning of months for them. It was going to indicate a new age in the history of Israel. It's likely that for them, they celebrated a new year. Not that they would do it the way that we do it in our modern era, but that they would have thought of the year having begun likely sometime in the fall. But now the Passover, which would occur sometime in our March, April timeframe is going to be the new marker of the beginning of the Israelite calendar.
The Passover was indicative of a new start, a new beginning for God's people. And of course, for us when we think about Jesus we understand that the blood of Jesus, our Passover lamb, offers each and every one of us a brand new beginning. Jesus said there in the final Passover He took on this side of eternity. In Luke 22 verse 20, He said, "This is the cup that is poured out for you of the new covenant in my blood. His blood brings something new, a new freshness, a new relationship with God where God comes to live inside of us and he begins to write his law upon the tablets of our hearts. So he's changing us from within. That is a new relationship with God.
Of course, we know from 2nd Corinthians 5:17, and other places throughout the New Testament that we are new creatures in Christ Jesus. So if you've believed in Jesus, you become a new creation. The same God that spoke the world into existence spoke your salvation into existence as you place your faith and your trust in Him, you're a new creature in Him. 1st John 1, verse 7 tells us that as we walk in the light, as God is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his son cleanses us from all sin. And so, there's a perpetual newness, so to speak, that we as we constantly are walking in the light, we are being cleansed practically speaking of the sin within our lives. Yes, positionally, when you come to Christ your sin is separated from you as far as the east is from the west, but we still sin. We still have weaknesses and temptations.
As we walk with the Lord, the blood of Jesus is continuing to work in us. The full propitiation or atonement has already occurred. But his blood is still cleansing and making us new, not positionally that's been said and done by faith in Christ. But practically speaking, as we walk with Him. His blood growing us, shaping us, giving us the victory. So it's good for us to remember that the blood of Jesus, the ultimate Passover lamb makes all things new. And that's pictured here in the beginning of months, a new calendar having begun with the first Passover.
3 Tell all the congregation of Israel that on the tenth day of this month every man shall take a lamb according to their fathers’ houses, a lamb for a household.
Verse three, God continues, tell all the congregation of Israel that on the 10th day of this month every man shall take a lamb according to their father's houses, a lamb for a household. Here, God tells Moses to speak to all the congregation of Israel. By the way, this is the first time that the Old Testament refers to the people of Israel this way as a congregation or as an assembly of people. Again, this also suggests a new beginning. This is a community that God is going to purchase with the blood of the Passover lamb. Just as when you go to church, you are gathering together with brothers and sisters in Christ who have been bought by the blood of Jesus. So this congregation, Israel, is being purchased by the blood of the Lamb.
And what Moses has to tell them to do is that every man, it says in verse three, is supposed to take a lamb according to their father's house. They would choose a lamb that they would eventually sacrifice unto God. This lamb was chosen before it was slain, much as Jesus was foreknown, 1st Peter 1 verse 20, before the foundation of the world, but made manifest in the last times for the sake of us. In other words, the father chose the son. The son agreed to the plans within the tri-unity of God to be the one who would atone for the sin of the world.
Now, Moses also was to tell them that it was one lamb per household. Now this is beautiful because the net of salvation is getting wider. Abel in Genesis chapter four offered a lamb for himself. Here we see a lamb offered for a household. In Exodus 29, when they finally begin celebrating the Passover, they will offer a lamb for the nation. And of course, as I've already quoted from John The Baptist, in the Gospel of John, chapter one, Jesus is the Lamb who was slain for the world, the sins of the world. So the net of salvation is growing here in this passage. Now, it's beautiful to consider that this feast, whatever it was going to be, it's celebrated in the home by the household. Only later was the Levitical priesthood installed to mediate the sacrifices between Israel to God. But originally, each family was meant to serve God in a priestly way.
This really is one of the main emphases of the Old Testament. God looking for the people of Israel to be Exodus 19, verse 6, a kingdom of priests and a holy nation. He wasn't merely looking for one tribe to be priestly, but for all of his people to be interacting with Him. And of course, in the church age, we are living this out. We are a kingdom of priests before God. The blood of Jesus giving us that access to Him. But I think it's beautiful to see that the home was the centerpiece of this relationship with God at that time. And I say that because our homes desperately need the application of the blood of Christ. There must be grace, the grace of Christ in our homes. There must be the consciousness of our need for a savior for the gospel itself within our homes. That kind of humility breeds health in relationships. And so marriages and parents, we require the blood of Jesus.
4 And if the household is too small for a lamb, then he and his nearest neighbor shall take according to the number of persons; according to what each can eat you shall make your count for the lamb. 5 Your lamb shall be without blemish, a male a year old. You may take it from the sheep or from the goats,
So many of us have pasts that we're not proud of, and things that we have done even within our marriage covenants that we need the blood of Jesus to wash us for. And so, we must remember the home and here it began in the home. God went on though in verse four and said, "If the household is too small for a lamb, then he and his nearest neighbor shall take according to the number of persons according to what each can eat, you shall make your count for the lamb, your lamb," verse five, "shall be without blemish, a male, a year old. You may take it from the sheep, or from the goats." Now again, we see another clear picture of Jesus in that these lambs or goats had to be without blemish in verse five. The lamb was to be without blemish. 1st Peter 1:19 says that, "We have been redeemed with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot." There was no sin in Jesus. He was perfect and pure, and He was the one who laid Himself down for us.
6 and you shall keep it until the fourteenth day of this month, when the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill their lambs at twilight.
He goes on though, in verse six, and says, "And you shall keep it, that lamb or goat, until the 14th day of this month when the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill their lambs at twilight." So for 14 days, this lamb would live within the home. It was enough time to make sure that the lamb was satisfactory, that there was no blemish inside of it. Jesus, of course, was also slain on this same day, ultimately, the 14th day of the month, just at the time when the Passover lambs were also being offered to God. And notice there in verse six it says that the congregation of Israel would kill their lambs at twilight.
At the beginning of this chapter, it said they have to pick a lamb, then they have to interact with the lamb. And now here in verse five, and six, it's your lamb and their lambs. There's an ownership of this lamb that will be sacrificed, just as Jesus must become personal to you. And you must receive personally, the offer of salvation that he has offered. So the lamb had to be applied to the family owner himself. And then they would go out, it says there in verse six and kill their lambs at twilight. God had designed it so that a living lamb could not save, the Lamb had to die. Blood had to be shed. Blood was required.
Adam and Eve required skins to cover their nakedness. And so animals died that they might be clothed. Noah was delivered through great pains of death in the human world. The Passover required the blood of the Lamb. The sacrificial system itself in Israel and later years cried out of death, atoning, and covering. Ultimately, all of this pointed forward to the death of Jesus on the cross. His blood was required. I say this because many think that Jesus' example is what saves. That He came as the perfect man to show us how to live. But his example does not save, His death saves. He laid down his life so that we might have life.
7 “Then they shall take some of the blood and put it on the two doorposts and the lintel of the houses in which they eat it.
Then verse seven, God told Moses, then they shall take some of the blood and put it on the to doorposts and the lentil of the houses in which they eat, so they were to take the blood. And they were to apply it on the doorposts of the house. Obviously, this points to the substitutionary death of Jesus, perhaps even the shape of the blood in the shape of the cross itself on the sides and above the home, the doorposts of the home. This lamb, of course, was the substitute for the firstborn son. The firstborn son would live inside that home if the lamb's blood had been applied. The idea here is of substitutionary death, and Jesus Himself is our substitutionary sacrifice. He died so that we might live. So is the blood applied to your life?
Now, you can only imagine how the Egyptians felt when the Israelites began behaving in this way, bringing young lambs into their homes, dwelling with them for 14 days, ultimately sacrificing them. Taking the hyssop out and applying blood on the doorpost of the home likely stood out as absolute foolishness and superstition to the Ephesians. But the reality is that even the cross of Christ is folly to those who are perishing, 1st Corinthians 1 verse 18, but to us who are being saved, it is the power of God. It might be nonsensical to someone else, but for believers in Jesus Christ we understand and know that the folly as it's perceived in the world is actually God's power to deliver us from our sin.
8 They shall eat the flesh that night, roasted on the fire; with unleavened bread and bitter herbs they shall eat it.
And so, they would put the blood on the two doorposts to protect their home and in verse eight, they shall eat the flesh that night, roasted on the fire with unleavened bread and bitter herbs. They shall eat it. That very night, they would actually eat the sacrifice that they'd roasted with fire. And they'd have unleavened bread to go along with that sacrifice. The purging of leaven meaning to reinforce the idea of separation. That we're different. We're want to be without sin. And so they'd take the unleavened bread, bitter herbs, and the Passover lamb and they would eat these things together that very night. They would need nourishment for the journey that they were about to go on as God's people.
9 Do not eat any of it raw or boiled in water, but roasted, its head with its legs and its inner parts. 10 And you shall let none of it remain until the morning; anything that remains until the morning you shall burn. 11 In this manner you shall eat it: with your belt fastened, your sandals on your feet, and your staff in your hand. And you shall eat it in haste. It is the Lord’s Passover.
"Do not," verse nine, "eat any of it raw or boiled in water, but roasted. Its head with its legs and its inner parts, and you shall let none of it remain until the morning. Anything that remains until the morning you shall burn. In this manner, you shall eat it with your belt fastened, your sandals on your feet, and your staff in your hand, and you shall eat it in haste. It is the Lord's Passover." Now, in the eating of this Passover meal, Moses learns and communicates that they were to let none of it remain until the morning, no leftovers whatsoever. And as they ate it, they were to eat it with their belt fastened, their sandals on their feet and their staff in their hands.
What this was meant to communicate is that as they ate the meal, they were expected that they would soon depart from Egypt. They had faith that their moment of deliverance was about to come. I believe this speaks to us on a number of levels. First of all, I believe that modern believers, modern Christians are called to live as pilgrims in this world. I don't know if you've noticed, but the things that we think, the stuff we believe, the practices that we engage in as God's people. They are different from the system of the world in which we live. We are aliens, so to speak, on the planet that we occupy. Peter said in 1st Peter 2 verse 11, that he would urge us as sojourners and exiles to abstain from the passions of the flesh, which are waging war against our souls. Or 1st Corinthians 11 verse 26 tells us as often as we eat the bread and drink the cup, we proclaim the Lord's death till he comes. We're proclaiming that we don't really fully belong here, until Jesus comes and makes this place his own. All of this would indicate a soon departure.
So I think in a sense, the way they dressed that night is meant to help modern believers envision the attitude with which we are to live lives today. Just understanding that our ultimate fulfillment is not going to come in this world. That our ultimate fulfillment is in another kingdom, and that we are pilgrims and exiles here on Earth. But I think there's also something beautiful here that applies to the expectation of victory that we should have in our personal walks with Jesus. There they were, with their belts fastened, their sandals on their feet, and the staff in their hand. Why did they have that? The expectation was whatever happens tonight, we're confident that Pharaoh is going to release us. That God is going to win for us our freedom.
I find many times in the Christian life, a believer will see a repeated sin or an area of personal failure that they feel is stuck in their lives, that there's no chance of victory. And they'll begin to believe that Christ cannot win that victory in their lives. But what do you have here? You have an expectation that God will deliver them and that they will be set free. I think we need to retain that expectation as God's people that we can gain victory, that God can set us free in Him.
12 For I will pass through the land of Egypt that night, and I will strike all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and beast; and on all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgments: I am the Lord. 13 The blood shall be a sign for you, on the houses where you are. And when I see the blood, I will pass over you, and no plague will befall you to destroy you, when I strike the land of Egypt.
Let's move on in the text. Verse 12, he says, "For I will pass through the land of Egypt that night, and I will strike all the firstborn in the land of Egypt both man and beast, and on all the Gods of Egypt I will execute judgments. I am the Lord. The blood shall be a sign for you on the houses where you are. And when I see the blood, I will pass over you. And no plague will befall you to destroy you when I strike the land of Egypt." Here we're reminded that all of these plagues were God's judgment upon the Gods of Egypt. I mean, really at the end of the day, Pharaoh's first born son was his successor. And supposedly, to the Egyptian mind had divine properties.
And so, God who has judged all the other gods in Egypt through the various plagues is now going to judge the final, the ultimate God, Pharaoh, himself, or the future Pharaoh himself. But God announces to Israel, When I see the blood on the doorposts of your home, I will pass over you." Brothers and sisters in Christ, I know that even reading a passage like this is difficult for us to see, envision or imagine. We think about a holy and righteous God who was going to require the life of the firstborn sons all throughout Egypt. But the reality is that God is holy, and just, and that God is good. And that as He looks upon the sin of humanity, His wrath exists. And one day there will be an ultimate and final reckoning.
And in moments like these, in Exodus chapter 12, we are getting a glimpse of the ultimate and overall judgment of God breaking forth. But what secures a man? What saves a woman from the wrath, the coming judgment or blood? Says in Romans 5 verse 9, therefore we've now been justified by His blood, and much more, we will be saved by him from the wrath of God. That's who we are as God's children. We are protected and watched over by the Lord, preserved by his blood. Listen, if you're a believer in Christ Jesus, your position is great in Christ.
14 “This day shall be for you a memorial day, and you shall keep it as a feast to the Lord; throughout your generations, as a statute forever, you shall keep it as a feast. 15 Seven days you shall eat unleavened bread. On the first day you shall remove leaven out of your houses, for if anyone eats what is leavened, from the first day until the seventh day, that person shall be cut off from Israel. 16 On the first day you shall hold a holy assembly, and on the seventh day a holy assembly. No work shall be done on those days. But what everyone needs to eat, that alone may be prepared by you.
God goes on to say, "This day shall be for you," verse 14, "a Memorial Day, and you should keep it as a feast to the Lord throughout your generations. As a statute forever, you should keep it as a feast. Seven days you shall eat unleavened bread. On the first day you shall remove leaven out of your houses, for if anyone eats what is leaven from the first day until the seventh day that person shall be cut off from Israel. On the first day you shall hold a holy assembly, and on the seventh day a holy assembly. No work shall be done on those days, but what everyone needs to eat that alone may be prepared for you." So for seven days, they would celebrate this beautiful Feast of Unleavened Bread. This is conjoined with the Passover feast, and they would celebrate this year after year seven days remembering, commemorating the moment that they came out of Egypt and that God set them free.
And partly, what we need to recognize is that these were the feasts that Pharaoh was so worried about at the very beginning when Moses told Pharaoh that says God, "Let my people go that they may serve me." These were the types of things God wanted was for them to come out and have a holy celebration before the Lord. Seven days of no work and worship instead before God. And so they were there for seven days to have this time where they removed all leaven from their homes in the future to celebrate what God was going to do on that very night.
So this is just a beautiful concept partly because as we think of it in our modern time we think about Jesus, His blood being shed, receiving Jesus. And then what follows the Passover? Seven days of no leaven in the home and leaven throughout the Bible is a picture of sin because it gets into the substance, gets into the dough, into the bread and spreads everywhere. That's what sin is prone to do. We should be merciless toward sin. But so many people instead, have an attitude that when they receive Jesus, then they are set free to pursue more sin. That's not the freedom that we have in Christ Jesus. That's antinomianism. That's someone who doesn't understand what grace truly is.
Paul said in 1st Corinthians 5 verse 7 that we should cleanse out the old leaven. That you may be a new lump, as you are really unleavened for, Christ, our Passover Lamb has been sacrificed. So don't celebrate with the old leaven of malice and evil. But with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth, Paul writes.
17 And you shall observe the Feast of Unleavened Bread, for on this very day I brought your hosts out of the land of Egypt. Therefore you shall observe this day, throughout your generations, as a statute forever. 18 In the first month, from the fourteenth day of the month at evening, you shall eat unleavened bread until the twenty-first day of the month at evening. 19 For seven days no leaven is to be found in your houses. If anyone eats what is leavened, that person will be cut off from the congregation of Israel, whether he is a sojourner or a native of the land. 20 You shall eat nothing leavened; in all your dwelling places you shall eat unleavened bread.”
So we got to keep growing, walking with the Lord, allowing him to purify our lives. God goes on and says, "And you shall observe the Feast of Unleavened Bread for on this very day, I brought your hosts out of the land of Egypt. Therefore, you shall observe this day throughout your generations as a statue forever. In the first month from the 14th day of the month, that evening, you shall eat unleavened bread until the 21st day of the month at evening. For seven days, no leaven has to be found in your houses. If anyone eats what is leaven, that person will be cut off from the congregation of Israel, whether he's a sojourner or a native of the land. You shall eat nothing leavened in all your dwelling places. You shall eat unleavened bread."
And so here God again is preparing them for the future when they would celebrate the Feast of Unleavened Bread once they were set free. Obviously, this would be something that they would rejoice in and the years to come. The first Passover, it's going to be a hectic moving out kind of experience and eating unleavened bread will be forced on them because of the speed of this event. But in the future, it would be a decision they would make to celebrate this, to commemorate this before God. A slight change there is in verse 19, where we learned that sojourners or natives of the land could also either join in or be separated if they refuse to partake in the right way.
21 Then Moses called all the elders of Israel and said to them, “Go and select lambs for yourselves according to your clans, and kill the Passover lamb. 22 Take a bunch of hyssop and dip it in the blood that is in the basin, and touch the lintel and the two doorposts with the blood that is in the basin. None of you shall go out of the door of his house until the morning. 23 For the Lord will pass through to strike the Egyptians, and when he sees the blood on the lintel and on the two doorposts, the Lord will pass over the door and will not allow the destroyer to enter your houses to strike you.
Then Moses, verse 21, called all the elders of Israel and said to them, "Go and select lambs for yourselves according to your clans and kill the Passover lamb. Take a bunch of hyssop and dip it in the blood that is in the basin and touch the lentil and the two door posts with the blood that is in the basin. None of us shall go out of the door of his house until the morning for the Lord will pass through to strike the Egyptians. And when he sees the blood on the lintel, and on the two doorposts, The Lord will pass over the door, and will not allow the destroyer to enter your houses to strike you.
Now, in this movement, we have Moses actually declaring what they're to do to the elders. He's basically repeating the directions that God has given. God is in favor of repetition. We must repeat the Word of God. Paul told Timothy, "Until I come devote yourself to the public reading of Scripture, to exhortation, and to teaching." We must repeatedly be in the Word of God. There are two new items included here in this speech of Moses. One is that the blood would be applied by taking a bunch of hyssop, a plant, and dipping it into a basin of blood, and also that no one was to leave their house until the morning time. They were to stay indoors because the angel of death or the destroyer was lurking about Egypt doing his work. That is an intense phrase, don't you think? The destroyer, that the Lord will pass over the door and will not allow the destroyer to enter your houses to strike you is what he says in verse 23.
Now, who is this destroyer? Some think that this destroyer is a group of angels. Psalm 78 verse 49 says that, "God let loose on Egypt, his burning anger, wrath, indignation, and distress accompany of destroying angels." Some though think that this is the angel of the Lord. Hebrews 11:28 says, "By faith he kept the Passover and sprinkle the blood so that the destroyer of the firstborn might not touch them." And perhaps this destroyer is the Christ, the angel of the Lord. So the destroyer was not a demonic power that rivaled God, but probably an angel who expedited God's with will. And this angel will, I think, be with the people of Israel through their wilderness wanderings. But this destroyer was now coming upon Egypt.
24 You shall observe this rite as a statute for you and for your sons forever. 25 And when you come to the land that the Lord will give you, as he has promised, you shall keep this service. 26 And when your children say to you, ‘What do you mean by this service?’ 27 you shall say, ‘It is the sacrifice of the Lord’s Passover, for he passed over the houses of the people of Israel in Egypt, when he struck the Egyptians but spared our houses.’ ” And the people bowed their heads and worshiped. 28 Then the people of Israel went and did so; as the Lord had commanded Moses and Aaron, so they did.
You shall observe verse 24, this right is a statute for you and for your sons forever. And when you come to the land that the Lord will give you, as he has promised, you shall keep this service. And when your children say to you, what do you mean by this service? You shall say, "It is the sacrifice of the Lord's Passover for He passed over the houses of the people of Israel and Egypt when he struck the Egyptians but spared our houses." And the people bowed their heads and worshiped. Then the people of Israel went and did so as the Lord had commanded Moses and Aaron so they did. So they prepared themselves for the Passover. They went and did as the Lord had commanded them to do. And you might want to mark that in your Bible because it's one of the rare moments where God tells the people of Israel what to do, and they do exactly what he told them to do.
Plague 10: Death of the Firstborn
29 At midnight the Lord struck down all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, from the firstborn of Pharaoh who sat on his throne to the firstborn of the captive who was in the dungeon, and all the firstborn of the livestock. 30 And Pharaoh rose up in the night, he and all his servants and all the Egyptians. And there was a great cry in Egypt, for there was not a house where someone was not dead.
At midnight, after carrying out God's directions, verse 29. At midnight, the Lord struck down all the firstborn in the land of Egypt from the firstborn of Pharaoh who sat on his throne to the firstborn of the captive who was in the dungeon, and all the firstborn of the livestock. And Pharaoh rose up in the night. He and all his servants and all the Egyptians and there was a great cry in Egypt for there was not a house where someone was not dead. This is again an ominous moment. The Lord struck down. He is depicted as being personally engaged and responsible with this judgment. In other plagues, the natural elements were involved. God, of course, manipulating them, but flies or frogs, gnats, darkness. But here, God Himself directly touches every family without the blood, every family in Egypt.
And there was an ominous moment that midnight, all the firstborn, a great cry in Egypt. The time of it, the extent of it, and the effect of it mourning in Egypt. The point here is that every Egyptian home was grieving that night. But it was also true in a more absolute sense that every home there in the land knew a death. They either knew the death of a firstborn or the death of a lamb. A lamb, a Passover lamb that had spared them from wrath. The only thing that averted the judgment of God was a bloody substitutionary sacrifice available to everyone that day.
31 Then he summoned Moses and Aaron by night and said, “Up, go out from among my people, both you and the people of Israel; and go, serve the Lord, as you have said. 32 Take your flocks and your herds, as you have said, and be gone, and bless me also!”
Then God summoned Moses, verse 31, and Aaron by night and said, "Up, go out..." Excuse me, Pharaoh summoned Moses and Aaron by night and said, "Up, go out from among my people, both you and the people of Israel and go serve the Lord as you have said. Take your flocks and your herds as you have said and be gone and bless me also." Pharaoh came to the point where he finally had enough and was ready to release the people of Israel. Remember, God had said that he will release you with a strong hand. And here he calls for them somehow, and rather than giving them partial permission to depart, he forces them to go. You've got to get out of here, all of you with your flocks and your herds. Get out of here. Get away from my people.
And then the key he says, "And bless me also." This was Pharaoh's way of saying, "Your God is greater than me. And I need the blessing of your God." The God man, Pharaoh, now asked for a blessing from the true God. He wanted to live under God's blessing rather than under God's wrath or God's curse. And so, this helps us and brings us back to a real theme of this whole section in Exodus. God had said, "By this, you shall know that I am the Lord." Remember what Pharaoh had asked. he had asked at the very beginning, "Who is the Lord?" And now he knows God is holy and righteous and certainly more powerful than Pharaoh.
The Beginning of the Exodus
33 The Egyptians were urgent with the people to send them out of the land in haste. For they said, “We shall all be dead.” 34 So the people took their dough before it was leavened, their kneading bowls being bound up in their cloaks on their shoulders. 35 The people of Israel had also done as Moses told them, for they had asked the Egyptians for silver and gold jewelry and for clothing. 36 And the Lord had given the people favor in the sight of the Egyptians, so that they let them have what they asked. Thus they plundered the Egyptians.
Now the Egyptians verse 33, were urgent with the people to send them out of the land in haste for they said, "We shall all be dead. So the people took their dough before it was leaven, their kneading bowls being bound up in their cloaks on their shoulders. The people of Israel had also done as Moses told them for they asked the Egyptians for silver, and gold, jewelry, and for clothing, and the Lord had given the people favor in the sight of the Egyptians, so that they let them have what they asked. Thus, they plundered the Egyptians. Everything just happened so quickly. The Egyptians wanted the people of Israel to depart so quickly that the Israelites took their dough and they just departed with their dough, the food that they'd eat in the future over the next few days before it was leaven, took it in their hands, their kneading bowls, bound them up in their cloaks, and on their shoulders, and they departed.
37 And the people of Israel journeyed from Rameses to Succoth, about six hundred thousand men on foot, besides women and children. 38 A mixed multitude also went up with them, and very much livestock, both flocks and herds. 39 And they baked unleavened cakes of the dough that they had brought out of Egypt, for it was not leavened, because they were thrust out of Egypt and could not wait, nor had they prepared any provisions for themselves.
Moses had told them in advance, "Hey, ask the people of Egypt for their stuff." And they asked and the people gladly gave. They wanted to fund this departure so that the people of Israel would never return. God had given them favor in the sight of the Egyptian people and the people of Israel, verse 37, journey from Rameses to Sukkoth about 600,000 men on foot besides women and children, a mixed multitude also went up with them, and very much livestock, both flocks and herds, and they baked unleavened cakes of the dough that they had brought out of Egypt for it was not leaven because they were thrust out of Egypt, and could not wait. Nor had they prepared any provisions for themselves.
What is that? Just such a rapid movement. Freedom has come. The exodus has occurred, at least in part, and they begin journeying. And really, this is the point where the wilderness episodes are beginning. The wilderness itinerary actually begins right here in this little movement. Now, we learn in verse 37 that there were 600, or about 600,000 men on foot is what it tells us. Numbers chapter one tells us that it was 603,550 men at that time. And so you would guess that with women and children, you're probably talking about a population of two to three million people at this point. It seems reasonable to accept the number that's given here. So the people of Israel have grown to be an expansive number.
We also have to point out in verse 38, that a mixed multitude also went up with the people of Israel. There were also non Israelites who went with them of an undesignated number. So these people were probably other people groups who had been enslaved with the Hebrews, maybe some Egyptians who had grown impressed with the power of Yahweh. Maybe some of them were legitimate converts to the faith of Israel, but it was a mixed multitude together. And later in the book of Numbers, some of these people at least are going to be called the rabble that are among the Israelites. People who are trying to influence Israel back towards Egypt. A part of them that wants to return back to Egypt.
For me, in my own life, I found that there's the part of me that is in Christ pure, pursuing the Lord, then there's also the rabble inside of me. That part of me that wants to go back to the old life, that part of me that is attracted and tempted by the things of sin. And the Christian life is an experience of pursuing the new part of who we are, the part that has been set free and ignoring the rabble, so to speak, and turning the rabble into devoted parts of us that are following Christ.
40 The time that the people of Israel lived in Egypt was 430 years. 41 At the end of 430 years, on that very day, all the hosts of the Lord went out from the land of Egypt. 42 It was a night of watching by the Lord, to bring them out of the land of Egypt; so this same night is a night of watching kept to the Lord by all the people of Israel throughout their generations.
Now the time that the people of Israel, verse 40, lived in Egypt was 430 years. At the end of 430 years on that very day all the hosts of the Lord went out from the land of Egypt. It was a night of watching by the Lord to bring them out of the land of Egypt. So this same night is a night of watching, kept to the Lord by all the people of Israel throughout their generations. Now, saying that it was 430 years of slavery or life in Egypt is a historical notation there by Moses, and a little reminder of God's faithfulness to the people of Israel. God has been faithful to us for these 430 years. We didn't always live here. We had come here, and God had a purpose for us here. And now our purpose is concluded and it is time for us to move on.
Now, some of you might know that in Genesis 15, God told Abraham that his descendants would be enslaved and ill treated for 400 years. So obviously, the 400 years had passed. It went all the way to 430 years. Perhaps it was 30 years of peace and 400 years of slavery. Perhaps the 30 years at the beginning, were just kind of the formulating of God's people coming or just a round number that God gave to Abraham. But the 400 years had been completed, went all the way up, Moses says to 430 years.
The Passover Instituted
43 And the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, “This is the statute of the Passover: no foreigner shall eat of it, 44 but every slave that is bought for money may eat of it after you have circumcised him. 45 No foreigner or hired worker may eat of it. 46 It shall be eaten in one house; you shall not take any of the flesh outside the house, and you shall not break any of its bones. 47 All the congregation of Israel shall keep it. 48 If a stranger shall sojourn with you and would keep the Passover to the Lord, let all his males be circumcised. Then he may come near and keep it; he shall be as a native of the land. But no uncircumcised person shall eat of it. 49 There shall be one law for the native and for the stranger who sojourns among you.” 50 All the people of Israel did just as the Lord commanded Moses and Aaron. 51 And on that very day the Lord brought the people of Israel out of the land of Egypt by their hosts.
And the Lord said to Moses and Aaron in verse 43, "This is the statute of the Passover. No foreigner shall eat it. But every slave that is bought for money may eat of it after you have circumcised him. No foreigner or hired worker may eat of it. It should be eaten in one house. You shall not take any of the flesh outside the house, and you shall not break any of its bones. All the congregation of Israel shall keep it. If a stranger shall sojourn with you and would keep the Passover to the Lord let all his males be circumcised. Then he may come near and keep it. He shall be as a native of the land, but no uncircumcised person shall eat of it. For there shall be one law for the native, and for the stranger who sojourns among you. All the people of Israel," verse 50, "did just as the Lord commanded Moses and Aaron, and on that very day, the Lord brought the people of Israel out of the land of Egypt by their hosts."
And so here we have the Passover regulations, regurgitated, re-spoken, redelivered because they would partake of the Passover again in the future. So they have the directions given to them once again. And it won't be the last time that Passover regulations are listed out for the people of Israel. And of course, like I said earlier, the Passover is prominent around the life and death of Jesus. But here the statutes are given once again. And really the big emphasis of this paragraph that we just read is on the sojourner who might like to partake of the Passover. They had to go through a conversion of sorts. They needed to go through the rite of circumcision that God had given to Abraham as an outward emblem of the internal covenant that God had made with Abraham.
So this outward act was saying that we believe in the God of Abraham. We want to partake of the promises that God gave to Abraham. We want to worship the God of Abraham. And so, this helps us understand that you've got to be born into God's family. Foreigners and slaves from the outside were not able to eat of this meal. They had to be converted into it. And that's how we come into God's family. We are born into God's family. We are adopted into God's family. But it's something that's given to us by grace. We cannot earn it. We've got to receive it by grace and by faith.
Exodus 13
Consecration of the Firstborn
1 The Lord said to Moses, 2 “Consecrate to me all the firstborn. Whatever is the first to open the womb among the people of Israel, both of man and of beast, is mine.”
Now, Chapter 13 begins with the Lord reiterating to Moses and saying to Moses, "Consecrate to me all the firstborn. Whatever is the first to open the womb among the people of Israel both man and of beast is mine." Now, here in this chapter, we're going to have another brief address about the Passover itself. But first we have this little instruction about the firstborn. He's going to talk more about it though in a few verses, but just kind of gets that out there that the first born belongs to the Lord. That God required them that they belong to Him as a way to memorialize what happened at the Passover. God spared the firstborn children amongst the Israelites who had the blood upon their doorposts. So in the future, the firstborns were meant to be the ones that serve the Lord.
Now, later, when the golden calf was built by Aaron, spoiler alert, the Levite tribe responded well to that episode. They resist it. And so, the tribe of Levi became eventually the ones who produced the priesthood. And they would be the one to fulfill the firstborn requirement for the people of Israel. And they would offer a sacrifice when they had a firstborn to free themselves from this obligation to be priests because the Levites fulfilled that obligation for them. But nonetheless, that's the requirement of God here at this point. They'd have to give their firstborn to the service of God.
The Feast of Unleavened Bread
from Egypt, out of the house of slavery, for by a strong hand the Lord brought you out from this place. No leavened bread shall be eaten. 4 Today, in the month of Abib, you are going out. 5 And when the Lord brings you into the land of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites, which he swore to your fathers to give you, a land flowing with milk and honey, you shall keep this service in this month. 6 Seven days you shall eat unleavened bread, and on the seventh day there shall be a feast to the Lord. 7 Unleavened bread shall be eaten for seven days; no leavened bread shall be seen with you, and no leaven shall be seen with you in all your territory. 8 You shall tell your son on that day, ‘It is because of what the Lord did for me when I came out of Egypt.’ 9 And it shall be to you as a sign on your hand and as a memorial between your eyes, that the law of the Lord may be in your mouth. For with a strong hand the Lord has brought you out of Egypt. 10 You shall therefore keep this statute at its appointed time from year to year.
Then Moses said to the people in verse three, "Remember this day in which you came out from Egypt, out of the house of slavery. For by a strong hand, the Lord brought you out from this place. No leavened bread shall be eaten. Today, in the month of Aviv you are going out. And when the Lord brings you into the land of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites, which he swore to your fathers to give you, a land flowing with milk and honey, you shall keep this service in this month. Seven days you shall eat unleavened bread, and on the seventh day there should be a feast to the Lord. Unleavened bread shall be eaten for seven days. No leavened bread shall be seen with you. And no leaven shall be seen with you in all your territory. You shall tell your son on that day, it is because of what the Lord did for me when I came out of Egypt. And it shall be to use a sign on your hand and as a memorial between your eyes, that the law of the Lord may be in your mouth for with a strong hand the Lord has brought you out of Egypt. You shall therefore keep this statute at its appointed time from year to year."
Now, here Moses, again, is preparing them for the future Passover and the future Feast of Unleavened Bread that they will partake of before God every single year. And he reminds them of the importance of that day, the importance of their deliverance from the land of slavery by God's mighty hand into the land of promise. This was to be remembered every single year in the Passover, and in the Feast of Unleavened Bread. In modern times, the church actually has a celebration quite similar to this though we aren't commanded in the New Testament to celebrate Easter like we're prone to do. We do celebrate right there at the time of the Passover because Jesus died on the Passover and rose from the dead on the third day.
We celebrate what Christ has done. So really the church right at the same time that the Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread still occur. We celebrate the death and burial and resurrection of Jesus. That the bread of life who is without sin has come and is satisfying us. And so, in a sense, we have a similar celebration today. But in the Old Testament era, it was greatly delineated and laid out for the people of Israel, this is what you will do in the future. Now all this was done. And he says there in verse five, "When the Lord brings you into the land of promise, the land flowing with milk and honey." So this is going to be something that again, once God gave them the victory, and they went into the land of promise, they would actually partake of this meal together.
And they were to do all of this verse eight and nine, so that they could tell their children on that day in the land of promise, this is what God did for us in the past. In a sense, I think this speaks to us of the importance of talking about what Christ has done for us. I'm not merely talking about the provision that he's given to you or the new job that he's given to you or the praise report that you have. But what I'm talking about is your testimony of how he saved you, how he reached into your life. How you found Him, so to speak, and more accurately how He found you. What was that process? What was it like to declare this to others? To talk about the day that you were set free. To tell others, to tell your children, it's a beautiful thing to be able to do.
Now, God says all this, this feast needs to happen, this festival needs to happen. You need to tell your children so that it will be a sign on your hand and as a memorial between your eyes. In other words, this feast was a sign on their hand, like a sign on their hand or forehead a continual reminder for them of God's mighty deliverance from Egypt. Isn't it interesting that we need reminders? I don't know what kind of person you are. I don't know how easily you remember things. But I know for me, if I don't write something down and have a reminder system in place I forget almost everything. I've got to be reminded. And here this feast every year was meant to remind them of God's power, and the way that he delivered them from their captivity.
Now, some in that era, and even in our modern time. Orthodox Jews believed that God meant this literally, that they should write the reminders on their wrists or on their foreheads. And so they actually have created things called phylacteries, which are boxes which hold scripture inside of them. Jesus accused the Pharisees and scribes of making their phylacteries broad, making big boxes to hold scripture so that they might appear more holy. But I don't think that's what God intended for them. God intended that what he has done would be continually in front of them, on their minds, on their lips, in their hands.
Consecration of the Firstborn, Continued
I urge you, brother and sister in Christ, pick up your Bible with your hands every day of your life. Read your Bible with your eyes every day of your life. Say the word of God, back to God. Pray the promises of God to him every day of your life. Don't let a year go by where it's not on your mind. It's not on your heart. It's not on your lips. Let the word be present. As Proverbs 6:21 says, "Bind them on your heart always. Tie the word around your neck."
11 “When the Lord brings you into the land of the Canaanites, as he swore to you and your fathers, and shall give it to you, 12 you shall set apart to the Lord all that first opens the womb. All the firstborn of your animals that are males shall be the Lord’s. 13 Every firstborn of a donkey you shall redeem with a lamb, or if you will not redeem it you shall break its neck. Every firstborn of man among your sons you shall redeem. 14 And when in time to come your son asks you, ‘What does this mean?’ you shall say to him, ‘By a strong hand the Lord brought us out of Egypt, from the house of slavery. 15 For when Pharaoh stubbornly refused to let us go, the Lord killed all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both the firstborn of man and the firstborn of animals. Therefore I sacrifice to the Lord all the males that first open the womb, but all the firstborn of my sons I redeem.’ 16 It shall be as a mark on your hand or frontlets between your eyes, for by a strong hand the Lord brought us out of Egypt.”
Now, Moses, remember had been told by God that the firstborn son would be given to God and now God comes back to that and expands on those directions in verse 11 of chapter 13. He says, "When the Lord brings you into the land of the Canaanites as he swore to you and your father's and shall give it to you, you shall set apart to the Lord all that first opens the womb. All the firstborn of your animals that are males shall be the Lord's.
Every firstborn of a donkey, you shall redeem with a lamb. Or if you do not redeem it, you shall break its neck. Every firstborn of man among your sons you shall redeem. And when in time to come, your son asks you, what does this mean? You shall say to him, by a strong hand the Lord brought us out of Egypt from the house of slavery. For when the Pharaoh stubbornly refused to let us go, the Lord killed all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both the firstborn of man and the firstborn of animals. Therefore, I sacrifice to the Lord all the males that first open the womb, but all the firstborn of my sons I redeem. It shall be as a mark on your hand or frontlets between your eyes, for by a strong hand, the Lord brought us out of Egypt."
So here, he tells them again, "You got to set apart all the first that open the womb." But now he adds a couple of modifications. For firstborn humans that open the womb, obviously, God did not want them to be sacrificed, but they would be redeemed. In other words, bought back at a price. So, a price sacrifice or a money sacrifice given for every firstborn son. And then donkeys were also not meant to be sacrificed. They were to be bought back or redeemed. Donkeys eventually were declared as unclean animals. So that might be part of it, that they weren't to be sacrificed to God. They're also beasts of burden that perhaps were more required for just utility and infrastructure and the economy in Israel. And so, God mercifully allowed all of them to live but they'd be bought back with a price. But all the firstborn of the animals that were males were sacrificed to God.
Pillar of Cloud and Fire
17 When Pharaoh let the people go, God did not lead them by way of the land of the Philistines, although that was near. For God said, “Lest the people change their minds when they see war and return to Egypt.” 18 But God led the people around by the way of the wilderness toward the Red Sea. And the people of Israel went up out of the land of Egypt equipped for battle.
And partly because if you think about it, the animals were spared. Originally, the blood even saved them. And so, the implication here is that it impacts everyone. And so, God is expectant of this sacrifice. "And when," verse 17, "Pharaoh let the people go, God did not lead them by way of the land of the Philistines, although that was near." For God said, "Less the people change their minds when they see war and return to Egypt." But God led the people around by the way of the wilderness toward the Red Sea. And the people of Israel went up out of the land of Egypt equipped for battle. So here they are set free. They've got their directions for the future about the firstborn sons that will be sacrificed and given to God or redeemed if they're a human or a donkey.
They've got the directions about the Feast of Unleavened Bread and the Passover in the future. And God begins now to let or to lead his people. Pharaoh has let the Israelites go, and God begins to lead them. And the interesting thing is that God first made a decision not to lead them by the way of the Philistines directly to the land of promise. There was a direct straight route right along the coast of the Mediterranean that would have taken them to the promised land in a very short amount of time. But it was also the military road of the Egyptians. And perhaps the Philistines were loaded and ready for war themselves. And so, God looked at the people of Israel and determined they're not ready for war. And so, he took them another route so that they could avoid war.
In fact, that's exactly what it says. Less the people change their minds when they see war, and return to Egypt. So rather than take a 10 day journey, which is they traveled fairly slowly. It probably would have taken them about 10 days to make it from Egypt to the promised land, they instead took a one year journey, and stopped at seven separate camp sites all in the wilderness area. And what was God doing during that time? Well, I think that there was a chance for God to purge Egypt out of his people. He'd taken them out of Egypt, but Egypt was still inside of them. And when the Lord looks at our lives, He knows exactly what we must experience in order to cleanse and purify and sanctify our lives. He knows what trials we'll need, what tests we'll need, what difficulties we'll need. He knows the route that we need to take in order to purify and to grow us. And it seems that God thought that if they went straight there, what was happening inside of them was not ready for what would happen on the outside of them. They needed preparation.
And so the Lord took them on a different route in order to prepare their lives, and took them by the way of the wilderness it says in verse 18 toward the Red Sea. Now, people debate about what this means. And there are, I think, four different popular routes that scholars think they might have taken to get down into that Sinai Peninsula wilderness area. But as they went, it says in verse 18 that they were equipped for battle. This is interesting. "They weren't ready for war," God said, "but they were marching as if they were ready for war." But really, their maturity was not up to snuff with what they looked like on the outside.
19 Moses took the bones of Joseph with him, for Joseph had made the sons of Israel solemnly swear, saying, “God will surely visit you, and you shall carry up my bones with you from here.” 20 And they moved on from Succoth and encamped at Etham, on the edge of the wilderness.
Now, Moses, verse 19, took the bones of Joseph with him for Joseph had made the sons of Israel solemnly swear saying, "God will surely visit you, and you shall carry up my bones with you from here." And they moved on from Sukkoth and camped at Etham on the edge of the wilderness. Now think about how encouraging this would have been. Moses takes the bones of Joseph with him who had died around 400 years earlier, and takes him, takes these bones with him to the promised land. That's where Joseph ultimately wanted to be buried. He felt that he was a pilgrim there in Egypt, that he did not really belong there. And he wanted to be buried in the land of Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob.
But this would have been an encouraging thing to the people of Israel because it would have helped them recognize and see God, he's got a future for us. We don't belong in Egypt, we belong elsewhere. And this is exactly what Joseph had asked for when he died in Genesis 50 verse 25. He'd said, "God will visit us, and you will carry up my bones with you from here." And so there they are being prepared to take the land and they see here, Joseph, the faith of Joseph. He had gone to a land that he did not know about, but God was faithful to him. And so here they are, their faith should be built up, we're going to the promised land. It's a land we don't know about, but God just as he was faithful to Joseph, He can be faithful to us.
21 And the Lord went before them by day in a pillar of cloud to lead them along the way, and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light, that they might travel by day and by night. 22 The pillar of cloud by day and the pillar of fire by night did not depart from before the people.
And the Lord, verse 21, went before them by day in a pillar of cloud to lead them along the way and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light, that they might travel by day and by night. The pillar of cloud by day and the pillar of fire by night did not depart from before the people. Now we finally learn at the end of the chapter how God was leading the people of Israel. All through this chapter we've seen that He is leading them, but now we learn how He was leading them. He was leading them by a pillar, which during the day was a cloud, and at night was fire. Likely meaning that during the day He provided shade, and at night He provided warmth. But this cloud or this pillar of fire represent God's presence. He was there with them assuring them of His protection, His care, His guidance in their lives.
And so, there they were protected and led by the Lord, and may God protect and lead our lives as well. Sometimes through the shade, sometimes through the fire, the Lord is guiding and leading and watching over each one of our lives today by the Spirit that He's placed within us, the word that He's given to us, by the presence of Christ as He intercedes for us and our good, good father in heaven who is leading and loving our lives. God bless you, church. Have a wonderful week.