It Came To Passover - Exodus 12:29-51

[0:00] Good morning, everybody. Welcome to Calvary Chapel Charlotte. We can turn to Exodus chapter 12. We'll finish the chapter this week. We got as far as verse 28 last week.

[0:10] We'll pick up in Exodus 12, 29. Remember last week after we've estimated roughly 40 some days of plagues.

[0:21] We've gone through nine different plagues and we're up to the 10th plague. Now Moses has gone back to Egypt according to God's word in obedience to him. After 40 years in the wilderness, 40 years on the backside of the desert, and he's come back now.

[0:35] And after about 40 days, here he is where God is now telling him, it's time, Moses, this plague's gonna do it. Pharaoh will let the people go. Moses then receives instruction from the Lord.

[0:50] He says, okay, this is what I want you to tell the people. That's what we saw last week in the first half of, well, the first quarter of chapter 12. The second quarter of chapter 12, Moses then goes and tells the people. And he tells them that God is going to pass over, that there is a judgment coming, that death is coming.

[1:08] But inside a house, inside a house covered in blood, there will be life, there'll be fellowship, and there'll be communion. Outside, death. Inside, life, fellowship, and communion.

[1:20] And we saw those only after the lamb had died, only after the blood is applied, and it was only for those that abode in the house, only for those that were abiding in the house. Paul, in Romans, writing to the Romans, as he gets to the end, towards the end of the book of Romans, in Romans 15, he writes something interesting, where he's writing about our perspective on this side of the cross, as we look back through the filter of the cross.

[1:43] He writes about our perspective, as New Testament believers, how we view the Old Testament. There's, unfortunately, those that, within the quote-unquote church, they'll say, we don't need the Old Testament.

[1:54] We've got the New Testament. Why would you, there's so much you can learn and understand from the New Testament. You can spend your life in it. Why do we need the Old Testament? Well, Jesus never quoted the New Testament. You know that?

[2:06] He only quoted the Old Testament. So if it's good enough for Jesus, I figure it's good enough for us. But Paul tells us, in Romans 15, verse 4 and 5, he says, for whatsoever things were written aforetime, or before, were written for our learning, that we, through patience and comfort of the scriptures, might have hope.

[2:25] So the reason this is written down, you know, in my personal reading, I'm in 2 Kings, I'm reading about how Jehu just went way overboard and started killing everybody, not just Ahab and his family.

[2:35] And then, and it's like, what is all this here for? Why do we need to know? Well, and then his son, well, he was a doozy. Well, it's written for our instruction. It's because this is how God has decided that he's going to reveal himself to the world through his son, Jesus, and through the word made flesh.

[2:50] And then through the word that we now have in our hands, he has revealed himself to us. So as we go through this text, what do we see? Well, it says here that through learning, so through teaching, through doctrine, we would, through patience and comfort of the scripture, have hope.

[3:04] So as we study the scripture, it brings patience and comfort and hope. Now the God of patience and consolation, because that's who God is. He's the God of patience and consolation. That's the same word there of comfort.

[3:18] That he would grant to you to be like-minded one toward another, according to Jesus Christ. Oh, so the God, who's a God of patience and consolation, he gives us his word. So that then through the teaching and the doctrine of the word, we then come to be people like our God who have the same mind of Christ.

[3:34] And through patience and consolation, we extend that to one another. And the world looks on and goes, why do you act like that? I wouldn't be patient in that situation. I wouldn't feel comforted in that situation.

[3:44] Well, it's because I have God's word, because these things are written down, because the God of patience and comfort has spoken them to me, and I have received that. That's why we go through this. That's why we can look at Exodus.

[3:56] And what can we see? Well, man, we see Jesus everywhere. We see the heart of God displayed through the text. It's not just so we can know the history, but it's so that we might know the God of the history, right?

[4:07] So let's pick up in verse 28 tells us that the children of Israel, after hearing the command from Moses and Aaron about what they were to do to sacrifice the lamb, to put the blood upon the doorposts, to then go into the house and eat the lamb, roasted with fire, they obeyed.

[4:28] And they did as the Lord had commanded Moses and Aaron, so did they. And it came to pass that at midnight, the Lord smote all the house, or all the firstborn in the land of Egypt.

[4:38] And so as we saw before, when Moses warned Pharaoh at the end of chapter 11, when he told him that, hey, God's going to come through at midnight and he's going to do this, there was still time, Pharaoh.

[4:50] There was still space for repentance. Well, now the clock is struck. It's midnight. There's no more space for repentance. That window has closed. And the Lord came to pass that night at midnight.

[5:03] And the Lord smote all the firstborn in the land of Egypt. From the firstborn of Pharaoh that sat on his throne unto the firstborn of the captive that was in the dungeon and all the firstborn of the cattle.

[5:15] The whole land of Egypt, that included Goshen, that included the people, the children of Israel, the congregation of Israel. Everybody was under this judgment. Proverbs 18.10 tells us, the name of the Lord is a strong tower.

[5:27] The righteous runs into it and is safe. There was a refuge. Death could pass over. Death did come upon all, didn't it? Death came upon every house in Egypt.

[5:38] Just depends on whose death. Romans 2.11 tells us that God is no respecters of persons. And here we see that from Pharaoh to his court, to the captive, to the one in the dungeon, it didn't matter.

[5:52] God is no respecter of person. But we know what God is a respecter of. God is a respecter of blood. Exodus 12.13, we looked at this last week, and the blood shall be to you for a token upon the houses where you are.

[6:04] And when I see the blood, God's looking for blood. He's out for blood. I will pass over you. And the plague shall not be upon you to destroy you when I smite the land of Egypt. But it doesn't have to be our blood, right?

[6:16] It can be the blood of another. 2 Chronicles 16.9 tells us, the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth to show himself strong on behalf of them whose heart is perfect towards him.

[6:28] Like, well, wait a minute now. I'm disqualified. My heart's not perfect towards him. Well, how do we get a heart perfect towards him? It doesn't say a perfect heart, does it? It says a heart perfect, complete, whole towards him.

[6:40] Well, that's by faith. I receive the blood. I come under the blood. So the eyes of the Lord run to and fro to show himself strong on behalf of those who have come under the blood. And Pharaoh rose up in the night, he and all his servants and all the Egyptians.

[6:54] And there was a great cry in Egypt, for there was not a house where there was not one dead. Now, I don't know how this came about, the plague, you know, the angel of death as he passed through in some way that they knew, every house knew, death has happened.

[7:08] It wasn't like they woke up in the morning and found out like, oh, gee, the only firstborn in the house was the cat and he's dead, right? That wasn't how they found out. Something happened in the night that there was, that they knew death had come to the house.

[7:22] It says that there was not a house where there was not one dead. That doesn't mean a physical structure, you know, I mean, because technically you could have a secondborn man marrying a thirdborn woman and, you know, and they don't have kids yet and all the animals are second and thirdborn.

[7:36] So nobody would die in that house. It just means household. There's no family not touched. There's no family that doesn't have a firstborn. It doesn't work that way. Well, I guess, yes, technically, sorry. You could have like an adopted secondborn.

[7:50] But there's no family that wasn't touched. And at this time, they woke up in the night because God's judgment has come. But that's the point of God's judgment. God's judgment comes to wake us up.

[8:02] It comes to wake people up. God's not out. He's not willing that any should perish. He's not looking forward to the day that he's going to have to punish the wicked, that his wrath will fall on them.

[8:13] That's not his heart. Romans 13, Paul writes, he says that knowing the time that now it is high time to awake out of sleep, for now is our salvation nearer than when we believed.

[8:26] Wake up and be saved. The night is far spent. The day is at hand. Let us therefore cast off the works of darkness and let us put on the armor of light. It's time to wake up.

[8:36] Wake up. God's judgment, it comes to wake us up because all would be touched by death. All must die because death has come upon all. Romans 5, 12, we know that as by one man sin entered into the world and death by sin, and so death passed upon all men for that all have sinned.

[8:55] Well, we're all under the judgment of death. So all would be touched by death. But whose death? For as by one man's disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous, as Moses, under the instruction of God last week, says, your lamb shall be without blemish, a male of the first year, and you shall take of the blood of the lamb, and you shall strike it on the two posts, the side posts, on the upper posts of the house, and on the side posts wherein you are.

[9:30] So yes, there would be a death we've all come under, but whose death? Well, the lamb's. And so this is Egypt's perspective. That was last week, that was Moses's and Israel's perspective, that they were in a house where the blood was upon the home, and they were having fellowship and communion in the house partaking of the lamb.

[9:48] Egypt's perspective, death has just come. Death has come upon all the land, and they wake up with a great cry. And Pharaoh now calls to Moses in verse 31, and he called for Moses and Aaron by night, and he said, rise up and get out of here.

[10:01] Well, if you remember back in Exodus chapter 10 there, at the end of Exodus 10, Moses and Pharaoh, there was a lot of emotion in that moment because it tells us Moses goes out angry from the presence of Pharaoh.

[10:13] Pharaoh says to Moses, he said, get you from me, Moses. Take heed to yourself that you see my face no more. For in that day that you see my face, you will die. And Moses said, you've spoken well.

[10:26] I will see your face again no more. But now he's just called for him. Well, we saw how the text there meant that either Moses was saying, you're right, I'm not coming back here on my own accord. I'm done.

[10:36] You've had every chance. I will not be back here to speak to you. And we don't see Moses speak here. Pharaoh calls for Moses and says, get you forth from among my people, both you and the children of Israel.

[10:49] Go and serve the Lord as you have said. After the death of the firstborn, God's people are set free. Set free to arise and go. None of the other plagues could accomplish that.

[10:59] Only the death of the firstborn. Jesus, when he was in the synagogue is his home church in Nazareth. He comes in and he takes the scroll and it's Isaiah 61 and he opens it up and he reads.

[11:14] He says, the spirit of the Lord is upon me because he has anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor. He has sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, to preach the acceptable year of the Lord.

[11:30] Jesus comes with that good news because he knew that after the death of the firstborn Lamb of God, then God's people would be set free. Set free to arise and go. Hebrews 2, 14 and 15 says, for as much then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, we, us, he also himself likewise took part of the same.

[11:52] That through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is the devil, and deliver them who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage. He came to set us free, but that process involved the death and the blood of a lamb.

[12:11] And here now Pharaoh, after all of these plagues, he said before to Moses, oh yeah, you can go, but just the men, leave the children. All right, all right. If you want to take the women and children, go, but leave your cattle.

[12:23] Okay, fine, but don't go too far. And all of these conditions he kept putting on it. And here now, Pharaoh is saying, go, take everybody and go. Verse 32, also take your flocks and your herds as you have said and be gone.

[12:38] Proverbs 16, 7 says, when a man's ways please the Lord, he makes even his enemies to be at peace with him. He makes even Pharaoh to be at peace with him. He makes even your boss, fill in the blank, to be at peace with you.

[12:49] Now, does that mean that Pharaoh is at peace with Moses in such a way that he's like, man, I'm going to come with you, Moses. Let's get together and have dinner. No, it just means the conflict's gone. When a man's ways please the Lord, God is able to remove conflict.

[13:03] God is able to make a way forward. Remember, we looked a number of weeks ago at how God had raised up Pharaoh for a purpose. In Romans 9, verse 17 says, for the scripture says unto Pharaoh, even for this same purpose have I raised you up.

[13:18] That I might show my power in you that my name might be declared throughout all the earth. You know, Israel was gonna be delivered. Nothing was gonna stop that. Now, the timing and the circumstances, the means and methods, I don't know, but they were gonna be delivered.

[13:35] We have the same hope. We will be delivered. Jesus is coming for his bride. There is a deliverance that's coming. I don't know the in-between for my life or yours, but there is deliverance that's coming.

[13:47] After the death of the firstborn, God's people were set free to arise and go, and after the death of the firstborn, the enemy's power is now broken. Philippians 2, 10 and 11, Paul writes that at the name of Jesus, every knee should bow, of things in heaven and things in earth and things under the earth, that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, the glory of God, the Father, even Pharaoh, confessing that truth.

[14:15] God's judgment reveals the truth to even the hardest of hearts to the point now where Pharaoh says at the end of verse 32, oh, go and bless me also. Leave me a blessing.

[14:27] Go, as you have said. Go and serve the Lord, but bless me also. You know, it's interesting. Man has no capacity within himself to curse or bless. There's people that think they do, right?

[14:39] There's the witch doctors and primitive tribes. I'm going to curse you. And they think they can put a curse on someone. They have no ability in themselves. Unfortunately, there's those people who think they have the ability to bless as well.

[14:49] You know, I see blessing in your future and finances and if you just give a little seed money over here, but they have no capacity to do that. Man has no capacity to bless or to curse.

[15:00] And I think of where Jesus said, we looked at this recently when he said to the paralytic, your sins are forgiven. And they said, they thought within themselves, who is this man? He can forgive sins. And he said, which is easier to say?

[15:12] Your sins are forgiven or arise, take up your bed and walk. And obviously, it's easier to say. We can say anything, but do we have the capacity and ability to do that? And Jesus then said, get up and walk, showing that his words did have authority.

[15:25] We have none, but we do have a privilege, a great privilege of very often being the conduit by which God's blessing is delivered to people. I don't have any blessing in my words, but I can use my words to speak forth blessing into people's lives.

[15:41] If you remember in Numbers 23, we'll get there after we get through the rest of Exodus and Leviticus, we'll get to Numbers. At this time, over 40 years later, Israel is on their way into the promised land and they're passing by Moab.

[15:55] And Amalek, the king of Moab, he's like, oh no, we got to get rid of these guys. So he goes to the local soothsayer. He goes to Balaam and says, come and curse these people. Well, and there's that whole story of Balaam's donkey and Balaam gets there and he opens his mouth to curse and only blessing comes out.

[16:11] And Balak's like, what have you done? I've just like mortgaged my house to pay for you to come curse these people. And Balaam said, how shall I curse whom God has not cursed? Or how shall I defy whom the Lord has not defied?

[16:25] We have no capacity to bless or curse. Only God does. And Balaam's saying here in this calling right now, in this moment, and what you want me to do, I cannot go any further than what God has given me to do, which is to speak blessing.

[16:40] In Numbers chapter 6, if we rewound a little from Numbers 23, Moses is instructing Aaron kind of in the ordering of the priesthood. And the Lord spake to Moses and he said, Moses speak unto Aaron and to his sons, saying, on this wise, you shall bless the children of Israel, saying unto them, the Lord bless you and keep you.

[17:00] The Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious unto you. The Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace. And they shall put my name upon the children of Israel. That will bless them.

[17:11] You know, we end our services with that. The Lord bless you and keep you. The Lord makes face to shine upon you. That's not because my words have any impact or power. Look what he says here. The Lord bless you. They shall say, the Lord bless you.

[17:22] What's our role? We get to put the name of the Lord upon people. And they shall put the name of the Lord upon those people. So Pharaoh, unfortunately, in this moment, he recognizes he's not a part of blessing, but he's looking for it from man.

[17:38] He's not looking past the man and seeing the God who gives the blessing. The danger, the double-edged sword of being a disciple of Jesus Christ, of being those who get to go out and speak blessing into people's lives, is to begin to think there's something within myself that brings blessing to their life.

[17:56] And there's not. Just ask my wife and children. There's not. It's only the fact that God is the one who brings the blessing. And then the sad part here is Pharaoh, who is obviously broken.

[18:07] God's judgment has brought a brokenness in his life, but brokenness does not always lead to a repentance that leads to faith. Pharaoh's broken. He's repented, where he's saying, go, I'll let you go.

[18:19] But it doesn't lead to faith. Brokenness does not always lead to repentance that will result in faith. And there's people in our lives like that. We see God do a work in their life. They're broken.

[18:30] You're like, this is the moment they're gonna. And then it just seems like, what happened? There was like a, the fire was starting and then it just got blown out because it did not result in faith.

[18:42] And the Egyptians now, verse 33, they were urgent upon the people that they might send them out of the land in haste. For they said, we be all dead men. Get out of here. Go away.

[18:53] We don't want you here anymore. anymore. Rewind way back to Exodus chapter four. Moses is on the backside of the desert with the sheep. He looks up, he sees a live bush that burns, but it's not consumed.

[19:04] And he goes and God begins to speak to him and he tells him to go to Egypt. And he tells him this, before he ever leaves for Egypt, the Lord says to Moses, hey Moses, when you go to return into Egypt, see that you do all those wonders before Pharaoh, which I have put in your hand.

[19:18] But I will harden his heart that he shall not let the people go. And thou shalt say unto Pharaoh, thus saith the Lord, Israel is my son, even my firstborn. And I say unto you, let my son go, that he may serve me.

[19:33] But thou refuse to let him go. Behold, I will slay thy son, even thy firstborn. As Egypt is now saying, get out of here. Well, there's a reason. And God told Moses ahead of time why.

[19:44] That Pharaoh would refuse to let his son go. And so he would bring judgment upon his own house. You think, wait a minute, it says there that Israel is his son, his firstborn. I thought Jesus was the firstborn.

[19:57] Romans 8, 29, Paul tells us, for whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his son, that he, Jesus, might be the firstborn among many brethren.

[20:08] Well, how's there two firstborn? Well, Israel is God's firstborn, firstborn of the nations, firstborn people people in this life. Jesus is the firstborn of a spiritual Israel.

[20:20] Jesus is the firstborn of the eternal brethren. Yes, Israel, God's firstborn, his chosen people in this world have just as much opportunity to be part of God's firstborn spiritually.

[20:31] We do not get to be part of God's firstborn of Israel. We can't go and, you know, I always wished I was, had Jewish blood in me so that I could go and make Aliyah and go to Jerusalem and live there. But God had other plans, wouldn't be here, right?

[20:43] But we do have an opportunity to be part of God's firstborn, part of his spiritual sonship through Jesus. The death of the firstborn has turned everything upside down where the people now are saying, who's next?

[20:56] They're essentially saying, who's the next to die? They don't know everything that's just happened. They weren't there when Pharaoh and Moses were talking. They weren't there when Moses is telling Israel, hey, put the blood on your doorpost.

[21:08] For the millions of people in Egypt, all they know is death has come. So who is next to die? We be all dead men. And you know, they were right because Hebrews 9, 27 tells us it's appointed unto man once to die, but after this, the judgment.

[21:23] Death will come upon all. All will be under death. But again, who's death and who's judgment? And the people took their dough. So remember, they couldn't have leavened bread.

[21:36] They had to have bitter herbs. They had a lamb that was roasted in all of its parts. You couldn't divide it up. And then they had bread without leaven because there was no time to prepare. They had to be ready to go.

[21:47] And the people took their dough before it was leavened. They're kneading doughs being bound up in their clothes upon their shoulders. What does this mean? Well, it means that they didn't have time to bake their own leavened bread.

[21:58] We're going to find out that they're going to travel from Ramses to Sukkoth, which is right on the eastern border of Egypt. So when they get there, they're then going to be able to bake their bread. But right now, they had to bring it with them.

[22:10] But I think what this shows us about God's people, they were obedient. They had done what Moses said. They didn't have leaven. They weren't trying to wait for their loaves to rise.

[22:21] But they did have their staff in their hand, their shoes on their feet, their loins girded and ready to go. It shows that they were ready. They were equipped. They had what they needed so that they could travel when God said, let's go.

[22:32] That nothing was going to be keeping them back. And the children of Israel did according to the word of Moses. And they borrowed of the Egyptians jewels of silver and jewels of gold and raiment.

[22:46] We saw that, how God told Moses and then God told Moses to tell the people, hey, I want you to go and essentially plunder the Egyptians. There's a whole lot of back wages that are owed you for all the work you've done in Egypt.

[22:59] And they did that. They went and borrowed of the Egyptians jewels of silver, jewels of gold and raiment. And the Lord gave the people favor or literally grace in the sight of the Egyptians so that they lent them, excuse me, so they lent unto them such things as they required and they spoiled the Egyptians.

[23:17] Literally, they delivered. The people being delivered, delivered out of the Egyptians' hands the things that ultimately belonged to Israel. You know, Moses had told Israel, had told the Hebrews, this is what's going to happen.

[23:32] And I don't know how long ago he told them that. Right at the beginning, God tells Moses, this is what's going to happen. And then he tells the people, so are we talking weeks, days, a month? When do we get to go and do this, Moses?

[23:44] At the moment of deliverance, the means of deliverance was made available. It was time for them to leave. And he says, okay, now it's time. Now it's time to go to the Egyptians and ask for the things that you will need.

[23:55] 2 Corinthians 9, 8, we read that God is able to make all grace abound towards you. It's literally speaking of giving, of having material, material sufficiency that you can give.

[24:08] That you always, having all sufficiency in all things, may abound to every good work. God supplies our needs. But when does God supply those needs? When is it that our needs are supplied?

[24:18] This is really profound. God supplies for the need when there's a need. He doesn't, I want him to supply ahead of time. If only he would supply for all of my future needs now, then I would know when I got to him I'd be good.

[24:32] But he doesn't. And here you are, the land's been slain, the blood's on the door, you got your staff in your hand, you're ready to go, and you're looking around going, but I got nothing to journey with. I've got nothing for the journey ahead of me.

[24:43] I am not sufficient. And in the moment of deliverance, God says, yeah, but I got everything you need. Remember when Jesus, he sent out the 12 apostles.

[24:54] They'd gone out and they preached the gospel of the kingdom and they come back, they're so excited, they're so excited they don't even notice that Jesus is grieving because John has just been beheaded and he just found out about this. And they're all excited and he says, hey, let's go have a disciples retreat.

[25:08] And he says, come off into the wilderness for a time with me. And they go off into the wilderness. It's their time with Jesus and you know, they want to tell him, quiet Peter, you never stop talking. It's Bartholomew's turn. He never says anything.

[25:18] You know, they're so excited. It says, but then the people saw and they followed him out into the wilderness and Jesus looking upon the people had compassion on them because he saw them as sheep that had not a shepherd. And what did he do?

[25:29] It says he sat down and he began to teach them. And if you're the apostles, you're like, this was our time. Come on, come on, come on. And eventually, they come up with this little scheme and they go to Jesus and say, you know, it's getting late.

[25:42] The people, we're thinking of the people, Jesus. They need something to eat. Can we give them, maybe you should send them away. Just send them away. And Jesus says, no, no, no, you give them something to eat. We don't got anything. All we have is five loaves and two fish.

[25:55] He's like, we'll bring that to me. Jesus then takes those loaves in John chapter six, beginning of verse 11. And when he had given thanks, I love it. Who's he give it back to? The grumbling disciples.

[26:06] Here, go feed the people. He distributes to the disciples and the disciples to them that were set down and likewise of the fish as much as they would. And when they were filled, that word filled means to be overflowing.

[26:20] It means to be glutted. It means that they are so full they couldn't have any more. Now this is Jesus. He could be like, just enough for everybody. I can dial this in perfectly.

[26:32] But there's so much extra. He says, gather up the fragments that remain that nothing be lost. And I love that. John 6, verse 12. I love that verse. That is the heart that I believe God wants us to have in ministry.

[26:45] But man, I would rather have 50 left over than five who didn't get enough. Right? I would much rather have that we always have sufficiency. The resources God gives us that we meet the needs of the people.

[26:58] And not that it's like, well, maybe what, 50? Maybe, you know what, let's just have your bets. No, let's go way overboard. Why? Because he says, gather up what's left that nothing be lost. Therefore, they gathered them together and filled 12 baskets with the fragments of the five barley loaves which remained over and above unto them that had eaten.

[27:17] Notice it's not the fish. Right? Jesus knows. Jesus knows what we can handle. The fish would have eventually gone bad. 12 baskets full of bread? Well, we can handle that.

[27:28] 12, one for each of the apostles. And it's interesting, we never find out what happens to these 12 baskets because right after this, Jesus is going to get in the boat and head across the Sea of Galilee with his disciples. And he warns them and says, hey, beware of the leaven of the Pharisees.

[27:40] Speaking of sin, this type of sin. And the disciples go, oh, it's because we didn't bring bread. And Jesus says, you don't even know what I'm talking about. Don't remember that I could turn these loaves, you know? And in my mind, I think, you gotta, what'd they do with all the bread?

[27:53] They had 12 baskets full of bread. They get in the boat and we are given to the people. We don't need it. But the point is, God supplies the need when there's a need. Whether we have much or little doesn't matter. In ministry and serving the Lord, we never look at the resources.

[28:07] We always look at the one who gives the resources. We walk by faith because of what he's called us to do, not because of what we have. And so they spoiled the Egyptians.

[28:18] After the death of the lamb, after the blood of the lamb is upon the doorpost, after the death of the firstborn, the enemy has been spoiled. Ephesians 4, 8 tells us, wherefore he saith, when he ascended up on high, when Christ arose, he led captivity into captive.

[28:33] And he gave gifts unto men. Colossians 2, 15. And having spoiled principalities and powers, he made a show of them openly, triumphing over them in it.

[28:43] As Israel leaves Egypt with the robes and jewels on their children, marching out of Egypt, making a show openly of what God has done. And the children of Israel, now they journeyed from Ramses to Sukkoth.

[28:57] About 600,000 on foot, there were men beside children. Sukkoth, we're going to find out eventually as we get into the next chapter, Exodus 13. It says, they took their journey then from Sukkoth and encamped in Etham in the edge of the wilderness.

[29:12] That kind of gives us an idea. The red line there being about the border of Egypt. So they're now on the far eastern border of Egypt in Sukkoth. They've not yet left the land. They will shortly, they'll go from there to a wilderness camp in Etham.

[29:24] But right now, we have 600,000 on foot that were men besides the women and children. That's about 2 million. So if you take, you know, 600,000 and then you add in a wife and two to three kids, you're looking at like 1.8 to 2.5 million.

[29:38] You know, and they could have a lot more children than that. We know there was a baby boom among the Hebrews that Pharaoh had tried to kill all the children because they just kept having them. So we could be talking 5 million or more.

[29:51] The children of Israel journeyed. How long have they been waiting for that? 400 years in Egypt? 40 years of the, I mean, 40 days of all these plagues? How long were they waiting for this journey?

[30:04] Ecclesiastes 3.11 tells us that God has made everything beautiful in his time. Also, he has set the world in their heart so that no man can find out the work that God makes from the beginning to the end.

[30:16] How does he make everything beautiful in his time? I don't know. I don't know. But he does. He does. And we can be confident of this very thing that he which began a good work in us, well, he's faithful to perform it until the day of Jesus Christ.

[30:30] The children of Israel, they journeyed. The journey had been promised. The journey had been planned. The journey had been prepped. Our part is to believe that it'll be performed as God has done this.

[30:43] He's planned it. He's promised it. He's prepped it. Do I believe it will be performed? He's able to complete that which he has begun. And a mixed multitude went up also with them.

[30:55] And flocks and herds and even very much cattle. That's not just those, you know, those parents that have the free-range parenting idea and the kids are all crazy and there's a bunch of mixed multitudes. Man, they're everywhere. No. We're going to see this idea of mixed multitude again.

[31:08] It just means there were those that were not part of Israel. And if you think of when maybe you're putting the blood on the doorpost, you know, and your daughter comes running in, the Hebrew daughter, little Sarai, and she's like, oh, I was just telling the neighbors, you know, our Egyptian neighbors, Patmos and Cleopatra, about what we're doing and they're really curious and they come up, what are you doing?

[31:34] And you say, well, this is what's going to happen. So we're putting the blood on the doorpost. Maybe they do as well. Maybe you invite them in and you say, you know, come in the house with me. Or maybe it's the people that judgment has come and one of their loved one has died.

[31:47] Someone in the house has died and they realize, I don't want to stay in Egypt. I don't want to stay in the land of death. I want to go with these people who have life. And so they go with them and there's this mixed multitude.

[31:59] There's a principle here for us that we should never prevent, those who want to journey with us in deliverance. Never prevent them. Never prevent anyone who wants to come with us in deliverance. Well, you're Egyptian.

[32:10] We're Hebrew. No, no, no. We should always invite anyone, even if, whatever their mixed up ideas may be. Maybe you meet some Christians in the wild. That's what I think of. In church, it's like Christians in captivity.

[32:21] You meet people unexpectedly out and about in public. It's like, oh, a Christian in the wild. You don't find many of those. And you start talking to them and you know they love the Lord, but you also know they got some interesting ideas.

[32:34] But you know what? Hey, journey with me to deliverance. This is fantastic. But we should also never let those who journey with us to deliverance prevent us from that deliverance.

[32:45] Right? They may all of a sudden go another direction. Oh, I, I can't, I have to keep going this way. What do I do? The mixed multitude will show up again in Numbers 11.

[32:58] It says, the mixed multitude that was among them fell a lusting. I love the King James. They fell a lusting. Sounds like a southern term. Not a good one either. It just means that they, they were, they were desiring to fulfill the appetites of their flesh.

[33:11] Now. And that's what they wanted God to do. And the children of Israel also wept again and said, who shall give us flesh to eat? We remember the fish which we did eat in Egypt freely. The cucumbers and the melons and the leeks and the onions and the garlics.

[33:25] I don't remember any of that going through any of this text we've gone through. But now our soul is dried away. There is nothing at all besides this manna, God's provision before our eyes.

[33:36] Look at that phrase in there. They did eat freely. I don't remember them eating anything freely either. Amazing what we remember when the flesh, when its appetite is awakened and that desire.

[33:46] And they say, now our soul is dried away. Of course your soul is dried away. When you seek to fulfill yourself through the flesh, man, you'll dry up your soul like that. God's provision isn't enough when the flesh is what I'm seeking to be satisfied.

[33:58] But I'm not going to prevent someone. I'm not going to prevent the carnal Christian or the backslidden Christian who's like, well, you know, no, come with me. But I'm also not going to let you prevent me from entering into deliverance myself.

[34:11] And so now, at Sukkoth, they stop in verse 39 and they bake their unleavened cakes of the dough which they had brought forth out of Egypt. For it was not leavened because they were thrust out of Egypt and they could not tarry.

[34:23] It means to be expelled. They were being expelled from where they no longer belonged. And they could not tarry there. Neither had they prepared for themselves any victuals, any provisions.

[34:34] But God did. Their obedience was their provision. Obedience is always a necessity and yet also supplies what's necessary. It's necessary for us to obey.

[34:45] If they didn't obey, well, they're still there in Egypt. They don't have the blood on the doorposts. They're not ready to go. But when we obey, God uses that obedience to supply what we need.

[34:57] Obedience is a present blessing but it's also a future provision. And now, the sojourning of the children of Israel and now the sojourning of the children of Israel who dwelt in Egypt was 430 years.

[35:13] 430 years they'd sojourned. And those 430 years for the generations who lived and died, it probably just felt like home to them. This is all they knew. And yet God's perspective is it was still temporary.

[35:25] They're still sojourning. And now God has prepared deliverance for them. And how did he do that? In deliverance, God had prepared what? A lamb and a loaf. Isn't that amazing? We're going to take communion today because it just fits so well with last week and this week, rounding this out.

[35:38] As God begins to deliver his people, he's prepared for them. A lamb, take of the lamb, eat of the lamb before you depart, and then he's prepared a loaf. Think of it with communion. We don't eat the lamb.

[35:49] The lamb's been slain. We've all partaken of the lamb. The blood's been put upon the doorpost. But there's a loaf that we continue to partake of again and again. That loaf of remembrance.

[36:01] It was 430 years. We are never to doubt the arrival of deliverance. God's deliverance is determined, but never delayed as we're told in 2 Peter.

[36:13] Chapter 3, verse 9, the Lord is not slack concerning his promise as some men count slackness. He's not just dilly-dallying. He's not being lazy. He's not forgotten. But he is long-suffering to usward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.

[36:28] We talked about it before. Moses shows up day one and just says, get ready, let's go. The angel of death is coming. Slay the lamb. How many of them would have done that? Moses, we haven't seen you in 40 years.

[36:38] But God prepared his people through all of these plagues. So by the time the last plague came, not one person was left behind. God's deliverance is never in doubt.

[36:52] Remember in Revelation chapter 3, we just read this this last week about the church of Philadelphia. Jesus tells them, behold, I come quickly. Hold fast or do not let slip that which you have, that no man take your crown.

[37:06] I come quickly. Jesus has spent over 2,000 years. Well, Egypt is a perfect example of that, of God's people in Egypt. 430 years and yet when deliverance came, look how fast it happened.

[37:17] It was quick. They didn't have years to prepare when Moses came and says, hey, get ready, it's time for deliverance. You know, tonight is the night the Passover happens. This night, well, could we take a few days?

[37:28] You know, I got some, I've got some of those leeks and onions in the garden and when they're ripe, can I bring them with me? When it comes, it's going to come quickly. In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye.

[37:41] Verse 42, after now, Moses, he says, it is a night to be much observed unto the Lord for bringing them out from the land of Egypt.

[37:54] This is that night of the Lord to be observed of all the children of Israel in their generations. One moment, one night, one deliverance. What does he say nighttime is for?

[38:04] Remember, we read that what Paul said, to awake out of sleep. Well, for the believer, night is not for sleeping. In God's economy, nighttime is not to be sleeping. Nighttime is for watching. As Jesus often would go out to pray, Luke 6, 12, and it came to pass in those days that he went out into a mountain to pray and continued all night in prayer to God.

[38:24] For us, night is not for sleeping. Nighttime is for watching, being ready, ready to depart, ready to go. And the Lord said unto Moses and Aaron in verse 43, this is the ordinance of the Passover.

[38:37] This is the structure, the prescription, the privilege is what that word means. This is the structure. This is the prescription. This is what I'm prescribing to you. And understand, it's also a privilege to be part of this.

[38:49] There shall no stranger eat thereof. Partaking was a privilege, but it was a privilege that was made available only by relationship. You could not be outside of this. There had to be relationship.

[38:59] No strangers. We do not get to choose what God prescribes. When God prescribes it, he says, this is the ordinance. I don't get to choose. This is the ordinance of salvation.

[39:10] It is given unto man one name under heaven whereby we must be saved. That the name of Jesus every knee would bow. I don't get to choose that, but I do get the privilege of partaking in that. But every man's servant, verse 44, that is bought for money, when thou hast circumcised him, then shall he eat thereof.

[39:26] A foreigner and a hired servant shall not eat thereof. The only way you can partake is by covenant, by relationship, and by covenant. The covenant that God made with Abraham, Genesis 17, 13.

[39:39] He that is born in your house and he that is bought with your money must needs be circumcised, and my covenant shall be in your flesh for an everlasting covenant. The only way that you can partake of Israel's memorial feast to partake in the Passover is by covenant and relationship.

[39:55] Only those who first partook of the covenant were then allowed into the house to partake. And in one house, verse 46, it shall be eaten. Thou shalt not carry forth out of the flesh abroad, thou shalt not carry forth out of the flesh abroad, ought of the flesh, out of the house.

[40:15] In other words, don't take it out. Don't take any of the lamb out. It must stay in the house and neither shall you break a bone thereof. You know, obedience in the moment sometimes seems strange. Some of the things God asks us to do can seem kind of strange.

[40:29] But God has a reason for it and it will bear out in the future. It's not for us to know. You know, Hebrews 11.1 says, faith is a substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. My trust in God is enough evidence of what I don't see that God's promised.

[40:42] God says, this is coming, I promise, I have a future and a hope for you that's been planned out. I don't see that. I don't get to see that. What I do get to see as I get to see God's promise and then I can put my faith in that.

[40:57] Obedience seems strange in the moment but it always bears out in the future. Obedience to God's word, when we obey God's word, when we see the examples in God's word, they are just stepping stones to the Messiah.

[41:10] One stone after another laid in front of another that brings us to the Messiah. Here, if you were in Israel at this time, you're like, okay, as we remember this Passover, we have the feast, we can't take the lamb out of the house, we can't break his bones.

[41:25] Why? Well, one of those stepping stones in Psalm 34, David writes and said, he keeps all his bones. Not one of them is broken. Well, there's a stepping stone. And if you were a Hebrew at the time that you had the Psalms, you would read that and you'd go, that makes me think of when we have Passover every year, that we can't break a bone of the lamb.

[41:47] The lamb who was slain in the blood that we put, that's interesting. And Psalm 34 is speaking of the Messiah. I wonder what that tie-in is. And there's another stone in John 19, verse 36.

[41:59] It says, for these things were done that the scriptures should be fulfilled. A bone of him shall not be broken. When the guards, the Roman centurion goes to break his legs and he sees Jesus is already dead on the cross. I'm not going to break his legs.

[42:11] And then at that time, if you were in Israel and you heard of this and you would think, oh, like Psalm 34. Oh, like the Passover. Passover. Jesus died the same night, in the same moment that the Passover lambs were being slain and his legs weren't broken and he claimed to be Messiah.

[42:27] I wonder if there's a connection. I wonder if that stepping stone led me to Jesus. Obedience to God's word. Whenever we obey God's word, it's just another stepping stone to bring us closer to Jesus.

[42:40] Jesus. And all the congregation of Israel shall keep it. All the congregation must collectively partake, but they did so by individually each taking the lamb into their home. The whole congregation was to do this, but only by individually bringing a lamb into their home.

[42:55] And when a stranger shall sojourn with you. So he's a visitor. This would be a very surprising visit. Hey, it's Passover tonight. That's fantastic. Come and get circumcised. And when a stranger shall sojourn with you and will keep the Passover to the Lord, let all his males be circumcised and then let him come near and keep it.

[43:13] And he shall be as one that is born in the land for no uncircumcised person shall eat thereof. How do you get rid of a stranger? You make him a friend.

[43:28] How do you get rid of a stranger? You bring him into relationship. You make him part of the family. The law of the stranger or how to get rid of strangers is to make them a member of the family. Let them come near.

[43:39] First a covenant, then relationship, only then fellowship and communion. Only then. Hebrews 10, 22 says, let us draw near with a true heart and full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.

[43:54] We've been brought near. We've been made part of this covenant. We are in relationship. Let us hold fast to the profession of our faith without wavering. This is an eternal ordinance. He is faithful that promised.

[44:06] This covenant we've been brought into. There's only one set of instructions and applies to all men, those in the covenant or outside of the covenant, that all fall under this law, that the wages of sin is death.

[44:19] But there is a gift of God, gift of God, which is eternal life through Jesus Christ, our Lord. One law shall be to him that is homeborn and unto the stranger that sojourns among you.

[44:29] Only one law. Ephesians chapter 2, Paul will write and say, beginning in verse 13, but now in Christ Jesus, you who sometimes, you were far off, you were strangers, you are brought nigh by the blood of Christ.

[44:44] Now therefore, you are no more strangers and foreigners, but you are fellow citizens with the saints. And even better than that, we're in the house. We are part of the household of God. Jesus in John 14 would say, I am the way, the truth, and the life.

[44:58] No man comes unto the Father but by me. One lamb, one way. Thus did all the children of Israel in verse 50, and the Lord, as the Lord commanded Moses and Aaron, so did they. It's a wonderful blessing when God works his blessings in our lives.

[45:14] But it's just as wonderful to know that God's promised blessing is as real as the experience of the blessing itself. Right? When we receive God's promise and we believe it, it's the same effect as when we partake of it in the moment.

[45:29] God had promised Israel that he would deliver them out of Egypt, but there's 430 years. Well, at year 200, you're not going to live until the 430th year.

[45:40] I didn't get to partake of the promise. Yes, you did. You partook by faith because you believed that God would keep his word. And the part that stands out to me here in verse 50, I love where it says, thus did the children of Israel as the Lord commanded, and then as he commanded Moses and Aaron, so did they.

[45:57] So much easier to just hear from the Lord. Lord, can't you just speak to me? You know, just remove the middleman. Can't you just speak to me? God is able to make his voice heard and his will known through the most insufficient of means.

[46:11] He loves to use the weak things of the world. Hi. Right? God can use the most insufficient of means. Moses and Aaron. Remember Moses? Moses had a lot to say but couldn't speak. God, I don't know how to speak.

[46:22] But he had a ton to say. Aaron had nothing to say. Like, unless Moses gave him something to say, he had nothing to say but he didn't stop talking. Right? These two guys completely insufficient. But God is able to make them to be sufficient.

[46:36] 2 Corinthians chapter 3. Picking up in verse 5. Not that we are sufficient of ourselves, writes Paul, the most sufficient minister of the gospel to ever live. We would think.

[46:47] But he says, not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think anything as of ourselves but our sufficiency is of God who also has made us able ministers of the new covenant. Not of the letter but of the spirit for the letter kills.

[47:00] The law, that old covenant, the Old Testament kills but the spirit gives life. A spiritual one. God's able to use the most insufficient things because he is sufficient.

[47:11] And it's a wonderful blessing when we come to the place where we recognize that we are not enough. And we also recognize that anyone God chooses to use is not enough. We live in Charlotte, right?

[47:23] There's a Billy Graham library. But we don't go there because Billy Graham was amazing and sufficient. We go there because we see a life of insufficiency that God made sufficient and did everything through amazingly so.

[47:36] You know, we're part of Calvary Chapel. We look back at the men of Calvary Chapel. We look at Chuck Smith who by faith started the movement and did so much but he wasn't sufficient. You read any of their works, you know they weren't sufficient. But they're examples of people who God made sufficient because he is the one who's sufficient.

[47:52] It's a wonderful thing to realize that we're not enough because then God has opportunity to be enough. And it came to pass, verse 51, the selfsame day, there is a day of deliverance prescribed for all those that are in the covenant and under blood.

[48:07] The selfsame day that the Lord did bring the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt by their armies. Deliverance came to pass because death had already passed over.

[48:19] Deliverance was assured. But you and I, you know, we're gonna do communion a little bit and the question then we ask is, well, am I in the covenant? Am I under blood?

[48:31] Am I part of this? 1 Corinthians 11, 28 says, to let a man examine himself and so let him eat of that bread and drink of that cup to examine myself. 2 Corinthians 13, 5, examine yourselves whether you be in the faith.

[48:46] Prove your own selves. Know you not, your own selves, how that Jesus Christ is in you except you be disqualified? That doesn't mean that you become disqualified. It means you're either in or you're out. Which is it? Are you qualified?

[48:58] Well, how am I qualified? Am I qualified to partake of the memorial of the lamb? You know, as Jesus has left us a loaf of memorial, am I qualified? Well, only if I've been made sufficient.

[49:09] I know the sufficiency is not of myself. So the questions we ask ourselves this morning, well, was the lamb slain? Well, yeah, he was.

[49:20] I believe that. Was the blood applied? Yes, I've applied that blood to the doorposts of my heart. Was the lamb partaken of? Yes, I've partaken.

[49:30] As I've gone down into death with him, I shall be raised to life with him. And is there a covenant? And is there relationship? I am part of that covenant. I am part of that relationship.

[49:42] God would make known to us and to all the world what is the riches of the glory of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory. Am I sufficient? No way.

[49:54] But I have Christ in me, the hope of glory. We've been brought under blood. The lamb has been slain. He's been partaken of. There's a covenant and we've entered into relationship.

[50:06] We get the opportunity and the privilege now of living in that. That sufficiency comes from him. The sufficiency to stay in the covenant, the sufficiency to remember it, and then the fact that there is deliverance.

[50:18] There is a day coming. You know, if we can answer yes for ourselves that we are under the blood, then there is a memorial commanded to us.

[50:30] As Paul says in 1 Corinthians 11, 23, he says, I've received of the Lord that which also I delivered unto you. Just as Moses and Aaron received of the Lord and they delivered it to the people. This is not optional. Well, I don't know if I really want to come under the blood of the lamb.

[50:44] There's no other option. He's received of the Lord which he's delivered unto us. If yes, if we're under the blood, then there's a memorial commanded, but there's also deliverance assured. I think of the Egyptians that next morning when they get up.

[50:59] Israel's departed and one night, in a moment, as it were, twinkling of an eye, it's like they're gone. And when you look towards Goshen, the only thing you're going to see is a bunch of empty houses covered in blood.

[51:12] There's a day coming for us where the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, with the trump of God, and the dead in Christ shall rise first. And then we which are alive and remain, we shall be caught up together with him in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air.

[51:27] And so shall we ever be with the Lord. And then he says, comfort one another with these words. Comfort one another. There's going to be a day where the world's going to look around and all they're going to see is a bunch of empty homes that were covered in blood because we're gone, because we're out of here.

[51:42] That is our privilege. That is our deliverance. And that is our hope. You're part of a covenant and a relationship that you had to do nothing, nothing to gain and nothing to enter into.

[51:53] There is a self-same day that the fulfillment of that will come. I don't know. I'm hoping to be alive when I'm taken, but I don't really care. I don't care. I don't care because I'm going to be delivered.

[52:06] Amen? Father, thank you so much for your word. Thank you for the body and the blood. Thank you, like Paul said, that these things were written for our comfort and our hope.

[52:18] What a hope we have. Thank you that we get to comfort one another with these words. Not our words, but we get to be the ones who share those words. Words of hope. Now may the Lord bless you and keep you.

[52:33] The Lord make his face to shine upon you, give you peace. The Lord lift up the light of his countenance upon you, be gracious unto you. And I totally reverse that, but may it be so.

[52:44] The Lord put his name upon you. In Jesus' name, amen. God bless you. Enjoy your week. Have some fellowship. Joseph. Have some fellowship.

[52:56] Have some fellowship. except that there's a gift. Status. Safe fellowship. Have some fellowship.avoast mortals.اف