Out of Egypt
Notes
Transcript
last week we talked about the passover, and the many images of Christ that can be seen throughout.
such as the unleavened bread
the unblemished lamb
we see that there was hyssop and vinegar used in the passover dinner and hyssop used to apply blood to doorpost
and most importantly, the image of God passing over the doors covered by the blood of the spotless lamb
Jesus says in He stands at the door and knocks, the door of our hearts
Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me.
What else we saw: the effect of faith in God vs hardness of heart and unbelief
God’s people were freed from slavery with a “high hand”
while they suffered greatly under much toil and hardship, at the end of the day, their FAITH IN GOD is what led them to victory
while on the other hand, pharoah and the path he chose led to nothing but downfall, destruction, and the judgement of God
finally, we saw God’s dominion over the false gods of Egypt and their entire belief system be destroyed before their very eyes
Thinking about Moses: at the beginning, he seemed to have such a big task on his shoulders
going up to Pharoah, time after time, saying “God says, ‘let my people go’”
seemingly having all the odds against him
but Moses kept going, he kept persisting in God’s way
and while it might have seemed impossible at first, with God, ALL THINGS ARE POSSIBLE
as a man, Moses had many great qualities, sure, he was imperfect, but he was persistent
he chased after God even in the hardest of times, whether it be up to this point in the story or during the wilderness wanderings
even when his own people were against him, he never faltered and catered to them, he remained on course
and this course would eventually lead the Hebrews into the promised land
while the course of others, like pharoah or anyone else who stood in the way, was the judgement of God
Sometimes it’s easy to read these stories in the Bible, see God’s involvement, and not always think about the fact that the hebrews were just average joes, everyday people
but these everyday people, while not perfect, just made sure to follow the course, and God gave them their inheritance
but we worship this same God, the same yesterday, today, and forever, who has promised US an inheritance
in a way, we face a similar issue that they did, which leaves us with the question: WHAT WILL WE DO? HOW WILL WE CHOOSE TO WALK FORWARD? WHAT PATH?
we have the example here of God leading everyday people who just followed Him, may we all choose to do the same
And it came to pass, that at midnight 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 cattle.
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 there was not one dead.
And he called for Moses and Aaron by night, and said, Rise up, and get you forth from among my people, both ye and the children of Israel; and go, serve the Lord, as ye have said.
Also take your flocks and your herds, as ye have said, and be gone; and bless me also.
v30 - reference exodus 11
And there shall be a great cry throughout all the land of Egypt, such as there was none like it, nor shall be like it any more.
God struck Egypt harshly, as they had done God’s people quite wrongly over the 430 years that they were there
and we know from earlier in the book that God watched over His people, and very much heard their cries
and though it took a little while, God came through for His people in an incredible way
and like we touched on last week, Pharoah and his firstborn son would have been viewed as gods in Egypt
so by God judging them, even killing Pharoah’s firstborn, we see some great imagery - CHRIST, THE SON OF GOD, RISES whereas God kills egypt’s supposed gods
v31-32 - so then we see that Pharoah wants them out QUICKLY and IMMEDIATELY, which reminds us of a verse we read earlier
And all these thy servants shall come down unto me, and bow down themselves unto me, saying, Get thee out, and all the people that follow thee: and after that I will go out. And he went out from Pharaoh in a great anger.
this was one of the things that Moses said to pharoah before the 10th plague
and we see that this ended up coming true: the situation has been flipped
it went from Moses asking Pharoah for him to let the hebrews go
to Pharoah asking Moses and the hebrews to get out quickly
“the first will be last and the last will be first”
a wonderful examples of God turning the tables for the good
And the Egyptians were urgent upon the people, that they might send them out of the land in haste; for they said, We be all dead men.
And the people took their dough before it was leavened, their kneadingtroughs being bound up in their clothes upon their shoulders.
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:
And the Lord gave the people favour in the sight of the Egyptians, so that they lent unto them such things as they required. And they spoiled the Egyptians.
During the passover dinner and the instructions for it, God told the hebrews to make unleavened bread
this is because it was much quicker to make, and could be done in an evening/overnight
so God instructed them on how to be ready to leave Egypt quickly
additionally, we see where they asked the Egyptians for their jewelry, and if we remember earlier in the passage, God said He’d grant them favor so that this would happen
and it very much did
so God was PREPARING His people through His Word and instruction
and we see that it worked for the hebrews here
and of course we should have this view when reading the Word
so God not only enabled them to escape Egypt, they will even be prepared when they go out
going from being just slaves to being a self-sufficient people on their journey toward their inheritance
just like this life is for us, we’re just passing through, right?
this life is something like our journey, we’ve been freed from slavery, and now we follow God on this journey through life
and if we do, we have our own promised land ahead of us to look forward to
And the children of Israel journeyed from Rameses to Succoth, about six hundred thousand on foot that were men, beside children.
Rameses, or Pi-Rameses, was the store city we saw the hebrews build earlier in Exodus
it was located in the region of Goshen, where Josephs family had settled down and later generations been kept safe through the plagues
Goshen was a greenish area, whereas succoth is a more dry area, and this route is headed toward the direction of sinai
if one is interested in looking into this, there is a riverbed that is dry most of the time called the Wadi Tumalit, which is thought to be the route they could have taken from Rameses to Succoth
***MAP***
And a mixed multitude went up also with them; and flocks, and herds, even very much cattle.
“mixed multitude” - these were just a variety of other peoples and nationalities
this was likely because of the power of God having been shown in the plagues and people coming to see who the true God really was
and that the Hebrews and their God were the right way to go
God, showing His love, would later account for these people in the Mosaic law, never forgetting to leave out the fact that there may be foreigners among them, and that they should be treated well too.
as we see in v37, there were 600k men plus dependents, showing God’s promise to Abraham starting to blossom
as He talked about how Abraham’s seed would have as many children as the stars of the sky, and now they are on their way to the land as well
so while it may have taken some time, God’s promise is fulfilling itself in a glorious way
sometimes, we just have to wait on God’s time
surely, while the hebrews were suffering, they were wondering when God would fulfill His promise
but all it took was waiting on God’s time, and it started to come through
And they baked unleavened cakes of the dough which they brought forth out of Egypt, for it was not leavened; because they were thrust out of Egypt, and could not tarry, neither had they prepared for themselves any victual.
Now the sojourning of the children of Israel, who dwelt in Egypt, was four hundred and thirty years.
And it came to pass at the end of the four hundred and thirty years, even the selfsame day it came to pass, that all the hosts of the Lord went out from the land of Egypt.
It is a night to be much observed unto the Lord for bringing them out from the land of Egypt: this is that night of the Lord to be observed of all the children of Israel in their generations.
We see that it was 430 years, even to the day, which shows the complexity yet simple beauty of God’s plan
that God has absolute control, down to the day and time when these things happen
man cannot even come close, with man, it would have been impossible, but again, with God, all things are possible, amazing things are possible.
v42 - this verse wraps up the previous section, and sets the stage for the next passage, which are some instructions for the passover
so then the instructions for the passover are reiterated
no foreigner may eat it, but slaves could
temporary resident or hired hand couldn’t eat it
should be eaten as a household together, not carrying the meal from place to place
no bones broken of the meal
everyone should keep it
one who sojourned with them, if he kept the passover and followed God, could become of of the people and be circumcised
no uncircumcised should eat
one set of rules for God’s people, others for those who aren’t
Thus did all the children of Israel; as the Lord commanded Moses and Aaron, so did they.
And it came to pass the selfsame day, that the Lord did bring the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt by their armies.
Moses gives additional instructions for the passover, saying the following
And thou shalt shew thy son in that day, saying, This is done because of that which the Lord did unto me when I came forth out of Egypt.
And it shall be for a sign unto thee upon thine hand, and for a memorial between thine eyes, that the Lord’s law may be in thy mouth: for with a strong hand hath the Lord brought thee out of Egypt.
Thou shalt therefore keep this ordinance in his season from year to year.
God again makes clear that one of the main purposes of this celebration, the feast of the unleavened bread, it to have it be a memorial
and a way to show their children the importance of what happened back in Egypt.
making sure it’s not only kept in the hearts and minds of the adults who know, but imprinting it onto the next generation
helping to keep these things in the forefronts of everyone’s mind
because it’s quite easy for things to be lost with new generations
if we think of old folk knowledge and old “ditties” that were once a huge part of the culture around here
old stories, old songs, just old pieces of culture, these days, many of the younger people are knowing and learning less and less of this stuff
and the less that God is talked about, remembered, made a memorial of, and just generally taught, to the next generation, the more and more it will fade
until one day, it’s just an old memory or remnant of what once was
God instituted a way where the events in Egypt would never be forgotten, should the hebrews practice what God says, and God will always be in mind
and will be known as a crucial part of why they were who they were
and Jesus implemented this type of thing with the Last Supper, these things are so important
and it’s reiterated in the following verses
And it shall be when thy son asketh thee in time to come, saying, What is this? that thou shalt say unto him, By strength of hand the Lord brought us out from Egypt, from the house of bondage:
And it came to pass, when Pharaoh would hardly let us go, that the Lord slew all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both the firstborn of man, and the firstborn of beast: therefore I sacrifice to the Lord all that openeth the matrix, being males; but all the firstborn of my children I redeem.
And it shall be for a token upon thine hand, and for frontlets between thine eyes: for by strength of hand the Lord brought us forth out of Egypt.
and this chapter ends with a great image of God’s leadership, and a closing out of their time in Egypt by saying
And it came to pass, when Pharaoh had let the people go, that God led them not through the way of the land of the Philistines, although that was near; for God said, Lest peradventure the people repent when they see war, and they return to Egypt:
But God led the people about, through the way of the wilderness of the Red sea: and the children of Israel went up harnessed out of the land of Egypt.
And Moses took the bones of Joseph with him: for he had straitly sworn the children of Israel, saying, God will surely visit you; and ye shall carry up my bones away hence with you.
And they took their journey from Succoth, and encamped in Etham, in the edge of the wilderness.
And the Lord went before them by day in a pillar of a cloud, to lead them the way; and by night in a pillar of fire, to give them light; to go by day and night:
He took not away the pillar of the cloud by day, nor the pillar of fire by night, from before the people.
We will talk about these verses again next week and pick up the story from here!