Delivered with Illustrated Reminders

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Two guys became friends as they watched game 3 of the World series together at the local bar & grill. The one who lived in the suburbs confided in his new-found friend, and exhibited a string tied around a finger.       "I don't dare to go home," he explained. "There's something my wife told me to do, without fail, and to make sure I wouldn't forget, she tied that string around my finger. But for the life of me I can't remember what the thing was I am to do. And I don't dare to go home!"       A few days later the two men met again at the same restaurant - both of them there to watch game 4 of the series.       "Well," the one asked, "did you finally remember what that string was to remind you of?"       The other showed great gloom in his expression, as he replied:       "I didn't go home until the next night, just because I was scared, and then my wife told me what the string was for all right--she certainly did!" There was a note of pain in his voice. "The string was to remind me to be sure to come home early."
One person has said, “the Christian life is like a combination of amnesia and déja vu, in which we keep learning what we keep forgetting.”
It is because we are so forgetful that God so often commands us to remember:
“Remember the Lord who is great and awesome” (Neh. 4:14).
“Remember your Creator in the days of your youth” (Eccles. 12:1).
“Remember … I am God, and there is no other” (Isa. 46:9).
“Remember Jesus Christ, raised from the dead” (2 Tim. 2:8).
2 Timothy 2:8 CSB
8 Remember Jesus Christ, risen from the dead and descended from David, according to my gospel,
As we continue in our series called “Delivered,” today we come to a text that is all about how God would make sure that the Exodus Deliverance would never be forgotten.
Today’s message is entitled “Delivered with Illustrated Reminders.” The God who created us knows how prone to forgetfulness we are. So he gave his people something they could see, taste, touch and smell to remind them of how he rescued them from their bondage in Egypt.
Three times God told Moses that he wanted Passover to become a permanent addition to Israel’s calendar: “This is a day you are to commemorate; for the generations to come you shall celebrate it as a festival to the Lord—a lasting ordinance” (Exod. 12:14)
Why don’t we stand and read one of those three times together now.
Exodus 12:21–28 CSB
21 Then Moses summoned all the elders of Israel and said to them, “Go, select an animal from the flock according to your families, and slaughter the Passover animal. 22 Take a cluster of hyssop, dip it in the blood that is in the basin, and brush the lintel and the two doorposts with some of the blood in the basin. None of you may go out the door of his house until morning. 23 When the Lord passes through to strike Egypt and sees the blood on the lintel and the two doorposts, he will pass over the door and not let the destroyer enter your houses to strike you. 24 “Keep this command permanently as a statute for you and your descendants. 25 When you enter the land that the Lord will give you as he promised, you are to observe this ceremony. 26 When your children ask you, ‘What does this ceremony mean to you?’ 27 you are to reply, ‘It is the Passover sacrifice to the Lord, for he passed over the houses of the Israelites in Egypt when he struck the Egyptians and spared our homes.’ ” So the people knelt low and worshiped. 28 Then the Israelites went and did this; they did just as the Lord had commanded Moses and Aaron.
Let’s pray.

8 ways that Exodus 12-13 reminds us about deliverance:

1) The preparation of the meal reminds us that there is unity amongst the delivered people of God.

Exodus 12:3–4 CSB
3 Tell the whole community of Israel that on the tenth day of this month they must each select an animal of the flock according to their fathers’ families, one animal per family. 4 If the household is too small for a whole animal, that person and the neighbor nearest his house are to select one based on the combined number of people; you should apportion the animal according to what each will eat.
First notice that it was a single animal - on which the whole family would feed.
Exodus 12:9–10 CSB
9 Do not eat any of it raw or cooked in boiling water, but only roasted over fire—its head as well as its legs and inner organs. 10 You must not leave any of it until morning; any part of it left until morning you must burn.
Douglas Stuart: “The ultimate purpose of the Old Testament Passover instruction is to point forward to Christ, to the purpose of his death, memorialized in the ritual of the Lord’s Supper that now replaces the Passover, and also to the unity of those accepted by him as his people, his body.”
Partial consumption or fragments leftover do not properly symbolize unity we all have in Jesus.

2) The lamb without blemish reminds us that God has always required a perfect substitute for salvation.

Exodus 12:5 CSB
5 You must have an unblemished animal, a year-old male; you may take it from either the sheep or the goats.
Sorry to all of you vegetarians out there, but lamb tastes good whether it has spots or not… The reason for demanding perfection rested not in the quality of the meal but in the symbolic purpose: the animal served as a reminder of the eventual deliverance that a perfect God perfectly provided for his people as part of the process of making them holy like himself.
But second of all, let’s take note that throughout the Bible, God has always required a lamb...
Cain & Abel
Abraham & Isaac
Genesis 22:7–8 ESV
7 And Isaac said to his father Abraham, “My father!” And he said, “Here I am, my son.” He said, “Behold, the fire and the wood, but where is the lamb for a burnt offering?” 8 Abraham said, “God will provide for himself the lamb for a burnt offering, my son.” So they went both of them together.
First it was one lamb for one man
Now it’s one lamb for one family
Soon in Leviticus 16, God will require one lamb for the Covenant community on the Day of Atonement.
Until finally in the New Testament, John the Baptist will say:
Behold the lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!
The lamb without blemish reminds us that God requires a perfect substitute - which was only fully and finally realized on the day of atonement when Jesus died as the spotless Lamb of God in the place of those who put their trust in him!
Isaiah 53:4–7 ESV
4 Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. 5 But he was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed. 6 All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned—every one—to his own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all. 7 He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth; like a lamb that is led to the slaughter, and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent, so he opened not his mouth.
So Exodus 12 teaches us that the lamb must be spotless and the lamb is a substitute, but thirdly we observe that

3) The destroyer of the firstborn reminds us that everyone is a sinner, worthy of death.

Exodus 12:12–13 CSB
12 “I will pass through the land of Egypt on that night and strike every firstborn male in the land of Egypt, both people and animals. I am the Lord; I will execute judgments against all the gods of Egypt. 13 The blood on the houses where you are staying will be a distinguishing mark for you; when I see the blood, I will pass over you. No plague will be among you to destroy you when I strike the land of Egypt.
The Israelites hadn’t had to do anything before during the plagues…
But in this plague they are at risk if they do not obey...
Exodus 12:23 ESV
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.
This is a demonstration of GRACE because the destroyer would come to every house. The sad reality is that since the fall, every human has faced death.
Romans 5:12 ESV
12 Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned—
In an all too visual way, God was going to illustrate that humans are worthy of death for their sinfulness. And that’s what the destroyer reminds us from this text. It would have universally killed everyone if the Israelites had not obedient to the Word.
But the next thing we see is that

4) The Feast of Unleavened Bread reminds us that we are delivered to be holy.

(and not the other way around)
Exodus 12:14–15 CSB
14 “This day is to be a memorial for you, and you must celebrate it as a festival to the Lord. You are to celebrate it throughout your generations as a permanent statute. 15 You must eat unleavened bread for seven days. On the first day you must remove yeast from your houses. Whoever eats what is leavened from the first day through the seventh day must be cut off from Israel.
Exodus 12:19–20 CSB
19 Yeast must not be found in your houses for seven days. If anyone eats something leavened, that person, whether a resident alien or native of the land, must be cut off from the community of Israel. 20 Do not eat anything leavened; eat unleavened bread in all your homes.”
While not explicit in Exodus 12, Jewish people have always understood yeast to represent the corrupting power of sin.
Jesus & Paul both referred to yeast as a symbol for sin.
And the point is obvious: When you leave Egypt, you leave all of its corrupting influences behind as well. Deliverance isn’t only about escaping hell or bondage. Christ has saved you to be holy. We are being conformed into the image of his Son. Be sure you carefully understand - the Israelites weren’t saved because they were holy, they were saved to be holy. The removal of leaven was a week-long reminder that the sinful practices of Egypt were to be left in Egypt.
When’s the last time you’ve swept through your “spiritual house” and done inventory on where there’s yeast? However small the sin may seem, sin never stays small - it always takes over the whole batch. This was just another object lesson - an illustrated reminder that the Israelites were delivered to be holy.
The next visual reminder that we observe is that...

5) The blood on the doorposts reminds us that only faith in the blood of a substitute satisfies the wrath of God.

We read at the beginning in 12:22-23 about the physical act of painting the lamb’s blood on the doorposts. That was a tangible step of faith required of all who would be delivered. They had to take God at His word and believe that the blood would protect them from the wrath of the destroyer.
In other words, every Israelite properly instructed about the Passover should have been also partly prepared to expect a dying Messiah whose shed blood would provide a means of escape from death.
Paul tells us in Romans that Jesus satisfied God’s wrath by his blood for us.
Romans 3:23–25 ESV
23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24 and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, 25 whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God’s righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins.
Oh precious is the flow
That made me white as snow
No other fount I know
Nothing but the blood of Jesus
The blood was a visible reminder that a substitute had to shed its blood for our deliverance. Praise God for Jesus’ blood.
6th, notice

6) The restrictions for participation remind us that the meal is for the community of faith.

Exodus 12:43–49 CSB
43 The Lord said to Moses and Aaron, “This is the statute of the Passover: no foreigner may eat it. 44 But any slave a man has purchased may eat it, after you have circumcised him. 45 A temporary resident or hired worker may not eat the Passover. 46 It is to be eaten in one house. You may not take any of the meat outside the house, and you may not break any of its bones. 47 The whole community of Israel must celebrate it. 48 If an alien resides among you and wants to observe the Lord’s Passover, every male in his household must be circumcised, and then he may participate; he will become like a native of the land. But no uncircumcised person may eat it. 49 The same law will apply to both the native and the alien who resides among you.”
These restrictions we just read required a visible/tangible aspect of faith - Circumcision. And today, God’s covenant community is set off by the visible/tangible act of Baptism. Just like circumcision didn’t create faith - it displayed it, baptism doesn’t save anyone, but it demonstrates a heart of faith - believing that you are united with Jesus in his death, burial and resurrection.
And that covenant community of faith had no distinction between slave or free, alien or Jew - it was all about identifying true believers who would share in a meal together.
That is why when we come to observe communion together, we do what former theologians have called “fencing” the table. The Lord’s Supper is a meal for believers who have identified themselves as followers of Jesus through obedience in Baptism.
Like Passover, the Lord’s Supper is not for everyone. It is only for those who have come to faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. The Bible teaches that “whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of sinning against the body and blood of the Lord. A man ought to examine himself before he eats of the bread and drinks of the cup. For anyone who eats and drinks without recognizing the body of the Lord eats and drinks judgment on himself” (1 Cor. 11:27–29).
In just a few moments we’ll get to participate in this meal together but before we do - let me show you two more visual object lessons from chapter 13 of Exodus...
Number 7:

7) The consecration of the firstborn reminds us that redemption always requires the payment of a ransom.

Exodus 13:11–13 CSB
11 “When the Lord brings you into the land of the Canaanites, as he swore to you and your fathers, and gives it to you, 12 you are to present to the Lord every firstborn male of the womb. All firstborn offspring of the livestock you own that are males will be the Lord’s. 13 You must redeem every firstborn of a donkey with a flock animal, but if you do not redeem it, break its neck. However, you must redeem every firstborn among your sons.
Ryken’s commentary helps us understand this concept of the firstborn better:
The firstborn represented all the offspring, including the girls as well as the rest of the boys. The firstborn stood for the family as a part representing the whole—the way, for example, that a captain represents his team at the beginning of a football game or an executive represents his corporation at the bargaining table. The same principle applied when the Israelites brought their firstfruits to the Feast of Harvest (Exod. 23:16, 19). They offered their first and their best to show that the whole harvest belonged to God. In the same way, the firstborn was the firstfruits of the family. To consecrate him was to consecrate everyone else who came from his mother’s womb.
If a life is to be restored it must be bought back. This is a foreshadowing of the cross! Israelites saw it vaguely - we should see it clearly
YOU WERE BOUGHT WITH A PRICE.
Lastly, Number 8

8) The explanation to the children reminds us that the gospel must be explained to every successive generation.

Exodus 13:14–15 CSB
14 “In the future, when your son asks you, ‘What does this mean?’ say to him, ‘By the strength of his hand the Lord brought us out of Egypt, out of the place of slavery. 15 When Pharaoh stubbornly refused to let us go, the Lord killed every firstborn male in the land of Egypt, both the firstborn of humans and the firstborn of livestock. That is why I sacrifice to the Lord all the firstborn of the womb that are males, but I redeem all the firstborn of my sons.’
God had built in visual object lessons for his people to explain the gospel to their children. He expected the children to ask questions about the redemption or the bread or why a lambs neck had to be slit for the passover meal. These were real, physical, visible illustrations that the parents were commanded to explain to their children. Mom, Dad - listen closely. The ordinances we share in month by month, and every time we baptize someone, are GOLDEN opportunities for you to share the gospel with your children. We learn through what we can see, and God has given visible reminders for us to be able to explain to our children what the bread and the juice symbolize. We can tell our children that Jesus body was broken on the cross for our sins, and that we are only saved by his blood. We can tell them that baptism symbolizes someone dying to their old self and being raised like Jesus was to a new life for God’s glory.
In March of 2018, Judah passed me a note in church: “Dad I want to be Baptized...”
Led to conversations and his faith and trust in Jesus and his baptism.
It has often been observed that in any particular family, church, or nation, the gospel is only one generation away from extinction. It all depends on the next generation; so it all depends on parents teaching their children. This led Charles Spurgeon to remind his congregation:
Children need to learn the doctrine of the cross that they may find immediate salvation. I thank God that … we believe in the salvation of children as children.… Go on … and believe that God will save your children. Be not content to sow principles in their minds which may possibly develop in after years; but be working for immediate conversion.… What a mercy it will be if our children are thoroughly grounded in the doctrine of redemption by Christ!… Some talk to children about being good boys and girls, and so on; that is to say, they preach the law to children, though they would preach the gospel to grown-up people! Is this honest? Is this wise? Children need the gospel, the whole gospel, the unadulterated gospel; they ought to have it, and if they are taught of the Spirit of God they are as capable of receiving it as persons of ripe years. Teach the little ones that Jesus died, the just for the unjust, to bring us to God.
If this is what we teach our children—that Christ died for sinners—then that is what they will teach their children, and thus the message of the cross will be remembered long after we are gone, until the end of the world, and forever after.
So let’s be a people that take hold of every illustrated reminder we can get - because we’re forgetful. And let’s use them to remind ourselves and tell the next generation the good news of Jesus, our Deliverer.
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