Series:
Exodus
Title: Deliverance
to be Much Observed
Text:
Exodus 12: 29-51
Date: May
27, 2018
Place:
SGBC, NJ
Our text
begins in Exodus 12: 29: And it came to
pass…
Everything
God promised Moses he would do—God
brought to pass! Everything God promised
Abraham he would do, God brought to
pass! What did God promise and bring to
pass? God promised to deliver the children of Israel out of Egyptian bondage and
it came to pass, even to the very day
God said.
God
always brings his promises to pass because
God is absolutely sovereign. He “worketh
all things after the counsel of his own will.” (Eph 1: 11) God being
absolutely sovereign means God is in control of all men. No man can promise to
bring anything to pass because only that which God commands comes to pass—“Who is he that saith,
and it cometh to pass, when the Lord commandeth it not?”
(Lam 3: 37)
Isaiah 46: 9…I am
God, and there is none like me,
10: Declaring the end from the
beginning, and from ancient times the
things that are not yet
done, saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure:…yea, I
have spoken it, I will also
bring it to pass; I have purposed it,
I will also do it.
The comforting
thing for God’s people is that God redeeming Israel out of Egyptian bondage
pictures God redeeming his elect out of the bondage of sin and death.
Romans 15:4: For whatsoever things were written aforetime
were written for our learning, that we through patience and comfort of the
scriptures might have hope.
1 Corinthians 10:11: Now all these things happened unto
[Moses and Israel] for ensamples: and they are written for our admonition, upon
whom the ends of the world are come.
Just as
God entered covenant with Abraham to redeem the children of Abraham 430 years
before God brought it to pass, before the foundation of the world, God the
Father and God the Son entered covenant to redeem his elect—and “it came to pass” because God cannot lie,
he always fulfills his covenant promise!
Proposition: In our text, the Holy Spirit uses Moses and Israel to typify
several specific things that God our Father and our Lord Jesus Christ
accomplished as he delivered his elect.
GOD DELIVERED HIS ELECT JUSTLY
Exodus 12:29: 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. 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 there was not one dead.
Catch
that last phrase “there was not a house
where there was not one dead.”—that means God slew the firstborn in every
house in Egypt—“there was not a house where there was not one dead.” God slew all the first born in the houses
of the Egyptians and God slew all the firstborn in the houses of the children
of Israel.
God slew
all the firstborn because they were all guilty and God is just. God is just therefore all who are guilty must
die. They were all guilty therefore God poured out justice on all the
firstborn.
The
difference was that God provided a lamb for the firstborn in Israel which died
in their place. Therefore, when God saw the blood of the lamb on the doorpost
of their houses, God passed over them. God
had mercy on the firstborn in the Israelite houses and God’s justice was
satisfied toward them because they all died in the lamb that died in their
place.
The
lesson we are taught in this is that God is a Savior and God is Just
Exodus 34: 7: Keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving
iniquity and transgression and sin, and that
will by no means clear the guilty
As Savior—God
Keeps mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity
and transgression and sin. As Just—[he] will by no means clear the guilty. Since every person in this
world is guilty because we all sinned in our first father, Adam, for those for
whom God “Keeps mercy, forgiving [their]
iniquity and transgression and sin”, God also must slay in justice because
God “will by no means clear the guilty.”
How can
God kill me in justice and save me in mercy? That is the picture in our text.
The only way God can be a just God who slays his guilty people and a Savior who
keeps mercy and forgives his people is by God providing the Lamb, his own Son,
Christ Jesus. Christ laid down his life under
the justice of God, dying the death God’s elect owed to God’s justice. Thereby,
God is Just and God Saves his people.
Isaiah 45:21: Tell ye, and bring them near; yea, let them
take counsel together: who hath declared this from ancient time? who hath told
it from that time? have not I the LORD? and there is no God else beside me; a
just God and a Saviour; there is none beside me.
Romans 3: 26:
To declare, I say, at this time his righteousness: that he might be
just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus.
Romans 8: 33:
Who shall lay any thing to the charge of God’s elect? It is God that
justifieth. 34: Who is he
that condemneth? It is Christ that died,…
In the
end, every sinner will have died under the justice of God because God is just—he will by no means clear the guilty. The difference will be the difference God
made by sovereignly choosing whom he would and sending Christ our Passover Lamb
to die in our place. Those he justified he calls to faith in
Christ.
Sinner, get in the house under the blood by believing on Christ and
abide there until the end.
CHRIST SPOILED OUR ENEMIES
Exodus 12:31: And [Pharaoh] 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. 32: Also take your flocks and your herds, as ye have said, and
be gone; and bless me also. 33: 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. 34: And the people took their dough before
it was leavened, their kneadingtroughs being bound up in their clothes upon
their shoulders. 35: 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: 36: 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.
When a
king conquers his foe, he takes his most valuable possessions—he spoils his
enemy, he takes the spoils from him.
The Lord
took the spoils from the Egyptians—their valuable silver and gold—and the Lord
gave the spoils to Israel by making the Egyptians willing to give it to them.
It pictures Christ taking the spoils from his enemy who he conquered on the
cross.
It came to pass that the Egyptians gave the children of Israel the
spoils because God promised it beforehand
back in chapter 11. God promised beforehand
through the prophets that Christ would spoil our enemies.
Jeremiah 30:16: all they that devour thee shall be
devoured; and all thine adversaries, every one of them, shall go into
captivity; and they that spoil thee shall be a spoil, and all that prey upon
thee will I give for a prey.
Isaiah 53: 11: He shall see of the travail of his
soul, and shall be satisfied: by his knowledge shall my righteous
servant justify many; for he shall bear their iniquities. 12: Therefore
will I divide him a portion with the great, and he shall divide the
spoil with the strong; because he hath poured out his soul unto death: and he
was numbered with the transgressors; and he bare the sin of many, and made
intercession for the transgressors.
That
which God promised beforehand, “It came
to pass” by Christ fulfilling the law on behalf of his people.
Colossians 2: 15:
And having spoiled
principalities and powers, he made a shew of them openly, triumphing over them
in it.
In
regeneration, Christ binds the devil and spoils his house—Christ takes the
devils’ most valuable possession—Christ takes us as the spoils that he takes
from the devil’s house.
Matthew 12: 28:
But if I cast out devils by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God is come
unto you. 29: Or else how can
one enter into a strong man’s house, and spoil his goods, except he first bind
the strong man? and then he will spoil his house.
As Isaiah
prophesied, Christ divides the spoils
with the strong. Christ gives the child he takes from the devil’s house to
us, his church, who he has made strong. One day, Christ shall spoil the last
redeemed child from the devil’s house and we are all going home to be with
Christ. That brings us to the third point.
CHRIST DELIVERS ALL HIS PEOPLE
Exodus 12:37: And the children of Israel
journeyed from Rameses to Succoth, about six hundred thousand on foot that
were men, beside children. 38: And a mixed multitude went up also
with them; and flocks, and herds, even very much cattle.
We do not
know exactly how many Israelites were delivered that night—there were 600,000
men, not counting women and children. The picture is that Christ shall save a
multitude that no man can number. Speaking of his spiritual sons and daughters,
we read:
Genesis 15:5: And [God] brought [Abraham] forth abroad,
and said, Look now toward heaven, and tell the stars, if thou be able to number
them: and he said unto him, So shall thy seed be.
In
addition to the multitude of Jews, that night God also delivered a mixed
multitude, Gentiles. God promised Abraham his people would be out of every nation—God’s elect are Jew
and Gentiles. So it shall be in that great day!
Revelation 7:9: After this I beheld, and, lo, a great
multitude, which no man could number, of all nations, and kindreds, and people,
and tongues, stood before the throne, and before the Lamb, clothed with white
robes, and palms in their hands; 10: And cried with a loud voice, saying,
Salvation to our God which sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb.
CHRIST FULFILLED god’s everlasting covenant
Exodus 12: 40: Now the sojourning of the
children of Israel, who dwelt in Egypt, was four hundred and thirty
years. 41: 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.
The
children of Israel went to Egypt, became slaves, were multiplied, gained wealth
and were delivered exactly according to God’s covenant which he made with
Abraham in the slaying of a sacrifice.
Genesis 15: 5: And [the LORD] brought [Abraham]
forth abroad, and said, Look now toward heaven, and tell the stars, if thou be
able to number them: and he said unto him, So shall thy seed be. 6: And he
believed in the LORD; and he counted it to him for righteousness. 7: And
he said unto him, I am the LORD that brought thee out of Ur of the
Chaldees, to give thee this land to inherit it…9: And he said unto
him, Take me an heifer of three years old, and a she goat of three
years old, and a ram of three years old, and a turtledove,
and a young pigeon. 10: And he took unto him all these, and divided
them in the midst, and laid each piece one against another: but the birds
divided he not.
God made
his covenant with Abraham through the blood of a sacrifice.
Genesis 15: 13: And he said unto Abram, Know of a surety
that thy seed shall be a stranger in a land that is not theirs, and
shall serve them;
Their
fall into Egyptian bondage was part of God’s covenant to Abraham.
Genesis 15: 13…and they shall afflict them four hundred
years;
Add those
30 years before when God delivered Abraham out of Ur, you get 430 years as it
says in our text. The exact time they would be in bondage and be delivered was
part of the covenant.
Genesis 15: 14: And also that nation, whom they shall
serve, will I judge: and afterward shall they come out with great
substance…18: In the same day the LORD made a covenant with Abram, saying, Unto
thy seed have I given this land, from the river of Egypt unto the great river,
the river Euphrates.
From the
beginning, before they were even born, God already gave them their inheritance by
his covenant.
So Exodus
12: 41 says, “And it came to pass at the
end of the four hundred and thirty years, even the selfsame day it came to pass,[as
soon as the blood of the lamb was shed] that all the hosts of the LORD [including
the mixed multitude] went out from the land of Egypt.” And they went out
with great substance as the Lord said they would.
This pictures
God’s covenant of grace to deliver his people in and by Christ. Our fall into bondage was part of God’s
covenant in Christ—just as the Lord protected Israel when they fell into
bondage because of his covenant with Abraham, God’s elect were safe in Christ
even when we fell into sin. Like as the
Lord’s covenant with Abraham’s was made sure in the blood of a sacrifice, God’s
everlasting covenant was made sure toward his people in the blood of Christ our
Surety, the lamb slain before the foundation of the world. The same as God’s covenant guaranteed Israel
would come out of Egypt with great riches, God’s covenant of grace in Christ
made us come out of bondage with the unsearchable riches of Christ. Like as God’s covenant gave Israel their
promised land before Israel even existed, God’s covenant in Christ gave us
heaven before as yet earth and time or any of his people were ever
created. As it was with God’s covenant
to Abraham, God’s covenant with Christ settled the exact time we would be in
bondage in sin and the exact time we would be delivered. Concerning God’s
covenant with Abraham we read “and it
came to pass”—even to the day—and concerning God’s covenant in Christ, we
can be sure “all the promises of God in him are
yea, and in him Amen, unto the glory of God by us.” (2 Cor 1: 20)
CHRIST SHALL MAKE THIS COVENANT IN THE HEARTS
OF EACH OF HIS SAINTS IN REGENERATION
Exodus 12:47: All the congregation of Israel
shall keep it. 48: And when a stranger shall sojourn with thee, [a Gentile] and
will keep the passover to the LORD, let all his males be circumcised, and then
let him come near and keep [the feast];
and he shall be as one that is born in the land: for no uncircumcised person
shall eat thereof. 49: One law shall be to him that is homeborn, and unto
the stranger that sojourneth among you. 50: Thus did all the children of
Israel; as the LORD commanded Moses and Aaron, so did they.
Circumcision
was a sign under the old covenant. An operation
was performed on each newborn boy at 8 days old by which unclean flesh was
removed. It pictured regeneration—circumcision of the heart—performed by the
Holy Spirit upon a sinner as helpless as an infant by which the filthy, sinful
flesh is put off.
Romans 2: 28:
For he is not a Jew, which is one outwardly; neither is that
circumcision, which is outward in the flesh: 29: But he is a Jew, which is one inwardly; and circumcision
is that of the heart, in the spirit, and not in the letter; whose
praise is not of men, but of God.
Colossians 2:11: In whom also ye are circumcised with the
circumcision made without hands, in putting off the body of the sins of the
flesh by the circumcision of Christ.
By
circumcision, the children of Israel were separated and distinguished from
other people. By giving us a new heart, we are separated or sanctified and distinguished
from other people. Unlike every other religion in the world:
Philippians 3:3: we are the circumcision, which worship
God in the spirit, and rejoice in Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in the
flesh.
By
circumcision all the promises and blessings of the old covenant were sealed to
an Israelite for life. By giving us faith in the new heart, all the promises
and blessings of God’s everlasting covenant of grace are sealed to us forever.
Ephesians 1:13: In [Christ] ye also trusted, after
that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also
after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise, 14:
Which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased
possession, unto the praise of his glory.
Like
Israel and the mixed multitude, when we are circumcised in the heart there is
one law for Jew and Gentile—it is not the law of Moses, it is the gospel of
Christ—“the just shall live by faith.”—“faith which worketh by love.”
New
testament circumcision is NOT infant baptism. It is the operation of God the
Holy Spirit within a helpless sinner in regeneration through the blood of Christ
who justified us.
CHRIST DELIVERS US TO WORSHIP GOD OUR FATHER
Exodus 12:51: 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…[back up
to verse]…42: 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.
After the
LORD delivered Israel through the blood of the Passover lamb, they kept the
feast of the Passover in remembrance of that great deliverance. Likewise, after the LORD delivers his elect
through the blood of Christ and circumcision of the heart, we worship the LORD
by keeping the feast of the gospel every time we gather together, as well as at
his table. We are always remembering that day on the cross, when Christ cried
out, “It is finished!”—It is a sacrifice to be much observed unto
the LORD for bringing his elect out from the curse of the law and giving us
life and faith to rest in him.
1 Corinthians 5: 7:
Purge out therefore the old leaven, that ye may be a new lump, as ye ARE
unleavened. For even Christ our passover is sacrificed for us: 8: Therefore let us keep the feast,
We keep
the feast by assembling to hear his gospel preached and by each time we
remember him at his table. We keep this
feast with no mixture of works or sinful flesh.
1 Corinthians 5: 8… not with old leaven, neither with the
leaven of malice and wickedness; but with the unleavened bread of
sincerity and truth.
Psalms 103:1: Bless the LORD, O my soul: and all that is
within me, bless his holy name. 2: Bless the LORD, O my soul,
and forget not all his benefits: 3: Who forgiveth all thine iniquities; who
healeth all thy diseases; 4: Who redeemeth thy life from destruction; who
crowneth thee with lovingkindness and tender mercies.
Amen.