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Voddie Baucham - The Exodus · Voddie Baucham Sermons

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  Speaker 1: Exodus chapter 12. We come to a section here in
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  Speaker 1: verses 33 to 42 that almost may seem a little disjointed.
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  Speaker 1: We've seen the way that God has prepared his people.
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  Speaker 1: And we've also seen or begun to unfold that night
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  Speaker 1: of their deliverance. We looked at that on last week.
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  Speaker 1: the actual night of their deliverance. It was a solemn
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  Speaker 1: night that they were delivered. We continue on their night
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  Speaker 1: of deliverance, the second part of their night of deliverance.
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  Speaker 1: Last week, we looked at that night of deliverance solely
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  Speaker 1: in terms of their protection from the death angel. We
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  Speaker 1: looked at the slaying of the lamb, the blood being
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  Speaker 1: applied to the door, the death angel passing by, the
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  Speaker 1: deaths that took place in Egypt. And were introduced to
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  Speaker 1: the idea of their dismissal from Egypt in haste. Now
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  Speaker 1: in this second part, we look at that dismissal in
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  Speaker 1: more detail. They weren't just dismissed from Egypt in haste.
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  Speaker 1: But they were dismissed from Egypt in a way that
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  Speaker 1: God had foretold. And they were dismissed from Egypt in
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  Speaker 1: a way that foreshadowed what it was that God was
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  Speaker 1: doing in saving Egypt. His people. As we look at
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  Speaker 1: what it was that God was doing in saving his people,
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  Speaker 1: we see a picture of salvation. We see a picture
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  Speaker 1: of how God saves and of why God saves. Not
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  Speaker 1: just how and why he saved Israel, but how and
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  Speaker 1: why he saves us as his people. And we see
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  Speaker 1: this interrelatedness between what God did and the Exodus and
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  Speaker 1: what God is continuing to do in the salvation of
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  Speaker 1: his people throughout all of time. You join me there.
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  Speaker 1: Exodus chapter 12, beginning in verse 33. The Egyptians were
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  Speaker 1: urgent with the people to send them out of the
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  Speaker 1: land in haste, for they said, we shall all be dead.
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  Speaker 1: So the people took their dough before it was leavened,
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  Speaker 1: their kneading bowls being bound up in their cloaks on
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  Speaker 1: their shoulders. The people of Israel said, had also done
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  Speaker 1: as Moses told them. For they had asked the Egyptians
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  Speaker 1: for silver and gold jewelry and for clothing. And the
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  Speaker 1: Lord had given the people favor in the sight of
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  Speaker 1: the Egyptians, so that they let them have what they asked.
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  Speaker 1: Thus they plundered the Egyptians. And the people of Israel
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  Speaker 1: journeyed From Ramses to Succoth, about 600,000 men on foot,
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  Speaker 1: besides women and children. A mixed multitude also went up
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  Speaker 1: with them, and very much livestock, both flocks and herds.
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  Speaker 1: And they baked unleavened cakes of the dough that they
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  Speaker 1: had brought out of Egypt, for it was not leavened,
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  Speaker 1: because they were thrust out of Egypt. and could not wait,
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  Speaker 1: nor had they prepared any provisions for themselves. The time
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  Speaker 1: that the people of Israel lived in Egypt was 430 years.
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  Speaker 1: At the end of 430 years, on that very day,
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  Speaker 1: all the hosts of the Lord went out from the
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  Speaker 1: land of Egypt. It was a night of watching by
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  Speaker 1: the Lord to bring them out of the land of Egypt.
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  Speaker 1: So this same night is a night of watching kept
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  Speaker 1: to the Lord by all the people of Israel throughout
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  Speaker 1: their generations. There are so many details that are left
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  Speaker 1: out of this. As we said on last week, so
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  Speaker 1: many stories that could be told and yet were not.
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  Speaker 1: But the idea of the pacing of these events in
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  Speaker 1: the narrative is It's very clear. The idea is that
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  Speaker 1: Moses is communicating to us that they went out in haste.
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  Speaker 1: He's communicating to us that this happened all of a sudden.
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  Speaker 1: This was not something that the people were able to
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  Speaker 1: prepare for. This was not something that the people had
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  Speaker 1: gotten ready. This was not something that happened as a
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  Speaker 1: massive feat of logistics. This happened as a supernatural act
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  Speaker 1: of deliverance by Almighty God himself. And there are several
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  Speaker 1: elements here that make that clear. First, in the plunder
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  Speaker 1: of the Egyptians, we see that this happened in haste
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  Speaker 1: and that the people weren't able to prepare wealth for themselves.
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  Speaker 1: We see that in verses 35 and 36. The people
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  Speaker 1: of Israel had also done as Moses told them. They
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  Speaker 1: asked the Egyptians for silver and gold jewelry and for clothing.
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  Speaker 1: And the Lord had given the people favor in the
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  Speaker 1: sight of the Egyptians so that they let them have
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  Speaker 1: what they asked. Thus, they plundered the Egyptians. There's several
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  Speaker 1: things that have to be understood in order to grasp
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  Speaker 1: the significance of this part of the narrative. First, we've
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  Speaker 1: got to understand the value of gold and silver. Most
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  Speaker 1: of us here today Walk around with gold and silver,
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  Speaker 1: don't think much of it. Diamond earrings, gold earrings, gold rings,
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  Speaker 1: gold necklaces, silver necklaces. In fact, most of us have
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  Speaker 1: jewelry boxes in our houses to keep the gold and
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  Speaker 1: the silver jewelry that we possess. Maybe other gold and
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  Speaker 1: silver heirlooms. But we don't really comprehend the value of
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  Speaker 1: these things, number one, because they are so readily available
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  Speaker 1: to us. And secondly, because we have sort of been
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  Speaker 1: conditioned to change our understanding of value. I've talked on
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  Speaker 1: a number of occasions as we've gone through Exodus about
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  Speaker 1: the idea that it's hard for us to comprehend some
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  Speaker 1: of these things because of our dependency on paper money.
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  Speaker 1: For one of the first times in history, when you
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  Speaker 1: look at history and you look at the history of money,
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  Speaker 1: the history of what people used for money, it's only
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  Speaker 1: in recent history that we have this idea of fiat currency,
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  Speaker 1: this idea of paper currency. Usually there were coins of silver,
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  Speaker 1: of gold, of copper, things that actually had intrinsic value
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  Speaker 1: that we held on to. So because of that, our
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  Speaker 1: understanding of value and our understanding of wealth is a
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  Speaker 1: bit skewed. Secondly... We don't comprehend that most families would
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  Speaker 1: not have had these things, especially the families of slaves.
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  Speaker 1: They wouldn't have had wealth like this. If you're a slave,
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  Speaker 1: why are you going to have gold and silver jewelry?
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  Speaker 1: Where are you going to get gold and silver jewelry?
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  Speaker 1: And if you don't have gold and silver jewelry and
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  Speaker 1: you don't have coins, you really don't have any wealth.
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  Speaker 1: So Israel is about to go out of Egypt without
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  Speaker 1: any wealth. How are they going to survive? But not
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  Speaker 1: only the sense of wealth and personal wealth and buying power,
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  Speaker 1: but there's also the idea of worship. Later on, when
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  Speaker 1: we get to the tabernacle, you're going to see that
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  Speaker 1: there are many things that are overlaid with gold. Where
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  Speaker 1: does a slave population get gold to overlay their implements
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  Speaker 1: of worship? The answer is They plunder the Egyptians. That's
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  Speaker 1: how they get it. There's no other way that they
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  Speaker 1: could have had it. So in the sense of personal
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  Speaker 1: wealth and in the sense of the importance of their
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  Speaker 1: objects of worship, this is significant. Also, the role of
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  Speaker 1: plunder in the ancient Near East. You have to understand this.
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  Speaker 1: Bruce Welles. sheds light on this when he writes, the
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  Speaker 1: silver and gold items taken were some of the most
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  Speaker 1: valuable of the Egyptians' possessions. Moreover, these events are set
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  Speaker 1: in the spring when it was customary for Egyptian kings,
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  Speaker 1: particularly those of the new kingdom, to send out messengers
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  Speaker 1: and accompanying armies in order to collect tribute payments from
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  Speaker 1: the smaller political entities outside Egypt. In a sense, then
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  Speaker 1: springtime was the time the Egyptians officially plundered their subjects.
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  Speaker 1: This time, the Egyptians are the ones exploited and forced
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  Speaker 1: to pay. Don't miss that irony. Everywhere along the way,
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  Speaker 1: throughout all of these plagues, God is reversing the whole
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  Speaker 1: idea of power. The Egyptians are the powerful people. And
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  Speaker 1: because they are the powerful people, their gods are seen
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  Speaker 1: as the most powerful gods. That is why they conquer.
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  Speaker 1: All armies marched and conquered and believed that they conquered
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  Speaker 1: because of the power of their gods. And so they
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  Speaker 1: worshiped their gods and had emblems of their gods as
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  Speaker 1: they went out and marched and conquered. And whoever the
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  Speaker 1: most powerful people were, they were deemed to have had
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  Speaker 1: the most powerful gods. But now the gods of the
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  Speaker 1: slave people has overturned at every point, the assumed power
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  Speaker 1: of the gods of the Egyptians. And now on their
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  Speaker 1: way out during the time when the Egyptians would have
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  Speaker 1: sent armies to to their subject city-states, to plunder them
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  Speaker 1: and bring back silver and gold as taxes for the
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  Speaker 1: protection of the Egyptians, now during this very same season,
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  Speaker 1: there has been the death of the firstborn and the
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  Speaker 1: plunder of the Egyptians by this slave people. Don't miss this,
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  Speaker 1: because the Egyptians would not have missed this. This is
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  Speaker 1: a reversal of fortunes. This is God demonstrating his authority
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  Speaker 1: and his power. So what is the meaning of this
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  Speaker 1: for the Egyptians and also for us? A couple of things. First,
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  Speaker 1: God does not just deliver us from our enemies. He
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  Speaker 1: defeats them. Amen. Amen. He doesn't just deliver us from
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  Speaker 1: our enemies. He defeats them so that we don't spend
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  Speaker 1: the rest of our lives looking over our shoulders, wondering
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  Speaker 1: when we're going to be overtaken again. God defeats these enemies.
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  Speaker 1: Psalm 110, the Lord says to my Lord, sit at
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  Speaker 1: my right hand until I make your enemies your footstool.
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  Speaker 1: There is a sense in which this is an eschatological reality.
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  Speaker 1: It's repeated in Luke 20, Acts 2, Hebrews 1, Hebrews 10,
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  Speaker 1: over and over again in other places in the scriptures.
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  Speaker 1: Alludes to the fact that Christ will see all of
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  Speaker 1: his enemies eventually under his feet. And for us as believers,
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  Speaker 1: for those of us who are followers of Christ, we
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  Speaker 1: need to understand that we have a victory both now
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  Speaker 1: and to come. It is an already not yet victory.
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  Speaker 1: There is a sense in which we are already victorious
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  Speaker 1: because we have been delivered. And so there is now
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  Speaker 1: no condemnation for those who are in Christ. But you
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  Speaker 1: and I both know That although that's a reality, there
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  Speaker 1: is still this ongoing struggle, even with the sin from
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  Speaker 1: which we have been delivered. This is why for Israel
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  Speaker 1: and for us, it's one thing to get you out
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  Speaker 1: of Egypt. It's another thing to get Egypt out of you.
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  Speaker 1: And so we wrestle with this already not yet reality.
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  Speaker 1: We wrestle with the fact that we have been delivered
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  Speaker 1: from those things that oppressed us. We have been delivered
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  Speaker 1: from our sin. We are justified. We are declared righteous.
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  Speaker 1: And yet there are those things that still rear their
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  Speaker 1: ugly heads again and again and again. So what is
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  Speaker 1: one to think? Because you see, remember, they're being delivered.
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  Speaker 1: This is not just true for you and for me
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  Speaker 1: as the people of God. This is true for Israel
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  Speaker 1: as the people of God as well. So there's one
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  Speaker 1: sense in which God delivers Israel from Egypt. We're going
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  Speaker 1: to see later he also destroys the Egyptians. I'm not
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  Speaker 1: just delivering you from your enemies. I'm defeating your enemies. Amen. Hallelujah.
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  Speaker 1: Praise the Lord. They rejoice. They sing. They cross the river.
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  Speaker 1: Their enemies have been drowned. Then there's that calf. God
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  Speaker 1: got them out of Egypt, but he still had to
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  Speaker 1: work to get Egypt out of them. Is there anything
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  Speaker 1: like that in your life? That was a rhetorical question.
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  Speaker 1: If you're still breathing, the answer is yes. Sanctification is
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  Speaker 1: an ongoing process. That is why we walk in the
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  Speaker 1: midst of this already and not yet reality. So that
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  Speaker 1: on the one hand, as a believer, I can proclaim
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  Speaker 1: with certainty, God has not only delivered me from sin,
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  Speaker 1: delivered me from that adversary, the devil, but he has
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  Speaker 1: defeated my foes. He has defeated my adversaries. And yet
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  Speaker 1: at the same time, he got me out of Egypt,
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  Speaker 1: but he's still getting Egypt out of me. It is
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  Speaker 1: an ongoing fight. It is an ongoing process. But here's
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  Speaker 1: the beauty in all of that. I can rest assured
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  Speaker 1: that even on my worst day, when it seems like
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  Speaker 1: there's more Egypt in me than anything else, I can
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  Speaker 1: remind myself this is a defeated foe. Know that, saints.
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  Speaker 1: Whatever it is you're struggling with, whatever it is you're
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  Speaker 1: wrestling with, this is a defeated foe. It is an
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  Speaker 1: already and not yet reality. And when we remind ourselves
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  Speaker 1: that this is a defeated foe, here's what we have
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  Speaker 1: to do. This is a defeated foe. It doesn't feel
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  Speaker 1: like it right now, but I know that there is
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  Speaker 1: going to come a day when this enemy also will
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  Speaker 1: be made a footstool. This is why we anxiously anticipate
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  Speaker 1: the return of our soon coming King. Amen. This is
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  Speaker 1: why we continue to pray, even so, come Lord Jesus.
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  Speaker 1: This is why we cannot have an over-realized eschatology. This
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  Speaker 1: is why we cannot expect all of the goodness that
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  Speaker 1: is to come in the age to come to be
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  Speaker 1: part of our life in the here and the now.
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  Speaker 1: There will be glimpses of it, but we continue to
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  Speaker 1: have to pray as we've been taught. Our Father who
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  Speaker 1: art in heaven. Amen. Your kingdom come, your will be
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  Speaker 1: done on earth as it is in heaven. Why did
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  Speaker 1: Jesus teach his disciples to pray that? Because it is
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  Speaker 1: an already not yet reality. He teaches us when you pray,
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  Speaker 1: a central focus of your praying is for the kingdom
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  Speaker 1: to come and for the will of God to be
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  Speaker 1: done on earth as it is in heaven. Because that's
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  Speaker 1: not a done and fixed reality. It is an already
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  Speaker 1: not yet anticipation. The second thing we see here is
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  Speaker 1: the journey from Ramses to Succoth. Look in verses 37
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  Speaker 1: and 38. And the people of Israel journey from Ramses
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  Speaker 1: to Succoth, about 600,000 men on foot, besides women and children. Now,
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  Speaker 1: that number in and of itself, if you do the math,
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  Speaker 1: there are a number of people who, you know, have
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  Speaker 1: done the math on this. And there seems to be
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  Speaker 1: a consensus that, you know, dealing with real numbers here,
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  Speaker 1: we're looking at somewhere between 1.8 and 2.4 million people.
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  Speaker 1: That's a lot of folks. Amen? That's a lot of folks.
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  Speaker 1: Put it this way. If there are between 1.8 and 2.4
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  Speaker 1: million people, at the higher end of that number, that's
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  Speaker 1: about half the population of Houston. The fourth largest city
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  Speaker 1: in the United States. That's a lot. So many people
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  Speaker 1: that there are those who say, this proves that this
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  Speaker 1: story couldn't be true. You can't move that many people.
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  Speaker 1: You just can't do it. The line would be too long.
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  Speaker 1: No matter how wide across you are, you can't get
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  Speaker 1: that many people through the Red Sea. Not in a day.
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  Speaker 1: You just can't do it. You can't part the sea
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  Speaker 1: that wide. You can't do it. This is just too
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  Speaker 1: many folks. This is why some people have tried to
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  Speaker 1: figure out ways to make the number smaller. I don't
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  Speaker 1: feel the need to do that. Not in the least.
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  Speaker 1: Why would I believe that God could do everything he
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  Speaker 1: did in those 10 plagues and then get to a
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  Speaker 1: big number and say, yeah, I don't know if he
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  Speaker 1: could do that. That just makes no sense whatsoever. If
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  Speaker 1: I can believe that God did what he did in
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  Speaker 1: the plagues, why can't I believe this big number? How?
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  Speaker 1: I don't know. If I could explain it, it wouldn't
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  Speaker 1: be miraculous. This is what highlights the miraculous work of
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  Speaker 1: God that he delivered this many people in one night.
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  Speaker 1: What does this mean? First of all, it means that
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  Speaker 1: God saved a nation. He saved a people. Saints don't
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  Speaker 1: miss that. God saves individuals, yes, but never for the
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  Speaker 1: sake of individuals. God saves a people. God saves a people.
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  Speaker 1: So much of what we sing, and I'm not going
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  Speaker 1: to pick on any particular songs, but so much of
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  Speaker 1: what we sing is all about, you know, close your eyes,
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  Speaker 1: raise your hands, and just let the reality of your
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  Speaker 1: individual salvation roll over you. He saved me, me, me, I, me, me,
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  Speaker 1: God saved a people. You're one of a people. Salvation
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  Speaker 1: is not just about you. Is your individual salvation significant? Yes. Yes.
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  Speaker 1: but only to the degree that it unites you with
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  Speaker 1: Christ and that it unites you with the body of Christ.
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  Speaker 1: Salvation is individual, but never individualistic. God saves us and
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  Speaker 1: redeems us and makes us part of a people. The
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  Speaker 1: idea of the isolated Christian is as ridiculous as the
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  Speaker 1: idea of the isolated Israelite. God saves you for you
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  Speaker 1: to be a part of a people. God saves you
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  Speaker 1: for you to be a part of a community. God
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  Speaker 1: saves you for you to be a part of a church.
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  Speaker 1: God doesn't save you so that you can have an
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  Speaker 1: isolated experience of Christianity. God saves you and puts you
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  Speaker 1: in a body. God saves you and gives you spiritual gifts.
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  Speaker 1: What's the purpose of every spiritual gift according to 1
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  Speaker 1: Corinthians 12 and Romans 12? Every gift he gives is
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  Speaker 1: for what? To edify the body. For the body. He's
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  Speaker 1: called you to be part of the body 1 Peter 2, 9.
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  Speaker 1: But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a
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  Speaker 1: holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you
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  Speaker 1: may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out
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  Speaker 1: of darkness into his marvelous light. God saves a people.
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  Speaker 1: That's what this big number says. God saves a people.
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  Speaker 1: He saved a nation, a whole nation. God saved many.
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  Speaker 1: And don't miss this either. We just looked on last
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  Speaker 1: week at the fact that this death of the firstborn
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  Speaker 1: goes all the way back to the first chapter. And
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  Speaker 1: that for 80 years, for 80 years, the Egyptians have
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  Speaker 1: been oppressing the Israelites in a number of ways, but
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  Speaker 1: in one way in particular, and that is the death
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  Speaker 1: of male children. By throwing them into the Nile. You
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  Speaker 1: know what this big number says? This big number says
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  Speaker 1: they could not kill the people of God. For 80 years.
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  Speaker 1: For 80 years the Egyptians have been trying to wipe
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  Speaker 1: them out. And yet they're somewhere in the neighborhood of
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  Speaker 1: 2 million of them. Starting from one man. And his
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  Speaker 1: 12 sons. Who came into this land. Now all these
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  Speaker 1: years later. Nearly 2 million. That is called radical fecundity.
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  Speaker 1: The idea that these people are having a lot of kids.
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  Speaker 1: Which normally doesn't happen to people who are in some
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  Speaker 1: kind of captivity. Usually you don't proliferate. When you're in
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  Speaker 1: this kind of captivity. Usually your numbers dwindle. Usually people
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  Speaker 1: are wiped out. After a captivity of this long of
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  Speaker 1: a period. And yet. By the power. And preserving providence
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  Speaker 1: of almighty God. They left. So numerous. That they were
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  Speaker 1: a nation on day one. God saved the people. God
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  Speaker 1: also saved. a mixed multitude. This is true in at
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  Speaker 1: least two ways. Number one, Jews and Gentiles. We've talked
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  Speaker 1: about this so often that you might get tired of
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  Speaker 1: hearing about it, but know this, God's plan from the
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  Speaker 1: beginning was always to include the Gentiles. God's plan from
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  Speaker 1: the beginning, God's plan from the annunciation of the Abrahamic covenant.
• 24:02
  Speaker 1: was that Abraham would be a blessing to all nations,
• 24:05
  Speaker 1: that Gentiles would be part of the people of God.
• 24:09
  Speaker 1: So even now, there's a mixed multitude in the sense
• 24:12
  Speaker 1: of Jews and Gentiles who are going out. Make no
• 24:16
  Speaker 1: mistake about it. There were some Egyptians who were rescued
• 24:18
  Speaker 1: on this night and who came out as a part
• 24:21
  Speaker 1: of this people. But there's also a mixed multitude in
• 24:25
  Speaker 1: the sense that God saved wheat and tares on this night.
• 24:33
  Speaker 1: And it is in this sense that it doesn't parallel
• 24:36
  Speaker 1: individual salvation. You see, individual salvation, you're saved or you're not. Amen?
• 24:43
  Speaker 1: But when you talk about a people gathered, there are
• 24:46
  Speaker 1: going to be people who are saved and people who
• 24:48
  Speaker 1: are not. And we can't always tell who those people are.
• 24:52
  Speaker 1: This is why there are parables like the parable of
• 24:54
  Speaker 1: the wheat and the tares. It's a mixed multitude. as
• 25:03
  Speaker 1: much as we fight for regenerate church membership, as much
• 25:06
  Speaker 1: as we try to ensure that the people who become
• 25:09
  Speaker 1: members of this church are regenerate people, that they are believers,
• 25:13
  Speaker 1: nobody can know 100% whether or not another person is saved.
• 25:19
  Speaker 1: So even in a church that fights for regenerate church membership,
• 25:22
  Speaker 1: you can have mixed multitude. What does this mean? This means...
• 25:33
  Speaker 1: That while that corporate idea of being saved to be
• 25:37
  Speaker 1: part of a people is important, don't mix that up
• 25:41
  Speaker 1: with the idea that because you're part of this corporate
• 25:45
  Speaker 1: group that that automatically means you're saved. Some people were
• 25:52
  Speaker 1: rescued from Egypt and still went to hell. And it's
• 25:59
  Speaker 1: a terrible thing When you watch the miraculous works of God,
• 26:07
  Speaker 1: it's a terrible thing when you're part of a family
• 26:10
  Speaker 1: that puts blood on the doorpost. It's a terrible thing
• 26:15
  Speaker 1: when you march out as one of the two million
• 26:17
  Speaker 1: people who were rescued and delivered on this night only
• 26:21
  Speaker 1: to die and face judgment because you did not believe.
• 26:29
  Speaker 1: It's a terrible thing to go to church every week
• 26:31
  Speaker 1: and die and go to hell. It's a terrible thing
• 26:35
  Speaker 1: to be raised in a Christian family and to not
• 26:39
  Speaker 1: be united to those people in the most significant way possible.
• 26:44
  Speaker 1: It's a terrible thing to sing the praises of Almighty
• 26:50
  Speaker 1: God because culturally it's just what you do and then die.
• 26:59
  Speaker 1: and spend eternity separated from that God. It's a terrible thing.
• 27:05
  Speaker 1: So while it's very true that every last one of
• 27:08
  Speaker 1: us needs to examine ourselves in light of whether or
• 27:14
  Speaker 1: not we're thinking too individualistically, it's also very true that
• 27:19
  Speaker 1: every last one of us needs to examine ourselves as
• 27:22
  Speaker 1: to whether or not we're thinking too corporately. I said
• 27:24
  Speaker 1: whether or not we're actually redeemed, whether or not we
• 27:28
  Speaker 1: have actually come to God through repentance and faith, whether
• 27:32
  Speaker 1: or not we're trusting him for salvation, whether or not
• 27:35
  Speaker 1: we've acknowledged our own sin and our own need for
• 27:38
  Speaker 1: a savior, whether or not we've turned from our sin
• 27:40
  Speaker 1: and turned to Christ and trusted in Christ alone for
• 27:44
  Speaker 1: our salvation. That's the question that has to be asked.
• 27:47
  Speaker 1: It's not either or, it's both and. Have you come
• 27:56
  Speaker 1: to him? Have you trusted him? Have you believed in him?
• 28:05
  Speaker 1: Have you held to him as your only hope? If
• 28:09
  Speaker 1: you haven't, then you must. The third thing we see
• 28:16
  Speaker 1: is them baking these unleavened cakes. 33 to 34 and
• 28:19
  Speaker 1: then 39. 39. Look beginning 33. The Egyptians were urgent
• 28:25
  Speaker 1: with the people to send them out of the land
• 28:27
  Speaker 1: in haste. For they said, we shall all be dead.
• 28:32
  Speaker 1: So the people took their dough before it was leavened.
• 28:35
  Speaker 1: Their kneading bowls being bound up in their cloaks on
• 28:38
  Speaker 1: their shoulders. Verse 39. And they baked unleavened cakes of
• 28:44
  Speaker 1: the dough that they had brought out of Egypt. For
• 28:47
  Speaker 1: it was not leavened because they were thrust out of Egypt.
• 28:53
  Speaker 1: Why talk about this? Why talk about this? There are
• 28:56
  Speaker 1: so many details that happened that night. There's so many
• 29:01
  Speaker 1: things that went on that night. There was more than
• 29:16
  Speaker 1: just bread eaten. Why talk about this? Several things. First,
• 29:21
  Speaker 1: it reminds us again of the sudden departure. Remember the
• 29:24
  Speaker 1: whole idea of the unleavened bread was based upon the
• 29:27
  Speaker 1: idea of a sudden departure. It's going to be sudden.
• 29:30
  Speaker 1: They're going to send you out hastily. They're going to
• 29:32
  Speaker 1: send you out quickly. So this reminder that they ate
• 29:35
  Speaker 1: unleavened bread is a reminder that their salvation came suddenly.
• 29:39
  Speaker 1: That it wasn't something that they saw coming. It wasn't
• 29:42
  Speaker 1: something that they made happen. It was something that happened
• 29:45
  Speaker 1: suddenly in God's timing. There's also the idea that this
• 29:49
  Speaker 1: bread is the symbol of their deliverance. Remember this feast
• 29:54
  Speaker 1: of unleavened bread. This feast of unleavened bread that's to
• 29:58
  Speaker 1: happen every year, that's to be a week long. At
• 30:01
  Speaker 1: the beginning of it and at the end of it,
• 30:03
  Speaker 1: you have this high holy day. And in the midst
• 30:08
  Speaker 1: of it all, you eat only unleavened bread. Why? Because
• 30:13
  Speaker 1: that is the symbol and the reminder of your salvation.
• 30:17
  Speaker 1: That God sent you out, that he sent you out
• 30:19
  Speaker 1: in haste. And that you ate unleavened bread because there
• 30:22
  Speaker 1: was no time for the bread to rise. Folks, this
• 30:25
  Speaker 1: is also a symbol of our deliverance. There is a
• 30:30
  Speaker 1: reason that Christ, on a number of occasions, identified himself
• 30:36
  Speaker 1: as the bread of life. Again, when is bread most significant?
• 30:43
  Speaker 1: And there are a lot of people who go there.
• 30:46
  Speaker 1: Jesus says that he's the bread of life. Here's a
• 30:50
  Speaker 1: problem that I have with even some translations. Sometimes you
• 30:56
  Speaker 1: go into different people groups and one of the things
• 30:59
  Speaker 1: that happens when they translate the Bible into the language
• 31:02
  Speaker 1: of various people groups is they'll change this idea of
• 31:06
  Speaker 1: bread because there are some places where people don't have bread.
• 31:09
  Speaker 1: They'll have something other than bread. And so, you know,
• 31:13
  Speaker 1: to say that Jesus is the bread of life, let's
• 31:16
  Speaker 1: say that, you know, these people generally don't eat bread,
• 31:19
  Speaker 1: but there's a staple in their diet. And every day
• 31:22
  Speaker 1: they eat this thing in their diet. And so they'll say,
• 31:25
  Speaker 1: you know, Jesus is the this of life, the rice
• 31:27
  Speaker 1: of life, the corn of maize, whatever of life. Because
• 31:31
  Speaker 1: the significance here is that Jesus is that most central
• 31:35
  Speaker 1: and significant thing in life. Here's the problem I have
• 31:41
  Speaker 1: with that. Bread is significant, not because of its significance
• 31:50
  Speaker 1: in my culture, but because of its significance in the
• 31:53
  Speaker 1: Jewish culture. And its greatest significance in the Jewish culture
• 31:59
  Speaker 1: is this idea of the Passover, which points us to
• 32:02
  Speaker 1: who Christ is. He is the giver and the sustainer
• 32:06
  Speaker 1: of life. John 6.33 says, For the bread of God
• 32:15
  Speaker 1: is he who comes down from heaven and gives life
• 32:19
  Speaker 1: to the world. How is that not related to Israel
• 32:25
  Speaker 1: in the wilderness and the manna that they ate? John 6, 35,
• 32:31
  Speaker 1: Jesus said to them, I am the bread of life.
• 32:33
  Speaker 1: Whoever comes to me shall not hunger and whoever believes
• 32:36
  Speaker 1: in me shall not thirst. John 6, 48 and in 51,
• 32:40
  Speaker 1: I am the bread of life. I am the living
• 32:43
  Speaker 1: bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of
• 32:46
  Speaker 1: this bread, he will live forever. And the bread that
• 32:50
  Speaker 1: I will give for the life of the world is
• 32:54
  Speaker 1: my flesh. Folks, that's a reference to the Passover. You
• 33:00
  Speaker 1: can't make that another food. That's bread. That's bread. And
• 33:07
  Speaker 1: Christ is the bread of the Passover. This is why
• 33:11
  Speaker 1: when we gather as believers, when we gather to commemorate
• 33:14
  Speaker 1: what God has done, we commemorate the fact that he
• 33:17
  Speaker 1: has saved us individually and we commemorate the fact that
• 33:19
  Speaker 1: he has made us a people. And in doing so,
• 33:23
  Speaker 1: we set together weekly and partake of the bread. This
• 33:29
  Speaker 1: is my body, which is for you. Do this in
• 33:32
  Speaker 1: remembrance of me. It is for you individually, yes. But
• 33:36
  Speaker 1: it's for you corporately, yes. This is the significance. So
• 33:45
  Speaker 1: on the night that they go out, on the night
• 33:47
  Speaker 1: that they're saved, they eat bread, unleavened bread, which is
• 33:51
  Speaker 1: symbolic of the hasty nature in which they came out.
• 34:01
  Speaker 1: And when we gather as a body of believers, we
• 34:06
  Speaker 1: too gather and we sit before unleavened bread to remember
• 34:12
  Speaker 1: our salvation and to remember Christ who is not only
• 34:19
  Speaker 1: the symbol but the substance of our salvation. This is
• 34:24
  Speaker 1: why it is significant. Finally, it says they left after
• 34:29
  Speaker 1: 430 years This is a little bit complicated, but follow me.
• 34:34
  Speaker 1: If you will go to verse 40, the time that
• 34:37
  Speaker 1: the people of Israel lived in Egypt was 430 years
• 34:41
  Speaker 1: at the end of 430 years on that very day,
• 34:45
  Speaker 1: all the hosts of the Lord went out from the
• 34:48
  Speaker 1: land of Egypt. It was a night of watching by
• 34:50
  Speaker 1: the Lord to bring them out of the land of Egypt.
• 34:53
  Speaker 1: So this same night is a night of watching kept
• 34:56
  Speaker 1: to the Lord by all the people of Israel throughout
• 34:59
  Speaker 1: their generations. Um, This time includes more than their slavery
• 35:06
  Speaker 1: in Egypt. They were only in Egypt proper for about
• 35:14
  Speaker 1: 230 years. Somewhere between 200 and 230 years. Some people
• 35:20
  Speaker 1: put it at 215. Listen to this from Jameson, Fawcett,
• 35:23
  Speaker 1: and Brown. These additions are important. For the period of
• 35:28
  Speaker 1: sojourn in Egypt did not exceed 215 years. But if
• 35:32
  Speaker 1: we reckon from the time that Abraham entered Canaan and
• 35:37
  Speaker 1: the promise was made in which the sojourn of his
• 35:40
  Speaker 1: posterity in Egypt was announced, this makes up the time
• 35:45
  Speaker 1: to 430 years. In other words, it began with the promise.
• 35:52
  Speaker 1: It also includes the sojourning and then it ends with
• 35:56
  Speaker 1: the Exodus. This is significant evidence. Especially when we talk
• 36:03
  Speaker 1: about the idea that this is a picture of salvation.
• 36:06
  Speaker 1: Because ultimately, the picture of salvation is not just a
• 36:09
  Speaker 1: salvation from Egypt as a particular place, but it's a
• 36:13
  Speaker 1: picture of salvation from all that is not the land
• 36:15
  Speaker 1: of promise. God makes a promise to Abraham. And Abraham
• 36:21
  Speaker 1: is sojourning and that promise is not fulfilled. Until that
• 36:25
  Speaker 1: promise is fulfilled, he is merely sojourning. He is a
• 36:29
  Speaker 1: pilgrim in a foreign land until the promise is fulfilled. Therefore,
• 36:34
  Speaker 1: the reckoning here by Moses is that it's 430 years
• 36:38
  Speaker 1: because slavery in Egypt was not the only problem. Anything
• 36:41
  Speaker 1: that kept the people of God out of the land
• 36:44
  Speaker 1: of promise was equivalent to slavery in Egypt. It's all
• 36:48
  Speaker 1: slavery in Egypt unless and until you enter the land
• 36:52
  Speaker 1: of promise. This is significant for us. Because God is
• 37:01
  Speaker 1: saying here that it's not just that you don't want
• 37:04
  Speaker 1: to live in slavery. There are things worse than living
• 37:08
  Speaker 1: in slavery. Amen? It's not just that you don't want
• 37:12
  Speaker 1: to live under the authority of an oppressive regime. There
• 37:15
  Speaker 1: are things worse than living under the authority of an
• 37:17
  Speaker 1: oppressive regime. It is not just that you don't want
• 37:20
  Speaker 1: to live in this particular location. The reality here is
• 37:24
  Speaker 1: anything other than the promised land is Egypt. Anything other
• 37:31
  Speaker 1: than the place of promise is Egypt for you. Folks,
• 37:37
  Speaker 1: we live in the greatest country on earth. I believe
• 37:40
  Speaker 1: that with every fiber of my being. I do. I
• 37:42
  Speaker 1: believe it. That's why there are people lining up. People
• 37:48
  Speaker 1: literally dying to get into this country. And very few
• 37:53
  Speaker 1: people trying to give up their passports. Even the greatest
• 37:57
  Speaker 1: critics of America are not giving up their passports. Even
• 38:02
  Speaker 1: people who talk about this country like it's the worst
• 38:05
  Speaker 1: thing that could have ever happened to the world. They're
• 38:08
  Speaker 1: not trying to give up their passports. Why? Because they
• 38:14
  Speaker 1: know there's no place better than this. And I would
• 38:19
  Speaker 1: argue that there has been. And that's because of the
• 38:22
  Speaker 1: grace of God. We are the freest and most prosperous
• 38:26
  Speaker 1: people that the world has ever known. The world has
• 38:29
  Speaker 1: never known a freer people. The world has never known
• 38:33
  Speaker 1: a more prosperous people. Never. The average American is wealthier
• 38:40
  Speaker 1: than 70% of the rest of the world. That's the
• 38:44
  Speaker 1: average American, not wealthy Americans. The average American possesses more
• 38:49
  Speaker 1: personal wealth than 70% of the people in the rest
• 38:53
  Speaker 1: of the world. There is no place like America. There
• 38:58
  Speaker 1: has never been any place like America. Never, ever, ever, ever.
• 39:08
  Speaker 1: There are people protesting all over the United States and
• 39:11
  Speaker 1: have been for the last several days protesting because of
• 39:15
  Speaker 1: injustice in the United States. Are there injustices in the
• 39:19
  Speaker 1: United States? Of course there are. We're sinful people. And still,
• 39:25
  Speaker 1: we are the most prosperous and freest people. in the
• 39:30
  Speaker 1: world and even people who have a problem with our
• 39:35
  Speaker 1: judicial system would not trade it for any of the
• 39:39
  Speaker 1: others in the world so what's the point of all
• 39:45
  Speaker 1: of this here's the point it's still Egypt as great
• 39:54
  Speaker 1: as it is it's not home as great as it
• 39:59
  Speaker 1: is we are looking for a place that's even greater
• 40:04
  Speaker 1: we're looking for a city that has foundations whose builder
• 40:10
  Speaker 1: and maker is God As a result of that, even
• 40:15
  Speaker 1: the people who live in the wealthiest, most prosperous, freest
• 40:20
  Speaker 1: place on earth still yearn for the land of promise.
• 40:28
  Speaker 1: Because we were made for more than this. This is
• 40:33
  Speaker 1: what this 430 year statement means. It's not enough to
• 40:39
  Speaker 1: just not be in Egypt. The goal and the desire
• 40:45
  Speaker 1: is to be in the land of promise. It's to
• 40:49
  Speaker 1: be with God. We must never hold on to America
• 40:56
  Speaker 1: too tightly. Or wherever else you come from, we must
• 41:03
  Speaker 1: never hold on to it too tightly. Why? Because it's
• 41:07
  Speaker 1: not our home. We are grateful for it, but it's
• 41:12
  Speaker 1: not our home. That's the proper Christian attitude towards this life.
• 41:20
  Speaker 1: We're grateful for it, but it's not our home. Every
• 41:24
  Speaker 1: good thing that comes our way, we're grateful for it,
• 41:28
  Speaker 1: but it's not our home. This is the statement that's
• 41:34
  Speaker 1: being made here. God is calling a people. He's not
• 41:44
  Speaker 1: just making a statement about oppression. God is calling a people.
• 41:51
  Speaker 1: He's calling a people to make himself known, to make
• 41:54
  Speaker 1: his name known. He's setting his love on a particular
• 41:58
  Speaker 1: people and bringing glory and honor to himself by the
• 42:05
  Speaker 1: way that he sets his love on this people. He's
• 42:09
  Speaker 1: freeing this people so that they can become a people,
• 42:13
  Speaker 1: so that he can show the whole world what righteousness
• 42:17
  Speaker 1: is as he gives this people a law. He can
• 42:20
  Speaker 1: show the whole world what true worship is as he
• 42:24
  Speaker 1: gives these people a tabernacle and then eventually gives these
• 42:27
  Speaker 1: people a temple. As he shows the whole world what
• 42:30
  Speaker 1: deliverance is, as eventually he brings the Messiah through this people.
• 42:37
  Speaker 1: Make no mistake about it. This is not just about
• 42:40
  Speaker 1: getting out from under oppression. This is about God calling
• 42:47
  Speaker 1: a people to himself and proclaiming to the entire world,
• 42:53
  Speaker 1: herein is salvation. This is why those of us who
• 43:00
  Speaker 1: are in Christ can grasp this reality, can hold to
• 43:05
  Speaker 1: this reality, and can celebrate this reality, even though we're
• 43:09
  Speaker 1: not Jewish people. But we grasp this, hold on to it,
• 43:13
  Speaker 1: and celebrate it. Why? Because this is the foreshadowing, the underpinning,
• 43:17
  Speaker 1: and the foundation of the salvation that is ours in Christ.
• 43:21
  Speaker 1: It is this that gives our salvation in Christ meaning
• 43:24
  Speaker 1: and clarity. That's why this is significant. That's why it's important.
• 43:35
  Speaker 1: That's why it's meaningful. Because in grasping this, we understand
• 43:42
  Speaker 1: this table that's set before us today. In grasping this,
• 43:48
  Speaker 1: we understand the already not yet reality of our own
• 43:52
  Speaker 1: salvation and deliverance. In grasping this, we understand what it
• 43:58
  Speaker 1: means to be united to God and to God's people.
• 44:08
  Speaker 1: through understanding this, we understand what it means to be
• 44:11
  Speaker 1: a Christian. And as I've said earlier, if you are
• 44:18
  Speaker 1: here today and you are merely holding on to the
• 44:22
  Speaker 1: idea of being united to this outward body of people,
• 44:27
  Speaker 1: but have not been united inwardly with Christ, then flee
• 44:34
  Speaker 1: to him. Turn from your sin Turn from your self-reliance.
• 44:43
  Speaker 1: Turn from trusting in your works. Turn to Christ. Flee
• 44:52
  Speaker 1: to Him. For He is indeed your only hope. Let's pray.
• 45:10
  Speaker 1: Oh Lord, how we thank you for the truth of
• 45:17
  Speaker 1: the gospel. How we thank you for the magnitude of
• 45:25
  Speaker 1: your mercy. How we thank you for your grace. How
• 45:35
  Speaker 1: we thank you for your salvation and your deliverance. Lord,
• 45:44
  Speaker 1: how we thank you for your patience and long-suffering in
• 45:47
  Speaker 1: dealing with us. How we thank you for opening our
• 45:52
  Speaker 1: eyes and allowing us to see Jesus. How we thank
• 45:59
  Speaker 1: you for unclenching our fists as we held on for
• 46:04
  Speaker 1: dear life to the sin that we loved so much.
• 46:13
  Speaker 1: And how we thank you for calling us to yourself.
• 46:18
  Speaker 1: For making us a part of your people. Grant by
• 46:23
  Speaker 1: your grace that we might walk in this truth. That
• 46:27
  Speaker 1: we might be marked by it. Changed by it. Known
• 46:32
  Speaker 1: by it. I pray for those here under the sound
• 46:38
  Speaker 1: of my voice who have not yet come to faith
• 46:41
  Speaker 1: in Christ. Would you grant them repentance? Would you grant
• 46:45
  Speaker 1: them faith? Would you grant them the grace of salvation?
• 46:54
  Speaker 1: I pray for those who are here today struggling with
• 46:58
  Speaker 1: various issues and areas of their life. For those who
• 47:05
  Speaker 1: are reminded today of the already not yet reality of
• 47:08
  Speaker 1: their salvation. for the one battling a besetting sin, for
• 47:18
  Speaker 1: the one doubting whether or not they're even saved because
• 47:26
  Speaker 1: of how much or how often they've struggled. And Father,
• 47:34
  Speaker 1: we ask that today you would remind us that in
• 47:41
  Speaker 1: your deliverance, You have called us to be your people.
• 47:49
  Speaker 1: You have provided for us. You have rescued us. You
• 47:59
  Speaker 1: have delivered us. And you have made us your own.
• 48:07
  Speaker 1: We thank you for these things and pray all this
• 48:13
  Speaker 1: in Christ's name. Amen. Well, in a few moments we're
• 48:19
  Speaker 1: going to partake of...