The torah portion this week is Exodus chapters 10 through 13, and were coming in midpoint in the plagues against Egypt and actually on the latter third of them on this issue. First of all, we get a real clear picture Chapter 10 right in the beginning of exactly why it is that the Lord does this thing. I want you to bear in mind as we go through this that although we're looking at the deliverance of Israel out of Egypt; we're also taking a look at a picture of personal deliverance. That's profoundly important because I'm going to parallel them all together in just a few minutes. So, first of all, the L-rd says 'I have a reason for why I'm doing these things the way I'm doing them.' And that's given to us right there: 10:1 and 2:
The L-rd said to Moses,
"Go to Pharaoh, for I have hardened his heart and the heart of his servants, that I may perform these signs of Mine among them, and that you may tell in the hearing of your son, and of your grandson, how I made a mockery of the Egyptians, and how I performed My signs among them; that you may know that I am the L-rd."
In other words, it's a revelation to you personally that you can stand in faith upon. I said that better than I ever though I was gonna. O.K. So the first plague… I'm gonna briefly go over some of these, but the first plague that were looking at here in chapter 10 is locust. Now they'd been through the Nile river turning to blood, and by the way, as Heidi had read in the Torah portion that she read, each one of these plagues annihilated another one of the… we're gonna say "Mythological," the demonic principality gods of the Egyptian culture. So they worshipped the Nile River. It was the source of water for them for their crops and the L-rd just took the god of the Nile and bled it to death. We see that also in each of the plagues. So they went through the blood of the river, frogs, gnats, insects, pestilence, boils, hail and fire, and now we're coming upon locust. If you jump down there; Chapter 10 verse 7 you see Pharaoh said;
And Pharaoh's servants said to him, "How long will this man be a snare to us? Let the men go, that they may serve the L-rd their G-d. Do you not realize that Egypt is destroyed?"
I think sometimes we don't stop to realize when we got to this point in the game, they walked outside and there was nothin'. Everything was dead … and the trees in the summer had no leaves on them, and there was no grass, and there was no grain in the field. Egypt was destroyed. That's profound. So obviously again we see another plague coming upon them. So as we go a little further the next plague that we see that is brought upon Egypt is darkness. I think sometimes we brush over this one very quickly. If you jump down to verse 21: this is again Chapter 10 verse 21.
Then the L-rd said to Moses, "Stretch out your hand toward the sky, that there may be darkness over the land of Egypt, even a darkness which may be felt."
See it didn't just get dark; they were terror stricken. It's that darkness that goes to your soul. Right, right, exactly; so Moses obeyed. I mean every time you turn around Moses was obeying. It's a pretty profound statement of just humble obedience. After all he was the most humble man alive. Anyway, that's Jon's running joke about … he wasn't so humble if he said he was the most humble guy. But anyway, we'll just … maybe it was somebody's footnote. We don't know. Jump down a little further. Now this one's very important because we see absolutely no compromise. As we compare these things to personal deliverance if we get double minded or we're just not so sure that everything that the L-rd has for us is exactly what's good for us, then we're gonna knuckle under and the deliverance that we might be seeking would not be complete. Moses understood this and so he stood steadfastly firm. Based upon everything around him saying 'compromise, compromise, compromise' and I'm sure the people of Israel as well as all the Egyptians saying 'You need to compromise,' he did not compromise. So, down a little further, let's hit it at verse 24:
Then Pharaoh called to Moses, and said, "Go serve the L-rd; only let your flocks and your herds be detained. Even your little ones may go with you."
See Pharaoh was slowly giving in here.
"But Moses said, "You must also let us have sacrifices and burnt offerings, that we may sacrifice them to the L-rd our G-d. Therefore, our livestock, too, will go with us; not a hoof will be left behind, for we shall take some of them to serve the L-rd our G-d. And until we arrive there, we ourselves do not know with what we shall serve the L-rd."
Now that's profound because Moses did not presume to come to the mountain with a preset agenda of how he was going to approach the L-rd. He flat out said: 'we don't know. We're not even going to presume. When we get there we'll figure out what it is we're supposed to do' and we see that every time we come in here and we seek to worship the L-rd. We cannot come in here with an agenda and say 'L-rd, that is the way you're gonna do it.' In other words 3 hymns, an offering, and a fifteen-minute sermon don't cut it. I would tend to say that that little statement right there might be always prodding us in the direction of continuing to seek the L-rd as to how He would want us to approach Him as we come before Him. We see… this is profound, we'll just skip over to Acts just a second. Keep your hand there in Exodus because we're gonna come back. Let's look at Acts 13 verse 2. Now this is after Jesus' crucifixion, resurrection, and ascension. The establishment of the church was back there in Acts chapter 2 so this is a very interesting statement. Let's go up to (verse) 1 just to pre-empt it. Now there were at Antioch (which is now in Syria) in the church that was there, (were) prophets and teachers: (and they're named there) Barnabas, Simeon who was called Niger, Lucius of Cyrene, (I'm not gonna try and say them all) … and Saul. And while they were ministering to the L-rd and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, "Set apart for Me Barnabas and Saul …"
Now I'm not gonna focus in on 'set apart for me Barnabas and Saul,' they were ministering and fasting, and I've scratched my head over that word "ministering" for a long time. 'Cause we're so far removed (nearly two thousand years now) from when those things took place and what the first century church actually embodied and what they understood that we're groveling to understand now. We have come into a tremendous arena of understanding in that area and yet, what did they fully mean by 'ministering before the L-rd?' And did not (king) David and his people remain before the L-rd constantly in the tabernacle. I mean constantly, 24 hours a day seven days a week there were people in there ministering to G-d. We're in such a busy society it's like we can hardly ever find the time to do that. But that's a profound statement and I think that kind of ties into what we were just looking at. You know, we're gonna come in there, but we're gonna let the L-rd show us what it is that He desires and what would make Him happy. After all, that really should be the goal of our assembly.
Let's jump down a little further. In Exodus Chapter 11, which is very short, gives some very profound statement(s). At any rate, Chapter 11 verse 7; well, go back to 6:
'Moreover, there shall be a great cry…' Now this is the tenth plague, so this is the plague of the death of the first-born, O.K? So the G-d is saying here: "Moreover, there shall be a great cry in all of the land of Egypt, such as has not been before and such as shall never be again. But against any of the sons of Israel a dog shall not even bark, whether against man or beast, that you may understand how the L-rd makes a distinction between Egypt and Israel.' Now this is Moses right now talking to Pharaoh. 'And all these your servants will come down to me and bow themselves before me saying, Go out …' (In other words, 'Please, get out of here!') 'you and all the people who follow you, and after that I will go out.' said Moses. And he went out from Pharaoh in hot anger.
I really like that statement. See Moses was not personally offended here, Moses was offended for the sake of the kingdom of G-d, and he went out in hot anger. For those who think that the L-rd is a pacifist, He just isn't. O.K. Chapter 12 is dealing with Passover and let's just take a real good look at that. Moses said to Aaron… I'm sorry,
Now the L-rd said to Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt, "This month shall be the beginning of months for you; it is to be the first month of the year to you. Speak to the congregation of Israel, saying, 'On the tenth of this month they are each one to take a lamb for themselves, according to their father's households, a lamb for each household.'" Now that's the tenth day of the month. "'Now if the household is too small for a lamb, then he and his neighbor nearest to his house are to take one according to the number of persons in them; according to what each man should eat, you are to divide the lamb. Your lamb shall be an unblemished male a year old; you may take it from the sheep or the goats. And you shall keep it until the fourteenth day of the same month, then the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel is to kill it at twilight.'"
Now the New Testament never gives the details per say exactly when Jesus died, but I think it would be a pretty fair bet to say that He probably physically died at twilight. We see in here that his ministry represents about a three day … a three-year period based upon the three days between the tenth and the fourteenth day of that month and the slaying of the Passover lamb.
"'Moreover, they shall take some of the blood and put it on the two doorposts and on the lintel of the houses in which they eat it.'"
Now see that statement's very important because the blood of Jesus is appropriated for us but it really does no good until the Father applies that to the doorposts of our hearts.
"'And they shall eat the flesh that same night, roasted with fire, and they shall eat it with unleavened bread and with bitter herbs. Do not eat any of it raw or boiled at all with water, but rather roasted with fire, both its head and its legs along with its entrails. And you shall not leave any of it over until morning, but whatever is left of it until morning, you shall burn with fire. Now you shall eat it in this manner: with your loins girded, your sandals on your feet, and your staff in your hand; and you shall eat it in haste-it is the L-rd's Passover.'"
In other words, you should be ready at the blink of an eye to get up and do whatever it is that the L-rd has ready … prepared for you to do. And don't assume that you know when that's gonna be.
"'For I will go through the land of Egypt on that night, and I will strike down all the first born in the land of Egypt, both man and beast; and against all of the gods of Egypt I will execute judgments-I am the L-rd. And the blood shall be a sign for you on the houses where you live; and when I see the blood I will pass over you, and no plague will befall you to destroy you when I strike the land of Egypt. Now this day will be a memorial to you, and you shall celebrate it as a feast to the L-rd; throughout your generations you are to celebrate it as a permanent ordinance.'"
That's one of those "forever" words. You know, the G-d of the bible is the only one that can say "forever" and really follow through on it. You know, when I was in the Presbyterian Church years ago, they started up an adult class that they called "Foundations" and they went through "Torah" and they asked me to come into the class (I really didn't want to) they asked me to come into the class and lead the singing in the class. They only sang two songs but they asked me to lead the singing in the class. So I'm going through this with them and they get to this thing and it says "forever." And I got into an awful argument with the pastor because "forever" for them ended at the resurrection of Jesus. But G-d never said that "forever" ended sometime. "Forever" is "forever." And what do you do in Ezekiel 40 through 48 where we see the Messiah making the sacrifice of a lamb in the millennial age to come? I think … that's one of those we're not so sure about, but … right there it is. It looks like He keeps Passover even in the age to come. 'Do this in remembrance of me' doesn't mean that we see atonement in the blood of that lamb; the atonement is in the blood of Jesus. Now we don't do this. I shouldn't even say this, but in those ages past when you took your family and you gathered them together, and the children helped you slaughter a lamb, and this little thing that's been in the back yard for three or four years (should have said "days") that's like a little puppy that the kids have been playing (with), they watched Dad slit its throat; that's a horrifying experience. Don't tell me that child will ever again look at sin like it's a mediocre thing, or not important, or something to be trifled with. How much greater, the life of the Messiah? And this is, this is so profound, it just knocks you flat. Now, he continues through the story there, actually Moses turns around now and he speaks it to the people. But you get down there to verse 24 and he says that "forever" word again. And I'm believing that when the L-rd, G-d says "forever," He means forever! Forever and ever! He … man! … You know, in one breath we say 'He was, He is, and He always will be,' and then in another breath most "Christians" turn around and say 'but!' all of that changed. Well those two concepts don't go together. I often say to my … I teach in public school. I often say to my students, they're so confused. Fourteen, fifteen-year-old kids, they're so confused. We wonder why kids can't learn? They're confused! They're horribly confused, and sometimes I just start off by saying to them 'you know what? I'm not confused. I know you think everybody on earth is confused. I'm not confused, and you don't have to be confused. Maybe twenty years from now; maybe now, but maybe twenty years from now or fifty years from now that will click. I hope so … you know, for their sake. But we don't need to be confused. The L-rd's very straightforward. He knows we're not too swift. So what's important he says, and says, and says, and says again; and then He says it again 'cause He knows we're … sooner or later we're gonna get it if He keeps saying it often enough. Ah, 12:6; 12:26-I'm sorry. This is why many of us here home school our children.
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