test

Exodus 15:1-21 Praise the Lord!

Exodus 15:1-21

Music expresses the soul. When things are too big to put into words, we put it to music, to song. When things need to be shouted, to be cried, when we just need to FEEL – we sing, or listen to someone else sing.

I remember going to the London Mens Convention a few years back. It was at the Royal Albert Hall. 5000 men. And we sang praises to our God. Oh my. It was electric. 5000 strong voices echoing around the magnificent hall – that was singing. We rejoiced at the mercy and grace of our God. I remember singing “In Christ Alone”. Wow. The joy was almost tangible – I could almost reach out and touch it.

Now take that experience and make it bigger – much bigger. 600 000 men, plus women and children, standing on the shore of the Red Sea, just after a most miraculous rescue. A crowd of about 2 million people crying out in song “Praise the Lord!” A whole city shouting and praising God. Wow!

Today I want us to travel back in time, 3500 years ago. To stand on the shore of the Red Sea and FEEL what it was like to sing this song this morning. Let us let Moses lead us in praise.

Are you ready? Get into your time machine. Time circuits set for around 1500 BC. Location Red Sea, near what is now the Suez Canal, Egypt. Ready? But wait. Remember how this time machine works? We don’t go as observers... we lock on to an Israelite in that time, link up with his mind, and we will see with his eyes, and hear with his ears, and feel his emotions, and remember his memories. Are you ready to experience the Red Sea rescue as an Israelite. Yes. Engage!

1. V1-10 Praise the Lord for he rescues his people

1 Then Moses and the people of Israel sang this song to the LORD:
“I will sing to the LORD, for he has triumphed gloriously;
he has hurled both horse and rider into the sea.
2 The LORD is my strength and my song; he has given me victory.
This is my God, and I will praise him— my father’s God, and I will exalt him!
3 The LORD is a warrior; Yahweh is his name!

We’ve arrived! We’ve been transported back in time. This morning, you are now an Israelite, standing on the edge of the Red Sea. You can feel the sand under your sandals, the weight of the pack on your back filled with everything you own. It is the day before the Red Sea crossing. You are camped between Egypt and the Red Sea, and some of the older men are not too happy about, muttering words like “caught in a trap” and “what is Moses playing at”. There is a sense of unease, discontent and murmuring in the camp.

And then you heard a scream, a cry of terror: “They are coming!”. No! It cannot be! Your eyes wide you look towards the rear of the camp – and the sight strikes terror into your heart. The Egyptian army bearing down on you. The huge dust cloud raised by the chariot wheels. The flash of the swords and armour in the sunlight. The shouts of the soldiers and the whinnying of the horses fills your ears. Fear grips you, and 300 years of slavery kicked in. “I’m sorry master”, you shout, as you stumble back towards Egypt, towards your old, familiar life. Back towards slavery and the crack of the whip across your back.

And then suddenly you hear the sound of a rushing wind as the pillar of fire blazed past you overhead. The LORD! You had forgotten him in your terror. “How could I forget?” you think. Moses had just been telling us how we will celebrate the Feast of Unleavened Bread every year in the Promised Land to remember what God had done for us. And how every firstborn son will be redeemed, bought back, to remind us how God had redeemed us, Israel, his firstborn son; and how he had judged the Egyptians because of their rebellion against him. How could I forget? Have I so little faith?

You see in the pillar of fire the angel of the LORD, a human-looking figure, like a Son of Man. His head and his hair were white like wool, as white as snow. And his eyes were like flames of fire. His feet were like polished bronze refined in a furnace, and his face was like the sun in all its brilliance. (Rev 1:13-16) And he stands, stands between you and Egyptians. He is your protection and your shield. Your enemy cannot break through. And you cannot run back to slavery. Praise the Lord!

And then suddenly you hear the voice of Moses, loud and strong. “Men of Israel, see today the salvation of the Lord! Be still, and let the Lord fight for you!”

And then you see him raise his staff into the air. And the sea... the sea beings to churn. And the wind starts to blow, stronger and stronger. But you don’t notice the wind, you just stare in wonder at the sea, transfixed. The wind blows, and the sea writhes, waves crashing back and forth – but there, there in the middle, right in front of Moses, the water level is noticeably lower. The wind howls and the sound of rushing water fills your ears, salt spray hits your face, and the sound of shouting – no, of praising is all around you. “Praise the Lord! Hallelujah!” People are shouting. Because now they can see two great pillars of water rising up – and there, there in the middle of the sea a road. A straight road to freedom.

8 At the blast of your breath, the waters piled up! The surging waters stood straight like a wall; in the heart of the sea the deep waters became hard.
11 “Who is like you among the gods, O LORD— glorious in holiness, awesome in splendor, performing great wonders?

Can you picture it? Can you see it? Can you feel it? Walking through the sea on dry land. The waters standing like great battlements- huge walls standing to attention as the people of God walk by. The pillar of fire behind your back, and freedom, a new life, the Promised Land ahead of you! Praise the Lord, for he is good, and his mercies endure forever!

But then suddenly the pillar of fire vanishes, and with a great cry the Egyptian army rises up and rushes forth. No!

“Quickly, come on!” you shout. “Move! Run!” You grab the hand of those with you stumbling, running towards the light. You can hear the whinnying of the horses, the clanking of armour, the creaking of the chariots – and the voices of your slave masters. “9 I will chase you. I will catch up with you. I will plunder you. I will consume you. I will flash my sword; my powerful hand will destroy you.’

Terror grips your heart again. Someone screams behind you. You can feel fear all around you. “We’re going to die!” someone shouts. You gasp for breath, your legs burning. “No, I don’t want to go back” you hear yourself. “Save us, O Lord” someone cries out. You push on... and suddenly you’re on the beach, on the other side – you made it! And you collapse in exhaustion, gulping in great lungfuls of air. You feel the sand against your face, feel it between your hands.

And then you thing in despair: “This is where I will die, on a beach, run through by an Egyptian sword or trampled by an Egyptian warhorse.”

6 “Your right hand, O LORD, is glorious in power.
Your right hand, O LORD, smashes the enemy.
7 In the greatness of your majesty, you overthrow those who rise against you.
You unleash your blazing fury; it consumes them like straw.
8 At the blast of your breath, the waters piled up! The surging waters stood straight like a wall; in the heart of the sea the deep waters became hard.
9 “The enemy boasted, ‘I will chase them and catch up with them. I will plunder them and consume them. I will flash my sword; my powerful hand will destroy them.’
10 But you blew with your breath, and the sea covered them. They sank like lead in the mighty waters.

As you lie there on the beach, expecting at any moment to feel a cold hard blade pierce your back, and the harsh laugh of an Egyptian soldier – instead you hear a shout of terror from the Egyptian soldiers. “The Lord! The Lord fights for them against us!”

In wonder and hope you stand and turn to look behind you. You see the Egyptians in fear and confusion. Their chariots are stuck in the mud. Their horses are whinnying in fear, trying to turn back. Then suddenly a great blast of wind sweeps in from behind you, pushing you to the ground. You hear a great roar of rushing waters, like a thousand waterfalls, and you see – you see the sea crashes down upon the enemy of God’s people.

1 “I will sing to the LORD, for he has triumphed gloriously;
he has hurled both horse and rider into the sea.
2 The LORD is my strength and my song;
he has given me victory.
This is my God, and I will praise him— my father’s God, and I will exalt him!
3 The LORD is a warrior; Yahweh is his name!

Praise the Lord because he rescues his people!

But that is not all. We don’t just praise him for what he has done. We praise him for who he is. And the great crowd raises its voice in song and praises the Lord for he is the Most High.

2. V11-13 Praise the Lord for he is the Most High

11 “Who is like you among the gods, O LORD— glorious in holiness, awesome in splendor, performing great wonders? 12 You raised your right hand, and the earth swallowed our enemies. 13 “With your unfailing love you lead the people you have redeemed. In your might, you guide them to your sacred home.

Praise the Lord for he is the Most High.

Throughout this Exodus story one thing has become vbery clear: the Lord is immensely powerful. There is no-one like him. He is not an equal amongst the gods – he is far above. Egypt was the world superpower of the day – and the Lord God showed that he was far superior to their gods. Many commentators have wondered about the plagues – why specifically those? And one of the most plausible explanations is that the plagues were all showing God’s power over the different gods of Egypt. Egyptians worshipped many gods, each god with its own little area it ruled: like the sun god Ra, or Khnum the river god of the Nile, and so on. Each plague showed God’s mastery over these little gods – he was more powerful even in their area of power. He is the one true God over all the others. Yahweh is his name – or as he now has fully revealed himself: the triune God; Father, Son (Jesus) and the Holy Spirit. Who is like our God, indeed? Other gods are stone idols or ideas made up out of nothing. Only the Lord speaks, only the Lord acts, only the Lord comes to live with his people.

It is not a surprise that Christianity is the only religion based on verifiable history – things that have actually taken place. Real events, real people, real experiences. And when God speaks through his prophets, it’s not just vague suggestions about things that may or may not happen: it is about specific events – even the names of the people involved - that then take place. In fact, a prophet in Israel whose words did not come true was a false prophet and was put to death!

There may be gods of stone or wood, there may be philosophies and worldviews, there may be evil spirits – but there is only One God above all, seated high and mighty on his throne. The God and Father of our Lord Jesus, the Christ.

11 Who is like you among the gods, O LORD.

Praise the Lord for he is the Most High.

3. V13-18 Praise the Lord for he controls our future

13 “With your unfailing love you lead the people you have redeemed. In your might, you guide them to your sacred home. 17 You will bring them in and plant them on your own mountain— the place, O LORD, reserved for your own dwelling, the sanctuary, O Lord, that your hands have established. 18 The LORD will reign forever and ever!”

This is the point of remembering what the LORD has done. It is to give us confidence for the future. It builds our faith. Remember that Biblical faith is not “just believe”. Biblical faith is believe based on the evidence. Based on God’s past actions we know that he is able to save, willing to save, and powerful enough to not be stopped. Praise the Lord for he saves his people; praise the Lord for he is the Most High – there is no other; and therefore, praise the Lord for he controls our future. Our future is secure. If he saves us, then we are truly saved.

As an Israelite set free, there would come a time after all the excitement has died down when you think: “what now?”. We’re 2 million people... in the desert... not much water... not much food. Where do we go? Oh, there’s the promised land, but last I heard it was occupied.

And then you hear Moses’ voice leading the people in song. 15 The leaders of Edom are terrified; the nobles of Moab tremble. 17 You will bring them in and plant them on your own mountain. 18 The LORD will reign forever and ever!”

And you remember he is in control. Just like he has shown in the past. Our lives are in his hands. Do not be afraid.
And we, dear friends, as “time travellers”, have the benefit of knowing that their hope was not in vain. That they did not die of thirst or of starvation in the desert. That the people of Canaan and surrounding lands really were terrified of them. That God did safely deliver them to his holy mountain just as he had promised. Praise the Lord for he controls the future.
And so, that gives us confidence, because we

4. Praise the Lord for he is our Lord

Do you feel the emotions of Moses and the Israelites this morning? Do you feel the joy of being rescued, the wonder of a God, high and mighty and lifted, who cares for his people, little us down here. Do you feel the hope of the future, a new life, knowing that he will take you there?

If you feel it, good, for this, Christian, is YOUR experience, your emotion, your joy.

For we have been rescued, we have been set free. We are known, intimately known by the one true God and we know him. And he has given us a hope and future, we are headed to the New Creation, and it is secured, guaranteed by His blood and by the Holy Spirit, the deposit guaranteeing our inheritance. He is with us.

So we can sing a new song to the Lord.

Daniel and the people sang this song to the Lord: “I will sing to the Lord, for he has triumphed gloriously; he has defeated death and sin on the Cross. The Lord is my strength and my song, he has set me free. This is my God and I will praise him – the God of Moses and Israel and I will exalt him. The LORD is a warrior; Jesus is his name.”

To sum up then. We, like Israel have been set free. Our old sinful life is behind us. We have been taken through the Sea, washed clean, made new. We are headed for heaven and he is before us and behind us, his holy fire is all around us, keeping us safe. The enemy cannot get us, and we cannot go back to our old life. Remember this! Remember when you are tempted. Do not fall. But if you do fall, if you do sin – remember that the price has been paid to forgive you. And stand up, put your pack back on your shoulders, and keep following Him. One day we will see him there face to face, either when we die, or when he returns, whichever comes first. And our journey will be complete. We will be home. Praise the Lord!

11 “Who is like you among the gods, O LORD— glorious in holiness, awesome in splendor, performing great wonders? 12 You raised your right hand, and the earth swallowed our enemies. 13 “With your unfailing love you lead the people you have redeemed. In your might, you guide them to your sacred home. Amen

18 The LORD will reign forever and ever!” Amen

He fought for us on the cross. This is what we celebrate now in the communion. That night in the garden, agonising in prayer, sweat like drops of blood in anguish on his face, as he prepared to take the cup of punishment our sins deserved. As he stands and says “The hour of darkness is here. Here is my betrayer.” At a word he speaks and the whole crowd come to arrest him falls down. Oh, he had power! And yet, he fought for us not with a great display of power, but with a great display of love. Love held his power in check. Love caused him to cry out “Father, forgive them!” as they nailed him to the cross, instead of calling down a legion of angels. Love held him on the cross, nails in his hands and feet. Love took him through the darkness, as he became our Passover Lamb. Love, was why he cried out “It is finished” and gave up his life so that you and I might live.

Exodus 14 The Lord will be glorified

Exodus 14

There are people in this church who have lived through the Exodus.

I don’t mean that they’re 3500 years old! What I mean is, is that they have been fantastically, wonderfully, dramatically rescued by the Lord – and their entire life has been turned upside down. Everything has gone wrong – and belonging to Jesus has seemed to make things worse, not better.

Some of you sitting here today feel like the Israelites did 3500 years ago. Some of you feel like you’re being chased through the desert by an army of problems and are crying out to the Lord “Why Lord! Why did you bring me to this place? Did you save me just to kill me? Why are you taking me through this?”

It’s a good question, so let’s see what the God’s answer is from Exodus 14.

1. The Lord will be glorified when he tests you

2. The Lord will be glorified because he protects his people

3. Glory to God in the highest

1. The Lord will be glorified when he tests you

14:1 Then the Lord gave these instructions to Moses: 2 “Order the Israelites to turn back and camp by Pi-hahiroth between Migdol and the sea. Camp there along the shore, across from Baal-zephon. 3 Then Pharaoh will think, ‘The Israelites are confused. They are trapped in the wilderness!’

The Lord sets up a test. He tells the Israelites to turn back, to make it look like they were trapped and confused. The test was for Pharaoh and his officers. Israel are seemingly vulnerable, confused. How will he respond? Will he remember what happened when he stood against the Lord and his people? Does he remember the death of his very own son? Does he remember the cost of standing in rebellion against Almighty God?

Has he learned his lesson? Does he fear the Lord?

But the test is not just for Pharaoh. It is also for Israel. What will they do the first time they seem to be in danger? Will they remember what the Lord has done for them already? That’s what the previous chapter was all about. Remember the Lord. Remember what he has done.

So there is a test: Pharaoh and Egypt, and Moses and Israel. How will they respond? And what does their response reveal about them, about the state of their hearts – who they really are.

And more to the point, when we are tested, what does our response reveal about us, and about the state of our hearts.

As we go through life’s ups and down, our character, our heart, our true nature is revealed. Particularly when we go through difficult times – how do we respond? Do we cling to the Lord? Do we respond in faith? Do we doubt? Do we cry out to the Lord “Why did you bring us into the desert to die?”.

We’d all like to say we respond in FAITH. But if we’re honest I think all too often we’re like the Israelites. Or even like Pharaoh.

Pharaoh is a fool. He is blinded by his own arrogance, his own power. 5 When word reached the king of Egypt that the Israelites had fled, Pharaoh and his officials changed their minds. “What have we done, letting all those Israelite slaves get away?” they asked. 6 So Pharaoh harnessed his chariot and called up his troops. And off they go to destruction.

Pharaoh, it seems, has learned nothing. His country lies in ruins, and yet he still rebels against the Lord, he still rushes blindly towards his own destruction. Why? Because he wants to.

I find verses 4 and 8, and verses like it, some of the most terrifying in the Bible. It is when God says I will give the people what they want. I will allow them to do what they want to do. They will not repent, but will be hardened in their sin, and there will be no escape. It is God’s righteous judgement on a rebellious man, a rebellious people, and it is terrifying. 4 The LORD says “And once again I will harden Pharaoh’s heart, and he will chase after you. I have planned this in order to display my glory through Pharaoh and his whole army. After this the Egyptians will know that I am the Lord!” and v8 The Lord hardened the heart of Pharaoh, the king of Egypt, so he chased after the people of Israel, who had left with fists raised in defiance. The result is v28 Then the waters returned and covered all the chariots and charioteers—the entire army of Pharaoh. Of all the Egyptians who had chased the Israelites into the sea, not a single one survived.

It is a humiliating defeat. The once proud slave-masters, now just corpses washed up at the feet of those they once ruled. The first will be last and the last will be first. It is foolishness to stand against the Lord. You will be broken. You will not stand. God will be glorified.

Now considering what we’ve seen Pharaoh do in the past, his actions are not entirely shocking. Just more of the same. God told us quite clearly that Pharaoh would never respond to him, that he would rebel and that Pharaoh’s rebellion would serve God’s purposes. So, not a surprise. The shock comes in v10. Are the Israelites mad? Do they not remember what God has just done for them, like a day ago? Do they not remember the terrible darkness which covered the land for three days? Do they not remember the terror of the Angel of death passing over their houses and passing through the houses of the Egyptians?

No, they do not. 10 As Pharaoh approached, the people of Israel looked up and panicked when they saw the Egyptians overtaking them. They cried out to the Lord, 11 and they said to Moses, “Why did you bring us out here to die in the wilderness? Weren’t there enough graves for us in Egypt? What have you done to us? Why did you make us leave Egypt? 12 Didn’t we tell you this would happen while we were still in Egypt? We said, ‘Leave us alone! Let us be slaves to the Egyptians. It’s better to be a slave in Egypt than a corpse in the wilderness!’ ”

It is a shocking response. It is a terrifying response. They have responded in unbelief. They have mocked the Lord. They do not trust his word. They have rebelled against him.

And so the Lord wipes them out, as he wiped out the Egyptians. “Foolish worms!” he cries, as his holy fire consumes them and this rebellious people are purged from the land.

Well, that’s what he should have done. If he was a God who was only just. But who is this LORD, this Yahweh who made himself known to Moses at the burning bush? He is the Lord, the Lord, the gracious and compassionate God.

The shocking thing is that he rescues these ungrateful, unfaithful people. And God is glorified. God is glorified in judgement over Pharaoh. God is glorified in saving Israel, in saving his people.

What’s the difference between them and Pharaoh, then? Nothing – except that the Israelites are God’s people, covered by his promises, his word, and Pharaoh is not.

You will be tested. You will fail the test. The real question is not what you do when you are tested. The real question is what will God do? Do you belong to the Lord or not. Are you one of His people?

2. The Lord will be glorified because he protects his people

13 But Moses told the people, “Don’t be afraid. Just stand still and watch the Lord rescue you today. The Egyptians you see today will never be seen again. 14 The Lord himself will fight for you. Just stay calm.”

Actually v14 is better translated “Yahweh fights for you. You be silent” In other words, shut your pie-holes, Israel!. Stop your whining and complaining. Stop longing for slavery in Egypt!

The contrast is stark: the Israelites say in v12 “We want to serve these Egyptians”. God says in v13 “You will never see these Egyptians again.” You can’t be the slave of a dead person. You cannot serve the dead!

So it is with us as Christians. However tempted we may be to go back to Egypt, go back to our old way of life, to be enslaved by sin, to serve our old masters. We cannot. They are dead to us. And one day sin and evil will be destroyed forever.

One of my Dad’s friends said that the biggest change in becoming a Christian was that he couldn’t sin properly anymore!

There is much truth in that. We cannot sin properly anymore because we are aware of our sin! We are aware of this whole other world, this battle ground that we never even know existed before we came to Christ. How many of us thought that we were pretty ok, pretty good people – until the Holy Spirit started shining His light on us. Oof. What a reality check. Is this really me? Am I so full of sin? Do I so easily give up and want to go back to “Egypt”?

Yes. It’s a big temptation for us, and continued to be for the Israelites. It’s easier to be a slave and be like everybody else, than be different, have faith, and follow Christ. But if he is God, what alternative is there? Say no and end up washed up on the shore, our dead eyes looking up at the sky as the people of God walk by to new life! No! Save us, O God, we cry. I already have he says.

You see, while the people were moaning in fear and wanting to rush back to Egypt, the angel of the Lord is on the move. 19 Then the angel of God, who had been leading the people of Israel, moved to the rear of the camp. The pillar of cloud also moved from the front and stood behind them. 20 The cloud settled between the Egyptian and Israelite camps.

The angel of the Lord moves between the people and their enemies. He stands between the slave drivers and the people. They wanted their slaves back – but the Lord stands in the way.
But little did the Egyptians know that the Israelites also wanted to come back! “We want to be slaves.” So the Lord stands between the people and their old life, their slavery. He will not allow them to go back, to be enslaved again. They have been set free.

That’s what Jesus does for us. He stands between us and Satan. We once belonged to Satan, following his commands, his ways. We belonged to him because we have sinned against God. And he is coming for us. In wrath and fearsome anger he comes for us. And Jesus moves between us and Satan and shields us with his own body. The sins are paid for. We are free.

But our hearts still long to be back under Satan’s rule. Because our hearts are sinful – we want to disobey God, we want to follow our own way, do our own thing, and ignore God. And so we long to be like everyone else. We long to be back in Egypt in “safe” slavery. Where we can sin again and not feel guilty. When we are not called to forgive, to lay down our life for your wife, to lead our families, to share the gospel, to serve in the church. Wouldn’t it be easier to be lazing about in bed now instead of being here? Oh, my hearts longs for such foolish laziness instead of being here, hearing the word of the Lord, being with my Christian brothers and sisters. Praise the Lord that he stands between us and Satan and he does not let us go back to slavery. I thank the Lord that you are here – it is a miracle of his Holy Spirit that you are here this morning.

Our Lord Jesus stands between us. Satan might beat upon him, but he cannot break through. Jesus did not sin. He did not yield. He is alive! And we are forever protected by the power of his indestructible life.

He stands between us. God purposes will be fulfilled. We will be saved. Remember that, when times are tough, when you are tempted to give in, when you want to sin, oh you want to so badly. Be quiet, tell your sinful heart to shut up! And say Lord, please fight for me. This is a battle I cannot win.

And you can be confident that the Lord will answer that prayer, not because you are special or deserving or good enough – the Israelites certainly weren’t – but because he is special. Because he keeps his promises. Because he will be glorified both in judgement – and salvation.

Be still. And let the Lord fight for you.

3. Glory to God in the highest

4 And once again I will harden Pharaoh’s heart, and he will chase after you. I have planned this in order to display my glory through Pharaoh and his whole army. After this the Egyptians will know that I am the Lord!”

Can you take away from God’s glory by rebelling against him? We were created to serve him, to reflect back to him his majesty and glory. All of creation shouts with joy: “God is great, God is great, God is great”.

So can we stand against that, stand against our destiny, stand against all of creation, stand against the Living God and say “God is not great”. I will not bow before this God. Remember Pharaoh’s words way back in chapter 5 when Moses and Aaron first appear before him “Who is this “Yahweh”? I do not know him. Why should I listen to him?”

The answer is, of course, no, you cannot take away from God’s glory. God is using Pharaoh’s rebellion to give glory to... God. He is not affected by our puny rebellion. He is not worried when we raise our little fist in his face. His plans are not shuffled about, rearranged. There is nothing outside of his control.

Oh Pharaoh’s making his choice, and it is a real choice – but God is already there, has already fixed him in his course, and Pharaoh’s will will be made to serve the will of God. Don’t be afraid, dear friends, of any man. For what is man compared to God? Pharaoh chooses to rebel against God, to spit in his eye – and he becomes the very glory of God and God responds in righteous judgement and destroys the Egyptian army in great power.

15 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Why are you crying out to me? Tell the people to get moving! 16 Pick up your staff and raise your hand over the sea. Divide the water so the Israelites can walk through the middle of the sea on dry ground. 17 And I will harden the hearts of the Egyptians, and they will charge in after the Israelites. My great glory will be displayed through Pharaoh and his troops, his chariots, and his charioteers. 18 When my glory is displayed through them, all Egypt will see my glory and know that I am the Lord!”

Glory to God who protects his people, and judges the wicked. Praise the Lord! Those who rebel against him will not stand. God will be glorified.

God is glorified in judgement.

But God is also glorified in rescue. Oh unfaithful, disbelieving Israel, see now the salvation of the Lord. See the Lord fighting for you. See the waters rising up like great towers as you walk across dry land. And see the glory of the Lord as he rescues you from your enemies. Praise the Lord!

30 That is how the Lord rescued Israel from the hand of the Egyptians that day. And the Israelites saw the bodies of the Egyptians washed up on the seashore. 31 When the people of Israel saw the mighty power that the Lord had unleashed against the Egyptians, they were filled with awe before him. They put their faith in the Lord and in his servant Moses.

There are only two ways to live.

One. You live like Pharaoh. You live for yourself. You ignore God. You rebel against his word. You are the captain of your destiny. And God will glorify himself in judgement over you, as he hardens your heart so that there is no escape and you will choose hell rather than bow the knee to the Lord.

Or you can cry out to him for mercy. Tell him you want to serve him, to belong to him. And if you do that, you will find that he has already rescued you, that you belong to him, that you are his. And he will be glorified as he saves you, as he protects you.

So, dear friends, if you belong to Jesus, when the tests of life come – do not be afraid, hang on to God, and watch his salvation. Don’t run back to sin, but stand firm, obey his commands, no matter how hard it seems – and you will see what the Lord will do. And like the Israelites you will put your faith in the Lord. Praise the Lord! Praise the Lord! Glory to God.

Exodus 13 Remember

Exodus 13

About two weeks ago, just after Christmas, I was walking along a seaside path. The sun was blazing down with its summer warmth, the sea was glistening – and I saw a strange sight. I was in the coastal town of Hermanus, just outside Cape Town, and there in the centre of town, on the seaside path were two old World War 2 guns.
They had been kept as a monument. There was a stone pillar, and on the pillar was a plaque with the names of all the soldiers who had given their lives during the war. And there was one sentence on the plaque: Their names live forever.
In other words: Remember.

We remember their sacrifices during the war and we are thankful. I remember what my grandfather went through to win the freedom we take so for granted. We remember those who fought and died for freedom. And we remember what that cost: our freedom came at a great price. Let us never forget, say these monuments, what horror war brings, what terrible price it exacts on us, and what it costs to stand against tyranny. Remember.

Today’s passage is Israel’s “war monument”. Remember. Remember what God has done. Remember how he brought you out. And remember what it cost.

1. Remember: the Lord rescues his people with a mighty hand (slavery and rescue (yeast)) v3-10

2. Remember: the Lord redeems his sons from death with a sacrifice (death, redemption, and the costly sacrifice) v11-16

Redeem means buy back, exchange, transfer, swap (å bytte ut)

3. Remember: the Lord is with his rescued, redeemed people v17ff

1. Remember: the Lord rescues his people with a mighty hand

Remember what God has done. Well, what has God done? Well, I’m glad you asked, since it’s been about a month since we were last in Exodus, and we’ve probably all forgotten!

God saved a tribe of whiny, ungrateful, weak slaves (that’s Israel), by choosing as their leader and rescuer an escaped murderer hiding out in the desert wasting his life (that’s Moses). What an inspiring story! What a bunch of losers. These are the people God chooses? Seriously? Yes, seriously. These are the people God saves!

3 So Moses said to the people, “This is a day to remember forever—the day you left Egypt, the place of your slavery. Today the LORD has brought you out by the power of his mighty hand. And in case the Israelites (and us) are slow Moses reminds us again at the end of his speech v9 Let it remind you always to recite this teaching of the LORD: ‘With a strong hand, the LORD rescued you from Egypt.’

The hero of the story is not us, the people. It is not Moses, or Aaron. It is God. He is the Rescuer, the Saviour of his people. It is his power, his action, his love, his mercy on a small insignificant bunch of slaves. Why?

Because his word is true. 400 years earlier the Lord told Abraham what would happen: that his descendants would be enslaved, and that when the time was right he would rescue them and lead them to the land he had promised Abraham and his descendants.
The Lord God keeps his promises. His word is powerful.
We remember what the Lord has done in the past – because it reminds us that he keeps his promises. What he has done in the past gives us confidence that he will do what he has promised to do in the future: to judge the living and the dead, and to rescue all those who receive Christ Jesus as Saviour and as Lord. Remember! And have faith.

Again we see that faith is not just “believing without evidence”. We talk about a “leap of faith” as being a blind jump – but that’s not Biblical faith. Faith in the Bible is based on evidence. We trust the evidence of what God has done in the past, so we can then live confidently, with faith, trusting that he will do what he has promised. Faith is based on the evidence of what God has revealed already. So remember what he has done, and have faith.

So we remember the Exodus. Great. Nice story. Ah, but there’s more, remember. As we’ve seen as we’ve gone along in these chapters, God’s eye is on the future, on the real Exodus, the real rescue, which this one is just foreshadowing: the Cross of Christ.
That’s why in v3 So Moses said to the people, “This is a day to remember forever. Forever. Forever is a bit excessive isn’t it, for the rescue of a bunch of slaves. But not for remembering the Cross. The point of Exodus is the Cross. Exodus is just a shadow of the real rescue to come. That’s why it’s such a big deal. That’s why the need to remember it forever.

We, like the Israelites, are slaves. But not slaves to the Egyptians, we are slaves to sin – our rebellion against God. We have ignored him, our Creator and King. We have broken his laws and done our own thing. We have insulted him by not giving him glory. We have sinned against him. The evidence of sin is all around us: broken relationships, arguments, hurt, greed, poverty, divorce, locked doors, wars, sexual abuse, terror attacks – all these come from our sinful hearts turned towards ourselves instead of towards the Lord. And because he is just, he will not allow us to hurt and destroy each other and ignore him forever. He has set a day of judgement and warned us about it. Just as Pharaoh was warned of his day of judgement. Pharaoh was arrogant and refused to repent, and brought ruin, destruction, and ultimately death on himself and his people. Learn from his mistake!
A day of judgement is coming, a plague of death when darkness will cover the whole earth and everyone will meet the angel of death face to face. We are in Egypt, waiting for the final plague.

So, how do we escape? How do we live instead of dying? Remember that the Israelites had the Passover lamb, sacrificed in their place. Then they had to leave with the people, following the Lord, in faith, out into the desert. They would remember this with a feast, the feast of unleavened bread (unleavened means bread with no yeast). 6 For seven days the bread you eat must be made without yeast. Then on the seventh day, celebrate a feast to the LORD.

There was no yeast because there was no time to bake bread with yeast – yeast needs time to rise, and they had to leave quickly – they were rescued. Bread without yeast also keeps longer – it is bread for a long journey, the journey to the Promised Land. Eating bread with no yeast was a symbol, a symbol that you were following the Lord into the desert, trusting him to take you to the Promised Land.

That finds its fulfilment in the Cross. Where our Lord Jesus won for us our freedom by taking our place as the Passover lamb. He took our place, taking the punishment of death our sins deserved, in order to break the power of sin over us and set us free. We are no longer slaves to sin, but now are free to follow our Lord God to the Promised Land of the New Creation.

Romans 8:1-2 So now there is NO condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus. And because you belong to him, the power of the life-giving Spirit has freed you from the power of sin that leads to death. You are free! Just like the Israelites. So remember what Christ has done. If you belong to Jesus – if he is your Saviour and Lord – then the power of sin is broken in you – particularly the power of sin to kill you. You will not die spiritually. You will not face the darkness of God’s righteous anger. You are sinless because Christ has taken your sins. I am free!

So when we are tempted to sin: to lie, to gossip, to get proud and arrogant, to answer back harshly, to hurt, to steal, to give in to lust, or anger, or hatred, or prejudice, whatever it is – we must remember what Christ has done. Remember that I belong to him.

The Israelites were commanded to look back at the Exodus, that great event where God rescued them from slavery in Egypt and lead them safely to the Promised Land of Canaan.

We are commanded to forever remember the True Exodus the great event where God rescued us from slavery to sin, through the cross, and will lead us safely to the New Creation.

I am free. Remember it.

Remember that the Lord rescues his people with a mighty hand.

2. Remember: the Lord redeems his sons from death with a sacrifice

11 “This is what you must do when the LORD fulfills the promise he swore to you and to your ancestors. When he gives you the land where the Canaanites now live, 12 you must present all firstborn sons and firstborn male animals to the LORD, for they belong to him.

All the firstborn sons belong to the LORD? Why? The answer is in v15 Pharaoh stubbornly refused to let us go, so the LORD killed all the firstborn males throughout the land of Egypt, both people and animals. That is why I now sacrifice all the firstborn males to the LORD—except that the firstborn sons are always bought back.’

Remember the final plague. The final plague was the plague of death. Remember it. Remember that your sons were redeemed, saved by the sacrifice of the lamb. Remember that any son not redeemed by the lambs was killed.

It’s very dramatic, isn’t it? In fact the whole 10 plagues thing is quite dramatic. God could just have blown Pharaoh away with a little flick of his wrist. So why the drama? Why the big event? Why the dramatic memorial?

Because the Firstborn Son before all firstborn sons is Jesus. And he is the great redeemer – the one who buys back sinful men and women, like us, like Israel. He pays the price, a price paid in blood: his own life.
Exodus is a drama, a big event because it is an echo of the death of the Firstborn Son. The death of Jesus echoes throughout time and space, through all of history – a massive cry “It is finished!” as the universe itself is turned upside down. God the Son became a human being and tasted death in order to free...us. He who knew no sin became sin for us. It is the biggest event in time. There is no bigger, there will be no bigger. That God Himself would stoop to take our form, to taste our suffering, to even taste death in order to rescue us.
Some say the gospel is unbelievable and I would say they’re right. In fact, if you don’t think it is unbelievable I don’t think you fully grasp the wonder of the gospel. Have you ever just sat in wonder and thought “Jesus died for me”. Jesus died...for me!

I was in chains, enslaved by sin. I was in darkness, under the judgement of death. And Jesus saved me. He saved me by redeeming me: paying the price to set me free. He took my place.

And that is the symbol that the Israelites were to remember, and to tell their children. Here is the firstborn son. He is under the sentence of death. But God has said “redeem all your firstborn sons”. So instead of the son being placed on the altar, a transaction takes place. A price is paid, normally 5 shekels, and the son is redeemed, bought back, set free from death. Someone else paid his price.

But now the firstborn donkey is brought forward. There is no redeemer for this donkey. No-one to pay the price. No-one to take his place. The donkey’s neck is broken, and its body falls lifeless in the dust.

Remember: see the price being paid to redeem the life of the son. The price is paid. The son lives.

Remember: see the donkey. There is no-one to pay his price, no redeemer is found. His neck is broken because there is no redeemer. No redeemer = death.

We are all under the sentence of death. We will all die. Eternal death. Unless there is a redeemer: Christ Jesus. Only he can pay the price to save us: not 5 shekels – that was only a symbol. The price to be paid is a life for a life – one perfect life to redeem your imperfect life. Life for death. And so Jesus gives his life for us, paying the price. He is the firstborn son, the firstborn son who goes to the altar and who is not redeemed, he is not bought back, so that he can redeem, by back, all of us.

Is he your redeemer? Have you been bought back by him? Remember! Be redeemed. Or will your neck be broken like a donkey, your body lying in the dust for all eternity?

Remember: the Lord redeems his sons from death with a sacrifice.

3. Remember: the Lord is with his people

21 The LORD went ahead of them. He guided them during the day with a pillar of cloud, and he provided light at night with a pillar of fire. This allowed them to travel by day or by night. 22 And the LORD did not remove the pillar of cloud or pillar of fire from its place in front of the people.

The Lord did not abandon his people after he rescued them. He did not say You’re free, good luck.

If he’d done that, they would have gone the direct route: through the land of the Philistines. And they would have faced battle, become terrified, and run back to slavery in Egypt.

But God called them to follow him. You see, they were set free not to do their own thing, but set free to follow God.

We know that we are saved from our sins – but what are we saved for? We’re not just saved FROM sins, but saved FOR service to God. We are set free not to do our own thing, but set free to be who we were born to be: people who glorify God. We are set free to fulfil our destiny.

Freedom to do our own thing is sin: we do what we want without referencing God – we’re acting like we are God, like we are in charge. What we value so highly as “freedom” the Bible calls sin. And actually, that’s slavery. When we do what we want, we find soon that we can’t do anything else. We become enslaved to our own selfish desires and motivations and we can’t do anything else. We are slaves to ourselves. If the Israelites had been “free” to do what they wanted they would have landed back in Egypt!
I remember a friend of mine at University who had cheated on his girlfriend – and he loved his girlfriend. He said “I couldn’t stop myself”. He was helpless. His “freedom” had trapped him and become his master. That’s sin. Sin enslaves us, ensnares us. Only Christ can set us free. Only in following him can we be truly free.

So remember. Remember what he has done. Remember that he has saved you with his mighty hand. Remember that he redeemed you with a costly sacrifice. And remember that he is with you – the Lord is with his people. So decide today to follow him. No matter what the road, follow him. Obey him. Put him first. Sacrifice your time, your money, your relationships, your reputation, your stuff – give it all up to him – and you will be amazed at what he will do. Don’t stay in Egypt, hanging on to your things – mine. But give it up, head out the door, and trust Christ.

At the beginning of this new year, the Lord is challenging us to trust him. To have faith. Remember what he has done. Remember who he is. And do not be afraid to trust him. Obey him. No matter how difficult it is. Amen? Amen.

Exodus 12:21-51 The Passover: the glorious Cross of Christ

Exodus 12:21-51

On the day that Jesus rose from the dead, two disciples of Jesus, Cleopas and his brother, walked along the road from Jerusalem to Emmaus, a small town a day’s journey away. On the way, they met a man who asked them why they looked so downcast. The man was Jesus, but they did not recognise him. They spoke with grief about the death of Jesus, and that they had hoped he was the Messiah. They said that his tomb was now empty - but they did not understand what this meant.

Jesus’ reply astonished them. Luke 24:25 Then Jesus said to them, “How foolish you are! You find it so hard to believe all that the prophets wrote in the Scriptures. 26 Wasn’t it clearly predicted that the Messiah would have to suffer all these things before entering his glory?” 27 Then Jesus took them through the writings of Moses and all the prophets, explaining from all the Scriptures the things concerning himself.

32 They said to each other, “Didn’t our hearts burn within us as he talked with us on the road and explained the Scriptures to us?”

Well, as we look at this prophetic part of the Law, as Moses’ writings were called, may the Lord cause our hearts to burn as we see the cross of Christ in all its glory: our God, who sent his son to be our substitionary sacrifice – a sacrifice in our place. He took our place in death, taking the blow of death so that he could give us life. This sacrifice was costly. It was efficious (it worked). And leads to eternal glory.

You see, the Passover, as great and dramatic as it is, is nothing but a shadow of the Cross of our Lord Jesus Christ. The reason for the Passover is so that we can understand the Cross better. So that we can see what Christ has done for us. Even at this moment, God had in his mind’s eye the Cross – the final great ultimate rescue of his people from slavery to sin, the Son paying the cost, so that we could go free – truly free, free to serve God and glorify him forever.

That’s what the Passover is truly about. That’s why movies such as the Prince of Egypt or the upcoming Exodus: gods and kings are not Christian movies. Because they may tell the Exodus story, but they miss what it means, its significance. They miss Christ. And as Christ himself said “all Scripture is about me”

1. You cannot escape from death

In Exodus we have at last come to the final and most dreadful of judgements. Egypt’s unrepentance, their refusal to acknowledge the Lord God of Heaven. They have stood against him despite warning after warning. And now the final blow, the final judgement: death.

Death is the great judgment on us. It is the very proof that we have rebelled against God, and that we have all rebelled.
Fools will tell you that God searches our hearts and finds those who are righteous and saves those – but it is a lie. They may even twist the Bible to make it say that – but it is a lie.
The fact is that no-one is righteous, no, not one. We have all turned away, all rebelled against God. And the proof is that we all die.

There was only one who rose again from the dead and lives forever because he had no sin, because he was righteous. I suppose there is a chance that one of us is sinless – maybe you’re clinging on to that hope. But, I’m sorry to tell you that death will probably catch up with you, just like me, because we’re just not good enough. The standard is Jesus, not “better than those people over there”. So if you’re trusting in your own righteousness you will disappointed in that moment just before you die! Urk! Oh bother, I was wrong!

Death has come because of sin. It is the wages of sin. It is our payment for sin. And there is no escape that we can make. There is no way out that we can find for ourselves. The Egyptians had no way out. Judgement was coming. Darkness lay across the land. There was no way out.

But wait – that’s not entirely true is it? Wasn’t there an area not covered in darkness, not under judgement?
Yes, there was! The Israelite area was in the light. In fact there was a way out for the Egyptians then and there is a way out for us now. But it is not a way that we make for ourselves.

There is a way out of death. And this is it: if someone else dies in your place.

2. Jesus’ costly sacrifice – the Lamb that was slain in your place.

Justice must be done. Rebellion against God is punishable by death. Because God is the source of life – life comes from him, anyone who wants to be “free” from God is actually asking for death. The problem is: we’ve all done it. We’re all guilty. Lived our own lives. Ignored him. Lived as if he were dead. And so justice stalks us. The Grim Reaper awaits.

So how can we be rescued? Who can die in our place? I can’t die in your place because the sentence of death hangs over me. The only one who can die in our pace is someone who is sinless, and who therefore will not die. Only someone who lives forever can die for us. And who would do that?

Mk 15:33–34 At noon, darkness fell across the whole land until three o’clock. 34 Then at three o’clock Jesus called out with a loud voice, “Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?” which means “My God, my God, why have you abandoned me?”

And here we see the amazing grace of our Lord. We see it this Christmas as he shrinks himself down to a human baby. As he becomes human – like us – in order to die our death. He goes into the darkness so that we can go into the light. He takes our place so that we can live. He is our substitute. Like the lambs were the substitute for the lives of the Israelites.
His blood covers us and gives us life, as the blood of the lambs covered the doorposts and gave the Israelites life.

23 For the LORD will pass through the land to strike down the Egyptians. But when he sees the blood on the top and sides of the doorframe, the LORD will pass over your home. He will not permit his death angel to enter your house and strike you down.

The substitute. For the Israelites, life. But for the lambs – death. This is why John the Baptist cries out in a loud voice “Look, the Lamb of God!” as he sees Jesus, our Saviour. (John 1:29) This is why, in Revelation, the symbol of our Lord Jesus is the Lamb that was slain. He took our place. He protected us from death. He died for you and I.

At what cost?

29 And that night at midnight, the LORD struck down all the firstborn sons in the land of Egypt, from the firstborn son of Pharaoh, who sat on his throne, to the firstborn son of the prisoner in the dungeon. Even the firstborn of their livestock were killed. 30 Pharaoh and all his officials and all the people of Egypt woke up during the night, and loud wailing was heard throughout the land of Egypt. There was not a single house where someone had not died.

There is deep anguish in death (anguish is overwhelming pain and sorrow). Many of us, probably all of us, have felt the pain of death – a loved one taken from us. You can imagine the pain of the whole country of Egypt as they taste the bitter justice of their rebellion against God. But the anguish of Egyptians - the great wail that is heard – is just a foretaste, a foreshadowing of the anguish of Jesus as he weeps in the garden of Gethsemane. Matt 26:38 He told them, “My soul is crushed with grief to the point of death. Stay here and keep watch with me. His anguish as he sweats blood crying out “Father, is there any other way?”. And his aguish as the King on the cross crying out “My God my God why have you abandoned me”. It is the great cry of the king surrounded by his enemies. And it is the heart cry of the Son of God facing the judgement of God, tasting death so that we don’t have to. Our lives are won at a high price. It is a costly sacrifice. Costly does not begin to describe it. And how easily we despise it because it cost us nothing. Can you see it? Can you see the Son of God upon the cross, my sin, your sin upon his shoulders.

Because what is the life of a lamb, compared to the life of your first born son? That is what the Israelites had to do – offer up the life of a lamb as a substitute for the life of their son. But that is not a fair trade – the life of the son is worth much much more than the lamb. But for the Lord this little sign of faith is enough, because it points to the substitute of Jesus, the Son of God, for their life and for our lives! He is worth so much more than us, of infinite worth, and yet he died, in our place.

The second verse of the song “How deep the Father’s love for us” by Phillips Craig and Dean sums it up well:

Behold the Man upon a cross, my sin upon His shoulders
Ashamed I hear my mocking voice, call out among the scoffers

It was my sin that held Him there, until it was accomplished
His dying breath has brought me life: I know that it is finished

Jesus’ costly sacrifice – he died in your place.

3. It worked – you are free! No longer a slave to sin! No longer under judgement.

“It is finished”. Jesus’ last words on the Cross as he gave his life. His rescue mission was complete. The True Exodus was done. The price was paid. There was forgiveness for sinners.

When Jesus rose from the dead he went to Peter, who had gone back to fishing, a broken man. He was broken because he had betrayed Jesus, denying him publically “I don’t know Jesus!”
So when Jesus found him he said “Peter, you bastard, how dare you betray me! Burn in hell you sinful failure.”
No, he sought him out. He called to him. He spoke gently to him. Ate with him. Restored him. There was forgiveness for the betrayer Peter because Jesus had taken his betrayal and dealt with it on the cross. Peter was free. Jesus just had to help him understand it.
A few months later Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, preached the first sermon on the day of Pentecost, challenging everyone to come to Christ – and 3000 responded. No longer Peter the Betrayer, Peter the Apostle. That is the grace of God.

It is a story we see time and time again in the Bible.

Here we see the people of Israel. A people who responded to God’s word by saying “go away”, who told God’s leaders, Moses and Aaron to leave them alone because “you have made us stink to Pharaoh”. Sinful people of no faith. Yet at the end of this chapter God has rescued them from slavery, made them a people, dealt with their sin so that death has passed over them, and blessed them so abundantly with silver and gold and riches that they could barely carry it all!

This is our God.

They were no longer slaves, doomed to a life in Egypt. They were now free men, with a new hope and new destiny. We are no longer slaves to sin, doomed to a life in this broken world. We are free men (and women), with a new hope – Christ in us, the hope of glory! – and a new destiny. We are headed for the new creation, restored, perfect. When every sin is dealt with and there is no more death, no more suffering.

Did you accomplish that? Did I? Did you wash away your own sin and restore creation? No? Then why do we sometimes act like we do – that it is dependent on us?

What did the Israelites do to rescue themselves? Nothing. Except believe God’s word and take action.

What do we need to do: believe his word and take action. Repent of our sins, confess them to him, and then act like we are forgiven and free.

51 On that very day the LORD brought the people of Israel out of the land of Egypt like an army.

You can imagine the huge crowd of people. 600 000 men, plus wives and children, flocks and herds – a massive exodus of people! But as everyone is rushing back and forth, getting everything ready, loading up their backpacks – there’s an Israelite sitting in his house, looking sad.

“Hey brother, why so sad?”
“I’m so tired of being a slave”
“But we’ve been set free!”
“No, I don’t deserve it. I’ll just stay here”
“Of course you don’t deserve it. None of us do. But God paid the price. Come on!”
“Oh no. I don’t have enough faith. Anyway, God wouldn’t pay for my sin. You don’t know what I’ve done.”
“Who cares? Are you crazy? Look around you! Look at all the people who have been saved. You’re already rescued. Look at the blood covering your doorposts. You’re not dead!”

How often are we like that Israelite, cowering in our house, refusing to believe that the death of Jesus really worked. That all our sins are covered. You might be sitting there thinking: “not my sin. I sinned deliberately. God can’t forgive wilful sin”. Or “my sin is too terrible – God cannot forgive me”. Do you know that some of the worst Nazi war criminals, those who experimented on people and gassed people to death – they found forgiveness at the Cross of Christ. His wounds were sufficient even for them. If they can be forgiven, so can you. It is a costly sacrifice. Costly enough to cover your sins.

The death of Jesus worked, just like the sacrifice of the lambs. The angel of death passed over the houses were he saw the blood. Just like the judgement of eternal death will pass over those of us who are covered by Jesus’ blood.

His death brings life. It is sufficient.

4. We are made for Eternal glory

35 And the people of Israel did as Moses had instructed; they asked the Egyptians for clothing and articles of silver and gold. 36 The LORD caused the Egyptians to look favourably on the Israelites, and they gave the Israelites whatever they asked for. So they stripped the Egyptians of their wealth!

As they were leaving, the Egyptians basically threw their money at them, and the Israelites stripped Egypt. Great. Why?

Ever wondered why you and I are blessed so abundantly. Why we have money and time and talents and gifts and relationships? Ever wondered why we’re still here. After all, God could just whip us off to heaven the moment we are saved. Whee.

Well, the reason the Israelites got all this gold and silver and so on was because it all would be used to build the tabernacle of God. The tabernacle was the tent where God “lived” right with them. They had all this wealth to give back to God for his glory because he was going to live with them! You see, we’re not saved just to be saved. We, like the Israelites, are saved in order to be HIS people. With him, intimately, personally.

We are his people. We are free men, free to serve our King, our Father, our Brother. We are free to be what we were born to be. Born to give glory to God. In this life, imperfectly, always slowed down, ruined a bit by sin. In the next life, gloriously, perfectly, giving praise and glory to the One who saved us. The One who lead our Exodus. The One who died in our place.

Let our lives sing praise to our Lord Jesus, both now and forever. Amen.

Exodus 12:1-20 All dressed up and nowhere to go?

Exodus 12:1-20

You smell smoke. Fire! And then the fire alarm starts ringing. And someone runs in: Fire!

How do you respond? Ikke så farlig. Doesn’t matter. Or do you get up and run?

See, you belive that fire is dangerous, you believe that you can escape by getting outside and so your belief, your faith, translates in to action: run!

2 “From now on, this month will be the first month of the year for you.” It’s a bit of hint that what’s about to come next is a Very Important Thing. This is a Big Event. This is so big that in the future the whole year will be structured around this event. Kind of like fellesferie in Norway! Or Christmas even. It is the high point of the year.

Why? Because this is what everything has been heading towards. This is why Moses was saved as a little baby in a reed boat. This is why he grew up in Pharaoh’s palace. This is why God called him out of the desert from the burning bush and made him the saviour of the people. This is why there has been plague and rebellion. This moment, when God will act to rescue his people, to judge the rebellious, and to pass over his people. This is also the moment when Israel has to take action. They need to respond in faith, acting as if God’s word is true.

1. God remembers his promises

While the Israelites were still in the land of Egypt, the LORD gave the following instructions to Moses and Aaron: - yes, yes seen it all before – go and tell Pharaoah… but no look at v3 Announce to the whole community of Israel

This is the first time the Israelites have been in the story since way back in chapter 6. The first time God has spoken to them. Like I said last week, they were bedraggled, beaten, given up. Not exactly people of faith!
But now they had SEEN God’s power at work. Here was the Living God, speaking and then what he said would happen, happened! There will be blood – and there was blood. He said “frogs” and there were frogs everywhere. “Gnats”, and gnats were everywhere. And you can imagine the longsuffering Israelites just being stoic about it. You know, “here we go, more to suffer through”. Things are worse than ever.

And then God says “I will show you that I make a distinction between the Egyptians and my people”. And suddenly they are protected! The land is filled with flies – but no flies surround them. Animals die – but not theirs. Hail falls – but not on their fields. Darkness falls, but they are in the light. Could it be? Is God... for us? But we are nothing - how can this be?

Do you not understand? You are his people. His favour rests upon you. His salvation is secure.

But we have no faith. We have forgotten our God.

Ah, but God remembered you. Remember Ex 2:24-25 God heard their groaning, and he remembered his covenant promise to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. 25 He looked down on the people of Israel and knew it was time to act.

What was his promise? God’s word to Abraham in Gen 15:13–16 Then the LORD said “You can be sure that your descendants will be strangers in a foreign land for 400 year. They will be oppressed as slaves. 14 But I will punish the nation that enslaves them, and in the end they will come away with great wealth. 16 After four generations your descendants will return here to this land, for the sins of the Amorites do not yet warrant their destruction.”

The Israelites should have known this. They should have been secure, knowing that the time had come for rescue! Just like we should trust that when Jesus says that he will return.

How would life as an Israelite have been different if they had believed the word of the Lord? The temptation to compromise, side with the Egyptians, would be gone. The desire to obey God and serve him with gladness would be there. You could endure because you have hope, hope of a rescue that is coming. Well, it is the same for us. What difference does it make to you knowing that Jesus will soon return?

If I really believe that, really live my life like that. The toil of this life will soon be done. The greed and grabbing all you can – be generous. The need to compromise with the world – sex, drugs, entertainment, selfish behaviour, “me-time”, boozing it up, buying buying buying, having the best this or that or dreaming of the perfect life, the perfect house, the perfect husband. What difference does it make that Jesus will return? Perhaps today?

God remembers his promises. You can be secure in that. He has shown his power in raising Christ from the dead. And the warning is clear: fire! Judgement is coming. Get out.

And we must respond.

2. When God speaks his people respond in faith.

3 Announce to the whole community of Israel that on the tenth day of this month each family must choose a lamb or a young goat for a sacrifice. Then the whole assembly of the community of Israel must slaughter their lamb or young goat at twilight.
7 They are to take some of the blood and smear it on the sides and top of the doorframes of the houses where they eat the animal. 8 That same night they must roast the meat over a fire and eat it along with bitter salad greens and bread made without yeast.
11 “These are your instructions for eating this meal: Be fully dressed, wear your sandals, and carry your walking stick in your hand. Eat the meal with urgency, for this is the LORD’s Passover

See, the Israelites had, like us, been shown God’s awesome power. They had seen the plagues. We have seen the whole history of Bible, with the very son of God showing his power over sickness and evil spirits, and showing his love as he takes our place, and showing his power even over death!

They had seen his power – and now they are called to respond. Take a lamb or goat and sacrifice it. Roast the animal and eat it. Put its blood on your doorframes to be saved. Eat your meal dressed for a journey.
This is “faith”. Faith is acting like God’s word is true based on the evidence in front of you. They had to dress for a journey because God has promised to rescue them. They took action – putting on journey clothes. That’s faith.

But faith is based on EVIDENCE. God does not demand that we “just have faith” as in the way it’s often used today – just to throw yourself out there. That’s the sort of New Age idea “just believe” and the “universe” will give you good vibrations back or something. That’s just nonsense. Who lives like that?!
The Bible demands that we use our minds, that we investigate. Biblical faith is based on evidence. Notice that God does not ask the Israelites to do anything until they have SEEN the EVIDENCE of his powerful word in action. NINE plagues are a pretty good indication that God can do what he says he will do.

And now they are called to respond.

I’m sure some had doubts. Oh, I’ll look like such a fool – all dressed up and nowhere to go. And tomorrow I’ve got to be at work. I’ll be whipped if I’m late.
You can imagine the Egyptian neighbours looking on and laughing as they smeared blood on their doorposts. Haha look at these primitive slaves. Like some blood on your door could save you. Hahahaaaa.

Haha. You Christians and your zombie Jesus. Like a dead man could ever save you. Primitive nonsense. We’ve moved on from then. Now we have science!

But science is based on evidence. And the evidence is before the eyes of the Egyptians: the Israelite God is supremely powerful. But they will not see it. Because if they see it they might have to believe. And if they believe they might have to respond, humble themselves and say “you are God”.

And the evidence is that 2000 years ago Jesus rose from the dead just like he said he would. Many saw him afterward, including a crowd of 500 people. It was really him. But he was different. He could do things like walk through walls – but he was no ghost because he could eat food with them. He had a resurrection body – his body, only... better. The evidence was plain to see. If you really believed “science”, you would believe in Jesus! As he had said, he conquered death. His awesome power to heal, his power of creation – which nobody could deny, not even his enemies – that stretched even to death. Who was this man? He was no ordinary man. Jesus is something more.

Then when we look at the promises of Scripture we see, wow, this is the Holy One of Israel. This is the Messiah, the promised saviour. This is the fulfilment of all God’s promises – from right back in Gen 12 to bless all the nations through Abraham.

See, faith in Jesus is not just some pie in the sky. Some happy thoughts to get us through the dark day. The important thing about faith is NOT having faith – that’s just stupid. Everyone has faith. What is important about faith is the object of your faith – what are you putting your faith in.

The Egyptians put their faith in their gods, in their king. And were battered by blood and hail and frogs and darkness and ultimately death.

The Israelites who responded in faith and trusted that obeying God’s word would save them, however str4ange it may have seemed to paint blood on your door or to eat a meal with your coats and boots on and suitcases ready – those who trusted God and obeyed him were saved. They were rescued and given life – the plague of death did not touch them.

Those of us today who put our faith in Jesus - we will live forever. We will pass through death and be raised to live by him. This is based on evidence. His word is trutsworthy, His Spirit is active. He does what he says he will do. We have experienced the Living God, personally, intimately. And one day we will see our God face to face.

So live like it, dear brothers and sister. As we read recently in Col 3:1 Since you have been raised to new life with Christ, set your sights on the realities of heaven, where Christ sits in the place of honor at God’s right hand. 2 Think about the things of heaven, not the things of earth. 3 For you died to this life, and your real life is hidden with Christ in God. 4 And when Christ, who is your life, is revealed to the whole world, you will share in all his glory.

When God speaks his people respond in faith.

3. God’s people remember what God has done

14 “This is a day to remember. Each year, from generation to generation, you must celebrate it as a special festival to the LORD. This is a law for all time. 15 For seven days the bread you eat must be made without yeast. On the first day of the festival, remove every trace of yeast from your homes. Anyone who eats bread made with yeast during the seven days of the festival will be cut off from the community of Israel.

Reading all this about yeast immediately reminded me of a well-known yet rather puzzling statement Jesus makes in Mark 8:15 As they were crossing the lake, Jesus warned them, “Watch out! Beware of the yeast of the Pharisees and of Herod.”

16 At this they began to argue with each other because they hadn’t brought any bread. 17 Jesus knew what they were saying, so he said, “Why are you arguing about having no bread? Don’t you know or understand even yet? Are your hearts too hard to take it in?

Oh, haha, those dull disciples. Obviously Jesus wasn’t talking about bread. They’re so dull. He’s obviously making a spiritual point. And then we all nod wisely at each other, all the while felling a bit uncomfortable because we’re not entirely sure exactly what Jesus meant either and to be perfectly honest, feeling a bit “dull” ourselves. Beware the yeast of the Pharisees. What’s that all about?

And why would you be cut off from the community just for baking a bit of bread with yeast in it on one of those seven days. A bit harsh isn’t it? I mean, really?

Anyone who eats bread made with yeast during the seven days of the festival will be cut off from the community of Israel.

Well, bread with yeast takes time. It needs to be set aside in a warm place for many hours to rise – something that you can’t do when you are leaving the country. No-one ever said just before leaving for the airport – let me just mix up a batch of bread. If you had to have bread, you would make flatbread – bread you could bake immediately. But bread with yeast takes hours!

During the Festival of Unleavened Bread (leaven is an old word for yeast so Unleavened Bread is bread without yeast: Flatbread). So during the Flatbread Feast they were celebrating the Exodus, the rescue of God’s people from Egypt when he lead them out. It was a symbol, a reminder that they left that very night, dressed to travel, after the Passover. Therefore, during this feast, do you see how serious it is to make bread with yeast? How you are saying by your actions I want no part in the rescue of Israel. I will not be leaving. I have time to make bread with yeast and wait for it to rise because I’m not going. I don’t want to be part of God’s people. I don’t trust his word.

And which is why Jesus warns his disciples against the empty religion of the Pharisees. They are not willing to follow Jesus. And so they are remaining in a spiritual Egypt, and will face God’s judgement. Jesus had come to lead a new Exodus – all those enslaved by sin, facing death, could place their trust in him, be covered by his blood, and be rescued from slavery.

That is what it means to be a Christian. We are dressed for a journey. This world is not our home – we look for another. We follow Jesus wherever he may ask us to go, whenever he tells us. We smear his blood on our lives, trusting that he will pass over our sin on that judgement day. He is our Passover Lamb. And we avoid the “yeast” of anything that takes our focus off him and makes us want to stay put in “Egypt”. This is not our home.

One of the ways we do that is by remembering what the Lord has done. 14 “This is a day to remember. Each year, from generation to generation, you must celebrate it as a special festival to the LORD. This is a law for all time.

Each year the Israelites celebrated (or should have celebrated) their Passover and Exodus. That was for them. But we still celebrate it today. It is still remembered and celebrated for all time.

Because we remember our Passover, the true Passover which this one here was only foreshadowing, we remember it here each Sunday in the communion. We remember that our Lord gave his body, shed his blood, the sacrificial lamb dying in our place so that his judgement would pass over us. We remember that we belong to him, that our sins are covered.

Praise God that he remembered us, remembered his promise to Abraham to bless all nations, and sent his son to rescue us.

And we respond in faith, trusting in his Son, our Lord Jesus, and living for him. Remembering what he has done each day, celebrating his rescue. Our sins are covered, we are set free! We belong to Him! Praise the Lord, O my soul! Praise the Lord!

Exodus 11 God is sovereign over Life and Death

Exodus 11

1 My God, my God, why have you abandoned me? Why are you so far away when I groan for help? 2 Every day I call to you, my God, but you do not answer. Every night you hear my voice, but I find no relief. The opening verses of Psalm 22, written by David, the king, quoted by Jesus, the King of Kings, on the cross.

My God my God.
Why did author, David, blame God for his situation? It was his enemies who had surrounded him, evil men, not God.
And why did Jesus quote this? It was not God who crucified him, who had betrayed him.

What David and Jesus understood was this: God is sovereign. He has all things under his control. And so it is right to go to him and say “why have you abandoned me? Why have you let this happen?

God is sovereign. Bible does not hide this fact – it trumpets this! We try to minimise it because it goes against our Western self-determination, make your own destiny cultural philosophy. And we are fools if we do so. Because what use is a god who is not sovereign. What use is a god with no power? He is no god at all!

This chapter is designed to remind us that God is in control. Just before the final plague is unleashed we are reminded that death is coming, that God’s people will live, and that this will most definitely happen because God is sovereign.

1. The warning: death is coming

4 Moses had announced to Pharaoh, “This is what the LORD says: At midnight tonight I will pass through the heart of Egypt. 5 All the firstborn sons will die in every family in Egypt, from the oldest son of Pharaoh, who sits on his throne, to the oldest son of his lowliest servant girl who grinds the flour. Even the firstborn of all the livestock will die. 6 Then a loud wail will rise throughout the land of Egypt, a wail like no one has heard before or will ever hear again.

Imagine you were an Egyptian at that time. Death is coming. Egypt lies in darkness, devastated by hail, locusts, frogs, gnats, boils, sickness, flies, and blood. And now the final judgement has come. Death hangs in the air.

You have seen your king, Pharaoh, stand against Moses and his god. And you probably agreed with him. After all, this was the god of the slaves! Ridiculous that he could have power over the might of Egypt. But as water turned to blood, as frogs appeared, then gnats, then flies, then your animals died, then boils broke out on you, then hail, then locusts, and finally darkness... you can imagine a bit of nervousness at the beginning, then feeling uncomfortable – maybe their God really is powerful -, then fear, then full-blown terror as you look out at your once beautiful country devastated, ruined – and you see the Israelite area perfectly protected – and a cold dread fills your heart as darkness comes over you like a cloud and you can almost taste death. He is coming. He is coming.

But we don’t have to imagine it. We don’t have to pretend we’re Egyptians. Because we know that death is coming. It is all around us. People die every day. Oh, in our society we’re pretty good at insulating ourselves from death. People die away in hospitals or old age homes. We have a little ritual in church and we let our religious rituals comfort us and then we push it out of our minds. But that fear is always there, in the back of our minds, threatening to come out and choke us. What if the God of the Christians really is there? What if there is Someone out there and I am not right with him. The unspoken fears of the Egyptians. The unspoken fears of the Norwegians.

Death is coming. Death is coming for each one of us. Each of us has over our heads a doomsday clock – and as each second ticks by we are closer to our death. Tick. Tick. Tick. One step closer. Each breath you take is closer to your last.

So how do you live, knowing that you will die?

Pharaoh rebelled against it. He refused to accept the judgement. 10:28 “Get out of here!” Pharaoh shouted at Moses. “I’m warning you. Never come back to see me again! The day you see my face, you will die!”

29 “Very well,” Moses replied. “I will never see your face again.”

Some laugh in the face of death. Take more and more risks, seeking the thrill of being on the edge. Some go out to grab all they can, crush everyone in their path. Some surround themselves with loved ones, pouring themselves out in other people, trying to find peace in being significant and remembered. Others try to block out the world with entertainment and noise and virtual realities. But I think most of us just kind of drift along with a vague unease, just pushing the thought of death to the back of our minds. What we should do, is seek a way out of death. That’s the point of the warning.

You see, God could have just wiped them out without warning, without sending Moses to Pharaoh. Just boom – justice for their cruelty in enslaving an entire people and murdering their children. Justice! He could just wipe us out – wham. Justice for all our sins and rebellion and cruelty. Don’t you ever watch the news and wonder why he doesn’t just wipe us out? Well, because even in the midst of judgement there us mercy. There is a way to live forever. There was light among the Israelites!

The stench of death did not hang over God’s people. God’s favour rested upon them. But for the Egyptians... the sword of the Destroyer was pointed towards them. The Grim Reaper, as we call him, waiting with his scythe to harvest the dead from the earth.

Death is coming. What will you do?

2. The promise: God’s people will live

7 But among the Israelites it will be so peaceful that not even a dog will bark. Then you will know that the LORD makes a distinction between the Egyptians and the Israelites.

From the plague of flies onwards, we’ve seen the Lord make a distinction between his people and the people of Egypt. Although they were affected by the plagues of blood, frogs and gnats, the Lord then showed his power to save.
8:22 But this time I will spare the region of Goshen, where my people live. No flies will be found there. Then you will know that I am the LORD and that I am present even in the heart of your land. 23 I will make a clear distinction between my people and your people.
9:6 And the LORD did just as he had said. The next morning all the livestock of the Egyptians died, but the Israelites didn’t lose a single animal.
9:26 The only place without hail was the region of Goshen, where the people of Israel lived.
They did not suffer from boils or the locusts either, it seems. And of course, when darkness fell, the darkness of judgement and death, Israel had light. 10:22 So Moses lifted his hand to the sky, and a deep darkness covered the entire land of Egypt for three days. 23 During all that time the people could not see each other, and no one moved. But there was light as usual where the people of Israel lived.

The point is this: the Lord can save his people. The word of the Lord can be trusted. When he says “I will save you” we can trust his word!

Have you noticed that the Israelites have pretty much been absent from this story. It’s been Moses and Aaron vs. Pharaoh. We’ve heard nothing from the Israelites. The last we heard of them was all the way back in chapters 5 and 6 – and that was anger and lack of faith! 5:21 The [Israelite leaders] said to [Moses and Aaron, “May the LORD judge and punish you for making us stink before Pharaoh and his officials. You have put a sword into their hands, an excuse to kill us!”

And the people: 6:9 So Moses told the people of Israel what the LORD had said, but they refused to listen anymore. They had become too discouraged by the brutality of their slavery.

That’s it! The Israelites are bedraggled, discouraged. They had given up. No hope. The light had gone from their eyes. They were beaten down. They had no faith in the Lord. They had no service to him. They did not dress in their best clothes, or offer the right sacrifices or do anything to deserve his rescue. And yet the Lord says “I will save you.”

Moses was wandering around in the desert, a failure – and God called him and said “you will lead my people”. Why? Because God. He decided that Moses would lead the people, and so it happened. Did Moses do anything other than muck up his life? No. But God...

The Israelites are likewise “failures”. Beaten down, discouraged. They are not people of faith. Their faith has been knocked out of them. They do not deserve salvation, yet God saved them.

And so too with us. We are not required to dress in our Sunday best, to get our life in order before we come to Jesus. Our salvation does not depend on us any more than the Israelites salvation depended on them! Our salvation comes from the Lord, not from us!

How often we think like that! “I need to get right before I come to God.” That’s utterly foolish.

It makes a mockery of God’s holiness – you really think that you can get yourself right enough to be acceptable to God –seriously?!

And it makes a mockery of the cross. Do you think Jesus would have suffered the agony of death and judgement on the cross if we could simply put on a new suit and try a bit harder and that would make us acceptable? No! It took the firstborn son of Heaven to DIE our death. To take the darkness upon his shoulders and absorb it. We’ll spend more time on this next week, looking at the echoes of the Cross in the Passover here in Exodus.

Because this is a great picture of how God saves. He saves on his initiative, with his power, and, we’ll find out next week, at a great cost. There is a cost to be paid to avoid death. And that cost is a substitute: the lambs that were slain. Representing the Perfect Lamb, the Lamb of God as John the Baptist calls Him, as he gave his blood, his perfect blood, the sinless dying in the place of the sinners, so that we could have life.

It’s all God. He promises. He calls. He commands. He saves. And He pays the cost for that salvation. Praise God!

Praise God for his promise: his people will live.

And that promise is secure, because

3. The Lord our God is the Sovereign Lord

11:9 Now the LORD had told Moses earlier, “Pharaoh will not listen to you, but then I will do even more mighty miracles in the land of Egypt.” 10 Moses and Aaron performed these miracles in Pharaoh’s presence, but the LORD hardened Pharaoh’s heart, and he wouldn’t let the Israelites leave the country.

Did you notice something odd about the way this chapter was written? It’s going backwards. It’s like the credits at the end of the movie going down instead of up.

V1 Then the LORD said to Moses. V4 we go backwards 4 Moses had announced to Pharaoh. V9 further back still! 9 Now the LORD had told Moses earlier

Why? Why is it written like this? Chapter 10 ends with the dramatic argument, and you will never see me again! You should go straight into chapter 12. Instead, the author steps out and says “now remember, it is GOD who has arranged all this and who has control”. Why did God want him to write it like this? It seems God wants to emphasise His sovereignty, his absolute control over all things.

Something that struck me in reading these chapters is the Bible’s attitude to “and God hardened Pharaoh’s heart”. For us, this display of God’s complete sovereignty is a problem. We get…uncertain about it, and try to explain it away, or to minimise it. You know… the lord hardened Pharaoh’s heart and RESCUED THE ISRAELITES!

The question is then, what is wrong with me? Why am I embarrassed by something that God is clearly not embarrassed by, nor were his people. They exulted in his sovereignty.

I think many problems we have with God, I think our lack of faith in so many areas, our need to twist the gospel to suit us, our mass of false teachers with prosperity gospel promises and your best life now self-help Christianity come from this: we don’t actually believe that God is sovereign. Which really is the same as saying that we don’t believe God is God. Because if God is not sovereign, he is not God. If God’s creation is outside of his control – well, his words are meaningless, his promises do not matter, his judgement can be avoided. He just becomes another entity in creation, one of the gods like Zeus or Thor or Odin or the “Jehovah” of the Witnesses or the “God” and “Jesus” of much modern Christianity.

But the God of the Bible. Wow. He can harden Pharaoh’s heart, just like that. He can plunge a nation into ruin and suffering for standing against him. He wipes out nations for rebelling against him. Even his own people are judged and found wanting and he sends the Assyrians to wipe out the Northern Kingdom of Israel – and it was utterly wiped out, never to rise again. Who is this God?

You know, what matters is not your attitude to God. That’s pretty much irrelevant. What matters is God’s attitude to you. Are you an Egyptian or an Israelite? Are you in darkness or in light?

So the smart thing to do is to beg him for mercy! Because nothing else will work. No amount of bowing and scraping or wheeling and dealing or little offerings or obedience or will change that. There is no way we can get the upper hand. He is utterly superior to us and totally immutable. Immutable is a good Bible word meaning unchangeable, unable to be affected in the sense of manipulating him. We know he is affected by our sin and our suffering – the Lord is with his people. But his emotional attachment does not leave him open to manipulation. He is immutable. High above. Sovereign. He does what he wants when he wants.

And that is good. Because it means that when he says he will judge the wicked it means he will judge the wicked and all the evil that has ever been done on this earth will be dealt with. No-one will escape. Justice will be done. Death, eternal death, is coming for all, no matter how great they once were. All those dictators and warlords – all will stand before God.

And it means that when he says he will save his people it means he will save his people. All those who are in Christ will be saved. His promise is secure because there is nothing outside of his control nothing can interfere with his plans or trip him up. Praise God!

Ps 105 Give thanks to the LORD and proclaim his greatness. Let the whole world know what he has done. 2 Sing to him; yes, sing his praises. Tell everyone about his wonderful deeds… 25 ...[H]e turned the Egyptians against the Israelites, and they plotted against the LORD’s servants. 26 But the LORD sent his servant Moses, along with Aaron, whom he had chosen. 27 They performed miraculous signs among the Egyptians, and wonders in the land of Ham. 28 The LORD blanketed Egypt in darkness, for they had defied his commands to let his people go. 29 He turned their water into blood, poisoning all the fish. 30 Then frogs overran the land and even invaded the king’s bedrooms. 31 When the LORD spoke, flies descended on the Egyptians, and gnats swarmed across Egypt. 32 He sent them hail instead of rain, and lightning flashed over the land. 33 He ruined their grapevines and fig trees and shattered all the trees. 34 He spoke, and hordes of locusts came— young locusts beyond number. 35 They ate up everything green in the land, destroying all the crops in their fields. 36 Then he killed the oldest son in each Egyptian home, the pride and joy of each family. 37 The LORD brought his people out of Egypt, loaded with silver and gold; and not one among the tribes of Israel even stumbled. 38 Egypt was glad when they were gone, for they feared them greatly. … 45 All this happened so they would follow his decrees and obey his instructions. Praise the LORD!