[Exodus 19:1-6]
On the third new moon after the people of Israel had gone out of the land of Egypt, on that day they came into the wilderness of Sinai. They set out from Rephidim and came into the wilderness of Sinai, and they encamped in the wilderness. There Israel encamped before the mountain, while Moses went up to God. The LORD called to him out of the mountain, saying, "Thus you shall say to the house of Jacob, and tell the people of Israel: You yourselves have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I bore you on eagles’ wings and brought you to myself. Now therefore, if you will indeed obey my voice and keep my covenant, you shall be my treasured possession among all peoples, for all the earth is mine; and you shall be to me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation. These are the words that you shall speak to the people of Israel.
[Exodus 20:1-17]
And God spoke all these words, saying,
"I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.
"You shall have no other gods before me.
"You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. You shall not bow down to them or serve them, for I the LORD your God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and the fourth generation of those who hate me, but showing steadfast love to thousands of those who love me and keep my commandments.
"You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain, for the LORD will not hold him guiltless who takes his name in vain.
"Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor, and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the LORD your God. On it you shall not do any work, you, or your son, or your daughter, your male servant, or your female servant, or your livestock, or the sojourner who is within your gates. For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day. Therefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.
"Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long in the land that the LORD your God is giving you.
"You shall not murder.
"You shall not commit adultery.
"You shall not steal.
"You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.
"You shall not covet your neighbor’s house; you shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, or his male servant, or his female servant, or his ox, or his donkey, or anything that is your neighbor’s."
{Rev. Dwight Yoo}
We are going to a broad gospel perspective on the ten commandments. While we could go in depth, we don't have the time today to do that. So instead we are going to take an aerial survey of God's law.
So for background, on the third new moon since Israel left Egypt, they were near Mount Sinai. God told his people to recall what God did to the Egyptians and brought Israel to Himself. God is reminding them how He saved them. Note that this in the past tense. Why is this important? God saved them first. Then He gave them the law. They are not saved by the law, but they were saved by God's gracious promise. "And God heard their groaning, and God remembered his covenant with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob." - Exodus 2:24 (ESV)
Why Obedience to God's Law Matters
Obedience to the law enables us to enjoy Christ's love and life
"Now therefore, if you will indeed obey my voice and keep my covenant, you shall be my treasured possession among all peoples, for all the earth is mine;" - Exodus 19:5
But wait a second, didn't you just say that we are saved by what God did? Yes, I did say that. However, our enjoyment & experience of our standing in God can change. The standing does not change. But whether we enjoy it or not and how we experience it can and does change. How does this look? Consider my son. He carries half my DNA, my wife bore him. He is my son. But if he continues to rebel and not listen to me and devalue me... it will change the relationship. He's still my son, but it would turn into a strained relationship.
Here's another perspective. The laws of God shows the heart of God. Obeying his law brings us closer to God. By following His law, we get closer to God. It draws us closer to Him. And we are drawn into the joy that God has.
"Blessed is the man
who walks not in the counsel of the wicked,
nor stands in the way of sinners,
nor sits in the seat of scoffers;
but his delight is in the law of the LORD,
and on his law he meditates day and night." - Psalm 1:1
Obedience to the law shapes us to be a community that shares God love and life
Back in those days, communities had idols that they prayed to. God was calling them to be different from them. To follow God alone and not to take on these other idols. I know that these commandments seem pretty normal. Don't murder. Well, yeah, everyone is like that. Murder isn't normal. But if we study a little deeper, we'll see how God calls us to be different. Consider Jesus' words on murder, "You have heard that it was said to those of old, 'You shall not murder; and whoever murders will be liable to judgment.' But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment; whoever insults his brother will be liable to the council; and whoever says, 'You fool!' will be liable to the hell of fire." Being angry with your brother is considered the same as murder. That is counter-cultural.
I know that we generally have a individualistic view on faith. But God calls us as a corporate group (nation, kingdom, race..). We are not all called to become evangelists. Not 300 people all doing their own thing. But rather we are called to work together to witness together.
Obedience Leads us to Treasure Christ
All the people answered together and said, "All that the LORD has spoken we will do." - Exodus 19:8 (ESV) This is the right & proper response to God's salvation. God laid down everything for us, anyone who knows & accepts this should have the desire to lay down their lives for Him.
Oct 24, 2010
Building a Discipleship Community
[Mark 3:13-14]
And he went up on the mountain and called to him those whom he desired, and they came to him. And he appointed twelve (whom he also named apostles) so that they might be with him and he might send them out to preach
{Rev. David Skinner}
If you are interested in the Men's trip to Haiti, please send me an email.
My dad had pastored alot of churches. And he said his most successful church was the last one. He told me he didn't do much different, but he made a commitment to invest in eight men. He invested his life into these men.
Jesus invested in 12 men. That was how he started a world-changing movement. Jesus, God incarnate, Emannuel, lived with these 12 men. God could have changed the world any way he wanted, but the way He chose was incarnational discipleship. They followed Him and watched Him and became like Him. The end goal of discipleship is trying to change the world. But it is not the flood-the-market, event-driven, attempt to change the world. It is the slow, steady, & regular investment of people into other lives.
1) Building a discipleship community begins with a calling.
Jesus comes to Levi and he says, "Follow me." After Jesus dies and comes back, He comes to Peter and restores him with these words, "Follow me." Jesus is saying follow me and I will show you how to live in my Father's kingdom. Jesus comes to save and show His disciples how to live.
If you call yourself a Christian, then you have accepted this call. Being a Christian doesn't mean just a relationship with Jesus, but also a relationship with the church. We aren't supposed to imitate everything of our fellow christian, but when we see Christ, we should imitate those things. Not everything, but the Christ-likeness we see in others.
Discipleship is like interference. It means letting people nose around in our lives. To speak into our lives.
2) Building a discipleship is a journey.
Verse 14 says, "so that they might be with him." What does this mean? It means Jesus was going to teach them. He was going to invite them to live with Him. They would see how He ministers, see how He lives, see His life. Jesus would also ask them to do things. To get a donkey, to get a room for Passover, to make disciples, to cast our demons...
you know, that trip to Haiti... I don't know any Haitians. I want to reach out to them and minister to them. But one of the reasons I want to go on this trip with men, is that 12 men from Devon campus have signed up to go. I get several days to spend time with these guys. We need discipleship. When you come to church on Sunday, we are getting re-calibrated. It's a great thing. But there is no back and forth, no interaction.
a) Word-centered
But where are we supposed to find Jesus' commands? It is in the bible. The bible records all the things Jesus has done and commanded. The Word is powerful. We need to pray the Spirit will reveal the meaning of the Word. We need to pray for God to change our lives to be more like Christ. All discipleship needs to be word-centered.
a) Gospel-centered
Discipleship shows us how to apply the gospel to our lives. It shows us places where we are not applying or are misapplying the gospel in our lives. How we are not living out the gospel in our lives.
c) Mission-centered
"I will make you fishers of men." The catalyst is not that Jesus would do this. But that God has come incarnate and walked with them. He fished for their heart. By doing this, He was showing them how to fish. He showed them how He cared for them. After He had done this, He told them, ok... you go do some fishing yourself. So this fishing for souls can manifest itself in many ways. But this fishing is one of the goals of discipling. He taught people to fish; to prepare them to fish. We are to do this until there is fullness...
Summary
To those who are called to discipleship, they are called to die. It is not self-centered. We are not saved just for ourselves. We are called to die. We are not called to suffer without purpose. We are to deny ourselves and follow Christ. This self-denial kills our plans, drives a stake through our ego, our desires to control everything & everybody. But isn't it our plans, our goals, our desires that drive us crazy? Jesus tells us to hand all these over to Him... Die, and He will give us life.
"Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light." - Matthew 11:28-30
And he went up on the mountain and called to him those whom he desired, and they came to him. And he appointed twelve (whom he also named apostles) so that they might be with him and he might send them out to preach
{Rev. David Skinner}
If you are interested in the Men's trip to Haiti, please send me an email.
My dad had pastored alot of churches. And he said his most successful church was the last one. He told me he didn't do much different, but he made a commitment to invest in eight men. He invested his life into these men.
Jesus invested in 12 men. That was how he started a world-changing movement. Jesus, God incarnate, Emannuel, lived with these 12 men. God could have changed the world any way he wanted, but the way He chose was incarnational discipleship. They followed Him and watched Him and became like Him. The end goal of discipleship is trying to change the world. But it is not the flood-the-market, event-driven, attempt to change the world. It is the slow, steady, & regular investment of people into other lives.
1) Building a discipleship community begins with a calling.
Jesus comes to Levi and he says, "Follow me." After Jesus dies and comes back, He comes to Peter and restores him with these words, "Follow me." Jesus is saying follow me and I will show you how to live in my Father's kingdom. Jesus comes to save and show His disciples how to live.
If you call yourself a Christian, then you have accepted this call. Being a Christian doesn't mean just a relationship with Jesus, but also a relationship with the church. We aren't supposed to imitate everything of our fellow christian, but when we see Christ, we should imitate those things. Not everything, but the Christ-likeness we see in others.
Discipleship is like interference. It means letting people nose around in our lives. To speak into our lives.
2) Building a discipleship is a journey.
Verse 14 says, "so that they might be with him." What does this mean? It means Jesus was going to teach them. He was going to invite them to live with Him. They would see how He ministers, see how He lives, see His life. Jesus would also ask them to do things. To get a donkey, to get a room for Passover, to make disciples, to cast our demons...
you know, that trip to Haiti... I don't know any Haitians. I want to reach out to them and minister to them. But one of the reasons I want to go on this trip with men, is that 12 men from Devon campus have signed up to go. I get several days to spend time with these guys. We need discipleship. When you come to church on Sunday, we are getting re-calibrated. It's a great thing. But there is no back and forth, no interaction.
a) Word-centered
But where are we supposed to find Jesus' commands? It is in the bible. The bible records all the things Jesus has done and commanded. The Word is powerful. We need to pray the Spirit will reveal the meaning of the Word. We need to pray for God to change our lives to be more like Christ. All discipleship needs to be word-centered.
a) Gospel-centered
Discipleship shows us how to apply the gospel to our lives. It shows us places where we are not applying or are misapplying the gospel in our lives. How we are not living out the gospel in our lives.
c) Mission-centered
"I will make you fishers of men." The catalyst is not that Jesus would do this. But that God has come incarnate and walked with them. He fished for their heart. By doing this, He was showing them how to fish. He showed them how He cared for them. After He had done this, He told them, ok... you go do some fishing yourself. So this fishing for souls can manifest itself in many ways. But this fishing is one of the goals of discipling. He taught people to fish; to prepare them to fish. We are to do this until there is fullness...
Summary
To those who are called to discipleship, they are called to die. It is not self-centered. We are not saved just for ourselves. We are called to die. We are not called to suffer without purpose. We are to deny ourselves and follow Christ. This self-denial kills our plans, drives a stake through our ego, our desires to control everything & everybody. But isn't it our plans, our goals, our desires that drive us crazy? Jesus tells us to hand all these over to Him... Die, and He will give us life.
"Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light." - Matthew 11:28-30
Oct 17, 2010
The Gospel According to Moses: Wilderness Lessons
[Exodus 16]
They set out from Elim, and all the congregation of the people of Israel came to the wilderness of Sin, which is between Elim and Sinai, on the fifteenth day of the second month after they had departed from the land of Egypt. And the whole congregation of the people of Israel grumbled against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness, and the people of Israel said to them, "Would that we had died by the hand of the LORD in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the meat pots and ate bread to the full, for you have brought us out into this wilderness to kill this whole assembly with hunger."
Then the LORD said to Moses, "Behold, I am about to rain bread from heaven for you, and the people shall go out and gather a day’s portion every day, that I may test them, whether they will walk in my law or not. On the sixth day, when they prepare what they bring in, it will be twice as much as they gather daily." So Moses and Aaron said to all the people of Israel, "At evening you shall know that it was the LORD who brought you out of the land of Egypt, and in the morning you shall see the glory of the LORD, because he has heard your grumbling against the LORD. For what are we, that you grumble against us?" And Moses said, "When the LORD gives you in the evening meat to eat and in the morning bread to the full, because the LORD has heard your grumbling that you grumble against him— what are we? Your grumbling is not against us but against the LORD."
Then Moses said to Aaron, "Say to the whole congregation of the people of Israel, 'Come near before the LORD, for he has heard your grumbling.'" And as soon as Aaron spoke to the whole congregation of the people of Israel, they looked toward the wilderness, and behold, the glory of the LORD appeared in the cloud. And the LORD said to Moses, "I have heard the grumbling of the people of Israel. Say to them, 'At twilight you shall eat meat, and in the morning you shall be filled with bread. Then you shall know that I am the LORD your God.'"
In the evening quail came up and covered the camp, and in the morning dew lay around the camp. And when the dew had gone up, there was on the face of the wilderness a fine, flake-like thing, fine as frost on the ground. When the people of Israel saw it, they said to one another, "What is it?" For they did not know what it was. And Moses said to them, "It is the bread that the LORD has given you to eat. This is what the LORD has commanded: 'Gather of it, each one of you, as much as he can eat. You shall each take an omer, according to the number of the persons that each of you has in his tent.'" And the people of Israel did so. They gathered, some more, some less. But when they measured it with an omer, whoever gathered much had nothing left over, and whoever gathered little had no lack. Each of them gathered as much as he could eat. And Moses said to them, "Let no one leave any of it over till the morning." But they did not listen to Moses. Some left part of it till the morning, and it bred worms and stank. And Moses was angry with them. Morning by morning they gathered it, each as much as he could eat; but when the sun grew hot, it melted.
On the sixth day they gathered twice as much bread, two omers each. And when all the leaders of the congregation came and told Moses, he said to them, "This is what the LORD has commanded: 'Tomorrow is a day of solemn rest, a holy Sabbath to the LORD; bake what you will bake and boil what you will boil, and all that is left over lay aside to be kept till the morning.'" So they laid it aside till the morning, as Moses commanded them, and it did not stink, and there were no worms in it. Moses said, "Eat it today, for today is a Sabbath to the LORD; today you will not find it in the field. Six days you shall gather it, but on the seventh day, which is a Sabbath, there will be none."
On the seventh day some of the people went out to gather, but they found none. And the LORD said to Moses, "How long will you refuse to keep my commandments and my laws? See! The LORD has given you the Sabbath; therefore on the sixth day he gives you bread for two days. Remain each of you in his place; let no one go out of his place on the seventh day." So the people rested on the seventh day.
Now the house of Israel called its name manna. It was like coriander seed, white, and the taste of it was like wafers made with honey. Moses said, "This is what the LORD has commanded: 'Let an omer of it be kept throughout your generations, so that they may see the bread with which I fed you in the wilderness, when I brought you out of the land of Egypt.'" And Moses said to Aaron, "Take a jar, and put an omer of manna in it, and place it before the LORD to be kept throughout your generations." As the LORD commanded Moses, so Aaron placed it before the testimony to be kept. The people of Israel ate the manna forty years, till they came to a habitable land. They ate the manna till they came to the border of the land of Canaan. (An omer is the tenth part of an ephah.)
{Rev. Dwight Yoo}
I will be focusing on chapter 16, but chapters 15, 16, & 17 have the same feel.
After four hundred years of slavery, God brings them to a wilderness. Doesn't this seem overly much? Can't God just give them a break? But God has a reason for doing this. In chapter 15, they are in a place with no water. They are in the middle of nowhere. The reason for this is outlined in Deuteronomy 8:2 - "And you shall remember the whole way that the LORD your God has led you these forty years in the wilderness, that he might humble you, testing you to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep his commandments or not." God is testing us.
But this is not testing like a pop quiz or an IRS audit. God is not testing like a professor, out to grade you. Israel is His people. They are NOT being tested for worthiness. They are not proving that they are worthy of His attention. It is the same for Christianity. We are not doing things to prove that we are worthy of Him. So if testing is not about our worthiness, what is it about? "Moses said to the people, 'Do not fear, for God has come to test you, that the fear of him may be before you, that you may not sin.'" - Exodus 20:20 Testing is to keep us from sin. It is to show us how to live in the family of God. It is a time of teaching & training. This is what God means by testing.
Three Lessons from the Wilderness
1) Trust His promise rather than our own Perception
God had promised His people the promised land. But God took them to the wilderness. He promised them a land overflowing with milk & honey. All they see around them is dry, hot sands. A place of barrenness. God provides manna. He preserves them.
2) To live in Perpetual Dependence
God provides quail & manna. But the manna had to be gathered each day. Manna went bad after one day, except for the sabbath. God wanted to make sure they kept the sabbath. God wanted His people to depend on Him day by day. Israel was agrian. They were used to working for their food. But instead, God provided just enough for each day.
"Man, despite his artistic pretensions, his sophistication and many accomplishments, owes the fact of his existence to a six-inch layer of topsoil and the fact that it rains." - Anonymous
We are dependent upon God whether we recognize it or not. Regardless of how accomplished we are. Regardless of our own choice making. God has given that to us. This is what it means to be dependent upon God. But the difference is this, God wants the children of God to know it. To live like our life is dependent upon God moment by moment.
3) He is our most Basic Need
Even through all the complaining & groaning, God still sustained them for forty years. It is not that Israel should have said manna was awesome. It was that they should have looked to their Provider as what they needed the most. We are not living in a culture where food & water is scarce. But we are living with different things we deem a NEED. We NEED that job. We NEED to get married. We NEED ____. But God is telling us no. We NEED Him.
"Our fathers ate the manna in the wilderness; as it is written, 'He gave them bread from heaven to eat.'" Jesus then said to them, "Truly, truly, I say to you, it was not Moses who gave you the bread from heaven, but my Father gives you the true bread from heaven. For the bread of God is he who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world." They said to him, "Sir, give us this bread always."
Jesus said to them, "I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst." - John 6:31-35
This is why God sometimes withholds things we desire. Even good things. God wants us to learn that we NEED Him above that.
They set out from Elim, and all the congregation of the people of Israel came to the wilderness of Sin, which is between Elim and Sinai, on the fifteenth day of the second month after they had departed from the land of Egypt. And the whole congregation of the people of Israel grumbled against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness, and the people of Israel said to them, "Would that we had died by the hand of the LORD in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the meat pots and ate bread to the full, for you have brought us out into this wilderness to kill this whole assembly with hunger."
Then the LORD said to Moses, "Behold, I am about to rain bread from heaven for you, and the people shall go out and gather a day’s portion every day, that I may test them, whether they will walk in my law or not. On the sixth day, when they prepare what they bring in, it will be twice as much as they gather daily." So Moses and Aaron said to all the people of Israel, "At evening you shall know that it was the LORD who brought you out of the land of Egypt, and in the morning you shall see the glory of the LORD, because he has heard your grumbling against the LORD. For what are we, that you grumble against us?" And Moses said, "When the LORD gives you in the evening meat to eat and in the morning bread to the full, because the LORD has heard your grumbling that you grumble against him— what are we? Your grumbling is not against us but against the LORD."
Then Moses said to Aaron, "Say to the whole congregation of the people of Israel, 'Come near before the LORD, for he has heard your grumbling.'" And as soon as Aaron spoke to the whole congregation of the people of Israel, they looked toward the wilderness, and behold, the glory of the LORD appeared in the cloud. And the LORD said to Moses, "I have heard the grumbling of the people of Israel. Say to them, 'At twilight you shall eat meat, and in the morning you shall be filled with bread. Then you shall know that I am the LORD your God.'"
In the evening quail came up and covered the camp, and in the morning dew lay around the camp. And when the dew had gone up, there was on the face of the wilderness a fine, flake-like thing, fine as frost on the ground. When the people of Israel saw it, they said to one another, "What is it?" For they did not know what it was. And Moses said to them, "It is the bread that the LORD has given you to eat. This is what the LORD has commanded: 'Gather of it, each one of you, as much as he can eat. You shall each take an omer, according to the number of the persons that each of you has in his tent.'" And the people of Israel did so. They gathered, some more, some less. But when they measured it with an omer, whoever gathered much had nothing left over, and whoever gathered little had no lack. Each of them gathered as much as he could eat. And Moses said to them, "Let no one leave any of it over till the morning." But they did not listen to Moses. Some left part of it till the morning, and it bred worms and stank. And Moses was angry with them. Morning by morning they gathered it, each as much as he could eat; but when the sun grew hot, it melted.
On the sixth day they gathered twice as much bread, two omers each. And when all the leaders of the congregation came and told Moses, he said to them, "This is what the LORD has commanded: 'Tomorrow is a day of solemn rest, a holy Sabbath to the LORD; bake what you will bake and boil what you will boil, and all that is left over lay aside to be kept till the morning.'" So they laid it aside till the morning, as Moses commanded them, and it did not stink, and there were no worms in it. Moses said, "Eat it today, for today is a Sabbath to the LORD; today you will not find it in the field. Six days you shall gather it, but on the seventh day, which is a Sabbath, there will be none."
On the seventh day some of the people went out to gather, but they found none. And the LORD said to Moses, "How long will you refuse to keep my commandments and my laws? See! The LORD has given you the Sabbath; therefore on the sixth day he gives you bread for two days. Remain each of you in his place; let no one go out of his place on the seventh day." So the people rested on the seventh day.
Now the house of Israel called its name manna. It was like coriander seed, white, and the taste of it was like wafers made with honey. Moses said, "This is what the LORD has commanded: 'Let an omer of it be kept throughout your generations, so that they may see the bread with which I fed you in the wilderness, when I brought you out of the land of Egypt.'" And Moses said to Aaron, "Take a jar, and put an omer of manna in it, and place it before the LORD to be kept throughout your generations." As the LORD commanded Moses, so Aaron placed it before the testimony to be kept. The people of Israel ate the manna forty years, till they came to a habitable land. They ate the manna till they came to the border of the land of Canaan. (An omer is the tenth part of an ephah.)
{Rev. Dwight Yoo}
I will be focusing on chapter 16, but chapters 15, 16, & 17 have the same feel.
After four hundred years of slavery, God brings them to a wilderness. Doesn't this seem overly much? Can't God just give them a break? But God has a reason for doing this. In chapter 15, they are in a place with no water. They are in the middle of nowhere. The reason for this is outlined in Deuteronomy 8:2 - "And you shall remember the whole way that the LORD your God has led you these forty years in the wilderness, that he might humble you, testing you to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep his commandments or not." God is testing us.
But this is not testing like a pop quiz or an IRS audit. God is not testing like a professor, out to grade you. Israel is His people. They are NOT being tested for worthiness. They are not proving that they are worthy of His attention. It is the same for Christianity. We are not doing things to prove that we are worthy of Him. So if testing is not about our worthiness, what is it about? "Moses said to the people, 'Do not fear, for God has come to test you, that the fear of him may be before you, that you may not sin.'" - Exodus 20:20 Testing is to keep us from sin. It is to show us how to live in the family of God. It is a time of teaching & training. This is what God means by testing.
Three Lessons from the Wilderness
1) Trust His promise rather than our own Perception
God had promised His people the promised land. But God took them to the wilderness. He promised them a land overflowing with milk & honey. All they see around them is dry, hot sands. A place of barrenness. God provides manna. He preserves them.
2) To live in Perpetual Dependence
God provides quail & manna. But the manna had to be gathered each day. Manna went bad after one day, except for the sabbath. God wanted to make sure they kept the sabbath. God wanted His people to depend on Him day by day. Israel was agrian. They were used to working for their food. But instead, God provided just enough for each day.
"Man, despite his artistic pretensions, his sophistication and many accomplishments, owes the fact of his existence to a six-inch layer of topsoil and the fact that it rains." - Anonymous
We are dependent upon God whether we recognize it or not. Regardless of how accomplished we are. Regardless of our own choice making. God has given that to us. This is what it means to be dependent upon God. But the difference is this, God wants the children of God to know it. To live like our life is dependent upon God moment by moment.
3) He is our most Basic Need
Even through all the complaining & groaning, God still sustained them for forty years. It is not that Israel should have said manna was awesome. It was that they should have looked to their Provider as what they needed the most. We are not living in a culture where food & water is scarce. But we are living with different things we deem a NEED. We NEED that job. We NEED to get married. We NEED ____. But God is telling us no. We NEED Him.
"Our fathers ate the manna in the wilderness; as it is written, 'He gave them bread from heaven to eat.'" Jesus then said to them, "Truly, truly, I say to you, it was not Moses who gave you the bread from heaven, but my Father gives you the true bread from heaven. For the bread of God is he who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world." They said to him, "Sir, give us this bread always."
Jesus said to them, "I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst." - John 6:31-35
This is why God sometimes withholds things we desire. Even good things. God wants us to learn that we NEED Him above that.
Oct 10, 2010
The Gospel According to Moses: Saved to the Praise of His Glory
[Exodus 14]
Then the LORD said to Moses, "Tell the people of Israel to turn back and encamp in front of Pi-hahiroth, between Migdol and the sea, in front of Baal-zephon; you shall encamp facing it, by the sea. For Pharaoh will say of the people of Israel, 'They are wandering in the land; the wilderness has shut them in.' And I will harden Pharaoh’s heart, and he will pursue them, and I will get glory over Pharaoh and all his host, and the Egyptians shall know that I am the LORD." And they did so.
When the king of Egypt was told that the people had fled, the mind of Pharaoh and his servants was changed toward the people, and they said, "What is this we have done, that we have let Israel go from serving us?" So he made ready his chariot and took his army with him, and took six hundred chosen chariots and all the other chariots of Egypt with officers over all of them. And the LORD hardened the heart of Pharaoh king of Egypt, and he pursued the people of Israel while the people of Israel were going out defiantly. The Egyptians pursued them, all Pharaoh’s horses and chariots and his horsemen and his army, and overtook them encamped at the sea, by Pi-hahiroth, in front of Baal-zephon.
When Pharaoh drew near, the people of Israel lifted up their eyes, and behold, the Egyptians were marching after them, and they feared greatly. And the people of Israel cried out to the LORD. They said to Moses, "Is it because there are no graves in Egypt that you have taken us away to die in the wilderness? What have you done to us in bringing us out of Egypt? Is not this what we said to you in Egypt: 'Leave us alone that we may serve the Egyptians'? For it would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the wilderness." And Moses said to the people, "Fear not, stand firm, and see the salvation of the LORD, which he will work for you today. For the Egyptians whom you see today, you shall never see again. The LORD will fight for you, and you have only to be silent."
The LORD said to Moses, "Why do you cry to me? Tell the people of Israel to go forward. Lift up your staff, and stretch out your hand over the sea and divide it, that the people of Israel may go through the sea on dry ground. And I will harden the hearts of the Egyptians so that they shall go in after them, and I will get glory over Pharaoh and all his host, his chariots, and his horsemen. And the Egyptians shall know that I am the LORD, when I have gotten glory over Pharaoh, his chariots, and his horsemen."
Then the angel of God who was going before the host of Israel moved and went behind them, and the pillar of cloud moved from before them and stood behind them, coming between the host of Egypt and the host of Israel. And there was the cloud and the darkness. And it lit up the night without one coming near the other all night.
Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and the LORD drove the sea back by a strong east wind all night and made the sea dry land, and the waters were divided. And the people of Israel went into the midst of the sea on dry ground, the waters being a wall to them on their right hand and on their left. The Egyptians pursued and went in after them into the midst of the sea, all Pharaoh’s horses, his chariots, and his horsemen. And in the morning watch the LORD in the pillar of fire and of cloud looked down on the Egyptian forces and threw the Egyptian forces into a panic, clogging their chariot wheels so that they drove heavily. And the Egyptians said, "Let us flee from before Israel, for the LORD fights for them against the Egyptians."
Then the LORD said to Moses, "Stretch out your hand over the sea, that the water may come back upon the Egyptians, upon their chariots, and upon their horsemen." So Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and the sea returned to its normal course when the morning appeared. And as the Egyptians fled into it, the LORD threw the Egyptians into the midst of the sea. The waters returned and covered the chariots and the horsemen; of all the host of Pharaoh that had followed them into the sea, not one of them remained. But the people of Israel walked on dry ground through the sea, the waters being a wall to them on their right hand and on their left.
Thus the LORD saved Israel that day from the hand of the Egyptians, and Israel saw the Egyptians dead on the seashore. Israel saw the great power that the LORD used against the Egyptians, so the people feared the LORD, and they believed in the LORD and in his servant Moses.
{Rev. Dwight Yoo}
This story is one of the most familiar stories from the bible. For those who grew up in the church and even those who grew up outside the church, this is well-known story. However, because we are so familiar with it, we might not be so impressed by it.
Knowing God saved us in our greatest crises, empowers us to deal with every other crises.
This is one of the greatest stories of how God saves His people. It shows how God steps in and saves them. It is natural for us to be drawn to these kind of stories when we are going through tough times. When we get into a bind, we ask God to save us. But there are times where we are praying and asking God to intervene, but God does not. We get laid off. We are struggling with depression, and it continues. We pray for our loved ones, but God does not intervene. Is God inconsistent?
Look at it this way. Since sin entered the world, we were broken; our relationships were broken; all creation was broken. So God came and brought salvation through Jesus. One day all will be restored. We will be saved from sin & death. Our relationships will be restored. All of creation will be restored to it's former glory. This our greatest need/problem. And God has met us.
So when tough times come and God does not take it away from us, don't get depressed or disappointed. Consider the greater story of what God is doing. A verse that helps us to deal with the circumstance with faith & hope comes to mind.
"For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal." - 2 Corinthians 4:17-18 (ESV)
So when God has brought us into a tough situation and leaves us there, He is working for our good. He is preparing us for something better. It doesn't feel good, but it is good for us.
God saved us for His own glory.
Did God save Israel because He loved them? Yes. Did God save us because He loves us? Yes. But that is not the end of it, God saved us so that He would get all glory.
Israel was hemmed in by the Red Sea in the front. Egypt came after them. This was considered the greatest army of that time. So God put Israel in the worse situation ever, so He would get the most glory. Israel could not claim any credit for their salvation. God wiped out the entire army on His own.
The people of Israel saw Egypt coming after them. They started complaining and cowering in fear. Even though they saw all the plagues, they only saw the Egyptians. They forgot God's power in this situation. They didn't believe God would or could deliver them. But the key thing: Even though they were faithless, God still saved them.
If we think about a person who wants people to praise & glorify them, this seems like a very negative idea. People who always talk about how great they are... not exactly someone we want to be around. We would think of how insecure they are. But God is not a person, we cannot judge Him that way. He is not insecure. He does not need our praise & worship. So how does it work? God is the most valuable being. We should not place something of less valuable in higher priority than one of higher value. Since God is the most valuable, it would be unrighteous for God to NOT tell people to praise Him. We should praise things in priority of their excellence. God being the most glorious is MOST deserving of our worship. He deserves nothing less than highest glory & praise & honor.
God's command to glorify him is an expression of love.
Not only is it right for God to say we should devote our lives to Him; it is the most loving thing. If we worship anything other than Him, it is not only sinful, but foolish & unfulfilling. We were created to find our deepest joy & satisfaction in Him. That is how we've been designed. When we do this, our joy will be made complete. When we praise something, it completes our joy. Like when we find an awesome restaurant, it isn't quite whole until we go to our friend and we say... YO, have you TRIED this RESTAURANT? NICE!
When we praise Him for all He is & all He has done, we find fullness of joy. To go otherwise is delusional.
Additional Resources
Listen to sermons online
Then the LORD said to Moses, "Tell the people of Israel to turn back and encamp in front of Pi-hahiroth, between Migdol and the sea, in front of Baal-zephon; you shall encamp facing it, by the sea. For Pharaoh will say of the people of Israel, 'They are wandering in the land; the wilderness has shut them in.' And I will harden Pharaoh’s heart, and he will pursue them, and I will get glory over Pharaoh and all his host, and the Egyptians shall know that I am the LORD." And they did so.
When the king of Egypt was told that the people had fled, the mind of Pharaoh and his servants was changed toward the people, and they said, "What is this we have done, that we have let Israel go from serving us?" So he made ready his chariot and took his army with him, and took six hundred chosen chariots and all the other chariots of Egypt with officers over all of them. And the LORD hardened the heart of Pharaoh king of Egypt, and he pursued the people of Israel while the people of Israel were going out defiantly. The Egyptians pursued them, all Pharaoh’s horses and chariots and his horsemen and his army, and overtook them encamped at the sea, by Pi-hahiroth, in front of Baal-zephon.
When Pharaoh drew near, the people of Israel lifted up their eyes, and behold, the Egyptians were marching after them, and they feared greatly. And the people of Israel cried out to the LORD. They said to Moses, "Is it because there are no graves in Egypt that you have taken us away to die in the wilderness? What have you done to us in bringing us out of Egypt? Is not this what we said to you in Egypt: 'Leave us alone that we may serve the Egyptians'? For it would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the wilderness." And Moses said to the people, "Fear not, stand firm, and see the salvation of the LORD, which he will work for you today. For the Egyptians whom you see today, you shall never see again. The LORD will fight for you, and you have only to be silent."
The LORD said to Moses, "Why do you cry to me? Tell the people of Israel to go forward. Lift up your staff, and stretch out your hand over the sea and divide it, that the people of Israel may go through the sea on dry ground. And I will harden the hearts of the Egyptians so that they shall go in after them, and I will get glory over Pharaoh and all his host, his chariots, and his horsemen. And the Egyptians shall know that I am the LORD, when I have gotten glory over Pharaoh, his chariots, and his horsemen."
Then the angel of God who was going before the host of Israel moved and went behind them, and the pillar of cloud moved from before them and stood behind them, coming between the host of Egypt and the host of Israel. And there was the cloud and the darkness. And it lit up the night without one coming near the other all night.
Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and the LORD drove the sea back by a strong east wind all night and made the sea dry land, and the waters were divided. And the people of Israel went into the midst of the sea on dry ground, the waters being a wall to them on their right hand and on their left. The Egyptians pursued and went in after them into the midst of the sea, all Pharaoh’s horses, his chariots, and his horsemen. And in the morning watch the LORD in the pillar of fire and of cloud looked down on the Egyptian forces and threw the Egyptian forces into a panic, clogging their chariot wheels so that they drove heavily. And the Egyptians said, "Let us flee from before Israel, for the LORD fights for them against the Egyptians."
Then the LORD said to Moses, "Stretch out your hand over the sea, that the water may come back upon the Egyptians, upon their chariots, and upon their horsemen." So Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and the sea returned to its normal course when the morning appeared. And as the Egyptians fled into it, the LORD threw the Egyptians into the midst of the sea. The waters returned and covered the chariots and the horsemen; of all the host of Pharaoh that had followed them into the sea, not one of them remained. But the people of Israel walked on dry ground through the sea, the waters being a wall to them on their right hand and on their left.
Thus the LORD saved Israel that day from the hand of the Egyptians, and Israel saw the Egyptians dead on the seashore. Israel saw the great power that the LORD used against the Egyptians, so the people feared the LORD, and they believed in the LORD and in his servant Moses.
{Rev. Dwight Yoo}
This story is one of the most familiar stories from the bible. For those who grew up in the church and even those who grew up outside the church, this is well-known story. However, because we are so familiar with it, we might not be so impressed by it.
Knowing God saved us in our greatest crises, empowers us to deal with every other crises.
This is one of the greatest stories of how God saves His people. It shows how God steps in and saves them. It is natural for us to be drawn to these kind of stories when we are going through tough times. When we get into a bind, we ask God to save us. But there are times where we are praying and asking God to intervene, but God does not. We get laid off. We are struggling with depression, and it continues. We pray for our loved ones, but God does not intervene. Is God inconsistent?
Look at it this way. Since sin entered the world, we were broken; our relationships were broken; all creation was broken. So God came and brought salvation through Jesus. One day all will be restored. We will be saved from sin & death. Our relationships will be restored. All of creation will be restored to it's former glory. This our greatest need/problem. And God has met us.
So when tough times come and God does not take it away from us, don't get depressed or disappointed. Consider the greater story of what God is doing. A verse that helps us to deal with the circumstance with faith & hope comes to mind.
"For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal." - 2 Corinthians 4:17-18 (ESV)
So when God has brought us into a tough situation and leaves us there, He is working for our good. He is preparing us for something better. It doesn't feel good, but it is good for us.
God saved us for His own glory.
Did God save Israel because He loved them? Yes. Did God save us because He loves us? Yes. But that is not the end of it, God saved us so that He would get all glory.
Israel was hemmed in by the Red Sea in the front. Egypt came after them. This was considered the greatest army of that time. So God put Israel in the worse situation ever, so He would get the most glory. Israel could not claim any credit for their salvation. God wiped out the entire army on His own.
The people of Israel saw Egypt coming after them. They started complaining and cowering in fear. Even though they saw all the plagues, they only saw the Egyptians. They forgot God's power in this situation. They didn't believe God would or could deliver them. But the key thing: Even though they were faithless, God still saved them.
If we think about a person who wants people to praise & glorify them, this seems like a very negative idea. People who always talk about how great they are... not exactly someone we want to be around. We would think of how insecure they are. But God is not a person, we cannot judge Him that way. He is not insecure. He does not need our praise & worship. So how does it work? God is the most valuable being. We should not place something of less valuable in higher priority than one of higher value. Since God is the most valuable, it would be unrighteous for God to NOT tell people to praise Him. We should praise things in priority of their excellence. God being the most glorious is MOST deserving of our worship. He deserves nothing less than highest glory & praise & honor.
God's command to glorify him is an expression of love.
Not only is it right for God to say we should devote our lives to Him; it is the most loving thing. If we worship anything other than Him, it is not only sinful, but foolish & unfulfilling. We were created to find our deepest joy & satisfaction in Him. That is how we've been designed. When we do this, our joy will be made complete. When we praise something, it completes our joy. Like when we find an awesome restaurant, it isn't quite whole until we go to our friend and we say... YO, have you TRIED this RESTAURANT? NICE!
When we praise Him for all He is & all He has done, we find fullness of joy. To go otherwise is delusional.
Additional Resources
Listen to sermons online
Oct 3, 2010
The Gospel According to Moses: The Story of Us
[Exodus 12-13:6]
The LORD said to Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt, "This month shall be for you the beginning of months. It shall be the first month of the year for you. Tell all the congregation of Israel that on the tenth day of this month every man shall take a lamb according to their fathers’ houses, a lamb for a household. And if the household is too small for a lamb, then he and his nearest neighbor shall take according to the number of persons; according to what each can eat you shall make your count for the lamb. Your lamb shall be without blemish, a male a year old. You may take it from the sheep or from the goats, and you shall keep it until the fourteenth day of this month, when the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill their lambs at twilight.
"Then they shall take some of the blood and put it on the two doorposts and the lintel of the houses in which they eat it. They shall eat the flesh that night, roasted on the fire; with unleavened bread and bitter herbs they shall eat it. Do not eat any of it raw or boiled in water, but roasted, its head with its legs and its inner parts. And you shall let none of it remain until the morning; anything that remains until the morning you shall burn. In this manner you shall eat it: with your belt fastened, your sandals on your feet, and your staff in your hand. And you shall eat it in haste. It is the LORD’s Passover. For I will pass through the land of Egypt that night, and I will strike all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and beast; and on all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgments: I am the LORD. The blood shall be a sign for you, on the houses where you are. 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.
"This day shall be for you a memorial day, and you shall keep it as a feast to the LORD; throughout your generations, as a statute forever, you shall keep it as a feast. Seven days you shall eat unleavened bread. On the first day you shall remove leaven out of your houses, for if anyone eats what is leavened, from the first day until the seventh day, that person shall be cut off from Israel. On the first day you shall hold a holy assembly, and on the seventh day a holy assembly. No work shall be done on those days. But what everyone needs to eat, that alone may be prepared by you. And you shall observe the Feast of Unleavened Bread, for on this very day I brought your hosts out of the land of Egypt. Therefore you shall observe this day, throughout your generations, as a statute forever. In the first month, from the fourteenth day of the month at evening, you shall eat unleavened bread until the twenty-first day of the month at evening. For seven days no leaven is to be found in your houses. If anyone eats what is leavened, that person will be cut off from the congregation of Israel, whether he is a sojourner or a native of the land. You shall eat nothing leavened; in all your dwelling places you shall eat unleavened bread."
Then Moses called all the elders of Israel and said to them, "Go and select lambs for yourselves according to your clans, and kill the Passover lamb. Take a bunch of hyssop and dip it in the blood that is in the basin, and touch the lintel and the two doorposts with the blood that is in the basin. None of you shall go out of the door of his house until the morning. For the LORD will pass through to strike the Egyptians, and when he sees the blood on the lintel and on the two doorposts, the LORD will pass over the door and will not allow the destroyer to enter your houses to strike you. You shall observe this rite as a statute for you and for your sons forever. And when you come to the land that the LORD will give you, as he has promised, you shall keep this service. And when your children say to you, 'What do you mean by this service?' you shall say, 'It is the sacrifice of the LORD’s Passover, for he passed over the houses of the people of Israel in Egypt, when he struck the Egyptians but spared our houses.'" And the people bowed their heads and worshiped.
Then the people of Israel went and did so; as the LORD had commanded Moses and Aaron, so they did.
At midnight the LORD struck down all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, from the firstborn of Pharaoh who sat on his throne to the firstborn of the captive who was in the dungeon, and all the firstborn of the livestock. And Pharaoh rose up in the night, he and all his servants and all the Egyptians. And there was a great cry in Egypt, for there was not a house where someone was not dead. Then he summoned Moses and Aaron by night and said, "Up, go out from among my people, both you and the people of Israel; and go, serve the LORD, as you have said. Take your flocks and your herds, as you have said, and be gone, and bless me also!"
The Egyptians were urgent with the people to send them out of the land in haste. For they said, "We shall all be dead." So the people took their dough before it was leavened, their kneading bowls being bound up in their cloaks on their shoulders. The people of Israel had also done as Moses told them, for they had asked the Egyptians for silver and gold jewelry and for clothing. And the LORD had given the people favor in the sight of the Egyptians, so that they let them have what they asked. Thus they plundered the Egyptians.
And the people of Israel journeyed from Rameses to Succoth, about six hundred thousand men on foot, besides women and children. A mixed multitude also went up with them, and very much livestock, both flocks and herds. And they baked unleavened cakes of the dough that they had brought out of Egypt, for it was not leavened, because they were thrust out of Egypt and could not wait, nor had they prepared any provisions for themselves.
The time that the people of Israel lived in Egypt was years. At the end of years, on that very day, all the hosts of the LORD went out from the land of Egypt. It was a night of watching by the LORD, to bring them out of the land of Egypt; so this same night is a night of watching kept to the LORD by all the people of Israel throughout their generations.
And the LORD said to Moses and Aaron, "This is the statute of the Passover: no foreigner shall eat of it, but every slave that is bought for money may eat of it after you have circumcised him. No foreigner or hired servant may eat of it. It shall be eaten in one house; you shall not take any of the flesh outside the house, and you shall not break any of its bones. All the congregation of Israel shall keep it. If a stranger shall sojourn with you and would keep the Passover to the LORD, let all his males be circumcised. Then he may come near and keep it; he shall be as a native of the land. But no uncircumcised person shall eat of it. There shall be one law for the native and for the stranger who sojourns among you."
All the people of Israel did just as the LORD commanded Moses and Aaron. And on that very day the LORD brought the people of Israel out of the land of Egypt by their hosts.
The LORD said to Moses, "Consecrate to me all the firstborn. Whatever is the first to open the womb among the people of Israel, both of man and of beast, is mine."
The Feast of Unleavened Bread
Then Moses said to the people, "Remember this day in which you came out from Egypt, out of the house of slavery, for by a strong hand the LORD brought you out from this place. No leavened bread shall be eaten. Today, in the month of Abib, you are going out. And when the LORD brings you into the land of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites, which he swore to your fathers to give you, a land flowing with milk and honey, you shall keep this service in this month. Seven days you shall eat unleavened bread, and on the seventh day there shall be a feast to the LORD.
[Rev. Dwight Yoo]
The Story of Passover
The first 9 plagues shows God manipulating nature to inflict judgment on the people of Egypt. The last plague is different. This is God himself coming to visit Egypt. God is coming as both the destroyer as well as deliverer.
If you recall, the Pharaoh had made a decree that all the sons of Israel should die upon birth. He tried to convince the midwives to kill the sons of Israel. So God turns this around in His judgment of Egypt. But God isn't just destroying Egyptians, Moses warns the Israelites: "None of you shall go out of the door of his house until the morning." The implication is this. God will kill any firstborn outside of the house. So God isn't saying Israel are the good guys and Egypt is the bad guys. An Israelite who failed to obey was also liable to God's judgment.
The particulars of the observance of Passover are to show faith in God. They were instructed to eat in haste and to wear all their clothing. Why? It indicated God's deliverance was imminent. They were to have faith that God was going to deliver them soon. Hence why they had to eat in haste and why they had to eat as if they were readying to run out the door that very second. Each and every household that night had either dead firstborn... or a dead perfect year old lamb. Those who believed God would have followed His instructions and had judgment pass them by. Those who failed to believe... at least one person would die in that house.
For people to live and be set free, someone or something has to die. This is the idea of substitution. But the principle here is not just that Israel needed to be saved from slavery. The idea is that there are sinful people and they all need deliverance.
"The next day he saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, 'Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!'" - John 1:29
"Cleanse out the old leaven that you may be a new lump, as you really are unleavened. For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed." - 1 Cor 5:7
God instructs Israel to celebrate the Passover meal every year. But we, as Christians, no longer have this meal. When Jesus came, he changed it all. They had a Passover meal, but there was no lamb. There was only bread & wine. Jesus is our lamb. So for us, we celebrate communion.
How about God's claim to all the firstborn of Israel, both man & beast? If people wished to keep their firstborn, there was a redemption price to be paid. The substitution principle remains.
What does this mean for you?
For the Israelites, God told them that they need to re-order their calendar. This month of their deliverance is to be their first month. They should re-order their entire lives around this event. Everything is different. Everything is new. It is same thing for us. God is saying our lives are all new. We should completely redefine our lives. Everything has changed. Everything has been made new. God instituted these festivals so the people would remember. It is the same for us. We should remember God's deliverance & His salvation.
By centering our lives around the gospel, our priorities & personalities will take on the attributes of a citizen of heaven. What Jesus has done for us will reshape us to be less insecure, less proud, & less fearful. More joyful, more thankful, more kind, & more loving.
The LORD said to Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt, "This month shall be for you the beginning of months. It shall be the first month of the year for you. Tell all the congregation of Israel that on the tenth day of this month every man shall take a lamb according to their fathers’ houses, a lamb for a household. And if the household is too small for a lamb, then he and his nearest neighbor shall take according to the number of persons; according to what each can eat you shall make your count for the lamb. Your lamb shall be without blemish, a male a year old. You may take it from the sheep or from the goats, and you shall keep it until the fourteenth day of this month, when the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill their lambs at twilight.
"Then they shall take some of the blood and put it on the two doorposts and the lintel of the houses in which they eat it. They shall eat the flesh that night, roasted on the fire; with unleavened bread and bitter herbs they shall eat it. Do not eat any of it raw or boiled in water, but roasted, its head with its legs and its inner parts. And you shall let none of it remain until the morning; anything that remains until the morning you shall burn. In this manner you shall eat it: with your belt fastened, your sandals on your feet, and your staff in your hand. And you shall eat it in haste. It is the LORD’s Passover. For I will pass through the land of Egypt that night, and I will strike all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and beast; and on all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgments: I am the LORD. The blood shall be a sign for you, on the houses where you are. 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.
"This day shall be for you a memorial day, and you shall keep it as a feast to the LORD; throughout your generations, as a statute forever, you shall keep it as a feast. Seven days you shall eat unleavened bread. On the first day you shall remove leaven out of your houses, for if anyone eats what is leavened, from the first day until the seventh day, that person shall be cut off from Israel. On the first day you shall hold a holy assembly, and on the seventh day a holy assembly. No work shall be done on those days. But what everyone needs to eat, that alone may be prepared by you. And you shall observe the Feast of Unleavened Bread, for on this very day I brought your hosts out of the land of Egypt. Therefore you shall observe this day, throughout your generations, as a statute forever. In the first month, from the fourteenth day of the month at evening, you shall eat unleavened bread until the twenty-first day of the month at evening. For seven days no leaven is to be found in your houses. If anyone eats what is leavened, that person will be cut off from the congregation of Israel, whether he is a sojourner or a native of the land. You shall eat nothing leavened; in all your dwelling places you shall eat unleavened bread."
Then Moses called all the elders of Israel and said to them, "Go and select lambs for yourselves according to your clans, and kill the Passover lamb. Take a bunch of hyssop and dip it in the blood that is in the basin, and touch the lintel and the two doorposts with the blood that is in the basin. None of you shall go out of the door of his house until the morning. For the LORD will pass through to strike the Egyptians, and when he sees the blood on the lintel and on the two doorposts, the LORD will pass over the door and will not allow the destroyer to enter your houses to strike you. You shall observe this rite as a statute for you and for your sons forever. And when you come to the land that the LORD will give you, as he has promised, you shall keep this service. And when your children say to you, 'What do you mean by this service?' you shall say, 'It is the sacrifice of the LORD’s Passover, for he passed over the houses of the people of Israel in Egypt, when he struck the Egyptians but spared our houses.'" And the people bowed their heads and worshiped.
Then the people of Israel went and did so; as the LORD had commanded Moses and Aaron, so they did.
At midnight the LORD struck down all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, from the firstborn of Pharaoh who sat on his throne to the firstborn of the captive who was in the dungeon, and all the firstborn of the livestock. And Pharaoh rose up in the night, he and all his servants and all the Egyptians. And there was a great cry in Egypt, for there was not a house where someone was not dead. Then he summoned Moses and Aaron by night and said, "Up, go out from among my people, both you and the people of Israel; and go, serve the LORD, as you have said. Take your flocks and your herds, as you have said, and be gone, and bless me also!"
The Egyptians were urgent with the people to send them out of the land in haste. For they said, "We shall all be dead." So the people took their dough before it was leavened, their kneading bowls being bound up in their cloaks on their shoulders. The people of Israel had also done as Moses told them, for they had asked the Egyptians for silver and gold jewelry and for clothing. And the LORD had given the people favor in the sight of the Egyptians, so that they let them have what they asked. Thus they plundered the Egyptians.
And the people of Israel journeyed from Rameses to Succoth, about six hundred thousand men on foot, besides women and children. A mixed multitude also went up with them, and very much livestock, both flocks and herds. And they baked unleavened cakes of the dough that they had brought out of Egypt, for it was not leavened, because they were thrust out of Egypt and could not wait, nor had they prepared any provisions for themselves.
The time that the people of Israel lived in Egypt was years. At the end of years, on that very day, all the hosts of the LORD went out from the land of Egypt. It was a night of watching by the LORD, to bring them out of the land of Egypt; so this same night is a night of watching kept to the LORD by all the people of Israel throughout their generations.
And the LORD said to Moses and Aaron, "This is the statute of the Passover: no foreigner shall eat of it, but every slave that is bought for money may eat of it after you have circumcised him. No foreigner or hired servant may eat of it. It shall be eaten in one house; you shall not take any of the flesh outside the house, and you shall not break any of its bones. All the congregation of Israel shall keep it. If a stranger shall sojourn with you and would keep the Passover to the LORD, let all his males be circumcised. Then he may come near and keep it; he shall be as a native of the land. But no uncircumcised person shall eat of it. There shall be one law for the native and for the stranger who sojourns among you."
All the people of Israel did just as the LORD commanded Moses and Aaron. And on that very day the LORD brought the people of Israel out of the land of Egypt by their hosts.
The LORD said to Moses, "Consecrate to me all the firstborn. Whatever is the first to open the womb among the people of Israel, both of man and of beast, is mine."
The Feast of Unleavened Bread
Then Moses said to the people, "Remember this day in which you came out from Egypt, out of the house of slavery, for by a strong hand the LORD brought you out from this place. No leavened bread shall be eaten. Today, in the month of Abib, you are going out. And when the LORD brings you into the land of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites, which he swore to your fathers to give you, a land flowing with milk and honey, you shall keep this service in this month. Seven days you shall eat unleavened bread, and on the seventh day there shall be a feast to the LORD.
[Rev. Dwight Yoo]
The Story of Passover
The first 9 plagues shows God manipulating nature to inflict judgment on the people of Egypt. The last plague is different. This is God himself coming to visit Egypt. God is coming as both the destroyer as well as deliverer.
If you recall, the Pharaoh had made a decree that all the sons of Israel should die upon birth. He tried to convince the midwives to kill the sons of Israel. So God turns this around in His judgment of Egypt. But God isn't just destroying Egyptians, Moses warns the Israelites: "None of you shall go out of the door of his house until the morning." The implication is this. God will kill any firstborn outside of the house. So God isn't saying Israel are the good guys and Egypt is the bad guys. An Israelite who failed to obey was also liable to God's judgment.
The particulars of the observance of Passover are to show faith in God. They were instructed to eat in haste and to wear all their clothing. Why? It indicated God's deliverance was imminent. They were to have faith that God was going to deliver them soon. Hence why they had to eat in haste and why they had to eat as if they were readying to run out the door that very second. Each and every household that night had either dead firstborn... or a dead perfect year old lamb. Those who believed God would have followed His instructions and had judgment pass them by. Those who failed to believe... at least one person would die in that house.
For people to live and be set free, someone or something has to die. This is the idea of substitution. But the principle here is not just that Israel needed to be saved from slavery. The idea is that there are sinful people and they all need deliverance.
"The next day he saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, 'Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!'" - John 1:29
"Cleanse out the old leaven that you may be a new lump, as you really are unleavened. For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed." - 1 Cor 5:7
God instructs Israel to celebrate the Passover meal every year. But we, as Christians, no longer have this meal. When Jesus came, he changed it all. They had a Passover meal, but there was no lamb. There was only bread & wine. Jesus is our lamb. So for us, we celebrate communion.
How about God's claim to all the firstborn of Israel, both man & beast? If people wished to keep their firstborn, there was a redemption price to be paid. The substitution principle remains.
What does this mean for you?
For the Israelites, God told them that they need to re-order their calendar. This month of their deliverance is to be their first month. They should re-order their entire lives around this event. Everything is different. Everything is new. It is same thing for us. God is saying our lives are all new. We should completely redefine our lives. Everything has changed. Everything has been made new. God instituted these festivals so the people would remember. It is the same for us. We should remember God's deliverance & His salvation.
By centering our lives around the gospel, our priorities & personalities will take on the attributes of a citizen of heaven. What Jesus has done for us will reshape us to be less insecure, less proud, & less fearful. More joyful, more thankful, more kind, & more loving.
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