Thru the Bible on Oneplace.com - Exodus 12:1-13

0:00How firm a foundation is, say, So the Lord is laid for your faith in His excellent Word. Welcome to Through the Bible. Today our study of Exodus 12 with Dr. J. Vernon McGee is going to take us to one faithful night in Egypt. I'm Steve Schwetz. And before we get started, Greg and I have got a few minutes for an update on our partnership with Endure International to reach people in all places of Pakistan. Yeah, this is a really cool story, Steve. So we talk a lot about our television, satellite television partner, Endure International. They do six of the major languages of the Muslim world. They do Turkish, Arabic, Urdu, Farsi, and Indonesian. Many of these major major languages. Well, one day I'm working at my computer and I got an email that they started some listening groups

1:01in Pakistan in a language called Marwari. And that is not a language that they had done any work for us in. And what we found out is that the local Urdu speaking pastor could also translate it into Marwari. And they had, they basically had home groups. They didn't call them that. And this is why we like to say the Holy Spirit is always a couple steps ahead of us. Yes. And the really cool thing was I said, hmm Marwari, I think we have some audio in that language. And so essentially what happened was we were able to connect them with the audio that was produced in India for the home groups in the language of Marwari. Long in India. Yeah. And this is why, and you love to tell people this, why do we do all these obscure languages? Yeah, because again, most of these people are already speaking Urdu. Why would that pastor take the time to translate it? And those of you that are like me, probably monolinguistic, you don't appreciate what a heart language is, what you learned on your mother's knee, so to speak. And the lack of content in these smaller languages

2:04has people listen when they normally wouldn't listen. Even if it's if they're talking about Jesus Christ. Yes. And so it's just an exciting opportunity. The smaller the language, the higher the effectiveness that we find the ministry goes through or receives almost without exception. Yes. And this is a very practical example of what Steve articulated is a philosophy, but it gets very practical when you realize that people's spiritual language is their mother tongue. Yeah. And that's why when you hear us talking about being in 250 languages or growing in the number of languages, we're not trying to get bragging rights. We want to literally reach more people in their mother tongues. And we found through this initiative, they had formed seven listening groups. Yeah. And that's the other thing that I appreciate about the growth of through the Bible as a ministry. When we started, we were a broadcast ministry. In fact, we used to have a our logo was an open Bible with this big massive radio tower on the top of it. And we would just fling the seat out. And gee, let's get some letters back.

3:05Now, completely different with these small groups, with the follow-up teams in Pakistan. We've got people following up with these groups and they are giving birth to local churches, people are being discipled. And it's really taking the ministry to the next level from a missionary outreach standpoint. Yes, so exciting. Greg, why don't you pray for us as we begin? Father, we're just grateful to see your spirit moving and powerful ways through our humble efforts. And we pray you continue to allow us to get into more of these smaller heart languages so that all of those wonderful things we just celebrated will continue to happen to your glory in Jesus' name, amen. Here's Dr. J. Vernon McGee with our study of Exodus 12 on Through the Bible. Now, friends, we have come to a high point in the book of Exodus. It's the institution of the Passover and we need to put down at the very beginning this statement where Paul says, Christ, our Passover, is offered for us.

4:07And that is important for us to see, by the way, that we are going to see Christ in this particular place here. Now, let me read beginning chapter 12, verse 1, and the Lord spake unto Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt saying, this month shall be unto you the beginning of months. It shall be the first month of the year to you. Now, this brings us to what I have called a brand new division of the book of Exodus. The first was a deliverer. Now, it's the deliverance and the deliverance is actually not by Moses. The deliverance is first by blood. That's the Passover feast, the death of the first born. And then we have in chapter 13 and 14, crossing the Red Sea and the destruction

5:09of the army of Egypt. And that's by power God delivered them by blood and by power and redemption friends today is by blood and by power. The blood that the Lord Jesus shed for us to pay the penalty for our sins. And then the power of the Holy Spirit in making this real and making it effectual in our sinful hearts for it not by might or by power but by my spirit, Seth the Lord. So it's the work of the Lord Jesus on the cross for us. It's the work of the Holy Spirit in us. And that is important to see here in the redemption. Now we have here that God says, this is the beginning of months for you. Actually, this is where it all begins. This is the birthday of the nation actually. And yet we'll see an emphasis not put upon the nation

6:12but really upon the family. The emphasis is there. That was true. We saw in Genesis, but now Israel entered Egypt as a family and they make their exit now as the nation overnight. But the interesting point for us to consider here God did not place the emphasis on the nation but on the family here. Now the families were the building blocks out of which the nation was made. You remember Pharaoh forced them to make bricks without straw but God had them make the bricks of the family for the building of a nation out of the straws of the individuals. And we'll find that here. There is an old cliche, epigrammatic to say it. I know, but it's true. No nation is stronger than the families of that nation. Now we're going to watch God make bricks with plenty of straw. There's a lot of individual and the Passover

7:13is the oldest religious holiday known to man. It's not a national holiday in the sense that young Kipper is the day of atonement but it is a religious holiday and it was a family affair. God redeemed the individual in the family. Now this is to be though the birthday of the nation. This is the beginning of months and the zero hour has come. Here is where the countdown begins for the Exodus out of Egypt. And notice now what he says in verse three. Speak ye unto all congregation of Israel saying in the tenth day of this month they shall take to them every man a lamb according to the house of their fathers a lamb for a house. Now there are two prominent points of emphasis

8:15in this verse here. You can see it the family celebration that we're going to have. First is the blood and the second is the house or the family. The lamb speaks of course of the blood that will be put on the door. Folks this is a great emphasis. Now God is putting on the family though they become a nation and he'll deliver the nation. But he does it by families and the families by individual. Notice every man a lamb according to the house of their fathers a lamb for a house. You see this is getting it right down to the family. For each house now listen to this verse verse four and if the household be too little for the lamb. Well it doesn't say anything about the lamb being too little for the household. That wouldn't happen.

9:15The lamb is sufficient friends. The way this is presented the lamb is adequate. If the household be too little for the lamb let him and his neighbor next unto his house take it according to the number of the souls every man according to his eating shall make your count for the lamb. Now God goes right down to the individual in the family. Every man shall be counted in on this. You take the lamb for a family. But here's the man and his wife. They are childless. They have no children. Maybe they're children of murder and move off somewhere else. Well then he joins maybe with his neighbor who's in the same position. It's just he and his wife. So they get together and they divide the lamb according to the individuals that are there. Not maybe that there is a man next door that's got half a dozen or maybe a dozen children.

10:16Well before you decide to bring those two families together make sure that each individual will get part of the lamb. You see this is to be a personal private matter. The redemption is for the nation. Yes, but it centers in the family and it must be accepted and received by each individual in that family. The Passover I said is a family affair. And then notice how important that is. God gives them here just the modest operandi but which God saved individual history lives. It's not because they're a member of a nation or belong to a family, but an individual. You remember we have the story and this ought to throw light on many problems and many questions that come to us here. And one is, well was the family of the Philippian jailer

11:18saved because the Philippian jailer believes. No, each member of his family had to have a transaction with the lamb had to partake of the lamb. That was true here. Every member had to exhibit his faith in this way. Are he was out by the way? And so when we say that the Philippian jailer and his family were saved because of the faith of the Philippian jailer, you just didn't read that verse to write, believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shall be saved and thy family. Well, somebody says it says then if you believe your family, no, your family will have to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and they'll be saved. Here is the picture of our redemption. And let's look at the picture. Each member, every man according to his eating shall make your count for the lamb. Each one will have to participate and partake of it

12:22in order to come in under the blessing. You see and the redemption of the blood that's out on the doorposts of the family. Now this is a faithful night in Egypt and it's the last of the plagues by the way. And the land of Goshen, you remember was spared during the last three plagues. God's people were delivered from judgment but you see they're not redeemed and they have to now be redeemed and exhibit faith in the blood. That evening Israel was doing a very odd thing. And if you go inside any of the homes that night where the blood was sprinkled on the doorpost you'll notice something's taking place. Now let me read verse five. Now your lamb shall be without blemish. A male of the first year, ye shall take it from the sheep,

13:24or from the go. Now this lamb is the speak of Christ. And the Israelite shall kill it. It's for the family. It's to be put on the doorpost, but each one will have to exhibit faith. Now here is the thing that is amazing verse six. And ye shall keep it up until the 14th day of the same month and the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill it in the evening. I'd like to call your attention just something here friends. Israel shall kill it. Well, each family had a lamb. There must have been thousands of lamb slain that night. But when God talks about it, he says Israel shall slay it in the evening. That lamb is speaking of another lamb. Christ our Passover is offered for us.

14:25And God looked at it as one lamb. You see all of that pointing to the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ into the world. Now will you notice here there must be that evidence of faith in what they're doing faith in the adequacy of the blood verse seven and they shall take of the blood. Strike it on the two side posts and on the upper doorpost of the houses wherein they shall eat it. Now the children of Israel were to put the blood outside the house on the door and the death angel will pass over. Now I think that we have here a picture. They'll answer another question for us. Now there are many people that have written in and they say at the time of the rapture, what about the little children of believers? What about them? Here are little ones that have not reached the age of accountability.

15:29You mean to say that the Lord would take mom and pop and go off and leave two little precious children there? No friends. God won't do that. Let's read this. They shall take of the blood and strike it on the two side posts and on the upper doorpost of the houses wherein they shall eat it. And they eat the lamb on the inside. That is five faiths, a partake of Christ. But the little one doesn't know what's taking place. Well, the little one will be left in the house when the children of Israel go out of the land of Egypt. If the little one happens to be just the little one hasn't reached the age of accountability will the little one be slain? Oh no, no friends. Blood covered it all. The death angel passed over all of them. And I assume from this picture that the children that have not reached the age of accountability in every home at the time of the rapture will be taken covered by the blood if you please.

16:32God would not leave them anymore than he left them in the days when the children of Israel were redeemed and went out of the land of Egypt. Now will you notice it says they shall eat the flesh in that night roast with fire and on 11 bread and with bitter herbs they shall eat it. Now each one of these of course had a tremendous message in meaning in everything that they did. This speaks of course to the fellowship of the family. The family were together in this. Now I want to make a statement now and I'm sure I'll get reaction to this. But I don't mind it at all. We today in our very highly organized Bible schools and in our church programs we put the juniors here in the junior highs there and the high school over here. Can you well understand it Moses telling them to put all the children in the nursery

17:33over at the palace the Pharaoh was where he was raised and to take the juniors down to the volleyball court. Now I say to you there have been a lot of children would have missed out that night on the Exodus. Now I say this is done by families. And I'm afraid that I churches today been guilty of dividing families. We ought to have families together in church. I'm a square I grant that. But you see I started off as a young preacher up in middle Tennessee and I was passed of a city church however but I used to go in the summer because I guess I'm a country boy and I went up in middle Tennessee and helped meetings in those country churches and had the best family my life. And I start preaching at night and you see a mother sitting out there with a little one in her arms that may be restless. I learned how to talk them. My if I came out talk us six months old child was something's radically wrong.

18:34So I learned to preach above them and that little one go to sleep mother pick it up take it to the back of the church at a pallet there put the little one down. She come back down she's sitting there with her husband and maybe two or three other children. And then here comes up another just like popcorn all over the place these little ones go into sleep and they told me they had a preacher there the year before me to have meeting and one night they put down about like they did every night about a dozen babies and all of a sudden he stopped and he said you know I'm a greater preacher than Paul the Apostle and the people were amazed he paused and they all had the question in their mind how in the world could he be greater than Paul the Apostle he says Paul preached to midnight and only put one to sleep he says I haven't preached but thirty minutes and I put a dozen to sleep on that basis I did the same thing my friends you see they did it by families and I don't know those little churches weren't very well organized but they sure did have

19:36some wonderful saints of God and they produced some very wonderful man and women that grew up in that area in fact it's out of areas like that in this land where the backbone of this nation was produced I don't know where we're producing them today but I be honest with you I haven't very much confidence in the hippies I'm very sorry I don't but I have no confidence in this revolutionary crowd that's on our campuses today I think we've done it wrong friends here's the pattern that was given the family was to do it together now we're told here they're to eat it roast with fire fire speak the judgment that must be the judgment of sin and unleavened bread you see that speaks of Christ as the one we defeat upon and with bitter herbs they shall eat it now there's different meanings that been attached to the bitter herbs may I say to you I hear sometimes the idea given

20:39as if we're trying to sell something when we ask people to accept price it won't always be sweet friends the bitter herbs to go with it and he says in verse 9 eat not of it raw raw you see there must be the judgment of sin in our lives when we come to Christ friends we come as a sinner he died for our sins and that's where we begin with him our sodden at all with water in other words it must be just trusting him and him alone and I'm afraid there's some people who trust water today but roast with fire that must be judgment his head with his legs and with the pertinence there of all of it is to be roasted and you shall let nothing of it remain until the morning and that which remaineth of it until the morning you shall burn with fire and thus shall you eat it with your loins girded your shoes on your feet and your staff in your hand and you shall eat it and haste

21:42it's the Lord's fast over and friends when you come to Christ this speaks of Christ our past over offered to us when we come to him we should have a loins girded reddit that get out of the world and no long involved with the world I don't believe that you're converting and live a sinful life we had a remarkable instance here of a woman who ran a liquor store in South Los Angeles got them dirty she called me up and she said I'm getting out of the liquor business and if you tell me to I'll take a hammer and I break every bottle I told her I said you go sell it and she got out the liquor business he was a wonderful Christian by the way now say you'll get out of Egypt if the blood's been put on the doorpost because you to eat it with your loins girded ready to go if you please ah for menace this is verse 12 where I will pass through the land of Egypt this night

22:44I'll smite all of the first born in the land of Egypt both man and beast and a game all the gods of Egypt I'll execute judgment I'm the lord now all of these plagues have been directed at each idol individually now all of them demanded the first born God says I'm now turning the guns against all the idols now will you notice and the blood shall be to you for a token upon the houses where you are and when I see the blood I'll pass over you and the plagues shall not be upon you to destroy you when I smite the land of Egypt and God says that the people were not saved because they were seed of Abraham while the Egyptians could have obeyed and they would have been saved God says when I see the blood they were not saved because they were doing the best they could and paid their honest debt and because they were good people God says when I see the blood I'll pass over and they were not to run out during the night and look at the blood

23:47they were to have confidence and faith in it God says when I see the blood he didn't say when they saw it and they were not saved because of their thoughts or their feelings their experiences not because they regarded the blood God says when I see the blood I'll pass over to them it was just faith not saved because they went through the ceremony and were circumcised God says when I see the blood I'll pass over they were not saved because they belong to the church the death angel wasn't making a survey of the neighborhood when I see the blood God says I'll pass over they were not to open the window and tell the death angel how good there were and how much church it worked they did if a man had put his neck out of the window that night he had died God says when I see the blood nothing is to be added to it who will save that night those who believe God those who are the blood were sprinkled those that entrusted the blood I say to you candidly in closing I do not understand

24:52it completely but I set my seal that God is true and today it's the shared blood of Christ that'll save you nothing else my friend so until next time may God bless you my beloved learn more about God's offer to save us by calling 1 865 Bible or click on how to know God in our app or ttb.org I'm Steve Schwetz and I'll save you seed as the Bible bless rolls along next time we're grateful for our committed listening family who faithfully pray and invest in through the

25:56Bible as we together take the whole word to the whole world