Exodus 14:1-4 - God transforms us through the circumstances of life

God knows best what to do with our life when we commit it totally to Him. He can be depended on to guide and lead us to where His purpose will be fulfilled. The twenty-four elders before His throne show us that He is worthy of all honor. In Revelation 4:11, we are told that their constant cry was “Worthy are You, our Lord and our God, to receive glory and honor and power; for You created all things, and because of Your will they existed and were created.” Yes, it’s true that we all exist to glorify Him and enjoy Him forever. So, we shall see that the whole drama of the account of Israel’s exodus from the land of Egypt was designed with one purpose i.e. to bring glory to God. These verses set up the people of Israel’s departure from Egypt in such a way that there can be no mistake that their whole experience bears the handiwork of God.

Notice that the children of Israel were already well on their way when the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, “Tell the sons of Israel to turn back and camp before Pi-hahiroth, between Migdol and the sea; you shall camp in front of Baal-zephon, opposite it, by the sea.” We may not know where these places were located. We are only told that when Pharaoh and his forces would come in hot pursuit after the Israelites, they would be sandwiched between the desert and the sea. The truth is that they were caught in between the pursuing army of Pharaoh and the Red Sea. There would be no escape route for them. If there was any way of escape, it had to take a miracle of God.

God knew well in advance that Pharaoh would change his mind and would come after the children of Israel. His hardened heart would regret his decision to let them go and would come after them. This would be the moment that God would be recognized and honored by the Pharaoh and his whole army. And all of Egypt would indeed know that Jehovah God as the true LORD. Israel’s God had led His people to a place where they were totally vulnerable. Where they were, behind them was the army of Pharaoh and ahead of them was the sea. There was no escape route so it seemed. But it was God who had deliberately put them in that position so that there can be no misunderstanding, both to the Egyptians and Israelites, that it was God who had given His children the victory. Verse 4 indicates that God did it to show His glory.

God’s intention in every experience we encounter in life is to bring about His glory ultimately. Know that Christian life is an intentional, continuous journey, a process for us to become more and more like Christ, our Lord and Master. In that process, we will encounter hard times and tough experiences. Those are divine moments where God through the Holy Spirit deals with our old nature, with the aim to replace them with a Christlike nature. Our responses to the things that happen to us will help shape our personhood and keep us dependent on Him till we become the person He wants us to be. God is shaping our wholeness. Will we let Him shape us? It is wise that we do so. There can be no better way than to yield to Him totally in every circumstance of life.       

Exodus 13:17-22 – God guides us as we walk with Him

The people of Israel set out from Egypt, two million people or more, both adults and children. They also had their livestock and plenty of gold, silver, and jewelry given by their neighbors. God made sure that they were paid back in full for their 400 some years of forced and oppressive labor. So, the people of Israel went out of Egypt in military array into the wilderness toward the Red Sea. What’s more important as they left Egypt was the fact that they had God with them to guide them on their journey. God knew exactly what they needed. Instead of leading by a more direct route into Canaan, He led them into the wilderness toward the Red Sea.  Why? He knew that “…the people might change their minds when they see war and return to Egypt.” The Egyptians had a strong army and had kept their military presence in the northern part of Sinai. Furthermore, there would be the Philistines who could engage them in conflict. God knew that when they encountered a conflict that would ensue, they would become discouraged. Knowing all these, God led them in a more-round-about way toward their promised land. This affirms for us the truth that God knows exactly what we need in our life’s journey. His ways are always higher than our ways. He can see ahead because He is the all-knowing God. And following His direction is certainly the best response to His guidance. He is always working all things for our good even in the hardest of encounters in life.  

In keeping with the promise that they had made to Joseph, the Israelites took his bones along with them in a catafalque. Verses 19 said that even as Joseph made them promise to take his bones with them, he also assured them that “God will surely come to take care of you.” Joseph was assured that God would be faithful. And God had proven to be true as Joseph had believed. This underscores for us that our God is faithful. He always keeps what He has promised. He is trustworthy and we can trust Him.  

The people of Israel set out from Succoth and camped at Etham. But we learn that throughout their journey, they were guided by a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night. The cloud was to shield them for the desert heat and the fire to keep them warm at night. What a marvelous God! More importantly, what the pillars of cloud by day and the fire by night tell us is that God was with them throughout all their journey. He was leading and guiding them in the journey. There can be no natural explanation for these phenomenal happenings but that God was there with them. How so? Because He was with them throughout, even in their 40 wandering years. There was not a moment when the pillars of cloud or fire were not there to guide them. Today God is still with us in our journey with Him. He has given us His Holy Spirit, another Godhead of the Trinitarian God. He is traveling alongside us to guide us into all truth. His presence is still with us today, though not in the pillar of cloud or fire. What a wonderful God!       

Exodus 13:11-16 –We are redeemed by God to serve Him

God delivered the people of Israel by taking the lives of all the firstborn of Egypt. Hence in these six verses in Exodus 13:11-16, He had demanded the right of ownership to all the firstborn sons of Israel. They must be given over to God. From the firstborn of the children of Israel to the firstborn of all their animals, except the donkey, they must be devoted to the Lord. In the case of an animal, they would be sacrificed on the altar as an offering. All the firstborn of any animal except the donkey. Why? Because donkeys were considered as uncleaned animals and had to be redeemed with the sacrifice of a lamb or be destroyed by breaking their necks.

Interestingly the firstborn sons of Israel were put in the same category as the donkey by God. For as soon as He had given instruction on the redemption of the donkey, the last part of verse 13 reads, “every firstborn of man among your sons you shall redeem.” Why? God had categorized the donkey as an uncleaned animal. The idea of the donkey as an uncleaned animal was not to instruct about hygiene. It was an object lesson to help the people distinguish between what’s holy and what’s not.      

The whole instruction on the redemption of the firstborn sons of the Israelites and their animals, including the redemption of the donkey, was intended to provoke a talking point. How do we know? Verses 14-15 state so. God instructed them saying, “And it shall be when your son asks you in time to come, saying, ‘What is this?’ then you shall say to him, ‘With a powerful hand the Lord brought us out of Egypt, from the house of slavery. It came about, when Pharaoh was stubborn about letting us go, that the Lord killed every firstborn in the land of Egypt, both the firstborn of man and the firstborn of beast. Therefore, I sacrifice to the Lord the males, the first offspring of every womb, but every firstborn of my sons I redeem.’   

How were the firstborn devoted to the Lord? They were given in service of the Almighty. One example was Elkanah and Hannah, the parents of the Prophet Samuel, who gave their son to serve God in the temple. Think of it this way, all of us believers are God’s firstborn through the works of Jesus Christ. And God has ownership over our lives. We must now offer ourselves to Him as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to Him. Paul said this is the only logical and reasonable act of worship on our part. Let us give our lives in active service of the Lord.     

Exodus 13:1-10 – Consecrated to live a holy life

Exodus is an excellent book to learn about the doctrine of sin and salvation. This doctrine, also known as Soteriology, is a great and needful subject of our faith. It teaches us things we need to know about our redemption. In the plagues against Pharaoh, God was essentially judging sin. In calling His people out and made them His set apart people, God was giving a lesson on the doctrine of election. In the sacrifice of the unblemished lamb, we are given a lesson on the substitutionary atonement of Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God. In the whole act of the Passover, we see the New Testament word “propitiation” being enacted. The sacrificial lamb was offered in our place to atone for our sin, to turn away the anger of God, and to appease the wrath of God. One more thing taught in this whole Passover is “the communion of saints.” This is a phrase taken out of the Apostle’s Creed that says, “I believe in the communion of saints.” God was addressing the need for a communal faith when He instructed that only those within the community and those who were circumcised could partake of the Passover meal. This is one truth we need to embrace that our faith is honed better in the church, the community of God’s people. God did not call us to be hermits, but He called us into a fellowship with like-minded believers. So, the book of Exodus models for us the whole doctrine of salvation and redemption.  

In Exodus 13:1-2, we learn of the importance of being God’s people. We are told that every firstborn must be dedicated to God. The firstborn deals with the center and future of the family. To avoid the notion that God plays favorite we need to know that the firstborn actually represent the whole family. Just like when God said, Israel is my firstborn, it means he represents the whole nation. For that matter, every Christian is a firstborn to the Lord. No one can claim to have a relationship with God without being born again. None can rely on the faith of his or her parents or leaders to claim a relationship with the Lord. Neither can a wife rely on the faith of her husband or vice-versa! Everyone must have a born-again experience with God. Hence, every born-again person must dedicate his or her life to the LORD individually and personally. Remember God has no grandson or grand-daughter. Every one of us must live a consecrated life.

  

In Exodus 13:3-10, we see specific instruction on the Feast of Unleavened Bread. It speaks of the need for the removal of sin from influencing our lives. We know that though the children of Israel were delivered from Egypt, much of Egypt was still in them. God had to take them through the wilderness to deal with the nature that was inherited while they were in slavery. This is the process of sanctification. The Feast of Unleavened bread following the Passover was to be an annual commemoration. God wanted them to conduct this yearly feast even when they had entered the promised land. He knew that in the promised land, they would be susceptible to the ungodly influence of the people there as well. The pagans living there with their ungodly habits were “…the Canaanite, the Hittite, the Amorite, the Hivite, and the Jebusite….”. God knew how pervasive the ungodly influence could be. So, this annual feast would be a timely reminder to them that God had made them His special people and they must stay set apart for Him. It is the picture of the need for sanctification after our conversion.

In summary, we see that salvation is a process. It begins with faith and conversion before we are initiated into the process of sanctification. The ultimate destination is glorification where we will be delivered from the presence of sin. And that can only happen when we are in heaven. Know this as we journey with God that heaven is not our goal, it’s only our final destination. Christlikeness is our goal. We must strive to become more and more like Him. That's what happens when we live a dedicated life that is consecrated to God.    

Exodus 12:42-51 – The privilege of being God’s people

The Passover was instituted to commemorate the night the covenant people of God were liberated from Egypt. It was a memorial feast to recall the awesome work that God did, to free them from Pharaoh’s bondage. It was to be a time where they recollect how they were rescued by the mighty hand of God. The bitter herbs they ate was to help them to remember how viciously they were treated in bondage. The sacrificial lamb was to assist them to remember that it was God’s provision of the perfect substitute for their sins. The blood of the lamb that they smeared on the doorposts and lintel of their houses averted the visitation of the angel of death. Then following the Passover meal, there ate unleavened bread for the next seven days. The eating of the unleavened bread was a symbol of holiness. It was a call to live a life of freedom from sin. The Passover helped the people of God to remember that they were saved from a life of slavery, death, and sin. The Passover is pointing to the redemptive work of Jesus Christ, the perfect lamb of God that brought our salvation. The Passover points us to the work of Christ – His life, suffering, death, and resurrection.

There are two truths concerning the Passover that we need to know. Firstly, it was a meal to be shared by the whole community of God’s people. This is indicated in verse 47 where Moses said, “All the congregation of Israel are to celebrate this.” The whole community celebrated this feast because God saved them as a whole community. It was to be a communal participation. While we were all saved individually, our security is found in the whole community of believers. Those who would not participate would be cut off from the community. Our faith, while experienced individually, must be expressed communally because we all partake of that one bread. We believe in the fellowship of the called-out ones. Secondly, it was a meal meant for believers only. God specifically stipulated the people who could participate in the meal. No foreigner could participate. Doubtless, to say, there were Egyptians and those from other nations who traveled with the children of Israel out of Egypt. Unless they were circumcised and assimilated into the community they could not participate in the Passover. This meal was meant only for people who had chosen to trust God. Unless we have a personal faith in God, we cannot be a part of God’s family. Just as the Passover commemorated Israel’s deliverance from Pharaoh’s bondage, the communion or the Lord’s supper commemorates our deliverance from the bondage of Satan and sin. It’s important that we know we belong to God. First Peter 1:9 reminds us saying “But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God’s own possession, so that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light.” Amen!

Exodus 12:29-41 - Embarking on a journey with God

In the dead of night, the silence was pierced by loud cries of desperation and panic. As foretold by the Lord, He struck every family in Egypt. Exodus 12:29 said that every 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 cattle…” was hit.  There was loud wailing everywhere in Egypt. Death came upon all the firstborn of Egypt. No family was spared. This was exactly what verse 30 said, “Pharaoh arose in the night, he and all his servants and all the Egyptians, and there was a great cry in Egypt, for there was no home where there was not someone dead.” But the situation was different in Goshen. The blood from the Passover lamb smeared on doorposts and lintels averted the angel of death. The people of Israel were spared as they obeyed the Lord and did as instructed. This event marked out how God differentiates between those who are His and those who are not. It’s the faith and trust His people placed in the blood of the sacrifice He had provided. Those who believe in God are marked out for a great eternal destiny.

The whole nation came to a standstill. Death was experienced in every home. In a moment of great dismay, Pharaoh realized that he could not stand up against the Lord. His will finally wilted and he bent to the Sovereign will of God. Summoning Moses and Aaron, he said in desperation, “Rise up, get out from among my people, both you and the sons of Israel; and go, worship the Lord, as you have said. Take both your flocks and your herds, as you have said, and go, and bless me also.” This was truly ironical. He was reluctant to let the people go but now he was ordering them to leave. They were told to get up and get out. There is one thing that we need to know. Ultimately, God’s will for our life will always come into fruition.

God always fulfills His Word. Remember in Genesis 15:13-14, God said to Abraham these words: “Know for certain that your descendants will be strangers in a land that is not theirs, where they will be enslaved and oppressed four hundred years. But I will also judge the nation whom they will serve, and afterward, they will come out with many possessions.” Notice that: “they will come out with many possessions.” It was payback time. For more than 400 years they slaved without pay. Now God was ensuring that they get back what was due to them. So, we are told that “…the sons of Israel had done according to the word of Moses, for they had requested from the Egyptians articles of silver and articles of gold, and clothing; and the Lord had given the people favor in the sight of the Egyptians, so that they let them have their request. Thus, they plundered the Egyptians.” The word used here is plundered. They carried as it were, the spoils of war. The word plunder is a term of victory. It was a victory for God’s people. That day the children of Israel “about six hundred thousand men on foot, aside from children” left Egypt. Together with them en route to the promised land was “a mixed multitude …, along with flocks and herds, and a very large number of livestock.”  

Just like His plan for the Israelites, God does have a plan for our redemption as well. It has to do with the blood of Jesus Christ, the sacrificial lamb He Himself has provided. It is the blood of Christ that will keep us from the devastating consequence of sin. His blood that never congeals and will save us from the gutter-most to the uttermost. We are indeed blessed! Let’s stay on the journey with God!  

Exodus 12:14-28 – We are saved to be sanctified

Judging from the number of times the Bible calls on us to remember events and things, has the unflattering inference that we believers can be a forgetful people. This is the likely reason why God instructed the people ever so often to set up memorial pillars to help them to remember what He had done for them. Here in Exodus 12:14-28, the Lord instructed them to set up a memorial feast to commemorate and remember their exodus. Israel’s deliverance was a significant event in the life of the people of Israel. God by His mighty hand brought the people out of the hand of an oppressive king. The effort it took to set the people free from the clutches of Pharaoh and the Egyptians made it an event worth remembering. God wanted them to remember this for life. By instituting a feast to commemorate it would ensure that His people would never forget what He had done to yank them out of their bondage. It’s a charge to remain faithful to God.

The Passover or the Feast of Unleavened Bread was a God instituted feast to be celebrated annually. In these 15 verses, God repeated three times that He wanted this feast to be celebrated and to be a permanent feature in their calendar. In verse 14 God said, “Now this day will be a memorial to you, and you shall celebrate it as a feast to the Lord; throughout your generations, you are to celebrate it as a permanent ordinance.” Then in verse 17 God repeated what He had said, “You shall also 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 permanent ordinance.” Again, in verse 24, His words to the people of Israel were, “And you shall observe this event as an ordinance for you and your children forever.”  So, the children of Israel celebrated their first Passover in Egypt. Then they were reminded in Numbers 9:1-5 to continue observing this feast throughout their journey and they did. Then in Joshua 5:10-11 as they crossed into the promised land, they celebrated their first Passover at Gilgal.

Why the Passover? To help them relive the night they escaped from Egypt. God wanted this act to be a shared memory. This was to let the future generations know that it was God who had saved them. In Exodus 12:1-13, the instruction for the Passover was on the selection of the animal for sacrifice. And how its blood was to be smeared on the doorposts and lintel of the house to protect them from the angel of death. They were then told to roast the lamb and to eat it together with bitter herbs and bread baked without yeast. God repeated His instruction on the Passover in Exodus 12:21-23 slightly differently. But in between these two sets of instruction, God spoke about the Feast of Unleavened Bread. This had led some to conclude that God gave instruction for two feasts. But in reality, the Passover and Unleavened bread were one feast, a weeklong celebration. The whole Passover all the way with the Unleavened Bread paints for us a picture of the process of salvation. Being saved is just the first step, we need to be sanctified after the initial act so that we can begin to live a life increasingly free from the grasps of sin.  

Why the Feast of Unleavened Bread? In this weeklong celebration, God specifically told them to remove any yeast in their midst. Even the loaves of bread were to be baked without yeast. The reason why the Israelites were told to eat yeast free bread at the Passover was that they had to leave Egypt in haste and there simply wasn’t enough time for any yeast to rise. And the instruction for the Unleavened Bread was for all yeast to be removed. It also said that anyone who ate anything with yeast would be cut off from the community. Yeast has been a symbol of the corrupting nature of sin. Sin has a devastating consequence in our life. Its effect lingers longer than we want it to linger. It makes us pay more than we are willing to pay. And it stays longer than we are willing to let it stay. God wants them removed from our lives. The people of Israel had left Egypt but the mentality of Egypt, unfortunately, did not leave them for a long time. There must be a process of removing the sinful mentality. The Feast of the Unleavened Bread served to remind them that they must seek to live a sin-free life. We know that to have that life we need to submit ourselves to the sanctifying work of the Holy Spirit. At conversion, we are saved from the penalty of sin. Now progressively in the process of sanctification, the Holy Spirit assists us to be increasingly free from the power of sin. Ultimately, we will be saved from the presence of sin when we reach our eternal destination and experience our glorification. What a journey to look forward to!