Lesson 56 - Senior

Memory Verse

"And he brought forth his people with joy, and his chosen with gladness"  (Psalm 105:43).

Cross References

I The Preliminary Warning of the Final Judgment

1. The final judgment is to be on all Egypt, after which Pharaoh will let Israel go, [EXO:11:1]; EXO:3:19-20].

2. The Israelites are instructed to ask the Egyptians for a partial remuneration for their years of servitude, [EXO:11:2-3]; [EXO:3:21-22].

3. The final judgment is to take the life of all the first born of Egypt, man and beast, [EXO:11:4-6], [EXO:3:8]; [EXO:4:22-23].

4. Israel is to be protected by God from the judgment, [EXO:11:7]; [EXO:8:22-23].

5. Pharaoh's hardened heart causes him to refuse the final plea, [EXO:11:9-10]; [EXO:10:27-29].

II The Announcement to Israel of the Passover's Inauguration

1. Since the deliverance from Egypt was to be a type of our deliverance from sin's bondage, it was appointed as the first of a new year, [EXO:12:1-2]; [2CO:5:17]; [ROM:6:4].

2. The paschal lamb was to be set apart from the tenth to the fourteenth of the month, [EXO:12:3-6]; [1CO:5:7]; [JHN:12:1], [JHN:12:12-15]; [LUK:22:7], [LUK:22:13-15; [ISA:53:7]; [1PE:1:19]; [REV:5:6].

3. The blood was to be for their deliverance, and the flesh for their nourishment, [EXO:12:7-13]; [NUM:9:12]; [JHN:19:33]; [HEB:9:22-28].

III The Passover Instituted as a Perpetual Memorial

1. God tells them the feast is to be a perpetual memorial, or testimony, of their deliverance, [EXO:12:14]; [EXO:13:8-10]; [DEU:16:1-8]; [1CO:11:23-30].

2. God instructs them regarding the use of unleavened bread; leaven is usually a type of sin, [EXO:12:15-20]; [MAT:16:6]; [GAL:5:9].

3. Israel is given the final instructions, [EXO:12:21-28].

IV The Tenth, and Final Judgment: Egypt's First born Slain

1. As the Israelites remain under the blood, at midnight the angel of death visits Egypt, [EXO:12:29-30]; [HEB:11:28].

2. Pharaoh and the Egyptians urge the Israelites to leave, [EXO:12:31-34].

3. The Egyptians are "spoiled," another phase of the final judgment, [EXO:12:35-36]; [PS:105:36-38].

V The Exodus from Egypt

1. In a remarkable and miraculous manner the millions of Israelites leave Egypt, [EXO:12:37-42]; [PS:78:51-53]; [GEN:15:13-16]; [GAL:3:17].

2. The preliminary Law of the Passover is given, [EXO:12:43-51].

Notes

The Faithful Warnings

The keynote of this lesson might well be the oft quoted verse from the lesson text: "When I see the blood, I will pass over you." This passage marks one of the final strokes of judgment upon Egypt and the complete separation between those idolaters and the people of God. The resulting exodus was a pivotal point in the history of the Israelites, and the beginning of their nation. They were now free to follow Lord in the way He chose for them. It is easily seen to be a type of our deliverance from sin; and as we study it we shall be impressed by the great number of details that parallel the doctrine of Justification by Faith.

God had been patient with the people of Egypt, trying to lead them away from idolatry to the true worship; but the great majority chose their false worship instead. We do not know how many finally believed on the God of Israel. There was a great fear of God in some of them, but to what extent these few repented of their sins the Bible does not say.

At the very beginning Pharaoh was told that Israel was God's first-born; and if they were not released, the first born of Egypt would be killed [EXO:4:22-23]). Pharaoh refused to obey, but God did not immediately send this final judgment. Instead, He dealt patiently with Pharaoh. God sent nine judgements upon the Egyptians of lesser intensity than the promised final one, in an attempt to teach them that He was all powerful and that their own gods were myths, and therefore powerless. But they refused to be taught.

The Separation between Egypt and Israel

The extent to which God protected Israel from the fury of the judgements is remarkable; because they reverenced, feared, and obeyed Him. The final stroke of judgment was to mark a greater cleavage between Egypt and Israel. It was so planned that Israel had to put forth an effort in order to be secure when the death angel came; and if they obeyed God, His protection was theirs. In the other instances it seems that God's providence overshadowed them without even so much as a request from them; but here they were required to show the extent of their faith in God (Hebrews 11:28).

This climactic event in the history of the Israelites was to be so great that God ordered them to begin their year on that date. Previously, they had followed the Egyptian custom, with the new year beginning in the autumn months at the time of harvest. But now God wanted them to lay aside everything that would remind them of Egypt and be a separate people unto Him. God does not want His people to act like the people of the world, look like them, or follow the spirit that dominates them. He knew that any of the customs or traditions of Egypt, which the Israelites might keep, would lead them away from Him in later years.

Sin does not necessarily have large beginnings. A person who forsakes God does not necessarily do so at one grand stroke. Instead, there is a gradual digression, which will lead to a separation between that person and God. If a person gets his eyes on the world he will yearn after some trivial thing, which might appear innocent in itself but will take a place God has had in his life. Anything that takes the place of God in our heart is an idol; so this digression is, in itself, a form of idolatry. An idol does not have to be a tangible thing: it can be merely a principle or theory invented by man. Whatever takes the place of God in our heart, in our time, or in our affections, is wrong; and its continued presence will eventually lead us away from God. For this reason God wanted His people to be free from everything that would remind them of Egypt.

The Passover Feast and Sacrifice

The first day of the month of Abib (which corresponds approximately to our month of April) was now to be their New Year's day. On the tenth day of that month they were to select a perfect lamb from their flock, not more than a year old. This lamb was to be kept separate from the flock and fed by itself until the evening of the fourteenth day, when it was to be killed.

The Jewish day began at sunset instead of midnight and the first part of their day corresponds to our evening. The last part of their day was the same as our afternoon and was also called evening. The lamb was killed in the latter evening of the fourteenth day, and the feast would be held after the lamb was roasted, extending into the evening of the fifteenth day of the month. Some students of Bible chronology believe that the final Passover, when Jesus was crucified, fell on the same day of the week on which the original one was celebrated.

The Lamb of God

There is an inspiring analogy between the paschal lamb and the great Paschal Lamb, Jesus Christ ([1CO:5:7]; [JHN:1:29]). Jesus fulfilled the Passover in a chain of perfectly timed events that could not have resulted from chance or coincidence. He rode into the city of Jerusalem in triumph, to fulfil the type of the lamb's being set aside on the tenth day of the month. He spent most of the following days with the disciples whom He loved. He died at the very hour the paschal lamb was usually killed, wonderfully fulfilling the Old Testament type; and not because of the man inflicted wounds, for the soldiers' surprise at finding Jesus' lifeless body showed that His death was premature.

Jesus was certainly the Lamb without spot or blemish. Not one of His bones was broken -- another direct fulfilment of prophecy and type. He died that we might be free, purchasing redemption for all who will see to it that the Blood is applied to their hearts.

Jesus ate the Passover with His disciples before His death. This took place on the day that God had instituted as the proper day for killing and eating the Passover. The Law does not specify an exact time of day in which the Passover was to be eaten, so far as we know; and some of the Jews would shift its observance to an earlier period in the day when the fifteenth day, or the Paschal Sabbath, fell on the regular weekly Sabbath. This was done so the observance of the Passover would not conflict with their observance of the weekly Sabbath.

That Christ ate the Passover earlier than some of the Jews is apparent from St. John's Gospel ([JHN:18:28]). And that this was in full accord with the Law is evidenced by the fact that Jesus always kept every detail of the Law and also that the disciples were in full agreement and expressed no surprise at the time chosen.

When the Death Angel Came

All leaven was to be put out of the houses of the Israelites. This practice was diligently followed, which meant that every part of their houses was rigorously searched prior to the serving of the meal. Leaven in Old Testament times is a type of sin; and since the Passover is a type of our justification by faith, we can see how perfectly the purging out of the leaven fits into the pattern, because a sinner must first turn away from his sin and renounce it if he expects to be saved ([ISA:55:7]).

The death angel went through the land of Egypt at midnight and struck dead the first born of man and beast. But when the angel saw the blood on a house he passed over that house and spared the occupants. The blood in the lamb, or in the basin, was of no value to them until applied as God directed. Our place of safety, when the wrath of Almighty God is released upon the sinful, is under the Blood. It must be applied to the door -- to our hearts -- before it is

Previously the Lord spoke, but now He struck! The glory of the household died. The prime and pick of the nation was cut off -- the flower of the troops, the heirs of the rich, and the hopes of the poor all died at midnight. Pharaoh had smitten God's first born and the Lord repaid him to his face. Surely "it is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God" (Hebrews 10:31).

Secular history and archaeologists' findings confirm this great tragedy. In the Royal Museum at Berlin there was a huge statue of the Pharaoh who is supposed to have lived at the time of the Exodus, with his son who was the heir to the throne. Little is known of this son, and his younger brother became the next king. Inscriptions have also been found that indicate some unusual national disturbance during the reign of this Pharaoh, and also that his first born son died under peculiar circumstances. It was the practice of these ancient kings to record only their victories and leave their defeats silent in the records, so only a few records remain; but those that exist more than confirm the scriptural account.

A Nation Born in a Night

The Egyptians saw a sight that night which has never been equalled. About three million people with their flocks and herds took up the march and left. This great exodus is made all the more remarkable by the fact that these millions were led out by the miraculous hand of the Lord. Only the providence of God could arrange it and bring it to a successful conclusion -- let alone support such a multitude in a wilderness where the necessities of life are not to be found.

The number of them was very great. Yet there was not one in a hospital, and not one carried in an ambulance, or limping in the rear. Poverty and oppression may have enfeebled them but God had healed them. They carried none of the diseases of Egypt. This shows us that when God calls us to go anywhere He will fit us for the journey. In the pilgrimage of life our strength will be equal to our day.

The exodus from Egypt closed the 430 years of pilgrimage, which began when God's covenant was made with Abraham ([GAL:3:17]). From Abraham's entry into Canaan, and the giving of the covenant, to the time when Jacob went to Egypt at the invitation of his son, Joseph, was 215 years. Jacob and his posterity were in Egypt 215 years, which makes the 430 years mentioned in our lesson.

The Israelites went out of Egypt as a conquering army, victorious through the strength of their God, Jehovah. They had come down into Egypt a small group of herdsmen and during their stay were made slaves of the most menial type; but they left enriched with the wealth of Egypt given to them as their just due by the Egyptians for only the asking. They were sent out, not after a humiliating compromise settlement, but with all they originally demanded, because they obeyed the God of Heaven and waited for His time of deliverance.

Questions

1. Name all the ten judgments, or plagues, sent upon Egypt.

2. Did Pharaoh know, when the first judgment was sent, that his continued refusal to obey God would lead to this tenth judgment?

3. Who were exempt from the tenth judgment?

4. Relate the law of the Passover.

5. What would you say is the key verse of this lesson?

6. What protection is given us under the Blood of Christ?

7. How often was the Passover to be observed?

8. What was the purpose of the Passover?

9. Of what was the Passover a type?

10. Of what was leaven a type?